Prosecution Insights
Last updated: April 19, 2026
Application No. 18/249,927

CATALYTIC REACTION UNIT AND REACTIVE DISTILLATION COLUMN

Non-Final OA §103
Filed
Apr 20, 2023
Examiner
SINGH, DAPINDER
Art Unit
3746
Tech Center
3700 — Mechanical Engineering & Manufacturing
Assignee
Sinopec Dalian Research Institute Of Petroleum And Petrochemicals Co. Ltd.
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
82%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
2y 3m
To Grant
99%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 82% — above average
82%
Career Allow Rate
715 granted / 869 resolved
+12.3% vs TC avg
Strong +19% interview lift
Without
With
+18.9%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 3m
Avg Prosecution
25 currently pending
Career history
894
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
3.3%
-36.7% vs TC avg
§103
35.6%
-4.4% vs TC avg
§102
36.2%
-3.8% vs TC avg
§112
20.5%
-19.5% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 869 resolved cases

Office Action

§103
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. This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention. Claim (s) 1-3, 5, 7 -14 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over CN 1386560 to Hao, Xingren et al (Hao) in view of CN 203609903 to Lyu, Aimei et al (Lyu) (Machine translation has been used for translational purposes) . Regarding claim 1 , Hao discloses a catalytic reaction unit, comprising: a plurality of catalyst bed layers (3, 23, fig. 1) arranged vertically, each of the catalyst bed layers being filled with a solid catalyst ([10]) respectively, and an inclined surface (above 3 and 23, fig. 1) on an upper part of the corresponding solid catalyst being arranged between adjacent catalyst bed layers; a liquid phase feeding subunit (from rectification section to 35 to 3 , fig. 1 ; [14]) , which is arranged above a topmost catalyst bed layer, so that a liquid phase feed can be introduced into the catalyst bed layer, and the liquid phase feed is guided by the inclined surface to sequentially enter each catalyst bed layer from top to bottom (fig. 1) ; a gas phase feeding subunit (from 5, 6 to 8, fig. 1) , which is arranged between the catalyst bed layer of an upper layer and the inclined surface of the next layer, a gas phase feed of each layer entering the catalyst bed layer in an upward manner (Fig. 1 ) . However, Hao does not explicitly disclose which Lyu discloses: a gas phase channel (11, fig. 2; [36]-[40]) , which is relatively isolated from the gas phase feeding subunit ([36]-[40]) , and a gas phase product generated by reaction of the gas phase feed to the liquid phase feed in the catalyst bed layer directly entering the gas phase channel ([36]-[40]) . Therefore, it would have been obvious to the one with ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have the gas phase channel of Lyu in the device of Hao so that the liquid phase material in the catalyst bed can flow smoothly and the operation is stable, thereby ensuring the reaction conversion rate and product quality are stable and qualified (24]; Lyu) . Regarding claim 2 , Hao combined with Lyu discloses the catalytic reaction unit of claim 1, wherein the inclined surface as a whole is an umbrella-shaped partition (fig. 1; Hao) . Regarding claim 3 , Hao combined with Lyu discloses the catalytic reaction unit of claim 2, wherein a tail end of the umbrella-shaped partition is provided with an annular downcomer (5, 6, fig. 1; Hao) , and the bottom of the annular downcomer is spaced apart from the bottom of the corresponding catalyst bed layer by a certain distance, so that the liquid phase feed enters the catalyst bed layer in a radial direction (fig. 1; Hao) . Regarding claim 5 , Hao combined with Lyu discloses the catalytic reaction unit of claim 1, wherein the catalyst bed layer is provided with: an overflow weir (12, fig. 1; [10]) arranged at a side near the gas phase channel; and a liquid-sealing baffle (part of the curved surface over weir 12, fig. 1) arranged at the upper part of the overflow weir and configured to isolate the gas phase feed from the gas phase product (fig. 1) . Regarding claim 7 , Hao combined with Lyu discloses the catalytic reaction unit of claim 5, wherein a top edge of the overflow weir is higher than a top surface of the catalyst in the bed layer by 10-100 mm ([13]) . Regarding claim 8, Hao combined with Lyu discloses the catalytic reaction unit of claim 1, wherein the gas phase feeding subunit comprises: a gas phase feed pipe (21, fig. 1; Hao) extending in the radial direction of the catalytic reaction unit; and a gas phase distribution pipe (35, fig. 1), which is in an annular shape or multi-layer concentric ring shape, and is orthogonal or tangential to the gas phase feed pipe (fig. 1) with a wall surface (11, fig. 3) of the gas phase distribution pipe provided with a plurality of pores (from 11 to 9; fig. 1) for uniformly distributing the gas phase feed to the bottom of the catalyst bed layer in all directions Regarding claim 9, Hao combined with Lyu discloses the catalytic reaction unit of claim 8, wherein the gas phase feeding subunit further comprises: a gas phase distribution disk (11, fig. 1), which is disposed at the bottom of the catalyst bed layer and is generally in a disk shape, with a plurality of pores distributed uniformly and densely in the gas phase distribution disk (fig. 1). Regarding claim 10, Hao combined with Lyu discloses the catalytic reaction unit of claim 8, wherein the gas phase distribution pipe is disposed