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 the Claims
The amendment/remarks submitted 12/12/2025 have been entered and fully considered. Claims 1-22 are pending. Claim 2 is withdrawn. Claims 1 and 3 are amended. Claims 1 and 3-22 are examined herein.
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.
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.
Claims 1, 3-11, and 17-18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US 2014/0057179 A1 (“Yushin”) in view of US 2014/0248543 A1 (“Zhu”).
Regarding claims 1 and 5, Yushin discloses a battery electrode for a metal-ion battery (Abstract; [0002]). The electrode comprises a current collector ([0043], [0045]); composite particles which include active material particles 102, embodiments of which are shown in Figs. 1-16; and a shell 208, 308, 408, 508, 610, 612, 710, 712 (“conformal, metal-ion permeable coating”) (Figs. 2-7, 9-10, 15-16). The active material 102 is in the form of particles and is inherently electrically connected to the current collector ([0044]). The active material 102 is provided to store and release ions of an active material during battery operation ([0044]). The shell at least partially encases the connected active particles (block 1730, Fig. 17; [0114]). The shell is permeable to the ions stored and released by the active material ([0114]).
Yushin does not expressly disclose the current collector is porous, comprises metal, and comprises metal flakes.
Zhu discloses a secondary lithium battery (Abstract). An electrode of the battery comprises a conductive current collector structure which can be used as a current collector in a LIB anode. The current collector comprises one or more copper structures, e.g., a copper sheet, film, plate, foil, mesh, foam, sponge; powder or plurality of particles/fibers/sheets/flakes/wires which can be packed, interwoven, adhered, or otherwise associated with one another; or any combination thereof ([0082]). It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to use copper flakes as a component in the current collector because, as shown by Zhu, this amounts to combining prior art elements according to known methods to yield predictable results. By containing flakes, the current collector necessarily has porosity.
Regarding claim 3, modified Yushin discloses the battery electrode of claim 1. As noted above, Zhu discloses the current collector copper flakes and further discloses the current collector may be a combination of materials such as mesh, foam, sponge, and fibers ([0082]). It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to use mesh, foam, sponge, or fibers in addition to the flakes as Zhu discloses a combination of material can be used. Moreover, "[i]t is prima facie obvious to combine two compositions each of which is taught by the prior art to be useful for the same purpose, in order to form a third composition to be used for the very same purpose.... [T]he idea of combining them flows logically from their having been individually taught in the prior art." In re Kerkhoven, 626 F.2d 846, 850, 205 USPQ 1069, 1072 (CCPA 1980). See MPEP 2144.06(I).
Regarding claim 4, modified Yushin discloses the battery electrode of claim 1. Yushin discloses the electrode can be an anode ([0048]). As discussed above, Zhu teaches the current collector comprises copper ([0082]).
Regarding claim 6, modified Yushin discloses the battery electrode of claim 1. Yushin further discloses the composite particles comprise a scaffolding matrix 104 that is porous and conductive, and the active material ([0040]-[0047]).
Regarding claim 7, modified Yushin discloses the battery electrode of claim 6. Yushin further discloses the particle of active material are nanoparticles with characteristic dimensions typically on the order of about 3-100 nm ([0051]).
Regarding claims 8-9, modified Yushin discloses the battery electrode of claim 6. Yushin further discloses the scaffolding matrix 104 comprises carbon that is activated ([0053], [0055], [0060-[0063], [0092]-[0095], [0113]]; Fig. 17, block 1726).
Regarding claim 10, modified Yushin discloses the battery electrode of claim 1. Yushin further discloses an embodiment wherein the shell is provided as a multi-layered composite material shell having an inner layer 610 and an outer layer 612. In this case, the inner layer 610 corresponds to the claimed shell and the portions disposed inside the inner layer 610 correspond to the claimed core.
Regarding claim 11, modified Yushin discloses the battery electrode of claim 1. Yushin discloses the electrode can be a cathode ([0048]). Examples of the cathode active material include lithium cobalt oxides, lithium manganese oxides, and lithium manganese nickel cobalt oxides ([0070]).
Regarding claims 17-18, modified Yushin discloses the battery electrode of claim 1. Yushin further discloses a Li-ion battery a negative anode 2502, a positive cathode 2503, a separator 2504 interposed between the anode 2502 and the cathode 2503, and an electrolyte impregnating the separator 2504 (Fig. 25; [0123]). Yushin discloses the electrode can be the anode or the cathode ([0048]).
Claims 12-16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US 2014/0057179 A1 (“Yushin”) in view of US 2014/0248543 A1 (“Zhu”) as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of US 2014/0154572 A1 (“Singh”).
Regarding claims 12-15, modified Yushin discloses the battery electrode of claim 1. In an embodiment, Yushin further discloses the shell comprises an active material ([0069]). Modified Yushin does not expressly disclose a polymer layer at least partially coating an electrode surface of the battery electrode.
Singh discloses a particle of cathode active material 120 that has been encased in a protective coating 140 (Figs. 1, 2; [0021]). The protective coating 140 is made of one or more polymer materials ([0022]). Examples of the polymers include polyacrylonitrile (PAN) ([0014], [0027]-[0028]) and polyacrylates and polymethacrylates ([0029]). The protective coating is stable at high voltages, electronically and ionically conductive, and forms a long-lasting coating on the surface of the cathode particles ([0006], [0019]-[0020]). For these reasons, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate the polymer coating of Singh on the composite particles of modified Yushin.
Regarding claim 16, modified Yushin discloses the battery electrode of claim 12. Singh further discloses the polymer layer 140 is between about 1 nm and 1000 nm thick ([0022]). This is interpreted as anticipating the claimed range of “at least about 2 nm.”
Claims 19-22 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US 2014/0057179 A1 (“Yushin”) in view of US 2014/0248543 A1 (“Zhu”) as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of US 2012/0121991 A1 (“Tikhonov”).
Regarding claims 19-21, modified Yushin discloses the metal-ion battery of claim 20. Modified Yushin does not expressly disclose the electrolyte comprises one or more electrolyte superacid salts of one or more superacids.
Tiknonov discloses a lithium battery comprising an electrolyte containing aluminum corrosion inhibitor and a fluorinated lithium imide or methide electrolyte which exhibit surprisingly long cycle life at high temperature (Abstract). The fluorinated lithium imide is shown by the formula in [0042]-[0056]. An example of the fluorinated lithium imide is LiTFSI (i.e. LiN(CF3SO2)2) ([0119], [0133], [0136], [0141]). It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to use the electrolyte of Tiknonov in the battery of modified Yushin to provide long cycle life at high temperature and corrosion resistance (Abstract; [0074]).
Regarding claim 22, modified Yushin discloses the metal-ion battery of claim 21. Yushin further discloses examples of the cathode active material include lithium cobalt oxides, lithium manganese oxides, and lithium manganese nickel cobalt oxides ([0070]).
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments, see pp. 6-7, filed 12/12/2025, with respect to the rejection(s) of claim(s) 1 and 3-22 under 35 USC 103 have been fully considered and are persuasive. Therefore, the rejection has been withdrawn. However, upon further consideration, a new ground(s) of rejection is made in view of US 2014/0248543 A1 (“Zhu”).
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.
Contact Information
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Robert Scott Carrico whose telephone number is (571)270-5504. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 9:15AM-6PM ET.
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Robert Scott Carrico
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 1727
/Robert S Carrico/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1727