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 .
The Applicant has amended independent claim 1 and dependent claim 2; and canceled claims 10-18. The pending claims are claims 1-9.
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and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114.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 5/11/2026 has been entered.
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)(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.
Claim(s) 1, 3, 5-7, 9 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Tan et al., US 20140170476.
Regarding claim 1, Tan et al., teaches a process of producing a pre-lithiated electrode (0012; 0057 ) comprising:
contacting a lithium containing cathode active material (0074; 0191) an electrode active material to an electrolyte (0057), the electrolyte (0012; 0080) further contacting a counter electrode lithium source (0101); and applying an electric potential (0057; 0104) or current (0062; 0104) to the lithium containing cathode active material (0011-0012; 0057) and the counter electrode lithium source (0057; 0071) to increase a lithium content of the electrode active material (0057) thereby pre-lithiating the lithium containing electrode active material with lithium to form a pre-lithiated cathode active material (0057-0058).
Regarding claim 3, Tan et al., teaches the counter electrode lithium source is selected from the group consisting of Li2MnO3 (0074; 0191), or Li metal (0104; 0108).
Regarding claim 5, Tan et al., teaches further comprising rinsing the pre-lithiated electrode active material (0120-0121).
Regarding claim 6, Tan et al., teaches comprising drying the pre-lithiated electrode active material (0123; claim 25).
Regarding claim 7, Tan et al., teaches the pre-lithiated electrode (0012; 0057-0058) is characterized by a first charge capacity (0101) greater than a control otherwise identical non-prelithiated electrode (0074; 0191).
Regarding claim 9, Tan et al., teaches wherein the electrode active material comprises a chemical formula: Li1+aMxOy where 0<a<1,0<x, 2<y<6, and M is one or more elements selected from the group consisting of one or more transition metals, Al (0099; 0119; 0195), and combinations thereof (0208; 0216).
Thus, the claims are anticipated.
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.
Claim(s) 2 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Tan et al., US 20140170476, in view of Olsen et al., US 5595837.
Regarding claims 2 and 11, Tan et al., does not teach step of contacting is performed by a reel-to-reel process comprising drawing a web of the lithium containing cathode active material (0074; 0191) coated onto a conducting substrate through an electrolyte bath at a pre-lithiation speed.
Olsen et al., teaches step of contacting is performed by a reel-to-reel process comprising drawing a web of cathode active material (col. 6, lines 54-67 and col. 7, lines 1-2) coated onto a conducting substrate (col. 6, lines 54-67 and col. 7, lines 1-2) through an electrolyte bath (col. 6, lines 54-67 and col. 7, lines 1-2) at a pre-lithiation speed (col. 7, lines 3-14).
Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention to insert the teachings of Olsen et al., into the teachings of Tan et al.,
because Olsen et al., teaches that “The power supply will either be maintained at a constant potential between the web (i.e., carbon anode) and the counter electrode (e.g., lithium) by adjusting the current (potentiostatic mode), or it will be maintained at a constant current that is sufficient to fully discharge the carbon anode during the residence time in the reactor (galvanostatic mode).” (col. 7, lines 14-20).
Claim(s) 4, 8 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Tan et al., US 20140170476, in view of Kren et al., US 20130260254.
Regarding claim 4, Tan et al., does not teach a current density of the step of applying is 0.2-20 mA/cm2, optionally 10 mA/cm2.
Kren et al., teaches a current density of the step of applying is 0.240 mA (0074; 0080).
Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention to insert the teachings of Kren et al., into the teachings of Tan et al., because Kren et al., teaches “capacity of the at least one negative electrode for taking up lithium is higher than that of the at least one positive electrode, the at least one negative electrode has a higher capacity than required for taking up
the entire mobile lithium contained in the cell, and the mobile lithium is
contained in the cell in an amount which exceeds the capacity of the at least
one positive electrode for taking up lithium.” (0012).
Regarding claim 8, Tan et al., does not teach wherein the first charge capacity is 10 mAh/g or greater relative to the control.
Kren et al., teaches the first charge capacity is 10 mAh/g or greater relative to the control (1070 mAh/g) (0074; 0080).
Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention to insert the teachings of Kren et al., into the teachings of Tan et al., because Kren et al., teaches a capacity within the claimed range would provide “capacity of the at least one negative electrode for taking up lithium is higher than that of the at least one positive electrode, the at least one negative electrode has a higher capacity than required for taking up the entire mobile lithium contained in the cell, and the mobile lithium is contained in the cell in an amount which exceeds the capacity of the at least one positive electrode for taking up lithium.” (abstract).
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 4/9/2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive. The Applicant argues that “Tan only teaches that "[t]he positive electrode active material may be a material that can store/release lithium ions through an intercalation/de-intercalation process" but in no way fairly discloses, teaches, or suggests that it is the cathode material that would be pre-lithiated before device assembly. Tan, paragraph [0074].”
However, claim 1 recites a cathode “comprising contacting a lithium containing cathode active material to an electrolyte”, so the limitation of “comprising” can encompass more materials than listed in the claim.
Applicant argues that “while Tan broadly anticipates pre-lithiation of an anode material, Tan does not anticipate pre-lithiation of a lithium containing cathode material.”
However, Tan teaches:
“[0074] The positive electrode active material may be a material that can store/release lithium ions through an intercalation/de-intercalation process, which may be selected from, but not limited to the existing cathode materials for the lithium ion battery. The positive electrode active material may be selected from LiFePO.sub.4, LiMn.sub.2O.sub.4, LiMnO.sub.2, LiNiO.sub.2, LiCoO.sub.2, LiMn.sub.0.5Ni.sub.05O.sub.2, LiCo.sub.1/3Ni.sub.1/3Mn.sub.1/3O.sub.2, xLi.sub.2MnO.sub.3.(1-x)LiMO.sub.2 (0.ltoreq.x.ltoreq.1; M: Mn, Co, Ni), LiV.sub.3O.sub.8, and LiVPO.sub.4F. It may also include a non-lithiated material having FePO.sub.4, V.sub.2O.sub.5, or MnO.sub.2.” (0074; 0190).
Additionally, Tan teaches:
“[0178] Pre-lithiation is incorporated in certain embodiments of this invention to reduce the large irreversible capacity loss during the 1.sup.st charge/discharge cycle. Even not demonstrated, in principle, other techniques that can help reduce the irreversible capacity loss could also be used for the tin-based negative electrode materials. For example, it might be possible to use a positive electrode active material with large irreversible capacity loss during the 1.sup.st charge/discharge cycle. These materials will release much more lithium ions during the oxidation (i.e., charge) process than the reduction (i.e., discharge) process during the 1.sup.st cycle. Materials such as Li.sub.2NiO.sub.2 may be used as the positive electrode active material.” (0058; 0178).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ANGELA J MARTIN whose telephone number is (571)272-1288. The examiner can normally be reached 7am-4pm.
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, Barbara Gilliam can be reached at 571-272-1330. 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.
ANGELA J. MARTIN
Examiner
Art Unit 1727
/ANGELA J MARTIN/Examiner, Art Unit 1727
Prosecution Insights