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 .
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on 12/17/2025 has been entered.
Response to Remarks
The remarks/amendments filed on 12/17/2025 are acknowledged and were found persuasive over the previous prior art rejection of record. However, in light of the amendments a new search was conducted and a new reference was identified. This newly cited reference, when considered in combination with Hou et al., teaches or suggests all features of claims 1-4, 10-11, and 15-17 and newly added claims 18-19. Accordingly, a new grounds of rejection of claims 1-4, 10-11, and 15-19 was made under 35 U.S.C. 103 over Hou et al. in view of the newly cited reference. See claims 1-4, 10-11 and 15-19 rejections below.
Summary
This is a continued examination non-final office action for application 17/791,101 in response to the amendments filed on 12/17/2025. Claims 1-19 are under examination. Claims 5-9 and 12-14 are still withdrawn from consideration.
The text of those sections of Title 35, U.S. Code not included in this action can be found in a prior Office action.
Priority
Acknowledgment is made of applicant’s claim for foreign priority under 35 U.S.C. 119 (a)-(d). The certified copies have been filed in parent Application Nos. KR10-2020-0050738 filed on 04/27/2020 and PCT/KR2021/005192 filed on 04/23/2021.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statements (IDS)s submitted on 07/06/2022, 09/15/2023, 03/20/2024, 12/23/2024 and 08/18/2025 are being considered by the examiner.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
Claims 1-4, 10-11 and 15-19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hou et al. (Growth direction control of lithium dendrites in a heterogeneous lithiophilic host for ultra-safe lithium metal batteries, 06 February 2019, Journal of Power Sources, Volume 416) and further in view of Lai et al. (CN 110828829 A).
Regarding Claim 1, Hou discloses a negative electrode (see e.g. "anode" in Abstract and "The as-prepared material (denoted as CuF@Au) was cut into circular disks by a punch machine and directly employed as electrode." in Section 2.1 on page 142) for lithium secondary batteries (see e.g. "lithium batteries" in Abstract), the negative electrode comprising:
a negative electrode current collector (see e.g. "3D porous current collectors" in Introduction paragraph starting with "Lithium metal" and "Commercially available copper foam" in Section 2.1 page 142) including a porous structure having an inner pore (see e.g. "interior pores of the 3D porous structure" in Introduction paragraph starting with "Here we tackle" and FIG. 1),
wherein a lithiophilic material is applied to formed on a surface of (see e.g. "lithiophilic layer" in Introduction paragraph starting with "Here we tackle" and FIG.1b and "Gold (Au) layer was deposited onto one side of CuF by magnetron sputtering" in Section 2.1 page 142) and in the inner pore of the porous structure (see e.g. FIGs. 1b and 3b and annotated figure below) excluding a first surface of the negative electrode current collector that faces a positive electrode (see e.g. "lithiophilic layer coated on the 'backside' surface" in Introduction paragraph starting with "Here we tackle" and FIG. 1b of Hou).
Hou also discloses a through-hole formed through the current collector from an upper surface to a lower surface (see e.g. FIG. 2 images b and f on page 144 and annotated figure below). While Hou may not explicitly use the term “through-hole,” FIGs. 2b and 2f (page 144) clearly show vertical openings extending entirely through the thickness of the porous copper foam structure. These openings are visible from both the top and bottom surfaces of the material, consistent with the claimed “through-hole.” The 3D porous structure of the copper foam inherently includes such continuous pathways allowing for ion transport through the structure. Accordingly, these through-passages meet the requirement of a “through-hole formed therethrough from an upper surface to a lower surface.” Furthermore Hou also discloses that a lithiophilic material is applied to a surface of the through-hole (see e.g. "lithiophilic layer" in Introduction paragraph starting with "Here we tackle" and FIG.1b and "Gold (Au) layer was deposited onto one side of CuF by magnetron sputtering" in Section 2.1 page 142) excluding a first surface of the negative electrode current collector that faces a positive electrode (see e.g. "lithiophilic layer coated on the 'backside' surface" in Introduction paragraph starting with "Here we tackle" and FIG. 1b of Hou).
