DETAILED ACTION
Status of Application
This action is responsive to national-stage application filed 06/28/2023. Following entry of the concurrently filed preliminary amendment, claims 1-5, 8-10, 13-14, 16, 20-21, 23-24, 28, 30, 33-34 and 36 remain pending and under examination herein.
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 . However, 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 a 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.
Information Disclosure Statement(s)
The information disclosure statement(s) filed on 08/08/2023, 12/24/2024 and 07/02/2025 are in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97, 1.98 and MPEP § 609, and therefore the information referred to therein has been considered as to the merits. Initialed copies of the IDS are included with the mailing/transmittal of this Office action.
Objection – Drawings
The drawings are objected to because the compound abbreviations “MaI” appearing in FIG. 6b are incorrect and should read –MeI-- (for methyl iodide; cf., Spec., page 49, lines 20-21). A corrected drawing sheet in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. The figure or figure number of an amended drawing should not be labeled as “amended.” If a drawing figure is to be canceled, the appropriate figure must be removed from the replacement sheet, and where necessary, the remaining figures must be renumbered and appropriate changes made to the brief description of the several views of the drawings for consistency. Additional replacement sheets may be necessary to show the renumbering of the remaining figures. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
Claim Interpretation
With respect to claim 1, the Office is construing the term “bulky substituent” consistent with the relevant description herein, see page 15, lines 8-10; that is, as signifying a substituent that is sufficiently bulky (occupies a large space) so as to sterically mask the positive charge of the ammonium ion and its adjacent atoms.
Claim Rejections – 35 U.S.C. 112
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.
Claims 24, 28, 30, 33-34, and 36 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.
Regarding Claim 24, the claim provides the limitation to “said linear polymer” in line 6. There is no proper and sufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. To cure this antecedent basis problem, it is suggested that claim 24 be amended by inserting –linear-- after “conducting” in line 2.
Dependent claims 28, 30, 33-34, and 36 inherit the indefiniteness ascribed to parent claim 24 above.
Common Ownership Notice
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 Rejections – 35 U.S.C. 102
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 24, 28, 33-34, and 36 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Ge et al (Adv. Mater. 2016, 28, 3467-3472) (hereinafter, ‘Ge’).
Regarding Claim 24, the claim is drawn to an anion conducting composition comprising:
i) an anion conducting polymer featuring at least one end-capping moiety at a backbone terminus thereof and/or at a pendant group terminus thereof and a cyclic moiety,
ii) said polymer being threaded within a cyclic moiety,
iii) wherein said at least one end-capping moiety has a volume larger than a volume of said cyclic moiety to thereby have said cyclic moiety mechanically interlocked around said linear polymer,
iv) wherein said cyclic moiety is a heterocyclic moiety that comprises at least 12 carbon atoms and at least one electronegative heteroatom.
Reference to Ge describes an anion conducting composition (page 3467: Title and page 3468, Scheme 1: C) Synthesis of comb-shaped polyrotaxane AAEM containing mobile ion shuttles).
As to limitation i), the described comb-shaped polyrotaxane AAEM comprises an anion conducting polymer featuring two end-capping moieties at a pendant group terminus thereof and a cyclic moiety (page 3468, Scheme 1(C): polyrotaxane 3d-e · 2OH- comprises poly(crown ether) 1a, and first full sentence of right-hand column: the axle termini thereof (of axle component 3d-e · 2PF6- · 2Br-) end-capped with bulky tris(2-ethylhexyl)amine (3a)).
As to limitation ii), Ge describes the polymer being threaded with a cyclic moiety (page 3471, bridging sentence of left/right columns: AAEM with a mobile ion shuttle, made by threading ionic linear chains into poly(crown ether) main chain).
