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 Objections
Claim 8 is objected to because of the following informalities: It is unclear where the "or" statement interacts with the "and" statement, the examiner suggests to repeat the separator across the "or" statement. Claims 9 and 19 are objected to because of the following informalities: "not charged or is charged or discharged" is unclear. Appropriate correction is required.
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, 4-7, 13, and 14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Tanaka et al. US 20200185706 in view of Tang et al. CN 105186036.
With regards to claim 1, Tanaka discloses, a method for enhancing battery cycle performance, applied in a battery (¶45 "Therefore, as a result, it is considered that reduction in capacity of the battery can be prevented even after repeated charge/discharge, and excellent cycle characteristics can be achieved"), wherein the method comprises: at a first stage, charging the battery at a first-stage current until reaching a first- stage voltage (¶264 "Up to 3.9 V: constant current charge (0.1 C)"); and at a second stage, charging the battery at a second-stage current until reaching a second-stage voltage, wherein the second-stage voltage is greater than the first-stage voltage, and the second-stage current is less than the first-stage current (¶265 "Up to 4.0 V: constant current charge (0.05 C)").
Tanaka fails to disclose, wherein the battery comprises an electrolytic solution containing an organic solvent, the organic solvent comprises a chain carboxylate compound, and a weight percent of the chain carboxylate compound in the organic solvent is 10% to 70%.
Tang discloses wherein the battery comprises an electrolytic solution containing an organic solvent, the organic solvent comprises a chain carboxylate compound, and a weight percent of the chain carboxylate compound in the organic solvent is 10% to 70% (¶56 "In the above electrolyte, the content of the chain carboxylate compound can be selected according to actual needs. In particular, the content of the chain carboxylate compound is 5-70% of the total weight of the organic solvent. Further, the content of the chain carboxylate compound is preferably 8-60% of the total weight of the organic solvent. Further, the content of the chain carboxylate compound is preferably 10-50% of the total weight of the organic solvent." and claim 5 "The electrolytic solution according to claim 1, wherein the content of the chain carboxylic acid ester compound is from 5 to 70% by weight based on the total amount of the organic solvent").
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine Tanaka and Tang to include the above compounds within the battery in order to enhance the cycles and storage performance of the battery.
The combination discloses with regards to claim 2, the method according to claim 1, wherein the chain carboxylate compound is at least one selected from compounds represented by Formula I:wherein, Ri is selected from a hydrogen atom, a halogen atom, a hydroxyl, a Ci to C20 alkyl, a Ci to C2o alkoxyl, a Ci to C2o alkenyl, a C6 to C3o aryl, or a C6 to C3o aryloxy; and R2 is selected from a hydrogen atom, a halogen atom, a Ci to C20 alkyl, a Ci to C20 alkenyl, or a C6 to C3o aryl (Tanaka ¶73 "Particularly, the polyvinyl-based resin preferably contains a vinyl monomer (b1) having a carboxyl group and a vinyl monomer (b2) represented by the following general formula (1) as a vinyl monomer" and ¶75 "In formula (1), R.sup.1 represents a hydrogen atom or a methyl group, and R.sup.2 represents a linear alkyl group having 1 to 4 carbon atoms or a branched alkyl group having 4 to 36 carbon atoms").
The combination discloses with regards to claim 4, the method according to claim 1, wherein the electrolytic solution further comprises a lithium salt, and the lithium salt is at least one selected from lithium hexafluorophosphate, lithium difluorophosphate, lithium tetrafluoroborate, lithium hexafluoroarsenate, lithium perchlorate, lithium bisfluorosulfonimide, lithium bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)imide, lithium bis(oxalato)borate, or lithium difluoro(oxalato)borate (Tanaka ¶148 "Examples of the lithium salt (supporting salt) include a lithium salt of an inorganic acid, such as LiPF.sub.6, LiBF.sub.4, LiSbF.sub.6, LiAsF.sub.6, or LiClO.sub.4, a lithium salt of an organic acid, such as LiN(CF.sub.3SO.sub.2).sub.2, LiN(C.sub.2F.sub.5SO.sub.2).sub.2, or LiC(CF.sub.3SO.sub.2).sub.3, and the like. Among these salts, LiPF6 is preferable from a viewpoint of battery output and charge/discharge cycle characteristics").
