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and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114.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 February 9, 2026 and amendments filed on January 12, 2026 have been entered.
Summary
Applicant’s arguments and claim amendments submitted January 12, 2026 have been entered into the file. Currently, claims 9 and 18 are cancelled, claims 1, 3-4, 7, 10, 12-13, and 16 are amended, and claims 19-20 are withdrawn from consideration, resulting in claims 1-8 and 10-17 pending for examination.
Claim Interpretation
On pages 8 of the response received January 12, 2026, Applicant states that “D, G, A, as defined in claim 1, are mere numbers before the units, not including the units”. Therefore, D, G, and A in the equation presented in instant claims 1 and 10 are interpreted as numbers not including the units associated with them. For example, D is the numerical value for a particle size of the negative electrode active material when the particle size value has units of µm.
Claim Objections
Regarding claims 1 and 10, claims 1 and 10 recite “the negative electrode active material comprises a mixture of a silicon-based material and graphite, a binder, and a conductive agent”. It appears that applicant intends for these claims to recite “the negative electrode active material layer comprises”, as disclosed in the instant specification (instant specification [61]), and the claim is interpreted as such. It is suggested that claims 1 and 10 be amended to recite “the negative electrode active material layer comprises”.
Regarding claims 7 and 16, it is suggested that these claims be amended to recite “a circularity of
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of 35 U.S.C. 112(a):
(a) IN GENERAL.—The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor or joint inventor of carrying out the invention.
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112:
The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor of carrying out his invention.
Claims 1-8 and 10-17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), first paragraph, as failing to comply with the written description requirement. The claim(s) contains subject matter which was not described in the specification in such a way as to reasonably convey to one skilled in the relevant art that the inventor or a joint inventor, or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the inventor(s), at the time the application was filed, had possession of the claimed invention.
Regarding claims 1 and 10, on page 10 of the response received September 15, 2025, applicant appears to allege that support for the A range is in Table 1 of the instant disclosure.
However, a general disclosure of the range is not present in the instant disclosure. Additionally, the Embodiments of Tables 1 and 2 are for a specific composition that is not claimed, wherein the negative electrode active material is a silicon-based material and graphite and the negative electrode active material slurry comprises styrene-butadiene polymer, sodium carboxymethyl cellulose, and conductive carbon black (instant specification [119]).
Therefore, the instant disclosure does not provide adequate support for the range of A recited in claims 1 and 10. Appropriate correction is required.
Additionally, a general disclosure of the compacted density range, as claimed in instant claim 1, is not present in the instant disclosure. Additionally, the Embodiments of Tables 1 and 2 are for a specific composition that is not claimed, wherein the negative electrode active material is a silicon-based material and graphite and the negative electrode active material slurry comprises styrene-butadiene polymer, sodium carboxymethyl cellulose, and conductive carbon black (instant specification [119]).
Therefore, the instant disclosure does not provide adequate support for the range of the compacted density recited in claims 1 and 10. Appropriate correction is required.
Claims 2-8 and 11-17 are dependent on claims 1 and 10, respectively, and therefore, for the reasons outlined with respect to claim 1, these claims also contain subject matter which was not described in the specification in such a way as to reasonably convey to one skilled in the relevant art that the inventor or a joint inventor, or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C 112, the inventor(s) at the time the application was filed, had possession of the claimed invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(d):
(d) REFERENCE IN DEPENDENT FORMS.—Subject to subsection (e), a claim in dependent form shall contain a reference to a claim previously set forth and then specify a further limitation of the subject matter claimed. A claim in dependent form shall be construed to incorporate by reference all the limitations of the claim to which it refers.
The following is a quotation of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, fourth paragraph:
Subject to the following paragraph [i.e., the fifth paragraph of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112], a claim in dependent form shall contain a reference to a claim previously set forth and then specify a further limitation of the subject matter claimed. A claim in dependent form shall be construed to incorporate by reference all the limitations of the claim to which it refers.
Claims 2-4 and 11-13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(d) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, 4th paragraph, as being of improper dependent form for failing to further limit the subject matter of the claim upon which it depends, or for failing to include all the limitations of the claim upon which it depends.
Regarding claims 2 and 11, these claims recite “wherein the negative electrode active material layer further comprises a binder”. However, claims 1 and 10 already require the negative electrode active material layer comprise a binder.
Applicant may cancel the claim(s), amend the claim(s) to place the claim(s) in proper dependent form, rewrite the claim(s) in independent form, or present a sufficient showing that the dependent claim(s) complies with the statutory requirements.
Claims 3-4 and 12-13 are rejected as they depend from claims 2 and 11, respectively.
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.
Claims 1-2, 4, 6, 8, 10-11, 13, 15, and 17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Shirane (US 2009/0123840 A1) in view of Kawakami (US 6730434 B1) and Tsukamoto (US 6,761,744 B1).
