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 Arguments
The applicant’s amendment to claim 1 has resolved the 35 U.S.C. 112 rejection presented in the previous office action of record, and accordingly, said rejection is withdrawn.
Applicant's arguments filed 05/04/2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
The applicant asserts that the removal of the negative electrode active material from Kubota in view of Chang would fundamentally alter the lithium deposition mechanism, as the nucleation site for lithium deposition would no longer be present, thereby resulting in a difference in the underlying electrochemical mechanism. This has been fully considered but has not been found to be persuasive, based on Chang’s discussion of the mechanism by which their anodeless battery structure functions.
Here, where the disclosure of Chang includes an anodeless negative electrode, Chang discloses that their structure allows for the direct electrodeposition on the anode current collector during charge (Paragraph 0086, “In the lithium metal battery according to one or more embodiments, the lithium from the metal particle including at least one of metal or a lithium metal alloy may be deposited on the anode current collector during charge. The deposited lithium may have an interconnected network structure that is formed upon charge of the anodeless lithium metal battery.”), where though only an anode current collector is present, there is still a capacity for lithium deposition and resolution, further indicating that the method of lithium deposition and resolution of the anodeless battery reduces the expansion rate of the battery as it cycles (Paragraph 0086, “Conventional lithium anode thin film do not have a free volume before and after charging, and are expanded upward and downward, resulting in more stress due to dendrite formation. Unlike the lithium anode thin film that may only expand in an upper or lower direction, the metal particle in the anodeless lithium metal battery may expand in a radial direction as shown in FIG. 1C, leading to nearly zero stress, thus improving energy density and reducing an expansion rate of the battery after charging and discharging.”). Accordingly, if Kubota were to be modified to be an anodeless structure, the deposition and resolution of lithium would still be operable, and therefore said modification would not conflict with the mechanism of Kubota.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
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.
Claim(s) 1-3 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kubota (JP 2004063432 A), in view of Schmitz (US 20190067734 A1) and Chang (US 20190214672 A1).
Regarding Claim 1, Kubota discloses a nonaqueous electrolyte secondary battery (Paragraph 0158, “At that time, a negative electrode material, a positive electrode material, a non-aqueous solvent, an electrolyte salt, or the like capable of inserting and extracting a light metal is selected according to the light metal.”) comprising a positive electrode capable of occluding and releasing lithium (Paragraph 0083, “Next, when discharging is performed, first, the lithium metal deposited on the negative electrode 22 is eluted as ions and is occluded in the positive electrode mixture layer 21b via the electrolytic solution impregnated in the separator 23.”) and a negative electrode including a negative electrode current collector (Paragraph 0027, “The negative electrode 22 has, for example, a structure in which a negative electrode mixture layer 22b is provided on both surfaces of a negative electrode current collector 22a”), and an electrolyte solution (Paragraph 0158, “At that time, a negative electrode material, a positive electrode material, a non-aqueous solvent, an electrolyte salt, or the like capable of inserting and extracting a light metal is selected according to the light metal.”) including a solvent (Abstract, “The separator 23 is impregnate with as electrolyte solution with lithium fused in a solvent.”).
Additionally, Kubota discloses a separator located between the positive electrode and the negative electrode (Abstract, “A positive electrode 21 and a negative electrode 22 are provided with a wound-round electrode body 20 wound round with an interposition of a separator.”).
Additionally, Kubota discloses structure wherein the solvent is composed only of vinylene carbonate (Paragraph 0105, “That is, the solvent contains at least one of a group consisting of ethylene carbonate, vinylene carbonate,”), as represented in regards to their example 2-5, which comprises 100% vinylene carbonate, as presented in Kubota’s table 3.
Additionally, Kubota discloses structure where the lithium metal dissolves in the electrolyte dissolves in the electrolyte solution during discharging (Paragraph 0101, “The secondary battery according to the third embodiment of the present invention uses lithium metal as a negative electrode active material, and the capacity of the negative electrode is represented by a capacity component due to precipitation and dissolution of lithium.”; Paragraph 0083, “Next, when discharging is performed, first, the lithium metal deposited on the negative electrode 22 is eluted as ions and is occluded in the positive electrode mixture layer 21b via the electrolytic solution impregnated in the separator 23.”)
In regards to the limitation of the instant claim which requires a coating film composed of a polymer of the vinylene carbonate is formed on a surface of the negative electrode, Kubota fails to disclose said structure. Therefore, we look to Schmitz, which discloses an electrolyte composition and an electrochemical cell (Abstract, “An electrolyte composition and an electrochemical cell that includes the electrolyte composition are included.”). Here, Schmitz discloses structure wherein their solvent comprises vinylene carbonate as a polymer film-forming additive (Paragraph 0005, “Common additives are for example flame retardants, overcharge protection additives and film forming additives which react during first charge/discharge cycle on the electrode surface thereby forming a film on the electrode. The film protects the electrode from direct contact with the electrolyte composition. One well-known additive film-forming additive is vinylene carbonate.”). Here, where Schmitz discloses the use of vinylene carbonate to protect the electrode from direct contact with electrode composition, and where Kubota discloses the use of vinylene carbonate as their solvent, it would be obvious to one ordinarily skilled in the art to make use of the vinylene carbonate solvent to form a protective film so as to prevent contact between the electrode and electrolyte, thereby reading upon and making obvious the limitation of the instant claim.
