DETAILED ACTION
Response to Amendment
Claims 15-19 are current pending. Claims 1-14 and 20 are cancelled. The amended claim 15 does overcome the previously stated 103 rejections. However, upon further consideration, claims 15-19 are rejected under the following new 103 rejections. This action is made FINAL as necessitated by the amendment.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
Claims 15 and 17-19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Sugaya et al (US 2016/0006029) in view of Ito et al (JP 2004210560 A).
Regarding claims 15 and 17-19, Sugaya et al discloses a non-aqueous electrolyte secondary battery comprising: a positive electrode; a negative electrode; a separator; and a non-aqueous electrolyte, wherein the positive electrode active material comprises: a lithium transition metal oxide represented by LixNiaCobMnc Al(1-y-a-b)WyO2 where 0.9 < x < 1.2, 0.001 ≦ y ≦ 0.01, 0.30 ≦ a ≦ 0.95, 0 ≦ b ≦ 0.5, and a-c > 0.03 (M is Al and has a ratio of the number of atoms of the respective metal elements represented by Li : Ni : Mn : Co : W : M = 1 + u : x : y : z : a : b (x+y+z= 1, -0.05 ≤ u ≤ 0.50, 0.3 ≤ x ≤ 0. 95, 0.05 ≤ y ≤ 0.55, 0 ≤ z ≤ 0.4, 0 ≤ a ≤ 0.1); wherein the lithium transition metal oxide is composed of primary particles and secondary particles formed by aggregation of primary particles, wherein a compound containing lithium and tungsten is formed on the surface of the primary particles; wherein the aggregation of primary particles forms voids (hollow parts) between the primary particles; wherein W (tungsten) is present in the primary particle uniformly but may be present on the surface and in the surface layer (in the vicinity of the surface in the inside of the primary particle) at a high proportion which corresponds to a tungsten-concentrated layer having a thickness in the direction from the surface toward the center; wherein the surface of the primary particles includes the surface of the primary particles exposed on the outer surface of the secondary particles, in the inside of the secondary particles, and even the grain boundaries between the primary particles; wherein an amount of the compound containing tungsten and lithium present on the surface of the secondary particles is inherently larger than an amount of the compound containing tungsten and lithium present inside the secondary particles; and wherein the secondary particles have voids (hollow parts) at a center thereof as the hollow structure ([0019],[0021],[0031],[0055], [0058]-[0066] and Fig. 2). Examiner’s note: the Office takes the position that “a compound containing tungsten and lithium that is present in a concentrated state, on a surface layer of primary particles present on a surface or inside of the secondary particles and at a grain boundary between the primary particles … wherein the metal composite hydroxide has a tungsten-concentrated layer having a thickness in the direction from the surface toward the center within the metal complex hydroxide” is an inherent characteristic of the Sugaya positive electrode active material based upon the sectional view of the positive electrode active material shown in Fig. 2 and the corresponding description in para. [0019].
However, Sugaya et al does not expressly teach a hollow structure having a tap density of 1.2 g/cm3 or more and 1.99 g/cm3 or less (claim 15).
Ito et al discloses a manganese nickel mixed hydroxide particle (hollow structure) having a tap density of 0.6 to 1.4 g/ml with examples of 1.27 g/ml and 1.37 g/ml (pg. 6, lines 243-245 and Table 1).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to modify the Sugaya positive electrode active material to include a tap density of 1.27 g/cm3 to 1.37 g/cm3 in order to increase initial capacity, while exhibiting excellent battery characteristics (pg. 6, lines 242-243).
Examiner’s note: It is noted that claim 15 is being construed as product-by-process and that the product itself does not depend on the process of making it. Accordingly, in a product-by-process claim, the patentability of a product does not depend on its method of production. In that, it is further noted that the product in the instant claim is obvious over the product of the prior art. The claim is obvious as it has been held similar products claimed in product-by-process limitations are obvious (In re Brown 173 USPQ 685 and In re Fessman 180 USPQ 324, See MPEP 2113: Product-by-Process claims).
Claim 16 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Sugaya et al in view of Ito et al as applied to claim 15 above, and further in view of Mori et al (US 2015/0188136).
However, Sugaya et al as modified by Ito et al does not expressly teach a crystallite diameter of (003) plane attained by powder x-ray diffraction measurement that is 120 nm or more.
Mori et al discloses a positive electrode active material that contains a lithium nickel complex oxide having a crystallite diameter as calculated from the peak for the (003) plane in x-ray diffraction that is 50 to 300 nm ([0038]) with examples having a crystallite diameter from 128 to 169 nm (Table 1).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to modify Sugaya/Ito positive electrode active material to include a crystallite diameter of (003) plane attained by powder x-ray diffraction measurement that is 120 nm or more in order to provide high initial discharge capacity and an initial charge/discharge efficiency of at least 94% (Table 2 and [0147]).
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim(s) 15-19 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). 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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/T.S.C/Examiner, Art Unit 1751
/JONATHAN G LEONG/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 1751 4/15/2026
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