DETAILED ACTION
Notice to Applicant
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on 2026-06-16 has been entered.
In the amendment dated 206-06-16, the following has occurred: Claim 1 has amended.
Claims 1, 4-7, and 9-13 are pending and are examined herein. This is a Non-Final Rejection.
The text of those sections of Title 35, U.S. Code not included in this action can be found in a prior Office action.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
Claims 1, 4-7, and 9-13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Zhamu (US 2017/03384722 to Zhamu et al.) in view of Yushin (US 2012/0328952 to Yushin et al.), Dash (US 2018/0316014 to Dash et al.) and Nesper (US 2010/0233546 to Nesper et al.).
Regarding Claims 1, 4, 7 and 9-10, Zhamu teaches:
graphene-embraced anode particulates for a lithium battery (abstract, Fig. 2)
a composite anode active material capable of intercalating alkali metal selected from such materials as lithiated and un-lithiated Si, Ge, Sn, Pb, Sb, Bi, Zn, l, Ti, Ni, Co, etc. (¶ 0060) comprising powder, flakes, beads, etc. of diameter or thickness from 10 nm to 100 microns (¶ 0068)
In the case where the claimed ranges “overlap or lie inside ranges disclosed by the prior art” a prima facie case of obviousness exists (see MPEP 2144.05 [R-5]).
where the anode active material is embraced by a shell of graphene sheets of single or few-layer thickness (¶ 0071)
wherein the anode active material may be a composite material known in the art, including silicon-carbon composites, but wherein it is not particularly delineated, and includes titanium materials (¶ 0060), such that the technique of embracing this composite material in graphene is seen to be broadly applicable to known anode active materials in the art in order to enhance the conductivity and cyclability of otherwise known materials (e.g. ¶ 0012-0014, 0119, and wide-ranging examples as well as broad claims)
previously known compositions of graphene platelets and anode active material particles bonded through a conductive binder (¶ 0013)
Zhamu does not explicitly teach:
wherein the core anode particles comprise carbon or graphite particles of 500 nm to 50 microns with particle-studded or coated nanoparticles of composite materials containing Ge, Sn, Pb, etc. having a diameter of 0.5 nm to 2 microns bonded to said carbon or graphite particles by an electron-conducting polymer
wherein the electron-conducting polymer partially or fully covers the anode active material
Yushin, however, from the same field of invention, regarding a metal-carbon composite teaches a composite particle comprising a carbon core of porous carbon black (Fig. 1b, ¶ 0092-0094) of up to 5 microns (¶ 0054) and wherein lithium-intercalating nanoparticles (such as spherical nanoparticles) of 5-200 nm stud the surface of said particle (¶ 0156), and in some embodiments are bound by a layer of conductive polymer partially or fully covers the anode active material (¶ 0087). Yushin further teaches that the nanoparticles can comprise silicon, tin (Sn), Germanium (Ge), lead (Pb), or an alloy of said elements (¶ 0056). It would have been obvious to use the conductive polymer-coated composite particles of Yushin, including silicon and other element mixtures, in the embracing process of Zhamu, since Zhamu contemplates using conventional anode materials already known in the art, with the motivation to provide a conductive graphene layer that enhances cyclability. Dash, also directed towards lithium ion based intercalation electrodes, teaches the use of conductive binders that are electrochemically inert including thioethers, polyphenylene sulfide, and polyparaphenylene vinylene (¶ 0035), substituted with a sulfide (¶ 0029, see also claims 1-3), interpreted to read on at least the claimed “polyparaphenylene sulphide.” Derivatives of poly(p-)phenylene appear to have been substitutable equivalents of conductive polymers like thioethers, taught in Zhamu. Simple substitution of one known element for another to obtain predictable results has been found to be obvious. See KSR Int'l Co. v. Teleflex Inc., 550 U.S. 398 (2007). See also e.g. US 2019/0058185 to Lee et al. for evidence of the substitutability of polyphenylene vinylene, polyphenylene sulfide, and polyparaphenylene (¶ 0022). It would have been obvious to use a poly paraphenylene sulfide as a substitute for the conductive polymers taught in Zhamu and Yushin absent evidence of unexpected results, since both were known substitutable equivalents in the art for use in a silicon-based anode.
Zhamu also does not explicitly teach:
active material particles comprising carbides, nitrides, phosphides, and/or tellurides of Nb
Nesper, however, from the same field of invention, regard a anode material embedded in an electrically conductive environment such as a conductive carbon nanoparticulate (abstract, ¶ 0024), teaches the use of nitrides like TiN and NbN, and carbides like TiC and NbC, as anode materials in a carbonaceous substrate (claims 1, 9, 11). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to provide a niobium carbide or nitride anode active material particle, such as that taught in Nesper since Zhamu renders obvious use of known anode active materials comprising known anode active materials including silicon and titanium, and further including carbides and nitrides of the same. Simple substitution of one known element for another to obtain predictable results has been found to be obvious. See KSR Int'l Co. v. Teleflex Inc., 550 U.S. 398 (2007).
Regarding Claim 5, Zhamu teaches:
a substantially similar method for encapsulating the anode active material with graphene, including combining the anode active material with a graphitic source material in a ball mill (see e.g. Fig. 2)
few-layer graphene sheet coating (¶ 0048) that would be expected to have the claimed inter-plane spacing with pristine graphene material because the coating is formed from substantially the same method
For additional evidence in this regard, see previously cited Matsubara (US Patent No. 6,733,922), regarding an anode particulate, which teaches a teaches a carbonaceous particle comprising graphite/carbon core with interplanar spacing of less than 0.337 nm (column 2 lines 25-45) having particle size between 50 nm and 2 microns (column 4 lines 50-60), decorated with silicon having a smaller diameter (column 2, Figs.), suggesting that such spacing of supportive conductive carbon was a result of conventional methods in the art.
Regarding Claim 6, Zhamu teaches:
wherein the graphene can include graphene oxide or graphene fluoride, etc. (¶ 0110)
Regarding Claims 11-13, Zhamu teaches:
a mass of such graphene-encapsulated particles that can form an electrode for a battery (see e.g. ¶ 0166-0174)
Response to Arguments
The Remarks filed 11/18/2025 have been considered but do not place the application in condition for allowance. In response to the claim amendments, Nesper is now cited for teaching the substitutability of niobium nitrides and carbides for other known anode active materials like titanium compounds.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure:
Wakabayashi, Ryo Henry. “Transition Metal (Oxy)nitrides and Oxides for Energy Materials” Dissertation presented at Cornell University, August 2016.
Wakabayashi teaches NbN as anode material along with a variety of other nitrides, including TiN (pp. 99-112).
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Michael Dignan, whose telephone number is (571) 272-6425. The examiner can normally be reached from Monday to Friday between 10 AM and 6:30 PM. If any attempt to reach the examiner by telephone is unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Tiffany Legette, can be reached at (571)270-7078. Another resource that is available to applicants is the Patent Application Information Retrieval (PAIR). Information regarding the status of an application can be obtained from the (PAIR) system. Status information for published applications may be obtained from either Private PAIR or Public PAX. 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, please feel free to contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). Applicants are invited to contact the Office to schedule an in-person interview to discuss and resolve the issues set forth in this Office Action. Although an interview is not required, the Office believes that an interview can be of use to resolve any issues related to a patent application in an efficient and prompt manner.
/MICHAEL L DIGNAN/Examiner, Art Unit 1723
Prosecution Insights