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 .
Status of Claims
Applicant’s amendment and arguments filed 03/13/2026 have been fully considered. Claim(s) 1 and 4 is/are amended; and claim(s) 2-3, 5-6 has/have been canceled. Claims 1, 4, and 7-8 are pending. Examiner affirms that the original disclosure provides adequate support for the amendment.
Upon considering said amendment and arguments, the previous rejection(s) under 35 U.S.C. 103 set forth in the Office action mailed 12/18/2025 has/have been withdrawn. Applicant’s amendment necessitated the new grounds of rejection below.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The text of those sections of Title 35, U.S. Code not included in this action can be found in a prior Office action.
Claims 1,4, and 7 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Aiki et al. (US-20190097216-A1) in view of Hinago et al. (US-20030017944-A1):
Regarding claims 1, 4, Aiki discloses a method for producing a coated active material in which a coating layer containing niobium (“lithium niobate compound”) is made on at least a part of a surface of an active material ([0037]).
Aiki’s method follows an overall procedure where an active material is coated with a coating solution containing niobium and dried to form a precursor, which is then baked to produce the coated active material ([0095-0099])
While Aiki does not necessitate particular method of coating the active material with the solution and obtaining a precursor, indicating various publicly-known methods as suitable ([0096]), Aiki fails to expressly disclose a method of cooling a slurry containing the active material and the coating solution to a temperature of 5 °C or more and less than 25 °C while stirring, transforming the slurry into slurry droplets, and drying the slurry droplets in a heated gas stream to obtain a precursor as claimed in claim 1.
However, Aiki’s method uses a coating solution prepared by complexing niobium with hydrogen peroxide to form a water-soluble niobium peroxo complex ([0044], [0055]), where a residual amount of hydrogen peroxide must be suitably maintained in the coating solution to maintain stability of the niobium peroxo complex ([0081-0083]).
Hinago (US20190097216A1) is directed to a method of producing an oxide catalyst comprising a silica carrier material coated with a coating solution (“aqueous raw material mixture”) (Hinago [0138-0139]) comprising an aqueous niobium compound ([0140]). While in a different field of endeavor from Aiki as a method of producing a catalyst material, Hinago is nonetheless pertinent to Aiki as being analogously directed to coating a material with a coating solution of niobium complexed with hydrogen peroxide to obtain a precursor ([0140], [0226]).
As a method of obtaining a precursor of a material coated with a coating solution containing niobium, Hinago teaches a process of cooling a slurry (“raw material mixture”) containing a silica carrier material and a coating solution of niobium complexed with hydrogen peroxide to a temperature between 5 °C to 50 °C while stirring ([0109], [0226]), after cooling, transforming the slurry into droplets through spraying and drying the slurry droplets in a heated gas stream to obtain a precursor ([0228]).
Hinago teaches the process to be advantageous in forming a highly spherical coated particle, having improved fluidity ([0010]). One of ordinary skill in the art would appreciate the benefits of improved fluidity in preparing an all-solid state battery where an active material powder must be mixed with a solid electrolyte, where AIki discloses use of the coated active material in an all-solid-state battery (Aiki [0004]).
Thus, in seeking to improve the shape and fluidity of a coated active material produced by Aiki’s method, or at least to provide a suitable means of obtaining the coated active material precursor, it would be obvious before the effective filing date of the instant application for one having ordinary skill in the art to select a method of cooling a slurry containing the active material and a coating solution containing niobium to a temperature 5 °C to 50 °C while stirring, and after cooling, transforming the slurry into droplets to obtain slurry droplets by spraying and drying the slurry droplets in a heated gas stream to obtain a precursor as taught by Aiki, thus reading on portions of claim 1. Such a selection would be made with a reasonable expectation of success, as Aiki teaches use of this method with an analogous coating solution comprising an aqueous niobium complex for the same purpose of forming a precursor of a particle coated with the coating solution (MPEP 2144.07).
Furthermore, prior to transforming the slurry (“raw material mixture”) into droplets by spraying (Hinago [0168]), Hinago teaches maintaining the slurry temperature above at least 5 °C to prevent water freezing and below less than 50 °C to prevent decomposition of hydrogen peroxide ([0109]). Such considerations are pertinent to Aiki, which requires a sufficient concentration of hydrogen peroxide to be present in the coating solution as a slurry component to maintain stability of the niobium peroxo complex (Aiki [0083]), and also uses water as a coating solution solvent ([0061]), thus having the same freezing point.
