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 .
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election without traverse of claims 1-20 in the reply filed on 06/17/2025 is acknowledged.
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statements (IDS) submitted are being considered by the examiner.
Drawings
The drawings are objected to as failing to comply with 37 CFR 1.84(p)(5) because they include the following reference character(s) not mentioned in the description: 31 and 32 in figures 11-12. Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d), or amendment to the specification to add the reference character(s) in the description in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(b) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
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) 1-12 and 15-16 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ito (US20180212233A1) in view of Kawai (US20180183103A1).
As to claims 1 and 3, Ito teaches a composite cathode active material including: a core particle; a first coating layer; and a second coating layer; wherein the core particle includes a cathode active material (par. [0007]). Ito discloses that the cathode layer 10 includes the composite cathode active material 100 and the solid electrolyte 300 (par. [0055]). During the formation of the cathode/anode, Ito describes that the current collector used in the cathode layer 10 and the anode layer 20 may be, for example, a plate or foil formed of In, Cu, Mg, stainless steel, Ti, Fe, Co, Ni, Zn, Al, Ge, Li, or an alloy thereof (par. [0114]). During the formation of the cathode, a mixture of the composite cathode active material formed using lithium iron phosphate (par. [0061]), a sulfide based solid electrolyte (par. [0100]), and a solvent are combined to form a slurry which is later applied on a current collector (par. [0112]). Ito fails to disclose a phosphate based solid electrolyte.
Kawai teaches a secondary battery using a positive electrode active material with a high potential and a phosphate-based solid electrolyte (par. [0007]). The positive electrode active material layer 54 includes a positive electrode active material and a phosphate-based solid electrolyte (par. [0024]). As the phosphate-based solid electrolyte, an inorganic phosphate can be suitably used. Examples of inorganic phosphates include lithium-aluminum-germanium-phosphate (Li1.5Al0.5Ge1.5(PO4)3) due to excellent lithium conductivity thereof (par. [0029]).
Due to the prior art listed employing the same cathode active material and solid electrolyte, these layers should behave in the same manner as the application and therefore form a phase in between the active material and solid electrolyte. Also, the electrical conductivity of these two layers satisfies the requirement of claim 1 and 3 due to the same materials being employed Li1.5Al0.5Ge1.5(PO4)3 and lithium iron phosphate as taught by Kawai and Ito respectively. We also expect that an electronic conduction path may be formed without using a conductive material, and accordingly, an interphase between the solid electrolyte and the cathode is easily formed.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to add the solid electrolyte of Kawai’s active material layer to Ito’s composite cathode to provide excellent lithium conductivity (par. [0029]).
As to claims 2, 4-5 and 11-12, modified Ito discloses a cathode layer comprising a composite active material (lithium iron phosphate, par. [0061]) and a solid electrolyte (Li1.5Al0.5Ge1.5(PO4)3) (par. [0029]). By the prior art employing the same materials listed in the application, the combination of Ito and Kawai have the total content on the interphase based on inherency. The limitations that are inherent include: an amorphous interphase, the interphase being disposed/formed between the solid electrolyte and the cathode active material, and the peak intensity ratio of the composite. See MPEP 2112.
• “Products of identical chemical composition cannot have mutually exclusive properties.” A chemical composition and its properties are inseparable. Therefore, if the prior art teaches the identical chemical structure, the properties applicant discloses and/or claims are necessarily present. In re Spada, 911 F.2d 705, 709, 15 USPQ2d 1655, 1658 (Fed. Cir. 1990).
As to claims 6-7, modified Ito discloses a composite cathode active material formed using lithium iron phosphate (par. [0061]). The lithium iron phosphate compound follows the requirements of formula 1 and 2 wherein variables m, a, and n are equal to 1.
As to claims 8-9, modified Ito teaches a sulfide based solid electrolyte (par. [0100]) and discloses that an inorganic sulfide based solid electrolyte prepared by adding Li3PO4, LISICON, LIPON, Thio-LISICON, LATP, or the like (par. [0100]) but not the claimed phosphate electrolyte material.
