Ex Parte Goodenough et al

Patent Trial and Appeal Board

Mar 1, 2018

11447510 (P.T.A.B. Mar. 1, 2018)

United States Patent and Trademark Office
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
APPLICATION NO. FILING DATE FIRST NAMED INVENTOR ATTORNEY DOCKET NO. CONFIRMATION NO.
11/447,510 06/01/2006 John B. Goodenough 10046-103US1 1779
96039 7590 03/05/2018
Mennier Parlin Rr r’lirfman T T C
EXAMINER
999 Peachtree Street NE CHUO, TONY SHENG HSIANG
Suite 1300
Atlanta, GA 30309 ART UNIT PAPER NUMBER
1729
NOTIFICATION DATE DELIVERY MODE
03/05/2018 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):
docketing@mcciplaw.com
PTOL-90A (Rev. 04/07)
UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE
BEFORE THE PATENT TRIAL AND APPEAL BOARD
Ex parte JOHN B. GOODENOUGH, KYU-SUNG PARK,
and STEEN SCHOUGAARD
Appeal 2017-005998
Application 11/447,510
Technology Center 1700
Before TERRY J. OWENS, RAE LYNN P. GUEST, and
MERRELL C. CASHION, JR., Administrative Patent Judges.
OWENS, Administrative Patent Judge.
DECISION ON APPEAL
STATEMENT OF THE CASE
The Appellants appeal under 35 U.S.C. § 134(a) from the Examiner’s
rejection of claims 1, 22—24, 26-46 and 48—50. We have jurisdiction under
35 U.S.C. § 6(b).
The Invention
The Appellants claim a cathode. Claim 1 is illustrative:
1. A cathode consisting essentially of:
one or more carbon coated olivine C-LiM(XO 4),
wherein M is selected from Fe, Mn, Co, Ni or mixtures
thereof and X is selected from Si, P, As, S or mixture
thereof and wherein the lithium is inserted/extracted
reversibly into/from the one or more carbon coated
olivine C-LiM(X04);
Appeal 2017-005998
Application 11/447,510
a cathode filler material consisting essentially of an
electronically conductive polymer of repeating units of
substituted or unsubstituted monomers of aniline,
thiophene, pyrrole, phenyl mercaptan, furan,
[(ferrocenyl)amidopropyl] pyrrole or mixtures thereof,
attached to the one or more carbon coated olivine
C-LiM(X04), wherein the electronically conductive
polymer is a binder material.
Goodenough
Armand
Oyama
Nakamura (as translated)
The References
June 8, 1999
Feb. 19, 2004
Jan. 13, 2005
Aug. 2, 2002
US 5,910,382
US 2004/0033360 A1
US 2005/0008934 A1
JP 2002-216770 A
A. Naji et al., Preparation of Membranes by Electropolymerization of
Pyrrole Functionalized by Ferrocene Group, 91 J. Polymer Sci. 3947—58
(2004).
The Rejections
The claims stand rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 103 as follows: claims 1,
22—24, 26—29 and 31 over Armand in view of Nakamura, claim 30 over
Armand in view of Nakamura and Oyama, claims 32, 46 and 48—50 over
Armand in view of Nakamura and Naji, and claims 33—45 over Armand in
view of Nakamura and Goodenough.
OPINION
We affirm the rejections as to claims 1, 24 and 26—31 and reverse
them as to claims 22, 23, 32-46 and 48—50.
2
Appeal 2017-005998
Application 11/447,510
Claims 1, 24 and 26—31
The Appellants argue claims 1, 24 and 26—31 as a group (App. Br. 7—
11).1 We therefore limit our discussion to one claim, i.e., claim 1.
Claims 24 and 26—31 stand or fall with that claim. See 37 C.F.R.
§ 41.37(c)(l)(iv) (2012).
Armand discloses a cathode made of C—LixMi.yM'y(X04)n, wherein
C represents carbon cross-linked with the compound of the formula
LixMi.yM'y(X04)n in which x, y and n are numbers such as 0 < x < 2,
0 < y < 0.6, and 1