Regarding claims 1 and 10, Example 5 ([113]) of Shirane teaches an electrochemical device (battery) comprising a positive electrode (2, [104]), a separator (polypropylene separator 3B, [104]), and a negative electrode (1, [104]), wherein the negative electrode comprising a negative electrode current collector (current collector 10, [102]) and a negative electrode active material layer (mixture layer 12B, [101-102]), the negative electrode active material layer comprises a negative electrode active material (graphite [113]), and the negative electrode active material layer comprises a first negative electrode active material layer (mixture layer 12B, [110]).
Shirane further teaches that graphite has a gram capacity of 372 mAh/g (Shirane [4]), the compacted density being 1.7 g/cm3 (Shirane [113]), and the negative electrode active material layer comprising a binder (styrene-butadiene rubber, Shirane [113]).
Shirane does not expressly teach an embodiment in which the electrochemical device is in an electronic device. However, Shirane recites that “with the advancement of portable and cordless electronic instruments, there is a growing expectation for non-aqueous electrolyte secondary batteries smaller in size, lighter in weight, and higher in energy density” (Shirane [3]).
Since Shirane teaches a non-aqueous electrolyte secondary battery (Shirane abstract) and that these batteries are used in electronic devices, it would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to fabricate an electronic device comprising the electrochemical device of Shirane in order to obtain an electronic device suitable for a desired application.
Example 5 of Shirane is silent to the size of the graphite.
Kawakami teaches that it is known and suitable to use graphite having a particle size of 2 µm in a negative electrode for an electrochemical device (Kawakami Example 5, col 27).
Since Shirane is silent to the graphite size and Kawakami teaches that a size of 2 µm is suitable, it would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to use graphite having a size of 2 µm, thus being within the claimed range of 0.2 µm to 10.0 µm, in the negative electrode of Shirane in order to obtain the predictable result of a negative electrode comprising graphite for use in an electrochemical device.
Example 5 of Shirane does not teach the negative electrode active material layer comprising a silicon-based material and a conductive agent.
Tsukamoto teaches that adding silicon oxide to a graphite containing electrode results in “a significant increase in the rechargeable capacity” relative to an electrode using graphite alone (Tsukamoto Col. 3 lines 10-16).
Shirane teaches silicon oxide coated with a conductive agent (carbon nanofibers, CNF) for use in negative electrodes (Shirane Example 2).
Since Tsukamoto teaches that it is known to add silicon oxide to graphite containing electrodes in order to increase rechargeable capacity and Shirane teaches a silicon oxide coated with a conductive agent (CNF), it would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to add the CNF-coated silicon oxide of Shirane Example 2 to the negative electrode of Shirane Example 5, thus resulting in the negative electrode active material layer further comprising a silicon-based material and a conductive agent, in order to increase the rechargeable capacity.
Example 5 of Shirane does not explicitly teach the first region being continuous and at least a part of one of the at least one second region being surrounded by the first region.
However, Shirane further teaches an embodiment in which, when the electrochemical device is at 0% SOC, the first negative electrode active material layer comprises a first region (grooves 14A, Fig. 3A) and at least one second region (16A Fig. 3A, blocks of negative electrode mixture layer [53]), the first region being continuous as a whole (14A, Fig.3A), and at least a part of the second region being surrounded by the first region (16A, Fig. 3A). Since Shirane teaches that this is a suitable configuration for their invention, it would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to use this configuration of the grooves for the negative electrode of Shirane Example 5 in order to obtain an electrochemical device with performance suitable for a desired application.
Example 5 of Shirane is silent regarding the area of the second region.
Shirane further teaches that the groove size and spacing is tuned based on the thickness of the negative electrode active material layer (mixture layer) and that the shape of the grooves is not limited to a rectangular shape and can be any shape as long as they still perform the desired function of absorbing volume changes of the active material (Shirane [50-51] and [55-56]).
Since modified Shirane teaches a particle diameter within the claimed range of 0.2 µm to 10.0 µm, Shirane teaches a gram capacity within the range of 355 mAh/g to 4200 mAh/g, and Shirane teaches that the groove size, shape, and spacing can be tuned as long as the grooves still perform the function of absorbing volume changes of the active material during charging and discharging cycles, it would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to tune the groove size, shape, and spacing, including groove parameters resulting in an area satisfying the formula of instant claims 1 and 10 and within the claimed range, in order to achieve a negative electrode with suitable performance for a desired application.
Regarding claims 2 and 11, Shirane in view of Kawakami and Tsukamoto teaches all features of claims 1 and 10, as described above. Shirane teaches the negative electrode active material layer comprising a binder (styrene-butadiene copolymer, Shirane [113]).
