Detailed Office Action
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
1. The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Acknowledgment of Election
2. Applicants’ election of species I within the response of 13 April 2026 is acknowledged; however, upon further consideration and in view of the results of the prior art search, the Unity of Invention Requirement has been withdrawn.
Indefiniteness Rejection
3. 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.
4. Claims 13 and 15 are 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.
Firstly, with respect to claim 13, there is no nexus between the polyurethane prepolymer and the monomeric isocyanate; within the other independent claims it has been stated that the monomeric isocyanate is the residual monomeric isocyanate within the polyurethane prepolymer.
Secondly, with respect to claim 15, it is unclear what is meant by “a mixture of two or more of amino groups”; it is unclear if applicants are referring to different types of amino groups, such as primary and secondary amino groups; if this is the intended meaning than it is unclear how to interpret “or more”, since the groups must be isocyanate reactive, it is unclear what amino groups other than primary or secondary amino groups are contemplated.
Prior Art Rejection
5. 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.
6. Claims 1, 2, 6, 7, 10-15, and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Yao et al. (Post-Synthetic Polymerization of UIO-66-NH2 Nanoparticles and Polyurethane Oligomer toward Stand-Alone Membranes for Dye Removal and Separation).
Yao et al. disclose within the Results and Discussion section and the Experimental section, the mixture and reaction of UIO-66-NH2 amine functional (clams 6 and 15) mof, meeting applicants’ claimed porous material, with an isocyanate terminated oligomer, meeting applicants’ claimed prepolymer. The mof is functionalized with an amino dicarboxylic acid (claims 12 and 20). Though the reference fails to disclose a content of isocyanate monomer, since the reaction product of the disclosed aromatic diisocyanate (claim 2) with polyol yielding the oligomer necessarily possesses a content of such monomer, the contacting of the oligomer composition with the mof results in reaction of a portion of these monomers, causing their reduction.
7. Claim 5 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Yao et al. (Post-Synthetic Polymerization of UIO-66-NH2 Nanoparticles and Polyurethane Oligomer toward Stand-Alone Membranes for Dye Removal and Separation) as evidenced by Garibay et al. (Isoreticular synthesis and modification of frameworks with the UIO-66 topology).
Yao et al. disclose within the Results and Discussion section and the Experimental section, the mixture and reaction of UIO-66-NH2 amine functional mof, meeting applicants’ claimed porous material, with an isocyanate terminated oligomer, meeting applicants’ claimed prepolymer. The mof is functionalized with an amino dicarboxylic acid. Though the reference fails to disclose a content of isocyanate monomer, since the reaction product of the disclosed aromatic diisocyanate with polyol yielding the oligomer necessarily possesses a content of such monomer, the contacting of the oligomer composition with the isocyanate reactive mof results in reaction of a portion of these monomers, causing their reduction. Regarding claim 5, though Yao et al. fail to disclose the claimed surface area, UIO-66-NH2, was known to possess a surface area meeting that claimed (see Table 2 within Garibay et al.).
Allowable Subject Matter
8. Claims 3, 4, 8, 9, and 16-19 are 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
9. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Rabon A Sergent whose telephone number is (571)272-1079. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday through Friday from 9:00 AM until 5:00 PM, ET.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Heidi Riviere Kelley, can be reached at telephone number 571-270-1831. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/RABON A SERGENT/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1765
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