DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed on 04/23/2026 with regards to the objection to the specification have been fully considered but they are not persuasive. The applicant has not responded to the objection, therefore, the objection to the abstract has been maintained.
Applicant’s arguments, filed on 04/23/2026 claim 19 and 20-21 rejected under 35 USC 112 (b) /2nd and 112 6th have been fully considered and are persuasive. The rejection of the claims have been withdrawn.
Applicant’s arguments, filed on 04/23/2026, with respect to Claims 19-21 rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a) (1) as anticipated by or, in the alternative, under 35 U.S.C. 103 as obvious over Blaschke et al. (US 2008/0108851 A1 )have been fully considered and are persuasive. The rejections have been withdrawn.
Specification
Applicant is reminded of the proper language and format for an abstract of the disclosure.
The abstract should be in narrative form and generally limited to a single paragraph on a separate sheet within the range of 50 to 150 words in length. The abstract should describe the disclosure sufficiently to assist readers in deciding whether there is a need for consulting the full patent text for details.
The language should be clear and concise and should not repeat information given in the title. It should avoid using phrases which can be implied, such as, “The disclosure concerns,” “The disclosure defined by this invention,” “The disclosure describes,” etc. In addition, the form and legal phraseology often used in patent claims, such as “means” and “said,” should be avoided.
The abstract of the disclosure is objected to because it is not a concise explanation of the invention, but it repeats the claim limitation. A corrected abstract of the disclosure is required and must be presented on a separate sheet, apart from any other text. See MPEP § 608.01(b).
Claim 4 limitation” an apparatus that carries out degradation of bisphenol A “has been evaluated under the three-prong test set forth in MPEP § 2181, subsection I, but the result is inconclusive. Thus, it is unclear whether this limitation should be interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, because the apparatus that carries out degradation of Bisphenol A The boundaries of this claim limitation are ambiguous; therefore, the claim is indefinite and is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, second paragraph.
In response to this rejection, applicant must clarify whether this limitation should be interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph. Mere assertion regarding applicant’s intent to invoke or not invoke 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph is insufficient. Applicant may:
(a) Amend the claim to clearly invoke 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, by reciting “means” or a generic placeholder for means, or by reciting “step.” The “means,” generic placeholder, or “step” must be modified by functional language, and must not be modified by sufficient structure, material, or acts for performing the claimed function;
(b) Present a sufficient showing that 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, should apply because the claim limitation recites a function to be performed and does not recite sufficient structure, material, or acts to perform that function;
(c) Amend the claim to clearly avoid invoking 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, by deleting the function or by reciting sufficient structure, material or acts to perform the recited function; or
(d) Present a sufficient showing that 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, does not apply because the limitation does not recite a function or does recite a function along with sufficient structure, material or acts to perform that function.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 1, 3-5, 7, 15-18, and 22 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102a) (1) as anticipated by or, in the alternative, under 35 U.S.C. 103 as obvious over Blaschke et al. (US 2008/0108851 A1) (“Blaschke” herein).
(Claims contain only selected species)
Claim 1.
Blaschke discloses a method for producing bisphenol A, the method comprising:
(i) degrading a polycarbonate resin in a solvent to obtain a reaction liquid a1 containing bisphenol A, and distilling off the solvent from the reaction liquid al to obtain a crude solution A having a bisphenol A content of less than 90% by mass; [0043, 0055, 0066, 0077-0078]
(ii) subjecting acetone and phenol to dehydration condensation in the presence of an acid catalyst to obtain a reaction liquid B containing bisphenol A; [0014, 0019, 0043, 0095]
(iii) distilling off unreacted acetone and water from the reaction liquid B to obtain a concentrated liquid C; [0018, 0044-0048]
(iv) subjecting the concentrated liquid C to crystallization to obtain a slurry liquid, [0048-0049] and subjecting the slurry liquid to solid-liquid separation to obtain a mother liquor D and a cake d; [0049-0052 ]
(v) purifying the cake di to obtain bisphenol A; [0053-0054]
(vi) circulating part of the mother liquor D to supply to the subjecting (ii) ; [0055, 0066]
(vii) obtaining a solution H1 or a solution H2 from the crude solution A and part of the mother liquor D, wherein the solution H1 is a solution containing bisphenol A obtained by degrading bisphenol A contained in the crude solution A and the mother liquor D into phenol and isopropenylphenol under conditions that allow degradation of bisphenol A and then rebonding phenol and isopropenylphenol, and
the solution H2 is a solution containing phenol obtained by degrading bisphenol A contained in the crude solution A and the mother liquor D into phenol and acetone under conditions that allow degradation of bisphenol A; [0043, 0055, 0077-0078] and
(viii) supplying the solution H1 or the solution H2 to the subjecting (ii) and/or the distilling (iii). [0055, 0066, 0070-0071, 0077-0078]
Or a different interpretation of Blaschke
Claim 1.
