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 .
Response to Amendment
The amendment filed 06/11/2025 has been entered. Claims 1 and 4-7 are currently pending. Claims 2-3 are cancelled. Support for amended claim 1 is found in the claims as originally filed as well as Example 1 of the instant specification.
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.
Claims 1 and 4-7 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Nakanishi et al. (US 20160322637 A1) in view of Ide et al. (US 20140183406 A1).
Regarding claim 1, Nakanishi discloses a negative electrode active material for a secondary battery (paragraph 0011) comprising silicate composite particles including silicon particles and a silicate phase, wherein the silicon particles are dispersed in the silicate phase (paragraph 0011). Nakanishi further discloses that the silicon particles can incorporate other elements (paragraph 0061). Nakanishi is silent regarding the silicon particles contain at least germanium as a first element, at least part of the first element is dissolved in the silicon particles and forms a solid solution, and the silicon particles contain 0.1 atom% or more and 20 atom% or less of the first element.
Ide discloses a negative electrode active material for a nonaqueous secondary comprising a silicon solid solution which can contain a group 4 nonmetal or semimetal element incorporated in silicon (Ide paragraph 0009). Ide further discloses that the silicon solid solution is in particulate form (Ide paragraph 0047). The preferred solute element in the silicon solid solution may be germanium (Ide paragraph 0018). The solute element is included in an amount of 0.1 to 10 at%, within the claimed range to improve charge/discharge cycle characteristics and reversibility of the initial charge/discharge cycle (Ide paragraph 0033). The reference teaches that the negative active material particles bring about improvement on charge/discharge cycle characteristics of a nonaqueous secondary battery, increase in reversibility in the initial charge/discharge cycle of a nonaqueous secondary battery, and suppression of expansion of a negative electrode active material layer. Ide and Nakanishi are analogous because they both disclose negative active materials comprising silicon particles for secondary batteries.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the silicon particles disclosed by Nakanishi to include germanium in a solid solution in the amount disclosed by Ide. Doing so would bring about improvement on charge/discharge cycle characteristics of a nonaqueous secondary battery, increase in reversibility in the initial charge/discharge cycle of a nonaqueous secondary battery, and suppression of expansion of a negative electrode active material layer.
Regarding claim 4, modified Nakanishi discloses the limitations of claim 1. Nakanishi further discloses that an average particle size of the silicon particles is 100 nm to 10 µm (paragraph 0062), overlapping the claimed range of 1 nm or more and 1000 nm or less.
Regarding claim 5, modified Nakanishi discloses the limitations of claim 1. Nakanishi further discloses that the silicate phase contains Li (paragraphs 0011, 0013), and at least one element selected from the group consisting of alkali metal elements other than Li (paragraph 0011-0014, Met2 can represent a mixture of alkali metal elements including Li and Na).
Regarding claim 6, modified Nakanishi discloses the limitations of claim 1. Nakanishi further discloses that the silicate phase further contains an element M, and the element M is at least one selected from the group consisting of B, Al, Zr, Nb, Ta, La, V, Y, Ti, P, Bi, Zn, Sn, Pb, Sb, Co, Er, F, and W (paragraph 0021, silicate salt contains a group 3 to group 13 metal).
Regarding claim 7, modified Nakanishi discloses the limitations of claim 1. Nakanishi further discloses a secondary battery comprising a positive electrode, a negative electrode, an electrolyte, and a separator interposed between the positive electrode and the negative electrode (paragraphs 0080, 0131), wherein the negative electrode includes a current collector (paragraph 0082, copper foil) and a negative electrode active material layer, and the negative electrode active material layer includes the negative electrode active material for a secondary battery (paragraph 0082).
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments, see pages 4-6, filed 06/11/2025, with respect to the rejection(s) of claim(s) 1 and 4-7 under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) 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 Ide et al. (US 20140183406 A1).
Regarding claims 1 and 4-7, applicant argues that amended claim 1, which claims 4-7 are dependent upon, recite limitations not anticipated by Nakanishi in view or Hirono and that there is no rational prompting a skilled artisan to derive the claimed configuration. Specifically, applicant argues that Nakanishi and Hirono do not disclose the case where germanium is contained in the recited silicon particles, and that the particles produced by Nakanishi are made in a different production process. These arguments have been fully considered and are persuasive as both references fail to teach the germanium contained in the silicon particles as recited by amended claim 1.
However, Ide discloses a negative electrode active material for a nonaqueous secondary comprising a silicon solid solution which can contain germanium incorporated as a solute in silicon (see claim 1 rejection). The solute element is included in an amount of 0.1 to 10 at%, and the reference teaches that the negative active material particles bring about improvement on charge/discharge cycle characteristics of a nonaqueous secondary battery, increase in reversibility in the initial charge/discharge cycle of a nonaqueous secondary battery, and suppression of expansion of a negative electrode active material layer (see claim 1 rejection). Thus, Ide remedies the limitations not taught by Nakanishi and provides a rationale to one of ordinary skill in the art to modify the active material disclosed by Nakanishi, rendering the claimed configuration obvious.
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.
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/B.T.L./Examiner, Art Unit 1727
/Maria Laios/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1727
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