Hou does not disclose that the negative electrode current collector is 5 µm to 30 µm.
Lai, however, in the same field of endeavor, 3D lithiophilic porous metal current collectors, discloses a porous negative current collector (see e.g. "3D lithium-philic porous lithium ion negative electrode" in paragraph [5] on page 2 of Lai) wherein a thickness of the negative electrode current collector is 20 µm to 50 µm (see e.g. "the thickness of the 3D porous current collector is... more preferably 20 to 50 μm." in paragraph [53] on page 8 of Lai).
Lai discloses a range that overlaps with the range claimed by the instant application. In the case where the prior art discloses a range that overlaps with the claimed range, a prima facie case of obviousness exists. See MPEP 2144.05 (I).
Lai also teaches that this type of 3D lithiophilic porous metal current collector can effectively maintain a stable skeleton during the lithium metal deposition process as well as allow for lithium deposition without dendrite formation during operation ultimately leading to a long cycle life (see e.g. paragraph [30] on page 5 of Lai). Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify the 3D porous negative electrode current collector of Hou et al. such that the 3D porous negative electrode current collector has a thickness between 20 µm and 50 µm as taught by Lai et al. in order to allow for lithium to form on the negative electrode without the formation of dendrites which leads to longer battery cycle life as suggest by Lai.
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(Hou, figures 1b and 2, annotated for illustration)
Regarding Claim 2, Hou in view of Lai discloses the negative electrode according to claim 1 (see e.g. claim 1 rejection above).
With regards to the claim limitation "wherein lithium plating occurs on the lithiophilic material" this is a functional limitation and does not further limit the structure of the apparatus. Apparatus claims cover what a device is, not what a device does. See MPEP 2114 (II).
Hou, however, does disclose that lithium plating occurs on the lithiophilic material (see e.g. "As shown in Fig. 1b, during Li plating, Li nuclei start to form only on the Au coated backside surface of the skeleton in the initial stage due to its overwhelming preference for metallic Li to nucleate." in Introduction paragraph starting with "Here we tackle" and FIG. 1b; during the lithium growth phase lithium is only grown on the lithiophilic layer as compared to FIG. 1a where lithium plates all over the conductive matrix and no lithiophilic layer is present).
Regarding Claim 3, Hou in view of Lai discloses the negative electrode according to claim 1 (see e.g. claim 1 rejection above).
Hou further discloses that the lithiophilic material is a metal (see e.g. "Au without extra nucleation overpotential as the lithiophilic coating" in Introduction paragraph starting with "Here we tackle" and "Gold (Au) layer was deposited onto one side of CuF by magnetron sputtering" in Section 2.1 page 142).
Regarding Claim 4, Hou in view of Lai discloses the negative electrode according to claim 3 (see e.g. claim 3 rejection above).
Hou further discloses that the metal is Au (see e.g. "Au without extra nucleation overpotential as the lithiophilic coating" in Introduction paragraph starting with "Here we tackle" and "Gold (Au) layer was deposited onto one side of CuF by magnetron sputtering" in Section 2.1 page 142).
Regarding Claim 10, Hou in view of Lai discloses an electrode assembly (see e.g. "In the cells... CuF@Au electrodes were used as work electrodes and Li metal foil as counter electrode separated by a Celgard separator in an electrolyte of 1M lithium bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)imide (LiTFSI) in cosolvent of 1,3-dioxolane (DOL) and 1,2-dimethoxyethane (DME) (volume ratio: 1:1) with 1.0 wt% LiNO3 (DoDo Chem)." in Section 2.3 paragraph beginning with "To characterize" spanning pages 142 and 1433 of Hou; CuF@Au is the electrode as described in claim 1 rejection above) comprising the negative electrode according to claim 1 (see e.g. claim 1 rejection above).
