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and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114.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 May 12, 2026, has been entered.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed May 12, 2026, have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
Applicant contends that the peaks of the Uesugi do not come from a Pmna phase (p. 5). However, the instant specification explicitly states that those peaks are considered to be derived from a Pmna phase (p. 10).
The arguments of counsel cannot take the place of evidence in the record. In re Schulze, 346 F.2d 600, 602, 145 USPQ 716, 718 (CCPA 1965). Examples of attorney statements which are not evidence and which must be supported by an appropriate affidavit or declaration include statements regarding unexpected results, commercial success, solution of a long-felt need, inoperability of the prior art, invention before the date of the reference, and allegations that the author(s) of the prior art derived the disclosed subject matter from the inventor or at least one joint inventor.
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.
Claim(s) 1, 3, 5, and 6 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Uesugi et al. (WO 2018/003333 A1, with reference to US 2019/0312304 Al as a direct English translation) as evidenced by the instant specification.
Regarding claim 1, Uesugi teaches a sulfide solid electrolyte comprising Li, P, and S (Example 2) with CuKα1 XRD peaks at 22.5°, 29°, 19.7°, and 31° (Fig. 1), each of which falls within the ranges of the instant claim. Uesugi does not teach that these peaks are derived from a crystal structure belonging to a Pmna space group. However, according to the instant specification, a solid sulfide electrolyte with peaks at 23.2° ± 1°, 29.2° ± 0.5°, 19.5° ± 1°, and 30.5° ± 0.5° is considered to be derived from a Pmna crystal phase (p. 10 of the instant specification). The peaks of Uesugi, which fall within these ranges, are therefore considered to be derived from a Pmna crystal phase.
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Regarding claim 3, the material has CuKα1 XRD peaks at 15.3° and 25.5° derived from an argyrodite phase (Fig. 1), each of which falls within the ranges of the instant claim.
Regarding claim 5, the material has a composition Li5.8PS4.8Cl1.2 ([0086]), which is LiaPSbXc with X=Cl and a=5.8, b=48., and c=1.2, each of which falls within the ranges of the instant claim.
Regarding claim 6, X is Cl ([0086]).
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.
Claim(s) 4 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Uesugi as evidenced by the instant specification as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Ose et al (US 2020/0119396 A1).
Regarding claim 4, Uesugi does not teach any particular BET surface area. Ose teaches that BET specific surface area of a solid electrolyte should be 3.0-9.0 m2/g to maintain the ion- and electron-conducting paths with balance (Ose [0039]). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the instant invention to use a BET specific surface area of 3.0-9.0 m2/g, which falls within the range of the instant claim, in the solid electrolyte of Uesugi in order to maintain the ion- and electron-conducting paths with balance.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JAMES A CORNO JR whose telephone number is (571)270-0745. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9:00 am - 5:00 pm.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Niki Bakhtiari can be reached at (571) 272-3433. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/J.A.C/ Examiner, Art Unit 1722
/ANCA EOFF/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1722
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