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 .
Status of Claims
Claims 19-20 & 25 are amended. Claims 19-28 are currently pending.
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.
Claims 19-28 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yushin (US 2021/0313617 A1) in view of Son (US 2019/0207221 A1).
Regarding claims 19-22, 25 & 27-28, Yushin teaches a lithium ion battery comprising an anode material having a specific surface area of about 1 m2/g to 5 m2/g, and comprising an aggregate comprising a carbon material having a pore volume greater than 0.35 cm3/g; and an active material such as Si and/or SiOx (and further including a dopant such as Mg) filled in pores of the carbon material such that the active material is distributed among the carbon materials or on surface of the carbon material; wherein the carbon material is shown in a Raman spectrum obtained by Raman spectroscopy using a measurement light source having a wavelength of 532 nm that a G band is observed at 1530 cm-1 to 1630 cm-1, and a D band is observed at 1280 cm-1 to 1380 cm-1, and a ratio ID/IG of 0.7 to 2.7, wherein the anode material further comprises a carbon layer having a thickness of 2 nm to 200 nm coated on at least a portion of surface of the aggregate, and wherein a material of the carbon layer comprises amorphous carbon such as a carbonized polymer or resin including petroleum pitch (fig. 2; [0066], [0072]-[0075], [0081]-[0082], [0093] & [0172]). Yushin is silent as to dopant element comprising at least one of F, N, and P capable of inducing a carbon material to produce a Lewis acid side and at least a portion of the active material being bound to the carbon material through the Lewis acid site, wherein a content of the dopant element in the aggregate is 50 ppm to 20000 ppm and the dopant element is distributed on surface and/or inside of at least one of the active material and the carbon material. Son teaches a lithium-ion battery comprising an anode material, having a median particle diameter of 0.5 microns to 30 microns and comprising an aggregate including an active material such as Si with an oxide layer having a thickness of about 10 nm or less formed on at least a portion of the surface of the active material ([0055], [0064]-[0065], [0079], [0153] & [0156]); a metal oxide such as titanium oxide (i.e TiO2) ([0174]-[0175]); a carbon material such as graphene ([0064]-[0065]); a dopant element such as N or P in an amount of 50 ppm to 20,000 ppm in the aggregate, wherein the dopant element is distributed on surface and/or inside the carbon material ([0085]-[0087]); and an amorphous carbon layer coated on at least a portion of the surface of the aggregate ([0108]); wherein the carbon material is shown in a Raman spectrum obtained by Raman spectroscopy using a measurement light source having a wavelength of 532 nm that a G band is observed at 1530 cm-1 to 1630 cm-1, and a D band is observed at 1280 cm-1 to 1380 cm-1 such that a ratio Id/Ig of a peak intensity Id of the D band and peak intensity I-g of the G band is 1 to 2.5 ([0095]). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the present invention, to provide a dopant element such as N or P, wherein a content of the dopant element in the aggregate is 50 ppm to 20,000 ppm because when N is included and incorporated into a defective region of graphene, the stability and quality of graphene may be further improved while efficiently suppressing the formation of the SEI layer as taught by Son ([0092]-[0093]).
Regarding claim 23, Yushin teaches the aggregate further comprising a metal oxide such as TiO2 ([0082]-[0083]).
Regarding claim 24, Yushin teaches the aggregate further comprising a conductive enhance such as carbon nanotubes ([0118]-[0119]).
Regarding claim 26, Yushin teaches the anode material further comprising an oxide layer formed on at least a portion of the surface of the active material, wherein the oxide layer has a thickness of 1 nm to 100 nm ([0082]-[0083]).
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 09/01/2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive. In response to applicant’s arguments that the combination of Yushin and Son does not fairly teach or suggest the claimed subject matter, the examiner respectfully disagrees. Specifically, applicant argues that neither Yushin nor Son teaches or suggests features (a) (i.e dopant element comprising at least one of F, N and P, wherein a content of the dopant element in the aggregate is 50 ppm to 20000 ppm and the wherein the dopant element is distributed on surface and/or inside of at least one of the active material and the carbon material) and (b) (i.e carbon material having a pore volume of greater than or equal to 0.35 cc/g). However, contrary to applicant’s assertions, Yushin discloses that the carbon-surface layer-comprising composite conversion-type active material particles (including alloying-type particles and mixed conversion/intercalation particles) should exhibit a certain spectral signature detected in Raman spectroscopy where in some designs, it may be advantageous for the ratio of intensities of the carbon D band and carbon G band (ID /IG ) in the Raman spectra to range from about 0.7 to about 2.7 ([0093]). As noted above, Yushin discloses that the composite conversion-type active material particles include alloying type particles as well as mixed conversion/intercalation particles. In particular, Yushin discloses a core-shell structure for the composite particles in which an active material such as Si is infiltrated within a porous scaffolding matrix having a pore volume of 0.12 cc/g to 10 cc/g which reads on the claimed range, wherein the porous scaffolding matrix includes a porous electrically conductive material which can accommodate volume changes of the Si active material ([0074]-[0075]). As a porous electrically conductive material of the core within which Si particles can be infiltrated, Yushin discloses a carbon material or a conductive polymer ([0072]). Accordingly, applicant’s arguments that Yushin is silent with respect to feature (b) is not found to be persuasive. With regards to applicant’s arguments that in Son, N, P and S are only present in the first graphene on the outermost layer of the primary particles and/or in the second graphene of the shell in contrast to the claimed doping element which is distributed on surface and/or inside of at least one the active material and the carbon material, the examiner notes that the claimed subject matter only requires that the doping element be comprised within the active material and/or carbon material on a surface thereof or inside the carbon material. As such, Son discloses an aggregate comprising a Si-based active material and a carbon material such as graphene which is doped with N or P in an amount of 50 ppm to 20000 ppm, wherein the doping element is included and incorporated into a defective region of graphene. Therefore, Son discloses that the doping element is necessarily provided on a surface of or within the carbon material (i.e graphene) where defects exist in the carbon material. As described in Son, by the inclusion of the doping element, the stability and quality of graphene may be further improved while efficiently suppressing the formation of the SEI layer ([0092]-[0093]). By forming a carbon material with the claimed dopant element around the Si-based particles, the volume expansion of the Si particles can be suppressed similarly to the carbon material in Yushin for preventing excessive expansion of the Si particles.
Thus, in view of the foregoing, claims 19-28 stand rejected.
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.
Contact Information
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to NATHANAEL T ZEMUI whose telephone number is (571)272-4894. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8am-5pm (EST).
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, BARBARA GILLIAM can be reached at (571)272-1330. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/NATHANAEL T ZEMUI/Examiner, Art Unit 1727
Prosecution Insights