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 .
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Response to Amendment
Examiner notes the following amendments to the claims:
Claims 1 and 4 amended to include subject matter of previously presented claim 7.
Claim 7 amended to remove the piece of subject matter that is now included in independent claims 1 and 4.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 07/22/2025 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive. Specifically, examiner finds the applicant argument that, because of a specific example given where the first material of Sikha has a higher tap density than the second, that there cannot be an obvious modification to make the second material have a higher density than the first, not persuasive. Examiner finds this not persuasive because Sikha teaches a range of tap densities for the first and second cathode materials over which it is entirely possible for the second material to have a higher tap density than the first (Sikha [0067]). Given that there are no other arguments presented, the rejection remains in place, other than being updated to reflect the amendments to the claims. Dependent claims 5-7 are also rejected for depending on the rejected independent claims, and there is currently no allowable subject matter present in the application.
If applicant does not find this response convincing, further search has also highlighted Liu (US 20210249659 A1), which also teaches a cathode having first and second particles, where the first, smaller particle has explicitly a higher density than that of the second, larger particle (“Since the average particle size of the first active material particles 142 is smaller than the average particle size of the second active material particles 162, the compaction density of the first positive electrode material layer 14 is smaller than the compaction density of the second positive material layer 16.” Liu [0040], “That is, the first positive electrode active material particles were lithium cobaltate. The lithium cobaltate slurry of small particles was composed of 95.6 wt % lithium cobaltate (an average particle size D90=3 μm),” Liu [0050] and “then a lithium cobaltate slurry of large particles was coated on the first positive electrode material layer 14 as the second positive electrode material layer 16. The lithium cobaltate slurry of large particles was composed of 97.0 wt % lithium cobaltate (an average particle size D50 being 13 μm, an average particle size D90 being 50 μm),” Liu [0050]. Thus, Liu teaches a first and second particle within the desired ranges and having the desired ratio of densities. it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the material of Sikha to substitute it with that of Liu, as this would be the substitution of one cathode active material having a first and second particle with another, and the simple substitution of one known element for another is likely to be obvious when predictable results are achieved. (see MPEP § 2143, B.).)
However, since examiner believes that the previously applied art teaches all of the limitations in the claims as currently presented, this action is final.
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.
Claim(s) 1 and 3-7 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hosoe (US 20130004844 A1) in view of Sikha (US 20160013480 A1).
Regarding claim 1, Hosoe teaches all of the following elements:
An electrode for lithium-ion secondary batteries, (“When the three-dimensional network aluminum porous body of the present invention is used as a base material of an electrode,” Hosoe paragraph 0059)
the electrode comprising: a current collector made of porous metal; (“electrode from an aluminum porous body, and specifically, it is an object of the present invention to provide a three-dimensional network aluminum porous body in which the cell diameter of the three-dimensional network aluminum porous body is uneven in the thickness direction, and a current collector and an electrode respectively using the aluminum porous body,” Hosoe paragraph 0018)
and an electrode layer comprising an electrode material mixture comprising at least an electrode active material, (“electrolyte layer (SE layer) 63 disposed between both electrodes. The positive electrode 61 includes a positive electrode layer (positive electrode body) 64 and a current collector 65 of positive electrode,” Hosoe paragraph 0133 and “When an aluminum porous body is used in a positive electrode of a lithium battery, a material that can extract/insert lithium can be used as an active material” Hosoe paragraph 0135)
the current collector being filled with the electrode material mixture (“An electrode is obtained by filling the current collector prepared as described above with an active material.” Hosoe paragraph 0116)
the current collector having an intermediate region and two surface regions in a thickness direction and in the electrode layer, (“electrode from an aluminum porous body, and specifically, it is an object of the present invention to provide a three-dimensional network aluminum porous body in which the cell diameter of the three-dimensional network aluminum porous body is uneven in the thickness direction, and a current collector and an electrode respectively using the aluminum porous body,” Hosoe paragraph 0018)
the intermediate region having a porosity lower than that of the two surface regions, (“(4) The three-dimensional network aluminum porous body according to (2), wherein a ratio of the average of the cell diameter in the region 1 and the cell diameter in the region 3 to the cell diameter in the region 2 is 0.9 or less.” Hosoe paragraph 0023)
the intermediate region being filled with a first electrode active material, (“An electrode is obtained by filling the current collector prepared as described above with an active material.” Hosoe paragraph 0116)
Hosoe is silent on the following limitations:
the two surface regions being filled with a second electrode active material having a particle size larger than that of the first electrode active materials
the intermediate region having an electrode active material filling density higher than that of the two surface regions.
wherein the first electrode active material has a particle size of 3 um or more and less than 7 µm as a median diameter (d50), and the particle size of the second electrode active material is 7 µm or more and 15 µm or less as a median diameter (d50).
