DETAILED ACTION
1. The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
2. This application is a CON of App. No. PCT/JP2022/041991, filed on 11/10/2011, which is entitled to and claims the benefit of priority of JP Patent App. Nos. 2021-184109, filed 11/11/2021, 2021-202453, filed 12/14/2021, and 2022-110755, filed 07/08/2022, respectively.
The preliminary amendment filed on 05/10/2024 is entered and acknowledged by the Examiner.
3. Claims 1-13 are pending. Claims 1-13 are under examination on the merits.
Information Disclosure Statement
4. The information disclosure statements submitted on 08/06/2024, and 11/03/2025 are in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the examiner has considered the information disclosure statements.
Drawings
5. The drawings are received on 05/10/2024. These drawings are acceptable.
Priority
6. Receipt is acknowledged of papers submitted on 06/10/2024 under 35 U.S.C. 119(a)-(d), which papers have been placed of record in the file.
Claim Objections
7. Claims 2-8, 12-13 are objected to because of the following informalities: It is suggested that “as set forth in claim x, wherein" (all occurrences) be deleted and "according to claim x, wherein" be inserted in its stead so as to engender claim language clarity. Appropriate correction is required.
8. Claims 9-10 are objected to because of the following informalities: It is suggested that “recited in claim x" (all occurrences) be deleted and "according to claim x" be inserted in its stead so as to engender claim language clarity. Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
9. 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.
10. Claims 1-13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103(a)(1) as being unpatentable over Risa Narahara (US Pub. No. 2020/0385623 A1, hereinafter “’623”) in view of Li et al. (CN 108531136 A, machine translation, hereinafter “’136”).
Regarding claims 1,5: ‘623 teaches a cold storage material composition (Page 1, [0001]) comprising a multicomponent eutectic, which is composed of water and two or more types of inorganic salts including chloride salt (A) and bromide salt (B), and has a melting temperature in the range of -75°C to -30°C; and a usage method thereof (Page 2, [0028]; Page 21, Claim 1). ‘623 teaches inter alia, lithium bromide or the like can be used as the bromide salt (B) (Page 4, [0058]). The specific examples of the composition include those containing three moles of calcium chloride as the chloride salt (A) per 100 moles of water, and nine moles of calcium bromide as the bromide salt (B), yet having a melting temperature of about -68°C, constant temperature retention, and reproducibility of melting behavior (Page 15, Table 2, Ex.15). ‘623 does not expressly teach a specific example in which the cold storage material composition comprising 8.1 mol to 12.6 mol of lithium ions, preferably contains 8.1 mol to 11.0 mol of the lithium ions and 7.6 mol to 14.6 mol of bromide ions, relative to 100 mol of water.
‘623 teaches that lithium bromide can be used as the bromide salt (B) (Page 4, [0058]). Thus, substituting nine moles of calcium bromide with lithium bromide as the bromide salt (B) in the composition, and as a result, using a salt that satisfies the content of lithium ions and bromide ions in the specified range of the present application could be carried out, as appropriate, by a person skilled in the art. This rejection is applied in the interest of advancing prosecution in the event it can be shown that ‘623 does not expressly teach a specific example in which the cold storage material composition comprising 8.1 mol to 12.6 mol of lithium ions, preferably contains 8.1 mol to 11.0 mol of the lithium ions and 7.6 mol to 14.6 mol of bromide ions, relative to 100 mol of water.
However, ‘136 teaches a high-efficiency composite phase change material comprising
a heat transfer medium, a nucleating agent, a thickener, a high efficiency energy-conducting additive, and a melting point modifier with different mass percentages, wherein the heat medium is prepared by mixing one or more aqueous solutions of inorganic salts such as sodium sulfate, disodium hydrogen phosphate, sodium carbonate, calcium chloride, or lithium bromide in any proportion (Page 2/13, Claim 1; Page 6/13, [0015]-[0016]) with benefit of providing to shorten the energy conduction time of phase change energy storage materials, improve their energy conduction effect, reduce their supercooling, and avoid phase separation, while achieving adjustable phase change temperature (Page 6/13, [0014]).
In an analogous art of the cold storage material composition, and in the light of such benefit before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art to modify the amount of lithium ion by ‘623, so as to include
8.1 mol to 12.6 mol of lithium ions, preferably contains 8.1 mol to 11.0 mol of the lithium ions as taught by ‘136, and would have been motivated to do so with reasonable expectation that this would result in providing to shorten the energy conduction time of phase change energy storage materials, improve their energy conduction effect, reduce their supercooling, and avoid phase separation, while achieving adjustable phase change temperature as suggested by ‘136 (Page 6/13, [0014]).
Regarding claim 2: ‘623 teaches the cold storage material composition (Page 1, [0001]), further comprising chloride ions (Page 4, [0057]; Page 15, Table 2, Ex.15).
Regarding claim 3: ‘623 teaches the cold storage material composition (Page 1, [0001]), wherein a molar quantity of the bromide ions is greater than a molar quantity of the chloride ions in the cold storage material composition (Page 4, [0061]; Page 15, Table 2, Ex.15).
Regarding claim 4: ‘623 teaches the cold storage material composition (Page 1, [0001]), wherein a molar quantity of the bromide ions is at least 2.5 times greater than a molar quantity of the chloride ions in the cold storage material composition (Page 4, [0061]; Page 15, Table 2, Ex.15; Page 21, Claim 8).
Regarding claim 6: The disclosure of ‘623 in view of ‘136 is adequately set forth in paragraph above and is incorporated herein by reference. ‘623 teaches the cold storage material composition (Page 1, [0001]), further comprising a crystal nucleating agent such as sodium chloride (Page 4, [0057]).
