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 .
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after allowance or after an Office action under Ex Parte Quayle, 25 USPQ 74, 453 O.G. 213 (Comm'r Pat. 1935). Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, prosecution in this application has been reopened pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on 01/12/2026 has been entered.
Response to Amendment
The amendment filed on 08/08/2025 is acknowledged and entered by the Examiner. Claims 3, 6, 20, 26, 27, 34, 38, and 39 have been amended. Claims 7-12, 14-15, 21-25, 28-32, and 35-36 have been canceled. Non-elected claims 4-6, 19-20, 26-27, 33-34, and 37-39 were previously withdrawn from further consideration. Claims 1-3, 13, 16-18, and 40 are currently pending in the instant application.
Prosecution on the merits of this application is reopened on claims 1-3, 13, 16-18, and 40 considered unpatentable for the reasons indicated below.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) filed on 01/12/2026 is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97 and has been considered by the examiner. An initialed copy accompanies this Office Action.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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, 2, 13, 16-18, and 40 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by WO 2021062095 A1 (hereinafter Zheng).
Initially, it should be noted that the Zheng reference is cited in the IDS filed on 10/27/2023 at citation number 3.
Regarding claim 1, Zheng discloses a nickelate material having XRD peaks comprising 12.394° 2Ɵ (at Peak 9), 18.930° 2Ɵ (at Peak 3), 25.069° 2Ɵ (at Peak 4), and 37.183° 2Ɵ (at Peak 5) (See [0096], Table 1).
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The nickelate material of Zheng having peaks 12.394° 2Ɵ (at Peak 9), 18.930° 2Ɵ (at Peak 3), 25.069° 2Ɵ (at Peak 4), and 37.183° 2Ɵ (at Peak 5) that correspond to the claimed first peak, second peak, third peak, and forth peak.
Regarding claim 2, Zheng discloses a cathode material comprises a sodium compound and a nickel precursor to form a nickelate material (See [0007]). The sodium compound comprises both sodium and oxygen (See [0025]). As a result, the nickelate material would include sodium and oxygen. Additionally, the nickelate material also include a non-sodium (desodiated) material such as nickel precursor.
Regarding claims 13, 16-18, and 40, Zheng discloses an alkaline electrochemical cell comprises a cathode material with up to 98 wt% of nickelate material (See [0009] and [0079]). In one embodiment, Zheng discloses a cathode material comprises of 49 wt% of nickelate active material, 49 wt% of graphite, and 2% coathylene binder (See 0098]). Zheng further discloses that the active material can be a blend of nickelate material and electrolytic manganese dioxide (EMD) with a nickel-containing compound (nickelate material) in a range of 5-100% of the total active material (See [0080]).
The reference specifically or inherently meets each of the claimed limitations in their broadest interpretations. The reference is anticipatory.
In view of the foregoing, the above claims have failed to patentably distinguish over the applied art.
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 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.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 3 is objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: currently, there is no prior art alone or in combination that teaches or fairly suggests a nickelate material comprises of phases i) to iii) in weight proportions as required in claim 3. Therefore, claim 3 would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to KHANH TUAN NGUYEN whose telephone number is (571)272-8082. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM EST.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Angela Brown-Pettigrew can be reached at (571) 272-2817. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/KHANH T NGUYEN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1761