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 § 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 3 and 6 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b)/2nd par. as indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Claim 3 recites cooling the (water-comprising) mixture to -78oC to 100oC, but 100oC is the BP of water. As such, i) if the mixture were already above 100oC, it would comprise steam rather than water, and ii) at 100oC, at least some water would be present as steam and thus not be removed by claim 1’s “removing water” step. These internal inconsistencies/contradictions within claim 3 create confusion as to the claimed scope and how to avoid infringement thereof, rendering claim 3 rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b)/2nd par. as indefinite. See Trs. of Columbia Univ. v. Symantec Corp., 811 F.3d 1359, 1366-67 (Fed. Cir. 2016) (stating that an internally contradictive/inconsistent claim is indefinite and thus properly rejected as such under 35 U.S.C. 112(b)/2nd par.), and Multilayer Stretch Cling Film Holdings, Inc. v. Berry Plastics Corp., 831 F.3d 1350, 1362 (Fed. Cir. 2016) (citing Columbia v. Symantec).
Claim 6 recites “wherein an atmosphere in the quartz vessel is one of an inert gas or a vacuum”, but a vacuum is defined as the absence of an atmosphere. The foregoing creates an internal inconsistency/contradiction within claim 6, and thus confusion as to the claimed scope and how to avoid infringement thereof, rendering claim 6 rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b)/2nd par. as indefinite. Trs. of Columbia Univ. v. Symantec Corp.; Multilayer Stretch Cling Film Holdings, Inc. v. Berry Plastics Corp.
Allowable and Potentially Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1-2, 4-5, and 7-9 are allowable over the prior art and do not suffer from any deficiencies under 35 U.S.C. § 101 or § 112. The following is an Examiner’s statement of reasons for allowance: regarding independent claim 1, the most pertinent prior art of record appears to be CN116409788A (published 7/11/23) (incl. English machine transl’n) (“’788”). Regarding claim 1, ‘788 discloses a method comprising drying a mixed solution via freeze drying and CO2 supercritical drying to give a xerogel, which is then heated in a quartz boat to 900oC to obtain graphene. See ‘788 at, e.g., boxed area. Claim 1 has been allowed over ‘788, however, because ‘788’s drying does not yield a CO2-comprising gas, as required by the claim.
Claims 3 and 6 would be allowable if rewritten to overcome the 35 U.S.C. 112(b)/2nd par. rejections and to include all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to DANIEL BERNS whose telephone number is (469)295-9161. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8:30-5:00 (Central). Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice. If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Anthony Zimmer can be reached at (571) 270-3591. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300. Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/DANIEL BERNS/ July 22, 2026
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 1736
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