Additionally, where Schmitz discloses that the protective film layer is also an SEI layer (Paragraph 0066, “SEI forming additives are also named film forming additives and the two terms are used interchangeably herein. Preferably the SEI forming additive forms a passivation layer on the anode.”), and where SEI layers are ionically conductive, the lithium metal ions are conducted through to the negative electrode to precipitate between the coating film and the negative electrode during charging of the material which is a combination of Kubota and Schmitz.
Here, Kubota discloses structure wherein the lithium metal precipitates on the negative electrode during charging (Paragraph 0038, “In this secondary battery, lithium metal starts to precipitate on the negative electrode 22 at the time when the open circuit voltage (that is, the battery voltage) is lower than the overcharge voltage in the charging process.”), thereby resulting in structure wherein the lithium metal precipitates between the coating film, which is an SEI, and the negative electrode during charging.
In regards to the limitation which requires structure wherein the negative electrode consists of the negative electrode current collector in a completely discharged state, Kubota fails to disclose said structure. Therefore, we look to Chang, which discloses structure which comprises an anodeless lithium metal battery (Abstract, “An anodeless lithium metal battery”) comprising a nonaqueous electrolyte (Paragraph 0039, “The first liquid electrolyte 12b may be, for example, a high-concentration electrolyte solution, for example, a solution including a high-concentration of the lithium salt.”). Here, Chang discloses the use of an anodeless battery, which is a battery where the negative electrode consists of the negative electrode current collector, when in a completely discharged state (Paragraph 0034, “As used herein, the term “anodeless lithium metal battery” refers to a lithium metal battery which does not include an anode active material on the anode current collector before the first charge. In further detail, the disclosed anodeless lithium metal battery: i) does not include an anode active material,”), further disclosing that their anode current collector is a copper foil (Paragraph 0105, “a copper foil used as an anode current collector,”).
Here, Chang discloses that an anodeless battery has a benefit over a battery which comprises a negative electrode active material through disclosing that batteries comprising anode materials can result in dead volumes of lithium due to the formation of dendrites (Paragraph 0032, “In a lithium metal battery using a lithium metal thin film as an anode, a dead volume of lithium may be generated in the battery due to a lithium dendrite on the lithium metal thin film.”), where said dendrite results in a reduction of lifetime and capacity of the lithium metal battery (Paragraph 0032, “The formation of the lithium dendrite is understood to lead to a loss of electrochemically active lithium, and consequently reducing the lifetime and capacity characteristics of the lithium metal battery.”), as well as resulting in inconsistent volume expansion within the electrode (Paragraph 0032, “In addition, because the lithium metal thin film is planar in form, the lithium metal thin film may swell only in an upper or lower portion of the electrode during charge. As a result, it may be difficult to control the volume expansion of the lithium metal battery during charge and discharge within a desired range.”). Here, Chang discloses that their anodeless battery structure overcomes these detrimental effects (Paragraph 0033, “While not wanting to be bound by theory, it is understood that in the anodeless lithium metal battery according to an embodiment, an individual metal particle of the lithium metal or lithium metal alloy in the composite electrolyte may freely expand, so that the above-described drawbacks associated with the lithium metal battery including a lithium metal thin film are avoided.”) when the anodeless structure is present along with a dissolved lithium metal in the electrolyte (Paragraph 0033, “To solve this problem, the inventors have advantageously discovered that use of an anode current collector without a planar lithium metal thin film, together with a composite electrolyte comprising at least one of lithium metal or a lithium metal alloy, and a liquid electrolyte, results in improved energy density and charge-discharge efficiency of a lithium metal battery.”), where said dissolved lithium in the electrolyte is disclosed by Kubota, as discussed above. Accordingly, based on this disclosure of Chang, it would be obvious to one ordinarily skilled in the art to apply the negative electrode structure of Chang to the invention of Kubota, thereby resulting in structure wherein the negative electrode consists of the negative electrode current collector in a completely discharged state.
Regarding Claim 2, modified Kubota makes obvious the invention of Claim 1. Additionally, Kubota discloses structure wherein the negative electrode current collector is composed of a metal that does not alloy with lithium, through their disclosure of a copper negative electrode current collector (Paragraph 0116, “and then uniformly applied to both surfaces of a negative electrode current collector 22a formed of a 10 μm-thick strip-shaped copper foil.”), based on the definition of the instant specification that the group of metals that do not alloy with lithium include copper, nickel, and iron (Paragraph 0037, “Specifically, the metal material may be a metal material that does not alloy with lithium. Examples of such a metal material include copper, nickel, iron, and alloys including the above metallic elements. Examples of the alloys include a copper alloy and a stainless steel.”).
Regarding Claim 3, modified Kubota makes the invention of Claim 2. Additionally, as discussed above in regards to Claim 2, Kubota discloses structure wherein the negative electrode current collector includes copper (Paragraph 0116, “and then uniformly applied to both surfaces of a negative electrode current collector 22a formed of a 10 μm-thick strip-shaped copper foil.”).
Conclusion
THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. 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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/J.W.E./Examiner, Art Unit 1725
/BASIA A RIDLEY/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 1725
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