DETAILED ACTION
Status of Claims
Claims 1, 3, 5-6, 11 and 13 have been amended. Claims 1, 3-11 and 13 are pending and being examined on the merits in this office action.
Response to Amendments
Applicant’s amendments and arguments have been entered. A reply to the Applicant’s remarks/arguments is presented after addressing the claims.
Any rejections and/or objections made in the previous Office Action and not repeated below, are hereby withdrawn in view of Applicant’s amendments or/and arguments.
The text of those sections of Title 35, U.S. Code not included in this action can be found in a prior Office action. References cited in the current Office action can be found in a prior Office action. Reference not previously cited can be found per the attached PTO-892 for this Office action.
Specification
The amended title of the invention filed March 24, 2026 is acknowledged and accepted.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
Claims 1, 3, 5-7, 10-11 and 13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kawakami et al. (US 20160268586 A1, hereafter Kawakami).
Regarding claim 1, Kawakami teaches a secondary battery comprising a power generating element (“solid state battery”, see, e.g., Title and [0073]), the power generating element comprising:
a positive electrode (“cathode”) which includes a positive electrode active material layer ([0073]) containing a positive electrode active material (“cathode active material”, [0037], [0074]) composed of a particle of a lithium-containing composite oxide (See, at least, Fig. 1, Title and Abstract), a solid electrolyte layer ([0073]) which contains a sulfide solid electrolyte containing sulfur and phosphorus (e.g., Li2S-P2S5, [0076]), and a negative electrode (“anode”) which includes a negative electrode active material layer (“anode active material layer”, [0073]) containing a negative electrode active material ([0078]), wherein the positive electrode, the solid electrolyte layer, and the negative electrode are laminated in this order ([0073]).
Kawakami teaches the particle of the lithium-containing composite oxide includes a central portion having a composition represented by, for example, LiNi1/2Mn1/2O2 ([0038]), and having a surface region with a depth within 100 nm from a surface of the particle of the lithium-containing composite oxide (Fig. 3A, and [0060]-[0063]), as illustrated below:
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Kawakami further teaches the lithium-containing composite oxide as a central portion is covered by a coating of LixPOy ([0036]). The composition of the central portion represented by LiNi1/2Mn1/2O2 ([0038]) reads on the chemical formula (1) as instantly claimed when y=0 and p=0. The coating of LixPOy reads on the surface region as claimed and contains element P as instantly claimed.
Kawakami further teaches that an added element P is doped into the surface region of the particle (LixPOy in the surface region) such that the molar concentration of element P is larger than (See contents of Ni and P in Fig. 3A, above) that of Ni present in the surface region (“… to diffuse the Ni element into the coating material”, see at least Abstract, [0047], etc.).
Regarding claims 3 and 5-6, Kawakami teaches the secondary battery according to claim 1, and further teaches changing temperature can change the amount of Ni diffused into the surface region (“coating”, [0049]). Thus, temperature is a result-effective variable. One of ordinary skill in the art would have readily adjusted temperature to arrive at the claimed amounts of Ni in the surface region in claims 3 and 5. Further, since the amount of Ni in the surface region is adjustable, the molar ratio of O to Ni can be accordingly adjusted to arrive at different values including the range as claimed in claim 6.
Regarding claim 7, Kawakami teaches the secondary battery according to claim 1, wherein the lithium-containing composite oxide is in a form of primary particle (See Fig. 1), and an average particle size (D50) of the lithium-containing composite oxide may be in the range of 0.1 µm to 50 µm ([0040]). The claimed range of 10 µm or less overlaps the range of 0.1 µm to 50 µm. In the case where the claimed ranges “overlap or lie inside ranges disclosed by the prior art”, a prima facie case of obviousness exists. See MPEP § 2144.05 (I).
Regarding claim 10, Kawakami teaches the secondary battery according to claim 1, wherein the secondary battery is an all solid lithium-ion secondary battery formed of a cathode active material layer, and anode active material layer and a solid electrolyte layer formed between the cathode active material layer and the anode active material layer ([0073]).
Regarding claim 11, Kawakami teaches a positive electrode active material for a secondary battery comprising a particle (one of ordinary skill in the art would know that a material is composed of numerous particles) of a lithium-containing composite oxide (See, at least, Fig. 1, Title and Abstract).