The combination discloses with regards to claim 5, the method according to claim 1, wherein the battery further comprises a positive electrode plate (Tanaka Fig. 1 positive electrode active material layer 13), a negative electrode plate (Fig. 1 negative electrode active material layer 15), and a separator disposed between the positive electrode plate and the negative electrode plate (¶23 "Note that the electrolytic layer 17 holds an electrolyte in the center thereof in a plane direction of a separator as a substrate"); the separator comprises a porous substrate (¶190 "It is also preferable to use a laminate obtained by laminating a heat-resistant insulating layer on the above-described microporous (microporous film) separator or nonwoven fabric separator as a resin porous substrate layer (separator with heat-resistant insulating layer)"), a heat-resistant coating disposed on a surface of the porous substrate (¶190 above), and a polymer adhesive layer disposed on an outermost side of the separator (¶190 above where the only layers disclosed are the insulating layer and the separator, disclosing that the polymer adhesive would be on the outermost side of the separator in order to adhere to the other layers within the battery), the polymer adhesive layer is disposed on a surface of the heat-resistant coating or on the surface of the porous substrate that is not coated with the heat-resistant coating, the polymer adhesive layer comprises polymer particles (¶194 "The binder used in the heat-resistant insulating layer is not particularly limited. Examples thereof include a compound such as carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC), polyacrylonitrile, cellulose, an ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer, polyvinyl chloride, styrene-butadiene rubber (SBR), isoprene rubber, butadiene rubber, polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF), polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), polyvinyl fluoride (PVF), or methyl acrylate. Among these compounds, carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC), methyl acrylate, or polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) is preferably used. These compounds may be used singly or in combination of two or more kinds thereof"), and a number of packing layers of the polymer particles in the polymer adhesive layer does not exceed four (¶194 above discloses a single layer of one of the above compounds).
The combination discloses with regards to claim 6, the method according to claim 5, wherein the polymer particles are at least one of polyvinylidene dichloride, poly(vinylidene fluoride-co-hexafluoropropylene), poly(styrene-co-butadiene), polyacrylonitrile, poly(butadiene-co-acrylonitrile), polyacrylic acid, polyacrylate, or poly(acrylate-co-styrene), or a copolymer of at least two of the foregoing polymer monomers, and a diameter of the polymer particles is 0.2um to 2um (Tanaka ¶194 "The binder used in the heat-resistant insulating layer is not particularly limited. Examples thereof include a compound such as carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC), polyacrylonitrile, cellulose, an ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer, polyvinyl chloride, styrene-butadiene rubber (SBR), isoprene rubber, butadiene rubber, polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF), polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), polyvinyl fluoride (PVF), or methyl acrylate. Among these compounds, carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC), methyl acrylate, or polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) is preferably used. These compounds may be used singly or in combination of two or more kinds thereof", where polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) and polyacrylonitrile are well known to a person having ordinary skill in the art to form particles within the range of .2um-2um).
The combination discloses with regards to claim 13, the method according to claim 1, wherein the first-stage voltage is equal to a charge voltage limit of the battery (Tanaka ¶264 above where the first stage voltage is 3.9V which is the first set charge voltage limit of the battery), and the second-stage voltage is less than an oxidative decomposition voltage of the electrolytic solution in the battery (Tanaka ¶265 where the second stage voltage is 4.0V which would be less than the oxidative decomposition level of the battery, where one of ordinary skill in the art understands this term generally refers to the maximum voltage for the battery chemistry where Li batteries have a max voltage of ~4.2V and Tanaka provides a Li battery).
The combination discloses with regards to claim 14, the method according to claim 1, wherein the second-stage voltage is less than or equal to the first-stage voltage plus 500 millivolts (¶264-265 where the first stage voltage is 3.9V and the second stage voltage is 4.0V, so the second stage voltage is within 500mV of the first stage voltage).
Claim 3 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Tanaka et al. US 20200185706 in view of Tang et al. CN 105186036 further in view of Li CN103078141A.
With regards to claim 3 the combination of Tanaka and Tang fail to disclose the method according to claim 2, wherein the chain carboxylate compound is at least one selected from methyl formate, methyl acetate, ethyl formate, ethyl acetate, propyl acetate, ethyl propionate, methyl propionate, n-propyl propionate, isopropyl propionate, methyl propionate, n-propyl propionate, isopropyl propionate, n-butyl propionate, isobutyl propionate, n-pentyl propionate, isopentyl propionate, ethyl n- butyrate, n-propyl n-butyrate, propyl isobutyrate, n-pentyl n-butyrate, n-pentyl isobutyrate, n-butyl n-butyrate, isobutyl isobutyrate, or n-pentyl n-valerate.
