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 .
The Preliminary Amendment filed August 1, 2023 has been entered. Claims 17-26 are pending in this application and examined herein.
Rejections -- 35 U.S.C. 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
Claims 17-26 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
a) Independent claim 17 recites a “predetermined” time period in steps (a)(i) and (d), particle size in step (a)(ii), and flow rate in step (c). The word “predetermined” merely means “determined beforehand”. Given that the claim sets no limitations on the values of any of the various predetermined parameters, nor do they indicate any criteria for how one would determine appropriate values for those parameters, it is unclear what methods are (or conversely are not) intended to fall within the scope of the claim. For purposes of examination, the claims will be given their broadest reasonable interpretation consistent with the specification, and methods that include any values for those parameters will be held to fall within the scope of the claim.
b) In claim 17, step (a)(iii), the phrases “said fine particles” and “said coarse particles” lack proper antecedent bases.
c) Claim 17, step (a)(ii) requires that one obtain a black mass, but then step (a)(iii) recites performing additional actions “to obtain the black mass”. If the black mass has already been obtained in (a)(ii), then it is unclear what must occur in (a)(iiii).
d) It is unclear why limitations on “said mechanical treatment” are set forth in step (c) of claim 17. The examiner suggests reciting such limitations in step (a)(ii), which is directed to “mechanically treating”.
e) In claim 17, step (e), the phrase “said nuggets” lacks proper antecedent basis.
f) Claim 17, step (e) recites casting followed by cooling “to obtain an alloy of cobalt-nickel (Co-Ni), but then recites an additional action “to obtain said cobalt-nickel (Co-Ni) alloy”. If the alloy has already been obtained, it is unclear what must occur as a result of that additional action.
g) In claim 18, line 4, the phrase “said second mixture” lacks proper antecedent basis.
h) In claim 20, lines 4-5, the phrase “the residual particulate matter” lacks proper antecedent basis.
i) Claim 22 recites a temperature range of “1000 0C to 1500 0C” for conversion to manganese oxide, but that range is broader than the range for conversion recited in step (c) of the independent claim. Clarification is required.
j) The recitation of limitations “preferably” present in claim 23 renders the claim indefinite because it is unclear whether or not the claimed method is intended to be limited to the preferable embodiments. For purposes of examination, the claim will be given its broadest reasonable interpretation consistent with the specification, i.e. will not be read as limited to the preferable embodiments.
k) The recitation in claim 26 of actions that “can further be” taken renders this claim prima facie in conflict with the statutory requirement of “particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming” the invention.
l) Claims dependent upon any of the above, either directly or indirectly, are likewise rejected under this statute.
Prior Art of Interest
Various prior art of interest is cited on the attached PTO-892 form. This art is directed to various methods of recovering metals and alloys from waste lithium-ion batteries, i.e. is in the same general field of endeavor as the present claims. None of this art, whether taken alone or in any combination, discloses or suggests a method that includes dipping the batteries in brine, mechanically treating to obtain particles comprising Cu and Al and a black mass comprising compounds of Li, Co, Ni and Mn, heating the black mass to a certain temperature for a certain time to obtain a mixture comprising Li carbonate and compounds of Co, Ni and Mn, extracting the Li carbonate from the mixture and filtering to obtain a filtrate containing Li carbonate and residual black mass, processing the black mass by treating in the presence of oxygen at a certain temperature for a certain time to convert the Mn compound to MnO and obtain a treated mass comprising MnO and compounds of Co and Ni, smelting the mass using a fluxing agent at a certain temperature to obtain a mixture comprising a melt of Co-Ni and a Mn-rich slag, and casting the smelted mixture and cooling to obtain a Co-Ni alloy and a separated Mn-rich slag.
Allowable Subject Matter
In view of the above, claims 17-26 would be allowable if rewritten or amended to overcome the rejection(s) under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), 2nd paragraph, set forth in this Office action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to GEORGE WYSZOMIERSKI whose telephone number is (571) 272-1252. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday thru Friday from 8:30 am to 5:00 pm Eastern time.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Keith Hendricks, can be reached on 571-272-1401. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of an application may be obtained from Patent Center. Status information for published applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Status information for unpublished applications is available through Patent Center to authorized users only. Should you have questions about access to the USPTO patent electronic filing system, 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
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.
/GEORGE WYSZOMIERSKI/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1733 September 15, 2025
Prosecution Insights