DETAILED ACTION
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Claims 5-11 have been amended. Claims 1-12 are pending in the instant application.
Priority
This application is a National Phase Application of International Application Serial No. PCT/JP2022/006771, filed February 18, 2022, which claims the priority to Japan Patent Application No. 2021-099723 filed June 15, 2021.
Information Disclosure Statements
Applicants’ Information Disclosure Statements, filed on 11/15/2023, and 01/22/2024 have been considered. Please refer to Applicant’s copies of the PTO-1449 submitted herewith.
Status of the Claims
Claims 1-12 are under examination on the merits.
Specification
The specification is objected to for containing illegible characters in Table 1. Applicant needs to file an amendment to the specification to replace the Table 1 with a clear version.
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 1-11 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 pre-AIA the applicant regards as the invention.
Specifically, claim 1 is drawn to a copper oxide-containing powder comprising copper (I) oxide, wherein, when the copper oxide-containing powder is subjected to a heat treatment to 400 °C the copper oxide-containing powder comprises pyrolysis residues derived from pitch, in a mass ratio to copper (1) oxide of 0.025 to 0.060%. It seems claim 1 contains two different “copper oxide-containing powders”: 1) the initial copper oxide-containing powder before heat-treatment, and 2) the copper oxide-containing powder after heat-treatment to 400 °C. The two copper oxide-containing powders contain different amounts of components. The phrase "subject to" means that something is controlled by, dependent on, or likely to be affected by a rule, condition, or outside factor, it is not clear whether or not the claimed copper oxide-containing powder is the copper oxide-containing powder before the heat treatment or the one after the heat treatment. Therefore, claim 1 is indefinite. Claims 2-11 depending on claim 1 are rejected, accordingly.
The claimed copper oxide-containing powder is interpreted as “a copper oxide-containing powder comprising a copper (I) oxide and a pyrolysis residues derived from pitch after a heat treatment to 400 °C wherein the mass ratio of the pyrolysis residues to copper (I) oxide is 0.025 to 0.060%”, in light of Table 1 of Applicant’s specification [0060] and instant claim 12.
Allowable subject matter
Claim 12 is allowed.
Reasons for Allowance
Claim 12 is drawn to a method for producing a copper oxide-containing powder comprising pyrolysis residues derived from pitch, the method comprising the steps of: preparing a copper oxide powder, and at least one of pitch and at least one organic substance for generating the pitch by a heat treatment; mixing the copper oxide powder with at least one of the pitch and the organic substance to obtain a pre-heating powder; and subjecting the pre-heating powder to a heat treatment to 400 °C to obtain a copper oxide containing powder comprising pyrolysis residues derived from the pitch.
The closest prior art is JP2020-29392A (“the `392 publication”). The `392 publication [0073] discloses a method for producing a copper oxide-containing powder comprising mixing copper acetate as a copper raw material with a mixed solution of ethylene glycol as a solvent and 2-amino-1-butanol as a surfactant agent to form a copper-complex by ultrasonic dispersion, wherein the molar ratio of Cu to the surfactant is 1:10. To the resulting mixture was added hydrazine monohydrate as a reducing agent, and stirred for 24 hours at room temperature. The resulting product was isolated through centrifugation, washed and purified with toluene and hexane to prepare the final product of copper oxide-containing particle composition. See Example 1 of the `392 publication.
However, the `392 publication does not disclose the claimed method of claim 12 comprising mixing the copper oxide powder with at least one of the pitches and the organic substance to obtain a pre-heating powder; and subjecting the pre-heating powder to a heat treatment to 400 °C to obtain a copper oxide- containing powder comprising pyrolysis residues derived from the pitch. In addition, the `392 publication does not teach the claimed the copper oxide powder. Therefore, claim 12 is allowed. Claims 1-11 are found clear of prior art.
Conclusions
Claim 12 is allowed.
Claims 1-11 are rejected.
Specification is objected to.
Telephone Inquiry
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Yong L. Chu, whose telephone number is (571)272-5759. The examiner can normally be reached on M-F 8:30am-5:00pm.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Amber R. Orlando can be reached on 571-270-3149. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is (571) 273-8300.
/YONG L CHU/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1731
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