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 .
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election of Group I in the reply filed on 5/12/2026 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)).
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.
Claims 1-5 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Onuma et al. (JP 2016/051566, see Machine Translation).
Regarding claim 1, Onuma et al. discloses in Figs 1-2, a composite lithium nickel oxide ([0034], [0053]) positive electrode material ([0034], [0053]), comprising lithium nickel manganese oxide (LiNi0.5Mn1.5O4 [0034], [0053]) coated with a lithium ion conductor (Li1.3Al0.3Ti1.7(PO3)4 [0034], [0053]), wherein a mass ratio of the lithium ion conductor ([0034], [0053]) to the lithium nickel manganese oxide ([0034], [0053]) is 1:99 ([0034], [0053]), wherein the lithium ion conductor ([0034], [0053]) comprises a metal salt of lithium ([0034], [0053]), and a lithium ion diffusion rate of the lithium ion conductor is greater than 10-5 mS/cm (Li1.3Al0.3Ti1.7(PO3)4 ([0034], [0053]).
Regarding claims 2 and 3, Onuma et al. discloses all of the claim limitations as set forth above and also discloses the lithium ion conductor comprises Li1.3Al0.3Ti1.7(PO3)4 ([0034]).
Regarding claim 4, Onuma et al. discloses all of the claim limitations as set forth above and also discloses a chemical formula of the lithium nickel manganese oxide is LiNi0.5Mn1.5O4 ([0034]).
Regarding claim 5, Onuma et al. discloses all of the claim limitations as set forth above and also discloses the composite lithium nickel manganese oxide positive electrode material ([0034], [0053]) comprises a secondary spherical shape and/or a single crystal shape ([0043], [0034], [0053]).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure:
Hagh et al. (US 8,906,553) discloses in Figs 1-6, a cathode active material including Li/Mn/Ni/O4 coated with Li/Al/Ti/(PO4)3 (C1/L67-68 – C2/L1-11).
Chen et al. (CN 102683709, see Machine Translation) discloses a positive active material comprising LiNi0.5Mn1.5O4 (Abstract) that is coated with a lithium ion conductor material (Abstract).
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/KENNETH J DOUYETTE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1725
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