However, Li discloses wherein the chain carboxylate compound is at least one selected from methyl formate, methyl acetate, ethyl formate, ethyl acetate, propyl acetate, ethyl propionate, methyl propionate, n-propyl propionate, isopropyl propionate, methyl propionate, n-propyl propionate, isopropyl propionate, n-butyl propionate, isobutyl propionate, n-pentyl propionate, isopentyl propionate, ethyl n- butyrate, n-propyl n-butyrate, propyl isobutyrate, n-pentyl n-butyrate, n-pentyl isobutyrate, n-butyl n-butyrate, isobutyl isobutyrate, or n-pentyl n-valerate (¶17 "As an improvement to the lithium ion secondary battery electrolyte of the present invention, the linear carboxylate is selected from one or more of ethyl acetate, propyl acetate, butyl acetate, methyl butyrate, ethyl butyrate, and propyl butyrate").
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine Tanaka and Tang with Li to include the above compounds within the battery in order to enhance the cycling and storage performance of the battery.
Claim 7 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Tanaka et al. US 20200185706 in view of Tang et al. CN 105186036 further in view of Saeki US 20210249735.
The combination of Tanaka and Tang fail to explicitly disclose, the method according to claim 5, wherein a percentage of a coverage area of the polymer adhesive layer on the porous substrate or the heat-resistant coating is 15% to 85%.
However, Saeki discloses the method according to claim 5, wherein a percentage of a coverage area of the polymer adhesive layer on the porous substrate or the heat-resistant coating is 15% to 85% (¶131 "The area percentage (%) of the substrate coated with the adhesive layer is preferably 95% or less, more preferably 70% or less, still more preferably 50% or less, per a total area of 100% of the substrate. In addition, the area percentage (%) of the substrate coated with the adhesive layer is preferably 5% or more", where the total coverage is between 5-95% which encompasses the claimed 15-85%).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine Tanaka and Tang with Saeki to provide the adhesive coverage mentioned in order to better adhere the different elements of the battery to avoid potential damage.
Claim 8 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Tanaka et al. US 20200185706 in view of Tang et al. CN 105186036 further in view of Xie et al. US 20180053928.
The combination of Tanaka and Tang fail to explicitly disclose, the method according to claim 5, wherein an adhesive force between the separator and the positive electrode plate or negative electrode plate is greater than or equal to 3 N/m.
However, Xie discloses the method according to claim 5, wherein an adhesive force between the separator and the positive electrode plate or negative electrode plate is greater than or equal to 3 N/m (¶38 "The second, adhesive material 38 is adapted to suppress thermal shrinkage of the porous network of the first material 32, and thus the separator 20. As more clearly shown in FIG. 4, the first material 32 and the second material 38 are configured in a core-shell structure. In one specific embodiment, the second material 38 is adapted to adhere the first material 32 to at least one surface of the separator 20 and the respective electrodes 12, 14 at an adhesive strength ranged from 5 N/m to 50 N/m").
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine Tanaka and Tang with Xie to provide the adhesive strength above in order to ensure proper adhesion or bonding between the different layers of the battery to reduce damage and failure of said battery.
Claims 9-12, 15-17, and 19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Tanaka et al. US 20200185706 in view of Tang et al. CN 105186036 further in view of Berkowitz et al. US 20180090947.
The combination of Tanaka and Tang fail to disclose claim 9, the method according to claim 1, wherein, at the second stage, the battery is charged in a first charging manner or a second charging manner until reaching the second-stage voltage; the first charging manner comprises K sequential sub-stages, wherein K is an integer greater than or equal to 2, the K sub-stages are defined as an ith sub-stage, wherein i = 1, 2,..., K, respectively; at the ith sub-stage, the battery is charged at an ith current or an ith voltage or an ith power; at an (i+1)th sub-stage, the battery is charged at an (i+1)th current or an (i+1)tvoltage or an (i+1)th power; and, a charge current at the (i+1) sub-stage is less than or equal to the charge current at the ith sub-stage, or the (i+1)t voltage is greater than or equal to the ith voltage, or the (i+1)t power is less than or equal to the ith power; and the second charging manner comprises D sequential charging sub-stages, wherein D is an integer greater than or equal to 2, the D charging sub-stages are defined as a ith charging sub-stage, wherein j = 1, 2,..., D, respectively, each ith charging sub-stage comprises a jth earlier charging sub-stage and a jth later charging sub-stage; at one of the jth earlier charging sub-stage or the jth later charging sub-stage, the battery is not charged or is charged or discharged at a ji earlier charge sub-current for a duration of Tj 1; at the other of the jt earlier charging sub-stage or the ith later charging sub-stage, the battery is charged at a jth later charge sub-current for a duration of Tj2; and an absolute value of the jth earlier charge sub-current is less than an absolute value of the ith later charge sub-current.
