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 .
Election/Restrictions
Applicant's election with traverse of Group II, Claims 11-19 in the reply filed on July 21, 2026 is acknowledged. The traversal is on the ground(s) that all now-pending claims 11-25 read on the structured assembly. This is not found persuasive because the grounds do not relate to the previous restricted groups.
The requirement is still deemed proper and is therefore made FINAL. With respect to the instant claims, all are being examined together.
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 15, 18 and 19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Claim 18 recites the limitation "the generally parallelly aligned fibers" in line 2. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. Claim 18 should be amended to depend from claim 17.
Claim 15 is indefinite because it is unclear whether the individual fibers are porous, or if the arranged fibers as a group are porous.
Claim 19 is indefinite because it is unclear whether the individual polyimide fibers are porous, or if the arranged fibers as a group are porous. It is understood that the carbon molecular sieve fibers are porous (see figure 2 and the first paragraph of page 11 of the instant application), but there is no disclosure of the polyimide fibers being porous other than the pores between the fibers in a structured substrate (see the 3rd paragraph on page 8 of the instant specification). For examination it is assumed that the pores are in the fibrous substrate. If this is not the case, claim 19 would be subject to a new matter rejection for not being originally disclosed.
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.
Claim(s) 11, 12, 15 and 20-25 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by CN 109745828 A.
CN ‘828 teaches a monolithic adsorbent bed that can be used in a PSA or VPSA vessel for removing nitrogen from air, comprising a porous silica and/or alumina fiber carrier with LiX zeolite particles disposed on the fibers. An additional adsorbent can be used in the vessel for removing argon or moisture (see figure, abstract, pages 2-4 of the machine-generated English translation). A person having ordinary skill in the art will understand that a continuous PSA or VSA system will include at least two vessels.
Claim(s) 11-15 and 17-24 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Coignet et al. (US 2020/0139292 A1).
Coignet et al. ‘292 teach sorbent-loaded fibers for use in a PSA or VPSA vessel that removes nitrogen from air, comprising a fiber matrix with LiX zeolite particles disposed on the fibers in the matrix (see paragraphs 14, 17, 34, 35, 50, 54, 55, 59, 153, 154, 209, 210, 219, claims 1, 45). The fibers can include polyimide and carbon fibers can also be used as a filler (paragraph 42). The fiber can be formed as a woven fabric (having parallelly aligned fibers) (paragraph 199). A person having ordinary skill in the art will understand that a continuous PSA or VSA system will include at least two vessels.
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.
Claim(s) 16 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Coignet et al. ‘292.
Coignet et al. ‘292 disclose all of the limitations of the claim except that the fibers have a diameter in the rage of 200-800 microns. Absent a proper showing of criticality or unexpected results, the fiber diameter is a parameter that would have been routinely optimized by one having ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention in order to provide a sorbent carrier that balances structural strength with an acceptable air flow resistance.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. The additional references listed on the attached PTO-892 form disclose fibrous sorbent carrier arrangements.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to FRANK LAWRENCE whose telephone number is (571)272-1161. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Fri 8:30am-7pm.
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, Jennifer Dieterle can be reached at 571-270-7872. 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.
/FRANK M LAWRENCE JR/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1776
fl
Prosecution Insights