CTNF 18/268,787 CTNF 98643 DETAILED ACTION Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status 07-03-aia AIA 15-10-aia The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA. Election/Restrictions 08-25-02 Applicant’s election of group 2, pertaining to claims 7-10 in the reply filed on 05/27/2026 is acknowledged. Because applicant did not distinctly and specifically point out the supposed errors in the restriction requirement, the election has been treated as an election without traverse (MPEP § 818.01(a)). Claims 1-6 and 11-12 are withdrawn. Priority 02-26 AIA Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102 07-06 AIA 15-10-15 In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status. 07-07-aia AIA 07-07 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 – 07-08-aia AIA (a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention. 07-15-aia AIA Claim(s) 7-10 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102 (a)(1) as being anticipated by Luo (CN 105185962 A, a machine translation from Espacenet included in the restriction requirement of 04/06/2026 is used as an English equivalent) . Regarding claim 7, Luo a method for preparing the positive active material for a lithium secondary battery as defined by claim 1 (Luo discloses a positive active material according to claim 1, see restriction requirement of 04/06/2026. The only limitation of claim 1 that does not directly appear in claim 7 concerns the impurity content of 0.25 weight% or less, which Luo discloses in [0136]), comprising: preparing a secondary particle having an average particle size (D50) of 1-10 µm formed by agglomeration of at least two primary macro particles having an average particle size (D50) of 0.5 to 3 µm ([0133] discloses that in example 3 of Luo, the active material has an average particle size of 1 µm for the primary particles, and an average particle size of 8 µm for the secondary particles) and represented by PNG media_image1.png 27 177 media_image1.png Greyscale , wherein PNG media_image2.png 21 424 media_image2.png Greyscale , Q is at least one type of metal selected from the group consisting of Al, Mg, V, Ti, and Zr (example 3 discloses Li 1.05 Ni 0.88 Co 0.07 Mn 0.05 O 2 , which matches the claimed formula where a is 1.05, b is 0.07, c is 0.05, d and ò are both 0, and b + c + d is 0.12); and mixing the secondary particle with an oxide at least one type of metal selected from the group consisting of cobalt ([0024] discloses mixing the sintered product (corresponding to the claimed secondary particle) with a cobalt compound) and sintering to form a coating layer of lithium-metal oxide on a surface of the secondary particle ([0025] discloses heat treating the mixture, which [0053] discloses results in a lithium cobalt oxide layer on the surface of the substrate (the substrate corresponds to the secondary particle)) by reaction between lithium impurities contained on a surface of the secondary particle and the metal oxide ([0036] discloses that the cobalt compounds can react with residual lithium on the surface of the sintering products, wherein the method does not comprise a washing process between the preparing a secondary particle and the mixing the secondary particle with the oxide ([0006] discloses that washing leads to capacity loss and electrochemical performance degradation. [0079] discloses that the sintered product and the cobalt compound can be mixed in the presence of a solvent which can “was” the sintered product, but also discloses an embodiment wherein the sintered product and cobalt compound can be solid phased mixed by ball milling or high-speed mixing. Selection of this embodiment results in the method not comprising a washing process between the preparing a secondary particle and the mixing a secondary particle with oxide, as the only other washing disclosed by Luo takes place before the formation of the secondary particle ([0105], [0073]), not between the preparation of the secondary particle and the mixing of the secondary particle with the oxide. In fact, even if the mixing of the sintered product and the cobalt compound was performed in presence of a solvent which resulted in washing, the claimed limitation would still be met under the broadest reasonable interpretation of the claim language, as washing during the mixing of the secondary particle with the oxide is not the same as washing between the preparing of the secondary particle and the mixing of the secondary particle with the oxide). Regarding claim 8, Luo discloses the method for preparing a positive electrode active material for a lithium secondary battery according to claim 7, wherein the metal oxide is at least one selected from the group consisting of Co 3 O- 4 and Co 2 O 3 ([0080] discloses that the cobalt compound can include cobalt oxide or cobalt tetroxide). Regarding claim 9, Luo discloses the method for preparing a positive electrode active material for a lithium secondary battery according to claim 7, wherein the metal oxide is at least one selected from the group consisting of Co 3 O- 4 ([0080] discloses that the cobalt compound can include cobalt tetroxide). Regarding claim 10, Luo discloses the method for preparing a positive electrode active material for a lithium secondary battery according to claim 7, wherein an amount of the metal oxide mixed in the mixing is 0.1 to 10 parts by weight based on 100 parts by weight of the primary macro particles ([0107], [0119], and [0131] discloses embodiments wherein the amount of cobalt compound used is 1% of the mass of the sintered product, falling within the claimed range. Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ZACKARY R COCHENOUR whose telephone number is (703)756-1480. The examiner can normally be reached 1-9:00PM ET. 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, Nicholas Smith can be reached at (571) 272-8760. 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. /ZACKARY RICHARD COCHENOUR/ Examiner, Art Unit 1752 /Maria Laios/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1727 Application/Control Number: 18/268,787 Page 2 Art Unit: 1752 Application/Control Number: 18/268,787 Page 3 Art Unit: 1752 Application/Control Number: 18/268,787 Page 4 Art Unit: 1752 Application/Control Number: 18/268,787 Page 5 Art Unit: 1752
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