Blaschke discloses a method for producing bisphenol A, the method comprising:
(i) degrading a polycarbonate resin in a solvent to obtain a reaction liquid a1 containing bisphenol A, and distilling off the solvent from the reaction liquid al to obtain a crude solution A having a bisphenol A content of less than 90% by mass; [0043, 0055, 0066, 0077-0078]
(ii) subjecting acetone and phenol to dehydration condensation in the presence of an acid catalyst to obtain a reaction liquid B containing bisphenol A; [0014, 0019, 0043, 0095]
(iii) distilling off unreacted acetone and water from the reaction liquid B to obtain a concentrated liquid C; [0018, 0044-0048]
(iv) subjecting the concentrated liquid C to crystallization to obtain a slurry liquid, [0048-0049] and subjecting the slurry liquid to solid-liquid separation to obtain a mother liquor D and a cake d; [0049-0052 ]
(v) purifying the cake di to obtain bisphenol A; [0053-0054]
(vi) circulating part of the mother liquor D to supply to the subjecting (ii) ; [0055, 0066]
(vii) obtaining a solution H1 or a solution H2 from the crude solution A and part of the mother liquor D, wherein the solution H1 is a solution containing bisphenol A obtained by degrading bisphenol A contained in the crude solution A and the mother liquor D into phenol and isopropenylphenol under conditions that allow degradation of bisphenol A and then rebonding phenol and isopropenylphenol, and
the solution H2 is a solution containing phenol obtained by degrading bisphenol A contained in the crude solution A and the mother liquor D into phenol and acetone under conditions that allow degradation of bisphenol A; [0043, 0055, 0077-0078] and
(viii) supplying the solution H1 or the solution H2 to the subjecting (ii) and/or the distilling (iii). [0055, 0066, 0070-0071, 0077-0078]
Blaschke does not explicitly disclose the terminology as recited within the claimed invention: subjecting acetone and phenol to dehydration condensation in the presence of an acid catalyst. However, Blaschke discloses that Reaction of acetone and phenol to give p,p'-BPA and isomers, with the formation of water, in adiabatic fixed bed reactors in the presence of a co-catalyst [0095] which serves as the subjecting acetone and phenol to dehydration condensation in the presence of an acid catalyst. Therefore, the Examiner interprets this disclosure to read on the claimed invention.
Claim 3.
Blaschke discloses the method according to claim 1, wherein the crude solution A and part of the mother liquor D are mixed, and a mixed liquid G obtained is supplied to an apparatus that carries out degradation of bisphenol A in the obtaining (vii) [0070-0071, 0094-00107]
Claim 4.
Blaschke discloses the method according to claim 1, wherein the crude solution A and part of the mother liquor D are each .supplied to an apparatus that carries out degradation of bisphenol A in the obtaining (vii), and the degradation is carried out while a mixed liquid G is prepared in the apparatus. [0070-0071, 0094-0107]
Claim 5.
Blaschke discloses the method according to claim 1, wherein, in the distilling (iii), part of phenol is further distilled off from the reaction liquid B to obtain the concentrated liquid C. [0014, 0019, 0043, 0095]
Claim 7.
Blaschke discloses the method according to claim 1, wherein the conditions that allow degradation of bisphenol A are any of alkaline conditions, acidic conditions, and supercritical water conditions. [0043, 0055, 0066, 0077-0078]
Claim 15.
Blaschke discloses the method according to claim 1, wherein the solvent used in the degrading (i) is phenol. [0043, 0055, 0066, 0077-0078]
Claim 16.
Blaschke discloses the method according to claim 1, wherein the polycarbonate resin is degraded in the degrading (i) in the presence of any catalyst selected from the group consisting of an alkali metal hydroxide, an alkali metal carbonate, an alkylamine, and an acid to obtain the crude solution A. [0043, 0055, 0066, 0077-0078]
Claim 17.
Blaschke discloses the method according to claim 1, wherein the bisphenol A content of the crude solution A is 10% by mass or more. [0043, 0055, 0066, 0077-0078]
Claim 18.
Blaschke discloses the method according to claim 17, wherein the bisphenol A content of the crude solution A is 20% by mass or more. . [0043, 0055, 0066, 0077-0078]
Claim 22.
Blaschke discloses a method for producing a polycarbonate resin, the
method comprising:
producing a polycarbonate resin by using bisphenol A
obtained by the method according to claim 1. (Same as claim 1)
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to SILVANA C RUNYAN whose telephone number is (571)270-5415. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 7:30-4:30.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Doug Hutton can be reached at 571-272-4137. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/SILVANA C RUNYAN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3674 06/08/2026
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