‘136 teaches the cold storage material composition, further comprising a crystal nucleating agent (Page 2/13, Claim 1; Page 6/13, [0015]-[0016]).
Regarding claim 7: The disclosure of ‘623 in view of ‘136 is adequately set forth in paragraph above and is incorporated herein by reference. ‘623 teaches the cold storage material composition (Page 1, [0001]), wherein the crystal nucleating agent is contained in an amount of not less than 2.0 mol relative to 100 mol of the water (i.e., more preferably in a range of 3 mol to 5 mole, relative to 100 mol of the water; Page 4, [0059]).
‘136 teaches the cold storage material composition, wherein the crystal nucleating agent is contained in an amount of not less than 2.0 mol relative to 100 mol of the water (Page 2/13, Claim 1; Page 6/13, [0015]-[0016]).
Regarding claim 8: ‘623 teaches the cold storage material composition (Page 1, [0001]), further comprising a thickener (Page 5, [0067]-[[0068]).
Regarding claim 9: ‘623 teaches a cold storage material comprising a cold storage material composition (Page 11, [0164]; Page 21, Claim 11).
Regarding claim 10: ‘623 teaches a transport container comprising a cold storage material (Page 11, [0165]; Page 21, Claim 12).
Regarding claim 11: ‘623 teaches a method of using a cold storage material composition, comprising: a solidifying step of keeping a cold storage material composition at a temperature lower than a melting temperature of the cold storage material composition to solidify the cold storage material composition, the cold storage material composition comprising a multicomponent eutectic which is composed of water and two or more kinds of compounds; and a maintaining step of maintaining part or whole of a target object at not less than −75° C. to not more than −30° C. under an environment with a temperature which exceeds the melting temperature of the cold storage material composition (Page 10, [0126]; Page 21, Claim 13).‘623 teaches inter alia, lithium bromide or the like can be used as the bromide salt (B) (Page 4, [0058]). The specific examples of the composition include those containing three moles of calcium chloride as the chloride salt (A) per 100 moles of water, and nine moles of calcium bromide as the bromide salt (B), yet having a melting temperature of about -68°C, constant temperature retention, and reproducibility of melting behavior (Page 15, Table 2, Ex.15). ‘623 does not expressly teach a specific example in which the cold storage material composition comprising 8.1 mol to 12.6 mol of lithium ions, preferably contains 8.1 mol to 11.0 mol of the lithium ions and 7.6 mol to 14.6 mol of bromide ions, relative to 100 mol of water.
‘623 teaches that lithium bromide can be used as the bromide salt (B) (Page 4, [0058]). Thus, substituting nine moles of calcium bromide with lithium bromide as the bromide salt (B) in the composition, and as a result, using a salt that satisfies the content of lithium ions and bromide ions in the specified range of the present application could be carried out, as appropriate, by a person skilled in the art. This rejection is applied in the interest of advancing prosecution in the event it can be shown that ‘623 does not expressly teach a specific example in which the cold storage material composition comprising 8.1 mol to 12.6 mol of lithium ions, preferably contains 8.1 mol to 11.0 mol of the lithium ions and 7.6 mol to 14.6 mol of bromide ions, relative to 100 mol of water.
However, ‘136 teaches a method of using a high-efficiency composite phase change material (Page 3/13, Claim 3; Page 7/13, [0022]) comprising a heat transfer medium, a nucleating agent, a thickener, a high efficiency energy-conducting additive, and a melting point modifier with different mass percentages, wherein the heat medium is prepared by mixing one or more aqueous solutions of inorganic salts such as sodium sulfate, disodium hydrogen phosphate, sodium carbonate, calcium chloride, or lithium bromide in any proportion (Page 2/13, Claim 1; Page 6/13, [0015]-[0016]) with benefit of providing to shorten the energy conduction time of phase change energy storage materials, improve their energy conduction effect, reduce their supercooling, and avoid phase separation, while achieving adjustable phase change temperature (Page 6/13, [0014]).
In an analogous art of the a method of using the cold storage material composition, and in the light of such benefit before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art to modify the amount of lithium ion by ‘623, so as to include 8.1 mol to 12.6 mol of lithium ions, preferably contains 8.1 mol to 11.0 mol of the lithium ions as taught by ‘136, and would have been motivated to do so with reasonable expectation that this would result in providing to shorten the energy conduction time of phase change energy storage materials, improve their energy conduction effect, reduce their supercooling, and avoid phase separation, while achieving adjustable phase change temperature as suggested by ‘136 (Page 6/13, [0014]).
Regarding claim 12: ‘623 teaches a method of using a cold storage material composition (Page 10, [0126]; Page 21, Claim 13), wherein the temperature lower than the melting temperature is not more than -80°C in the solidifying step (Page 10, [0127]; Page 21, Claim 15).
Regarding claim 13: ‘623 teaches a method of using a cold storage material composition (Page 10, [0126]; Page 21, Claim 13), wherein the temperature lower than the melting temperature is -85°C to -76°C in the solidifying step (Page 10, [0127]; Page 21, Claim 15).
Examiner Information
11. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Bijan Ahvazi, Ph.D. whose telephone number is (571) 270-3449. The examiner can normally be reached on Mon-Fri 9.00 A.M. -7 P.M..
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Joseph Del Sole can be reached on 571-272-1130. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300. Information regarding the status of an application may be obtained from the Patent Application Information Retrieval (PAIR) system. Status information for published applications may be obtained from either Private PAIR or Public PAIR. Status information for unpublished applications is available through Private PAIR only. For more information about the PAIR system, see http://pair-direct.uspto.gov. Should you have questions on access to the Private PAIR system, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative or access to the automated information system, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/Bijan Ahvazi/
Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1763
07/06/2026
bijan.ahvazi@uspto.gov
Prosecution Insights