DETAILED CORRESPONDENCE
Summary
This is the initial Office Action based on the TSUJI application filed with the Office on 15 April 2024.
Claims 1-6 are currently pending and have been fully considered.
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Priority
The instant application claims priority as a continuation of an International Patent Application, PCT/JP2022/038666, filed on 18 October 2022, which claims priority to a Japanese Patent Application, JP 2021-176184, filed on 28 October 2021. Thus, 28 October 2021, is the effective filing date for the instant application.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted regarding the present application filed on 15 April 2024, is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the IDS has been considered by the Examiner.
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 1-6 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over a published paper by Persson, et al. (“Biofuel anode based on D-glucose dehydrogenase, nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide and a modified electrode”, Enzyme Microb. Technol., 7(11): p. 549-552, Nov. 1985; hereinafter, “Persson”) in view of a US Patent Application Publication to Farneth, et al. (US 2005/0074663 A1; hereinafter, “Farneth”)
Regarding claim 1, Persson discloses an electrochemical reaction device (as a biofuel cell, Figure 1) comprising:
a first tank (4) in which glucose dehydrogenase (“D-Glucose dehydrogenase (GDH), from Bacillus megaterium (Merck, catalogue no. 13732) was immobilized on porous glass”; 4th ¶, Materials and methods, p. 550) and nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide are accommodated (“… anode compartment initially contained 80 mmol L-1 D-glucose in 30 ml 0.25 M phosphate buffer, pH 7.0, and various concentrations of 1,4-dihydronicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NADH).”; 5th ¶, Materials and methods, p. 550) and a working electrode (as biofuel cell anode made from a modified graphite electrode, Abstract) is disposed;
a second tank (5) in which a counter electrode (“… real cathode, a Pt gauze in line with the intermediate chamber in the cell …”; 3rd ¶, Materials and method, p. 550) is disposed; and
a voltage application device which applies a voltage between the working electrode and the counter electrode (a variable series voltage; 3rd ¶, Materials and methods, p. 550).
Persson teaches ceramic sintered porous glass discs as separators (1st ¶, Materials and methods, p. 550). Persson does not teach a membrane that blocks permeation.
However, Farneth discloses a fuel cell electrode, wherein is taught a membrane which separates an inside of the first tank and an inside of the second tank from each other (Figure 3), which blocks permeation (“These two compartments are optionally separated by a membrane (e.g., an ion exchange membrane) (160) or other barrier between the anode and cathode that prevents mixing of the oxidant and reductant.”; [0094]), and has ion conductivity (as the membrane can be Nafion, an inherent proton/cation conductive membrane; [0156]).
At the time of the filing of the instant application, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to have utilized the Farneth taught Nafion membrane as the separator of the anode and cathode compartments in place of the Persson taught ceramic sintered porous glass discs as the Nafion would prevent mixing of the oxidant and reductant, which could short the fuel cell.
Regarding claim 2, Farneth teaches Nafion ([0156]), which is a sulfonated perfluoro polymer.
Regarding claim 3, Farneth teaches current collector comprises noble metal particles (claim 9).
Regarding claim 4, Farneth teaches a Pt coil counter electrode ([0119]).
Regarding claim 5, Persson teaches the anode compartment initially contained 80 mmol L-1 D-glucose in 30 ml 0.25 M phosphate buffer, pH 7.0, and … the intermediary and cathode (11 ml) compartments were filled with 0.37 M phosphate buffer, pH 7.0 (6th ¶, Materials and methods, p. 550).
Regarding claim 6, the shared limitations with instant claim 1 are taught by Persson in view of Farneth as outlined above. Persson teaches a variable series voltage displaces the potential of point P to +560 mV (3rd ¶, Materials and methods, p. 550).
Interview with the Examiner
If at any point during the prosecution it is believe an interview with the Examiner would further the prosecution of an application, please consider this option.
The Automated Interview Request form (AIR) is available to request an interview to be scheduled with the Examiner. First, an authorization for internet communications regarding the case should be filed prior or with an AIR online request.
The internet communication authorization form (SB/0439), which authorizes or withdraws authorization for internet-based communication (e.g., video conferencing, email, etc.) for the application must be signed by the applicant or the attorney/agent for applicant. The form can be found at:
https://www.uspto.gov/sites/default/files/documents/sb0439.pdf
The AIR form can be filled out online, and is automatically forwarded to the Examiner, who will call to confirm a requested time and date, or set up a mutually convenient time for the interview. The form can be found at:
https://www.uspto.gov/patent/uspto-automated-interview-request-air-form.html
The Examiner encourages, but does not require, interviews by the USPTO Microsoft Teams video conferencing. This system allows for file-sharing along audio conferencing. Microsoft Teams can be used as an internet browser add-on in Microsoft IE, Google Chrome, or Mozilla Foxfire, or as a temporary Java-based application on these browsers. Steps for joining an Examiner setup Microsoft Teams can be found at the USPTO website:
https://www.uspto.gov/patents/laws/interview-practice#step3
Additionally, a blank email to the Examiner at the time of a telephonic interview can be used for a reply to easily allow for Microsoft Teams communication. Please note, policy guidelines regarding Internet communications are detailed at MPEP §500-502.3, and office policy regarding interviews are detailed at MPEP §713.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JOHN C BALL whose telephone number is (571)270-5119. The examiner can normally be reached M - F, 9 am - 5:30 pm.
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, Luan Van can be reached at (571) 272-8521. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/J. Christopher Ball/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1795