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
Claims 1-10 are objected to because of the following informalities: Claim 1 claims an electrode assembly comprising a positive electrode, a negative electrode, and a separator, wherein three further limitations exist. The limitation “a conductive layer on at least one surface of the separator” is phrased in a way that would continue the list of components the electrode assembly comprises, rather than further limiting the already present components. Examiner suggests modifying claim 1, depending on the intended meaning of the Applicant, to read “a conductive layer is on at least one surface of the separator” or moving the limitation to earlier in the claim to read:
“negative electrode current collector; [[and]]
a separator interposed between the positive electrode and the negative electrode[[,]]; and
a conductive layer on at least one surface of the separator, wherein
the negative electrode mixture layer comprises silicon active material particles, and”.
Claims 2-10 are objected to because they depend on the objected claim 1.
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 1, 4-5, and 8-9 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Inoue (JP 2006196247 A), hereinafter Inoue.
Regarding claims 1, 4-5, and 8, Inoue teaches an electrode assembly, in this case an electrode group [0029], comprising:
a positive electrode comprising a positive electrode current collector and a positive electrode mixture layer on at least one surface of the positive electrode current collector [0025];
a negative electrode comprising a negative electrode current collector and a negative electrode mixture layer on at least one surface of the negative electrode current collector [0026]; and
a separator interposed between the positive electrode and the negative electrode [0029], wherein
the negative electrode mixture layer comprises silicon active material particles, in this case making silicon as a main component as an active material [0014], which is considered to be equivalent to the negative electrode mixture layer comprising 100% of the silicon active material particles , as required by claim 5,
a porous conductive layer, as required by claim 8 [0017], on at least one surface of the separator, in this case layer 5 (Fig. 2), which is equivalent to layer 3 [0019] and contacts the surface of the separator when the electrode group is wound [0029], comprising a conductive agent and a binder [0016], as required by claim 4, and
a thickness of the conductive layer, in this case 10 μm in Example 1 [0027], is greater than 50% of a D50 particle size of the silicon active material particles. In this case Inoue teaches the active material particle size as being particularly preferably 10 to 20 μm, in the case of non-metallic materials, or 1 to 10 μm, in the case of metal materials, with the possible range of 50% of a D50 particle size of the active material particles being 0.5 to 10 μm [0013]. Silicon is a metalloid. One of ordinary skill in the art would expect the preferable size to lie in between the ranges for metallic materials and non-metallic materials in a way that excludes 20 μm from the preferable range. Therefore, the limitation of the thickness of the conductive layer being greater than 50% of a D50 particle size of the silicon active material particles is considered to be anticipated.
Regarding claim 9, Inoue teaches a battery cell having the electrode assembly according to claim 1 received in a metal can or a battery case comprising a laminate sheet, in this case the electrode group being inserted into an aluminum battery case [0029].
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.
Claims 2-3 and 6-7 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Inoue in view of Kim et al. (US 20090111026 A1), hereinafter Kim.
Inoue teaches the electrode assembly according to claim 1, wherein the separator comprises:
a separator substrate comprising a porous material, in this case a porous resin film [0023], the separator substrate having a first surface and a second surface; and
the conductive layer on an outer surface of the separator positioned so as to face the negative electrode [0029], as also required by claim 3.
Inoue is silent as to the separator further comprising at least one inorganic layer, as required by claims 2 and 3, that is also porous, as required by claim 6, with pores that are smaller than the pores of the separator substrate, as required by claim 7. However, Kim teaches a composite separator comprising a polyolefin porous substrate and a porous active layer containing a mixture of inorganic particles coated on at least one surface of the polyolefin porous substrate [0011], wherein the pore size of the porous active layer is preferably ranged from 0.001 to 10 μm [0035] and the pore size of the polyolefin porous substrate is preferably ranged from 0.01 to 50 μm [0037]. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to form the inorganic layer with a smaller pore size than that of the separator substrate in order to avoid the possibility of internal short circuit while charging or discharging [Kim 0034] and the deterioration of mechanical properties [Kim 0035]. Further, "[W]here the general conditions of a claim are disclosed in the prior art, it is not inventive to discover the optimum or workable ranges by routine experimentation." In re Aller, 220 F.2d 454, 456, 105 USPQ 233, 235 (CCPA 1955)
Inoue and Kim are both considered to be analogous to the claimed invention because they are in the same field of polyolefin porous separators. Therefore, it would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to use the separator of Kim in the electrode group of Inoue with the active layer coated on both sides of the polyolefin porous substrate, as required by claims 2 and 3, having pores, as required by claim 6, wherein a size of pores present in the inorganic layer is less than a size of pores present in the separator substrate, as required by claim 7, and the conductive layer 5 of the negative electrode of Inoue is on only an inorganic layer positioned so as to face the negative electrode, as also required by claim 3. Doing so would have provided a separator with low thermal shrinkage, an increased ability to prevent short circuit between the cathode and the anode, and improved stability of the electrochemical device during overheat conditions [Kim 0021].
Claim 10 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Inoue in view of Nakashima et al. (US 20120208070 A1), hereinafter Nakashima.
Inoue teaches the battery cell according to claim 9. Inoue is silent as to a battery pack comprising the battery cell as a unit cell. However, Nakashima teaches a nonaqueous-electrolyte secondary battery module comprising five or more nonaqueous-electrolyte secondary batteries serially connected together [0059].
Inoue and Nakashima are both considered to be analogous to the claimed invention because they are in the same field of nonaqueous electrolyte secondary batteries. Therefore, it would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to serially connect a plurality of battery cells from Inoue into a battery module, as taught by Nakashima. Doing so would have increased the potential voltage output of the system and allowed the battery to be used in a wider array of devices [0003-0004].
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to DUSTIN KENWOOD VAN KIRK whose telephone number is (703)756-4717. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 9am-5pm EST.
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/DUSTIN VAN KIRK/Examiner, Art Unit 1722
/ANCA EOFF/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1722
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