below or inside the catalyst bed layer (fig. 1). Regarding claim 11 , Hao combined with Lyu discloses the catalytic reaction unit of claim 1, wherein the gas phase channel is disposed in the middle of the catalytic reaction unit and extend through all the catalyst bed layers from bottom to top (fig. 1) . Regarding claim 12 , Hao combined with Lyu discloses the catalytic reaction unit of claim 1, wherein the height of each catalyst bed layer is set to 10 mm - 1,000 mm ([12]) . Regarding claim 13 , Hao combined with Lyu discloses a reactive distillation column using a catalytic reaction unit, and having a multi-layer plate tower structure, wherein the catalytic reaction unit comprises: a plurality of catalyst bed layers (3, 23, fig. 1) arranged vertically, each of the catalyst bed layers being filled with a solid catalyst ([10]) respectively, and an inclined surface (above 3 and 23, fig. 1) on an upper part of the corresponding solid catalyst being arranged between adjacent catalyst bed layers; a liquid phase feeding subunit (from rectification section to 35 to 3, fig. 1; [14]), which is arranged above a topmost catalyst bed layer, so that a liquid phase feed can be introduced into the catalyst bed layer, and the liquid phase feed is guided by the inclined surface to sequentially enter each catalyst bed layer from top to bottom (fig. 1); a gas phase feeding subunit(from 5, 6 to 8, fig. 1), which is arranged between the catalyst bed layer of an upper layer and the inclined surface of the next layer, a gas phase feed of each layer entering the catalyst bed layer in an upward manner (Fig. 1). However, Hao does not explicitly disclose which Lyu discloses: a gas phase channel (11, fig. 2; [36]-[40]), which is relatively isolated from the gas phase feeding subunit ([36]-[40]), and a gas phase product generated by reaction of the gas phase feed to the liquid phase feed in the catalyst bed layer directly entering the gas phase channel ([36]-[40]). Therefore, it would have been obvious to the one with ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have the gas phase channel of Lyu in the device of Hao so that the liquid phase material in the catalyst bed can flow smoothly and the operation is stable, thereby ensuring the reaction conversion rate and product quality are stable and qualified (24]; Lyu). Regarding claim 14 , Hao combined with Lyu discloses the reactive distillation column of claim 13, applicable to a reaction system in which at least one liquid phase feed and at least one gas phase feed have chemical reactions on a solid catalyst and at least one of the reaction products is a gas phase product ([36]-[40], Hao) . Claim(s) 4 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hao combined with Lyu as applied to claim 3 and 1 above, respectively, and further in view of JP 2011-218307 to Tomomichi et al (Tomomichi) (Machine translation has been used for translational purposes) . Regarding claim 4 , Hao combined with Lyu discloses the catalytic reaction unit of claim 3, wherein the liquid phase feeding subunit comprises: a liquid phase feed pipe (21, fig. 1; Hao) extending in the radial direction of the catalytic reaction unit; and a liquid phase distribution pipe (35, fig. 1), which is annular and orthogonal or tangential to the liquid phase feed pipe (fig. 1) . However, Hao combined with Lyu does not explicitly disclose which Tomomichi discloses: a pipe wall (12a, fig. 3) of the liquid phase distribution pipe is provided with a plurality of pores (12b, fig. 3) for uniformly distributing the liquid phase feed to the annular downcomer in all directions. Therefore, it would have been obvious to the one with ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have the pipe wall of the liquid phase distribution pipe provided with plurality of pores as taught by Tomomichi with the unit of Hao combined with Lyu so as to suppress adhesion of solid matter in piping for connecting instrumentation equipment, prevent erroneous indications from the instrumentation equipment, and enable long-term stable operation (6]; Tomomichi). Allowable Subject Matter Claim 6 is objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims. Conclusion The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. US 12,251,657 to Panaccione et al. US 12,246,972 to Zhou et al. US 9,162,207 to Jia et al. US 8,685,334 to Wonders et al. US 2021/0129160 to Rubow et al. All references above describe general state of art. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to FILLIN "Examiner name" \* MERGEFORMAT DAPINDER SINGH whose telephone number is FILLIN "Phone number" \* MERGEFORMAT (571)270-1774 . The examiner can normally be reached FILLIN "Work Schedule?" \* MERGEFORMAT Monday to Friday from 8:00 AM to 5:30 PM . 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, FILLIN "SPE Name?" \* MERGEFORMAT Mark Laurenzi can be reached at FILLIN "SPE Phone?" \* MERGEFORMAT (571) 270-7878 . 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. /DAPINDER SINGH/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3746
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Prosecution Timeline

Apr 20, 2023
Application Filed
Feb 26, 2026
Non-Final Rejection — §103 (current)

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Prosecution Projections

1-2
Expected OA Rounds
82%
Grant Probability
99%
With Interview (+18.9%)
2y 3m
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 869 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allow rate.

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