DETAILED 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.
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 .
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on April 2, 2026 has been entered. Claim 5 was cancelled. Claims 1 and 6 were amended.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claim 1 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Claim 1, at lines 9-10, describes “a graphite, graphene, or carbon material dispersed” within the high-elasticity polymer matrix. Although this limitation incorporates “graphene,” none of the constituent elements which are recited subsequently in lines 11-14 include graphene. As such, it is unclear whether the high-elasticity polymer matrix of claim 1 may include a graphene material.
Claims 2, 3 and 6-23 are indefinite for the reasons set forth above by way of their dependence from, or incorporation of, claim 1.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
Claim(s) 1-3, 6-8 and 10-23 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Pan et al. (hereinafter “Pan”) (U.S. Pub. No. 2018/0248173A1, already of record).
Regarding claims 1-3, 6 and 21, Pan teaches an anode active material layer for a lithium battery, wherein the layer comprises multiple anode active material particles and an optional conductive additive that are bonded together by a binder resin (multi-functional composite particulates). The binder rein comprises a high-elasticity polymer having a recoverable tensile strain no less than 5% when measured without additive or reinforcement in the polymer and a lithium ion conductivity no less than 10-5 S/cm at room temperature (see paragraph 17). The high-elasticity polymer may be mixed with an elastomer selected from polyurethane, urethane-urea copolymer, and combinations thereof (see paragraph 30). Furthermore, the high-elasticity polymer may contain a lightly cross-linked network of polymer chains having an ether linkage, nitrile-derived linkage, benzo peroxide-derived linkage, ethylene oxide linkage, propylene oxide linkage, vinyl alcohol linkage, cyano-resin linkage, triacrylate monomer-derived linkage, tetraacrylate monomer-derived linkage, or a combination thereof, in the cross-linked network of polymer chains (see paragraph 20). The anode active material is preferably in the form of a nanoparticle having a diameter less than 100 nm (see paragraph 25). The high-elasticity polymer may be in the form of a polymer matrix composite (polymer matrix; continuous material phase) which further includes a lithium ion-conducting additive (see paragraph 31). The high-elasticity polymer may contain, as a reinforcement nano filament, from 0.1% by weight to 10% by weight of carbon nano-tube, carbon nano-fiber, or a combination thereof (carbon or graphite fibers; carbon nanotubes; carbon nano-fibers) (see paragraph 29).
Regarding claim 7, Pan teaches that the anode active material may be selected from the group consisting of: (a) silicon (Si), germanium (Ge), tin (Sn), lead (Pb), antimony (Sb), bismuth (Bi), zinc (Zn), aluminum (Al), titanium (Ti), nickel (Ni), cobalt (Co), and cadmium (Cd); (b) alloys or intermetallic compounds of Si, Ge, Sn, Pb, Sb, Bi, Zn, Al, Ti, Ni, Co, or Cd with other elements; (c) oxides, carbides, nitrides, sulfides, phosphides, selenides, and tellurides of Si, Ge, Sn, Pb, Sb, Bi, Zn, Al, Ti, Fe, Ni, Co, V, or Cd, and their mixtures, composites, or lithium-containing composites; (d) salts and hydroxides of Sn; (e) lithium titanate, lithium manganate, lithium aluminate, lithium-containing titanium oxide, lithium transition metal oxide, ZnCo2O4; (f) prelithiated versions thereof, (g) particles of Li, Li alloy, or surface-stabilized Li having at least 60% by weight of lithium element therein; and (h) combinations thereof (see paragraph 22).
Regarding claim 8, Pan teaches that the anode active material contains a prelithiated Si, prelithiated Ge, prelithiated Sn, prelithiated SnOx, prelithiated SiOx, prelithiated iron oxide, prelithiated VO2, prelithiated Co3O4, prelithiated Ni3O4, or a combination thereof, wherein x=1 to 2 (see paragraph 23).
Regarding claims 10, 12 and 13, Pan teaches that the anode active material particles may be coated with or embraced by a conductive protective coating, selected from a carbon material or graphene (see paragraph 28).
Regarding claim 11, Pan teaches that the high-elasticity polymer has a lithium ion conductivity no less than 10-5 S/cm, more preferably no less than 10-4 S/cm, and most preferably no less than 10-3 S/cm (see paragraph 29).
Regarding claim 14, Pan teaches that the lithium ion-conducting additive may be present in an amount of 0.1% to 50% by weight (see paragraph 31).
