Ex Parte KIM et al

Patent Trial and Appeal BoardJan 29, 2019

13761449 (P.T.A.B. Jan. 29, 2019)

UNITED STA TES p A TENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE APPLICATION NO. FILING DATE 13/761,449 02/07/2013 27849 7590 01/31/2019 LEE & MORSE, P.C. 3141 FAIRVIEW PARK DRIVE SUITE 500 FALLS CHURCH, VA 22042 FIRST NAMED INVENTOR Do-Yu KIM UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE United States Patent and Trademark Office Address: COMMISSIONER FOR PATENTS P.O. Box 1450 Alexandria, Virginia 22313-1450 www .uspto.gov ATTORNEY DOCKET NO. CONFIRMATION NO. 302/1049 2400 EXAMINER ZHANG, HAIXIA ART UNIT PAPER NUMBER 1723 NOTIFICATION DATE DELIVERY MODE 01/31/2019 ELECTRONIC Please find below and/or attached an Office communication concerning this application or proceeding. The time period for reply, if any, is set in the attached communication. Notice of the Office communication was sent electronically on above-indicated "Notification Date" to the following e-mail address(es): eoa@lee-iplaw.com swerbow@lee-iplaw.com PTOL-90A (Rev. 04/07) UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE BEFORE THE PATENT TRIAL AND APPEAL BOARD Ex parte DO-YO KIM, JIN-HYOUNG SEO, MI-RAN SONG, YONG- CHUL PARK, GYEONG-JAE HEO, HYUN-DEOK LEE, YONG-SEON KIM, MIN-JU KIM, and NA-LEUM YOO Appeal2018-003035 Application 13/7 61,449 Technology Center 1700 Before GEORGE C. BEST, CHRISTOPHER C. KENNEDY, and JANEE. INGLESE, Administrative Patent Judges. INGLESE, Administrative Patent Judge. DECISION ON APPEAL Appellant1 requests our review under 35 U.S.C. Â§ 134(a) of the Examiner's decision to reject claims 1, 17, and 18. We have jurisdiction over this appeal under 35 U.S.C. Â§ 6(b). We AFFIRM. 1 Appellant is the applicant, Samsung SDI Co., Ltd., which, according to the Appeal Brief, is the real party in interest. Appeal Brief filed May 30, 2017 ("Br.") 2. Appeal2018-003035 Application 13/761,449 STATEMENT OF THE CASE Appellant's invention is generally directed to a positive active material for a lithium secondary battery. Spec. ,r 1. Independent claims 1 and 17 illustrate the subject matter on appeal and are reproduced below: 1. A positive active material for a lithium secondary battery, the positive active material being in a form of primary particles having a particle diameter in a range of 100 to 400 nm, wherein the positive active material is Li 1.03Nio.90Coo.osMno.02s Tio.02s02, Li1.03Nio.912sCoo.osMno.02s Tio.012s02, Li1.03Nio.914Coo.os1Mno.02s Tio.0102, or Li 1.03Nio.9osCoo.osMno.02s Tio.0202. 17. A positive electrode for a lithium secondary battery, the positive electrode comprising a positive active material for a lithium secondary battery, the positive active material being in a form of primary particles having a particle diameter in a range of 100 to 400 nm, wherein the positive active material is Li 1.03Nio.90Coo.osMno.02s Tio.02s02, Li1.03Nio.912sCoo.osMno.02s Tio.012s02, Li1.03Nio.914Coo.os1Mno.02s Tio.0102, or Li1 .o3Nio.9osCoo.osMno.02s Tio.0202. Br. 12 (Claims Appendix) (spacing added). The Examiner sets forth the following rejections in the Non-Final Office Action entered December 29, 2016 ("Office Act."), and maintains the rejections in the Examiner's Answer entered September 22, 2017 ("Ans."): I. Claims 1, 17, and 18 under 35 U.S.C. Â§ 103(a) as unpatentable over Hur et al. (US 2008/0118835 Al, published May 22, 2008); and 2 Appeal2018-003035 Application 13/761,449 II. Claims 1, 17, and 18 under 35 U.S.C. Â§ 103(a) as unpatentable over Inoue et al. (US 2009/0081550 Al, published March 26, 2009). DISCUSSION Upon consideration of the evidence relied upon in this appeal and each of Appellant's contentions, we reverse the Examiner's rejection of claims 1, 17, and 18 under 35 U.S.C. Â§ 103(a) as unpatentable over Hur for the reasons set forth in the Appeal Brief and below, and affirm the Examiner's rejection of claims 1, 17, and 18 under 35 U.S.C. Â§ 103(a) as unpatentable over Inoue for the reasons set forth in the Office Action, the Answer, and below. Rejection I Independent claims 1 and 17 both recite, in part, a positive active material for a lithium secondary battery that is: Li 1.03Nio.90Coo.osMno.02s Tio.02s02, Li1.03Nio.912sCoo.osMno.02s Tio.012s02, Li1.03Nio.914Coo.os1Mno.02s Tio.0102, or Li 1.03Nio.9osCoo.osMno.02s Tio.0202. The Examiner finds that Hur discloses a positive active material for a lithium secondary battery of the formula: LiaNibCocMn