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 .
Summary
Since the Office Action mailed on 14 July 2025, claims 1, 10, 23 and 30 have been amended, claim 2 has been cancelled, and claims 1, 4-6 and 9 remain in the application and are being further examined in this Office Action, as well as applicant remarks being responded to.
The 103 rejections are maintained in this Office Action.
The text of those sections of Title 35, U.S. Code not included in this action can be found in a prior Office action.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
Claims 1 and 9 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Park et al (US 2015/0243997 A1) in view of Kim et al (US 2015/0155561 A1). These prior art references cited as Park and Kim, respectively, in this Office Action hereinafter.
Regarding claim 1, Park discloses an anode (“a negative electrode” [0035]) comprising: a current collector (“includes a current collector” [0035]); a solid film comprising electrochemically active material (“a negative electrode active material layer” [0035]) in electrochemical communication with the current collector (“Therefore, in a battery system using a negative electrode including a silicon-based (i.e., silicon-comprising) material as a negative electrode active material, a high-capacity flexible battery may be manufactured which prevents detachment of an active material from a surface of a current collector resulting from volume change of a silicon active material, and by forming an interlayer to reduce an interfacial resistance between the current collector and a negative electrode active material layer.” [0043] where it is known in the art that volume change of the active material is a result of ion insertion-deinsertion), the film comprising a silicon carbon composite film (“the negative electrode active material layer may comprise a negative electrode active material including a silicon-based material” [0048] and “The silicon-based material includes at least one selected from … a complex or composite of a silicon-based material and a carbon-based material” [0049]); and an adhesive layer between the current collector and the film (“an interlayer on the current collector … the interlayer is directly on the current collector, and the negative electrode active material layer is directly on the interlayer.” [0035]), wherein the adhesive layer comprises of water-soluble polyacrylic acid (PAA) (“the interlayer comprises at least one polymer selected from a cation-substituted polycarboxylic acid, and a copolymer thereof.” [0036] and “Examples of the polycarboxylic acid include polyacrylic acid” [0039]) that adheres the film to the current collector (“when the interlayer is included in the secondary battery, the battery performance improves since an adhesive strength between the current collector and the negative electrode active material layer is increased” [0043]) and wherein said mixture is a solution in water (“mixed in 127 .5 g of deionized water” [0120]);
wherein the adhesive layer is located directly between the film and current collector (“the negative electrode includes a current collector; an interlayer on the current collector, wherein the interlayer comprises or consists of at least one first polymer selected from a cation-substituted polycarboxylic acid, and a copolymer thereof; and a negative electrode active material layer on the interlayer, wherein the negative electrode active material layer includes a negative electrode active material and a binder.” [0035] with italics added for emphasis where “when an element is referred to as being "on" another element, it can be directly on the other element or intervening elements may be present therebetween” [0027]);
wherein said anode is a silicon dominant anode with more than 50% silicon (“An amount of a carbon-based material in the complex of a silicon-based material and a carbon-based material or the mixture of a silicon-based material and a carbon-based material may be, for example, from about 1 part to about 20 parts by weight” [0050], which corresponds to an amount of silicon material in the active material layer of 80 parts to about 99 parts by weight);
wherein the adhesive layer has a final thickness of 1 micron to 4 microns (“a thickness of the interlayer may be from about 100 nanometers (nm) to about 10 micrometers (μm),” [0056]) and is substantially electrically nonconductive (“the interlayer does not include a conducting agent” [0037]);
whereby said adhesive layer is laminated by applying pressure at a temperature range of about 90 ˚C to about 200 ˚C (“coating the composition on the interlayer; and drying and pressing the resultant.” [0074] and “a heat-treating process at a temperature of about 80° C. to about 120° C” [0076]); and
wherein at least one of PAA and PVA comprises 20-80% of the total adhesive layer (“5 grams (g) of polyacrylic acid and 3.03 g of LiOH were added” [0120] of Example 1, which is a mixture comprising of 62% PAA).
Park does not disclose that the adhesive layer comprises a mixture of the water-soluble polyacrylic acid (PAA) and polyvinyl alcohol (PVA).
