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 .
Priority
This application claims priority to TW 111150608 (filed 12/29/22).
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Claims 1-20 are pending.
Drawings
The Drawing filed 08/18/23 is objected to:
37 CFR 1.84(u)(1) states (emphasis added):
The different views must be numbered in consecutive Arabic numerals, starting with 1, independent of the numbering of the sheets and, if possible, in the order in which they appear on the drawing sheet(s). Partial views intended to form one complete view, on one or several sheets, must be identified by the same number followed by a capital letter. View numbers must be preceded by the abbreviation "FIG." Where only a single view is used in an application to illustrate the claimed invention, it must not be numbered and the abbreviation "FIG." must not appear.
Accordingly, applicant should submit a corrected Drawing without “Figure 1” and amend the specification to –-the Drawing-—(each occurrence).
Information Disclosure Statement
The IDS statement filed 03/25/24 has been considered. An initialed copy accompanies this action.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 3, 5, 6, 9-14, 17-20 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.
Dependent claims 3, 5, 6, 11-14 (and claims dependent thereon) contains language interpreted as improper Markush language. Specifically, the open claim terminology “comprises…” is considered indefinite as it is unclear if such if open (e.g. comprising) or closed (consisting of). A Markush grouping is a closed group of alternatives, i.e., the selection is made from a group "consisting of" (rather than "comprising" or "including") the alternative members. Abbott Labs., 334 F.3d at 1280, 67 USPQ2d at 1196. If a Markush grouping requires a material selected from an open list of alternatives (e.g., selected from the group "comprising" or "consisting essentially of" the recited alternatives), the claim should generally be rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) as indefinite because it is unclear what other alternatives are intended to be encompassed by the claim. If a claim is intended to encompass combinations or mixtures of the alternatives set forth in the Markush grouping, the claim may include qualifying language preceding the recited alternatives (such as "at least one member" selected from the group), or within the list of alternatives (such as "or mixtures thereof"). Id. at 1281. See also MPEP § 2111.03.
In order to conform to current US practice, applicant is suggested to amend the instant terminology to -–selected from the group consisting of--.
Allowable Subject Matter
Initially, as no special definition appears in the instant specification, the examiner construes the preamble terminology “quality examination” to describe/require it’s known meaning in the art, i.e. a standard as measured against other things of a similar kind to determine the degree of a distinctive attribute or characteristic possessed by the cathode materials.
Claims 1-2,4,7-8 and 15-16 are allowed.
KR 101731213A discloses a method for making/treating cathode active materials which comprises mixing the material with solvent and anionic surfactant, and mixing by wet co-pulverization to reduce the size of the material, followed by heat-treatment and filtration (see Abstract; examples).
Yu et al (Journal of Cleaner Production) discloses the physical and chemical changes of battery electrode materials dependent upon grinding modification (Abstract; Section 2.1).
The reference, however, taken either alone or in any fair combination, do not suggest the instantly claimed method wherein a surfactant solution of cathode material is ball milled, filtered through 200 mesh and subsequently 420 mesh sieve, wherein the residues of each mesh are weighed and compared to threshold values, and wherein the second residual is further analyzed to determine the threshold value of multiple metal elements.
The remaining references cited on forms PTO-1449 and PTO-892 are considered cumulative to the prior art above.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MARK T KOPEC whose telephone number is (571)272-1319. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 9:00a-5:00p EST.
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, Robert Jones can be reached at 5712707733. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/MARK KOPEC/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1762
MK
January 24, 2026
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