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 Objections
Claims 5-6 are objected to because of the following informalities: the claims should read “the metal nitride-based catalyst component” for antecedent basis issues. Appropriate correction is required.
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 1-8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over NPL document by Fedotov A.S. et al., Dehydrogenation of cumene to α-methylstyrene on [Re,W]/γ-Al2O3(K,Ce)/α-Al2O3 porous ceramic catalytic converters (hereinafter referred to as Fedotov) in view of NPL document by Madhavi, J, et al., N2 as a co-soft oxidant along with CO2 in ethylbenzene dehydrogenation to styrene over γ-Al2O3 supported Co-Mo nitride catalysts (hereinafter referred to as Madhavi).
Fedotov discloses the preparation of alpha-methylstyrene by dehydrogenating cumene using a metal catalyst supported on a support in a reactor at an optimal temperature of 625°C (as recited in claim 1 and reads on claim 8) (see abstract, and right column on page 1270).
Fedotov discloses all the limitations discussed above but does not explicitly disclose a step for injecting one or more among nitrogen and carbon dioxide during a dehydrogenation reaction of cumene, and the catalyst includes a metal nitride-based catalyst component supported on a support.
Madhavi discloses in preparing styrene by a dehydrogenation reaction of ethylbenzene, a metal nitride-based catalyst is used, such as, y-Mo2N and Co3Mo3N catalysts and Co-Mo nitride catalyst supported on an alumina support (as recited in claims 5-7) (see Abstract and see Page 22/left column, and Para. 3 and 4), and nitrogen or carbon dioxide gas alone, or nitrogen and carbon dioxide gases are introduced in a ratio of 1:1 (as recited in claim 1 and reads on claims 2-4) (see Abstract; Page 24-25/both columns; scheme 2; see Table 2; and see Figure 6). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention to use the process steps of Madhavi in the process of Fedotov as both references pertain to the dehydrogenation of an alkyl-benzene compound by using a metal catalyst, a person skilled in the art would not have any particular difficulty in deriving claim 1 by applying the catalyst system of Madhavi to Fedotov, and the effects thereby could also be sufficiently predicted with a reasonable expectation of success.
Conclusion
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/VISHAL V VASISTH/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1771
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