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 .
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election without traverse of Group II, claims 11-15 in the reply filed on 08/07/2026 is acknowledged.
Claims 1-10 and 16-17 withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected cathode composite, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election was made without traverse in the reply filed on 08/07/2026.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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.
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.
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.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claims 11-15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yoon et al. (PGPub 2019/0296366).
Considering Claim 11, Yoon discloses a method of manufacturing an electrode composite (process of forming an electrode composite [0009]), comprising:
forming a porous structure containing an oxygen ion conductive material (preparation of porous oxide electrode [0065] that contains LSCM, YSZ [0065]);
preparing a coating solution containing an electronically conductive material precursor, urea, glycine, and a solvent (infiltration solution is prepared [0070] which contains a noble metal precursor of ceramic, solvent and a precipitating or complexing agent [0070], which is preferably urea [0057, 0070] and may be mixed with another agent such as glycine [0070], so selecting such a choice for precipitation and complexing would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art);
impregnating the coating solution into a pore of the porous structure (solution infiltrates porous electrode [0013, 0070] for internal pores [Abstract]); and
heat-treating the porous structure impregnated with the coating solution at a temperature of 600 to 800 °C to form a coating layer containing the electronically conductive material (porous infiltrated electrode is heat treated [0013, 0070] at a peak temperature of 650 °C to manufacture the nanocatalyst porous electrode [0070, Table 6]),
wherein a content of the oxygen ion conductive material is greater than that of the electronically conductive material (amount (g) of LSCM and YSZ [Tables 2 and 3] is significantly greater than amount (g) of noble metal material [0070, Table 5]).
Because Yoon discloses the same oxygen ion conductive material of YSZ [0065, Table 2, 0014 of claimed invention] and related material of LSCM [0065, Tables 2 and 3], and because the claim is not drawn to the making of the larger fuel cell combination, Yoon discloses the manufacturing of a cathode composite as claimed.
Considering Claim 12, Yoon discloses that in the forming of the porous structure,
a solution containing the oxygen ion conductive material is applied on a substrate and then sintered at a temperature of 900 to 1200 °C (lower level functional material layer applied to current collector substrate upper layer in solution and calcined at 1100 °C [0065]).
Considering Claim 13, Yoon discloses that in the forming of the porous structure,
the porous structure does not contain the electronically conductive material (noble metal precursor of ceramic is not introduced until after full formation of electrode [0070]).
Considering Claim 14, Yoon discloses that in the preparing of the coating solution, the electronically conductive material precursor is a nitrate of an element contained in the electronically conductive material (precursor of metal and precursor of ceramic may be nitrate [0049, 0054]).
Considering Claim 15, Yoon discloses that in the preparing of the coating solution, the solvent is a mixture of water and alcohol (water and alcohol used as solvent [0070]).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to CHRISTOPHER P DOMONE whose telephone number is (571)270-7582. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8:00-4:30 PM.
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, Basia Ridley can be reached at (571)272-1453. 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.
/CHRISTOPHER P DOMONE/Primary Patent Examiner
Art Unit 1725
Prosecution Insights