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 .
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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 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(s) 51-70 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over WO2021026416A1 see abstract; paragraphs [0006] -[0029], [0075], [0095] [0119]-[0123] and claims; in view of USPub20070246406 see abstract, paragraphs 13-17, 49.
Clam 51 is directed to a method for extracting contaminants from a contaminated polymer compound, the method comprising: dissolving the contaminated polymer compound using a given solvent, thereby obtaining a dissolved polymer mixture; microfiltering the dissolved polymer mixture to remove non-soluble impurities having a size larger than a size of the target polymer from the dissolved polymer mixture, thereby obtaining a permeate microfiltered polymer solution; diafiltering the permeate microfiltered polymer solution, thereby obtaining a retentate diafiltered solution and a permeate diafiltered solution; using at least a portion of the permeate diafiltered solution as a further solvent for said dissolving the contaminated polymer compound; and extracting the given solvent from the retentate diafiltered solution, thereby obtaining a feedstock of the target polymer.
WO2021026416A1 discloses dissolving a contaminated polymer in a solvent, microfiltering the dissolved polymer mixture to remove nonsoluble impurities and recovering the polymer by removing solvent. More specifically, the reference discloses a method of recovering sulfopolyester from a composite material, wherein the method comprises: dissolving the contaminated polymer compound (sulfopolyester) using a given solvent, thereby obtaining a dissolved polymer mixture microfiltering the dissolved polymer mixture to remove non-soluble impurities having a size larger than a size of the target polymer from the dissolved polymer mixture. See abstract; paragraphs [0006], [0013]-[0014], [0029], [0075], [0095] and claims; thereby obtaining a permeate microfiltered polymer solution. See paragraphs [0065]-[0066); and extracting the given solvent from the permeate microfiltered polymer solution, thereby obtaining a feedstock of the target polymer. See paragraphs [0119]-[0123]. WO2021026416A1 teaches a system. See Fig. 2 for extracting contaminants from a contaminated polymer compound (sulfopolyester), comprising: a dissolving unit (200) for dissolving the contaminated polymer compound using a given solvent to obtain a dissolved polymer mixture; a microfiltering unit (500) fluidly connected to the dissolving unit for receiving the dissolved polymer mixture therefrom, an extracting unit (600) fluidly connected to the microfiltering unit for extracting the given solvent from the permeate microfiltered polymer solution, thereby obtaining a feedstock of the target polymer. Furthermore, WO2021026416A1 teaches the polymer comprises an oligomer. See paragraph 0074.
However, WO2021026416A1 does not disclose diafiltering the microfiltered polymer solution, using the diafiltered permeate as a solvent for dissolving additional contaminated polymer or recovering solvent from the diafiltered retentate.
USPub20070246406 discloses a heat exchange system to improve operating temperature control within the system. See paragraph [0016]. The reference teaches multistage membrane filtration including microfiltration, diafiltration and permeate recycling to improve purification and process efficiency. See paragraphs [85], [0116], [0164], [0169], [0194],[0201],0219-[0221].
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the process of WO2021026416A1 to incorporate the diafiltration and permeate recycling taught by USPub20070246406 to further remove dissolved impurities, improve polymer purity, and increase process efficiency.
Clam 52 is directed to the method of claim 51, wherein said extracting the given solvent comprises heating the retentate diafiltered solution at a temperature at least equal to a fusion temperature of the target polymer.
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention since USPub20070246406 discloses improving temperature control within the membrane filtration system which would allow a skilled artisan to select a temperature for the polymer to be treated.
Clam 53 is directed to the method of claim 51, further comprising extracting the given solvent from the permeate diafiltered solution, thereby obtaining first soluble impurities.
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention since WO2021026416A1 discloses diafiltration and USPub20070246406 discloses recovery and separation of the components which make the recovering of the soluble impurities from the permeate to be obvious to the skilled artisan.
Clam 54 is directed to the method of claim 53, wherein the first soluble impurities comprise first additives.
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention since the additives are soluble impurities recovered by the process taught by the references.
Clam 55 is directed to the method of claim 51, wherein said diafiltering the permeate microfiltered polymer solution comprises: ultrafiltering the permeate microfiltered polymer solution to remove soluble impurities having a size smaller than the size of the target polymer from the permeate microfiltered polymer mixture, thereby obtaining a retentate ultrafiltered polymer solution and a permeate ultrafiltered solution; and diafiltering the retentate ultrafiltered polymer solution to obtain the retentate diafiltered solution and the permeate diafiltered solution.
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention since USPub20070246406 discloses multistage membrane filtration including ultrafiltration and diafiltration for separating soluble impurities and improving purification.
Clam 56 is directed to the method of claim 55, further comprising using at least a portion of the permeate ultrafiltered solution as an additional solvent for said dissolving the contaminated polymer compound.
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention since USPub20070246406 discloses recycling permeate within the filtration system for continued processing.
Clam 57 is directed to the method of claim 55, further comprising extracting the given solvent from the permeate ultrafiltered solution, thereby obtaining second soluble impurities.
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention since USPub20070246406 discloses .recovering permeate streams continuing separated components during membrane filtration.
Clam 58 is directed to the method of claim 51, wherein the contaminated polymer compound comprises the target polymer and at least one further polymer, and the given solvent is chosen so as to dissolve only the target polymer, said microfiltering the dissolved polymer mixture allowing to remove the at least one further polymer from the dissolved polymer mixture.
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention since WO2021026416A1 discloses selecting process conditions to recover the polymer while separating impurities from the dissolved polymer mixture.
Clam 59 is directed to the method of claim 58, wherein the target polymer comprises an oligomer.
