Prosecution Insights
Last updated: July 17, 2026
Application No. 18/350,756

POSITIVE ELECTRODE PLATE, SECONDARY BATTERY, BATTERY MODULE, BATTERY PACK, AND POWER CONSUMING DEVICE

Non-Final OA §112
Filed
Jul 12, 2023
Priority
Mar 31, 2022 — continuation of PCTCN2022084258
Examiner
WEINER, LAURA S
Art Unit
1723
Tech Center
1700 — Chemical & Materials Engineering
Assignee
Contemporary Amperex Technology Co., Limited
OA Round
2 (Non-Final)
85%
Grant Probability
Favorable
2-3
OA Rounds
1m
Est. Remaining
99%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 85% — above average
85%
Career Allowance Rate
984 granted / 1155 resolved
+20.2% vs TC avg
Moderate +14% lift
Without
With
+14.3%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
3y 1m
Avg Prosecution
45 currently pending
Career history
1189
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
0.4%
-39.6% vs TC avg
§103
50.8%
+10.8% vs TC avg
§102
15.5%
-24.5% vs TC avg
§112
18.0%
-22.0% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 1155 resolved cases

Office Action

§112
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and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114.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. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Laura Weiner whose telephone number is (571)272-1294. The examiner can normally be reached 9 am-5 pm EST M-F. 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, Tong Guo can be reached at 571-272-3066. 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. /LAURA S. WEINER/ Primary Examiner Art Unit 1723 /Laura Weiner/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1723
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Show 1 earlier event
Sep 04, 2025
Interview Requested
Sep 17, 2025
Applicant Interview (Telephonic)
Sep 17, 2025
Examiner Interview Summary
Nov 12, 2025
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §112
Dec 07, 2025
Response Filed
Mar 09, 2026
Request for Continued Examination
Mar 16, 2026
Response after Non-Final Action
Jun 04, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §112 (current)

Precedent Cases

Applications granted by this same examiner with similar technology

Patent 12683186
ALL-SOLID-STATE SECONDARY BATTERY
4y 2m to grant Granted Jul 14, 2026
Patent 12683166
Composite Particle Including Electrode Material and Electrode for Electrochemical Device Including the Same
1y 11m to grant Granted Jul 14, 2026
Patent 12665192
INTERMETALLIC ANODE MATERIALS FOR LITHIUM-ION BATTERIES
3y 8m to grant Granted Jun 23, 2026
Patent 12658423
RECHARGEABLE ZINC METAL BATTERY
3y 11m to grant Granted Jun 16, 2026
Patent 12651771
ELECTROLYTIC SOLUTION FOR LITHIUM SECONDARY BATTERIES AND LITHIUM SECONDARY BATTERY INCLUDING THE SAME
3y 7m to grant Granted Jun 09, 2026
Study what changed to get past this examiner. Based on 5 most recent grants.

Strategy Recommendation AI-generated — please review before filing

Get a prosecution strategy drawn from examiner precedents, rejection analysis, and claim mapping.
Typically takes 5-10 seconds — AI-generated, attorney review required before filing

Prosecution Projections

2-3
Expected OA Rounds
85%
Grant Probability
99%
With Interview (+14.3%)
3y 1m (~1m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
Moderate
PTA Risk
Based on 1155 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance 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