Prosecution Insights
Last updated: April 18, 2026
Application No. 18/311,363

CURRENT COLLECTOR AND PREPARATION METHOD THEREOF, SECONDARY BATTERY, AND APPARATUS

Non-Final OA §102
Filed
May 03, 2023
Examiner
WANG, PIN JAN
Art Unit
1717
Tech Center
1700 — Chemical & Materials Engineering
Assignee
CONTEMPORARY AMPEREX TECHNOLOGY CO., LIMITED
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
62%
Grant Probability
Moderate
1-2
OA Rounds
3y 1m
To Grant
99%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 62% of resolved cases
62%
Career Allow Rate
5 granted / 8 resolved
-2.5% vs TC avg
Strong +60% interview lift
Without
With
+60.0%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
3y 1m
Avg Prosecution
36 currently pending
Career history
44
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§103
52.4%
+12.4% vs TC avg
§102
31.6%
-8.4% vs TC avg
§112
15.1%
-24.9% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 8 resolved cases

Office Action

§102
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. This is the initial Office action based on application number 18/311363 filed on 05/03/2023. Claims 1-18 are currently pending and have been considered below. Election/Restrictions Applicant’s election without traverse of Group I, directed to a current collector, a secondary battery, and an apparatus as recited in claims 1-10, 18, 19, 20 in the reply filed on 1/06/2026 is acknowledged. However, Claim 18, a dependent claim of claim 17, should belong to Group II as drawn to a preparation method of a current collector in the Restriction Requirement mailed on 12/10/2025. Therefore, Examiner consider Claims 11-18 withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected group. 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. (a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention. Claims 1, 2, 5 - 10, 19, 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as anticipated by Li et al. (US 20200274155 A1). Regarding to claims 1, 5, 6, 19 : Li et al. disclose systems and methods for rechargeable batteries (abstract). The rechargeable batteries comprises a 3D lithium anode (200) (par. 29, 81, claim 21). The 3D lithium anode (200), comprising: a lithium metal layer (206) and a thin metal current collector (208) (the combination of the lithium metal layer (206) and the thin metal current collector (208) is equivalent to a current collector body) (par. 29, fig. 2); and a 3D conductive porous structure (204) (equivalent to a lithophilic layer) (par. 29, fig. 2) on a surface of the lithium metal layer (206) (fig. 2). The 3D porous structure (204) can be made of conductive materials in the form of particles or fibers. The conductive materials used can include conductive carbon and conductive metals. Further, carbon and metals can be coated or doped with other lithophilic elements (equivalent to lithophilic materials), including but not limited to Sn, Zn, Ag (Ag has lithium affinity as evidenced by Lee et al. (US 20230290956 A1) in par. 188), Bi, In, Ga, Al, N, P, Si, Ge, or alloys of these elements (par. 30). (The shell of the metal particle in figure 2 (b) is equivalent to an external structure. The inner pore (cavity) of the metal particle in figure 2 (b) is equivalent internal structure (par. 34, 35).) Regarding to claim 2 : Li et al. disclose the shell of the metal particle is spherical shape in figure 2 (b). Regarding to claims 7, 8 : Li et al. disclose the 3D conductive porous structure (204) has a thickness ranging most preferably from 20 μm to 80 μm (par. 29) Regarding to claims 9, 10 : Li et al. disclose the thin metal current collector (208) includes a conventional anode current collector, e.g., copper (par. 29). Regarding to claims 20 : Li et al. disclose these batteries have found widespread application in portable electronics and mobile communications devices as well as in, for instance, HEVs, PHEVs and EVs (portable electronics, devices, and vehicles are equivalent to apparatuses) (par. 3). Claim s 1 , 3, 4 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as anticipated by Pan et al. (US 10886528 B2). Regarding to claim 1 : Pan et al. disclose a lithium battery cathode electrode comprising multiple particulates of a cathode active material (abstract). The lithium battery comprises: a cathode current collector (equivalent to a current collector body) (col. 10, lines 25-34); and a layer of mixing multiple particulates (equivalent to a lithophilic layer) (col. 10, lines 25-34) coated on a surface of the cathode current collector, wherein the mixing multiple particulates comprises particulates of sulfonated elastomer-encapsulated cathode active material particles. The multiple-particle particulate contains multiple cathode active material particles (14), which are encapsulated by a sulfonated elastomer (16) (col. 12, lines 40-59). The elastomer contains inorganic fillers for reinforcement. The inorganic fillers are selected form Ag, Pt, Au (col. 13, lines 23-30). (Ag has lithium affinity as evidenced by Lee et al. (US 20230290956 A1) in par. 188 and Ag is a lithophilic element (equivalent to lithophilic material) as evidence by Li et al. (US 20200274155 A1) in par. 30.) (The shell of the sulfonated elastomer (16) is equivalent to an external structure. A cavity (equivalent internal structure) is enclosed by the sulfonated elastomer (16) in fig. 2(B).) Regarding to claims 3, 4 : Pan et al. disclose the encapsulating thin layer of sulfonated elastomer has a thickness from 1 nm to 10 μm (co. 7, lines 61-67, col. 8, lines 1-3). Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to FILLIN "Examiner name" \* MERGEFORMAT PIN JAN WANG whose telephone number is FILLIN "Phone number" \* MERGEFORMAT (571)272-7057 . The examiner can normally be reached FILLIN "Work Schedule?" \* MERGEFORMAT M-F 9am-5pm . Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice. If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Dah-Wei Yuan can be reached on 571-272-1295 . The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300. Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000. /PIN JAN WANG/ Examiner, Art Unit 1717 /Dah-Wei D. Yuan/ Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 1717
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

May 03, 2023
Application Filed
Mar 31, 2026
Non-Final Rejection — §102 (current)

Precedent Cases

Applications granted by this same examiner with similar technology

Patent 12537227
LIQUID ELECTROLYTE FOR LITHIUM-SULFUR SECONDARY BATTERY AND LITHIUM-SULFUR SECONDARY BATTERY COMPRISING SAME
2y 5m to grant Granted Jan 27, 2026
Patent 12463226
FUEL CELL COOLING
2y 5m to grant Granted Nov 04, 2025
Study what changed to get past this examiner. Based on 2 most recent grants.

AI Strategy Recommendation

Get an AI-powered prosecution strategy using examiner precedents, rejection analysis, and claim mapping.
Powered by AI — typically takes 5-10 seconds

Prosecution Projections

1-2
Expected OA Rounds
62%
Grant Probability
99%
With Interview (+60.0%)
3y 1m
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 8 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allow rate.

Sign in with your work email

Enter your email to receive a magic link. No password needed.

Personal email addresses (Gmail, Yahoo, etc.) are not accepted.

Free tier: 3 strategy analyses per month