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and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114.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 September 15, 2026 has been entered.
Response to Amendment
In response to the amendment received on September 15, 2026:
Claims 1-9, 11-15 and 17-20 are pending. Claims 10 and 16 have been canceled as per Applicant’s request;
The specification objections have been withdrawn in light of the amendment;
The 112a rejection of claims 1-9, 11-15 and 17-20 is withdrawn in light of the amendment;
The 112a rejection of claims 3 and 16 is withdrawn in light of the amendment to claim 3 and cancellation of claim 16;
The 112a rejection of claims 18-20 is withdrawn in light of the amendment;
The 112b rejection of claims 1-9, 11-15 and 17-20 is withdrawn in light of the amendment.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement filed June 15, 2026 has been placed in the application file and the information referred to therein has been considered as to the merits.
With respect to foreign language references with no translation of the document: “If no translation is submitted, the examiner will consider the information in view of the concise explanation and insofar as it is understood on its face, e.g., drawings, chemical formulas, English language abstracts, in the same manner that non-English language information in Office search files is considered by examiner in conducting searches.” See MPEP §609.04(a)(II) (D) and 37 CFR 1.98(a)(3)(ii).
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 1-2, 4-9 and 11-12 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. Claim 1 recites “compound having a hydrophobic group and a hydrophilic group” and does not have sufficient support for the broader scope of this limitation when read in light of the disclosure. The only material of the invention disclosed as a compound having a hydrophobic group and hydrophilic group is N-allyl-(2-ethyl-xanthate) propionamide (NAPA). The disclosure does not provide any reasonable guidance or teaching to any other material than this. The specification teaches NAPA as the only recognized compound having a hydrophilic group and hydrophobic group. Therefore, one of ordinary skill in the art would have no reasonable guidance from the disclosure to the broader scope of the phrase of claim 1 “compound having a hydrophobic group and a hydrophilic group”. The original disclosure does not teach to the broader compound class of amended claim 1, does not define any other alternatives with sufficient specificity or predictability.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments filed September 15, 2026, with respect to the objections and rejections set forth in the previous Office Action have been fully considered and are persuasive. The objections and rejections have been withdrawn.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 3 is objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: none of the cited prior art of record, alone or in combination are held to reasonably teach, suggest or render obvious the method of claim 3, wherein the compound is N-allyl-(2-ethyl-xanthate) propionamide (NAPA).
Chen in view of Lin does not reasonably teach or suggest the particular compound of claim 3 including all of the limitations of the method of base claim 1. None of the remaining prior art of record, alone or in combination teach or suggest the invention of claim 3.
Claims 13-15 and 17-20 are allowed.
The following is an examiner’s statement of reasons for allowance:
With respect to claims 13-15 and 17 none of the cited prior art of record, alone or in combination are held to reasonably teach, suggest or render obvious the silicon-carbon pre-lithium composite anode material of claim 13, including the pre-lithium layer, silicon-carbon composite formed by nano-silicon (15-50nm), N-allyl-(2-ethyl-xanthate) propionamide (NAPA) and carbon materials, and wherein the pre-lithium layer comprises one or more compounds LiyM.
Chen in view of Lin does not reasonably teach or suggest the particular material of base claim 13 including the presence of N-allyl-(2-ethyl-xanthate) propionamide (NAPA) as recited therein. None of the remaining prior art of record, alone or in combination teach or suggest the invention of claim 13.
Claims 14-15 and 17 are dependent upon claim 13 and allowed for at least the same reasons.
With respect to claims 18-20 none of the cited prior art of record, alone or in combination are held to reasonably teach, suggest or render obvious the battery of claim 18 comprising a positive electrode sheet, negative electrode sheet and a separator, where the negative electrode sheet comprises a silicon-carbon pre-lithium composite anode material of claim 18, including the silicon-carbon composite and pre-lithium layer, the silicon-carbon composite formed by nano-silicon (15-50nm), N-allyl-(2-ethyl-xanthate) propionamide (NAPA) and carbon materials, and wherein the pre-lithium layer comprises one or more compounds LiyM.
Chen in view of Lin does not reasonably teach or suggest the particular battery of base claim 18 including the presence of N-allyl-(2-ethyl-xanthate) propionamide (NAPA) as recited therein. None of the remaining prior art of record, alone or in combination teach or suggest the invention of claim 18.
Claims 19-20 are dependent upon claim 18 and allowed for at least the same reasons.
Any comments considered necessary by applicant must be submitted no later than the payment of the issue fee and, to avoid processing delays, should preferably accompany the issue fee. Such submissions should be clearly labeled “Comments on Statement of Reasons for Allowance.”
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to GREGG CANTELMO whose telephone number is (571)272-1283. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Thurs 7am to 5pm.
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/GREGG CANTELMO/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1725
