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 .
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Drawings
The drawings were received on 11/14/2023. These drawings are accepted.
Status of Claims
Claims 1-10 are as originally filed.
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 1-10 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 recites the limitation "the first aqueous lithium solution recovered in the acid washing step" in line 19. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. The first aqueous lithium solution is obtained in the water washing step in lines 6 and 7.
Claims dependent on any of the rejected claims are likewise rejected under this statute.
Double Patenting
The nonstatutory double patenting rejection is based on a judicially created doctrine grounded in public policy (a policy reflected in the statute) so as to prevent the unjustified or improper timewise extension of the “right to exclude” granted by a patent and to prevent possible harassment by multiple assignees. A nonstatutory double patenting rejection is appropriate where the conflicting claims are not identical, but at least one examined application claim is not patentably distinct from the reference claim(s) because the examined application claim is either anticipated by, or would have been obvious over, the reference claim(s). See, e.g., In re Berg, 140 F.3d 1428, 46 USPQ2d 1226 (Fed. Cir. 1998); In re Goodman, 11 F.3d 1046, 29 USPQ2d 2010 (Fed. Cir. 1993); In re Longi, 759 F.2d 887, 225 USPQ 645 (Fed. Cir. 1985); In re Van Ornum, 686 F.2d 937, 214 USPQ 761 (CCPA 1982); In re Vogel, 422 F.2d 438, 164 USPQ 619 (CCPA 1970); In re Thorington, 418 F.2d 528, 163 USPQ 644 (CCPA 1969).
A timely filed terminal disclaimer in compliance with 37 CFR 1.321(c) or 1.321(d) may be used to overcome an actual or provisional rejection based on nonstatutory double patenting provided the reference application or patent either is shown to be commonly owned with the examined application, or claims an invention made as a result of activities undertaken within the scope of a joint research agreement. See MPEP § 717.02 for applications subject to examination under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA as explained in MPEP § 2159. See MPEP § 2146 et seq. for applications not subject to examination under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA . A terminal disclaimer must be signed in compliance with 37 CFR 1.321(b).
The filing of a terminal disclaimer by itself is not a complete reply to a nonstatutory double patenting (NSDP) rejection. A complete reply requires that the terminal disclaimer be accompanied by a reply requesting reconsideration of the prior Office action. Even where the NSDP rejection is provisional the reply must be complete. See MPEP § 804, subsection I.B.1. For a reply to a non-final Office action, see 37 CFR 1.111(a). For a reply to final Office action, see 37 CFR 1.113(c). A request for reconsideration while not provided for in 37 CFR 1.113(c) may be filed after final for consideration. See MPEP §§ 706.07(e) and 714.13.
The USPTO Internet website contains terminal disclaimer forms which may be used. Please visit www.uspto.gov/patent/patents-forms. The actual filing date of the application in which the form is filed determines what form (e.g., PTO/SB/25, PTO/SB/26, PTO/AIA /25, or PTO/AIA /26) should be used. A web-based eTerminal Disclaimer may be filled out completely online using web-screens. An eTerminal Disclaimer that meets all requirements is auto-processed and approved immediately upon submission. For more information about eTerminal Disclaimers, refer to www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/applying-online/eterminal-disclaimer.
Claims 1-10 are provisionally rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claims 1-12 of copending Application No. 18/508,600 (reference application). Although the claims at issue are not identical, they are not patentably distinct from each other because Claim 1 of the reference application recites removing impurities and obtaining an impurity residue. However, one carrying out a process in accord with the claims in reference application would in fact read on the product that is fully within the scope of the instant claims. Thus, no patentable distinction is seen between a product as presently claimed and a product as defined in the claims in the reference application.
This is a provisional nonstatutory double patenting rejection because the patentably indistinct claims have not in fact been patented.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Thompson et al in Green Chemistry teaches treating processing lithium battery cathodes as represented in the boxed portion of Fig. 5 below:
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The battery must be disassembled, and the cathodes are separated from the anodes. The active materials will be removed from the electrodes via an ultrasonic process, which reads on adding water (page 4884). OxA : ChCl is choline chloride with oxalic acid dihydrate (page 4878), which reads on acid washing. The Li/Mn/Co leachate, which results from the leaching of the black mass, reads on the first aqueous lithium solution. The acid solubilizer is OxA : ChCl. Co and Mn are precipitated with the Li/Mn/Co leachate, which reads on a pH adjuster, and Li oxalate reads on the second aqueous lithium solution. Nickel is not precipitated with cobalt and manganese.
Balachandran et al in the published paper “Comparative study for selective lithium recovery via chemical transformations during incineration and dynamic pyrolysis of EV li-ion batteries” teaches the effect of thermal treatment on Li leaching efficiency from Li-ion batteries followed by water leaching (abstract) with carbothermic reduction (page 6).
Lei et al in Green Chemistry teaches removing the active material from composite electrodes using high powered ultrasound in a continuous flow process with cavitation (abstract).
CN 109913637 A (CN ‘637) teaches recycling valuable metals from waste lithium-ion batteries [0001]. The batteries are crushed [0012], roasted at 400-800 °C for 2-10 hr [0013], immersed in water for 3-6 hr at 20-40 °C [0014], and filtered. The leachate is a lithium bicarbonate solution [0015]. The water-leached residue is immersed in sulfuric acid at 50-70 °C, and hydrogen peroxide is added to leach nickel, cobalt, and manganese to obtain a leachate [0016]. The leached material is filtered to obtain a solution containing nickel, cobalt, and manganese and a filter residue [0017]. Sodium hydroxide is added to the solution to adjust the pH of the solution to precipitate nickel, cobalt, and manganese [0018]. CN ‘637 does not suggest the lithium bicarbonate solution is added to adjust the pH of the solution as claimed.
KR 101682217 B1 (KR ‘217) teaches producing high-purity lithium carbonate by recovering lithium from the cathode material of a spent lithium-ion secondary battery [0002]. The waste cathode material powder, carbon material, and sodium carbonate powder are mixed and roasted [0018] at 600-1000 °C for 600 minutes [0025]. The roasted product is ground and water leached without separate purification or filtration treatment [0037-0042]. Lithium is separated by leaching with hydrochloric acid [0043] as lithium chloride or lithium hydroxide [0043]. Sulfuric acid may be used instead [0047]. Sodium carbonate is added to the leaching solution to separate the unleached residue containing nickel, cobalt, and manganese [0052] and increasing the pH; sodium hydroxide can be used instead of sodium carbonate [0053]. KR ‘217 does not suggest the lithium bicarbonate solution is added to adjust the pH of the solution as claimed.
CN 112375913 A (CN ‘913) teaches lithium-ion battery recycling, in particular recycling waste positive electrode active materials [0003, 0024, 0025]. The raw materials are calcined at 500-800 °C with additives [0012]. The calcined material is immersed in water, followed by solid-liquid separation [0013]. The water leaching solution is lithium-rich [0015]. The water-leached residue is subjected to acid leaching to obtain an acid leaching solution [0051] including sulfuric, nitric, or hydrochloric [0053]. The pH of the acid leaching solution is adjusted for purification, and then co-precipitation is carried out under alkaline conditions to recover other valuable metal elements [0057] including nickel, cobalt, and manganese [0066]. CN ‘913 does not suggest the lithium bicarbonate solution is added to adjust the pH of the solution as claimed.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Tima M. McGuthry-Banks whose telephone number is (571)272-2744. The examiner can normally be reached Monday through Friday, 7:30 am to 4:00 pm.
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Tima M. McGuthry-Banks
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 1733
/TIMA M. MCGUTHRY-BANKS/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1733
Prosecution Insights