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 01/23/2025 is entered and acknowledged by the Examiner. Claims 3-5 have been amended. Claims 1-5 are currently pending in the instant application.
Priority
This application is a 371 of PCT/JP2023/027649 (filed on 07/27/2023). Acknowledgment is made of applicant’s claim for foreign priority based on an application filed in Japan on 07/28/2022.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statements (IDS) filed on 01/23/2025 and 12/05/2025 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 01/23/2025 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 1-5 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by US 2014/0312269 A1 (hereinafter Laumann).
Initially, it should be noted that the Laumann reference is cited in the IDS filed on 12/05/2025.
Laumann discloses a doped lithium titanium spinel, a method for production, and an anode electrode (negative electrode) for secondary battery comprising a formula (III) of Li4Ti5O12-xAx where 0<x and A is one or more anion selected from the group I, N, Br, Cl and F (See [0017], [0022] and [0024], Emphasis added). In one embodiment, Laumann discloses the formula Li4Ti5O12-xClx with 0.01≤x≤0.5 (See [0095], [0097], and [0101]). The amount of Cl, i.e., x, is within the claimed 0.1≤x≤2.0. Laumann further discloses that the raw material are mixture and sintered at ≤850°C under protective gas atmosphere (inert atmosphere) (See [0050]).
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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/KHANH T NGUYEN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1761
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