CTNF 18/535,004 CTNF 102247 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. Claim Objections Claim 15 is objected to because of the following informalities: Claim 15 states, “A method manufacturing…”. Appropriate correction is required. Please correct the language to say, “A method for manufacturing…”. 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 Claim 13 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. Regarding Claim 13 , the claim states “ a metal in the first metal oxide coating is less conductive than a metal oxide in the second metal oxide coating.” However, the Specification says, “the metal oxide in the first metal oxide coating is less conductive than the metal oxide in the second metal oxide coating,” paragraph 37. In the claim, it is unclear whether the applicant intends “metal oxide in the first metal oxide coating,” which is stated in the Specification and is consistent with the claim’s limitation structure for the second metal oxide layer, or intends to refer to just the metal associated with the metal oxide compound. The examiner will interpret the claim as “The method of claim 9, wherein a metal oxide in the first metal oxide coating is less conductive than a metal oxide in the second metal oxide coating,” as consistent with the Specification. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103 07-06 AIA 15-10-15 In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status. 07-20-aia AIA 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. 07-23-aia AIA The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows: 1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art. 2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue. 3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art. 4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness. 07-21-aia AIA Claim s 1-6, 11, 15, and 16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Dingshan et al. (CN 102931384 A, as found in IDS dated 08/15/2024 and using machine translation for citation purposes) in view of Zhongjia et al. (CN 113540412 B, as found in IDS dated 08/15/2024 and using machine translation for citation purposes), hereafter referred to as Dingshan and Zhongjia respectively . Regarding Claim 1 , Dingshan teaches a method for manufacturing a cathode electrode, comprising: a) dissolving one or more first organic isopropoxide precursors in a first solvent to form a mixture (“Metal alkoxide sols are sols formed during stirring using at least one of tetrabutyl titanate, titanium isopropoxide, TiCl-NER8-, aluminum isopropoxide, aluminum nitrate, aluminum phosphate, zirconium acetate, and magnesium acetate as coating materials, and anhydrous ethanol, methanol, isopropanol, or industrial alcohol,” paragraph 13; “4.7 g of titanium isopropoxide and 150 ml of anhydrous ethanol stirring solvent ,” paragraph 30, which makes clear that the second list, including anhydrous ethanol, is a list of disclosed solvents for the organic isopropoxide precursor); b) adding particles of cathode active material to the mixture (“lithium nickel cobalt manganese cathode material is added to an organic solution containing metal alkoxides,” paragraph 10); c) stirring the mixture for a first predetermined period to form a first metal oxide coating on the particles of the cathode active material (“lithium nickel cobalt manganese cathode material is added to an organic solution containing metal alkoxides, and after stirring ,” paragraph 10; “ternary lithium nickel cobalt manganese was added and stirred for another 4 h ,” paragraph 27, which shows Dingshan explicitly teaches a first predetermined period); d) filtering the particles of the cathode active material from the mixture (“and after stirring, filtration or evaporation,” paragraph 10); and e) calcining the particles of the cathode active material at a second predetermined temperature for a second predetermined period (“The cathode material coated with a metal hydroxide layer is heat-treated to form a first metal oxide layer with MeO x on the surface of the cathode material,” paragraph 11; “the first and second metal oxide layers were obtained by sintering. The sintering process was as follows: heating to 450-800 ℃ at a rate of 5-15 ℃ /min, holding at that temperature for 0.5h-8h,” paragraph 15, showing the second temperature and second time period are both predetermined). Dingshan does not teach, in step c, heating the mixture while stirring. However, Zhongjia teaches heating and stirring a mixture of metal alkoxide and cathode active material to a first predetermined temperature for a first predetermined period to form a first metal oxide coating on the particles of the cathode active material (“the positive electrode active material and the zirconium aluminum sol obtained in step (1) are mixed in an organic solvent and heated and stirred,” paragraph 24; “you can first stir at 50-70 ℃ for 20-50 minutes, and then raise the temperature to 80-90 ℃ ,” paragraph 24, showing