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention since WO2021026416A1 since recovering sulfopolyester, including oligomer polymer materials.
Clam 60 is directed to the method of claim 59, wherein the oligomer has a molecular size being at least one order of magnitude greater than soluble impurities contained in the contaminated polymer compound.
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention since selection of an oligomer having a molecular size greater than the soluble impurities is an inherent result of the membrane separation process taught by the combined references.
Clam 61 is directed to a system for extracting contaminants from a contaminated polymer compound, the system comprising: a dissolving unit for dissolving the contaminated polymer compound using a given solvent to obtain a dissolved polymer mixture; a microfiltering unit fluidly connected to the dissolving unit for receiving the dissolved polymer mixture therefrom, the microfiltering unit being configured for microfiltering the dissolved polymer mixture to remove non-soluble impurities having a size larger than a size of the target polymer from the dissolved polymer mixture to obtain a permeate microfiltered polymer solution; a diafiltering unit fluidly connected between the microfiltering unit, the diafiltering unit being configured for diafiltering the permeate microfiltered polymer solution to obtain a diafiltered retentate and a diafiltered permeate, the extracting unit being configured for extracting the given solvent from the diafiltered retentate; and an extracting unit fluidly connected to the diafiltering unit for extracting the given solvent from the diafiltered retentate solution, thereby obtaining a feedstock of the target polymer, wherein the diafiltering unit is fluidly connected to the dissolving unit for using at least a portion of the permeate diafiltered solution as a further solvent for dissolving the contaminated polymer compound.
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention since WO2021026416A1 discloses the basic polymer recovery system including dissolving, microfiltration, diafiltration, and solvent extraction, and USPub20070246406 discloses incorporating diafiltration and permeate recycling into a multistage membrane filtration system to improve purification and process efficiency.
Clam 62 is directed to the system of claim 61, wherein the extracting unit is configured for heating the diafiltered retentate at a temperature at least equal to a fusion temperature of the target polymer.
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention since heating to extract solvent is a routine process parameter.
Clam 63 is directed to the system of claim 61, further comprising an extraction unit for extracting the given solvent from the permeate diafiltered solution to obtain first soluble impurities.
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention since WO2021026416A1 discloses extracting solvent from the diafiltered permeate and USPub20070246406 discloses permeate recycling and withdrawal for further processing.
Clam 64 is directed to the system of claim 63, wherein the first soluble impurities comprise additives.
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention since identifying the recovered soluble impurities as additives would also have been obvious absent evidence of unexpected results. WO2021026416A1 and USPub20070246406.
Clam 65 is directed to the system of claim 61, further comprising an ultrafiltering unit fluidly connected between the microfiltering unit and the diafiltering unit, wherein the ultrafiltering unit is configured for ultrafiltering the permeate microfiltered polymer solution to remove soluble impurities having a size smaller that the size of the target polymer from the permeate microfiltered polymer mixture and obtain a retentate ultrafiltered polymer solution and a permeate ultrafiltered solution, and wherein the diafiltering unit is configured for diafiltering the retentate ultrafiltered polymer solution to obtain the retentate diafiltered solution and the permeate diafiltered solution.
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention adding an ultrafiltration stage between microfiltration and diafiltration is supported by the multistage membrane system of USPub20070246406.
Clam 66 is directed to the system of claim 65, wherein the ultrafiltering unit is fluidly connected to the dissolving unit for using at least a portion of the permeate ultrafiltered solution as an additional solvent for dissolving the contaminated polymer compound.
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention using the permeate as an additional solvent is supported by the recycling disclosure of USPub20070246406.
Clam 67 is directed to the system of claim 65, further comprising an extracting unit extracting the given solvent from the permeate ultrafiltered solution to obtain second soluble impurities.
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention since WO2021026416A1 discloses solvent extraction and USPub20070246406 discloses recycling and withdrawing permeate streams for further processing and thus an obvious modification.
Claim 68 is directed to the system of claim 61, wherein the contaminated polymer compound comprises the target polymer and at least one further polymer, and the given solvent is chosen so as to dissolve only the target polymer, the microfiltering unit being configured for removing the at least one further polymer from the dissolved polymer mixture.
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention since selecting a solvent that dissolves only the polymer is routine.
Clam 69 is directed to the system of claim 68, wherein the target polymer comprises an oligomer.
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention since selecting an oligomer as the polymer would have been an obvious choice.
Clam 70 is directed to the system of claim 69, wherein the oligomer has a molecular size being at least one order of magnitude greater than soluble impurities contained in the contaminated polymer compound.
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention since selecting an oligomer having a molecular size greater than the soluble impurities would have been routine optimization
In conclusion, in view of the above, there appears to be no significant difference between the reference(s) and that which is claimed by applicant(s). Any differences not specifically mentioned appear to be conventional. Consequently, the claimed invention cannot be deemed as unobvious and accordingly is unpatentable.
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.
Claim 54 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 limitation “first additives” renders the claim indefinite because it is unclear what distinguished the recited “first additives’ from any other additives.
Information Disclosure Statement
Note that any future and/or present information disclosure statements must comply with 37 CFR § 1.98(b), which requires a list of the publications to include: the author (if any), title, relevant pages of the publication, date and place of publication to be submitted for consideration by the Office.
Improper Claim Dependency
Prior to allowance, any dependent claims should be rechecked for proper dependency if independent claims are cancelled.
Correspondence
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to TERRESSA M BOYKIN whose telephone number is (571)272-1069. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 7-5:30.
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, Heidi Kelley can be reached at 571 270-1831. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/Terressa Boykin/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1765
Prosecution Insights