DETAILED ACTION
Introductory Notes
Any paragraph citation of the instant is in reference to the U.S. published patent application.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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 1-7 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by MOCHIZUKI (US 20200212376 A1, supplied with the IDS of 5/24/2022) with evidence by SANDIA (SANDIA REPORT SAND92 —2651 • UC-704) with evidence by BUTYL RUBBER DATASHEET (Butyl Rubber Sheeting Material Datasheet, The Rubber Company Limited).
Regarding claim 1, MOCHIZUKI discloses an electrochemical element (“all-solid state secondary battery” Abstract) comprising at least one sulphurous electrolytic compound (“a sulfide-based inorganic solid electrolyte” [0015] wherein the claimed “sulphourous” refers to sulfide electrolytes per instant [0094]), wherein the electrochemical element comprises a stack of two conductive electronic current collectors (Fig. 1, elements 5 and 1), wherein the stack comprises: a positive electrode (Fig. 1, element 4); a negative electrode (Fig. 1, element 2); and a layer comprising a solid electrolytic composition separating the positive electrode and the negative electrode (Fig. 1, element 3);
wherein a bundle, said bundle defined by a volume delimited by a plane defined by each of the electrodes, has a bundle thickness corresponding to the geometrical dimension perpendicular to the plane defined by each of the electrodes, and a bundle circumference defined in the same direction as the plane defined by each of the electrodes (Fig. 1 shows a bundle with necessary dimensions),
wherein the electrochemical element is characterized in that at least the lateral surface of the stack is at least partially covered with a casing chosen from a chemical protection casing, a mechanical reinforcement casing, or a chemical protection and mechanical reinforcement casing, said casing being electrically insulating (“an exterior material layer, and at least a part of the exterior material layer is a rubber-coating layer”, Claim 1),
and that the circumference of the casing is equal to: (2 * k * bundle thickness) + bundle circumference, such that k>0.1 (“a thickness of the exterior material layer is 1 to 100,000 μm” [0017] and “more preferably 200 μm or less” [0031] and Table 5 gives examples of 20 µm to 20,000 µm wherein the thicknesses of the exterior material in Mochizuki and the casing thickness of the instant overlap; Mochizuki further discloses paragraph [0030] and tables 4 and 5which give ranges for thicknesses of components and those ranges overlap with those given in the instant examples; see example below solving the mathematics for one example).
Math for solving for k:
Bundle thickness (Bt) = summation of active material, and solid electrolyte
Bundle circumference (Bc) = 2*Bundle width (Bw) + 2*Bundle length (Bl)
Case length = Bundle length + (2 * Exterior thickness (Et))
Case width = Bundle width + (2 * Exterior thickness)
Case circumference (Cc) = 2*Case width (Cw) + 2*Case thickness (Ct)
k = (Case circumference - Bundle circumference) / (2 * Bundle thickness)
Bundle width and bundle length may be negated in the numerator as follows:
Cc-Bc
(2*Cw+2*Cl)-(2*Bw+2*Bl)
(2*(Bw+2*Et)+2*(2*Et+Bl))-(2*Bw+2*Bl)
2*Bw+4*Et+4*Et+2*Bl-2*Bw-2*Bl
This leaves: k = (8 * Exterior thickness) / (2 * Bundle thickness), wherein the thickness of the exterior may also be stated as a width due to being perpendicular to the bundle thickness.
Utilizing given values in MOCHIZUKI for sample 109 of Table 5, which references L-2 of Table 4, gives 41 µm and 40 µm each for the active material layers; 18 µm for solid electrolyte (Table 4, L-2); 20 µm for the exterior thickness (Table 5, sample 109); which gives a bundle thickness of 99 µm and k then equals 0.8, which is greater than 0.1.
Furthermore, MOCHIZUKI discloses the “thickness of the exterior material layer is 1 to 100,000 μm” [0012]. Without considering the ranges of possible bundle thicknesses disclosed in MOCHIZUKI and only utilizing the above 99 µm example bundle thickness, this range of exterior thickness alone provides k values from 0.04 to over 4000.
