DETAILED CORRESPONDENCE
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 .
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114 was filed in this application after appeal to the Patent Trial and Appeal Board, but prior to a decision on the appeal. 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examination under 37 CFR 1.114 and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the appeal has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114 and prosecution in this application has been reopened pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant’s submission filed on 06/24/2025 has been entered.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 1-3 and 14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Masafumi (JP2019033053A) (refer to enclosed translations for citations).
Regarding claim 1,
Masafumi teaches an all-solid-state [0021] battery (Fig. 2, 10; [0021]), comprising:
an anode current collector layer (Fig. 2, 1 [0022]);
a porous [0022] layer (Fig 2, 2; [0022]) disposed on the anode current collector layer (see Fig. 2);
and having a porous structure [0022] including a fibrous material [0030];
an electrolyte layer (Fig. 2, 3; [0022]) disposed on the porous layer (see Fig. 2, 3 on 2; [0022]);
and a composite [0045-0046] cathode layer (Fig. 2, 4; [0022], [0045-0046]),
wherein at least a portion of a surface (Fig. 2, surface of 2) of the fibrous material (Fig. 2, 2) is coated with a sulfide solid electrolyte [0032],
wherein the porous layer includes pores [0022] formed by a network ([0030], “vapor grown carbon fiber” wherein vapor grown carbon fiber (VGCF) forms a network carbon fiber,)
in which the fibrous material (Fig. 2, material of 2; [0030]) is interconnected (wherein all elements of Masafumi are directly or indirectly connected; see https://www.dictionary.com/browse/interconnect) in three dimensions ([0030], wherein the interconnected carbon fiber spans three dimensions of length, width, and height),
wherein the pores [0022] are spaces for storing lithium [0029] that is precipitated during charging [0029-0030] of the all-solid-state battery 10,
and wherein the porous layer 2 is in contact (wherein all elements of 10 are directly or indirectly contacting) with the anode current collector layer 1 (see Fig. 1).
Regarding claim 2,
Masafumi teaches the all-solid-state battery of claim 1 (see elements of claim 1 above), wherein the fibrous material [0030] is interconnected in three dimensions (see rejection of claim 1 above).
Regarding claim 3,
Masafumi teaches the all-solid-state battery of claim 1 (see rejection of claim 1 above), wherein the fibrous material [0030] comprises vapor- grown carbon fiber [0030].
Regarding claim 14,
Masafumi teaches a vehicle [0002] comprising the all-solid battery of claim 1 (see rejection of claim 1 above).
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.
The factual inquiries set forth in Graham v. John Deere Co., 383 U.S. 1, 148 USPQ 459 (1966), that are applied for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claim(s) 4 and 7 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Masafumi (JP2019033053A) (refer to enclosed translations for citations).
Regarding claim 4,
Masafumi teaches the all-solid-state battery of claim 1 (see elements of claim 1 above), but fails to teach wherein the solid electrolyte has a thickness of about 0.1 μm to 20 μm. However, Masafumi teaches wherein the solid electrolyte has a thickness of 0.1 μm to 700 μm [0043], it would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the present invention to modify the thickness of the solid electrolyte to be 0.1 μm to 20 μm as the selection of the overlapping portion of ranges has been held to be a prima facie case of obviousness. See MPEP § 2144.05.I.
Regarding claim 7,
Masafumi teaches the all-solid-state battery of claim 1 (see rejection of claim 1 above), but fails to teach wherein the porous layer has a porosity of 10% to 80%. However, it would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the present invention to modify the porous layer to have a porosity of 10% to 80%, as Masafumi teaches the porous layer has a porosity of about 60% to 100% [0022], and because selection of overlapping portion of ranges has been held to be a prima facie case of obviousness. See MPEP § 2144.05.I.
Claim 6 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Masafumi (JP2019033053A) in view of Kato (US-20150147659-A1) (refer to enclosed translations for citations).