As to limitation iii), Ge discloses that the bulky tris(2-ethylhexyl)amine (3a) prevents diffusional loss of the side chains and confines the two dibenzylammonium centers with bulky ammonium end groups (page 3467, first full para. of right-hand column and page 3468, first full sentence of right-hand column). Since the bulky ammonium end groups confine the dibenzylammonium centers and since the latter are described as “encircled by the macrocyclic cavities of the poly(crown ether)” (page 3468, second sentence of right-hand column), it is implicit that the cyclic moiety is mechanically interlocked around the linear chains of the polyrotaxane of Ge, as claimed.
As to limitation iv), Ge describes a main chain bearing DB24C8 (page 3467, first full para. of right-hand column); wherein DB24C8 is a heterocyclic moiety that comprises at least 12 carbon atoms (24 carbon atoms) and at least one electronegative heteroatom (8 oxygen atoms), as claimed.
Regarding Claim 28, Ge discloses wherein said cyclic moiety is a crown ether as discussed above.
Regarding Claim 33, Ge discloses the anion conducting composition of claim 24 as discussed above. Ge further discloses an anion exchange membrane comprising the anion conducting composition, as claimed (page 3469, bridging para. of left/right columns).
Regarding Claim 34, Ge further discloses an anion exchange membrane of claim 33 as discussed above. Ge further discloses an electrochemical system comprising the anion exchange membrane (e.g., electrodialysis, electrolysis; see page 3467, first para.).
Regarding Claim 36, Ge discloses the anion conducting composition of claim 24 as discussed above. Ge further discloses an article-of-manufacturing comprising said anion exchange composition (e.g., fuel cells, redox flow batteries; see page 3469, first para.).
Pertinent Art
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Mohanty et al (WO 2016/014636 A1) is cited merely to show analogous art, i.e., art relating to alkaline anionic exchange membranes comprising a SEBS block copolymer bearing quaternized ammonium groups in the polymer side-chains (note FIG. 1, compound IV and FIG. 3, compound IX). The cited art does not teach the present invention.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1-5, 8-10, 13-14, 16, 20-21, and 23 are allowed.
Claim 30 would be allowable if amended or rewritten to overcome the rejection under 35 U.S.C. 112 set forth in this Office action and to include all the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claim. In this regard, it is acknowledged that the closest prior art to Ge, discussed above, does not teach the limitation that “said cyclic moiety is covalently attached to said polymer”. Instead, Ge discloses only a class of noncovalently bonded polymers (see page 3467, first full para. of right-hand column).
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
Claims 1-5, 8-10, 13-14, 16, 20-21, and 23 are deemed to distinguish over the closest prior art as represented by Dang, et al (Journal of Materials Chemistry A, 2017; 5(41):21965-78) and Deavin, et al (Energy & Environmental Science, 2012, 5(9):8584-8597) (both cited in 08/08/2023 IDS).
Dang, et al and Deavin, et al each disclose an ion conductor for use in anion-exchange membranes. The ion-conductors are composed of a polymer chain with pendant quaternary ammonium groups. The ion-conductor of Dang, et al comprises a poly(phenylene oxide) backbone with pendant groups that are a saturated cyclic ammonium or a trialkylammonium. The ion-conductor of Deavin, et al comprises an ETFE (ethylene tetrafluoroethylene) backbone with pendant benzyltrimethylammonium or benzylmethylimidazolium groups. In light of the structural difference of the active cation vis-à-vis the quaternary ammonium salt-containing moiety defined in present claim 1, neither Dang, et al nor Deavin, et al is can be seen to describe the inventions of instant claim 1 and those claims dependent thereon.
Furthermore, neither Dang, et al nor Deavin, et al is found to provide proper rationale to modify either of their respective inventions into the invention of any of instant claims 1-5, 8-10, 13-14, 16, 20-21 and 23.
Correspondence
Any inquiry concerning this communication should be directed to Examiner F. M. Teskin whose telephone number is (571) 272-1116. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday through Friday from 9:00 AM - 5:30 PM.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner's supervisor, Robert Jones, can be reached at (571) 270-7733. The appropriate fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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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) Form at https://www.uspto.gov/patents/uspto-automated- interview-request-air-form.
/FRED M TESKIN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1762
/FMTeskin/03-13-26