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 .
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.
Claim(s) 1-2 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Matsumoto et al (EP3082184).
Regarding claim 1, Matsumoto teaches a metal-catalyst-particle-supporting carbon material for use as a carrier for a solid polymer fuel cell catalyst, The metal catalyst is taught to be (0027). The carbon material is taught to have a BET specific surface area of 600-1500 m2/g. The relative intensity ratio (ID/IG), equivalent to the claimed R-value, is taught to be 1.0-2.0 with the peak intensity ID known as the D-band being in the range of 1200-1400 cm-1 and the peak intensity IG, known as the G-band, being in the range of 1500-1700 cm-1, obtained from the Raman spectrum (abstract). Matsumoto further teaches that inside the catalyst layer, it is important that pores form in the clearances of the component materials for forming diffusion paths for oxidizing gas and reducing gas (0005).
Matsumoto does not explicitly teach the carbon carrier including a micropore area, as claimed.
However, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective date of the claimed invention to recognize that as the electrode of Matsumoto is materially the same, an ordinarily skilled artisan would have expected micropores with a similar micropore area, given the importance of the pores in order to form diffusion paths for oxidizing gas and reducing gas, as taught by Matsumoto.
Regarding claim 2, Matsumoto teaches the material to be used in a solid polymer fuel cell including an MEA having an electrolyte sandwiched between an anode catalyst layer and a cathode catalyst layer (0001-0002) including the catalyst as discussed above.
Conclusion
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/SARAH A. SLIFKA/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1759 August 28, 2026
