CTNF 18/462,843 CTNF 101883 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 § 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. 07-20-02-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 1-14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Funakawa et al. (US 2020/0102662 A1), as evidenced by JIS B 0601:2001 . Regarding claims 1-4, Funakawa teaches an electrode support material comprising fibers (para. 0305: as metal nonwoven fabric or wire mesh; para. 0287: reference to fiber diameter) with a surface roughness between 0.05 and 50 μm (para. 0309: substrate equivalent to support). However, Funakawa does not teach that first or second sampling length is one-fifth of the average diameter of the metal fibers observed in an in-plane direction or lateral direction, nor that the third sampling length is half of said diameter observed in a lateral direction. The sampling method used by Funakawa, JIS B 0601:2001, disclosed as “JIS 2001”, utilizes a λ c of 800 μm (Funakawa paras. 2259-2265, as 0.8 mm). The sampling length for roughness, l r , is numerically equivalent to λ c (JIS B 0601:2001, p. 7, 3.1.9 sampling length l p , l r , l w .) However, the λ s, or characteristic wavelength of the smallest resolvable features (p. 4, 3.1.1.1 λ s profile filter) used is 2.5 μm (Funakawa para. 2263). By decreasing the λ c of the measuring tool towards the λ s , it is obvious to one skilled in the art to achieve sampling lengths l p , or L as used in the present application, which are one-fifth of the average diameter of the metal fibers from an in-plane or lateral direction, or half of the diameter of the metal fibers in a lateral direction. The calculated mean surface roughness may differ as a result, but one would be motivated to modify the roughness of the substrate to increase the total surface area to improve contact between the substrate and the first layer(s) deposited on one or both sides (para. 0309). It is obvious to one skilled in the art to make such an improvement to find the optimal substrate roughness for adhesion of the first layer(s), to prevent separation of the electrode components. See MPEP § 2144.05(II). Regarding claims 5 and 6, Funakawa teaches that the support fibers of claim 1 may comprise “valve metals including titanium” (para. 0300, as “substrate for electrode”). Regarding claim 7, the substrate fiber diameter of one embodiment is 60 μm, within the claimed range of 1-500 μm (para. 2474; Example 21). Regarding claims 8-14, the support taught by Funakawa is used in an electrode also comprising a catalyst layer (para. 0280), which is used in a membrane electrode assembly (MEA) when combined with an electrolyte membrane (Fig. 26; para. 0814: membrane electrode assembly, elsewhere as “laminate;” para. 0535: structure of the laminate includes an equivalent ion membrane). The MEA described therein is used in an electrolytic cell, equivalent to an electrochemical cell (para. 0138: Fig. 5). Electrolytic cells or MEAs may be combined in series to form stacks, in which the cells are separated by membranes, and these stacks are used in electrolyzers as is known in the art (para. 0503; Fig 7, element 1: electrolytic cells, element 2: cation exchange membranes) . Conclusion 07-96 AIA The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Fobel et al. (CA 2,927,289) teaches a fibrous substrate for an electrode characterized by its roughness. Iida et al. (US 2019/0296380 A1) teaches an electrode, MEA, electrochemical cell, and stack comprising an electrode with a titanium fiber substrate . Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Colton B. Forry whose telephone number is (571)272-8873. The examiner can normally be reached Monday through Friday, 7:30 AM-5:00 PM ET. 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, Michael Barr can be reached at 571-272-1414. 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. /CBF/Examiner, Art Unit 1711 /MICHAEL E BARR/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 1711 Application/Control Number: 18/462,843 Page 2 Art Unit: 1711 Application/Control Number: 18/462,843 Page 3 Art Unit: 1711 Application/Control Number: 18/462,843 Page 4 Art Unit: 1711 Application/Control Number: 18/462,843 Page 5 Art Unit: 1711