However, Sikha teaches all of the elements of claim 1 that are not found in Hosoe. Specifically, Sikha teaches the use of two active materials with different particle sizes and multiple layers with different filling densities. If the active materials of Sikha were combined with the porous body of Hosoe, the limitations would be met as the intermediate region having a smaller porosity would be filled with the smaller active material, and the two surface regions would be filled with the larger active material, due to the differing sizes of the materials (as described in the method of the instant specification). The packing density of the intermediate region would be higher than that of the surface regions as a smaller particle size would inherently be denser than a larger particle size.
the two surface regions being filled with a second electrode active material having a particle size larger than that of the first electrode active materials (“In certain implementations, the average particle size of the cathodically active material of the first layer 210 and the average particle size of the cathodically active material of the second layer 220 are different.” Sikha paragraph 0064)
the intermediate region having an electrode active material filling density higher than that of the two surface regions. (“in one implementation, the layers of the multi-layer electrode structure may be deposited such that the density of the cathode material is greatest adjacent to the current collector 113 (e.g., the first cathode material layer 210) and the density of the cathode material decreases with each layer deposited. Sikha paragraph 0069)
wherein the first electrode active material has a particle size of 3 um or more and less than 7 µm as a median diameter (d50), and the particle size of the second electrode active material is 7 µm or more and 15 µm or less as a median diameter (d50). (“The first cathode material layer 210 comprises LiCoO.sub.2 having an average particle size from about 8 microns to about 25 microns and “The second cathode material layer 220 may comprise NMC, LiFePO.sub.4, or LiMn.sub.2O.sub.4 having a particle size from about 1 to about 6 microns.” Sikha [0068] and “the first cathode material layer 210 comprises cathodically active material having a tap density between about 2 g/cm3 and about 3 g/cm3. In certain implementations, the second cathode material layer 220 comprises material having a tap density between about 2 g/cm3 and about 3 g/cm3.” Sikha [0067] In this case, since the tap densities can both range between 2-3 g/cm3, it is entirely possible that the first cathode material of Sikha has a particle size that meets that of the second electrode active material of the instant invention and has a lower density, and additionally that the second cathode material of Sikha has a particle size that meets that of the first electrode active material of the instant invention, and has a higher density.)
The examiner takes note of the fact that the prior art ranges of ------8-25 microns for the larger cathode material and 1-6 microns for the smaller both overlap the claimed ranges for the same parameters. Absent any additional and more specific information in the prior art, a prima facie case of obviousness exists. In re Peterson, 315 F.3d 1325, 1330, 65 USPQ2d 1379 (Fed. Cir. 2003). MPEP 2144.05.
Hosoe and Sikha are considered to be analogous because they are both within the same field of multi-layer structures with differing porosities to be used in electrodes. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the multi-layered metal porous body of Hosoe with the two active materials having differing particle sizes of Sikha in order to most effectively fill the different regions and increase battery cell energy density (Sikha paragraph 0022). This would be desirable in an electrode material to be used in a battery because a higher energy density would yield higher power and a longer cycle compared to a single layer electrode (Sikha paragraph 0024). The modification of Hosoe to include the two active materials having different particle sizes of Sikha will be used in the rejections of 3-7.
Regarding claim 3, modified Hosoe teaches all of the following elements:
A lithium ion secondary battery, a negative electrode, and a separator or solid electrolyte layer located between the positive electrode and the negative electrode, (“FIG. 13 is a vertical sectional view of a solid-state lithium battery using a solid electrolyte. A solid-state lithium battery 60 includes a positive electrode 61, a negative electrode 62, and a solid electrolyte layer (SE layer) 63 disposed between both electrodes.” Hosoe paragraph 0133)
at least one of the positive electrode and the negative electrode being the electrode according to claim 1. (See claim 1 rejection)
Regarding claim 4, modified Hosoe teaches all of the following elements:
A method for producing an electrode for lithium-ion secondary batteries, the method comprising: (“For example, when an aluminum porous body is used in a positive electrode of a lithium battery (including a lithium-ion secondary battery),” Hosoe paragraph 0128)
a first step comprising forming a current collector that is made of porous metal and has an intermediate region and two surface regions in a thickness direction, wherein the intermediate region has a porosity lower than that of the two surface regions; (“A three-dimensional network aluminum porous body comprising a sheet-shaped three-dimensional network aluminum porous body for a current collector, the three dimensional network aluminum porous body having a cell diameter thereof that is uneven in the thickness direction.” Hosoe paragraph 0020)
and a second step comprising filling the intermediate region of the current collector with an electrode material mixture comprising a first electrode active material and filling the two surface regions of the current collector with an electrode material mixture comprising a second electrode active material having a particle size larger than of that of the first electrode active material, (“When an aluminum porous body is used in a positive electrode of a lithium battery, a material that can extract/insert lithium can be used as an active material, and an aluminum porous body filled with such a material can provide an electrode suitable for a lithium secondary battery.” Hosoe paragraph 0135)
in the second step, each of the first electrode active material and the second electrode active material being filled such that the intermediate region has an electrode active material filling density higher than that of the two surface regions. (“in one implementation, the layers of the multi-layer electrode structure may be deposited such that the density of the cathode material is greatest adjacent to the current collector 113 (e.g., the first cathode material layer 210) and the density of the cathode material decreases with each layer deposited. Sikha paragraph 0069. As described in claim 1, the use of two active materials with different particle sizes would inherently create differences in packing density)
Hosoe is silent on the following elements of claim 4:
wherein the first electrode active material has a particle size of 3 pm or more and less than 7 um as a median diameter (d50), and the particle size of the second electrode active material is 7 um or more and 15 m or less as a median diameter (d50).
