DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
1. The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Preliminary Amendment
2. The preliminary amendment filed on September 23, 2024 has been entered in the above-identified application. Claims 3-11 are amended. Claims 1-12 are pending and under consideration.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
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.
3. Claims 1-12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) and/or 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Kaminaga et al. (US 2019/0071819 A1).
Kaminaga et al. disclose a fiber composite (equivalent to the composite material of the claimed invention) includes a cellulose nanofiber (equivalent to the core composed of cellulose nanofibers of the claimed invention) and a metal, in which the cellulose fiber contains a cellulose acylate, at least a part of a surface of the cellulose fiber carries at least a part of the metal, a degree of crystallinity of the cellulose fiber is from 0% to 50%, an average fiber diameter of the cellulose fiber is from 1 nm to 1μm . (meeting the limitations of claim 4) and an average fiber length of the cellulose fiber is from 1 mm to 1 m. Nanofibers, that is, fibers having a diameter in the order of nanometers, such as several nanometers or larger and smaller than 1,000 nm, are utilized as materials for manufactured products such as biofilters, sensors, fuel cell electrode materials, precision filters, and electronic paper. The disclosed metal is a metal particle in which an average particle diameter of the metal article is from 1 nm to 2 μm. In the fiber composite of one embodiment of the disclosed invention, at least a part of the surface of the cellulose fiber described above carries at least a part of the metal. The metal may be carried by the entire surface of the cellulose fiber, or may be carried within the aggregation of the plurality of cellulose fibers, as long as the metal is carried by at least the part of the surface of the cellulose fiber (meeting the limitation of claim 3). The “carrying” means a state in which the metal is chemically, physically, or electrically bonded or adsorbed to at least the part of the surface of the cellulose fiber. Specific examples of the metal include silver, copper, zinc, iron, lead, bismuth, calcium, and the like, and one of these metals may be used alone, or two or more kinds thereof may be used in combination. Among them, silver, copper, zinc, and calcium are preferable, and silver and copper are more preferable. The metal particles (equivalent to the copper coating layer of the claimed invention) are preferably used as a metal particle dispersion in which the metal particles are dispersed in a solvent from the viewpoint of workability of allowing the surface of the cellulose fiber to carry the metal. For the reason that the durability is further improved, an average particle diameter of the metal particles is preferably from 1 nm to 2 μm, more preferably from 1 nm to 1 μm, even more preferably from 1 nm to 500 nm, and particularly preferably from 1 nm to 300 nm (meeting the limitations of claims 2 and 12). A method for allowing the surface of the structure to carry the metal is not particularly limited, and examples of the method include a method of applying the above-described metal particle dispersion (meeting the limitations of claims 6 and 10) onto the surface of the structure, a method of immersing the structure into the above-described metal particle dispersion, and the like (meeting the limitations of claim 11 and that the coating layer is configured to coat the core). The porous structure of the disclosed invention may be provided on a substrate, irrespective of whether the fiber composite is self-supported or not. As the substrate, a sheet, a plate, or a cylindrical body can be used (meeting the limitations of claim 5). As a material of the substrate, a resin or a metal is used, and a resin is preferable from the viewpoint of more easily forming a film. Specific examples of a metal substrate include aluminum, stainless steel, zinc, iron, brass, and the like. The porous and nonwoven structures can be used for applications such as medical equipment, batteries (for example, a secondary battery separator, a secondary battery electrode, and the like), building materials (for example, a heal insulating material, a sound absorbing material, and the like), a curtain, a heat-resistant bag filter, and a filter cloth (meeting the limitations of claims 7-9). (See Abstract and paragraphs 0003, 0006, 0014-0021, 0052, 0129-0139, 0149-0158, and 0169-0175). All limitations of claims 1-12 are disclosed in the above reference.
Conclusion
4. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to SHEEBA AHMED whose telephone number is (571)272-1504. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Thursday 7am-6pm.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, CALLIE SHOSHO can be reached at 571-272-1123. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/SHEEBA AHMED/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1787
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