DETAILED ACTION
Status of Claims
Claims 1-12 are pending.
Claims 4-5 and 7-9 are withdrawn from consideration.
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 .
Election/Restrictions
Applicant's election with traverse of Group I in the reply filed on 8 June 2026 is acknowledged. The traversal is on the ground(s) that unity of invention does exist between Groups I-III because there is technical relationship that involves the same special technical feature and that a search of all the claims would not impose a serious burden on the Office. This is not found persuasive because Groups I-III do lack unity of invention as indicated on page 4 of the requirement for restriction. Briefly, the technical feature does not make a contribution over the prior art. Additionally, a search burden does exist since the device is broadly presented, overlapping in multiple subject matter areas. The method claims require further searching as to the method steps presented.
The requirement is still deemed proper and is therefore made FINAL.
Drawings
The drawings are objected to because Figure 2 labels some elements with a numerical reference and text, but does not label all elements with a numerical reference and therefore is inconsistently presented. Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. The figure or figure number of an amended drawing should not be labeled as “amended.” If a drawing figure is to be canceled, the appropriate figure must be removed from the replacement sheet, and where necessary, the remaining figures must be renumbered and appropriate changes made to the brief description of the several views of the drawings for consistency. Additional replacement sheets may be necessary to show the renumbering of the remaining figures. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
Claim Objections
Claim 1 is objected to because of the following informalities: the phrase “a cathode that configured” may be more appropriately written as “a cathode that is configured”. Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim(s) 1 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Hunegnaw et al. (US 2020/0216968).
Regarding claim 1, Hunegnaw discloses a solid electrolyte device [0003], [0069], [0173], [0189] (= a solid-electrolyte electrolytic device), comprising
A cathode (e.g. 1020) (abstract, [0156]) (= a cathode that configured to perform a reduction reaction);
An anode (e.g. 1040) (abstract, [0156]) (= an anode that constitutes one pair of electrodes together with the cathode);
Anode water which is flowed to the anode or at the anode [0090], [0094] (= an electrolytic solution that is in contact with the anode and is configured to support an oxidation-reduction reaction);
A solid electrolyte [0069] (= a solid electrolyte that is disposed between the cathode and the anode); and
An anode subsystem including water reservoir (921) configured to deliver pure water to the anode water line that can dilute solutes or other components in the circulating anode water (Figure 9) [0118] (= a refresh unit configured to supply a recovery liquid for diluting or replacing the electrolytic solution to the anode). Hunegnaw discloses that water reservoir is configured to supply water having a composition that is different from that in the anode water reservoir and circulating in the anode water recirculation loop [0118]. Since Hunegnaw discloses the recovery liquid as pure water or deionized water it necessarily has a lower concentration of a cation (i.e. no concentration) identical to a cation comprised in the salt than the electrolytic solution. Regarding the claimed “to remove a salt precipitated between the cathode and the solid electrolyte” Hunegnaw discloses that in some cases the salt concentration in the anode water is sufficiently high that it promotes salt precipitation in the membrane electrode assembly MEA [0136]. The claimed phrasing is directed towards the intended use of the refresh unit. Hunegnaw discloses the same structural elements and materials including the claimed refresh unit as claimed therefore reasonably anticipates claim 1.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
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.
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.
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.
Claim(s) 2-3, 6 and 10-12 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hunegnaw et al. (US 2020/0216968) in view of Cowley et al. (US 5,932,085).
Regarding claims 2 and 10-12, Hunegnaw discloses wherein the anode water includes NaOH and water [0104].
Hunegnaw does not disclose the anode water comprising a phosphate buffer or borate buffer.
In the field of electrochemical devices, Cowley discloses including any suitable pH buffer such as phosphate buffer included in the anodic compartment for moderating pH changes (Col. 5 lines 19-33). Cowley additionally discloses the use of other pH buffers such as borate (Col. 9 lines 24-31).
Before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to produce a device comprising phosphate buffer or borate buffer because Cowley discloses in the same or similar field utilizing phosphate and borate as pH buffers.
Regarding claims 3 and 6, in the instant claims the anode subsystem reads on the claimed refresh unit. The anode water at the anode reads on the claimed electrolyte solution and the solution that is a combination of the anode water and the water reservoir contents reads on the claimed recovery liquid. The recovery liquid of Hunegnaw has the contents of the anode water in a diluted state since the water from the water reservoir is mixed with the anode water reservoir contents (Figure 9). Given this scenario, the recovery liquid would necessarily have the same contents of the anode water, but at a varying concentration. Thus, the recovery liquid would include NaOH, phosphate buffer and borate buffer.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
US 2019/0085477 – precipitation of an electrolyte
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/Stefanie S Wittenberg/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1795
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