Prosecution Insights
Last updated: April 19, 2026
Application No. 18/231,169

POSITIVE ELECTRODE PLATE FOR NON-AQUEOUS ELECTROLYTE RECHARGEABLE BATTERY, NON-AQUEOUS ELECTROLYTE RECHARGEABLE BATTERY, AND METHOD FOR MANUFACTURING POSITIVE ELECTRODE PLATE FOR NON-AQUEOUS ELECTROLYTE RECHARGEABLE BATTERY

Non-Final OA §102
Filed
Aug 07, 2023
Examiner
GILLIAM, BARBARA LEE
Art Unit
1727
Tech Center
1700 — Chemical & Materials Engineering
Assignee
Prime Planet Energy & Solutions Inc.
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
20%
Grant Probability
At Risk
1-2
OA Rounds
4y 10m
To Grant
31%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants only 20% of cases
20%
Career Allow Rate
20 granted / 102 resolved
-45.4% vs TC avg
Moderate +11% lift
Without
With
+11.3%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
4y 10m
Avg Prosecution
19 currently pending
Career history
121
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§103
48.0%
+8.0% vs TC avg
§102
26.2%
-13.8% vs TC avg
§112
21.8%
-18.2% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 102 resolved cases

Office Action

§102
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. Priority Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55. Information Disclosure Statement The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 8/7/2023 & 6/25/2024 have been considered by the examiner. Claims Claims 1-9 are pending. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102 & 103 The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action: A person shall be entitled to a patent unless – (a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention. The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action: A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made. Claim s 1-9 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102( a1 ) /(a2) as anticipated by or, in the alternative, under 35 U.S.C. 103 as obvious over BAEK et al, US 2019/0312259 A1 . Regarding claims 1-7, BAEK et al. teach a positive electrode for a lithium secondary battery including a positive electrode current collector, a lower positive electrode active material layer disposed on at least one surface of the positive electrode current collector and an upper positive electrode active material layer wherein the lower positive electrode active material layer include 90% or more of a sphere-type carbonaceous conductive material and the upper positive electrode active material layer comprises 90% or more of a needle-type carbonaceous conductive material (abstract ; [0029] -[00 3 0]; [0059] ). The needle-type carbonaceous conductive material has an aspect ratio of 50-650 ([0034]) and includes carbon nanotubes, vapor-grown fibers, carbon nanofibers or a combination of two or more ([0038]) and is used in an amount of 0.2 – 1.0 wt % ([0037]). It is noted the upper positive electrode active material layer meets the current limitations of claims 1-2 and 7. The dual positive electrode active material layers, the upper layer and lower layer, meet the limitations of the separator and positive electrode current collector regions respectively. The positive electrode active material that is used in both the upper positive electrode active material layer and the lower positive electrode active material layer may include a lithium containing oxide which preferably includes a lithium containing transition metal oxide ([0041]) which meets the current limitations of t he same . For this reason, it is the position of the office that the properties claimed including the Rs ratio and the porosity P is necessarily the same given the same materials are used .4 MPEP 2112.01 II. “Where the claimed and prior art products are identical or substantially identical in structure or composition, or are produced by identical or substantially identical processes, a prima facie case of either anticipation or obviousness has been established. In re Best, 562 F.2d 1252, 1255, 195 USPQ 430, 433 (CCPA 1977)”. See MPEP 2112.01 I I . Regarding claims 8 and 9, BAEK et al. clearly teaches t he method for manufacturing the positive electrode where wet-on-wet processes and wet-on-dry processes are used ([0047]-[0059]). Conclusion The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. In US 2019/0229330 A1, KIM et al. teach a cathode for lithium secondary battery. In US 2018/000629 1 A1, KIM et al. teach a multilayer electrode and lithium secondary battery including the same. In US 2018/0090770 A1, PARK et al. teach a positive electrode for metal air battery. In WO 2016/038440 A1, UMEYAMA et al. teach a nonaqueous electrolyte secondary battery having a first and second positive electrode mixture layers. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to FILLIN "Examiner name" \* MERGEFORMAT BARBARA GILLIAM whose telephone number is FILLIN "Phone number" \* MERGEFORMAT (571)272-1330 . The examiner can normally be reached FILLIN "Work Schedule?" \* MERGEFORMAT Monday-Thursday 7:00 AM - 4:00 PM& 2nd Friday 7:00 AM - 3:00 PM . 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, FILLIN "SPE Name?" \* MERGEFORMAT Srilakshmi Kumar can be reached at FILLIN "SPE Phone?" \* MERGEFORMAT 571-272-7769 . The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300. Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, 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. FILLIN "Examiner Stamp" \* MERGEFORMAT BARBARA L GILLIAM Supervisory Patent Examiner Art Unit 1727 /BARBARA L GILLIAM/ Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 1727
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Prosecution Timeline

Aug 07, 2023
Application Filed
Mar 09, 2026
Non-Final Rejection — §102 (current)

Precedent Cases

Applications granted by this same examiner with similar technology

Patent 12431493
NONAQUEOUS MAGNESIUM BATTERY
2y 5m to grant Granted Sep 30, 2025
Patent 10998588
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2y 5m to grant Granted May 04, 2021
Patent 9831043
Electrochemical Energy Storage Systems and Methods
2y 5m to grant Granted Nov 28, 2017
Patent 9722216
ENERGY STORAGE DEVICE AND METHOD
2y 5m to grant Granted Aug 01, 2017
Patent 9312562
BATTERY CELL PLATE FRAME ASSEMBLY AND METHOD
2y 5m to grant Granted Apr 12, 2016
Study what changed to get past this examiner. Based on 5 most recent grants.

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Prosecution Projections

1-2
Expected OA Rounds
20%
Grant Probability
31%
With Interview (+11.3%)
4y 10m
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 102 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allow rate.

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