However, Kim discloses an anode (“an anode” [0046]) comprising a current collector (“current collector 11” [0046]), a solid film comprising electrochemically active material (“the anode active material layer 10” [0046]) and is a silicon carbon composite (“a carbonaceous anode active material, or a composite anode active material. The carbonaceous anode active materials may include at least one carbon selected from graphite, natural graphite, artificial graphite, soft carbon and hard carbon, and the metal-based anode active materials may include at least one metal selected from Si” [0040]), and an adhesive layer (“a layer 12 of the lithium-containing organic compound” [0046]).
Kim teaches the adhesive layer comprises a mixture of a water-soluble (“After 2.5 g of polyacrylic acid and 0.83 g of LiOH were dissolved into 496.67 ml of water, the mixed solution
was stirred at 60° C. for 24 hours to prepare 0.5% by weight of a lithium-containing organic compound solution.” [0075] with italics added for emphasis) polyacrylic acid (PAA) and polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) (“The lithium-containing organic compound may include at least one organic compound selected from polyacrylic acid, polystyrene sulfonic acid, polyvinyl phosphonic acid, polyglutamic acid, polymethacrylic acid, polymethyl methacrylic acid, polycarboxylic acid, polyvinyl alcohol, polymethyl methacrylate, polyethylene glycol, and a hydrocarbon-based polymer or an acryl-based hydrophilic polymer including acidic groups or hydrophilic functional groups, such as -COOH3, -SO3H, -PO3H, and -OH” [0036] with italics added for emphasis on the compounds that are recited in the limitation).
Kim further teaches that the adhesive layer of this composition has capabilities of improving binding power between the particles of the solid film, supplementing conductivities and preventing volume expansion of the electrochemically active material ([0090]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious for a person having ordinary skill in the art to replace the composition of the adhesive layer of Park with the composition taught in Kim, which comprises a mixture of the water-soluble polyacrylic acid (PAA) and polyvinyl alcohol (PVA), in order to achieve an adhesive layer that is capable of improving binding power between the particles of the solid film, supplementing conductivities and preventing volume expansion of the electrochemically active material.
Regarding claim 9, modified Park discloses the anode with all the features set forth in claim 1, and wherein the current collector comprises copper (Park “Examples of the material for forming the current collector are copper, …” [0088]).
Claims 4-6 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Park (US 2015/0243997 A1) in view of Kim (US 2015/0155561 A1) and Choi et al (US 2009/0136845 A1). The latter prior art reference cited as Choi in this Office Action hereinafter.
Regarding claims 4-6, modified Park discloses the anode with all the features set forth in claim 1 above, but does not disclose wherein at least one of PAA and PVA comprises 20-80% of the total adhesive layer, wherein said adhesive layer comprises 50% PAA and 50% PVA, wherein said adhesive layer comprises 60% PAA and 40% PVA, and wherein said adhesive layer comprises 40% PAA and 60% PVA.
However, Choi discloses an anode (“negative electrode” [0028]) comprising a current collector ([0029]), a solid film comprising electrochemically active material (“negative active material layer” [0029]) and a silicon carbon composite film (“In one embodiment, the negative active material is selected from the group consisting of Si” [0066], which “may further include an additional component selected from the group consisting of conductive agents” [0068] where “Non-limiting examples of suitable conductive agents include natural graphite,… carbon black,…” [0069]), and an adhesive layer (“interpenetrating network” [0029]) that comprises a mixture of polyacrylic acid (PAA) and polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) that adheres the film to the current collector ([0035] where the interpenetrating network was examined for its adhering quality for the active material, exhibiting an amount of “adhesion strength and no detachment of the active material”, and “the interpenetrating network is formed by cross-linking reactions of the first and second polymers” [0036] where “suitable first polymers include polyvinyl alcohol” [0049] and “suitable second polymers include poly(meth)acrylic acid” [0057]).
Choi teaches wherein at least one of PAA and PVA comprises 20-80% of the total adhesive layer (“the interpenetrating network is formed by cross-linking reactions of the first and second polymers at a mole ratio between 95:5 and 20:80” [0036]), wherein said adhesive layer comprises 50% PAA and 50% PVA ([0184]-[0186] and Table 3 where Examples 9-14 use equal amounts of PVA and PAA), wherein said adhesive layer comprises 60% PAA and 40% PVA (“In another embodiment, the interpenetrating network may be formed at a mole ratio ranging… to 40:60” [0036]), and wherein said adhesive layer comprises 40% PAA and 60% PVA (“In another embodiment, the interpenetrating network may be formed at a mole ratio ranging from 80:20 to 40:60” [0036] where the range allows for higher mole ratios for the first polymer, which include PVA).