Kawai teaches a secondary battery using a positive electrode active material with a high potential and a phosphate-based solid electrolyte (par. [0007]). The positive electrode active material layer 54 includes a positive electrode active material and a phosphate-based solid electrolyte (par. [0024]). As the phosphate-based solid electrolyte, an inorganic phosphate can be suitably used. Examples of inorganic phosphates include lithium-aluminum-germanium-phosphate (Li1.5Al0.5Ge1.5(PO4)3) due to excellent lithium conductivity thereof (par. [0029]). Kawai’s solid electrolyte follows compound Li+1+xAlxGe2-x(PO4)3 wherein x = 0.5.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to add the solid electrolyte of Kawai’s active material layer to Ito’s composite cathode to provide excellent lithium conductivity (par. [0029]).
As to claim 10, modified Ito discloses a cathode layer comprising a composite active material (lithium iron phosphate, par. [0061]) and a solid electrolyte (Li1.5Al0.5Ge1.5(PO4)3).
Kawai further teaches that the amount of the positive electrode active material in the positive electrode active material layer is desirably at least 70% by mass and that the phosphate-based solid electrolyte is contained desirably in an amount of 0.01% by mass to 20% by mass (par. [0031]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to add the mass distribution of Kawai’s invention to Ito’s composite cathode to further provide excellent lithium conductivity (par. [0029]).
As to claims 15-16, Ito discloses an all solid state secondary battery (fig. 1 – 1) comprising a cathode layer (fig. 1 – 10), an anode layer (fig. 1 – 20), and a solid electrolyte layer (fig. 1 – 30) between the cathode and anode layer. The cathode layer comprises the composite cathode active material 100 and the solid electrolyte 300 (par. [0055]). During the formation of the cathode, a mixture of the composite cathode active material formed using lithium iron phosphate (par. [0061]). Ito fails to disclose a phosphate based solid electrolyte.
Kawai teaches a secondary battery using a positive electrode active material with a high potential and a phosphate-based solid electrolyte (par. [0007]). The positive electrode active material layer 54 includes a positive electrode active material and a phosphate-based solid electrolyte (par. [0024]). As the phosphate-based solid electrolyte, an inorganic phosphate can be suitably used. Examples of inorganic phosphates include lithium-aluminum-germanium-phosphate (Li1.5Al0.5Ge1.5(PO4)3) due to excellent lithium conductivity thereof (par. [0029]).
Due to the prior art listed employing the same cathode active material and solid electrolyte, these layers should behave in the same manner as the application and therefore form a phase in between the active material and solid electrolyte. Also, the electrical conductivity of these two layers satisfies the claim requirements due to the same materials being employed Li1.5Al0.5Ge1.5(PO4)3 and lithium iron phosphate as taught by Kawai and Ito respectively. We also expect that an electronic conduction path may be formed without using a conductive material, and accordingly, an interphase between the solid electrolyte and the cathode is easily formed.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to add the solid electrolyte of Kawai’s active material layer to Ito’s composite cathode to provide excellent lithium conductivity (par. [0029]).
Claim(s) 13-14 and 17-18 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ito (US20180212233A1) in view of Kawai (US20180183103A1) as applied above to claim 1 and further in view of Tu (US20200220159A1).
As to claim 13, modified Ito discloses the core particle 101 having a layered halite structure (par. [0062]). Ito fails to disclose the porosity of the composite cathode.
Tu teaches a positive electrode for a solid-state lithium battery, the positive electrode including: a positive active material, and a first solid electrolyte (par. [0004]). Tu discloses that the positive electrode has a porosity of less than 25 percent (%), 0.01% to 25%, 0.1% to 20%, 0.5% to 15%, or 1% to 10%, based on a total volume of the positive electrode (par. [0032]). The combination of particle sizes of the positive active material and the first solid electrolyte permits use of the above-disclosed porosity while also providing suitable performance, e.g., specific capacity, energy density, or power density (par. [0032]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to add the porosity of Tu’s invention to Ito’s composite cathode to further provide suitable performance (par. [0032]).
As to claim 14, modified Ito teaches the use of a conductive agent within the positive electrode active material layer (par. [0030]). Ito fails to disclose the use of no conductive agent in the composite cathode.
