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
Applicant's election with traverse of Group II to claims 10-14 in the reply filed on 6/22/2026 is acknowledged. The traversal is on the ground(s) that the groups are all sufficiently related and thus not a burden on the Examiner. Additionally that by making the Applicant pick an invention, there is no burden on the Applicant in relation to cost. This is not found persuasive because the cost to the Applicant is not a consideration for the Examiner on if there are different inventions being claimed. As per the claim language, there are different embodiments on the invention. While similar, the inventive concepts contain divergent subject matter such that searching, examination and consideration of the inventive concepts to each group puts an undue burden on the Examiner.
The requirement is still deemed proper and is therefore made FINAL.
Claims 1-9 and 15-20 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b), as being drawn to a nonelected inventions, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Applicant timely traversed the restriction (election) requirement in the reply filed on 6/22/2026.
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.
Claims 10-14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by US 2021/0189578 of Liu et al.
As to claim 10, Liu teaches of a deionization device comprising:
a chelator source including a selectively binding ionophore (crown ether) chelator non-binding to hydrogen ions, binding to non-hydrogen ions and forming a complex with the non-hydrogen ions (Liu, [0041], [0050], [0064] – [0065] and Figs. 2A and 2B); and
the deionization device is included in a water recirculation loop of an electrolyzer (Liu, [0041], [0053], [0055] – [0058] and Fig. 1).
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As described in the specification and partially seen in Fig. 1, there is an electrochemical cell (i.e. electrolyzer) such that when a voltage is applied to an electrolyte containing various cations (sodium and lithium ions for instance), the lithium ions are absorbed (bound) by the chelator on the electrode (110). In the electrochemical cell, once the electrode (110) is saturated with lithium, the electrolyte is changed (to a second solution) and a reverse voltage is applied to release the ions from the chelator into the second solution. The second solution is then removed from the cell, the first solution is reintroduced into the cell and the lithium ions are again absorbed into the chelator.
This process is repeated until the second solution has a desired concentration of lithium ions therein, such that the second solution is recirculated into the electrochemical cell each time to collect the lithium ions until the desired concentration is reached.
As to claim 11, Liu teaches the chelator binds a lithium ion in the cavity, thus anticipating the limitation of the claim (Liu, [0064] – [0065]).
As to claim 12, Liu teaches that the chelator is immobilized on a surface of the electrolyzer (i.e. on the electrode) (Liu, [0050]).
As to claim 13, Liu states that the chelator chelates lithium ions, not protons, thus having a selectivity coefficient lower than 1 (Liu, [0041] and Fig. 2A and 2B).
As to claim 14, Liu teaches that the chelator is reusable (Liu, [0053] and [0058]).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to BRIAN W COHEN whose telephone number is (571)270-7961. The examiner can normally be reached M-F: 9 am to 5 pm EST.
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BRIAN W. COHEN
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 1759
/BRIAN W COHEN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1759
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