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 .
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election without traverse of claims 1-5 and 13 in the reply filed on 9/26/2025 is acknowledged.
Claims 6-12 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected Group II, a method for preparing a negative electrode material, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election was made without traverse in the reply filed on 9/26/2025.
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.
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.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claims 1-2, 5, and 13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Tulodziecki (US 20240010495 A1 with priority to provisional 63/089099) and further in view of Naoi (US 20140017570 A1).
Regarding claim 1, Tulodziecki teaches a negative electrode material (para. 0014 , (object of the invention to provide an active powder comprising carbonaceous matrix with silicon based sub-particles for use in a negative electrode), comprising an aggregate (para. 0015, [the composite powder for use in the negative electrode is demonstrated in examples 1 to 5.) (para. 0141, Example 3 – the composite powder consisting of silicon-based sub particles in a carbonaceous matrix), the aggregate comprising an active material (para. 0141-0143 [silicon-based sub-particles], the powder includes a carbonaceous matrix comprising silicon based sub particles as the active material) and a carbon material (para. 0141-0143, [carbonaceous matrix]), wherein the aggregate has a porosity of ≤ 10% (para. 0141-0143, Example 3 and Table 3, according to the invention – the fraction of surface occupied by pores vs. surface of particles is 0.001 [0.1%], Examiner notes that cross-section analysis can be extrapolated to volume) and a compressive hardness of ≥ 100 MPa (Table 3, the hardness value for Example 3 (E3) is greater than 100 MPa).
Tulodziecki does not teach:
The aggregate further comprises a metal oxide which is distributed in the active material, and the carbon material is filled between the active material and the metal oxide; and
The metal oxide has a chemical formula of MxOy, wherein 0.2 y/x 3, and M comprises at least one of Sn, Ge, Fe, Cu,, Ti, Na, Mg, Al, Ca, and Zn.
Naoi, in the same field of endeavor, batteries, teaches:
a metal oxide which is distributed in the active material (Naoi, para. 0019, [a negative electrode active material comprising tin oxide powder and nanosize conductive carbon powder in a highly dispersed state]) (Naoi, para. 0074, as the nanosize tin oxide powder, a nanowire and a nanotube as well as a nanosize spherical particle can be used) (Naoi, para. 0079, [the composite can further comprise a metal oxide other than tin oxide … there is no restriction concerning the metal in the metal oxide, and Fe, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn, Al, Si, Ti, Zr, La, V, Cr, Mo, W, Mn, Re, Ru, Rh, Pd, Pt, Ag, Sb, Pb, and Bi are exemplified).
The metal oxide has a chemical formula of MxOy, wherein 0.2 ≤ y/x ≤ 3, and M comprises at least one of Sn, Ge, Fe, Cu,, Ti, Na, Mg, Al, Ca, and Zn (para. 0124, SnO2 ; which satisfies 0.2 ≤ y/x ≤ where y=2; x= 1 ).
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have added a metal oxide, such as tin oxide, in Tulodziecki’s negative electrode material aggregate, as taught by Naoi, in order to improve the discharge capacity per unit volume and to improve the bulk density of the negative electrode active material, as taught by Naoi (Naoi, para. 0046, [The … negative electrode active material of the present invention comprising … conductive carbon powder and tin dioxide powder … has an improved discharge capacity per unit volume because reversible progress of the conversion reaction is maintained and the bulk density of the negative electrode active material can be improved]).
Therefore, modified Tulodziecki teaches an aggregate composed of a silicon-based sub particles in a carbonaceous matrix (as explained above in claim 1), and further teaches that the carbon material is filled between the active material and the metal oxide (since the carbon material is composed of a matrix, it exists between the other components [silicon particles and metal oxide particles] of the active material).
Regarding claim 2, modified Tulodziecki discloses the negative electrode material according to claim 1, comprising at least one of the following:
- the active material comprises at least one of a non-metal element (Tulodziecki, para. 0019, [silicon]) and an elemental metal (Tulodziecki para. 0019, [silicon metal]) (para. 0126, 0136, and 0141, Example 3 is based on the silicon powder obtained in example 1)
- the active material has a median particle size ranging from 1 nm to 500 nm (Tulodziecki, para. 0048, [according to embodiments 1 to 8 (para. 0015, embodiment 4 is demonstrated in example 3), the median particle size of the active material is equal to 40 nm and smaller than or equal to 150 nm)])
- a mass ratio of the active material to the carbon material is (30-70): (10-70) [para. 0054,
Si: carbonaceous matrix = (10-60): (90-40)] (para. 0054, based of embodiment 4, which is demonstrated in example 3 [para. 0015]).
Regarding claim 5, Tulodziecki discloses the negative electrode material according to claim 1, comprising at least one of the following features:
the negative electrode material has a median particle size of 0.5 µm-30 µm (para. 0142, [d50 of carbonaceous material with silicon sub-particles is 16.4 µm])
the negative electrode material has a specific surface area of <10 m2/g (para. 0142, [BET surface area of the composite powder is 4.2 m2/g].
Regarding claim 13, Tulodziecki discloses a lithium-ion battery, comprising the negative electrode material according to any one of claim 1 (para. 0014).
Claim 3 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Tulodziecki (US 20240010495 A1 with priority to provisional 63/089099) and further in view of Naoi (US 20140017570 A1), with evidence by Helms (US 20170222226 A1).
