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 .
Response to Amendment
This is a final office action in response to Applicant’s remarks and amendments filed on 08/18/2025. Claim 8 is currently amended. Claim 9 is new. Claims 8 and 9 are presented for examination.
Applicant’s amendments to claim 8 have overcome the 35 U.S.C. 112(a) rejection set forth in the previous Office Action.
The 35 U.S.C. 112 and 35 U.S.C. 103 rejections in the previous office action are withdrawn. New grounds of rejection necessitated by Applicant's amendments are presented below.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim 8 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.
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.
Claims 8 and 9 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kawase (JP-2018120710-A, English-language equivalent US 2021/0119246 A1 is referenced below; both documents were cited in the IDS filed 11/18/2021) in view of Ohashi (WO 2013/076854 A1; the rejections below refer to the machine translation mailed 05/16/2025) and Nakamura (Dry coating of active material particles with sulfide solid electrolytes for an all-solid-state lithium battery, 2019).
Regarding claim 8, Kawase discloses an all-solid-state battery ([0075]), comprising:
a positive electrode current collector (2a, FIG. 1, [0075]);
a positive electrode layer (2b, FIG. 1, [0075]) containing
a positive electrode active material ([0051]),
a first solid electrolyte comprising a plurality of first particles having a first average particle diameter (first group of particles having an average particle diameter d1, [0023]), and
a second solid electrolyte comprising a plurality of second particles having a second average particle diameter (second group of particles having an average particle diameter d2, [0023]) larger than the first average particle diameter (d2/d1 ≥ 1.5, [0023]);
a solid electrolyte layer (3, FIG. 1, [0075]) containing a fourth solid electrolyte ([0067]);
a negative electrode layer (1b, FIG. 1, [0075]) containing a negative electrode active material ([0052]) and a third solid electrolyte ([0069]); and
a negative electrode current collector (1a, FIG. 1, [0075]), wherein
the positive electrode current collector (2a), the positive electrode layer (2b), the solid electrolyte layer (3), the negative electrode layer (1b), and the negative electrode current collector (1a) are stacked in this order (FIG. 1),
the first solid electrolyte (first group of particles) serves as a cover layer covering a surface of the positive electrode active material ([0041]), and
wherein at least some of the plurality of second particles are partially embedded in the cover layer (first group of particles cover the surfaces of the active material particles and are further mixed with the second group of particles, [0041]), and
the second average particle diameter is at least five times the first average particle diameter so that the second particles of the second solid electrolyte are not completely embedded in the cover layer (overlapping range d2/d1 ≥ 1.5, [0023], establishes a prima facie case of obviousness [MPEP § 2144.05(I)]).
Kawase teaches that the first through fourth solid electrolytes preferably comprise a sulfide solid electrolyte ([0068]) and that the all-solid-state battery may be modified beyond the embodiments described in the disclosure ([0107]), but does not disclose wherein an average particle diameter of the fourth solid electrolyte is 0.2 µm or more and 10 µm or less.
Ohashi teaches an all-solid-state battery (10) comprising a positive electrode current collector (7), a positive electrode layer (5), a solid electrolyte layer (4), a negative electrode layer (6), and a negative electrode current collector (8) stacked in the listed order (Fig. 1, ll. 104-115 on p. 3). The solid electrolyte layer preferably comprises sulfide solid electrolyte particles (ll. 245-247 on p. 6) having an average particle size of 1.0 µm to 10 µm. By setting the average particle size of the solid electrolyte particles within the above range, it is possible to suppress grain boundary resistance occurring at the grain boundaries of the solid electrolyte particles during lithium ion conduction, and also to maintain the coatability and moldability of the solid electrolyte particles, thereby enabling the solid electrolyte layer to be made thinner. Therefore, the lithium ion conductivity of the solid electrolyte layer formed by the solid electrolyte particles can be improved, and an all-solid-state battery having high battery performance can be obtained (ll. 66-68 on p. 2). A person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention would have found it obvious to have selected fourth solid electrolyte particles having an average particle diameter of 1.0 µm to 10 µm in the solid electrolyte layer of Kawase, which lies within the claimed range of “0.2 µm or more and 10 µm or less,” with a reasonable expectation of improving battery performance as taught by Ohashi (ll. 66-68 on p. 2).
Kawase in view of Ohashi does not disclose wherein the cover layer is a layer in which a plurality of fine particles formed by pulverizing solid electrolyte material of the first solid electrolyte are deposited in contact with the surface of the positive electrode active material, and the cover layer is in a film shape such that a shape of some of the first particles cannot be confirmed. Kawase teaches that the all-solid-state battery may be modified beyond the embodiments described in the disclosure ([0107]).
Nakamura teaches a method (dry coating, sec. 2.2 on pp. 3-4) of applying a sulfide solid electrolyte (LPS, sec. 2.1 on p. 3) as a cover layer covering a surface of a positive electrode active material (NCM, sec. 2.1 on p. 3), wherein the cover layer is a layer in which a plurality of fine particles formed by pulverizing sulfide solid electrolyte material (milled LPS, sec. 2.1 on p. 3) are deposited in contact with the surface of the positive electrode active material (sec. 2.2 on p. 3), and the cover layer is in a film shape such that a shape of some of the first particles cannot be confirmed (Fig. 5 on p. 6).
A person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention would have found it obvious to have used the dry coating method of Nakamura to modify the battery of Kawase in view of Ohashi so that the cover layer is a layer in which a plurality of fine particles formed by pulverizing solid electrolyte material of the first solid electrolyte are deposited in contact with the surface of the positive electrode active material, and the cover layer is in a film shape such that a shape of some of the first particles cannot be confirmed because Nakamura teaches that a cover layer formed in this manner prevents damage to the active material when the positive electrode layer is compressed, thereby improving battery performance (sec. 3.3 ¶3, p. 7 bridging p. 8).
Regarding claim 9, Kawase in view of Ohashi and Nakamura teaches the all-solid battery of claim 8 but does not disclose wherein a depth to which the at least some of the second particles are embedded in the cover layer is 10% or more of the second average particle diameter of the second particles. However, because Kawase teaches that the packing density of the positive electrode layer should be as high as possible ([0061]) and that the first and second solid electrolyte particles are plastically deformed and come into close contact with each other when the electrode layer is pressed ([0074]), a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention would have found it obvious to have formed the battery of Kawase in view of Ohashi and Nakamura such that the at least some of the second particles are embedded in the cover layer is 10% or more of the second average particle diameter of the second particles in order to reduce the volumes of the voids in the electrode layer ([0061]).
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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/C.C.D./Examiner, Art Unit 1723 /TIFFANY LEGETTE/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 1723