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, 6-22 are currently pending. Claims 9-20 are withdrawn. Claims 2-5 are cancelled. Claim 1 is currently amended.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to amended 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 text of those sections of Title 35, U.S. Code not included in this action can be found in a prior Office action.
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, 6-8, 21-22 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Schneider (US20160329598A1, IDS cited 11/01/2021), in view of Jorg (DE102017128719A1, published 06/06/2019; IDS cited US20190173130A1 used as English-equivalent).
Regarding claims 1, 21-22, Schneider discloses a method for producing a solid electrolyte comprising lithium-ion conductive glass-ceramics (composite electrolyte comprising a glass ceramic [0015, 0018, 0040-0043]), the method comprising the steps of:
forming at least one lithium-ion conductor by melting and ceramizing a precursor glass composition to obtain a lithium-ion conductive glass-ceramic having a ceramic phase content and an amorphous phase content (i.e., Schneider discloses melting precursor such as Li2O, Li2O3, ZrO2, Al2O3 in a skull crucible to obtain an LLZO glass-ceramic having a cubic/tetragonal crystalline phase content and an amorphous phase content of 10-21 vol%; see [0018-24,0044,0058-64; Table 1, Ex. 1-4]),
wherein the lithium-ion conductive glass-ceramic has an ion conducting phase that is at least 95 vol % of a total amount of a crystalline phase content present in the lithium-ion conductive glass-ceramic (see Table 1, Ex. 1-4) (i.e., Schneider discloses the cubic and tetragonal LLZO phases with zero foreign phases, which results in 100 vol% of the crystalline phase content, which is the ion-conducting garnet phase, which meets the claimed limitation of at least 95 vol%),
incorporating the glass-ceramic into a polymeric solid-state electrolyte membrane [0040,0043]
Schneider further discloses wherein the lithium-ion conductive glass-ceramic is comminuted or processed into particles [0069], but does not explicitly disclose:
comminuting the lithium-ion conductive glass-ceramic to form a powder of the at least one lithium-ion conductor so that the powder has a polydispersity index between 0.5 and 1.3.
In this regard, Jorg teaches composite electrolytes and methods for preparing lithium-ion conductors from melt-derived glass-ceramics [0016,0046,0059,0093-0096 - Jorg]. Jorg explicitly teaches comminuting the glass-ceramic material into powder forms having defined particle size distributions with a PI of 0.681, 0.900, and 0.805 [0103-0106 - Jorg], incorporating this comminuted powder into a polymer electrolyte matrix comprising PEO and LiTFSO to form a hybrid electrolyte membrane [0102-0104], and teaches that controlling the powder PI allows higher particle fill levels, lowers internal formulation viscosity, and improve overall ionic conductivity while reducing cracking.
Therefore, it would have been obvious for a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to have modified the comminuting method of Schneider by comminuting the glass-ceramic to achieve a powder having a PI between 0.5 and 1.3 or “0.5 and 1.15” {claim 22} and incorporating the powder into a polymer electrolyte as taught by Jorg, in order to optimize powder packing density, reduce slurry viscosity during processing, and achieve superior lithium-ion conductivity in the resulting composite solid electrolyte with high mechanical integrity [Jorg 0030-31,0061-63] {claim 21}.
Regarding claim 6, modified Schneider discloses the method according to claim 1, wherein the at least one lithium-ion conductor comprises a garnet type structure (e.g., Li7La3Zr2O12 [0053-0055, 0068-0069]; Fig 1-3 of Schneider).
Regarding claim 7, modified Schneider discloses the method of claim 6, wherein the at least one lithium ion conductor comprises at least one or more ion lithium conductors having a garnet type structure Li7La3Zr2O12 [0053, 0068] which mostly follows the claimed general formula except the claimed Alx3+. However, Schneider further discloses a general formula for the garnet type structure, Li7+x-yMxIIM3−xIIIM2-yIVMyVO12, wherein MIII may be a trivalent cation (e.g., Al3+) and 0≦x<3 [0024] which encompasses the claimed range of “0.1≤x<1”.
Thus, it would have been obvious for a person having ordinary skill in the art to have modified the garnet type structure to include a trivalent cation such as aluminum in the encompassing amount, with a reasonable expectation to provide a garnet type structure with electrochemical stability [0005].
Regarding claim 8, modified Schneider discloses the method according to claim 1, wherein the ceramic phase content is the majority content of the lithium ion conductor (i.e., comprising 62% cubic phase, 38% tetragonal phase, and about 15% amorphous according to Example 1, Table 1 of Schneider; 100/115=87% is considered majority).
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./ Examiner, Art Unit 1751
/Haroon S. Sheikh/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1751
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