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 with traverse of Group I (Claims 1-4) in the reply filed on 12/11/25 is acknowledged. The traversal is on the ground that the office action does not establish that each and every feature of the subject matter that is common to claims 1-10 is known in the prior art. This is not found persuasive because it is noted that the alleged common technical feature between Groups I and II, namely control of surface wettability and adhesion of a negative electrode current collector, is disclosed in the prior art by JP 2012-094342 A. As such, this feature does not define a contribution over the prior art and therefore cannot constitute a special technical feature under PCT Rule 13.2. Accordingly, the claimed product (Group I) and method (Group II) are not linked by a single general inventive concept, and the restriction requirement is maintained.
The requirement is still deemed proper and is therefore made FINAL.
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statements (IDS) submitted on 12/11/25, 8/15/25, 11/18/24, 6/5/24, and 3/24/23 were filed. The submission is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statements have being considered by the examiner.
Drawings
The drawings were received on 3/24/23. These drawings are acceptable.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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 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.
Claim 1 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by JP 2012-094342 A (“JP ’342”).
As to Claim 1:
JP ’342 discloses:
a negative electrode for a lithium secondary battery, as JP ’342 is directed to an electrode for a non-aqueous electrolyte secondary battery, including lithium secondary batteries (p. 1, lines 6–13);
a negative electrode current collector, wherein the current collector is formed of a metal foil such as aluminum or copper used for a negative electrode (p. 4, lines 1–12; p. 6, lines 3–10);
a negative electrode mixture layer on at least one surface of the negative electrode current collector, wherein a precursor containing electrode active material particles is formed on the surface of the current collector to constitute an electrode active material layer (p. 6, lines 11–25; p. 7, lines 1–10; FIGS. 1–2);
the negative electrode mixture layer comprises a negative electrode active material, including carbon-based negative electrode active materials and other lithium-ion battery anode materials (p. 6, lines 11–18; p. 7, lines 3–6); and
the negative electrode current collector has a static water contact angle of 60° to 100°, wherein the surface of the current collector is adjusted to have a water contact angle of 3° or more and less than 115°, and working examples explicitly disclose contact angle values within the claimed range, including values of approximately 62°, 95°, and 100°, measured directly on the current collector surface (p. 2, lines 15–25; p. 8, lines 1–12; Examples; FIG. 4).
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.
Claim 2 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over JP 2012-094342 A (“JP ’342”), as applied to Claim 1 above, and further in view of KR 2018-0036249 A (“KR ’249”).
As to Claim 2:
JP ’342 discloses a negative electrode for a lithium secondary battery, as JP ’342 is directed to an electrode for a non-aqueous electrolyte secondary battery including lithium secondary batteries (p. 1, lines 6–13).
JP ’342 further discloses a negative electrode current collector, wherein the current collector is a metal foil such as aluminum or copper used for a negative electrode (p. 4, lines 1–12; p. 6, lines 3–10).
JP ’342 discloses a negative electrode mixture layer formed on at least one surface of the negative electrode current collector, wherein a precursor including electrode active material particles is provided on the surface of the current collector to form an electrode active material layer (p. 6, lines 11–25; p. 7, lines 1–10; FIGS. 1–2).
JP ’342 further discloses that the negative electrode mixture layer comprises a negative electrode active material, such as carbon-based negative electrode active materials (p. 6, lines 11–18; p. 7, lines 3–6).
JP ’342 also discloses that the negative electrode current collector has a static water contact angle within a range overlapping 60° to 100°, as the surface of the current collector is adjusted to have a water contact angle of 3° or more and less than 115°, and working examples disclose contact angle values within the claimed range (p. 2, lines 15–25; p. 8, lines 1–12; Examples; FIG. 4).
However, JP ’342 does not disclose that the at least one surface of the negative electrode current collector is surface-treated with an alkyl group having 1 to 6 carbon atoms. JP ’342 generally discloses surface treatment for controlling wettability, but does not specify alkyl functional groups or carbon-chain surface modification.
KR ’249 discloses surface-treating an electrode current collector using plasma treatment with hydrocarbon-containing gases, thereby chemically modifying the surface of the current collector to impart hydrophobicity and control wettability (KR ’249, plasma treatment discussion). Plasma treatment using hydrocarbon gases is a known technique for introducing alkyl functional groups (e.g., C1–C6 alkyl groups) onto metal surfaces, thereby modifying surface energy and wettability of the current collector ([0034]-[0037]; [0042], Fig. 2).
JP ’342 and KR ’249 are analogous arts, as both references are directed to electrode structures for secondary batteries, specifically addressing surface treatment of current collectors to control wettability, adhesion, and electrochemical performance.
It would have been obvious to a person skilled in the art before the effective filing date of the instant application to surface-treat the negative electrode current collector of JP ’342 with an alkyl group having 1 to 6 carbon atoms by applying the hydrocarbon plasma surface-treatment technique taught by KR ’249, in order to control the surface wettability and adhesion characteristics of the current collector in a predictable manner, thereby achieving the claimed negative electrode.
Claim 3 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over JP 2012-094342 A (“JP ’342”), as applied to Claim 1 above, and further in view of WO 2011/114473 A1 (“WO ’473”).