Choi further teaches that the anode will have deteriorated flexibility when the amount of PAA is higher than PVA and higher than the disclosed mole ratio range, PVA will undergo electrochemical decomposition and generate by-product gas that decreases battery capacity and efficiency when PAA is smaller than the disclosed mole ratio ([0036]), and that consistent maximum capacity retentions after 100 battery charging cycles occur when the adhesive layer comprises 50% PAA and 50% PVA (Table 7 “Example 9” and “Example 10”).
Therefore, it would have been obvious for a person having ordinary skill in the art to replace the composition of the adhesive layer of modified Park in view of Choi such that the relative amounts of at least one of PAA and PVA comprises 20-80% of the total adhesive layer, wherein said adhesive layer comprises 50% PAA and 50% PVA, wherein said adhesive layer comprises 60% PAA and 40% PVA, and wherein said adhesive layer comprises 40% PAA and 60% PVA, in order to achieve an anode that avoids deteriorated flexibility, that does not decrease battery capacity and efficiency due to electrochemical decomposition of PVA and by-product gas generation, and results in excellent battery capacity retentions.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 14 October 2025 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
Applicant appears to remark that the prior art reference Kim teaches away from the limitation amended into claim 1, which entails that the layer is located directly between the film and the current collector, as well as the limitations of the adhesive layer comprising a mixture of both polyacrylic acid (PAA) and polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) where the adhesive layer has a thickness of 1 micron to 4 microns that is substantially electrically nonconductive, and is laminated by applying pressure at a temperature range of about 90 ºC to about 200 ºC.
In response to applicant’s argument that there is no teaching, suggestion, or motivation to combine the references, the examiner recognizes that obviousness may be established by combining or modifying the teachings of the prior art to produce the claimed invention where there is some teaching, suggestion, or motivation to do so found either in the references themselves or in the knowledge generally available to one of ordinary skill in the art. See In re Fine, 837 F.2d 1071, 5 USPQ2d 1596 (Fed. Cir. 1988), In re Jones, 958 F.2d 347, 21 USPQ2d 1941 (Fed. Cir. 1992), and KSR International Co. v. Teleflex, Inc., 550 U.S. 398, 82 USPQ2d 1385 (2007). In this case, the prior art reference Park discloses all of the limitations that applicant disagrees on Kim teaching with the exception of the limitation reciting “wherein the adhesive layer comprises a mixture of water-soluble polyacrylic acid (PAA) and polyvinyl alcohol (PVA)”. As the current rejection holds, Kim teaches this limitation missing from Park, where [0036] of Kim was cited: “The lithium-containing organic compound may include at least one organic compound selected from polyacrylic acid, polystyrene sulfonic acid, polyvinyl phosphonic acid, polyglutamic acid, polymethacrylic acid, polymethyl methacrylic acid, polycarboxylic acid, polyvinyl alcohol, polymethyl methacrylate, polyethylene glycol, and a hydrocarbon-based polymer or an acryl-based hydrophilic polymer including acidic groups or hydrophilic functional groups, such as -COOH3, -SO3H, -PO3H, and -OH” with italics added for emphasis on the compounds that are recited in the limitation.
Kim further teaches that the adhesive layer of this composition has capabilities of improving binding power between the particles of the solid film, supplementing conductivities and preventing volume expansion of the electrochemically active material ([0090]). Kim therefore establishes a teaching to utilize the composition recited in the missing feature of Park, as well as with a motivation to replace the composition of the adhesive layer of Park with the composition of the adhesive layer taught in Kim, which is to achieve an improved binding power between the particles of the solid film, and supplemented conductivities of the electrochemically active material while preventing volume expansion.
Furthermore, obviousness may therefore be established by combining Park in view of Kim to produce the claimed invention.
Conclusion
THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
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/CHARLENE BERMUDEZ/Examiner, Art Unit 1721
/SADIE WHITE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1721