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 .
Election/Restrictions
Claims 1 and 7-22 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected Groups I and III-VI, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election was made without traverse in the reply filed on 5 June 2026.
Applicant’s election without traverse of Group II, claims 2-6 in the reply filed on 6 June 2026 is acknowledged.
Response to Amendment
The Amendment filed 5 June 2026 has been entered. Claims 2-6 are amended; claims 21-22 are added. Accordingly, claims 1-22 remain pending in the application with claims 2-6 considered in this Office Action.
Priority
Acknowledgment is made of applicant's claim for foreign priority based on an application filed in JP on 31 March 2021. It is noted, however, that applicant has not filed a certified copy of the English translation of JP2021-062170 application as required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Information Disclosure Statement
The Information Disclosure Statements filed 09/20/2023, 06/03/2025, and 02/04/2026 have been considered.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 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 2-6 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.
Claim 2, lines 3-4, recite “a carrier containing alumina as a main component”. It is unclear what quantity of alumina is required to be considered the main component of the carrier, or what would constitute a carrier containing alumina as a main component.
Claim 2, lines 3-5, recite “executing an impregnation-supporting step of impregnating a carrier containing alumina as a main component with nickel to be supported on the carrier and simultaneous calcinating a precursor obtained in the impregnation-supporting step”. It is unclear what is “to be supported on the carrier”. It is further unclear how the calcinating of a precursor is done simultaneously to the impregnation-supporting step, as the precursor is obtained as a result of the impregnation-supporting step. The specification of the present application states “the impregnated supported product (product before being subjected to the calcination step (c)) obtained by the impregnation step is referred to as a precursor in the present invention” [0061]. This limitation is interpreted as requiring impregnating a carrier with nickel to produce a precursor comprising the nickel supported on the carrier and calcinating the precursor obtained in the impregnation-supporting step. This limitation is further interpreted as requiring continuous operation such that the impregnation-supporting step and the calcinating may take place simultaneously.
Claim 4, lines 2-4, recite “the reverse water-gas shift catalyst produced by the method comprises: an aluminum element and a nickel element, which have a CO adsorption amount of 0.45 mL or less per 1 g of the catalyst.” It is unclear if the adsorption amount is referring to the aluminum and/or nickel elements or the reverse water-gas shift catalyst. This limitation is interpreted as requiring the reverse water-gas shift catalyst comprises an aluminum element and a nickel element, and the reverse water-gas shift catalyst has a CO adsorption amount of 0.45 mL or less per 1 g of the catalyst.
Claim 6, lines 2-3, recite “the reverse water-gas shift catalyst produced by the method comprises an aluminum element and a nickel element, which have a BET surface area of 105 m2 or less”. It is unclear if the BET surface area is referring to the aluminum and/or nickel elements or the reverse water-gas shift catalyst. This limitation is interpreted as requiring the reverse water-gas shift catalyst comprises an aluminum element and a nickel element, and the reverse water-gas shift catalyst has a BET surface area of 105 m2 or less.
Claims 3 and 5 are indefinite as they depend from an indefinite base and fail to cure the deficiencies of the base claim.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 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.
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 2-3 and 5-6 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Ranjbar (“Catalytic activity of rare earth and alkali metal promoted (Ce, La, Mg, K) Ni/Al2O3 nanocatalysts in reverse water gas shift reaction”).
Regarding Claim 2, Ranjbar discloses a method for producing a reverse water-gas shift catalyst (Abstract), the method comprising: preparing an Al2O3 support (Al2O3 support meets the limitation of a carrier containing alumina as a main component; pg. 5127, par. 4), impregnating the support with nickel (impregnating the support with nickel meets the limitation of executing an impregnation-supporting step such that the nickel is supported on the carrier, thereby obtaining a precursor in the impregnation-supporting step), and calcining at a temperature of 600°C (600°C meets the limitation of 600°C or higher; pg. 5127, par. 5-pg. 5128, par. 1).
Regarding Claim 3, Ranjbar further discloses the reverse water-gas shift catalyst comprises a NiAl2O4 crystalline phase (pg. 5129, par. 2; Fig. 2).
Regarding Claim 5, Ranjbar discloses preparing an Al2O3 support (Al2O3 support meets the limitation wherein the catalyst comprises an aluminum element; pg. 5127, par. 4), and impregnating the support with nickel (such that the catalyst comprises a nickel element) (pg. 5127, par. 5-pg. 5128, par. 1).
Ranjbar further discloses Figure 6 shows TEM images of reduced 5Ni/Al2O3 and 5Ni-2K/Al2O3 catalysts, where Ni particles fall in the nanoscale range (pg. 5133, par. 3). Ranjbar illustrates Ni particle sizes of 12.05 nm to 32.51 nm (Fig. 6), such that the nickel has an average crystal particle size of 10 nm or more.