they explicitly teach a predetermined temperature and time period). Zhongjia teaches the benefit of heating during this step is to begin removing some of the solvent ahead of the proceeding steps. Specifically, Zhongjia states, “The purpose of heating and stirring is to accelerate the evaporation of the solvent in order to better remove it,” paragraph 24. It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to take the process taught in Dingshan and heat the mixture, per Zhongjai, while stirring in step c in order to remove more solvent before filtration and calcining. Regarding Claim 2 , Zhongjia further teaches that the first predetermined temperature is in a range from 80ºC to 250ºC (“For example, you can first stir at 50-70 ℃ for 20-50 minutes, and then raise the temperature to 80-90 ℃ ,” paragraph 24). Regarding Claim 3 , Dingshan further teaches that the second predetermined temperature is in a range from 300ºC to 550ºC (“The sintering process was as follows: heating to 450-800 ℃ ,” paragraph 15). Regarding Claim 4 , Dingshan further teaches that the one or more first organic isopropoxide precursors are selected from a group consisting of aluminum (Al), titanium (Ti), niobium (Nb), zirconium (Zr), strontium (Sr), tin (Sn), barium (Ba), lithium (Li), antimony (Sb), lanthanum (La), samarium (Sm), germanium (Ge), gadolinium (Gd), yttrium (Y), scandium (Sc), boron (B), and cerium (Ce) (“Metal alkoxide sols are sols formed during stirring using at least one of tetrabutyl titanate, titanium isopropoxide , TiCl-NER8-, aluminum isopropoxide ,” paragraph 13); and the cathode active material is selected from a group consisting of lithium- and manganese-rich (LMR), lithium iron phosphate (LFP), lithium manganese iron phosphate (LMFP), lithium nickel cobalt manganese aluminum (NCMA), lithium nickel manganese cobalt (NMC), lithium nickel oxide (LNO), lithium manganese oxide (LMO), and combinations thereof (“ lithium nickel cobalt manganese cathode material is added to an organic solution containing metal alkoxides,” paragraph 10). Regarding Claim 5 , Dingshan further teaches that one or more first organic isopropoxide precursors include a single organic isopropoxide precursor (“Comparative Example 2: 10.7 g of titanium isopropoxide was added to 150 ml of anhydrous ethanol and stirred for 30 min,” paragraph 27) and the first metal oxide coating on the particles of the cathode active material includes a single-metal oxide coating (“mixture was then filtered, dried, and heated to 500 °C to obtain a TiO 2 -coated ternary lithium nickel cobalt manganese,” paragraph 27). Regarding Claim 6 , Dingshan further teaches that one or more first organic isopropoxide precursors include N organic isopropoxide precursors (“metal alkoxide sols are sols formed during stirring using at least one of tetrabutyl titanate, titanium isopropoxide , TiCl-NER8-, aluminum isopropoxide , aluminum nitrate, aluminum phosphate, zirconium acetate, and magnesium acetate as coating materials,” paragraph 13; note that Dingshan teaches more than one metal alkoxide can be used among a list that includes N organic isopropoxide precursors, where N is an integer greater than one) and the first metal oxide coating on the particles of the cathode active material include an N-metal oxide coating, where N is an integer greater than one (“Metal alkoxide sols are sols formed during stirring using at least one of tetrabutyl titanate, titanium isopropoxide, TiCl-NER8-, aluminum isopropoxide, aluminum nitrate, aluminum phosphate, zirconium acetate, and magnesium acetate as coating materials,” paragraph 13; note that Dingshan teaches more than one metal alkoxide can be used among a list that includes multiple organic isopropoxide precursors that will lead to an N-metal oxide coating, where N is an integer greater than one). Regarding Claim 11 , Dingshan further teaches that the first metal oxide coating includes a single metal oxide selected from a group consisting of Al, Ce, Ti, Sr, and Ge (Metal alkoxide sols are sols formed during stirring using at least one of tetrabutyl titanate, titanium isopropoxide, TiCl-NER8-, aluminum isopropoxide, aluminum nitrate, aluminum phosphate, zirconium acetate, and magnesium acetate as coating materials,” paragraph 13). Regarding Claim 15 , Dingshan teaches a method for manufacturing a cathode electrode, comprising: a) dissolving one or more organic isopropoxide precursors in solvent to form a mixture, wherein the one or more organic isopropoxide precursors are selected from a group consisting of aluminum (Al), titanium (Ti), niobium (Nb), zirconium (Zr), strontium (Sr), tin (Sn), barium (Ba), lithium (Li), antimony (Sb), lanthanum (La), samarium (Sm), germanium (Ge), gadolinium (Gd), yttrium (Y), scandium (Sc), boron (B), and cerium (Ce) (“Metal alkoxide sols are sols formed during stirring using at least one of tetrabutyl titanate, titanium isopropoxide , TiCl-NER8-, aluminum isopropoxide ,” paragraph 13); b) adding