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 .
Claim Rejections – 35 U.S.C. § 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 of this title, 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.
Claims 1-7, 9-11, and 15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 103 as being unpatentable over US 2001/0021756 A1 (herein “Noda”) in view of 2022/0064340 A1 (herein “Mishra”).
As to claims 1 and 6: Noda describes processes for preparing a fluoropolymer (see the abstract). Noda describes an example of a method (see Example 1 in ¶¶ [0025]-[0026]) comprising polymerizing fluoromonomers in the presence of a fluorine-containing surfactant, a polymerization initiator, and an aqueous medium to prepare a dispersion (see ¶ [0025]). The unreacted monomer mixture is removed from the reactor (see ¶ [0026]).
Noda does not disclose the presently recited steps of adding a radical generator to the dispersion and subjecting it to a heat treatment.
Mishra discloses methods for forming acrylic emulsions (see the abstract). Mishra discloses that a chaser is added to the reaction mixture at a third predetermined temperature, the polymerization is then allowed to complete, and the chaser can potentially scavenge any unreacted monomer (see ¶ [0038]). Mishra discloses that the third temperature may be from about 40 °C to about 70 °C (id.), corresponding to the presently recited heat treatment. Mishra discloses that the radical initiators set forth therein can be used for the chaser (see ¶ [0041]).
In light of Mishra, one of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to add a chaser (radical initiator) to Noda’s dispersion and subject it to a heat treatment at about 40 °C to about 70 °C in order to scavenge unreacted monomer.
As to claims 2-3: Mishra further discloses various water-soluble radical generators and generators having a decomposition temperature lower than the cited third temperature of about 70 °C (see ¶ [0041]).
As to claim 4: Mishra discloses inorganic peroxides such as potassium persulfate and others (see ¶ [0041]).
As to claim 5: The cited process of Noda yields 445 g of polymer after drying (see ¶ [0026]), and because the sum of the amounts of ingredients added into the reactor is less than 44,500 g (see ¶ [0025]), the content of the fluoropolymer in the dispersion must be greater than 1% by mass.
As to claim 7: Mishra further discloses a treatment step of allowing the mixture to cool (see the end of ¶ [0038]).
As to claims 9: Noda further discloses a step of coagulating the polymer (see ¶ [0026]).
As to claim 10: Noda further discloses a fluorine-containing surfactant according to the presently recited chemical formula (see ¶ [0025]).
As to claim 11: Because the combination of Noda and Mishra as set forth above would result in the treatment of residual fluoromonomers with various water-soluble radical generators, there is a reasonable basis to conclude that the combination of Noda and Mishra as set forth above would result in the same water-soluble low-molecular weight compounds for the same reason that they occur in the present invention.
As to claim 15: Noda discloses TFE and HFP (see ¶ [0025]).
Claim Rejections – 35 U.S.C. § 112(b)
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.
Claims 11-14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 112(b) as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
Claim 11 refers to the method of base claim 1 and subsequently recites a limitation regarding “the fluoropolymer composition having a reduced content of the water-soluble, fluorine-containing compound”. Base claim 1 does not recite a fluoropolymer composition having a reduced content of a water-soluble, fluorine-containing compound; and therefore, the reference in claim 11 to “the fluoropolymer composition having a reduced content of the water-soluble, fluorine-containing compound” lacks proper antecedent basis.
Claims 12-14 are dependent upon claim 11, and they are indefinite for the same reason.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 8 is objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but it would be allowable if written in independent form.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to RICHARD A. HUHN whose telephone number is (571)270-7345. The examiner can normally be reached Monday through Friday, 9 AM to 6 PM EST.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Arrie (Lanee) Reuther can be reached at (571) 270-7026. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/RICHARD A. HUHN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1764