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 .
Claim Status
This Office action is in response to the RCE filed on 6/20/2025.
Claims 1 and 8-11 have been amended with claim 12 newly added.
Claims 1-12 are currently pending.
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and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114.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 10/10/2025 has been entered.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 10/10/2025 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
Examiner is not clear as to what the applicant is arguing at the top of page 5 of the remarks where the applicant states “The Office Action appears to equate Sasaki's "cathode active material" described in paragraph [0135] with the claimed first solid electrolyte. However, this interpretation is not reasonable.” The applicant is not claiming a solid electrolyte, the applicant is claiming as per claim 1 of the instant application “A positive electrode material comprising…” When referencing the instant specification, the disclosure is directed towards a positive electrode material that comprises a first and second solid electrolyte particle incorporated into the positive electrode along with the positive electrode active material. This is also what SASAKI discloses in the reference.
Claim Interpretation
Claim 1 recites the limitation “are each in the shape of a particle”, the specification defines the shape of a particle as “In the present disclosure, the term "the shape of a particle" includes the shapes of a needle, a flake, a sphere, and an elliptical sphere.” In essence the specification is defining the shape of a particle to be any shape. This definition adds no defining limitation to the claim making it unclear and open to interpretation. For examination purposes the claim will be interpreted as “the first solid electrolyte and the second solid electrolyte can have any shape.”
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 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. The term "a third electrolyte layer" is not supported in the specification and is . This “third electrolyte” is merely the solid electrolyte layer in the battery cell labeled 202 in figure 2 of the instant disclosure. For examination purposes the limitation will be interpreted as “an electrolyte layer”.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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 1-10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over WO 2019146217 provided in the IDS dated 10/16/2024 with US 20200350624 A1, SASAKI et al. used as an English translation in view of US 10038192 B2, NOGAMI et al.
Regarding claims 1 and 2. SASAKI discloses a positive electrode [0008] material, which is referred to as a cathode comprising:
a positive electrode active material [0134] disclosed as a cathode active material configured to occlude and release metal ions;
a first solid electrolyte [0036] a halide solid electrolyte for its high conductivity and [0134] where the cathode 201 includes a cathode active material and an electrolyte material.
SASAKI does not explicitly disclose mixing two electrolyte particles in the positive active material layer even though they disclose both halides and sulfides can be used
NOGAMI [title] discloses a Solid-state Battery where
NOGAMI [col 8 lines 41-60] disclose a solid electrolyte including a sulfide solid electrolyte, wherein the “sulfide solid electrolytes are preferable. In particular, it is preferable that the same sulfide solid electrolyte be contained in the positive-electrode layer 1 and the first solid electrolyte layer 2a. This is because, if layers containing solid electrolytes with different compositions are in contact with each other, it is highly possible that constituent elements of the solid electrolytes diffuse in the respective layers, which may result in a decrease in lithium ion conductivity. Since the sulfide solid electrolyte is comparatively soft, it can form a good interface even with a transition metal oxide positive-electrode active material that is hard.”
[0135] the first solid electrolyte and the second solid electrolyte are configured to conduct the metal ions
the first solid electrolyte and the second solid electrolyte are each in the shape of a particle [0144].
SASAKI does not directly disclose a proportion x of a volume of the second solid electrolyte to a sum of a volume of the first solid electrolyte and the volume of the second solid electrolyte satisfies 20 x 95 in percentage.
SASAKI [0198] discloses 80g of the first solid electrolyte and 80g of the second solid electrolyte. While the inventive example does not use a sulfide SASAKI [0137] envisions its use. It is reasonable to assume that the similar densities would have the volume fall within the wide claimed range where x is between 20 to 95.
When the reference discloses all the limitations of a claim except a property or function, and the examiner cannot determine whether or not the reference inherently possesses properties which anticipate or render obvious the claimed invention but has basis for shifting the burden of proof to applicant as in In re Fitzgerald, 619 F.2d 67, 205 USPQ 594 (CCPA 1980). See MPEP § § 2112- 2112.02.
