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 .
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claims 1 and 3-4 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Tomiyori et al (US 2018/0037524 A1).
Applicants’ claimed invention is directed to a method for producing 1,1,2-trifluoroethane (HFC-143), comprising a step of subjecting 1,1,2-trifluoroethylene to a reduction reaction with a reducing agent at a temperature of 200 to 300°C to obtain HFC-143 and dehydrofluorinating HFC-143 to obtain 1,2-difluoroethylene (HFO-1132).
Tomiyori teaches a process for preparing HFC-143 and HFO-1132 as follow:
PNG
media_image1.png
112
288
media_image1.png
Greyscale
Wherein R1 to R4 are hydrogen or fluorine and X1 and X2 are each a hydrogen atom or a fluorine atom, where X2 is the fluorine atom when X1 is the hydrogen atom, and X2 is the hydrogen atom when X1 is the fluorine atom. See paragraphs 0041 and 0042.
In the manufacturing method of hydrofluoroolefin of the present invention, the numbers of carbons of the hydrofluorocarbon represented by the formula (1) and the hydrofluoroolefin represented by the formula (2) are each two to three [0044].
In the manufacturing method of hydrofluoroolefin of the present invention, as a combination of the hydrofluorocarbon represented by the formula (1) being a raw material and the hydrofluoroolefin represented by the formula (2) being an object, there can be cited, for example, trifluoroethane (1,1,1-trifluoroethane (HFC-143a), 1,1,2-trifluoroethane (HFC-143), or a mixture of HFC-143a and HFC-143) and 1,1-difluoroethylene (HFO-1132a). See paragraph 0045.
The source gas supplied to the reactor is brought into contact with the catalyst in the solid phase in the reactor. The temperature of the source gas in the reactor is preferably 200°C or more and 1200°C or less from viewpoints of improving reactivity and operating life of the catalyst. See paragraph 0088 and claim 12.
The claimed invention is rendered obvious by US 2018/0037524 because it utilizes a known two-step chemical sequence-hydrogenation followed by dehydrofluorination to transform a fluoroolefin starting material into a less fluorinated product, a process explicitly guided by the structural transformations in chemical formula 1 (paragraph 0042) and the substrate class in paragraph 41 and 45.
A person ordinary in the art, prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention would logically select 1,1,2-trifluoroethylene as the precursor to reach the required HFC-143, and would arrive at the claimed temperature range of 200-3000 C through routine optimization of the prior art’s broader 200-12000 C range. This selection represents a predictable application of the reference’s teachings, utilizing the lower end of the disclosed thermal window to ensure the stability of the volatile fluorinated reactants while achieving the specific fluorinated compound described in the prior art.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JAFAR F PARSA whose telephone number is (571)272-0643. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 10:00 AM-6:30PM.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Scarlett Goon can be reached at 571-270-5241. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/JAFAR F PARSA/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1692
Prosecution Insights