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 .
Status of Claims
Claims 1-2 and 4-11 are currently pending;
Claim 3 is cancelled;
Claims 4-11 are withdrawn.
Status of Objections and Rejections Pending Since the Office Action Dated 05/30/2025
The drawing objections have been withdrawn in view of Applicant’s amendment;
The 102(a)(1) rejections of claims 1-3 are withdrawn in view of Applicant’s amendment and have been replaced by a 103 rejection.
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.
Claim(s) 1-2 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over He et al. (US-20180375094-A1), hereinafter He, in view of Kung et al. (US-20120288750-A1), hereinafter Kung.
Regarding claim 1, He teaches an anode active material included in an anode material of a battery ([0001]), the anode active material comprising, a silicon structure ([0001]), wherein the silicon structure includes: silicon nanoparticles (fig. 1 [0053] nano silicon core), a metal thin film formed in a core-shell structure on a surface of the silicon nanoparticles (fig. 1; [0053] metal alloy layer 3) to increase electrical conductivity of the silicon nanoparticles (it would be obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art that a metal alloy layer would increase electrical conductivity; [0050]-[0051] high conductivity); and graphene deposited and coated on a surface of the metal thin film (fig. 1; [0053] conductive carbon layer 4; [0017] the carbon of the conductive carbon layer can include graphene) in an environment at a temperature of 25°C to 400°C ([0042] gives example of 320°C and 360°C), wherein the graphene prevents degradation of properties of the metal thin film, enhances mechanical strength, and prevents damage to the silicon nanoparticles due to a volume change of the silicon nanoparticles (these properties would be inherent to the graphene layer; [0051] the composite silicon anode material effectively reduces volume expansion of the nano silicon).
He fails to teach a carbon material and a silicon structure attached to the carbon material, wherein the carbon material is formed of graphene, activated carbon, or a composite of graphene and activated carbon.
Kung is considered analogous to the claimed invention because they are in the same field of negative electrode active material including silicon nanoparticles ([0015];[0021]).
Kung teaches a carbon material and a silicon structure attached to the carbon material, wherein the carbon material is formed of graphene, activated carbon, or a composite of graphene and activated carbon (fig. 1B; [0020]-[0021] graphene sheets mixed with silicon nanoparticles with the nanoparticles dispersed between graphene sheets).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to someone or ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified He with the addition of a carbon material, wherein the silicon structure is attached to the carbon material such as in Kung. Doing so gives combined advantages of high electrical conductivity and structural stability of graphite with the flexibility of graphene as well as in the high Li ion storage capacity of the electrochemically active material (Kung [0021]).
Regarding claim 2, modified He teaches all of the limitations of claim 1. He also teaches that the metal thin film includes at least one or a combination of copper (Cu), nickel (Ni), iron (Fe), platinum (Pt), aluminum (Al), cobalt (Co), ruthenium (Ru), palladium (Pd), chromium (Cr), manganese (Mn), gold (Au), silver (Ag), molybdenum (Mo), rhodium (Rh), tantalum (Ta), titanium (Ti), tungsten (W), uranium (U), vanadium (V), zirconium (Zr), and iridium (Ir) ([0021] aluminum, titanium, nickel, iron, copper, manganese, cobalt).
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim(s) 1-2 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
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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/M.L.K./Examiner, Art Unit 1722
/ANCA EOFF/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1722