SASAKI does not explicitly disclose the properties as claimed in the instant application, however because of the fact that the range of quantities to make the samples are similar it would be reasonable to conclude that the properties of the cell would also be the same. This also applies to claim 2 as well.
SASAKI discloses the positive electrode active material [0134], the first solid electrolyte [0135] (such as a transition metal sulfide), and the second solid electrolyte [0139-0140] are mixed with each other in the positive electrode material [0140] “a lithium salt, one lithium salt selected therefrom may be used alone. Alternatively, a mixture of two or more lithium salts (both sulfur and halide containing) selected therefrom may be used as the lithium salt”.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to have added the sulfide electrolyte particle disclosed by NOGAMI in the cathode active material layer disclosed by SASAKI in order to soften the interface of the cathode and electrolyte thereby forming a good interface.
Regarding claim 3. The positive electrode material according to claim 1, wherein the halide solid electrolyte is represented by the following composition formula (1):
LiαMβXγ...Formula (1), [0031]
where symbols α, β, and γ are each a value greater than 0, a symbol M includes at least one selected from the group consisting of a metal element other than Li and a metalloid element [0033], and a symbol X includes at least one selected from the group consisting of F, Cl, Br, and I. [0034]
Regarding claim 4. The positive electrode material according to claim 3, wherein the symbol M includes yttrium [0040].
Regarding claim 5. The positive electrode material according to claim 3, wherein the symbols α, β, and γ satisfy 2.5 ≤ α ≤ 3, 1 ≤ β ≤ 1.1, and γ = 6. [0043]
For example [0197] Li2.7Y1.1Cl6 meets the limitation of claim 5.
Regarding claim 6. The positive electrode material according to claim 1, wherein the positive electrode active material includes a lithium-containing transition metal composite oxide [0135].
Regarding claim 7. The positive electrode material according to claim 1, wherein the positive electrode active material includes lithium nickel cobalt manganese oxide. [0135] teaches Li(NiCoMn)O2 meeting the limitation of claim 7.
Regarding claim 8. SASAKI discloses a battery [title], comprising:
a positive electrode [0008] including the positive electrode material according to claim 1 which SASAKI calls a cathode;
a negative electrode [0009] which SASAKI calls an anode; and
an electrolyte layer disposed between the positive electrode and the negative electrode [0010].
Regarding claim 9. The battery according to claim 8, wherein the electrolyte layer includes the same material as a material of the second solid electrolyte [0036] “By using the halide solid electrolyte for both the first electrolyte layer 101 and the second electrolyte layer 102”.
Regarding claim 10. The battery according to claim 8, wherein the electrolyte layer includes a halide solid electrolyte different from the halide solid electrolyte included in the second solid electrolyte. SASAKI discloses in table 1 inventive example 1 where the first solid electrolyte is Li2.7Y1.1Cl6 and the second solid electrolyte is Li-3YBr-2Cl2I2 where the second solid electrolyte contains iodine where the first one does not.
Regarding claim 11. SASAKI [0137] discloses the battery according to claim 8, wherein the electrolyte layer includes a sulfide solid electrolyte.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. US 10038192 B2, NOGAMI et al. where a solid-state battery that has a positive-electrode layer, a negative-electrode layer, and a lithium-ion-conducting solid electrolyte layer disposed between the positive-electrode layer and the negative-electrode layer. The positive-electrode layer and/or the solid electrolyte layer contains a sulfide solid electrolyte, the negative-electrode layer and/or the solid electrolyte layer contains a solid electrolyte comprising a hydride of a complex, and at least part of the sulfide solid electrolyte is in contact with at least part of the solid electrolyte comprising a hydride of a complex is disclosed.
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/L.L./Examiner, Art Unit 1727
/Maria Laios/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1727