Regarding claim 15, Pan teaches that the high-elasticity polymer may be mixed with an elastomer selected from natural polyisoprene, synthetic, polybutadiene, chloroprene rubber, polychloroprene, butyl rubber, styrene-butadiene rubber, nitrile rubber, ethylene propylene rubber, ethylene propylene diene rubber, epichlorohydrin rubber, polyacrylic rubber, silicone rubber, fluorosilicone rubber, perfluoroelastomers, polyether block amides, chlorosulfonated polyethylene, ethylene-vinyl acetate, thermoplastic elastomers, protein resilin, protein elastin, ethylene oxide-epichlorohydrin copolymer, polyurethane, urethane-urea copolymer, and combinations thereof (see paragraph 30).
Regarding claim 16, Pan teaches that the lithium ion-conducting additive is selected from Li2CO3, Li2O, Li2C2O4, LiOH, LiX, ROCO2Li, HCOLi, ROLi, (ROCO2Li)2, (CH2OCO2Li)2, Li2S, LixSOy, or a combination thereof, wherein X=F, Cl, I, or Br, R=a hydrocarbon group, x=0-1, y=1-4 (see paragraph 31).
Regarding claim 17, Pan teaches the lithium ion-conducting additive may contain a lithium salt selected from lithium perchlorate, lithium hexafluorophosphate, lithium borofluoride, lithium hexafluoroarsenide, lithium trifluoro-metasulfonate, bis-trifluoromethyl sulfonylimide lithium, lithium bis(oxalato)borate, lithium oxalyldifluoroborate, lithium oxalyldifluoroborate, lithium nitrate, Li-fluoroalkyl-phosphates, lithium bisperfluoro-ethysulfonylimide, lithium bis(trifluoromethanesulphonyl)imide, lithium bis(fluorosulphonyl)imide, lithium trifluoromethanesulfonimide, an ionic liquid-based lithium salt, or a combination thereof (see paragraph 32).
Regarding claim 18, Pan teaches that the high-elasticity polymer may form a mixture or blend with an electron-conducting polymer selected from polyaniline, polypyrrole, polythiophene, polyfuran, a bi-cyclic polymer, derivatives thereof (e.g., sulfonated versions), or a combination thereof (see paragraph 33).
Regarding claim 19, Pan teaches that the high-elasticity polymer may form a mixture or blend with a lithium ion-conducting polymer selected from poly(ethylene oxide), polypropylene oxide, poly(acrylonitrile), poly(methyl methacrylate), poly(vinylidene fluoride), poly bis-methoxy ethoxyethoxide-phosphazenex, polyvinyl chloride, polydimethylsiloxane, poly(vinylidene fluoride)-hexafluoropropylene, a sulfonated derivative thereof, or a combination thereof (see paragraph 34).
Regarding claim 20, Pan teaches that a prelithiated anode active material anode has been pre-intercalated by or doped with lithium ions up to a weight fraction from 0.1% to 54.7% of Li in the lithiated product (see paragraph 24).
Regarding claims 22 and 23, Pan teaches a lithium battery containing an optional anode current collector, the anode active material layer as described above, a cathode active material layer, an optional cathode current collector, an electrolyte in ionic contact with the anode active material layer and the cathode active material layer and an optional porous separator. The lithium battery may be a lithium-ion battery, lithium metal battery (containing lithium metal or lithium alloy as the main anode active material and containing no intercalation-based anode active material), lithium-sulfur battery, lithium-selenium battery, or lithium-air battery (see paragraph 35).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
Claim 9 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Pan as applied to claims 1-3, 5-8 and 10-23 above, and further in view of Laicer et al. (hereinafter “Laicer”) (U.S. Pub. No. 2016/0049656A1, already of record).
Regarding claim 9, Pan does not explicitly teach that the anode active material particles or the composite particulates, or both, are porous.
Laicer teaches an anode 100 comprising a substrate 101 and an anode coating layer 102. Anode coating layer 102, in turn, may comprise a porous anode material 103, a conductive additive 104, and a binder 105 (see paragraph 71; FIG 1). Voids in the anode material provide for expansion and contraction of the without the anode material breaking apart or becoming delaminated (see paragraph 69). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to utilized a porous anode active material in the anode of Pan as taught by Laicer in order to prevent the anode material breaking apart or becoming delaminated as a result of the expansion and contraction which occurs during charge and discharge cycles.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim(s) 1-3 and 5-23 have been considered but are no longer relevant to the current rejection(s).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to STEPHAN J ESSEX whose telephone number is (571)270-7866. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday, 8:30 am - 6:00 pm.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Barbara Gilliam can be reached at (571) 272-1330. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/STEPHAN J ESSEX/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1727
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