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.
Claim 7 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 7 recites the limitation "the carbon monoxide production system according to claim 4, wherein the carbon monoxide detection part is a gas chromatography.” There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
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.
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim(s) 1 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Brown (“Radical intermediates in the reductive isomerisation of octahedral, 1994”).
With respect to claim 1, Brown teaches the claimed electrochemical cell. Claim 1 requires "an electrochemical cell comprising a solution containing a metal complex, a working electrode and a counter electrode." Brown expressly teaches solutions of manganese carbonyl bipyridyl complexes in CH2Cl2 and/or tetrahydrofuran and reports one-electron oxidation of the complexes at a platinum-disc electrode and one-electron reduction in tetrahydrofuran (Brown, p. 3745, Abstract). The platinum-disc electrode is the working electrode because it is the electrode at which the reported electrochemical oxidation is carried out. Brown's reported electrochemical oxidation and reduction necessarily require a second current-carrying electrode to complete the electrochemical circuit; without such an opposing electrode, current could not pass through the solution and the disclosed electrochemical oxidation or reduction could not occur.
Claim 1 further requires "wherein the metal complex is represented by formula (2a)." Brown expressly discloses cis,trans- and cis,cis-[Mn(CO)2L(L')(bipy)]+ complexes in which L=L'=PPh3 and bipy is 2,2'-bipyridyl (Brown, p. 3745, Abstract). This disclosed [Mn(CO)2(PPh3)2(bipy)]+ species falls within formula (2a) as follows.
Claim 1 requires "M1 represents manganese, ruthenium or iron." Brown teaches using Mn as the metal center in [Mn(CO)2(PPh3)2(bipy)]+ (Brown, p. 3745, Abstract).
Claim 1 further requires "X represents O(CH2)nNR5R6, NR5R6 or PX1X2X3." Brown's first PPh3 ligand satisfies the claimed PX1X2X3 alternative, with P as the phosphorus atom and each X1, X2 and X3 being a phenyl group (Brown, p. 3745, Abstract).
Claim 1 further requires "Y represents CO, C(CH2)nNR5R6, NR5R6 or PX1X2X3." Brown's second PPh3 ligand teaches the claimed PX1X2X3 alternative for Y, again with each X1, X2 and X3 being phenyl (Brown, p. 3745, Abstract).
Claim 1 further requires "ring A and ring B are identical or different and represent a nitrogen atom-containing heterocycle optionally having a substituent." Brown teaches bipy as 2,2'-bipyridyl. The two pyridyl rings of 2,2'-bipyridyl are nitrogen-containing heterocycles and therefore satisfy rings A and B (Brown, p. 3745, Abstract).
Claim 1 further requires "one, two or three of X1, X2 and X3 are identical or different and represent a hydrocarbon group optionally having a substituent or a hydrocarbon oxy group optionally having a substituent, the rest representing a hydrogen atom or a hydroxy group." In each PPh3 ligand disclosed by Brown, X1, X2 and X3 are phenyl groups. Phenyl is a hydrocarbon group and thus meets this limitation (Brown, p. 3745, Abstract).
Claim 1 further requires "R5 and R6 are identical or different and represent an alkyl group, a hydroxyalkyl group or a hydrogen atom" and "n represents a number of 2 to 8." Brown teaches the O(CH2)nNR5R6 and NR5R6 alternatives. Brown further teaches X and Y through the separately recited PX1X2X3 alternatives.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 2-6 and 8 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: Brown (“Radical intermediates in the reductive isomerisation of octahedral, 1994”) is considered closest available prior art to the claimed limitations.
With respect to claim 2, the electrochemical cell according claim 1 has been discussed above. However, Brown does not explicitly teach wherein the solution containing a metal complex is a protic polar solvent. Rather, Brown teaches a electrochemical cell comprising CH2Cl2 (dichloromethane).
Claim 3 contains allowable subject matter due to its dependence on claim 2, which
contains allowable subject matter.
With respect to claim 4, the electrochemical cell of claim has been discussed above. However, Brown does not explicitly teach electrochemically reducing carbon dioxide to carbon monoxide and containing a carbon-dioxide injection part, carbon-monoxide discharge part, or generation of carbon monoxide by application of voltage to the recited reaction product.
Claims 5, 6, and 8 contains allowable subject matter due to its dependence on claim 4, which
contains allowable subject matter.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to STARFARI TESHAWN MCCLAIN whose telephone number is (571)272-0169. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8 AM- 5 PM.
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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.
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/STARFARI TESHAWN MCCLAIN/Examiner, Art Unit 1736
/ANTHONY J ZIMMER/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 1736
