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 . This is a first action on the merits of the application. Claims 1-20 are pending.
Claim Objections
Claims 1, 10, 12, 14, 15 and 17-20 are objected to because of the following informalities:
Claim 1 recites “a first layer comprising a polysulfone, a polyvinylpyrrolidone, and a tetramine,” in line 3. It is respectfully suggested to amend the limitation to ““a first layer comprising a polysulfone, a polyvinylpyrrolidone, and a tetramine, and”.
Regarding claim 10, it is respectfully suggested to amend the claim as: “The filtration membrane of claim 1, wherein the filtration membrane has of
Regarding claim 12, it is respectfully suggested to amend the claim as: “The filtration membrane of claim 1, wherein the filtration membrane has a surface roughness of
Regarding claim 14, line 1, it is respectfully suggested to amend the claim as: “The filtration membrane of claim 1, wherein the filtration membrane is made by a process comprising:”.
Regarding claim 15, it is respectfully suggested to amend the claim as: “The method of claim 14, wherein the heating is conducted under a temperature range of from 50 to 120 °C.”
Regarding claim 17, line 2, it is respectfully suggested to amend the claim as: “passing a composition through the filtration membrane recited in of claim 1,”.
Regarding claim 18, line 1, it is respectfully suggested to amend the claim as “The filtration membrane of claim 1, wherein the filtration membrane has a rejection”.
Regarding claim 19, lines 2-3, it is respectfully suggested to amend the claim as: “contacting the filtration membrane with an aqueous acidic solution before passing the
Regarding claim 20, lines 2-3, it is respectfully suggested to amend the claim as: “The method of claim 17, wherein passing the
Appropriate corrections are required.
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 8 and 13 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 regard(s) as the invention.
Claim 8 recites “the vertical hollow tubes” which lacks an antecedent basis. It appears that claim 8 depends on claim 7, not on claim 1 since “the vertical hollow tubes” is recited in claim 7.
Claim 13 recites “a rate of flux” in lines 1-2. This is considered indefinite for the following reason: the nature (e.g., physical properties and/or chemical compositions) of flux is not specified, as a result, it is unclear how “a rate of flux” is estimated as recited. In the Specification of the claimed invention, it is noted that the “flux” refers to “water flux” (page 10, Fig. 15A). Therefore, it is respectfully suggested to amend the claim as, for example but not limited to: “a rate of water flux”.
Allowable Subject Matters and Allowed claims
Claims 1-20 in the instant application are allowed if previously presented objection to claims 1, 10, 12, 14, 15 and 17-20, and 35 U.S.C. 112(b) rejections to claims 8 and 13 are resolved.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter. A thorough search for pertinent prior art did not locate any prior art that discloses or suggests the invention recited in claims 1-20. The concept of a filtration membrane, comprising, in the following order:
a thermoplastic substrate,
a first layer comprising a polysulfone, a polyvinylpyrrolidone, and a tetramine, and
a second layer comprising the tetramine and reacted units of a phthaloyl chloride cross-linked with the tetramine to form a polyamide (claim 1), is considered novel.
A method of nanofiltration, comprising: passing a composition through the filtration membrane recited in claim 1 (claim 17), is considered novel.
The closest prior art to CN112892237B (a foreign reference submitted in the Information Disclosure Statement (IDS) dated 09/13/2023) discloses a polyethylene substrate oxidation resistant reverse osmosis membrane and preparation method thereof, wherein the polyethylene substrate oxidation resistant reverse osmosis membrane comprises a polyvinyl film, a polyamide layer, a PVA layer three-layer composite structure; wherein the polyvinyl film is composed of polyethylene film with hydroxyl group of polymer solution modified hydrophilic modified, and then is coated by PVDF polymer surface.
Other pertinent prior art to CN115532060A (a foreign reference submitted in the Information Disclosure Statement (IDS) dated 09/13/2023) discloses a production process of an ultra-low pressure reverse osmosis membrane and the produced membrane, which comprises the following steps: preparing a supporting layer casting solution; uniformly coating the supporting layer casting solution on a polyester non-woven fabric, and then performing air drying and water washing; preparing a water phase and oil-phase film-casting liquid, acidic substances are added to both the water phase and the oil-phase film-casting liquid; the acidic substance is insoluble in water and only reacts with alkali, and the reaction product is soluble in water.
Other pertinent prior art to KR10-2058631 B1 (a foreign reference submitted in the Information Disclosure Statement (IDS) dated 09/13/2023) discloses a method for preparing a reverse osmosis nanocomposite membrane in which a nanomaterial having a 1D structure is deposited, and a reverse osmosis nanocomposite membrane prepared according to the present invention, wherein a nanomaterial having a 1D structure is deposited in pores of a porous support to remove defects. The manufacturing steps are; firstly dipping the porous support on which the nanomaterial is deposited into a solution containing polyfunctional amine; and immersing the porous support, on which the immersed nanomaterial is deposited, in a polyfunctional acyl halide-containing solution to form a polyamide selective layer. The nanomaterial is dispersed in a solvent, which can be selected under conditions that do not dissolve the support, water, ethanol, methanol, acetone, dimethylformaldehyde (DMF), dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO), N methylpyrrolidone (NMP), pyridine and tetrahydrofuran (THF). The porous support is a coating layer of a polymeric material formed on a nonwoven fabric, the polymeric material is polysulfone, polyethersulfone, polyimide, polyethylene, polypropylene, polyamide, polyetherimide, polyacrylonitrile, polymethylmethacryl, and it may be one selected from the group consisting of latex and polyvinylidene fluoride.