However, Berkowitz discloses the method according to claim 1, wherein, at the second stage, the battery is charged in a first charging manner or a second charging manner until reaching the second-stage voltage; the first charging manner comprises K sequential sub-stages (Fig. 2B discloses several sub-stages), wherein K is an integer greater than or equal to 2, the K sub-stages are defined as an ith sub-stage, wherein i = 1, 2,..., K, respectively; at the ith sub-stage, the battery is charged at an ith current or an ith voltage or an ith power (Fig. 2B discloses a charging current); at an (i+1)th sub-stage, the battery is charged at an (i+1)th current or an (i+1)tvoltage or an (i+1)th power (Fig. 2B discloses charging via current); and, a charge current at the (i+1) sub-stage is less than or equal to the charge current at the ith sub-stage, or the (i+1)t voltage is greater than or equal to the ith voltage, or the (i+1)t power is less than or equal to the ith power (Fig. 2B shows the current values at each sub-stage decreasing over time and ¶8 " FIGS. 2A-2D illustrate exemplary waveforms illustrating a plurality of exemplary charging signals and discharging signals of an exemplary charging technique, wherein such charging signals may generally decrease according to a predetermined rate and/or pattern (for example, asymptotically, linearly or quadratically) as the terminal voltage of the battery/cell increases during a charging or recharging sequence"); and the second charging manner comprises D sequential charging sub-stages (Fig. 3B), wherein D is an integer greater than or equal to 2, the D charging sub-stages are defined as a ith charging sub-stage, wherein j = 1, 2,..., D, respectively, each ith charging sub-stage comprises a jth earlier charging sub-stage and a jth later charging sub-stage (Fig. 3B shows multiple sub-stages); at one of the jth earlier charging sub-stage or the jth later charging sub-stage, the battery is not charged or is charged or discharged at a ji earlier charge sub-current for a duration of Tj 1 (Fig. 3B shows a charge and rest period (claimed “not charging”); at the other of the jt earlier charging sub-stage or the ith later charging sub-stage, the battery is charged at a jth later charge sub-current for a duration of Tj2; and an absolute value of the jth earlier charge sub-current is less than an absolute value of the ith later charge sub-current (Fig. 3B, where the second pulse of the charge shows that it has a lower value than the next charge pulse, which discloses that an earlier sub-current is less than a later sub-current).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine Tanaka and Tang with Berkowitz to adopt the above charging method into the battery system in order to enhance cycling and storage performance of the battery.
The combination discloses with regards to claim 10, the charging method according to claim 9, wherein an average value of the charge current at the jth charging sub-stage is less than the charge current at the first stage (Berkowitz Fig. 2B discloses the sub-stage currents decreasing over time with each pulse which would lead to at least one or several of the sub-stage currents being less than the initial first stage current), and an average value of the charge current at the (j+1)th charging sub-stage is less than or equal to the charge current at the jth sub-stage (Fig. 2B discloses the sub-stage current decreasing over time with each pulse, where j would be the first sub-stage and j+1 would be the next sub-stage).
The combination discloses with regards to claim 11, the method according to claim 9, wherein, at the first stage, the battery is charged in a third charging manner until reaching the first-stage voltage, and the third charging manner adopts the first charging manner or the second charging manner (Tanaka ¶264-265 discloses the first charging manner and Berkowitz Fig. 2B and 3B disclose other charging manners which would be utilized by a person having ordinary skill in the art to complete the first stage charging).
The combination discloses with regards to claim 12, the method according to claim 11, wherein, when the third charging manner adopts the first charging manner, the number K of charging sub-stages is identical between the two manners (Berkowitz discloses the first charging manner in Fig. 2B where a person having ordinary skill in the art would keep the number of sub-stages between the two manners identical); or, when the third charging manner adopts the second charging manner, the number D of charging sub-stages is identical between the two manners (Berkowitz Fig. 3B where a person having ordinary skill in the art would keep the sub-stages identical).
