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 .
The election is noted. Claims 1-9, 15-17 are withdrawn.
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 9-11, 14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102a1 as being anticipated by Dong et al. US20150329364.
Table 3 ex. 30 teaches carbon with area of 3299 m2/g (para 117) and PV of 5.02 cc/g.
For claim 14, note that sorption ability is demonstrated in para 181.
Claims 9-10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102a1 as being anticipated by Cabasso et al. US2003016178.
Cabasso teaches in example 5 a carbon material having BET of 2673 m2/g and PV of about 5.75 cc/g (Figure 7).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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 9, 10, 13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hata et al. US9809457.
Hata teaches, especially in the text bridging col. 14-15, and col. 16 lines 24-30, and col. 32 a carbon aggregate (structure) of nanotubes having BET of 800-2500 m2/g and pore volume of 5-7 cc/g or more. The overlapping range renders the claims obvious.
For claim 13, tubes are hollow. SWNTs are taught in col. 13. See also fig. 19B, 23B and consistent with the extremely low density of fig. 36.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 12 is allowed because the combination of high area and pore volume are not attained or suggested by the closest prior art applied in the prior art rejections above.
Wennerberg 4082694 is also noted.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to STUART L HENDRICKSON whose telephone number is (571)272-1351. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday-Friday from 9 to 5. If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner's supervisor, Anthony Zimmer, can be reached on 571-270-3591. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/STUART L HENDRICKSON/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1736
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