However, Sikha teaches all of the elements of claim 4 that are not found in Hosoe:
wherein the first electrode active material has a particle size of 3 pm or more and less than 7 um as a median diameter (d50), and the particle size of the second electrode active material is 7 um or more and 15 m or less as a median diameter (d50). (“The first cathode material layer 210 comprises LiCoO.sub.2 having an average particle size from about 8 microns to about 25 microns and “The second cathode material layer 220 may comprise NMC, LiFePO.sub.4, or LiMn.sub.2O.sub.4 having a particle size from about 1 to about 6 microns.” Sikha [0068] and “the first cathode material layer 210 comprises cathodically active material having a tap density between about 2 g/cm3 and about 3 g/cm3. In certain implementations, the second cathode material layer 220 comprises material having a tap density between about 2 g/cm3 and about 3 g/cm3.” Sikha [0067] In this case, since the tap densities can both range between 2-3 g/cm3, it is entirely possible that the first cathode material of Sikha has a particle size that meets that of the second electrode active material of the instant invention and has a lower density, and additionally that the second cathode material of Sikha has a particle size that meets that of the first electrode active material of the instant invention, and has a higher density.)
If the method of Hosoe included the two active materials with different particle sizes and densities of Sikha, as shown in claim 1, all of the above limitations would be met. Specifically, if two electrode active materials of different sizes were applied to the surface regions of Hosoe, the material with a smaller particle size would disperse into the intermediate region, which has a smaller porosity than the surface regions, and the intermediate region would have a higher filling density than the surface regions.
Regarding claim 5, modified Hosoe teaches all of the following elements:
The method for producing an electrode for lithium ion secondary batteries according to claim 4, wherein an electrode material mixture containing the first electrode active material and the second electrode active material is applied to each of sides of the two surface regions of the current collector and filled in the current collector. (“For filling the active material, publicly known methods such as a method of filling by immersion and a coating method can be employed. Examples of the coating method include a roll coating method, an applicator coating method, an electrostatic coating method, a powder coating method, a spray coating method, a spray coater coating method, a bar coater coating method, a roll coater coating method, a dip coater coating method” Hosoe paragraph 0117. Methods such as spray coating, roll coating, and dip coating are analogous to die coating, which is the filling method described in the instant specification paragraph 0056. Therefore, the provided filling methods of Hosoe would meet the above limitation, when the two active materials having different particle sizes of Sikha are used)
Regarding claim 6, modified Hosoe teaches all of the following elements
The electrode for lithium ion secondary batteries according to claim 1, wherein the two surface regions are continuous in a thickness direction and include at least both surfaces of an electrode layer, (Hosoe figure 2 shows the surface regions and intermediate region being continuous in a thickness direction. Figure 13 shows the electrode layers 61 and 62 being in the same thickness direction as the metal porous body current collector)
And the intermediate region is located between the two surface regions and arranged in an almost intermediate part of the electrode layer in the thickness direction. (Hosoe figure 2 and 13)
Regarding claim 7, modified Hosoe teaches all of the following elements
The electrode for lithium ion secondary batteries according to claim 6, wherein the porosity of the intermediate region is 93% or more and 95% or less, and the two surface regions have a porosity of 95% or more and 98% or less, (“The resin foam molded body preferably has a porosity of 80% to 98% and a pore diameter of 50 μm to 500 μm.” Hosoe paragraph 0085. In this case, the aluminum porous body is formed by molding to the foam skeleton, creating an aluminum porous body having a porosity between 80-98%.” Given that Hosoe states that the intermediate and surface regions of the aluminum porous body have different porosities, it would be obvious before the effective filing date of the invention to have a surface layer having a porosity of between 93 and 95% and an intermediate layer having a porosity of between 95 and 98%, as both are within the range provided by Hosoe.)
The examiner takes note of the fact that the prior art range of 80-98% of porosity of the aluminum porous body encompasses the claimed ranges of 93-95% and 95-98%, for the porosity of the surface and intermediate layers of the aluminum porous body in the claimed invention Absent any additional and more specific information in the prior art, a prima facie case of obviousness exists. In re Peterson, 315 F.3d 1325, 1330, 65 USPQ2d 1379 (Fed. Cir. 2003). MPEP 2144.05.
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.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to BENJAMIN ELI KASS-MULLET whose telephone number is (571)272-0156. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 8:30am-6pm except for the first Friday of bi-week.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, NICHOLAS SMITH can be reached at (571) 272-8760. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/BENJAMIN ELI KASS-MULLET/Examiner, Art Unit 1752
/NICHOLAS A SMITH/Supervisory Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1752
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