Other pertinent prior art to KR 10-2384030 B1 (a foreign reference submitted in the Information Disclosure Statement (IDS) dated 09/13/2023) discloses a porous support comprising a polysulfone-based polymer matrix and molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) dispersed and fixed in the matrix; and an active layer comprising an amide-based polymer formed on at least a portion of the surface of the porous support, wherein the molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) is a hydrophilic surface-modified molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) nanosheet, an organic solvent nanofiltration membrane to provide.
Other pertinent prior art to Azman et al. (US 12,311,321 В2) discloses an anti-fouling, semi-permeable membrane comprising a porous support layer, a thin film composite (TFC) layer formed on a surface of the support layer, and a cross-linked polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) layer formed on top of the TFC layer, wherein the cross-linked PVA layer is the reaction product of PVA and a cross-linking agent, said cross-linking agent being a polybasic acid comprising three or more acid groups or precursors thereof. The obtained membrane shows a high water flux and a low roughness suitable for an effective membrane notable for feed solution having a tendency of fouling the membrane.
Other pertinent prior art to Gai et al. (US 2021/0060498 A1) discloses a thin film composite (TFC) membrane comprising a support layer and a selective layer, formed of a cross-linked polyamide comprising Na+-functionalised carbon quantum dots (NaCQD), on a surface of the support layer.
Other pertinent prior art to Sahadevan et al. (US 11,724,234 B2) discloses thin film nanocomposites (TFNCs) and methods of preparing the same by molecular layer-by-layer assembly. The TFNCs comprise a porous nanofibrous support first layer coated with a mid-layer having an outer separating layer, wherein the out separating layer has one or more bilayers or trilayers. The TFNCs can be particularly suitable for use as filtration membranes for the separation of dissolved components from fluids such as ultrafiltration, nanofiltration, and reverse osmosis. The first layer comprises one or more polymers and/or oligomers. Suitable polymers and oligomers, include, but are not limited to, cellulose acetate, cellulose, chitosan, chitin, cellulose acetate butyrate, cellulose acetate propionate, polyacrylonitrile, polyvinylalcohol, polysulphone, polyphenylsulfone, and polyethersulfone. The mid-layer comprises a polymer and/or oligomer and optionally a crosslinking agent. The outer layer is selectively deposited and can comprise one or more bilayers or trilayers. The trilayer comprises a polyamide forming a bilayer. Embodiments of the invention can include an additional component forming a trilayer. Suitable additional components, include, but are not limited to, nanoclay, graphene oxide, reduced graphene, fullerenes, element nanoparticles, metal nanoparticles, metalloid nanoparticles, metal oxide nanoparticles, metalloid oxide nanoparticles, polymers, polyelectrolytes, zeolites, carbon nanotubes, ions and ionic groups in the cationic or anionic forms.
Other pertinent prior art to Cheng et al. (WO 2017/099671 A1) discloses a thin film composite hollow fiber membrane comprising: a porous hollow fibre support layer formed of polyethersulfone, polysulfone, polyphenylsulfone, polyacrylonitrile, polyimide, polyether imide, polyamideimde, polyvinylidene fluoride, cellulose triacetate, polyetherketone, polyetheretherketone or a combination thereof, the hollow fibre support layer having a thickness of 100-350 µm; and a selective layer on an outer circumferential surface of the hollow fibre support layer, the selective layer formed of a cross-linked polyamide and having a thickness of 100-500 nm.
Other pertinent prior art to Liu et al. (US 2016/0271571 A1) discloses a high selectivity epoxysilicone-cross-linked polyimide membrane comprising a polyimide polymer with hydroxyl functional groups cross-linked with epoxy functional groups on epoxysilicone polymer.
The cited prior art, alone or in a combination, do not provide any guidance which would lead one to construct a filtration membrane, comprising, in the following order: a thermoplastic substrate, a first layer comprising a polysulfone, a polyvinylpyrrolidone, and a tetramine, and a second layer comprising the tetramine and reacted units of a phthaloyl chloride cross-linked with the tetramine to form a polyamide, as recited in claim 1 of claimed invention.
The cited prior art, alone or in a combination, do not provide any guidance which would lead one to conduct a method of nanofiltration, comprising: passing a composition through the filtration membrane of claim 1, as recited in claim 17 of claimed invention.
Conclusion
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/YOUNGSUL JEONG/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1772