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 .
Status of Application
Claims 1,2,4-9,11 are currently pending. Claims 3 and 10 are canceled. Claim 1 is currently amended.
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and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114.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 11/11/2025 has been entered.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim(s) 1 have been considered but are not found persuasive 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.
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 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) 1-2,4-9, is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kim (US20200243848A1, IDS cited 11/18/2021), in view of Song (WO2019078544A1, US20210083273A1 was used for citation) and Jeong (US20160013481A1, previously cited).
Regarding claims 1, 2, 4, Kim discloses a negative electrode for a rechargeable lithium battery, comprising:
a current collector (current collector 10; Fig 3);
a first negative active material layer (“second negative electrode active material layer 40” in Fig 3) on one side of the current collector (i.e., above the current collector 10; see Fig 3) and comprising a first negative active material (a silicon-based active material) and a first conductive material (carbon nanotube in Fig 3; [0042]- claim 2); and
a second negative active material layer (“first negative electrode active material layer 30”; Fig 3) on one side of the first negative active material layer (i.e., below the layer 40; see Fig 3) and comprising a second negative active material (“carbonaceous active material” in Fig 3) [0040]
While Fig 3 does not explicitly show the second negative active material (i.e., layer 30 in Fig 3) comprising a second conductive material, Kim discloses that the carbonaceous active material in the negative electrode active material layer 30 (i.e., the second negative active material layer of the instant application) may include a carbonaceous material capable of lithium ion intercalation/deintercalation, such as natural graphite, artificial graphite, carbon black, acetylene black, channel black, furnace black, lamp black or thermal black; or the like [0059].
Thus, it would have been obvious for a person having ordinary skill in the art to have added a carbonaceous material to the negative electrode active material layer 30 of Kim, with a reasonable expectation to provide lithium intercalation/deintercalation in the second negative active material ([0059]- claim 4).
Kim further discloses wherein the negative active material layer 40 (i.e., claimed first negative active material layer) comprises a silicon-based active material (e.g., Si, Si alloy, Si oxide (e.g. SiO2, SiOx (1<x<2), or the like), or a combination thereof [0055]) and may further include a carbonaceous active material in addition to the silicon-based active material [0033].
However, Kim does not disclose:
wherein the first negative active material comprises a Si-carbon composite.
In this regard, Song also teaches a negative electrode for a lithium secondary battery comprising a carbon-based negative electrode active material together with a negative electrode active material exhibiting a high capacity [Song 0028], wherein the negative electrode active material layer may comprise a carbon-based negative electrode active material and a mixture of one or more selected from the group consisting of Si, particles of silicon oxide (SiOx), a Si-metal alloy, and a Si-carbon composite as the negative electrode active material [Song 0028].
Thus, it would have been obvious for a person having ordinary skill in the art to have used a Si-carbon composite as the silicon-based active material (as an alternative to the Si, Si alloy, Si oxide of Kim [0055]) with a reasonable expectation to improve capacity of the negative electrode active material [Song 0028].
However, Song does not disclose a structure of the Si-carbon composite, and further does not disclose wherein:
the Si-carbon composite comprises a core comprising a mixture of Si particles and a second carbon-based material; a third carbon-based material around the core
In this regard, Jeong teaches an anode active material for a lithium secondary battery (title), wherein the anode active material comprises a core layer 10 (Fig 1) comprising a carbon-silicon composite (“silicon particles dispersed in a carbonaceous material” [0035-0037]) and a shell layer 20 comprising a conductive material 21 and a carbonaceous material 22 [0035, 0048-0051] for an anode active material that exhibits high capacity silicon properties while also improving the life characteristics of a secondary battery by mitigating the volume expansion problem during charge and discharge [Jeong 0037].
Thus, it would have been obvious for a person having ordinary skill in the art to have modified the Si-carbon composite of modified Kim, such that it comprises a core comprising a mixture of Si particles and a second carbon-based material, and a third carbon-based material around the core, as claimed, with a reasonable expectation to provide an anode having high capacity and improved life characteristics of a secondary battery ([0037 Jeong]).
Kim further discloses:
the first conductive material is a linear conductive material (carbon nanotube in Fig 2), and
the second conductive material is a particle shaped conductive material (e.g., modified to include carbon black [0059 Kim]- see rejection above), and
the first negative active material layer (i.e., layer 40 in Fig 3) does not comprise any particle shaped conductive material.
Regarding claim 5, modified Kim discloses the negative electrode of claim 1, wherein the second negative active material comprises a Si-carbon composite (See rejection for claim 1).
