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 without traverse of Claims 1-4 in the reply filed on 8/17/2026 is acknowledged.
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) 1-4 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Tamura et al. (JP 2018156835; English translation relied upon, translation obtained from Espacenet).
Regarding Claim 1, Tamura meets the claimed,
A sulfide-based inorganic solid electrolyte material ([0019] teaches sulfide-based inorganic solid electrolyte materials) where a particle size d50 at which a cumulative frequency in a volume-based cumulative frequeny distribution curve measured using a laser diffraction scattering particle size distribution analyzer is 50% is 0.1 µm or more and 100 µm or less ([0023] teaches an average particle diameter d50 of 1 µm or more and 40 µm or less).
Tamura does not specifically teach a 10% or less attachment area as measured by dropping a 47 g zirconia ball three times onto a 45° angled plate.
However, Tamura does teach all other structural elements of the claimed invention, not just those claimed by Claim 1, but also of Claims 2 to 4 including the particular chemical composition, molar ratios and lithium ion conductivity, and as per MPEP 2112.01, when the structure recited in the reference is substantially identical to that of the claims, claimed properties or functions are presumed to be inherent. In this case, it is presumed that the inorganic sulfide-based solid electrolyte material would have an attachment area of 10% or less after being sieved onto an 8 cm by 9 cm SUS304 plate inclined at a 45° angle and struck with a 45 g zirconia ball dropped three times from a height of 5 cm.
Regarding Claim 2, Tamura meets the claimed,
The sulfide-based inorganic solid electrolyte material according to claim 1, comprising: Li, P, and S as constituent elements ([0019] teaches a sulfide-based inorganic solid electrolyte material of
L
i
2
S
-
P
2
S
5
).
Regarding Claim 3, Tamura meets the claimed,
The sulfide-based inorganic solid electrolyte material according to claim 2, wherein a molar ratio (Li/P) of a content of Li to a content of P in the sulfide-based inorganic solid electrolyte material is 1.0 or higher and 10.0 or lower, and a molar ratio (S/P) of a content of S to the content of P in the sulfide-based inorganic solid electrolyte material is 1.0 or higher and 10.0 or lower ([0019] teaches a sulfide-based inorganic solid electrolyte material of
L
i
2
S
-
P
2
S
5
, which results in a Li/P ratio of 1, and a S/P ratio of 3).
Regarding Claim 4, Tamura meets the claimed,
The sulfide-based inorganic solid electrolyte material according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein a lithium ionic conductivity is 1.0 x 10^(-4) S•cm^(-1) or higher when measured using an alternating current impedance method under measurement conditions of 27.0°C, an applied voltage of 10 mV, and a measurement frequencey range of 0.1 Hz to 7 MHz ([0042] teaches that the sulfide-based inorganic solid electrolyte has a lithium ion conductivity of 1.0 x 10^(-4) S•cm^(-1) or higher at a temperature of 27°C, a voltage of 10 mV, and measurement frequency range of 0.1 Hz to 7 MHz.).
Conclusion
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/A.Y.H./Examiner, Art Unit 1744
/XIAO S ZHAO/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 1744
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