Regarding Claim 6, Ranjbar discloses preparing an Al2O3 support (Al2O3 support meets the limitation wherein the catalyst comprises an aluminum element; pg. 5127, par. 4), and impregnating the support with nickel (such that the catalyst comprises a nickel element) (pg. 5127, par. 5-pg. 5128, par. 1).
Ranjbar further discloses a BET surface area of the 5Ni-2K/Al2O3 reverse water-gas shift catalyst of 103.1 m2 g-1, which meets the limitation of 105 m2 or less. The specification of the present application clarifies the BET surface area units are in m2/g [0069].
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.
Claim 4 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ranjbar (“Catalytic activity of rare earth and alkali metal promoted (Ce, La, Mg, K) Ni/Al2O3 nanocatalysts in reverse water gas shift reaction”) in view of Echigo (US 2023/0114967).
Regarding Claim 4, Ranjbar teaches the elements as described above with regards to claim 2.
Ranjbar discloses preparing an Al2O3 support (Al2O3 support meets the limitation wherein the catalyst comprises an aluminum element; pg. 5127, par. 4), and impregnating the support with nickel (such that the catalyst comprises a nickel element) (pg. 5127, par. 5-pg. 5128, par. 1).
Ranjbar is silent to the catalyst having a CO adsorption amount of 0.45 mL or less per 1 g of the catalyst.
Echigo discloses a method for producing a reverse water-gas shift catalyst by impregnating an alumina carrier with nickel [0156]. Echigo further discloses a Ni/Al2O3 catalyst having an Al2O3 carrier with a CO adsorption amount of 0.01 ml/g (Table 9), which meets the limitation of 0.45 mL or less per 1 g of the catalyst.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Ranjbar to incorporate the teachings of Echigo wherein the catalyst has a CO adsorption amount of 0.45 mL or less per 1 g of the catalyst, because catalysts having a CO adsorption amount of 0.45 mL or less per 1 g of the catalyst is well-known in the art of Ni/Al2O3 reverse water-gas shift catalysts.
Claim 4 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ranjbar (“Catalytic activity of rare earth and alkali metal promoted (Ce, La, Mg, K) Ni/Al2O3 nanocatalysts in reverse water gas shift reaction”) in view of Hoshino (US 2004/0156771).
An alternative rejection of claim 4 is provided in case Echigo does not qualify as prior art.
Regarding Claim 4, Ranjbar teaches the elements as described above with regards to claim 2.
Ranjbar discloses preparing an Al2O3 support (Al2O3 support meets the limitation wherein the catalyst comprises an aluminum element; pg. 5127, par. 4), and impregnating the support with nickel (such that the catalyst comprises a nickel element) (pg. 5127, par. 5-pg. 5128, par. 1).
Ranjbar is silent to the catalyst having a CO adsorption amount of 0.45 mL or less per 1 g of the catalyst.
Hoshino discloses a method of preparing a catalyst [0045]. Hoshino further discloses a catalyst of Ni supported on an Al2O3 carrier with a CO adsorption amount of 0.003 mL/g catalyst (Fig. 2), which meets the limitation of 0.45 mL or less per 1 g of the catalyst.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Ranjbar to incorporate the teachings of Hoshino wherein the catalyst has a CO adsorption amount of 0.45 mL or less per 1 g of the catalyst, because catalysts having a CO adsorption amount of 0.45 mL or less per 1 g of the catalyst is well-known in the art of Ni/Al2O3 catalysts.
Claim 5 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ranjbar (“Catalytic activity of rare earth and alkali metal promoted (Ce, La, Mg, K) Ni/Al2O3 nanocatalysts in reverse water gas shift reaction”).
An alternative rejection of claim 5 is provided in case the nickel of Ranjbar does not meet the limitation of having an average particle size of 10 nm or more.
Alternatively, regarding Claim 5, Ranjbar teaches the elements as described above with regards to claim 2.
Ranjbar discloses preparing an Al2O3 support (Al2O3 support meets the limitation wherein the catalyst comprises an aluminum element; pg. 5127, par. 4), and impregnating the support with nickel (such that the catalyst comprises a nickel element) (pg. 5127, par. 5-pg. 5128, par. 1).
Ranjbar further discloses Figure 6 shows TEM images of reduced 5Ni/Al2O3 and 5Ni-2K/Al2O3 catalysts, where Ni particles fall in the nanoscale range (pg. 5133, par. 3). Ranjbar illustrates Ni particle sizes of 12.05 nm to 32.51 nm (Fig. 6), such that the nickel of Ranjbar has an average crystal particle size which necessarily overlaps or, in the alternative, is close to the claimed range of 10 nm or more such that the range taught by Ranjbar obviates the claimed range. See MPEP 2144.05 (I).
Conclusion
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/S.E.S./Examiner, Art Unit 1735
/PAUL A WARTALOWICZ/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1735
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