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 .
DETAILED ACTION
Claims 1-8 of T. Fukumoto, et al., US 18/566,239 (12/01/2023) are pending.
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55. However, a certified English translation of the foreign application is not filed. Should applicant desire to obtain the benefit of foreign priority under 35 U.S.C. 119(a)-(d) prior to declaration of an interference, a certified English translation of the foreign application must be submitted in reply to this action. 37 CFR 41.154(b) and 41.202(e). Failure to provide a certified translation may result in no benefit being accorded for the non-English application.
Election/Restrictions
Claims 1-4 withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected Group I, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election was made without traverse in the reply filed on 07/16/2026.
The restriction requirement is made as Final.
Claims 5-8 are under examination on merits and are rejected.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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.
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 5-6 and 8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102 (a)(1) as being anticipated by H. Tomomichi, et al, JP2012140471A (2012)(“Tomomichi”). Tomomichi is published in Japanese, a copy of machine translation is attached as a second part of the reference, which results the total page of the full reference is 27. The format for citation of Tomomichi is xx/27.
Tomomichi teaches a method for purifying methacrylic acid by a crystallization operation using a suspension-type cooling crystallization tank, in which the temperature of a crystallization raw material is lowered to less than the solid-liquid equilibrium temperature of the crystallization raw material, and then the temperature of a slurry containing precipitated crystals is raised to the solid-liquid equilibrium temperature or more, held, and lowered again to less than the solid-liquid equilibrium temperature. Tomomichi at page 16/27, [0015]..
Regarding the suspension-type cooling crystallization tank, Tomomichi teaches that:
As the suspension-type cooling crystallization tank, a stirring tank-type crystallization apparatus (hereinafter, referred to as a suspension-type jacket-cooling crystallization tank) which includes a stirring tank and a cooler having a cooling jacket for bringing a cooling medium into contact with the circumferential surface of the stirring tank from the outside, cools the inside of the stirring tank by heat exchange using the circumferential surface of the stirring tank as a heat transfer surface, and can hold a suspension crystal slurry in the tank is preferable.
Tomomichi at page 18/27, [0025], line 2-9, emphasis added.
Thus, Tomomichi teaches one ordinary skill in the art that when a stirring tank-type crystallization apparatus is used, the crystallization mixture is cooled or heated through cooling or heating of the circumferential surface of the stirring tank from outside.
Tomomichi teaches working Examples, such as Example 1 as indicated below:
Crude methacrylic acid A containing the impurity shown in Table 1 and ethanol (second component) were mixed to prepare a crystallization starting material containing 12. 5mol% of ethanol. The solid-liquid equilibrium temperature (Te) of this crystallization raw material was measured in advance and found to be 7.11 ºC. The solid-liquid equilibrium temperature (Te) was measured by the freezing point method.
. . .
[0039]The crystallization starting material was placed 80ml in a suspension-type jacket-cooled crystallization tank made of glass, and a coolant having a preset temperature of 8.11°C. (Te + 1°C.) was passed through the jacket under stirring conditions with a small stirrer, followed by holding for 10 minutes. Next, the crystallization starting material was cooled for 30 minutes at a target temperature 1 (Tt1) of 5.11° C (Te-2°C.) and a set value of the cooling-down rate of the coolant of - 6.0°C. / hr. When the temperature of the crystallization raw material measured in the crystallization tank reached 6.7ºC., precipitation (nucleation) of crystals was observed, and the temperature temporarily increased. After the set value of the coolant reached the target temperature 1 (Tt1), the holding temperature (Th) was set to 7.21 ºC. (Te + 0.1ºC.), the set value of the heating rate of the coolant was set to 12.0ºC / hr, and the temperature of the slurry was raised for 10 minutes. After the set value of the cooling medium reached the holding temperature(Th), holding was performed at this set temperature for 20 minutes. After the completion of the holding, the presence of the internal seed crystal in the crystallization vessel was visually confirmed from the outside of the apparatus. Thereafter, the crystallization material was recooled for 60 minutes with the target temperature 2 (Tt2) set to 6.11°C. (Te -1.0°C.) and the set value of the recooling rate of the coolant set to - 1.0 °C / hr. A list of operating conditions is given in Table 2. FIG. 1 shows changes in the temperature of the cooling medium in the cooling jacket (jacket temperature) and the temperature of the crystallization raw material or slurry in the crystallization vessel (temperature in the vessel).