Regarding claim 6, modified Kim discloses the negative electrode of claim 5, wherein the second negative active material further comprises crystalline carbon (i.e., carbonaceous active material such as natural graphite, artificial graphite [Kim 0060])
Regarding claim 7, modified Kim discloses the negative electrode of claim 1, wherein the thickness ratio of the negative electrode active material layer 30 (i.e., the second negative active material layer of the instant application) and the negative electrode active material layer 40 (i.e., the first negative active material layer of the instant application)may be 90:10-10:90, 90:10-30:70, or 90:10-50:50 [Kim 0069], which overlaps with the claimed range of “a thickness of the second negative active material layer is about 1% to about 75% of a total thickness of the first negative active material layer and the second negative active material layer”.
Kim further discloses that when the thickness ratio satisfies the above-defined range, the electrode layers and the current collector are bound well to form a conductive path and output characteristics, capacity and cycle characteristics may be improved [Kim 0069].
Thus, it would have been obvious for a person having ordinary skill in the art to have controlled the thicknesses of the first and the second negative active material layer such that the second negative active material is in the overlapping thickness ratio with a reasonable expectation to form a conductive path and improve output characteristics, capacity and cycle characteristics [Kim 0069].
Regarding claim 8, modified Kim teaches a rechargeable lithium battery [0106-0107 Kim], comprising: the negative electrode of claim 1 [0099-0102]; a positive electrode [0104]; and an electrolyte [0106 Kim].
Regarding claim 9, modified Kim teaches the negative electrode of claim 1, comprising a core comprising a mixture of Si particles and a second carbon-based material, and a third carbon-based material around the core (modified by Jeong; see rejection for claim 1).
Jeong further teaches that the core layer comprises at least one selected from the group consisting of natural or artificial graphite, soft carbon, hard carbon, pitch carbide, calcined coke, graphene, carbon nanotube, polymeric carbide, and combinations thereof [0041 Jeong]. Therefore, it would have been obvious for a person having ordinary skill in the art to have added another carbon-based material as the claimed “first carbon-based material” in the Si-carbon composite with a reasonable expectation to provide an anode having high capacity and improved life characteristics of a secondary battery ([0037 Jeong]).
Claim(s) 11 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kim (US20200243848A1, IDS cited 11/18/2021), in view of Song (WO2019078544A1, US20210083273A1 was used for citation), Jeong (US20160013481A1, previously cited), and Ko (US20190123356A1, previously cited).
Regarding claim 11, modified Kim discloses the negative electrode of claim 1, wherein the linear conductive material has an average length of 0.5 μm to 20 μm [0046 - Kim], which does not fall within the claimed range of “about 30 μm to about 100 μm”.
In this regard, Ko teaches an electrode for rechargeable lithium battery, an active material layer of the electrode comprises an active material and carbon nanotubes, wherein the carbon nanotubes have an average length of about 40 μm to about 250 μm [0021 Ko], which overlaps with the claimed range of “about 30 µm to about 100 µm”.
Ko further teaches that when the carbon nanotubes have an average length of greater than or equal to about 40 μm, an active material layer including the same may reduce resistance of an electrode, and thus, improve performance of a rechargeable battery, and when the average length of less than or equal to about 250 μm, resistance of a rechargeable battery may be reduced, and high-rate charge and discharge performance of the rechargeable battery may be improved [0021 Ko].
Thus, a person having ordinary skill in the art would modify the linear conductive material of Kim, such that it is in the overlapping average length, with a reasonable expectation to reduce resistance of a nelectrode while also improving high-rate charge/discharge performance of the battery [0021 Ko].
Kim further discloses wherein the carbon nanotubes have an average diameter of 10-120 nm to prevent a side reaction with lithium ions, to improve the initial efficiency, to prevent degradation of the binding ability of the negative electrode active material layer, to improve cycle characteristics of a lithium secondary battery [0046, 0048- Kim], which encompasses the claimed range of “about 10 nm to about 40nm”.
Thus, it would have been obvious for a person having ordinary skill in the art to have selected the overlapping average diameter of carbon nanotubes, with a reasonable expectation to prevent a side reaction with lithium ions, prevent degradation of the binding ability of the negative electrode active material layer, and further improve cycle characteristics of a lithium secondary battery [0046, 0048- Kim].
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to TAEYOUNG SON whose telephone number is (703)756-1427. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8-5pm.
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/T.S./Examiner, Art Unit 1751
/JONATHAN G LEONG/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 1751 3/2/2026