Regarding claim 6,
Masafumi teaches the all-solid-state battery of claim 1 (see elements of claim 1 above); however, Masafumi is silent to wherein the porous layer has a thickness of about 100 μm to 500 μm. Kato teaches the porous (see carbons in [0047] which are porous) layer has a thickness of about 1 μm to 100 μm [0048], which overlaps with, and thus obviates the claimed range of 100-500 μm. It would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the present invention to form the porous layer of Masafumi with the thickness disclosed by Kato of about 1 μm to 100 μm [0048] because Kato teaches it as known in the art [0048] and that pressing the porous layer to this thickness improves the performance of the battery [0048]. Additionally, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to have selected the overlapping portion of the ranges disclosed by the reference because selection of overlapping portion of ranges has been held to be a prima facie case of obviousness. See MPEP § 2144.05.I.
Claim(s) 8-9, 11 and 15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Masafumi (JP2019033053A) (refer to enclosed translations for citations) in view of He (US 20190393485 A1).
Regarding claim 8,
Masafumi teaches the all-solid-state battery of claim 1 (see elements of claim 1 above), but fails to teach wherein the porous layer comprises a first region, ranging to a predetermined depth from one surface of the anode current collector layer, and a second region, which is a remaining portion other than the first region. He teaches wherein the porous ([0014], wherein carbon nanofibers are porous) layer (Fig. 2, 1st /2nd protective layer; [0014]; [0024]) comprises a first region (Fig. 2, 1st protective layer; [0014]), ranging to a predetermined depth [(0050] , “thickness”) from one surface of the anode current collector layer (Fig. 2, right surface of anode current collector layer), and a second region (Fig. 2, 2nd protective layer; [0030]) which is a remaining portion other than the first region (see Fig. 2, remaining 2nd protective layer; [0050]). It would be obvious to one of ordinary skill of the art before the effective filing date to substitute the porous layer of Masafumi with the porous double layer as taught by He as the double layer protection provides superior protection against capacity decay (He, [0149-0150]).
Regarding claim 9,
Masafumi in view of He teaches the all-solid-state battery of claim 8 (see elements of claim 8 above), wherein the amount of solid electrolyte applied on the first region (He, see Fig. 2, 1st region, wherein the solid electrolyte is applied on the second region; [0050]) is less than the amount of solid electrolyte applied on the second region (He, see Fig. 2, wherein the solid electrolyte is contacting the 2nd region such that more solid electrolyte is applied on the 2nd region; [0050]).
Regarding claim 11,
Masafumi in view of He teaches the all-solid-state battery of claim 8 (see elements of claim 8 above), wherein an electronic conductivity of the fibrous material in the first region (He, Fig. 2, 1st region; [0075], 10−4 S/cm to 1000 S/cm.) is greater than an electronic conductivity of the fibrous material in the second region (He, Fig. 2, 2nd region; see [0077], wherein the conductive material is dispersed within an elastomer rather than forming the entire layer [0075]; resulting in a fibrous material having a lower electronic conductivity relative to first region).
Regarding claim 15,
Masafumi teaches an all-solid-state [0021] battery (Fig. 2, 10; [0021]) comprising:
an anode current collector layer (Fig. 2, 1 [0022]);
a porous [0022] layer (Fig 2, 2; [0022]) disposed on the anode current collector layer (see Fig. 2);
and having a porous structure [0022] including a fibrous material [0030];
an electrolyte layer (Fig. 2, 3; [0022]) disposed on the porous layer (see Fig. 2, 3 on 2; [0022]);
and a composite [0045-0046] cathode layer (Fig. 2, 4; [0022], [0045-0046]),
wherein at least a portion of a surface (Fig. 2, surface of 2) of the fibrous material (Fig. 2, 2) is coated with a sulfide solid electrolyte [0032],
wherein the porous layer includes pores [0022] formed by a network ([0030], “vapor grown carbon fiber” wherein vapor grown carbon fiber (VGCF) forms a network carbon fiber,)
in which the fibrous material (Fig. 2, material of 2; [0030]) is interconnected (wherein all elements of Masafumi are directly or indirectly connected; see https://www.dictionary.com/browse/interconnect) in three dimensions ([0030], wherein the interconnected carbon fiber spans three dimensions of length, width, and height),
wherein the pores [0022] are spaces for storing lithium [0029] that is precipitated during charging [0029-0030] of the all-solid-state battery 10,
and wherein the porous layer 2 is in contact (wherein all elements of 10 are directly or indirectly contacting) with the anode current collector layer 1 (see Fig. 1),
but fails to teach wherein the porous layer comprises a first region, ranging to a predetermined depth from one surface of the anode current collector layer, and a second region, which is a remaining portion other than the first region, and wherein an amount of the sulfide solid electrolyte applied on the first region is less than an amount of the sulfide solid electrolyte applied on the second region.