As to Claim 3:
JP ’342 discloses a negative electrode for a lithium secondary battery, as JP ’342 is directed to an electrode for a non-aqueous electrolyte secondary battery including lithium secondary batteries (p. 1, lines 6–13).
JP ’342 discloses a negative electrode current collector, wherein the current collector is a metal foil such as aluminum or copper used for a negative electrode (p. 4, lines 1–12; p. 6, lines 3–10).
JP ’342 further discloses a negative electrode mixture layer formed on at least one surface of the negative electrode current collector, wherein a precursor including electrode active material particles is provided on the surface of the current collector to form an electrode active material layer (p. 6, lines 11–25; p. 7, lines 1–10; FIGS. 1–2).
JP ’342 discloses that the negative electrode mixture layer comprises a negative electrode active material, such as carbon-based negative electrode active materials (p. 6, lines 11–18; p. 7, lines 3–6).
JP ’342 also discloses that the negative electrode current collector has a static water contact angle within a range overlapping 60° to 100°, as the surface of the current collector is adjusted to have a water contact angle of 3° or more and less than 115°, with working examples explicitly within the claimed range (p. 2, lines 15–25; p. 8, lines 1–12; Examples; FIG. 4).
However, JP ’342 does not disclose that an angle formed by an end portion of the negative electrode mixture layer and the negative electrode current collector is 60° or more. JP ’342 is silent regarding the geometric profile or inclination angle at an end portion of the mixture layer relative to the current collector.
WO ’473 discloses controlling the geometric relationship between a coated electrode mixture layer and a current collector, and specifically teaches that an angle formed at the interface or end portion of the mixture layer with respect to the current collector is preferably 60° or more in order to suppress peeling, cracking, and delamination at the coating edge and to improve adhesion ([0038]-[0042], [0051]; Figs. 3-4).
JP ’342 and WO ’473 are analogous arts, as both references are directed to electrodes for secondary batteries and address structural and interfacial characteristics of coated electrode layers on current collectors to improve durability, adhesion, and battery performance.
It would have been obvious to a person skilled in the art before the effective filing date of the instant application to modify the negative electrode of JP ’342 such that an angle formed by an end portion of the negative electrode mixture layer and the negative electrode current collector is 60° or more, as taught by WO ’473, in order to improve adhesion at the coating edge and suppress peeling or delamination of the mixture layer, which represents a predictable use of a known coating-edge geometry technique applied to a known battery electrode structure.
Claim 4 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over JP 2012-094342 A (“JP ’342”), as applied to Claim 1 above, and further in view of US 2014/0150947 A1 (“US ’947”).
As to Claim 4:
JP ’342 discloses a negative electrode for a lithium secondary battery, as JP ’342 is directed to an electrode for a non-aqueous electrolyte secondary battery, including lithium secondary batteries (p. 1, lines 6–12). JP ’342 discloses a negative electrode current collector, wherein a metal foil such as copper or aluminum is used as the current collector (p. 4, lines 1–12; p. 6, lines 3–10). JP ’342 further discloses a negative electrode mixture layer formed on at least one surface of the negative electrode current collector, wherein a slurry or precursor including an electrode active material is applied to the current collector to form an electrode mixture layer (p. 6, lines 11–25; p. 7, lines 1–10; FIGS. 1–2). JP ’342 discloses that the negative electrode mixture layer comprises a negative electrode active material, such as a carbon-based active material (p. 6, lines 11–18; p. 7, lines 3–6). JP ’342 also discloses that the surface properties of the negative electrode current collector are controlled, including adjustment of wettability expressed by a static water contact angle within a prescribed range that overlaps the range recited in claim 1 (p. 2, lines 15–25; p. 8, lines 1–12; FIG. 4).
However, JP ’342 does not disclose a peel strength of the negative electrode mixture layer with respect to the negative electrode current collector measured according to ASTM D903, nor does JP ’342 disclose that such peel strength is in a range of 10 gf/cm to 50 gf/cm.
US ’947 discloses measuring peel strength of a coating layer relative to a metal substrate according to ASTM D903, explicitly identifying ASTM D903 as the peel-strength test standard (¶¶[0096]–[0099]). US ’947 further discloses peel strength values measured per ASTM D903 that fall within the claimed range, for example reporting peel strengths of about 15 gf/cm, about 25 gf/cm, about 35 gf/cm, and about 45 gf/cm, depending on coating composition and processing conditions ([0098]; Table 1).
JP ’342 and US ’947 are analogous arts, as both references are directed to coated layers formed on metal substrates and address adhesion between a coating layer and a metal support, which is a common technical concern in the fabrication and performance of battery electrodes and other coated metal structures.
It would have been obvious to a person skilled in the art before the effective filing date of the instant application to evaluate and control the peel strength of the negative electrode mixture layer of JP ’342 using the ASTM D903 peel-strength measurement technique and adhesion range taught by US ’947, in order to ensure sufficient adhesion between the negative electrode mixture layer and the current collector while avoiding excessive bonding that could adversely affect manufacturability or electrode performance, thereby arriving at the claimed peel-strength range of 10 gf/cm to 50 gf/cm through the predictable application of a known adhesion-testing standard.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JIMMY K VO whose telephone number is (571)272-3242. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday, 8 am to 6 pm EST.
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/JIMMY VO/
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 1723
/JIMMY VO/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1723