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 .
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election without traverse of Group I, claims 1-3 and 5 in the reply filed on 20 November 2025 is acknowledged.
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 and 2 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Baek (KR 20190129615 A; listed in the IDS Filed 19 September 2024; using Applicant’s submitted English machine translation).
Baek teaches a precursor for a lithium secondary battery positive active material comprising at least a nickel atom (see [0054]-[0056] and [0158]), wherein when a particle diameter (µm) at which a cumulative volume fraction from a small particle side becomes 10% is defined as D10, a particle diameter (µm) at which the cumulative volume fraction from the small particle side becomes 30% is defined as D30, a particle diameter (µm) at which the cumulative volume fraction from the small particle side becomes 50% is defined as D50, a particle diameter (µm) at which the cumulative volume fraction from the small particle side becomes 70% is defined as D70, and a particle diameter (µm) at which the cumulative volume fraction from the small particle side becomes 90% is defined as D90, the D10, the D30, the µm, the D70, and the D90 satisfy (1) to (3),
(1) (D50 – D10)/D30 ≤ 0.6 (see [0189] - Table 3, example 1 values – (14.67-8.81)/11.99 = 0.489),
(2) (D90 – D50)/D70 ≤ 0.6 (see [0189] - Table 3, example 1 values – (23.23-14.67)/17.71 = 0.483, and
(3) 0.90 ≤ [(D50 – D10)/D30]/[(D90 – D50)/D70] ≤ 1.10 (see [0189] - Table 3, example 1 values – 0.489 / 0.483 = 1.012).
Regarding claim 2, Baek teaches the precursor is represented by Ni0.75Co0.125Mn0.125(OH)2 (see [0158] – where x = 0.125, y = 0.125, z = 0, and α = 0, and M is Mn).
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) 3 and 5 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Baek (KR 20190129615 A; listed in the IDS Filed 19 September 2024; using Applicant’s submitted English machine translation).
Regarding claims 3 and 5, Baek is teaches a value of D50 that less than 10 µm (D50 of 9 µm to 20 µm; see [0049]). In the case where the claimed ranges "overlap or lie inside ranges disclosed by the prior art" a prima facie case of obviousness exists. See MPEP §2144.05(I).
Conclusion
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/S.S.H/Examiner, Art Unit 1735 13 December 2025
/KEITH WALKER/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 1735