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 .
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 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by HIASA (WO2020218456 provided in the IDS filed 08/20/2024, see English equivalent US 2022/0045369 for citations)
Regarding claim 1: Hiasa discloses a positive electrode active material ([0052]) for an aqueous potassium ion battery ([0016-0017]), which is represented by the general formula LixMn2O4, where 0 < x < 2. ([0053], Line 5-6).
The limitation "for an aqueous potassium ion battery" represents an intended use of the claimed positive electrode active material and does not imply any additional structure to the claim beyond the claimed general formula as evidenced by the instant specification at [0058] which describes LixMn2O4, within the claim scope, as the structure capable of performing the claimed intended use.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claim(s) 2-5 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over SUYAMA. (US 2019/0386346)
Regarding claims 2 & 3, Suyama discloses an aqueous potassium ion secondary battery (Fig. 1 & [0046-0047]), a positive electrode active material [0054] for an aqueous potassium ion battery (Fig. 1 & [0046-0047]).
Suyama also teaches that any cathode active material for an aqueous potassium-ion battery can be employed for the cathode active material and that the cathode active material should have a higher potential than an anode active material (Paragraph 0054, Line 1-3). In Paragraph 0054, Line 8-9 explains that any cathode active material containing a K element is preferable. Many examples are shown for a cathode active material, specifically the potassium-manganese composite oxides which mentions KMnO2 and KMn2O4 (Paragraph 0054, Line 15-17). Suyama is not limited to the cathode active material containing a K element and in other embodiments also lists Li as a viable element ([0054]).
While Suyama does not explicitly teach a specific embodiment using LixMn2O4, where 0 < x < 2, since Suyama disclosed KMn2O4, suggested being open to Li as an alternative metal, and due to the compositional structural similarity between the disclosed KMn2O4 and the claimed LixMn2O4, where 0 < x < 2, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have utilized LiMn2O4 instead of KMn2O4 with a reasonable expectation that such would provide substantially similar properties and ultimately perform successfully as the positive electrode active material (MPEP 2144.09).
Suyama further discloses an aqueous electrolyte solution, wherein the aqueous electrolyte solution has a pH of preferably 7.0 to 13 ([0045], Line 6-11) and comprises an aqueous solvent ([0029-0030]) and a potassium salt dissolved in the aqueous solvent. (potassium pyrophosphate, [0033-0034]), which reads on claim 3.
Regarding claims 4 & 5, modified Suyama discloses all of the limitations as set forth above. Suyama further discloses the potassium pyrophosphate is dissolved in the aqueous solvent at a concentration of 5.0 mol/kg or greater ([0034]) which is within the claimed range of 2.0 mol/kg or greater of claim 4 and reads on claim 5.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. The references provided contains the following information:
Positive Active Material containing lithium manganese oxide KAZUYA OKABE (U.S. 2024/0079632) (Abstract)
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/ELTS/Examiner, Art Unit 1751
/JONATHAN G LEONG/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 1751 2/23/2026