The combination discloses with regards to claim 15, an electronic device (Tanaka ¶220-221 discloses the use of the battery in electric vehicles), comprising a battery (Fig. 1 battery 10) and a battery management unit (Berkowitz Fig. 1 adaptive charging circuitry 10), wherein the battery comprises an electrolytic solution containing an organic solvent, the organic solvent comprises a chain carboxylate compound, a weight percent of the chain carboxylate compound in the organic solvent is 10% to 70% (Tang ¶56 "In the above electrolyte, the content of the chain carboxylate compound can be selected according to actual needs. In particular, the content of the chain carboxylate compound is 5-70% of the total weight of the organic solvent. Further, the content of the chain carboxylate compound is preferably 8-60% of the total weight of the organic solvent. Further, the content of the chain carboxylate compound is preferably 10-50% of the total weight of the organic solvent." and claim 5 "The electrolytic solution according to claim 1, wherein the content of the chain carboxylic acid ester compound is from 5 to 70% by weight based on the total amount of the organic solvent"), and the battery management unit is configured to execute a method (Tanaka ¶45 "Therefore, as a result, it is considered that reduction in capacity of the battery can be prevented even after repeated charge/discharge, and excellent cycle characteristics can be achieved"), wherein the method comprises: at a first stage, charging the battery at a first-stage current until reaching a first- stage voltage (¶264 "Up to 3.9 V: constant current charge (0.1 C)"); and at a second stage, charging the battery at a second-stage current until reaching a second-stage voltage, wherein the second-stage voltage is greater than the first-stage voltage, and the second-stage current is less than the first-stage current (¶265 "Up to 4.0 V: constant current charge (0.05 C)").
The combination discloses with regards to claim 16, the electronic device according to claim 15, wherein the chain carboxylate compound is at least one selected from compounds represented by Formula I:wherein, R1 is selected from a hydrogen atom, a halogen atom, a hydroxyl, a Ci to C20 alkyl, a Ci to C20 alkoxyl, a Ci to C2o alkenyl, a C6 to C3o aryl, or a C6 to C3o aryloxy; and R2 is selected from a hydrogen atom, a halogen atom, a Ci to C20 alkyl, a Ci to C20 alkenyl, or a C6 to C3o aryl (Tanaka ¶73 "Particularly, the polyvinyl-based resin preferably contains a vinyl monomer (b1) having a carboxyl group and a vinyl monomer (b2) represented by the following general formula (1) as a vinyl monomer" and ¶75 "In formula (1), R.sup.1 represents a hydrogen atom or a methyl group, and R.sup.2 represents a linear alkyl group having 1 to 4 carbon atoms or a branched alkyl group having 4 to 36 carbon atoms").
The combination discloses with regards to claim 17, the electronic device according to claim 15, wherein the battery further comprises a positive electrode plate (Tanaka Fig. 1 positive electrode active material layer 13), a negative electrode plate (Fig. 1 negative electrode active material layer 15) and a separator disposed between the positive electrode plate and the negative electrode plate (¶23 "Note that the electrolytic layer 17 holds an electrolyte in the center thereof in a plane direction of a separator as a substrate"); the separator comprises a porous substrate (¶185 "In the bipolar secondary battery of the present embodiment, a separator may be used for the electrolytic layer. The separator has a function of maintaining an electrolyte to ensure lithium ion conductivity between a positive electrode and a negative electrode and a function as a partition wall between the positive electrode and the negative electrode. Particularly, when a liquid electrolyte or an ionic liquid electrolyte is used as an electrolyte, a separator is preferably used"), a heat-resistant coating disposed on a surface of the porous substrate (¶190 "It is also preferable to use a laminate obtained by laminating a heat-resistant insulating layer on the above-described microporous (microporous film) separator or nonwoven fabric separator as a resin porous substrate layer (separator with heat-resistant insulating layer)"), and a polymer adhesive layer disposed on an outermost side of the separator (¶190 above where the only layers disclosed are the insulating layer and the separator, disclosing that the polymer adhesive would be on the outermost side of the separator in order to adhere to the other layers within the battery), the polymer adhesive layer is disposed on a surface of the heat-resistant coating or on the surface of the porous substrate that is not coated with the heat-resistant coating, the polymer adhesive layer comprises polymer particles (¶194 "The binder used in the heat-resistant insulating layer is not particularly limited. Examples thereof include a compound such as carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC), polyacrylonitrile, cellulose, an ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer, polyvinyl chloride, styrene-butadiene rubber (SBR), isoprene rubber, butadiene rubber, polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF), polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), polyvinyl fluoride (PVF), or methyl acrylate. Among these compounds, carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC), methyl acrylate, or polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) is preferably used. These compounds may be used singly or in combination of two or more kinds thereof"), and a number of packing layers of the polymer particles in the polymer adhesive layer does not exceed four (¶194 above discloses a single layer of one of the above compounds).
