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 .
Applicant amended Claim 1. Applicant added Claims 19 and 20. Support for the amendments to Claim 1 are found in the original filing. A new matter rejection is presented below for Claims 19-20.
Information Disclosure Statements
The information disclosure statements (IDS) submitted on 02/14/2023 has been considered by the examiner.
Response to Amendment
Responsive to communications filed on 03/02/2026, amendments to the claims have been acknowledged.
The rejections over Takahsi et al. US 20140174256 A1 have been overcome as applied to Claims 1-18 and new matter rejections of Claims 19-20 has been made necessitated by amendment.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
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 19-20 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.
There does not appear to be support for the limitation “removing the positive electrode from the heating apparatus” in Claim 19 Line 5. The instant Specification indicates at paragraph [0022] that the positive electrode is removed from non-aqueous electrolyte secondary battery, but does not indicate removal from the heating apparatus. Appropriate correction is required.
Upon amendment, applicant is cautioned against the introduction of new matter into the disclosure. 35 U.S.C. 132(a) states that no amendment shall introduce new matter into the disclosure of the invention.
Applicant is encouraged to point to the passage in the instant Specification which identifies support for each claim amendment.
Free of Prior Art
The closest prior art to Amended Claims 1-20 is Takahsi et al. US 20140174256 A1 wherein an a positive electrode for a waste lithium ion battery undergoes a pre-oxidation treatment and a melting step to obtain a molten material. The newly amended limitations to Claims 1-18 render the claims free of prior art because Takahsi et al. ‘256 does not teach or suggest melting the positive electrode by spontaneous heat generation. Claims 1-18 are herein objected pending the assurance of no new matter.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 03/02/2026 have been fully considered and are persuasive as to the prior art rejections in the office action mailed 12/03/2025.
As set forth above, Takahsi et al. ‘256 does not teach or suggest melting the positive electrode by spontaneous heat generation. It would not have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of filing the invention to modify the method of Takahsi et al. ‘256 with a spontaneous heat generation step, or thermit reaction.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure:
US 20020090553 A1 teaches firing combustion of a positive electrode.
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 extension fee 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 date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MORIAH S. SMOOT whose telephone number is (571)272-2634. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8:30am - 5pm EDT.
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/Keith D. Hendricks/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 1733
/M.S.S./Examiner, Art Unit 1733