Regarding claims 4 and 13, Shirane in view of Kawakami and Tsukamoto teaches all features of claims 1-2 and 10-11, as described above. Modified Shirane further teaches the first region not being coated with the negative electrode active material or the binder (Fig. 3A, the grooves expose the current collector [50]), and the second region being coated with the negative electrode active material and the binder (16A Fig. 3A, blocks of mixture layer (negative electrode active material layer) [51]).
Regarding claims 6 and 15, Shirane in view of Kawakami and Tsukamoto teaches all features of claims 1 and 10, as described above. Modified Shirane further teaches the at least one second region including a plurality of second regions and the plurality of second regions distributed in the form of an array (16A, Fig. 3A).
Regarding claims 8 and 17, Shirane in view of Kawakami and Tsukamoto teaches all features of claims 1 and 10, as described above.
Shirane further teaches the negative electrode active material layer having a compacted density (M) of 1.7 g/cm3 (Example 5, packing density per unit volume of the mixture layer [113]) and the negative electrode active material having a gram capacity (G) of 372 mAh/g (graphite [4]). Example 5 of Shirane teaches the compacted density and gram capacity satisfying the formula of instant claims 8 and 17 (calculations shown below, 1.15 ≤ 1.7 ≤ 2.07).
2500
372
+
1800
=
1.15
4500
372
+
1800
=
2.07
Claims 3 and 12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Shirane in view of Kawakami and Tsukamoto, as applied above for instant claims 1-2 and 10-11, and in further view of JP376 (JP 3764470 B1, English translation document used for text citations, original document used for Figure citations).
Regarding claims 3 and 12, Shirane in view of Kawakami and Tsukamoto teaches all features of claims 1-2 and 10-11, as described above. Shirane teaches that the grooves may “have several kinds of structure, and any structure can be chosen to achieve the effect” of their invention (Shirane [51]). Shirane further teaches that the grooves can be “curved along the lateral direction of the negative electrode” (Shirane [55]).
Shirane does not teach the first region coated with the negative electrode active material and the binder, and the second region not coated with the negative electrode active material or the binder.
JP376 teaches a negative electrode for a secondary battery (JP376_english, abstract pg. 1) that can relieve stress caused by volume changes of the active material during charge and discharge of the battery due to the presence of vertical holes in that negative electrode active material layer (JP376_english, pg. 3 Advantageous-Effects section; JP376_original Fig. 11).
Since Shirane teaches that the grooves may be different shapes, as long as they perform the function of absorbing volume change in the mixture layer (Shirane [50]), and JP376 teaches that it is suitable to add vertical holes to a negative electrode active material layer to relieve stress due to volume changes of the active material, thus serving the same purpose as the grooves of Shirane, it would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to fabricate the negative electrode of modified Shirane wherein the negative electrode active material layer has vertical holes instead of the grooves of modified Shirane Example 5, in order to relieve pressure due to volume expansion of the negative electrode active material. The simple substitution of one known element for another yields predictable results to someone of ordinary skill in the art. See MPEP 2413(I)(B).
As required by instant claims 1 and 10, the first region must be “continuous as a whole” and at least part of the second region surrounded by the first region. Therefore, in this case, the vertical holes (holes not coated by active material or binder) would be the second region, and the remaining area of the negative electrode active material layer would be the first region, thus resulting in the first region being coated with the active material and binder, and the second region not being coated with the active material and binder.
Claims 5, 7, 14, and 16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Shirane in view of Kawakami and Tsukamoto, and in further view of He (He, Y. et al. Alumina-Coated Patterned Amorphous Silicon as the Anode for a Lithium-Ion Battery with High Coulombic Efficiency. Advanced Materials. 23, 4938-4941 (2011)).
Regarding claims 5 and 14, Shirane in view of Kawakami and Tsukamoto teaches all features of claims 1 and 10, as described above. Shirane does not teach a second negative electrode active material layer.
He teaches the addition of a layer comprising Al2O3 (second negative electrode active material layer) to the surface of a patterned Si electrode using atomic layer deposition (“second regions” containing Si, silicon columns He pg. 4940 right column paragraph 3-4). He further teaches that the layer stabilized cycling performance and reduced cracking of the silicon (He pg. 4940 right column paragraphs 3-4). He further teaches that the thickness of the Al2O3 layer is “precisely controllable” and that an approximately 2 nm coating thickness is suitable and provides desired performance (He pg. 4938 right column paragraphs 3-4). He teaches that the first negative electrode active material layer is about 500 nm (He pg. 4938 right column first paragraph). Therefore, He teaches a thickness of the first negative electrode active material layer being greater than 3 times a thickness of the second negative electrode active material layer (500 nm/2 nm = 250).
