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 .
ACTIVE MATERIAL PARTICLE, ELECTROCHEMICAL ELEMENT, AND ELECTROCHEMICAL DEVICE
Examiner: Adam Arciero S.N. 18/274,575 Art Unit: 1727 February 12, 2026
DETAILED ACTION
The Application filed on July 27, 2023 has been received. Claims 1-11 are currently pending and have been fully considered.
Specification
The lengthy specification has not been checked to the extent necessary to determine the presence of all possible minor errors. Applicant’s cooperation is requested in correcting any errors of which applicant may become aware in the specification.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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.
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)(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.
Claim(s) 1-2 and 8-11 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Sha et al. (US 2021/0288316 A1; as found in IDS dated 04/02/2025).
As to Claims 1-2 and 8-11, Sha discloses a battery, comprising: a first electrode; a second electrode; and an electrolyte, wherein one of the electrodes comprises: a current collector and an active material layer composed of active material particles provided thereon (paragraphs [0070-0071]). Said active material particles comprise: composite particles each containing a lithium silicate phase and a silicon phase dispersed therein; a first coating (intermediate layer) covering at least a part of the surfaces of the composite particles, wherein the first coating comprises MxSiyOz; wherein M is one or more of Al, Ca, Mg, Be, Sr, Ba, Ti and Zr and a nonmetallic doping element such as carbon; and a second coating comprising a carbon material provided on the first coating (Abstract, Fig. 2, paragraphs [0011,0015-0016, 0036, 0039]).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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.
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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claim(s) 3, 5 and 7 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Sha et al. (US 2021/0288316 A1; as found in IDS dated 04/02/2025).
As to Claims 3 and 5, Sha teaches wherein the intermediate layer (first coating) comprises MxSiyOz; wherein M is one or more of Al, Ca, Mg, Be, Sr, Ba, Ti and Zr and the molar ratio of M+Si is 0.01 to 0.3 (paragraph [0039 and 0053]). At the time of the invention, it would have been obvious to one or ordinary skill in the art to modify the first coating of Sha to read on the claims because Sha teaches that stability of the active material particle can be ensured (paragraph [0015]).
As to Claim 7, Sha teaches wherein the depth of the pores of the intermediate layer (reads on particle radius) is 10-500 nm (claim 8). This range overlaps with the claimed range. At the time of the invention, it would have been obvious to one or ordinary skill in the art to modify the first coating of Sha to have the claimed thickness because Sha teaches that stability of the active material particle can be ensured (paragraph [0015]). In addition, the courts have held that in the case where the claimed ranges "overlap or lie inside ranges disclosed by the prior art" a prima facie case of obviousness exists. In re Wertheim, 541 F.2d 257, 191 USPQ 90 (CCPA 1976), see MPEP 2144.05, I.
Claim(s) 4 and 6 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Sha et al. (US 2021/0288316 A1; as found in IDS dated 04/02/2025) as applied to claims 1-3, 5 and 7-11 above and in further view of Jiang et al. (US 2022/0052327 A1; as found in IDS dated 04/02/2025).
As to Claims 4 and 6, Sha does not specifically disclose the claimed materials for the first coating layer.
However, Jiang teaches of anode active material particles, comprising a silicon oxide phase core and a first coating layer comprising an oxide MeOy layer, wherein Me can be Al, Cr, Si and/or Mn and y is 0.5-3 (Abstract). At the time of the invention, it would have bee obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to modify the intermediate layer (first coating layer) of Sha to comprise the claimed oxides because Jiang teaches that the cycle performance of the battery can be improved and the impedance of the battery can be significantly reduced (Abstract).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ADAM ARCIERO whose telephone number is (571)270-5116. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 8:00-5 ET.
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/ADAM A ARCIERO/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1727