Kawakami teaches the particle of the lithium-containing composite oxide includes a central portion having a composition represented by, for example, LiNi1/2Mn1/2O2 ([0038]), and having a surface region with a depth within 100 nm from a surface of the particle of the lithium-containing composite oxide (Fig. 3A, and [0060]-[0063]), as illustrated below:
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Kawakami further teaches the lithium-containing composite oxide as a central portion is covered by a coating of LixPOy ([0036]). The composition of the central portion represented by LiNi1/2Mn1/2O2 ([0038]) reads on the chemical formula (1) as instantly claimed when y=0 and p=0. The coating of LixPOy reads on the surface region as claimed and contains element P as instantly claimed.
Kawakami further teaches that an added element P is doped into the surface region of the particle (LixPOy in the surface region) such that the molar concentration of element P is larger than (See contents of Ni and P in Fig. 3A, above) that of Ni present in the surface region (“… to diffuse the Ni element into the coating material”, see at least Abstract, [0047], etc.).
Regarding claim 13, Kawakami teaches the secondary battery according to claim 1, and further teaches changing temperature can change the amount of Ni diffused into the surface layer region (“coating”, [0049]). Thus, temperature is a result-effective variable. One of ordinary skill in the art would have readily adjusted temperature to arrive at the claimed amounts of Ni in the surface layer region in claim 13.
Claim 4 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kawakami, as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Ryoshi et al. (US 20200313180 A1, hereafter Ryoshi).
Regarding claim 4, Kawakami teaches the secondary battery according to claim 1, but is silent to B as the added element.
Ryoshi discloses that by coating a surface of a lithium-containing composite oxide with Li3BO3 can suppress a deterioration of battery characteristics (“an increase in reaction of a positive electrode and a decrease in battery capacity”, [0015]) “due to the atmosphere” ([0015]-[0019]). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the instant invention to have used Li3BO3 coating taught by Ryoshi as an alternative to the coating of Kawakami in order to suppress a deterioration of battery characteristics.
Claims 8 and 9 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kawakami, as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Cho et al. (US 20150228969 A1, hereafter Cho).
Regarding claim 8, Kawakami teaches the secondary battery according to claim 1, but is silent as to the instantly claimed ratio of the content of the positive electrode active material.
However, adjusting the said ratio involves merely ordinary capabilities of one skilled in the art. For example, Cho discloses that a solid content of a positive active material has a weight ratio of 92% (i.e., 92/(92+4+4)=92%, [0101]). Thus, one of ordinary skill in the art would have readily adjusted amounts of various components in the positive electrode of Kawakami, as taught by Cho, to arrive at the solid content ratio as instantly claimed through routine experimentations.
Regarding claim 9, Kawakami teaches the secondary battery according to claim 1, but is silent to the lithium-containing composite oxide having a molar fraction of Ni as instantly claimed.
In the same field of endeavor, however, Cho discloses that a lithium-containing composite oxide represented by the formula recited in [0059] and having a high molar fraction of Ni being equal to or greater than 60 mol% and equal to or less than 90 mol% (equivalent to 0.6≤x≤0.9 as instantly claimed) ([0057]-[0058]) not only has a low cost but also benefits for high capacity ([0057]). Kawakami discloses that the cathode (positive electrode) active material is not particularly limited ([0038]). Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the instant invention to have employed a lithium-containing composite oxide having a high molar fraction of Ni being equal to or greater than 60 mol% and equal to or less than 90 mol% taught by Cho as an alternative to the lithium-containing composite oxide of Kawakami, in order to achieve high capacity.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed March 24, 2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
1) Applicant’s main arguments are:
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In response, the arguments have been fully considered but not persuasive, because Applicant did not point out which limitation(s) were not taught or/and why/how the limitation(s) were not taught. The office believes that each and every limitation has been clearly taught as addressed in the rejections above.
2) Other arguments with respect to the rejections of dependent claims are based on the improper rejections of claims 1 and 11. However, since the rejections of independent claims 1 and 11, upon which the dependents are dependent, are not improper, the arguments are not persuasive.
Conclusion
THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. 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 ZHONGQING WEI whose telephone number is (571)272-4809. The examiner can normally be reached Mon - Fri 9:30 - 6:00.
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/ZHONGQING WEI/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1727
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