Since modified Shirane and He both teach patterned electrodes with “second regions” comprising Si and He teaches that the addition of a layer comprising Al2O3 -can stabilize cycling performance and reducing cracking, it would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to add a Al2O3 coating layer (second negative electrode active material layer) on top of the first negative electrode active material layer of Shirane, wherein a thickness of the first negative electrode active material layer is greater than 3 times a thickness of the second negative electrode active material layer, in order to improve cycling performance and reduce Si cracking.
Regarding claims 7 and 16, Shirane in view of Kawakami and Tsukamoto teaches all features of claims 1 and 10, as described above. Example 5 of Shirane teaches the second region having a rectangular shape. Shirane teaches that the grooves may “have several kinds of structure, and any structure can be chosen to achieve the effect” of their invention (Shirane [51]). Shirane further teaches that the grooves can be “curved along the lateral direction of the negative electrode” (Shirane [55]).
Shirane does not teach the second region having a circularity within a range of 0.3 to 1.0.
He teaches a patterned silicon negative electrode for use in lithium-ion batteries (He title), wherein second regions are coated with a negative electrode active material (silicon columns, He pg. 4938 right column first paragraph) and have a circular shape (He Fig. 1b), in order to prevent cracking and deformation due to volume expansion during charging-discharging cycles (He pg. 4938 right column paragraph 2).
Since He teaches the use of circular second regions and Shirane teaches that shapes other than the rectangular shape expressly taught in the examples of Shirane may be used, it would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to fabricate the electrochemical device of modified Shirane, wherein the second region has a circular shape, thus resulting in a circularity within the claimed range of 0.3 to 1.0, in order to obtain an electrochemical device with performance suitable for a desired application.
Response to Arguments
Response – Claim Objections
The objection to claims 1 is withdrawn due to Applicant’s explanation on pages 8-9 of the response received January 21, 2026.
Response – Claim Rejections 35 USC § 112(a)
The rejections of claims 1-8 and 10-17 under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), first paragraph, as failing to comply with the written description requirement are maintained. As described above, a general disclosure of the range is not present in the instant disclosure. Additionally, the Embodiments of Tables 1 and 2 are for a specific composition that is not claimed, wherein the negative electrode active material is a silicon-based material and graphite and the negative electrode active material slurry comprises styrene-butadiene polymer, sodium carboxymethyl cellulose, and conductive carbon black (instant specification [119]).
Response – Claim Rejections 35 USC § 112(b)
The rejections of claims 3-4, 7, 12-13, and 16 under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) for insufficient antecedent basis for the limitation “the second region” are overcome by Applicant’s amendments to the claims in the response received January 12, 2026. These rejections are withdrawn.
Response – Claim Rejections 35 USC § 103
Applicant’s arguments filed January 12, 2026 have been fully considered and are not persuasive.
On page 10 of the response, applicant appears to allege that the range of A is “critical for the effect of the present application” and references Tables 1 and 2 of the instant disclosure and the amended claim 1 to support this allegation. Applicant appears to further allege that the data are commensurate in scope with claim 1.
These arguments are not persuasive. The claimed range is not commensurate in scope with the data presented in Tables 1 and 2. The Examples (Embodiments) of Tables 1 and 2 are for a specific composition, wherein the negative electrode active material is a silicon-based material and graphite and the negative electrode active material slurry comprises styrene-butadiene polymer, sodium carboxymethyl cellulose, and conductive carbon black (instant specification [119]). This composition is not claimed.
Therefore, the arguments presented by applicant and the data presented in Tables 1 and 2 do not provide evidence of the criticality of A being in the range of 2.6 to 52 µm2 and are not commensurate in scope with instant claim 1.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Yamamoto (US 20100040951 A1): appears to disclose a negative electrode comprising a current collector having a plurality of bumps and two active material layers on its surface, wherein the active material comprising SiOx (abstract).
Hirose (US 20100124706 A1): appears to disclose an anode active material layer comprising coating and non-coating sections (abstract, Fig. 1)
Lei (US 20190393513 A1): appears to disclose an electrode comprising a coating layer with through holes (abstract, Fig. 3A-3E).
Xiao (Xiao, X. et al. Improved cycling stability of silicon thin film electrodes through patterning for high energy density lithium batteries. Journal of Power Sources. 196, 1409-1416 (2011)): appears to disclose a patterned Si electrode for lithium batteries that provides a stress relaxation in response to volume changes during lithiation and de-lithiation (abstract).
Ko (Ko M. et al. Challenges in Accommodating Volume Change of Si Anodes for Li-Ion Batteries. ChemElectroChem. 2, 1645-1651. (2015)): appears to disclose methods for accommodating for volume changes in Si anodes, including patterned thin films (pg. 1646, 2.2. Patterned Thin Films).
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/J.S.C./Examiner, Art Unit 1789
/MARLA D MCCONNELL/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 1789
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