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 .
DETAILED ACTION
Response to Amendment
1. The amendment filed on 06/30/2026 has been made of record and entered.
Specification, page 5 has been amended.
Claims 1-15 have been amended.
Claims 1-16 are currently pending in this application and under consideration.
Information Disclosure Statement
2. The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 05/01/2026 and 06/30/2026 have been made of record. The submission is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statements have been considered by the examiner.
An initialed copy of the IDS accompanies this office action.
Response to Terminal Disclaimer
3. The terminal disclaimer filed on 05/01/2026 disclaiming the terminal portion of any patent granted on this application which would extend beyond the expiration date of the copending Application No. 18/256,407 and 18/256,412 has been reviewed and is accepted. The terminal disclaimer has been recorded.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112(b) (Second Paragraph)
4. The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claim 15 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
The claim remains not positively reciting the process steps for the claimed method of producing a wall-flow filter according the claim 1. The phrase “after the channels E of the wall-flow filter substrate are coated with coating Z, and optionally coating Y,” is not a positive recitation defining how the channels E of the wall-flow filter substrate are coated with coating Z and coating Y but rather it merely indicating and reciting that the channels E of the wall-flow filter substrate have already been coated with the coating Z and coating Y.
Response to Applicants’ Arguments
5. Applicants’ remarks submitted with the amendment/response on 06/30/2026 have been fully reviewed, however the amendment to claim 15 appears not resolving the 112(b) (second paragraph) rejection made to claim 15 in the last office action.
The arguments are not deemed persuasive and a new ground of rejection has been applied to claim 15. See above.
Allowable Subject Matter
6. Claims 1-16 are allowable over the prior art made of record. A statement of reason(s) for allowance of the claimed subject matter can be found in the last office action (dated 02/11/2026).
*Claim 15 would be allowed if the rejection under 35 U.S.C 112(b) (Second Paragraph) is overcome.
7. Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Conclusion
8. Claims 1-16 are pending. Claims 1-14 & 16 are allowed. Claim 15 is rejected.
Contacts
9. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Primary Examiner CAM N. NGUYEN whose telephone number is (571)272-1357. The examiner can normally be reached on M-F (8:30 am – 5:00 pm) at alternative worksite or at cam.nguyen@uspto.gov.
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, Anthony Zimmer, can be reached at 571-270-3591. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of an application may be obtained from the Patent Application Information Retrieval (PAIR) system. Status information for published applications may be obtained from either Private PAIR or Public PAIR. Status information for unpublished applications is available through Private PAIR only. For more information about the PAIR system, see http://pair-direct.uspto.gov. Should you have questions on access to the Private PAIR system, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative or access to the automated information system, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/Cam N. Nguyen/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1736
/CNN/
July 25, 2026
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