DETAILED ACTION
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and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114.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 Nov. 13, 2025 has been entered.
Status of Claims
Claims 1-12 are pending and being examined on the merits in this office action.
Response to Amendments
Applicant’s amendments and arguments have been entered. A reply to the Applicant’s remarks/arguments is presented after addressing the claims.
Any rejections and/or objections made in the previous Office Action and not repeated below, are hereby withdrawn in view of Applicant’s amendments or/and arguments.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statements (IDS) submitted on May 27, Nov. 13, Nov. 19 and Dec. 5, 2025 have been considered by the examiner.
Claim Interpretations
The recitation “percolation threshold” recited in claim 1 is interpreted according to the description in the specification.
Double Patenting
The nonstatutory double patenting rejection is based on a judicially created doctrine grounded in public policy (a policy reflected in the statute) so as to prevent the unjustified or improper timewise extension of the “right to exclude” granted by a patent and to prevent possible harassment by multiple assignees. A nonstatutory double patenting rejection is appropriate where the conflicting claims are not identical, but at least one examined application claim is not patentably distinct from the reference claim(s) because the examined application claim is either anticipated by, or would have been obvious over, the reference claim(s). See, e.g., In re Berg, 140 F.3d 1428, 46 USPQ2d 1226 (Fed. Cir. 1998); In re Goodman, 11 F.3d 1046, 29 USPQ2d 2010 (Fed. Cir. 1993); In re Longi, 759 F.2d 887, 225 USPQ 645 (Fed. Cir. 1985); In re Van Ornum, 686 F.2d 937, 214 USPQ 761 (CCPA 1982); In re Vogel, 422 F.2d 438, 164 USPQ 619 (CCPA 1970); In re Thorington, 418 F.2d 528, 163 USPQ 644 (CCPA 1969).
A timely filed terminal disclaimer in compliance with 37 CFR 1.321(c) or 1.321(d) may be used to overcome an actual or provisional rejection based on nonstatutory double patenting provided the reference application or patent either is shown to be commonly owned with the examined application, or claims an invention made as a result of activities undertaken within the scope of a joint research agreement. See MPEP § 717.02 for applications subject to examination under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA as explained in MPEP § 2159. See MPEP § 2146 et seq. for applications not subject to examination under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA . A terminal disclaimer must be signed in compliance with 37 CFR 1.321(b).
The filing of a terminal disclaimer by itself is not a complete reply to a nonstatutory double patenting (NSDP) rejection. A complete reply requires that the terminal disclaimer be accompanied by a reply requesting reconsideration of the prior Office action. Even where the NSDP rejection is provisional the reply must be complete. See MPEP § 804, subsection I.B.1. For a reply to a non-final Office action, see 37 CFR 1.111(a). For a reply to final Office action, see 37 CFR 1.113(c). A request for reconsideration while not provided for in 37 CFR 1.113(c) may be filed after final for consideration. See MPEP §§ 706.07(e) and 714.13.
The USPTO Internet website contains terminal disclaimer forms which may be used. Please visit www.uspto.gov/patent/patents-forms. The actual filing date of the application in which the form is filed determines what form (e.g., PTO/SB/25, PTO/SB/26, PTO/AIA /25, or PTO/AIA /26) should be used. A web-based eTerminal Disclaimer may be filled out completely online using web-screens. An eTerminal Disclaimer that meets all requirements is auto-processed and approved immediately upon submission. For more information about eTerminal Disclaimers, refer to www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/applying-online/eterminal-disclaimer.
Claims 1-12 are rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claims 1-6 of U.S. Patent No. 11557765 B2 (‘765) in view of Zhamu. Although the claims at issue are not identical, they are not patentably distinct from each other because all the limitations in the instant claims are taught by the above-mentioned claims of ‘765 in view of Zhamu. The Zhamu reference is applied for the same reasons stated in the rejection above. Note that the limitation recited in the instant claim 1 that “comprising a first electrode, a second electrode, a permeable separator between the first electrode and the second electrode, and an electrolyte wetting the first and second electrodes” are well known in the art and thus not patentably distinguishable. The limitation recited in the last paragraph of the instant claim 1 are necessarily-present properties or characteristics of the energy storage cell once the reference application teaches the substantially same structural and composition limitations as instantly claimed and thus not patentably distinguishable
Claims 1-2 and 5-12 are provisionally rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claims 1-9 of copending Application No. 17948644 (reference application). Although the claims at issue are not identical, they are not patentably distinct from each other because all the limitations in the instant claims are taught by the limitations recited in the above-mentioned claims of the reference application. Note that the limitation recited in the instant claim 1 that “comprising a first electrode, a second electrode, a permeable separator between the first electrode and the second electrode, and an electrolyte wetting the first and second electrodes” are well known in the art and thus not patentably distinguishable. The limitation recited in the last paragraph of the instant claim 1 are necessarily-present properties or characteristics of the energy storage cell once the reference application teaches the substantially same structural and composition limitations as instantly claimed and thus not patentably distinguishable
This is a provisional nonstatutory double patenting rejection because the patentably indistinct claims have not in fact been patented.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed on Nov. 13, 2025 have been fully considered and appears to be persuasive. Claims 1-12 are potentially allowable.
Conclusion
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/ZHONGQING WEI/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1727