As such, in seeking to prevent decomposition of hydrogen peroxide without inadvertently freezing the slurry, it would be obvious for one having ordinary skill in the art to cool Aiki’s slurry temperature to a range of 5 °C to 50 °C according to Hinago’s teaching, encompassing the range of at least 5 °C to less than 25 °C claimed in claim 1 such that a skilled artisan would have selected within the encompassed range through routine optimization (MPEP 2144.05 II). Such an optimization would be made with a reasonable expectation of success, as Aiki evidences a stability of the coating solution contained in the slurry at 25 °C (Aiki [0110]), this approaching an endpoint (“less than 25 °C”) of the claimed range.
The skilled artisan modifying Aiki as above through selecting a method of forming the precursor and optimizing a slurry cooling temperature according to Hinago’s teaching would thereby provide a method comprising cooling a slurry containing the active material and a coating solution containing niobium to a temperature of the slurry is 5°C or more and less than 25 °C while stirring, after cooling, transforming the slurry into droplets to obtain slurry droplets, and drying the slurry droplets in a heated gas stream to obtain a precursor, consequently rendering obvious this portion of claim 1.
Modified Aiki further discloses a subsequent step of baking the precursor as claimed (Aiki [0099]). The coating solution contains lithium ions and a niobium peroxo complex ([0092]; [0099-0100]).
As the active material, Aiki suggests a finite set of named materials including LiNi0.8Co0.15Al0.05O2 ([0094]), this being an active material containing at least nickel as a transition metal, where the nickel content is 80% or more based on a total of metal elements besides lithium as claimed in claim 1, and wherein the active material further contains cobalt as claimed in claim 4.
Given that a skilled artisan must select an identity of active material for use in Aiki’s coated active material, where Aiki’s finite list of named active materials are identified, predictable solutions within the ambit of one of ordinary skill in the art, it would be obvious for a skilled artisan to explore selecting LiNi0.8Co0.15Al0.05O2 as the active material with a reasonable expectation of success for use in modified Aiki’s method (MPEP 2143 I. E), thus rendering obvious limitations of claim 1 and claim 4.
Regarding claim 7, modified Aiki discloses a method for producing an electrode containing the coated active material produced by the method according to claim 1, the method comprising mixing the coated active material and a solid electrolyte to obtain an electrode mixture; and forming the electrode mixture (Aiki [0004]; [0099]).
Claim 8 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Aiki (US-20190097216-A1) and Hinago (US-20030017944-A1) as applied to claim 7, further in view of Takada et al. (US-20090081554-A1; cited in 12/18/2025 Office action).
Regarding claim 8, modified Aiki discloses the method according to claim 7, but fails to expressly disclose that the solid electrolyte of claim 7 (Aiki [0004) is a sulfide solid electrolyte containing lithium and sulfur as constituent elements.
Takada (US-20090081554-A1), directed to an active material analogously coated with a lithium ion-conducting oxide such as niobium to suppress an increase in resistance from contact with a sulfide solid electrolyte (Takada [0024], [0045]), teaches selection of Li3PO4—Li2S—SiS2, Li4SiO4—Li2S—SiS2, Li2S—GeS2—P2S5, Li2S—P2S5, LiI—Li2S—P2S5, LiI—Li2S—B2S3, and LiI—Li2S—SiS2 ([0036-0037]) as suitable sulfide solid electrolytes having high ion conductivities ([0034-0035]), where these species of solid electrolyte contain lithium and sulfur as constituent elements.
As such, in seeking to provide sufficient lithium-ion conductivity in modified AIki’s electrode mixture, it would be obvious before the effective filing date of the instant application for one having ordinary skill in the art to select one of Takada’s sulfide solid electrolytes discussed above for use as modified Aiki’s solid electrolyte, which contains lithium and sulfur as constituent elements. Such a selection would be made with a reasonable expectation of success because Takada teaches a suitability of the sulfide solid electrolytes comprising lithium and sulfur for use with an analogous active material having a niobium-containing coating, this structure being present in the coated active material of modified Aiki’s method.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to rejection of claims 1-6 under 35 U.S.C. 102 and 1-8 under 35 U.S.C. 103 as obvious over Lim et al. (US20180323435A1) and Takada et al. (US20090081554A1) (Remarks filed 03/13/2026 pp 4-7) 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.
Withdrawal of the previous ground of rejection has been necessitated by Applicant’s amendment filed 03/13/2026.
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.
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/E.C./Examiner, Art Unit 1751
/JONATHAN G LEONG/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 1751 5/7/2026
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