SYSTEM AND METHODS RELATING TO INTERPENETRATING MULTI-ELECTRODES AND FABRICATION THEREOF FOR ELECTROCHEMICAL DEVICES
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 .
Response to Amendment
In response to communication filed on 6/16/2026:
Claims 1-3, 7-9, 11, 12, and 14-20 have been amended; claim 21 has been added.
Previous rejections under 35 USC 102(a)(1) and 103 have been withdrawn due to amendment.
Previous rejections under 35 USC 112(a) and (b) have been partially withdrawn and modified due to amendment.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments, see pages 10-20, filed 6/16/2026, with respect to rejections under 35 USC 102 and 103 have been fully considered and are persuasive. The rejection of claims 14, 16, and 20 under 35 USC 102(a)(1) and the rejection of claims 1-4, 7, 8, 10, 11, 15, and 17 under 35 USC 103 have been withdrawn due to amendments.
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claims 1-21 have been considered but are moot based on new grounds of rejection necessitated by amendment.
Drawings
The drawings are objected to under 37 CFR 1.83(a). The drawings must show every feature of the invention specified in the claims. Therefore, the “first and second scaffold”, “nodes”, and “first and second print heads” must be shown or the feature(s) canceled from the claim(s). No new matter should be entered.
Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. The figure or figure number of an amended drawing should not be labeled as “amended.” If a drawing figure is to be canceled, the appropriate figure must be removed from the replacement sheet, and where necessary, the remaining figures must be renumbered and appropriate changes made to the brief description of the several views of the drawings for consistency. Additional replacement sheets may be necessary to show the renumbering of the remaining figures. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
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 1-21 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 states the following limitations (emphasis added):
self-supporting three-dimensional printed body
first and second scaffold which active material is coated
co-continuous first and second beam-like structures
no physical separator coating is required
The limitations that are emphasized are not disclosed or described in the specification.
Claim 2 states the following limitations (emphasis added):
unitary
length-to-diameter aspect ratio of at least 2:1
nodes of the three-dimensional lattice
The limitations that are emphasized are not disclosed or described in the specification.
Claim 9 states the following limitations (emphasis added):
self-supporting three-dimensional printed body
first and second scaffold which active material is coated
unitary
first set of co-continuous internal channels filled with a second active material
second set of co-continuous internal channels filled with electrolyte
separator layer
The limitations that are emphasized are not disclosed or described in the specification.
Claim 11 states the following limitation (emphasis added):
electroplating comprises at least one of copper or nickel deposited directly onto the first scaffold or second scaffold
The limitations that are emphasized are not disclosed or described in the specification.
Claim 12 defines the polymer is selected from the group consisting of polylactic acid (PLA), acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS), polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polycarbonate (PC), polyether ether ketone (PEEK), and combinations thereof.
These materials are not found in the specification anywhere.
Claim 14 states the following limitations (emphasis added):
printing, simultaneously using respective first and second print heads
co-continuous first and second beam-like structures
self-supporting first and second beam-like structures
The limitations that are emphasized are not disclosed or described in the specification.
Claim 18 defines the polymer is selected from the group consisting of polylactic acid (PLA), acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS), polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polycarbonate (PC), polyether ether ketone (PEEK), and combinations thereof.
These materials are not found in the specification anywhere.
Claim 21 states the following limitations (emphasis added):
self-supporting three-dimensional printed body
first and second scaffold which active material is coated
co-continuous first and second beam-like structures
no physical separator coating is required
Claims 2-8, 10, 13, 15-17, 19, and 20 are also rejected under 35 USC 112(a) for their dependence on claims 1 and 14.
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.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 14-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Claim 14 recites the limitation "the geometry”. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Claims 15-20 are also rejected under 35 USC 112(b) for their dependence on claim 14.
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.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to DANIEL S GATEWOOD whose telephone number is (571)270-7958. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8:00-5:30.
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, Ula Tavares-Crockett can be reached at 571-272-1481. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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Daniel S. Gatewood, Ph.D.
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 1729
/DANIEL S GATEWOOD, Ph. D/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1729 June 29th, 2026
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