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 .
The pending claims are claims 4-6.
Election/Restrictions
Claims 1-3 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected invention, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election was made without traverse in the reply filed on 6/10/2026.
Applicant’s election without traverse of Group II (claims 4-6) in the reply filed on 6/10/2026 is acknowledged.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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) 4-6 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Jiang et al., CN 110635116, in view of RU 161876 U1.
Regarding claim 4, Jiang et al., teaches a method for preparing a silicon-based anode material (0005) with high stability and conductivity for lithium-ion batteries (0002; 0008) of claim 4 (0041) comprising:
(1) drying a nano silicon power (0066), placing on a rotary frame (0017; 0047) in a vacuum coating chamber ( of a magnetron sputtering device (0050; 0053), adjusting a target distance and vacuumizing (0019; 0050) the vacuum coating chamber (0065; 0068; 0070; 0072; 0074), switching on the rotary frame (0017; 0047) and a graphite target (0027; 0036; 0040);
(2) introducing argon (0065; 0068; 0070); Jiang does not teach adjusting a working air pressure in the vacuum coating chamber to 1.2 Pa; does not teach vacuum coating chamber to 10-4Pa connecting a negative bias to the rotary frame, and depositing a diamond-like carbon transition layer by unbalanced magnetron sputtering, wherein the negative bias is in a range of - 80 V to - 100 V and a target current is 1 A.
Hpwever. "[W]here the general conditions of a claim are disclosed in the prior art, it is not inventive to discover the optimum or workable ranges by routine experimentation." In re Aller, 220 F.2d 454, 456, 105 USPQ 233, 235 (CCPA 1955).
(3) connecting a positive bias to the rotary frame (0017; 0047), and depositing a graphite-like functional layer (0008; 0016, 0036) by unbalanced magnetron sputtering (0050; 0053), Jiang does not teach wherein the positive bias is a range of -80 V to - 100 V and a target current is 0.8 A.
Hpwever. "[W]here the general conditions of a claim are disclosed in the prior art, it is not inventive to discover the optimum or workable ranges by routine experimentation." In re Aller, 220 F.2d 454, 456, 105 USPQ 233, 235 (CCPA 1955).
Jiang teaches (4) repeating steps (2) and (3) (0088) alternately until a target film thickness is achieved (0010; 0040; 0050), thereby obtaining the silicon-based anode material (0007; 0041) for lithium-ion batteries (0007; 0016) coated with a multilayer composite carbon coating (0008; 0035; 0037; 0040).
Regarding claim 5, Jiang et al., teaches wherein in step (1), the drying is conducted in a drying oven (oven; 0065) (“drying room”; 0066) (0057; 0066) in a vacuum (0050; 0068).
Jiang does not teach drying at a temperature of 110 deg C and drying for 120 min.
RU teaches drying at a temperature of 120 deg C (6 paragraphs above the “Claims”).
Regarding product and apparatus claims, when the structure recited in the reference is substantially identical to that of the claims, claimed properties or functions are presumed to be inherent. The Courts have held that it is well settled that where there is a reason to believe that a functional characteristic would be inherent in the prior art, the burden of proof then shifts to the applicant to provide objective evidence to the contrary. See In re Schreiber, 128 F.3d at 1478, 44 USPQ2d at 1478, 44 USPQ2d at 1432 (Fed. Cir. 1997) (see MPEP § 2112.01, I.).
Regarding claim 6, Jiang et al., teaches wherein the rotary frame (0017; 0047) for bearing the nano silicon powder (0008; 0016) and the graphite target rotate at a uniform speed in opposite directions (0027; 0035; 0038).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure: RU 161876 U1 .
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ANGELA J. MARTIN
Examiner
Art Unit 1727
/ANGELA J MARTIN/Examiner, Art Unit 1727
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