particles of cathode active material to the mixture, wherein the cathode active material is selected from a group consisting of lithium- and manganese-rich (LMR), lithium iron phosphate (LFP), lithium manganese iron phosphate (LMFP), lithium nickel cobalt manganese aluminum (NCMA), lithium nickel manganese cobalt (NMC), lithium nickel oxide (LNO), lithium manganese oxide (LMO), and combinations thereof (“ lithium nickel cobalt manganese cathode material is added to an organic solution containing metal alkoxides,” paragraph 10); d) filtering the particles of the cathode active material from the mixture (“and after stirring, filtration or evaporation,” paragraph 10) ; and e) calcining the particles of the cathode active material at a second predetermined temperature in a range from 300ºC to 550ºC for a second predetermined period (“The mixture was then filtered, dried, and heated to 500 °C to obtain a TiO2-coated ternary lithium nickel cobalt manganese,” paragraph 27; “The sintering process was as follows: heating to 450-800 ℃ ,” paragraph 15, which shows a range of temperatures can correspond to this step, not just 500 °C). Dingshan does not teach step c) heating the mixture to a first predetermined temperature in a range from 80ºC to 250ºC for a first predetermined period to form a metal oxide coating on the particles of the cathode active material. However, Zhongjia teaches heating a mixture of metal alkoxide and cathode active material to a first predetermined temperature for a first predetermined period to form a first metal oxide coating on the particles of the cathode active material (“the positive electrode active material and the zirconium aluminum sol obtained in step (1) are mixed in an organic solvent and heated and stirred,” paragraph 24; “you can first stir at 50-70 ℃ for 20-50 minutes, and then raise the temperature to 80-90 ℃ ,” paragraph 24, showing they explicitly teach a predetermined time period and temperature range that overlaps with 80ºC to 250ºC). Zhongjia teaches the benefit of heating during this step is to begin removing some of the solvent ahead of the proceeding steps. Specifically, Zhongjia states, “The purpose of heating and stirring is to accelerate the evaporation of the solvent in order to better remove it,” paragraph 24. It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to take the process taught in Dingshan and heat the mixture as step c, per Zhongjai, in order to help remove solvent before filtration and calcining. Regarding Claim 16 , Dingshan further teaches the method of claim 15, wherein the one or more organic isopropoxide precursors comprise aluminum (Al) and titanium (Ti) (“Metal alkoxide sols are sols formed during stirring using at least one of tetrabutyl titanate, titanium isopropoxide , TiCl-NER8-, aluminum isopropoxide , aluminum nitrate, aluminum phosphate, zirconium acetate, and magnesium acetate as coating materials,” paragraph 13) . 07-21-aia AIA Claim s 7, 8, 17, and 18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Dingshan in view of Zhongjia, and in further view of Lee et al. (US 2015/0228975 A1), hereafter referred to simply as Lee . Regarding Claim 7 , Dingshan does not further teach a specific thickness range for the first metal oxide coating. However, Lee does teach the first metal oxide coating on the particles of the cathode active material have a thickness in a range from 2 nm to 50 nm (“thickness of the two or more metal composite oxide layers may be in a range of 5 nm to 500 nm,” paragraph 30; “the two or more metal composite oxide layers may be formed in a single layer structure,” paragraph 29, where Lee explicitly teaches the plurality of metal oxide layers may be formed as just a first metal oxide layer). Lee states the motivation is that “in the case that the thickness of the two or more metal composite oxide layers is less than 5 nm, an effect of protecting a cathode material may be reduced. In the case in which the thickness of the two or more metal composite oxide layers is greater than 500 nm, since the two or more metal composite oxide layers may obstruct lithium-ion movement, battery capacity and output may be reduced,” paragraph 30. It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to take the process taught in Dingshan, further modified by Zhongjia as discussed above, and limit the thickness of the first metal oxide layer to be within the range taught by Lee to balance providing sufficient thickness to protect the cathode but not so much thickness as to obstruct lithium-ion movement. Regarding Claim 8 , Dingshan does not further teach a specific thickness range for the first metal oxide coating. However, Lee does teach the first metal oxide coating on the particles of the cathode active material have a thickness in a range from 5 nm to 20 nm (“thickness of the two or more metal composite oxide layers may be in a range of 5 nm to 500 nm,” paragraph 30; “the two or more metal composite oxide layers may be