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 .
The Applicant’s amendment filed on December 11, 2025 was received. Claim 1 was amended.
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and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114.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 12/11/2025 has been entered.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
3. 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 1,5,7-18 are 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. The recitations “combining only solid precursors including a solid alkali-containing precursor and at least one solid metal precursor” in claim 1 are not supported in the original disclosure filed.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
Claims 1,5,7-18 remain rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as anticipated by Peralta et al. (US 20190372112 A1). The rejections are restated below to address the amendment.
Regarding claim 1, Peralta et al. teach a method of forming a transition metal layered oxide for a lithium-ion battery; the method comprising use of lithium hydroxide (a solid alkali-containing precursor) and sulphates of elements other than Li (for example, nickel sulphate or manganese sulphate) or nickel nitrate, manganese nitrate and cobalt nitrate (solid metal precursor). The alkali-containing precursor and the metal precursor is first mixture is at 30-70°C followed by calcination/heat treatment at a temperature between 700° and 1000°C. See Abstract, para. 72-74,93. Peralta et al. do not explicitly disclose the formation of a liquid eutectic alloy mixture and its melting point being lower than that of any of the individual solid precursor components of the mixture. However, a chemical composition and its properties are inseparable. Therefore, if the prior art teaches the identical chemical structure, the properties applicant discloses and/or claims are necessarily present. "Products of identical chemical composition cannot have mutually exclusive properties." In re Spada, 911 F.2d 705, 709, 15 USPQ2d 1655, 1658 (Fed. Cir. 1990). MPEP 2112.01 II.
Regarding claims 5,7, Peralta et al. teach the use of mortar and pestle to mix (grind) the ingredients in a crucible. See para. 130-132.
Regarding claim 8, Peralta et al. teach one of more of nitrate, carbonate, sulfate and acetate is absent (removed) during the mixing process. See para. 130-132.
Regarding claim 9,10, Peralta et al. teach pre-calcination is carried at between 300°C and 700°C, preferably between 400°C and 500°C for between 1 hour and 24 hours. See para. 93.
Regarding claims 11,12,16,17,18, Peralta et al. teach the layered oxide of the O2 or O3 type structure. See para. 11-20,134-138.
Regarding claim 13-15, Peralta et al. teach the layered oxide of a P2 structure. See para. 92,93,120, example 1.
Regarding claims 14,15,17,18, Peralta et al. teach the lithium ions can be replaced with the sodium ions for a sodium ion battery. See para. 16,94,95.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 12/11/25 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive. Applicant’s principal arguments are:
Peralta discloses the conventional use of aqueous precursor solutions to obtain a metal oxide. Kanada discloses the conventional use of aqueous precursor solutions to obtain a metal oxide.
In response to Applicant’s arguments, please consider the following comments:
Peralta et al. indeed use the solutions of different salts to produce the lithiated layered oxide. However, it is noted that the starting materials (precursors), including soda NaOH. sulphate salt, and nitrate salt, are solid. They are then dissolved in the solvents to form the solutions used in the synthesis of the lithium transition metal oxide. See Para. 72-76. The resulting liquid eutectic mixture would have a lower melting points than the two starting solid precursors. Furthermore, the use of the transitional term “comprising” in claim 1 is open-ended and does not exclude additional method steps. See MPEP 2111.03.
Conclusion
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/Dah-Wei D. Yuan/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 1717
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