Tu teaches that a content of the positive active material in the positive electrode, e.g., a loading of the positive active material in the positive electrode, is 60 weight percent (wt %) to 90 wt % (par. [0031]) and a content of the first solid electrolyte may be 10 wt % to 40 wt % (par. [0034]). The positive active material can comprise lithium transition metal oxide, a transition metal sulfide, or the like (par. [0022]). The positive active material within the positive electrode (composite cathode) does not comprise any additional conductive additives. The first solid electrolyte may comprise a sulfide solid electrolyte (par. [0025]) or an oxide solid electrolyte (par. [0026]). The solid electrolyte within the positive electrode does not comprise any additional conductive additives. The weight distribution of active material and solid electrolyte does not permit the need for a conductive agent because the combination of positive active material and first solid electrolyte having the disclosed particle sizes permits use of the disclosed content of the positive active material solid electrolyte in the positive electrode (par. [0031]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to forgo the conductive agent in Ito’s active material layer as disclosed in Tu’s invention to improve specific energy and energy density (par. [0032]).
As to claim 17, modified Ito discloses an all solid state battery (fig. 1 – 1) that has a stacked structure including a cathode layer 10, an anode layer 20, and a solid electrolyte layer 30 positioned between the cathode layer 10 and the anode layer 20. Ito fails to disclose wherein the all solid state battery is a multi-layer ceramic battery nor the use of a ceramic in the solid electrolyte.
Tu further teaches that the first solid electrolyte may comprise a ceramic (par. [0026]) wherein the positive electrode comprises the positive active material and a first solid electrolyte (par. [0024]). The use of a ceramic solid electrolyte ultimately provides the positive electrode (par. [0007]) and aids in providing a particle diameter within a specified range to improve the performance of the battery (par. [0028]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art use a ceramic as the solid electrolyte as taught by Tu to Ito’s stacked all solid state battery to improve the performance of the battery (par. [0028]).
As to claim 18, modified Ito discloses an all solid state battery (fig. 1 – 1) that has a stacked structure (laminate structure) and a ceramic solid electrolyte. The all solid state battery comprises a cathode layer (fig. 1 – 10), an anode layer (fig. 1 – 20), and a solid electrolyte layer (fig. 1 – 30) between the cathode and anode layer. The cathode layer comprises the composite cathode active material 100 and the solid electrolyte 300 (par. [0055]). The cathode active material layer 100 directly faces the anode active material layer 200 in fig. 1 of Ito’s all solid state battery 1.
Claim(s) 19-20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ito (US20180212233A1) in view of Kawai (US20180183103A1) as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Tu (US20200220159A1) and Petkov (US8304115B1).
As to claim 19, modified Ito discloses a stacked all solid state battery comprising a cell unit including a cathode layer (fig. 1 – 10), an anode layer (fig. 1 – 20), and a solid electrolyte layer (fig. 1 – 30) between the cathode and anode layer.
Petkov teaches a multi-layer ceramic battery (MLCB) utilizing a sandwich structure that can be a simple trilayer cell construction (FIG. 3) or a multi layered device with either parallel internal cell units (FIG. 4) or cell units in series (FIG. 5) (col. 4, lines 59-65). In example 4, Petkov discloses a multilayered battery consisting of several parallel cells (col. 8, lines 40-50) wherein the cells can have internal metal current collectors, which join to external current collectors or battery poles (col. 4, lines 65-67) as pictured in fig. 4. The plurality of cells connected in parallel provide batteries with higher capacities in proportion to the number of parallel cells (col. 4, lines 60-65).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to add the plurality of cells of Petkov’s MLCB to Ito’s all solid state battery to provide batteries with higher capacities (col. 4, lines 60-65).
As to claim 20, modified Ito discloses an all solid state secondary battery (fig. 1 – 1; par. [0121]) comprising a cathode layer (fig. 1 – 10), an anode layer (fig. 1 – 20), and a solid electrolyte layer (fig. 1 – 30) between the cathode and anode layer. The cathode layer comprises the composite cathode active material 100 and the solid electrolyte 300 (par. [0055]). The anode layer comprises anode particles 200 which includes the anode particles 200 may be prepared using an anode active material by a known method (par. [0113]).
Conclusion
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JADE SIMMONS
Examiner
Art Unit 1727
/Maria Laios/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1727