The combination discloses with regards to claim 19, the electronic device according to claim 15 wherein, at the second stage, the battery is charged in a first charging manner or a second charging manner until reaching the second-stage voltage; the first charging manner comprises K sequential sub-stages (Fig. 2B discloses several sub-stages), wherein K is an integer greater than or equal to 2, the K sub-stages are defined as an ith sub-stage, wherein i = 1, 2,..., K, respectively; at the ith sub-stage, the battery is charged at an ith current or an ith voltage or an ith power (Fig. 2B discloses a charging current); at an (i+1)th sub-stage, the battery is charged at an (i+1)th current or an (i+1)tvoltage or an (i+1)th power; and, a charge current at the (i+1) sub-stage is less than or equal to the charge current at the ith sub-stage, or the (i+1)t voltage is greater than or equal to the ith voltage, or the (i+1)t power is less than or equal to the ith power (Fig. 2B shows the current values at each sub-stage decreasing over time and ¶8 " FIGS. 2A-2D illustrate exemplary waveforms illustrating a plurality of exemplary charging signals and discharging signals of an exemplary charging technique, wherein such charging signals may generally decrease according to a predetermined rate and/or pattern (for example, asymptotically, linearly or quadratically) as the terminal voltage of the battery/cell increases during a charging or recharging sequence"); and the second charging manner comprises D sequential charging sub-stages (Fig. 3B shows multiple sub-stages), wherein D is an integer greater than or equal to 2, the D charging sub-stages are defined as a ith charging sub-stage, wherein j = 1, 2,..., D, respectively, each ith charging sub-stage comprises a jth earlier charging sub-stage and a jth later charging sub-stage (Fig. 3B shows multiple sub-stages); at one of the jth earlier charging sub-stage or the jth later charging sub-stage, the battery is not charged or is charged or discharged at a ji earlier charge sub-current for a duration of Tj 1 (Fig. 3B shows a charge period and rest period (claimed “not charged”); at the other of the jt earlier charging sub-stage or the ith later charging sub-stage, the battery is charged at a jth later charge sub-current for a duration of Tj2; and an absolute value of the jth earlier charge sub-current is less than an absolute value of the ith later charge sub-current (Fig. 3B, where the second pulse of the charge shows that it has a lower value than the next charge pulse, which discloses that an earlier sub-stage current is less than a later sub-stage current).
Claim 18 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Tanaka et al. US 20200185706 in view of Tang et al. CN 105186036 further in view of Berkowitz et al. US 20180090947 further in view of Xie et al. US 20180053928.
The combination of Tanaka, Tang, and Berkowitz fail to explicitly disclose the electronic device according to claim 15, wherein an adhesive force between the separator and the positive electrode plate or negative electrode plate is greater than or equal to 3 N/m.
However, Xie discloses, the electronic device according to claim 15, wherein an adhesive force between the separator and the positive electrode plate or negative electrode plate is greater than or equal to 3 N/m (¶38 "The second, adhesive material 38 is adapted to suppress thermal shrinkage of the porous network of the first material 32, and thus the separator 20. As more clearly shown in FIG. 4, the first material 32 and the second material 38 are configured in a core-shell structure. In one specific embodiment, the second material 38 is adapted to adhere the first material 32 to at least one surface of the separator 20 and the respective electrodes 12, 14 at an adhesive strength ranged from 5 N/m to 50 N/m").
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine Tanaka, Tang, and Berkowitz with Xie to detail the adhesive strength in order to ensure proper adhesion/bonding between the different layers of the battery to reduce damage and failure of said battery.
Conclusion
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/NATHAN J INSTONE/ Examiner, Art Unit 2859
/JULIAN D HUFFMAN/ Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2859
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