DETAILED ACTION
Claims 1, 3-5 and 9-10 are pending as amended on 23 December 2025, claims 6-8 are withdrawn from consideration.
The text of those sections of Title 35, U.S. Code not included in this action can be found in a prior Office action.
Applicant’s amendments to the claims and the remarks/arguments have been entered and fully considered.
Response to Amendment and Arguments
Applicant’s amendment overcomes the rejection of claims 1, 3-5 and 9-10 under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1)/(a)(2) over US2017/0214051A1 (Yoon). The rejection has been withdrawn. However, the amendment does not overcome the rejection under 35 U.S.C. 103 over Yoon.
Applicant’s arguments in light of the amendment have been fully considered but are not persuasive.
Applicant asserts that Yoon’s tetralin slurry is considered to volatile during vacuum drying, however, Yoon teaches that “the solvent may be reduced by vacuum drying” after heat treatment ([0098]), thus Yoon’s vacuum drying is an optional treatment following heat treatment. Indeed Yoon expressly discloses that “the solvent may be removed by heat treatment” and exemplifies removing solvent by drying at temperature of 120°C ([0097] and [0108]). Since Yoon teaches heat treatment applying a temperature and duration similar to the instant disclosed (Yoon [0098] and instant disclosure [0045]), absent evidence to the contrary, the examiner maintains that one of ordinary skill in the art would have reasonable basis to expect that the amount of the residual solvent would be the same as the instantly claimed given the same solvent undergoing the same heating/drying process. Further, a person of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to adjust the amount of the residual tetralin in the electrode layer in order to obtain a workable product.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
Claims 1, 3-5 and 9-10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yoon.
Regarding claims 1 and 3-5, Yoon teaches an electrode active material layer for all solid state battery comprises an electrode active material, a solid electrolyte and a solvent ([0013]), Figure 1 and [0100]), wherein the solid electrolyte is a sulfide based solid electrolyte([0021]), and the solvent includes tetralin ([0070]), which meets the claimed residual liquid thus inherently the claimed δp and boiling point.
Yoon does not expressly discloses the instantly claimed amount of residual liquid in the electrode layer, however, Yoon teaches that heat treatment of the electrode layer to remove/reduce solvent by applying a temperature of 20 to 150° C. for about 10 to 50 minutes ([0098]), which is similar to the instant disclosed (instant disclosure [0045]), absent evidence to the contrary, one of ordinary skill in the art would have reasonable basis to expect that the amount of the residual solvent would be the same as the instantly claimed given the same solvent undergoing the same heating/drying process. Further, a person of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to adjust the amount of the residual tetralin in the electrode layer in order to obtain a workable product.
Regarding claim 9, Yoon teaches that the electrode layer can be an anode layer ([0090] and [0096]).
Regarding claim 10, Yoon teaches an all solid state battery comprises an cathode, a solid electrolyte and an anode stacked together ([0005] and [0100]), wherein the cathode and/or the anode comprises the electrode active material layer ([0090]).
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to AIQUN LI whose telephone number is (571)270-7736. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 9:00 am -4:00 pm.
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, Randy Gulakowski can be reached at 571-2721302. 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.
/AIQUN LI/Ph.D., Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1766