He teaches wherein the porous layer comprises a first region (He, Fig. 2, 1st protective layer; [0015], [0026]; see rejection of claim 8 above),
ranging to a predetermined depth from one surface of the anode current collector layer (see rejection of claim 8 above),
and a second region (He, Fig. 2, 2st protective layer; see rejection of claim 8 above) which is a remaining portion other than the first region (see rejection of claim 8 above).
wherein the amount of solid electrolyte applied on the first region (He, Fig. 2, 1st region, wherein the solid electrolyte is applied on the second region) is less than the amount of solid electrolyte applied on the second region (He, Fig. 2, wherein the solid electrolyte is contacting the 2nd region such that more solid electrolyte is applied on the 2nd region).
It would be obvious to one of ordinary skill of the art before the effective filing date to substitute the porous layer of Masafumi with the porous double layer as taught by He as the double layer protection provides superior protection against capacity decay (He, [0149-0150]).
Claim 10 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Masafumi (JP2019033053A) (refer to enclosed translations for citations) in view of He (US-20190393485-A1) and Yushin (US-20200083542-A1)
Regarding claim 10,
Masafumi in view of He teaches the all-solid-state battery of claim 8 (see element of claim 8 above), but fails to teach wherein the lithium ionic conductivity of the solid electrolyte of the first region is greater than a lithium ionic conductivity of the solid electrolyte of the second region. Yushin teaches wherein the lithium ionic conductivity ([0026], wherein a higher volume fraction of polymer binder results in a higher lithium ionic conductivity) of the solid electrolyte ([0114], “polyelectrolyte”; [0113], “high conductivity…for Li ions”) of the first region ([0026], “conductive interlayer… near current collector”) is greater ([0026], “conductive interlayer(s)…higher volume fraction of polymer binder near current collector” wherein the interlayer nearest the current collector has the highest li ion conductivity due to higher amount of polymer binder) than a lithium ionic conductivity of the solid electrolyte ([0026]) of the second region ([0026], wherein the volume fraction of polymer binder, which functions as an electrolyte [0113-0114], is higher in the interlayer nearest to the current collector). Therefore, it would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the present invention to have wherein the lithium ionic conductivity of the solid electrolyte of the first region is greater than a lithium ionic conductivity of the solid electrolyte of the second region, as Yushin teaches that higher conductivity near the current collector is advantageous for attaining enhanced stability or rate performance [0023].
Claim(s) 12-13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Masafumi (JP2019033053A) (refer to enclosed translations for citations) in view of He (US-20190393485-A1) and Lee (US-20200144599-A1)
Regarding claim 12,
Masafumi in view of He teaches the all-solid-state battery of claim 8 (see rejection of claim 8 above), but fails to teach wherein the first region comprises metal particles forming an alloy with lithium. Lee teaches wherein the first region (Fig. 3, thin film 24 relative to a second region 22; [0086-0088]) comprises metal particles (Fig. 3, thin film 24; see [0088] wherein the thin film comprises various particles of elements) forming an alloy with lithium [0088]. It would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the present invention to have the first region comprise metal particles forming an alloy with lithium, as taught by Lee, such that the first region may serve as a lithium reservoir improving battery characteristics (Lee, [0120]).
Regarding claim 13,
Masafumi in view of He and Lee teaches all-solid-state battery of claim 12 (see rejection of claim 12 above), wherein the metal particles (Lee, [0088]) comprise one or more selected from the group consisting of indium (In) (Lee, [0088]), gold (Au) (Lee, [0088]), bismuth (Bi) (Lee, [0088]), zinc (Zn) (Lee, [0088]), and aluminum (Al) (Lee, [0088]).
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments 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
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to PAUL WYROUGH whose telephone number is (571)272-4806. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday-Friday 10am-5pm.
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/PAUL CHRISTIAN ST WYROUGH/Examiner, Art Unit 1728
/TIFFANY LEGETTE/ Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 1723