Prosecution Insights
Last updated: April 19, 2026
Application No. 18/463,954

NEGATIVE ELECTRODE MATERIAL, PREPARATION METHOD THEREOF, AND ALL-SOLID-STATE LITHIUM BATTERY

Non-Final OA §112
Filed
Sep 08, 2023
Examiner
WILLS, MONIQUE M
Art Unit
1723
Tech Center
1700 — Chemical & Materials Engineering
Assignee
BYD Company Limited
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
86%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
2y 10m
To Grant
54%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 86% — above average
86%
Career Allow Rate
1354 granted / 1580 resolved
+20.7% vs TC avg
Minimal -32% lift
Without
With
+-31.7%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 10m
Avg Prosecution
53 currently pending
Career history
1633
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
0.2%
-39.8% vs TC avg
§103
58.8%
+18.8% vs TC avg
§102
19.4%
-20.6% vs TC avg
§112
17.3%
-22.7% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 1580 resolved cases

Office Action

§112
CTNF 18/463,954 CTNF 75068 DETAILED ACTION Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status 07-03-aia AIA 15-10-aia The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA. Foreign Priority Documents The China foreign priority document(s) 202110305372.5 , submitted under 35 U.S.C. § 119 (a)-(d), was/were been received on February 2, 2026 and placed of record in the file. Information Disclosure Statement The information disclosure statements filed September 8, 2023 has/have been received and complies with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97, 1.98 and MPEP § 609. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement(s) is/are being considered by the examiner, and an initialed copied is attached herewith. Allowable Subject Matter 12-151-07 AIA 07-97 12-51-07 Claim s 1, 2, 5, 6, 9, 10,13, 14, 16, 17-18 & 19-20 are allowed. With respect to claims 1 & 17 , the instant claims are allowable over the prior art of record, because the prior art is silent to: a negative electrode material comprising a core and an amorphous lithium-silicon alloy layer cladding the core, the core comprising a glassy solid electrolyte and amorphous lithium-silicon alloy particles dispersed in the glassy solid electrolyte, the material of the amorphous lithium-silicon alloy particles is Li x Si, 0<x≤4.4, and the material of the amorphous lithium-silicon alloy layer is Li y Si, 0<y≤4.4. The prior art, such as Yang et al. US-20180191029-A1, teaches a negative electrode material (anode 1; [0046]) comprising, amorphous lithium-silicon alloy particles (Li 4 Si; [0046]). However, the reference does not teach a shell-core structure, wherein the core is a glassy solid electrolyte and amorphous lithium-silicon alloy particles of the formula Li x Si, 0<x≤4.4 dispersed in the glassy solid electrolyte, with a shell of amorphous lithium-silicon alloy layer is Li y Si, 0<y≤4.4. The prior art, such as LU et al. CN-109671929-A, teaches a negative electrode material (anode; Abstract) comprising, lithium silicon alloy composite negative electrode material core coated by electrolyte wherein the solid electrolyte is Li2S-P2S. See the abstract & Summary of the Invention. However, the reference does not teach a shell-core structure, wherein the core includes a glassy solid electrolyte, with a shell of amorphous lithium-silicon alloy layer is Li y Si, 0<y≤4.4. Therefore the instants claims are patentably distinct from the prior art of record. Claims 2, 5, 6, 9, 10, 13, 14, 16, 18 & 19-20 are allowable based on dependency to claims 1 & 17, respectively. 07-43-02 AIA Claim s 3-4, 7-8, 11-12, 15 would be allowable if rewritten to overcome the rejection(s) under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA), 2nd paragraph, set forth in this Office action and to include all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112 07-30-02 AIA 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. 07-34-01 Claims 3-4, 7-8, 11-12, 15 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. Claims 3-4, the term “the mass fraction of the amorphous lithium-silicon alloy particles in the core is 50%-95%” is of uncertain meaning rendering the claims vague and indefinite. A “mass fraction” is not represented by a percentage. An appropriate correction is required. Claims 7-8, 11-12, 15 are rejected based on dependency to claims 3 & 4, respectively. Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MONIQUE M WILLS whose telephone number is (571)272-1309. The Examiner can normally be reached on Monday-Friday from 8:30am to 5:00 pm. If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the Examiner's supervisor, Tiffany Legette, may be reached at 571-270-7078. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300. Information regarding the status of an application may be obtained from the Patent Application Information Retrieval (PAIR) system. Status information for published applications may be obtained from either Private PAIR or Public PAIR. Status information for unpublished applications is available through Private PAIR only. For more information about the PAIR system, see http://portal.uspto.gov/external/portal. Should you have questions on access to the Private PAIR system, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). /Monique M Wills/ Examiner, Art Unit 1722 /TIFFANY LEGETTE/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 1723 Application/Control Number: 18/463,954 Page 2 Art Unit: 1723 Application/Control Number: 18/463,954 Page 3 Art Unit: 1723 Application/Control Number: 18/463,954 Page 4 Art Unit: 1723 Application/Control Number: 18/463,954 Page 5 Art Unit: 1723
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Sep 08, 2023
Application Filed
Mar 21, 2026
Non-Final Rejection — §112 (current)

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Prosecution Projections

1-2
Expected OA Rounds
86%
Grant Probability
54%
With Interview (-31.7%)
2y 10m
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 1580 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allow rate.

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