formed in a single layer structure,” paragraph 29, where Lee explicitly teaches the plurality of metal oxide layers may be formed as the first metal oxide layer). Lee states the motivation is that “in the case that the thickness of the two or more metal composite oxide layers is less than 5 nm, an effect of protecting a cathode material may be reduced. In the case in which the thickness of the two or more metal composite oxide layers is greater than 500 nm, since the two or more metal composite oxide layers may obstruct lithium-ion movement, battery capacity and output may be reduced,” paragraph 30. It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to take the process taught in Dingshan, further modified by Zhongjia as discussed above, and limit the thickness of the first metal oxide layer to be within the range taught by Lee to balance providing sufficient thickness to protect the cathode but not so much thickness as to obstruct lithium-ion movement. Regarding Claim 17 , Dingshan does not further teach a specific thickness range for the first metal oxide coating. However, Lee does teach the first metal oxide coating on the particles of the cathode active material have a thickness in a range from 2 nm to 50 nm (“thickness of the two or more metal composite oxide layers may be in a range of 5 nm to 500 nm,” paragraph 30; “the two or more metal composite oxide layers may be formed in a single layer structure,” paragraph 29, where Lee explicitly teaches the plurality of metal oxide layers may be formed as the first metal oxide layer). Lee states the motivation is that “in the case that the thickness of the two or more metal composite oxide layers is less than 5 nm, an effect of protecting a cathode material may be reduced. In the case in which the thickness of the two or more metal composite oxide layers is greater than 500 nm, since the two or more metal composite oxide layers may obstruct lithium-ion movement, battery capacity and output may be reduced,” paragraph 30. It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to take the process taught in Dingshan, further modified by Zhongjia as discussed above, and limit the thickness of the first metal oxide layer to be within the range taught by Lee to balance providing sufficient thickness to protect the cathode but not so much thickness as to obstruct lithium-ion movement. Regarding Claim 18 , Dingshan does not further teach a specific thickness range for the first metal oxide coating. However, Lee does teach the first metal oxide coating on the particles of the cathode active material have a thickness in a range from 5 nm to 20 nm (“thickness of the two or more metal composite oxide layers may be in a range of 5 nm to 500 nm,” paragraph 30; “the two or more metal composite oxide layers may be formed in a single layer structure,” paragraph 29, where Lee explicitly teaches the plurality of metal oxide layers may be formed as the first metal oxide layer). Lee states the motivation is that “in the case that the thickness of the two or more metal composite oxide layers is less than 5 nm, an effect of protecting a cathode material may be reduced. In the case in which the thickness of the two or more metal composite oxide layers is greater than 500 nm, since the two or more metal composite oxide layers may obstruct lithium-ion movement, battery capacity and output may be reduced,” paragraph 30. It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to take the process taught in Dingshan, further modified by Zhongjia as discussed above, and limit the thickness of the first metal oxide layer to be within the range taught by Lee to balance providing sufficient thickness to protect the cathode but not so much thickness as to obstruct lithium-ion movement . 07-21-aia AIA Claim s 9 and 10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Dingshan in view of Zhongjia, and in further view of Honda et al. (US 2016/0336593 A1), hereafter referred to simply as Honda . Regarding Claim 9 , in addition to the teachings for Claim 1 discussed above, Dingshan further teaches including steps after d) and before e): g) creating a mixture by adding one or more second organic isopropoxide precursors to a second solvent; h) stirring the mixture until the one or more second organic isopropoxide precursors dissolve; i) adding the particles of the cathode active material including the first metal oxide coating to the mixture (“the cathode material coated with the first metal oxide laye r is added again to an organic solution containing metal alkoxide ,” paragraph 11; “ metal alkoxide sols are sols formed during stirring using at least one of tetrabutyl titanate, titanium isopropoxide , TiCl-NER8-, aluminum isopropoxide , aluminum nitrate, aluminum phosphate, zirconium acetate, and magnesium acetate as coating materials,” paragraph 13); and k) filtering the particles of the cathode active material from the mixture (“the mixture is filtered , evaporated to dryness, and then