Examiner also notes that nearly any electrochemical element containing sulphurous electrolytic compound would read on claim 1. All batteries and capacitors will have some form of an outer chemical protection and/or mechanical reinforcement casing. As the casing thickness goes up, so does the k value. For example, a standard pouch design battery reads on claim 1 in that the outer pouch partially covers the stack and the thickness of the entire casing layer, which includes any gap from bundle to exterior layer, is not small enough to allow k to be less than 0.1.
Regarding the amendment which states “wherein the casing contains one or more components selected from: polyethylene terephthalate (PET)…”, MOCHIZUKI discloses a “component constituting a portion of the exterior material layer 7 other than the rubber-coating layer … include … PET film, and complex sheets such as a PET film having an aluminum-deposited layer” [0061].
Regarding claim 2, MOCHIZUKI discloses the protective casing consists of an electronically non-conductive material (“the exterior material layer 7 is formed of the rubber-coating layer” [0052] as well as Fig. 1 wherein the exterior material layer 7 is in contact with both the positive and negative current collectors and therefore is electronically non-conductive).
Regarding claim 3, MOCHIZUKI discloses the casing comprises at least: one organic material and, optionally, one nanometer-sized inorganic material (“butyl rubber” [0057] an organic material due to the carbon backbone).
Regarding claim 4, MOCHIZUKI discloses the casing consists of a first chemical protection layer and a second mechanical reinforcement layer (“exterior material layer 7 may be a single layer or a multiple layer” [0060] and “component constituting a portion of the exterior material layer 7 other than the rubber-coating layer is not particularly limited, and examples thereof include a variety of metals such as stainless steel, a variety of plastic sheets such as a PET film, and complex sheets such as a PET film having an aluminum-deposited layer” [0061]).
Regarding claim 5, MOCHIZUKI discloses the casing has a total thickness less than 100 µm (20 µm for the exterior thickness in Table 5, sample 109) and a grammage less than 5 mg/cm2 (“butyl rubber” [0057] which notably is a possible component per claim 8 of the instant and has a density that is less than other components listed such as PVDF; furthermore butyl rubber has a density of approximately “1.35 kg/cm3” as evidenced by Butyl Rubber Sheeting Material Datasheet, utilizing a thickness of 20 µm for the exterior thickness (Table 5, sample 109) gives a value of 2.7 mg/cm2).
Regarding claim 6, MOCHIZUKI discloses the casing comprises at least one material having a water permeability less than 0.1 g/m2/d/µm (“butyl rubber” [0057] which notably is a possible component per claim 8 and wherein butyl rubber is “known to have very low water permeability” per SANDIA, page 10 paragraph 4, which gives one example too low to be measurable and another example of “1.65x10-9 ccSTP/cm/s/cmHg” also on page 10 in paragraph 4).
Regarding claim 7, MOCHIZUKI discloses the casing has an elongation at break greater than 150% (“butyl rubber” [0057] which notably is a possible component per claim 8 and wherein butyl rubber has elongation at break greater than 150% per BUTYL RUBBER DATASHEET which provides the value 250% in the table on page 1).
Response to Arguments
Regarding art-based rejections, applicant’s arguments with respect to claim 1 have been considered but are not persuasive. On page 7 of the remarks applicant states “Mochizuki is silent to a casing containing polyethylene terephthalate (PET) as required by claim 1”. As noted in the rejection of claim 1, examiner disagrees. Mochizuki specifically discloses PET as a component of exterior material layer 7 ([0061]).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure (cited in a previous office action):
YEO (US 20190157648 A1) directed to an all-solid battery with an insulation layer of baroplastic polymer and solid electrolyte comprising a sulfide.
GABEN (US 20200152925 A1) directed to systems, methods, and apparatus for encapsulating objects like that of microelectronic components and batteries.
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.L.M./Examiner, Art Unit 1721
/ALLISON BOURKE/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 1721