DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
This Office action is based on the amendment filed 10 September 2026 for the 18/429,460 application, which is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
The amendment to claim 1, the cancellation of claim 2, and the addition of claim 21 are noted.
Claims 1 and 3-21 are pending and have been fully considered.
Response to Amendment
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 15-18 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.
Regarding claims 15-18, it is not clear how the third catalytic region differs from the first or second catalytic regions since the materials of the third catalytic region may be the same as either the first or second catalytic regions. Consequently, in keeping with a broadest reasonable interpretation of the claims, the Examiner assumes as much.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments regarding claim 15 filed 10 September 2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
Applicant has argued “[t]o the extent that the Office has concluded that the claims are broad enough to embrace embodiments in which the second catalytic region has the same composition as the first catalytic region, then the Applicant does not disagree with this interpretation of the claims. However, any suggestion on the part of the Office that, because the claims embrace the same compositions for both the first and second catalytic regions, the claims can be read to mean that the ‘third catalytic region’ and the ‘first catalytic region’/’second catalytic region’ necessarily refer to the same element, i.e., that a single catalytic region can be both the third region and the first or second region, would be illogical and not in keeping with examination guidelines. For example, if a claim were to be directed to an automobile and recited that the vehicle contained a ‘first tire’ and a ‘third tire’, and embraced situations in which the first tire comprised rubber and the third tire comprised rubber, it would not be logical to interpret the claim such that the ‘first tire’ and the ‘third tire’ are the same element merely because the composition of the respective tires can be the same. The Office's suggestion that Applicant's claim could be interpreted in this manner is likewise improper.”
Applicant’s argument is not persuasive because it makes a premise in the form of an analogy to support a conclusion. However, the analogy is flawed; thus, the conclusion does not necessarily follow from the premise (analogy) and the argument, therefore, is not persuasive. The flaw in the analogy is that an automobile, by definition, and, therefore, necessity, has at least three tires (and, typically, four). A catalyst, by definition, does not necessarily have any more than one catalytic zone.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1, 3-14, and 19-21 are allowed.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: See prior non-final Office action and the arguments concerning claim 1 submitted on 10 September 2026.
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to BRIAN A MCCAIG whose telephone number is (571)270-5548. The examiner can normally be reached Monday to Friday 8 to 4:30 Mountain Time.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, In Suk Bullock can be reached at 571-272-5954. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/BRIAN A MCCAIG/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1772
13 October 2026
