DETAILED ACTION
Claims 1-27 are pending and under consideration in this 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 .
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement filed 9/22/25 fails to comply with 37 CFR 1.98(a)(2), which requires a legible copy of each cited foreign patent document; each non-patent literature publication or that portion which caused it to be listed; and all other information or that portion which caused it to be listed. It has been placed in the application file, but the information referred to therein has not been considered.
Drawings
The drawings are objected to as failing to comply with 37 CFR 1.84(p)(5) because they include the following reference character(s) not mentioned in the description: 1-4 in FIG. 2. Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d), or amendment to the specification to add the reference character(s) in the description in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(b) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
Claim Objections
Claims 9, 17, and 25 are objected to under 37 CFR 1.75(c) as being in improper form because a multiple dependent claim should refer to other claims in the alternative only. See MPEP § 608.01(n). Accordingly, the claims have not been further treated on the merits.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 1-27 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Claim 1 recites the limitation "the cathode material powder" in lines 3-4. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Claim 1 also recites the limitation "the residue remaining" in line 7. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Claim 2 is unclear as to whether "the lithium-containing solution (I)" the same as the "washing solution (I)" of claim 1. Similarly it is unclear whether "the lithium-containing solution (II)" the same as the "washing solution (II)" of claim 1. For the purposes of examination, the two lithium containing solutions of claim 2 are assumed to be the same solutions as the two washing solutions of claim 1.
Claim 10 recites the limitation "the insoluble lithium component" in lines 2-3. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Claim 13 recites that the diameter of a powder particle is 800 mm or less. It is unclear what powder is being referred to.
Claim 20 recites the limitation "the remaining residue" in lines 2-3. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim, and it is thus unclear whether this refers to either of the residue remaining substances recited in claim 1.
Claim 21 recites “the residue” in lines 2-3. It is unclear whether this refers to the remaining residue of claim 20, either of “the residue remaining” substances of claim 1, or some other residue.
Claim 23 recites “the residue” in line 3. It is unclear whether this refers to the remaining residue of claim 20, either of “the residue remaining” substances of claim 1, or some other residue.
Any claim not specifically pointed out above is indefinite based on its dependency from claim 1.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 1 would be allowable if rewritten or amended to overcome the rejection(s) under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), 2nd paragraph, set forth in this Office action. The remaining claims would be allowable if they also overcome the remaining rejections under 35 U.S.C. 112(b).
Claim 1 recites a method for recovering materials from a waste cathode reaction vessel. The method includes recovering the NCM precursor; recovering lithium hydroxide by washing the vessel; recovering lithium carbonate by sulfating the material remaining after washing; and generating a zeolite from the remaining material after sulfating.
WO2020045596A1 (“Hirotaka”) teaches a method of obtaining lithium from waste cathode material (see e.g. paragraph [0001]). The method includes acid leaching of the material to recover metals, including nickel and lithium (see e.g. paragraph [0017]). The next step is sulfurization and recovery of lithium carbonate (see e.g. paragraphs [0016] and [0030]). However, neither Hirotaka nor any other prior art teaches or fairly suggests the step of preparing a zeolite material from residue remaining after the washing steps. Accordingly, the process of claim 1 is novel and non-obvious over the prior art.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ERIC S SHERMAN whose telephone number is (703)756-4784. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 8:30-5:00 ET.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Anthony Zimmer can be reached at (571)270-3591. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/E.S.S./Examiner, Art Unit 1736
/ANTHONY J ZIMMER/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 1736
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