Prosecution Insights
Last updated: May 29, 2026
Application No. 17/692,704

POSITIVE ELECTRODE FOR RECHARGEABLE LITHIUM BATTERY AND RECHARGEABLE LITHIUM BATTERY INCLUDING THE SAME

Non-Final OA §103
Filed
Mar 11, 2022
Priority
Mar 12, 2021 — RE 10-2021-0032811
Examiner
RHEE, JANE J
Art Unit
1724
Tech Center
1700 — Chemical & Materials Engineering
Assignee
Samsung Electronics
OA Round
4 (Non-Final)
86%
Grant Probability
Favorable
4-5
OA Rounds
0m
Est. Remaining
98%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 86% — above average
86%
Career Allowance Rate
961 granted / 1119 resolved
+20.9% vs TC avg
Moderate +12% lift
Without
With
+12.5%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 9m
Avg Prosecution
22 currently pending
Career history
1147
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
0.4%
-39.6% vs TC avg
§103
79.3%
+39.3% vs TC avg
§102
15.1%
-24.9% vs TC avg
§112
0.6%
-39.4% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 1119 resolved cases

Office Action

§103
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and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114.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 4/28/26 has been entered. Rejections Repeated 1. The 35 U.S.C. 102(a) rejection of claims 1,3,5,7,13-15 anticipated by Muraoka has been repeated as previously made in office action 1/30/26. As to new limitation “wherein the ceramic particles have an ion conductivity of about 10-8 S/cm to about 10- S/cm,” since Muraoka discloses SiO2 ceramic particles it is inherent wherein the ceramic particles have an ion conductivity of about 10-8 S/cm to about 10- S/cm. “Products of identical chemical composition cannot have mutually exclusive properties. ”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. In re Spada, 911 F.2d 705, 709, 15 USPQ2d 1655, 1658(Fed. Cir. 1990) 2. The 35 U.S.C. 103(a) rejection of claim 4 unpatentable over Muraoka has been repeated as previously made in office action 1/30/26. 3. The 35 U.S.C. 103(a) rejection of claim 6,8 unpatentable over Muraoka in view of Dai has been repeated as previously made in office action 1/30/26. 4. The 35 U.S.C. 103(a) rejection of claim 9-10 unpatentable over Muraoka in view of Choi has been repeated as previously made in office action 1/30/26. 5. The 35 U.S.C. 103(a) rejection of claim 11-12 unpatentable over Muraoka in view of Takijiri has been repeated as previously made in office action 1/30/26. New Rejection Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103 The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action: A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made. 6. Claim(s) 2 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Muraoka in view of Pistorino et al. (US20170187063). Muraoka discloses the positive electrode described above. Muraoka fail to disclose wherein the ceramic particles comprise Li20-SiO2-TiO2- P205,Li20-Al203-TiO2-P205, Li20-Al203-SiO2-P205-TiO2, Li20-Al203-SiO2-P205-TiO2-GeO2, Li3A1Ti2Si1P2012, Li1.5Alo.5Ge1.5P3012, Li1.3Alo.3Ti1.7(P04)3, Li2S-P2S5,LiN, Lil,Li5NI2, Li3N-Lil-LiOH, LiSiO4, LiSiO4-Lil-LiOH, Li2SiS3, Li4SiO4, Li4SiO4-Lil-LiOH, Li2S, Li2S-SiS2, Li2S-GeS2, Li2S-B2S5, Li2S-Al2S2, CaF2, Agl, or a combination thereof. Pistorino et al. teaches ceramic particles Li2SP2S5 for the purpose of increasing ionic conductivity of the cathode thus increasing the overall rate performance of the cell (paragraph 0015,0043). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time applicant's invention was made to provide Muraoka with ceramic particles Li2SP2S5 for the purpose of increasing ionic conductivity of the cathode thus increasing the overall rate performance of the cell (paragraph 0015,0043). Response to Arguments Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim(s) 1-15 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument. Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JANE J RHEE whose telephone number is (571)272-1499. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday (10-6:30). Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice. If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Miriam Stagg can be reached at 571-270-5256. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300. Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000. /JANE J RHEE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1724
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Show 2 earlier events
Jun 04, 2025
Response Filed
Aug 15, 2025
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §103
Nov 14, 2025
Response Filed
Jan 30, 2026
Final Rejection mailed — §103
Mar 23, 2026
Response after Non-Final Action
Apr 28, 2026
Request for Continued Examination
Apr 29, 2026
Response after Non-Final Action
May 15, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §103 (current)

Precedent Cases

Applications granted by this same examiner with similar technology

Patent 12640365
NONAQUEOUS ELECTROLYTE SECONDARY BATTERY
3y 2m to grant Granted May 26, 2026
Patent 12640426
APPARATUS, SYSTEM, AND METHOD FOR EMBEDDING AND PROTECTING FLEXIBLE BATTERIES IN WEARABLES
3y 3m to grant Granted May 26, 2026
Patent 12633600
ELECTRONIC DEVICE INCLUDING BATTERY
3y 8m to grant Granted May 19, 2026
Patent 12633525
POSITIVE ELECTRODE ADDITIVE FOR LITHIUM SECONDARY BATTERY, METHOD FOR PREPARING THE SAME AND POSITIVE ELECTRODE FOR LITHIUM SECONDARY BATTERY INCLUDING THE SAME
3y 1m to grant Granted May 19, 2026
Patent 12627009
SECONDARY BATTERY
3y 4m to grant Granted May 12, 2026
Study what changed to get past this examiner. Based on 5 most recent grants.

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Prosecution Projections

4-5
Expected OA Rounds
86%
Grant Probability
98%
With Interview (+12.5%)
2y 9m (~0m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
High
PTA Risk
Based on 1119 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

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