heat-treated to obtain a second metal oxide layer ,” paragraph 31, with this excerpt chosen to show that Dingshan teaches filtration as part of obtaining the second metal oxide layer in addition to the first). Dingshan does not teach step f) rinsing the particles of the cathode active material including the first metal oxide coating. However, Honda does teach a method for coating cathode active material with a metal oxide layer using an organic isopropoxide precursor, wherein the particles are rinsed after filtering, step d, (“the precipitate was filtered by suction, further washed with water sufficiently,” paragraph 211). Rinsing particles in a chemical manufacturing process generally has the benefit of removing excess and/or undesired substances preceding the next step in a chemical process. It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to take the process taught in Dingshan, modified by Zhongjia as discussed above, and rinse the particles after filtration, as taught by Honda, to remove undesired substances from the particles before proceeding to the next step. Dingshan also does not teach step j) heating the mixture to the first predetermined temperature for the first predetermined period to form a second metal oxide coating on the particles of the cathode active material. However, Zhongjia teaches heating a mixture of metal alkoxide and cathode active material to a first predetermined temperature for a first predetermined period to form a metal oxide coating on the particles of the cathode active material (“the positive electrode active material and the zirconium aluminum sol obtained in step (1) are mixed in an organic solvent and heated and stirred,” paragraph 24; “you can first stir at 50-70 ℃ for 20-50 minutes, and then raise the temperature to 80- 90 ℃ ,” paragraph 24, showing they explicitly teach a predetermined time period and predetermined temperature range). Zhongjia teaches the benefit of heating during this step is to begin removing some of the solvent ahead of the proceeding steps. Specifically, Zhongjia states, “The purpose of heating and stirring is to accelerate the evaporation of the solvent in order to better remove it,” paragraph 24. It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to take the process taught in Dingshan, as modified by Honda as discussed above, and repeat the heating step taught by Zhongjai (both in step j and in step c of Claim 1) to again help remove solvent ahead of filtration. Regarding Claim 10 , in addition to the teachings for Claim 1 discussed above, Dingshan further teaches drying the particles of the cathode active material after d) and before e) (“The mixture was then filtered, dried , and heated to 500 °C to obtain a TiO2-coated ternary lithium nickel cobalt manganese,” paragraph 27). Dingshan does not explicitly teach washing the particles of the cathode active material after d) and before e). However, Honda does teach a method for coating cathode active material with a metal oxide layer using an organic isopropoxide precursor, wherein the particles are rinsed after filtering, step d, (“the precipitate was filtered by suction, further washed with water sufficiently,” paragraph 211). Rinsing particles in a chemical manufacturing process generally has the benefit of removing undesired substances preceding the next step in a chemical process. It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to take the process taught in Dingshan, modified by Zhongjia as discussed above, and rinse the particles after filtration, as taught by Honda, to remove undesired substances from the particles before proceeding to the next step . 07-21-aia AIA Claim 12 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Dingshan in view of Zhongjia, and in further view of Ting et al. (CN 114784265 A, see machine translation), hereafter referred to simply as Ting . Regarding Claim 12 , Dingshan does not further teach the first metal oxide coating includes a dual metal oxide selected from a group consisting of Li-Ce, Li-Zr, Ce-Al, Gd-Al, Gd-Ce, Sb-Al, Sb-Ce, Ge-Al, and Ge-Ce. However, Ting does teach a process for coating cathode active material with a metal oxide coating that includes a dual metal oxide selected from a group consisting of Li-Ce, Li-Zr, Ce-Al, Gd-Al, Gd-Ce, Sb-Al, Sb-Ce, Ge-Al, and Ge-Ce (“high-nickel single-crystal lithium nickel cobalt manganese oxide cathode material includes a substrate and a lithium-containing coating layer,” paragraph 6; “the lithium-containing coating layer is one or more of Li 3 NbO 4 , LiNbO 3 , Li 2 ZrO 3 , or LiAlO 2 ,” paragraph 7). Ting teaches that such a dual-metal oxide coating layer can help “improve initial charge/discharge capacity and rate performance,” paragraph 4. It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to take the process taught in Dingshan, further modified by Zhongjia as discussed above, and select the dual metal oxide coating taught by Ting to help improve the ultimate charge/discharge capacity and rate performance of the battery . 