[0040]Thereafter, the aspect ratio of the obtained crystal was measured. The results are shown in Table 2. The aspect ratio of the crystal was calculated by analyzing a digital image taken from the outside of the glass suspension-type jacket-cooled crystallization tank. The number of crystal samples used for the analysis was 50, and the average value of their aspect ratios was taken as the aspect ratio of the crystal.
Tomomichi at page 21/27-22/27, Example 1.
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Tomomichi Figure 1 at page 12/27.
To summarize, the Tomomichi Example 1 method comprises:
(i).Feeding a methacrylic acid-containing solution or a slurry containing crystals of methacrylic acid into a crystallization tank, while Tomomichi does not specify, it is clear that the crystallization starting material contacts with an inner wall surface of the crystallization tank; and
(ii). Heating an area of the inner wall surface with which the methacrylic acid -containing solution or a slurry containing crystals of methacrylic acid is brought into contacts.
Wherein, the suspension-type jacket-cooled crystallization tank is capable of keeping crystals of methacrylic acid suspended therein. Which meets each and every active steps recited by claim 5-6 and 8, therefore, claims 5-6 and 8 are anticipated.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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.
Claims 5-7 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over H. Tomomichi, et al, JP2012140471A (2012)(“Tomomichi”).
As mentioned in the 102 rejection above that Tomomichi teaches a method meeting each and every limitation of claims 56.
The Tomomichi method differs from the instant claim 7 in that Tomomichi does not specify that methacrylic acid included in his crystallization starting material is produced from at least one of raw material claimed by the instant claim 7. However, with regards methacrylic acid, Tomomichi teaches that:
Crude methacrylic acid can be produced by various methods such as a direct oxidation method and an ACH method. Examples of the method for producing such crude methacrylic acid include the following methods. A reaction gas is obtained by a direct oxidation method in which one compound selected from the group consisting of isobutylene, tertiary butyl alcohol, methacrolein and isobutyraldehyde is subjected to catalytic gas phase oxidation with molecular oxygen by a one stage or two stage reaction. . . .
Tomomichi at page 16/27-17/27, [0019].
Thus, Tomomichi fairly teaches one ordinary skill in the art that his method can be used to purify methacrylic acid produced from direct oxidation of isobutylene or methacrolein.
It would have been obvious to one ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to arrive at the claimed inventio because one ordinary skill in the art is motivated to use the method taught by Tomomichi (such as Example 1) to purify methacrylic acid produced by a direct oxidation of isobutylene or methacrolein, thus arrive at a method meeting each and every limitation of claims 57, therefore, claims 57 are obvious. One ordinary skill in the art has a motivation to do so with a reasonable expectation of success because Tomomichi teaches that his method can be applied for crude methacrylic acid produced by various methods such as direct oxidation of isobutylene or methacrolein; and the Tomomichi method can provide methacrylic acid crystals having good crystal surface washability and a low aspect ratio. Tomomichi at Tomomichi at page 16/27-17/27, [0019] and 15/27, [0011].
Related Prior Art
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. JP2014008457A discloses a crystallization method characterized in that “In the middle of a crystallization operation in which a liquid (A) containing a raw material is indirectly cooled by a heat medium (X) via a cooling surface of a crystallizer to obtain a suspension (B) containing crystals of the raw material, the heat medium (X) is switched to a heat medium (Y) having a higher temperature than the heat medium (X) to interrupt the crystallization operation, and a melting operation of melting at least scale at an interface with the cooling surface among scales adhering to the cooling surface by the heat medium (Y) to remove the scale adhering to the cooling surface is performed, and then the heat medium (Y) is switched to a heat medium (Z) having a lower temperature than the heat medium (Y) to resume the crystallization operation”. See JP2014008457A at 20/36, [0010].
Conclusion
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/FRANK S. HOU/Examiner, Art Unit 1692
/SCARLETT Y GOON/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 1693
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