Regarding claim 3, modified Tulodziecki teaches the negative electrode material according to claim 2, and further teaches:
- the aggregate further comprises a metal oxide having an aspect ratio greater than 2 (as explained above in claim 1, para. 0074 of Naoi teaches that the metal oxide can be in a form of a nanowire or nanotube). Examiner notes that an aspect ratio is a ratio of the largest to smallest cross-sectional dimension of the particle (Helms, para. 0105, [aspect ratio (largest to smallest cross-sectional dimension of the particle)], and notes that a nanowire or nanotube would have an aspect ratio greater than 2, since wires and tubes are non-spherical shapes (Helms, para. 0105, [the nanoparticles have an aspect ratio greater than about 3 and include nanotubes, nanorods, nanowires, and nanoplatelets]).
Claim 4 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Tulodziecki (US 20240010495 A1 with priority to provisional 63/089099) and further in view of Naoi (US 20140017570 A1) and Venkatachalam (US 20190207209 A1).
Regarding claim 4, Tulodziecki teaches the negative electrode material according to claim 1. Tulodziecki does not teach a negative electrode material comprising at least one of the following features:
the aggregate further comprises an electrical conductivity enhancer;
the aggregate further comprises an electrical conductivity enhancer, the electrical conductivity enhancer comprises at least one of an alloy material and a conductive carbon;
the aggregate further comprises an electrical conductivity enhancer, the electrical conductivity enhancer comprises at least one of an alloy material and a conductive carbon, and the alloy material comprises at least one of a zinc alloy, an aluminum alloy, a copper alloy, a silicon alloy, a nickel alloy, and a titanium alloy;
the aggregate further comprises an electrical conductivity enhancer, the electrical conductivity enhancer comprises at least one of an alloy material and a conductive carbon, and the conductive carbon comprising one of graphite fibers, carbon nanotubes, graphite sheets, conductive carbon fibers, and graphene;
the aggregate further comprises a conductivity enhancer having a conductivity of 100 S/m to 108 S/m;
the aggregate further comprises an electrical conductivity enhancer, and the electrical conductivity enhancer is in a form of a sheet and/or a long strip;
the aggregate further comprises an electrical conductivity enhancer having an aspect ratio of 2:1 to 5000:1;
the aggregate further comprises an electrical conductivity enhancer, and the electrical conductivity enhancer and the active material have a mass ratio of (0.1-10): 100.
Venkatachalam, in the same field of endeavor, silicon based active materials, teaches a silicon based active material (para. 0051) composed of an aggregate of materials.
the aggregate (para. 0051, [silicon based active material comprising silicon]) further comprises an electrical conductivity enhancer (para. 0051, silicon suboxide) and (para. 0051 [conductive sources such as nanoscale carbon] )(para. 0058, nanoscale conductive carbon such as carbon nanotubes, carbon black, and carbon nanofibers)
the aggregate further comprises an electrical conductivity enhancer (para. 0051, silicon suboxide) and (para. 0051 [conductive sources such as nanoscale carbon] )(para. 0058, nanoscale conductive carbon such as carbon nanotubes, carbon black, and carbon nanofibers), the electrical conductivity enhancer comprises at least one of an alloy material (para. 0051, [silicon suboxide] and a conductive carbon (para. 0058, [carbon nanotubes]);
the aggregate further comprises an electrical conductivity enhancer (para. 0051, silicon suboxide) and (para. 0051 [conductive sources such as nanoscale carbon] )(para. 0058, nanoscale conductive carbon such as carbon nanotubes, carbon black, and carbon nanofibers), the electrical conductivity enhancer comprises at least one of an alloy material (para. 0051, [silicon suboxide] and a conductive carbon (para. 0058, [carbon nanotubes]); and the alloy material comprises at least one of a silicon alloy (para. 0051, (para. 0051, silicon suboxide).
the aggregate further comprises an electrical conductivity enhancer (para. 0051, silicon suboxide) and (para. 0051 [conductive sources such as nanoscale carbon] )(para. 0058, nanoscale conductive carbon such as carbon nanotubes, carbon black, and carbon nanofibers), the electrical conductivity enhancer comprises at least one of an alloy material (para. 0051, [silicon suboxide] and a conductive carbon (para. 0058, [carbon nanotubes]); and the alloy material comprises at least one of a silicon alloy (para. 0051, (para. 0051, silicon suboxide) and the conductive carbon comprising carbon nanotubes (para. 0058, [carbon nanotubes) and conductive carbon fibers (para. 0058 , [carbon nanofibers])
Based on para. 0121 and 0122 of the instant specification, the electrical conductivity enhancer comprises at least one of an alloy material and a conductive carbon. The alloy material includes at least one of a silicon alloy. Based on para. 0123, the conductive carbon includes carbon nanotubes and conductive carbon fibers.
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have added the electrical conductivity enhancers of silicon suboxide and carbon nanoparticles, as taught by Venkatachalam, in order to achieve longer cycling stability, due to the silicon suboxide as taught by Venkatachalam (para. 0051), and in order to stabilize the silicon based active materials, increase electrical conductivity, (para. 0051) and provide cycling stability for silicon based negative electrodes, due to the carbon nanoparticles (para. 0059), as taught by Venkatachalam.
Other Pertinent Art
Holme (US 20150099190 A1)
Teaches a negative electrode material comprised of aggregate material, a first carbon source, a film having a porosity less than 10%, and a hardness greater than 100 MPa.
Park (US 20200152970 A1)
Teaches a negative active material, comprised of silicon-carbon composite. The composite has a crystalline carbon and silicon core and an amorphous carbon coating layer on the core.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to the claims 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.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to VERITA E GRANNUM whose telephone number is (571)270-1150. The examiner can normally be reached 10-5 EST / 7-2 PST.
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/V.G./Examiner, Art Unit 1721
/ALLISON BOURKE/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 1721
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