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and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114.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 05/18/2026 has been entered.
Status of Claims
Claims 19-20 & 25 are amended. Claims 19-28 are currently pending.
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.
Claims 19 & 21-28 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Yushin (US 2021/0313617 A1).
Regarding claims 19, 21-22, 25 & 27-28, Yushin teaches a lithium ion battery comprising an anode material having a specific surface area of about 1 m2/g to 5 m2/g, and comprising an aggregate comprising a carbon material having a pore volume greater than 0.35 cm3/g; and an active material such as Si and/or SiOx (and further including a dopant such as Mg) filled in pores of the carbon material such that the active material is distributed among the carbon materials or on surface of the carbon material; wherein the carbon material is shown in a Raman spectrum obtained by Raman spectroscopy using a measurement light source having a wavelength of 532 nm that a G band is observed at 1530 cm-1 to 1630 cm-1, and a D band is observed at 1280 cm-1 to 1380 cm-1, and a ratio ID/IG of 0.7 to 2.7, wherein the anode material further comprises a carbon layer having a thickness of 2 nm to 200 nm coated on at least a portion of surface of the aggregate, and wherein a material of the carbon layer comprises amorphous carbon such as a carbonized polymer or resin including petroleum pitch (fig. 2; [0066], [0072]-[0075], [0081]-[0082], [0093] & [0172]).
Regarding claim 23, Yushin teaches the aggregate further comprising a metal oxide such as TiO2 ([0082]-[0083]).
Regarding claim 24, Yushin teaches the aggregate further comprising a conductive enhance such as carbon nanotubes ([0118]-[0119]).
Regarding claim 26, Yushin teaches the anode material further comprising an oxide layer formed on at least a portion of the surface of the active material, wherein the oxide layer has a thickness of 1 nm to 100 nm ([0082]-[0083]).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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 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 20 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yushin (US 2021/0313617 A1) in view of Son (US 2019/0207221 A1).
Regarding claim 20, Yushin teaches a lithium ion battery comprising an anode material having a specific surface area of about 1 m2/g to 5 m2/g, and comprising an aggregate comprising a carbon material having a pore volume greater than 0.35 cm3/g; and an active material such as Si or SiOx (and further including a dopant such as Mg) filled in pores of the carbon material such that the active material is distributed among the carbon materials or on surface of the carbon material; wherein the carbon material is shown in a Raman spectrum obtained by Raman spectroscopy using a measurement light source having a wavelength of 532 nm that a G band is observed at 1530 cm-1 to 1630 cm-1, and a D band is observed at 1280 cm-1 to 1380 cm-1, and a ratio ID/IG of 0.7 to 2.7, wherein the anode material further comprises a carbon layer having a thickness of 2 nm to 200 nm coated on at least a portion of surface of the aggregate, and wherein a material of the carbon layer comprises amorphous carbon such as a carbonized polymer or resin including petroleum pitch (fig. 2; [0066], [0072]-[0075], [0081]-[0082], [0093] & [0172]). Yushin is silent as to dopant element being capable of inducing a carbon material to produce a Lewis acid side and at least apportion of the active material being bound to the carbon material through the Lewis acid site, wherein a content of the dopant element in the aggregate is 50 ppm to 20000 ppm. Son teaches a lithium-ion battery comprising an anode material, having a median particle diameter of 0.5 microns to 30 microns and comprising an aggregate including an active material such as Si with an oxide layer having a thickness of about 10 nm or less formed on at least a portion of the surface of the active material ([0055], [0064]-[0065], [0079], [0153] & [0156]); a metal oxide such as titanium oxide (i.e TiO2) ([0174]-[0175]); a carbon material such as graphene ([0064]-[0065]); a dopant element such as N or P in an amount of 50 ppm to 20,000 ppm in the aggregate ([0085]-[0087]); and an amorphous carbon layer coated on at least a portion of the surface of the aggregate ([0108]); wherein the carbon material is shown in a Raman spectrum obtained by Raman spectroscopy using a measurement light source having a wavelength of 532 nm that a G band is observed at 1530 cm-1 to 1630 cm-1, and a D band is observed at 1280 cm-1 to 1380 cm-1 such that a ratio Id/Ig of a peak intensity Id of the D band and peak intensity I-g of the G band is 1 to 2.5 ([0095]). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the present invention, to provide a dopant element such as N or P, wherein a content of the dopant element in the aggregate is 50 ppm to 20,000 ppm because when N is included and incorporated into a defective region of graphene, the stability and quality of graphene may be further improved while efficiently suppressing the formation of the SEI layer as taught by Son ([0092]-[0093]).
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claims 19-28 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. The amendment to claims 19-28 has prompted new grounds of rejection in view of Yushin as cited above. Thus, in view of the foregoing, claims 19-28 stand rejected.
Contact Information
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to NATHANAEL T ZEMUI whose telephone number is (571)272-4894. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8am-5pm (EST).
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, BARBARA GILLIAM can be reached at (571)272-1330. 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.
/NATHANAEL T ZEMUI/Examiner, Art Unit 1727
Prosecution Insights