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 .
Response to Amendment
Upon entry of the amendment filed on 17 February 2026, Claim(s) 1, 4, 5, 12 and 13 is/are amended; and Claim(s) 1-20 is/are added. The currently pending claims are Claims 1-20.
Applicants’ remarks and amendments have been carefully considered; however, they are not found persuasive and the rejections are maintained.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The text of those sections of Title 35, U.S. Code not included in this action can be found in a prior Office action.
Claim(s) 1-20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kurita (US2021/0043917A1, cited in the IDS) or Kaneda (US2020/0388841A1, cited in the IDS) in view of Sakai.
Claims 1, 4 and 12: Kurita or Kaneda discloses a lithium metal composite oxide powder includes primary particles; and secondary particles formed by aggregation of the primary particles satisfying
Li[Lix(Ni(1-y-z-w)CoyMnzMw)1-x]O2 (I)
(in Composition Formula (I), −0.1≤x≤0.2, 0<y≤0.5, 0<z≤0.8, 0<w≤0.1, 1−y−z−w<1 and y+z+w<1 are satisfied, and M represents one or more metals selected from the group consisting of Fe, Cu, Ti, Mg, Al, W, B, Mo, Nb, Zn, Sn, Zr, Ga, and V) (Kurita: abs, claims 1 and 2); and
LidNi1-a-b-cMnaMbNbcO2+γ (in General Formula (1), M is at least one element selected from Co, W, Mo, V, Mg, Ca, Al, Ti, Cr, Zr, and Ta; and 0.03≤a≤0.60, 0≤b≤0.60, 0.02≤c≤0.08, a+b+c<1, 0.95≤d≤1.20, and 0≤γ≤0.5) – (Kaneda: abs, Fig 1, 2 and 6 with accompanying text, claims 1 and 2).
Further, Kurita discloses the Li-X compound with X being tungsten - see Li2OO4 and Li4WO5 - and located in the gaps of the aggregated particles (¶17-36, 68, 196, 278j, 309, 339) and Kaneda discloses the LI-X compound with X being Nb – see Li3NbO4 and LiNbO3 – and Li-X being in the gaps (¶28, 64, 169 and Table 1 & 3 and Fig 1 with accompanying text).
Kurita or Kaneda discloses the claimed invention but does not explicitly disclose the feature of the diameter ratio based on the X-ray diffraction pattern of 2θ=18.5±1° and 2θ of 10° or more and 90° or less and formula (A). It is noted that the Kurita or Kaneda reference discloses optimizing the diameter variables and the claim(s) call(s) for a diameter ratio based on the X-ray pattern. In an analogous art, the Sakai reference discloses that a similar diameter ratio as observed in an X-ray diffraction pattern at a peak in the vicinity of a diffraction angle 2θ of 18 to 19°, a peak in the vicinity of a diffraction angle 2θ of 64°, and a peak in the vicinity of a diffraction angle 2θ of 21 to 22 that satisfy the claimed formula (A) to gain the benefit of high discharge capacity and excellent cycle durability of cathode active material (abs, ¶12, 48-70, 117-120 and Tables 1-4 with accompanying text). One of ordinary skill in the art would have recognized that applying the known technique of Sakai to the teachings of Kurita or Kaneda would have yielded predictable results because the level of ordinary skill in the art demonstrated by the cited references shows the ability to apply such features into similar systems and compositions for the benefit gain of high discharge capacity and excellent cycle durability. See MPEP 2143. Further, it is noted that obviousness only requires a reasonable expectation of success and there is no evidence nor teaching that the substitution/implementation would be repugnant to a skilled artisan.
Claims 2, 5, 13, 19 and 20: Kurita or Kaneda and Sakai disclose the claimed diameter variables such as a D50 in the range of 3-15 microns and various D90/D50/D10 values – which, once plugged into the claimed formula (B), leads to values falling below the claimed upper limit of 2 such as 1.7 (Kurita: Table 1 with accompanying text, Kaneda: Tables 1-6 with accompanying text and Sakai: abs, ¶12, 48-70 and Tables 1-4 with accompanying text).
Claims 3, 8, 11 and 16: Kurita or Kaneda and Sakai disclose the claimed BET specific surface area values (Kurita: Table 1 with accompanying text, Kaneda: Tables 1-6 with accompanying text and Sakai: abs, ¶12, 48-70 and Tables 1-4 with accompanying text).
Claims 6, 7, 14 and 15: The Kurita or Kaneda and Sakai reference(s) disclose(s) the claimed invention but do(es) not explicitly disclose the claimed diameter range. It is noted that the claimed range is construed as a result-effective variable, i.e., a variable which achieves a recognized result. Given that the Kurita or Kaneda and Sakai reference discloses a similar composition and is motivated to optimize the size to achieve improved performance, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention to choose the instantly claimed ranges through process optimization such as varying the diameter range, since it has been held that where the general conditions of a claim are disclosed in the prior art, discovering the optimum or workable ranges involves only routine skill in the art. See MPEP 2144.05. Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention to optimize known variables, i.e. particle range, since the reference also discloses a similar end-product. Further, obviousness only requires a reasonable expectation of success and there is no evidence nor teaching that the selection or optimization of the claimed components would be repugnant to a skilled artisan.
Claims 9, 10, 17 and 18: Kurita or Kaneda and Sakai disclose the claimed end-products such as a lithium secondary battery (Kurita : abs, ¶3, 4 and examples, Kaneda: abs, ¶2-8 and examples & Sakai: examples and Table 4 with accompanying text).
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 17 February 2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
Applicant argues that the cited references do not disclose the specific Li-X compound, the gaps ant the location of the Li-X compound (pg. 6 and 7).
The examiner respectively disagrees and notes that Kurita discloses the Li-X compound with X being tungsten - see Li2OO4 and Li4WO5 - and located in the gaps of the aggregated particles (¶17-36, 68, 196, 278j, 309, 339) and Kaneda discloses the LI-X compound with X being Nb – see Li3NbO4 and LiNbO3 – and Li-X being in the gaps (¶28, 64, 169 and Table 1 & 3 and Fig 1 with accompanying text).
Conclusion
THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
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/TRI V NGUYEN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1764
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