07-21-aia AIA Claim 13 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Dingshan in view of Zhongjia, and in further view of Honda, as evidenced by GORGEOUS Ceramics (“Aluminum Oxide vs. Zirconia: Comprehensive Comparison Guide”), hereafter referred to simply as GORGEOUS Ceramics . Regarding Claim 13 , in addition to the teachings for claim 9 discussed above, Dingshan further teaches a metal oxide in the first metal oxide coating is less conductive than a metal oxide in the second metal oxide coating (“a cathode material with a first metal oxide layer 2 of Al 2 O 3 and a second metal oxide layer 3 of ZrO 2 is obtained,” paragraph 45). GORGEOUS Ceramics states that alumina (Al 2 O 3 ) has a resistivity of >10¹⁴ Ω·cm, and zirconia (ZrO 2 ) has a resistivity of >10¹⁰ Ω·cm (see table under sub-heading “Core performance comparison”). The property of resistivity is inversely correlated with conductivity, so the metal oxide in the first metal oxide layer taught by Dingshan, Al 2 O 3 , is less conductive than the metal oxide in the second metal oxide layer, ZrO 2 . 07-21-aia AIA Claim 14 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Dingshan in view of Zhongjia, and in further view of Honda and Lee . Regarding Claim 14 , in addition to the teachings for claim 9 discussed above, Dingshan further teaches that the first metal oxide in the first metal oxide coating is selected from a group consisting of Ce, Al, and Zr (“a cathode material with a first metal oxide layer 2 of Al 2 O 3 ,” paragraph 45). Dingshan does not teach that a metal oxide in the second metal oxide coating is selected from a group consisting of Li, Gd, Sb, and Ge. However, Lee teaches a method for coating cathode active material with at least two metal oxide layers. Specifically, Lee teaches first metal oxide in the first metal oxide coating is selected from a group consisting of Ce, Al, and Zr (“the metal oxide layer coated on the surface of the cathode active material after the performing of the heat treatment (the fourth step) may include an oxide layer of at least one metal selected from the group consisting of Mg, Ca, Sr, Ba, Y, Ti, Zr , V, Nb, Ta, Cr, Mo, W, Mn, Fe, Co, Ir, Ni, Zn, Al , Ga, In, Si, Ge, Sn, La, and Ce ,” paragraph 60) and a second metal oxide in the second metal oxide coating is selected from a group consisting of Li, Gd, Sb, and Ge (“the metal oxide layer coated on the surface of the cathode active material after the performing of the heat treatment (the fourth step) may include an oxide layer of at least one metal selected from the group consisting of Mg, Ca, Sr, Ba, Y, Ti, Zr, V, Nb, Ta, Cr, Mo, W, Mn, Fe, Co, Ir, Ni, Zn, Al, Ga, In, Si, Ge , Sn, La, and Ce,” paragraph 60). Lee specifies that the metal oxide layers selected from the group of elements listed above can be “a multilayer structure having two or more layers in which each of two or more metal composite oxides is sequentially stacked,” paragraph 29. Lee states the benefit of coating the cathode active material with two or more of these metal oxides is to “improve thermal stability and cycle characteristics,” paragraph 21. It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to take the process taught in Dingshan, further modified by Zhongjia and Honda as discussed above, and expand the list of metal oxides taught in Dingshan to include germanium (Ge) as taught by Lee for the second metal oxide layer. Doing so, as Lee teaches, provides an additional metal oxide option that can improve thermal stability and cycle characteristics of the resulting cathode. Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JORDAN P WILKERSON whose telephone number is (571)270-1891. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 8:00am-4:30pm. 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, Veronica Ewald can be reached at (571) 272-8519. 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. /JORDAN P WILKERSON/Examiner, Art Unit 1783 /MARIA V EWALD/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 1783 Application/Control Number: 18/535,004 Page 2 Art Unit: 1783 Application/Control Number: 18/535,004 Page 3 Art Unit: 1783 Application/Control Number: 18/535,004 Page 4 Art Unit: 1783 Application/Control Number: 18/535,004 Page 5 Art Unit: 1783 Application/Control Number: 18/535,004 Page 8 Art Unit: 1783 Application/Control Number: 18/535,004 Page 9 Art Unit: 1783 Application/Control Number: 18/535,004 Page 10 Art Unit: 1783 Application/Control Number: 18/535,004 Page 11 Art Unit: 1783 Application/Control Number: 18/535,004 Page 12 Art Unit: 1783 Application/Control Number: 18/535,004 Page 13 Art Unit: 1783 Application/Control Number: 18/535,004 Page 14 Art Unit: 1783 Application/Control Number: 18/535,004 Page 16 Art Unit: 1783 Application/Control Number: 18/535,004 Page 17 Art Unit: 1783 Application/Control Number: 18/535,004 Page 18 Art Unit: 1783
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