Regarding Claim 11, Hou in view of Lai discloses the electrode assembly according to claim 10 (see e.g. claim 10 rejection above).
Hou further discloses that the electrode assembly is a mono cell, in which two electrodes different from each other are disposed such that a separator is interposed therebetween (see e.g. "In the cells... CuF@Au electrodes were used as work electrodes and Li metal foil as counter electrode separated by a Celgard separator in an electrolyte of 1M lithium bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)imide (LiTFSI) in cosolvent of 1,3-dioxolane (DOL) and 1,2-dimethoxyethane (DME) (volume ratio: 1:1) with 1.0 wt% LiNO3 (DoDo Chem)." in Section 2.3 paragraph beginning with "To characterize" spanning pages 142 and 143; CuF@Au is the electrode as described in claim 1 rejection above).
Regarding Claim 15, Hou in view of Lai discloses an electrode assembly (see e.g. "In the cells, CuF or CuF@Au electrodes were used as work electrodes and Li metal foil as counter electrode separated by a Celgard separator in an electrolyte of 1 M lithium bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)imide (LiTFSI) in cosolvent of 1,3-dioxolane (DOL) and 1,2-dimethoxyethane (DME) (volume ratio: 1:1) with 1.0 wt% LiNO3 (DoDo Chem)." in Section 2.3 paragraph beginning with "To characterize" spanning pages 142 and 143; CuF is the electrode without the lithiophilic material and CuF@Au is the electrode as described in claim 2 rejection above) comprising the negative electrode according to claim 2 (see e.g. claim 2 rejection above).
Regarding Claim 16, Hou in view of Lai discloses an electrode assembly (see e.g. "In the cells, CuF or CuF@Au electrodes were used as work electrodes and Li metal foil as counter electrode separated by a Celgard separator in an electrolyte of 1 M lithium bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)imide (LiTFSI) in cosolvent of 1,3-dioxolane (DOL) and 1,2-dimethoxyethane (DME) (volume ratio: 1:1) with 1.0 wt% LiNO3 (DoDo Chem)." in Section 2.3 paragraph beginning with "To characterize" spanning pages 142 and 143; CuF is the electrode without the lithiophilic material and CuF@Au is the electrode as described in claim 3 rejection above) comprising the negative electrode according to claim 3 (see e.g. claim 3 rejection above).
Regarding Claim 17, Hou in view of Lai discloses an electrode assembly (see e.g. "In the cells, CuF or CuF@Au electrodes were used as work electrodes and Li metal foil as counter electrode separated by a Celgard separator in an electrolyte of 1 M lithium bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)imide (LiTFSI) in cosolvent of 1,3-dioxolane (DOL) and 1,2-dimethoxyethane (DME) (volume ratio: 1:1) with 1.0 wt% LiNO3 (DoDo Chem)." in Section 2.3 paragraph beginning with "To characterize" spanning pages 142 and 143; CuF is the electrode without the lithiophilic material and CuF@Au is the electrode as described in claim 4 rejection above) comprising the negative electrode according to claim 4 (see e.g. claim 4 rejection above).
Regarding Claim 18, Hou in view of Lai discloses the negative electrode according to claim 1 (see e.g. claim 1 rejection above).
Hou further discloses that the lithiophilic material is formed on essentially the entire surface of the negative electrode current collector except the first surface of the negative electrode current collector (see e.g. "lithiophilic layer coated on the 'backside' surface" in Introduction paragraph starting with "Here we tackle" and FIGs. 1b and 3f and annotated figure below).
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(Hou, figure 3f, annotated for illustration)
Regarding Claim 19, Hou in view of Lai discloses the negative electrode according to claim 1 (see e.g. claim 1 rejection above).
Hou further discloses that the lithiophilic material is formed on essentially the entire surface of the inner pore (see e.g. FIGs. 1b and 3b and annotated figure below).
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(Hou, figure 1b, annotated for illustration)
Conclusion
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/J.J.E./Examiner, Art Unit 1723
/TONG GUO/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 1723