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 .
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election of Species B, claims 1-16, in the reply filed on June 25, 2026 is acknowledged. Because applicant did not distinctly and specifically point out the supposed errors in the restriction requirement, the election has been treated as an election without traverse (MPEP § 818.01(a)).
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.
Claim 9 is 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. The bounds lack a unit of measurement. Dv50 is a particle diameter, and a and b are coefficients with no dimensions.
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)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
(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 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.
Claims 1-2 and 4-16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) or 102(a)(2) as anticipated by Baek (US 2020/0083524) or, in the alternative, under 35 U.S.C. 103 as obvious over Baek (US 2020/0083524).
Claim 1: Baek discloses a positive active material including a spinel-type lithium-manganese-containing composite oxide (¶¶ 9, 29, 169-179), with the claimed formula (¶¶ 30, 42-46, 173-179).
Claim 2: Baek discloses A includes W (¶¶ 30, 45, 175).
Claim 4: Baek discloses X includes Al (Examples 3, 5).
Claim 5: Baek discloses W and B are in a surface layer 1-1,000 nm thick (¶ 51) on particles of D50 6 microns or 16 microns; for any outer region of <= 50 vol%, with m+n >= 70%.
Claim 6: Baek discloses a = 0.003 and b = 0.006 (¶¶ 30, 42-46, 173-179).
Claim 7: Baek discloses a specific surface area of 0.1-1.5 m2/g (¶ 54).
Claim 8: Baek discloses a D50 of 6 and 16 microns (¶¶ 21, 175, 179).
Claim 9: Baek discloses 0.05 (¶¶ 21, 175, 179).
Claim 10: Baek discloses the grain shape being octahedral (¶ 84).
Claim 11:Baek discloses a secondary battery containing the material (¶¶ 180-183, 187-190).
Claim 12: Baek discloses a battery module including the secondary battery (¶¶ 164, 176).
Claim 13: Baek discloses a battery pack including the battery module (¶ 164).
Claims 14-16: Baek discloses electrical devices including the battery, module and pack (¶¶ 163-165).
Alternatively, to the extent W of Examples 3 and 5 is found not to be at the manganese site, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the application to have doped W into the manganese site of the Baek spinel because Baek teaches that W is a manganese-site doping element that stabilizes the structure and suppresses Mn dissolution (¶¶ 30, 33, 52).
Claim 3 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Baek (US 2020/0083524), as applied to claim 1 above.
Claim 3: Baek teaches B and lists Si and S among the coating elements (¶¶ 29, 36, 109, 113), names S as a preferred film-forming element (¶ 49) and SiO as a coating oxide (¶ 48), and Cl as an anion-site substituent (¶ 31). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date to have selected Si or S from Baek’s finite list of coating element, in place of or in addition to B because Baek teaches these elements as alternatives for the same function of blocking electrolyte contact and suppressing Mn dissolution (¶¶ 36, 48-49).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to LARRY THROWER whose telephone number is (571)270-5517. The examiner can normally be reached 9am-5pm MT 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, Susan Leong can be reached at 571-270-1487. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/LARRY W THROWER/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1754
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