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 final rejection. 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and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on 3-9-2026 has been entered.
Claim Objections
Claims 1, 4-11 and 13-16 are objected to because of the following informalities: Claim 1 is objected to because the components A, R, C and D should cite the elements in periodic table order. Claim 1 is objected to because the components of M should cite the elements in periodic table order. Claim 1 is objected to because the claim should cite the phrase “the surface of the 1st positive electrode active material is further coated with carbon” should be moved up in the claim before the discussion of the 2nd positive electrode active material. Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
Claims 1, 4-11 and 13-16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention. Claim 1 is rejected to because the phrase “when the positive electrode film layer has a single layer structure at least 1 of the positive electrode film layers contains both a 1st electrode active material… and a 2nd positive electrode active material”. This phrase does not add to the claim language because when the positive electrode film layer has a single layer structure, the only film layer on the current collector would comprise both the 1st positive electrode active material and a 2nd positive electrode material. Claims 1 and 13 are rejected because it is unclear if at least one of the layers has to comprise the combination of the 1st and 2nd positive electrode active materials what the other layer or layers in the multilayer structure has to comprise. Claim 1 is rejected because unclear which layer is positioned on the current collector when the positive electrode film layer has a multilayer structure. Also, it is unclear how many layers can the multilayer structure consists of. Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1, 4-11 and 13-16 are allowed.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Fang et al. (US 2015/0311522) teaches in Example 1, an active material comprising Li1.09Mn0.4(Ni0.1Co0.5)PO4. Fang et al. teaches in Example 2, an active material comprising Li1.10Mn1/3(Ni1/3Co1/3)PO4. Fang et al. teaches a positive active material comprising LiaMbN’1-bPO4-gBc where 0.9 < a <1.1; 0.6 < b < 1.0; 0 < g < 0.5 and 0 < c < 0.25 where M is at least one of Mn, Fe and Co and B is at least one of S, F, Cl, etc. Ohira et al. (US 9,005,810) teaches a cathode active material having a composition represented by formula (1): LiMn1-xMxP1-ySiyO4where M = Zr, Sn, Y or Al where 0 < x < 0.5 and 0 < y < 0.5. Ohira et al. teaches specifically cathode active material in Table 1, comprising: Li(Mn0.9Sn0.1)(P0.8Si0,2)O4, Li(Mn0.95Zr0.05)(P0.9Si0,1)O4, or Li(Mn0.95Sn0.05)(P0.9Si0,1)O4. (JP 6157563 B2, machine translation) teaches a lithium ion battery positive electrode material comprising the formula LiMnxFe1-xP1-aSibMcO4-dFd where M can be B, Cl or S).
Natsui et al. (US 2023/0402594) teaches in Example 1, a lithium transition metal composite oxide comprising Li1.67Sb0.001Mn0.55Ni0.275P0.065O1.92F0.08. Ma et al. (US 2023/0335723) claims in claim 1, a positive electrode active material comprising Li1+xMn1-yAyP1-zRzO4 which is the exact same material of the instant positive electrode material. Ma et al. (US 2023/0343938) claims in claim 1, a positive electrode active material comprising LiaAxMn1-yByP1-zCzO4-nDn which is the exact same material of the instant positive electrode material. Jiang et al. (US 2023/0361296) claims in claim 1, a positive electrode active material comprising LiaAxMn1-yByP1-zCzO4-nDn which is the exact same material of the instant positive electrode material. Wu (US 2016/0190584) teaches in claim 1, a Li-ion battery positive electrode material comprising LiMnxFe1-xP1-aSibMcO4-dFd where M is B or S and teaches in claim 3 that the positive active material contains a carbon coating layer. Ohira et al. (US 2013/0209886) teaches a cathode comprising a cathode material comprising LiMn1-xMxP1-ySiyO4.
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/LAURA S. WEINER/
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 1723
/Laura Weiner/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1723