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 .
Response to Amendment
The preliminary amendment filed on 02/06/2025 is entered and acknowledged by the Examiner. Claims 1, 16, and 18 have been amended. Claims 1-26 are currently pending in the instant application.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statements (IDS) filed on 01/17/2025, 10/09/2025, and 06/24/2026 are in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97 and have been considered by the examiner. An initialed copy accompanies this Office Action.
Drawings
The drawings filed on 01/17/2025 have been considered.
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.
Claims 1-26 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by WO 2021041296 A1 (an English equivalent to US 20220336805 A1, hereinafter Zheng, will be applied herein).
Initially, it should be noted that the Zheng reference is cited in the IDS filed on 01/17/2025.
Zheng discloses a method for preparing lithium transition metal oxide particulate such as lithium nickel metal cobalt oxide (NMC) for use in lithium batteries (See Abstract). The NMC particulate has a crystal structure (See [0030]) and forms a single-phase LiNMC during heating (See [0104]); thereby, fulfills the claimed step (B) heating the mixture to produce the lithium transition metal oxide positive electrode material having a single-phase structure. Zheng discloses the LiNMC having a formula that meets the claimed empirical formula (I): Li1+x[(NinMnmCoc)1-aAa]1-xO2 wherein A is a metal dopant Mg, Al, Ti, Zr, W, Zn, Mo, K, Na, Si, Ta, or a combination thereof (See [0028] and [0106]). The method comprises a starting mixture includes a compound of Ni, a compound of Mn, a compound of Co, a compound of A, and a compound of Li where these metal compounds consist essentially of metal compounds of oxides, hydroxides, carbonates and mixture thereof (See [0023] and [0034] to [0036]). Zheng further discloses that the method is a solid-state process including dry impact milling (dry mixing in absence of water) and heating (See Abstract) and is advantageous compared to a liquid process requiring water (See [0114]). Zheng discloses that the method comprises a heating step in oxygen at temperature 940°C for 12 hours (See Examples).
The reference specifically or inherently meets each of the claimed limitations in their broadest interpretations. The reference is anticipatory.
In view of the foregoing, the above claims have failed to patentably distinguish over the applied art.
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 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.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to KHANH TUAN NGUYEN whose telephone number is (571)272-8082. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM EST.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Angela Brown-Pettigrew can be reached at (571) 272-2817. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/KHANH T NGUYEN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1761
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