CTNF 18/413,452 CTNF 85400 DETAILED ACTION Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status 07-03-aia AIA 15-10-aia 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 § 112 07-30-02 AIA 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. 07-34-01 Claims 1-4 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 1, line 2 describes aluminum oxide and then writes “Al2O3” in parenthesis. It is unclear if this further limits aluminum oxide or is merely an example. For now, it will be treated as an example. Claims 1 and 2 describes a percentage of Rh, but does not describe what this percentage is in terms-of, weight percentage or fraction of Rh particles. It will be treated as either for examination purposes. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103 07-20-aia AIA 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. 07-23-aia AIA 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. 07-20-02-aia AIA 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. 07-21-aia AIA Claim( s) 1, 2, 3, 4 i s/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over M achida et al. “Catalyst Deactivation via Rhodium—Support Interactions under high-temperature oxidizing conditions . . “ . Machida describes a rhodium-supported catalyst (title) using Al2O3 (abstract). Machinda explains that when Rh2O3 on Al2O3 is heated under high-temperature oxidizing conditions, the solid-state reactions between the two compounds results in a peak shift from 309 eV to higher energies (see section 3.3, lines 7-8 to lines 9-10). Rh +3 represents the Rh in Rh2O3 (see section 3.3, lines 7-10). When air-aged, the fraction of Rh +3 incorporation into Al2O3 shifted from 20% to 86% (see section 3.3, lines 8-9). This catalyst is effective as catalyst in the reduction of pollutants in an exhaust stream (see Introduction, para. 1). Therefore, since Machida explains that the degree of Rh dissolution can be increased, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention that the amount of Rhodium dissolved in Al2O3 is adjustable based on the amount of air aging applied. As to Claims 3 and 4, Machida teaches that the amount of Rh added to the supported catalyst is 0.4wt% (see section 2.1, para. 2 and section 2.2, para. 1). A prima facie case of obviousness exists where the claimed ranges and prior art ranges overlap or are close enough that one skilled in the art would have expected them to have the same properties. See MPEP 2144.05 I.” Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to SHENG HAN DAVIS whose telephone number is (571)270-5823. The examiner can normally be reached 9-5:30. 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, Fung Coris can be reached at 571-270-5713. 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. /SHENG H DAVIS/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1732 May 29, 2026 Application/Control Number: 18/413,452 Page 2 Art Unit: 1732 Application/Control Number: 18/413,452 Page 3 Art Unit: 1732 Application/Control Number: 18/413,452 Page 4 Art Unit: 1732 Application/Control Number: 18/413,452 Page 5 Art Unit: 1732 Application/Control Number: 18/413,452 Page 6 Art Unit: 1732
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