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 .
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
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and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114.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 January 27, 2026 has been entered.
Response to Amendment/Amendment
In response to the amendment received January 27, 2026 :
Claims 1-6, 11 and 13 are pending. Claims 7-10, 12 and 14 have been cancelled as per applicant’s request.
The previous claim objections are withdrawn in light of the amendment.
Applicant’s arguments, filed January 27, 2026 with respect to claims 1 and 13 have been fully considered and are persuasive in terms of the rejection under 35 U.S.C 103 in light of the amendments. The rejection under 35 U.S.C. 103 of October 28, 2025 has been withdrawn.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of 35 U.S.C. 112(a):
(a) IN GENERAL.—The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor or joint inventor of carrying out the invention.
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112:
The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor of carrying out his invention.
Claims 1-6, 11 and 13 rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), first paragraph, as failing to comply with the written description requirement. The claim(s) contains subject matter which was not described in the specification in such a way as to reasonably convey to one skilled in the relevant art that the inventor or a joint inventor, or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the inventor(s), at the time the application was filed, had possession of the claimed invention.
Regarding Claim 1 and 13, the claims recite “…the structurally isomorphous lithium alloy has dendrite-free cycling for at least 200 cycles with specific capacities of “…at least 1600 mAg/h…”. There does not appear to be a written description of the claim limitation dendrite-free cycling with specific capacity of “…at least 1600 mAh/g…”. The instant specification provides that the crystallographic structure is shown to have stable dendrite-free cycling for over 200 cycles with outstanding capacities in excess of approximately 1630 mAh/g (pg. 8, lines 24-28). Neither the specification nor the drawings clearly support the claimed range of at least 1600 mAh/g and thus, the claimed range is considered new matter. Specifically there is no support for the lower bounds of dendrite-free cycling with specific capacity of “at least 1600 mAh/g”.
Claims 2-6 and 11 are also rejected due to dependency on claim 1.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 1-6, 11 and 13 would be allowable if rewritten or amended to overcome the rejection(s) under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) set forth in this Office action.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: none of the prior art of record alone or in combination, teach, suggestion or render obvious the invention of at least claims 1 and 13.
Claims 1 teaches a size-adjustable all-in-one electronic device comprising the elements therein. Claim 13 teaches a method of preparing a size-adjustable all-in-one electronic device comprising the steps therein. Notably, both claims require a flexible composite, multilayer anode comprising a porous, lithium metal alloy foam, wherein the porous, lithium metal alloy foam is deposited on metal current collector comprising copper or stainless steel. Lee et al. (previously cited) teaches a size-adjustable all-in-one electronic device comprising a flexible anode (Para. [0271]). Kumta-Engineering (previously cited) discloses a porous metal alloy foam comprising a lithium metal (i.e. a Li anode) (page 1) (i.e. composite, multiplayer anode). However, none of the prior art teaches a flexible composite, multilayer anode comprising a porous, lithium metal alloy foam, wherein the porous, lithium metal alloy foam is deposited on metal current collector comprising copper or stainless steel as required by claims 1 and 13. There is no suggestion or motivation to arrive at the claimed invention of at least claims 1 and 13 in the prior art. Thus, none of the prior art alone or in combination teaches or renders obvious the claimed invention of claim 1 and 13 . Since claims 2-6 and 11 are dependent upon claim 1, they would be allowable for the same reason.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ARMINDO CARVALHO JR. whose telephone number is (571)272-5292. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Thursday 7:30a.m.-5p.m..
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/ARMINDO CARVALHO JR./Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1729
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