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 .
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on 14 April 2026 has been entered.
Status of Claims
Claims 1-10 are currently pending
Claim 1 is amended
Status of Amendments
The amendment filed 14 April 2026 has been fully considered, but does not place the application in condition for allowance.
Status of Objections and Rejections of the Office Action from 1 January 2026
The 103 rejections over Uhm in view of Toyama have been withdrawn in view of Applicant’s amendment. However, a new ground of rejection over Uhm in view Kuzuo has been set forth as necessitated by Applicant’s amendment.
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 1-10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Uhm et al. (WO 2020091428 A1, using US 20210273262 A1 as the English translation), hereinafter Uhm, in view of Kuzuo et al. (JP 2011201764 A), hereinafter Kuzuo.
Regarding claims 1-2 and 8-10, Uhm teaches a lithium secondary battery [0015], as required by claim 1, comprising: a positive electrode current collector 11 (Fig. 1); a positive electrode formed on at least one surface of the positive electrode current collector and having a positive electrode active material 13; a negative electrode 21 free of a negative electrode active material [0040]; and a separator 30 or solid electrolyte disposed between the positive electrode and the negative electrode, wherein the positive electrode comprises a Li(Ni, Co, Mn)O2 crystal and/or a Li(Ni, Co, AI)O2 crystal, in this case at least one selected from a list including Li(NiaCobMnc)O2, wherein 0<a<1, 0<b<1, 0<c<1, and a+b+c=1, as is also required by claim 9, and Li1+aNibM’1-bO2-cA’c, wherein 0≤a≤0.1, 0≤b≤0.8, 0≤c<0.2, and M′ is one or more of Co or Al, and A′ is one or more anions of −1 or −2 valency, as is also required by claim 10 [0078], in an amount of 20% by mass or more and 100% by mass or less relative to the total mass of the positive electrode active material, as required by claims 1, 9, and 10, in this case preferably used as the positive electrode active material [0078], which is considered to be equivalent to the positive electrode comprising the crystal in an amount of 100% by mass relative to the total mass of the positive electrode active material. In the case where the claimed ranges "overlap or lie inside ranges disclosed by the prior art" a prima facie case of obviousness exists. In re Wertheim, 541 F.2d 257, 191 USPQ 90 (CCPA 1976); In re Woodruff, 919 F.2d 1575, 16 USPQ2d 1934 (Fed. Cir. 1990).
Uhm is silent as to the full width at half maximum of the positive electrode active material. However, Kuzuo teaches a positive electrode active material comprising LiNi1-xyCoxMyO2, wherein 0.05≦x≦0.95, 0≦y≦0.15, x+y≦0.95 and M is one or more elements selected from Al and Mn [0016]. When M is Mn the compound of Kuzuo overlaps with the claimed Li(Ni, Co, Mn)O2 crystal of claims 1 and 9, as well as the specific claimed LiNi1-x-yCoxMnyO2 (where 0.07≤x≤0.19 and 0.01≤y≤0.15) of claim 1 and LiNi1-x-yCoxMnyO2 (where 0.10≤x≤0.17 and 0.01≤y≤0.15) of claim 2, and when M is Al the compound of Kuzuo overlaps with the claimed Li(Ni, Co, Al)O2 crystal of claims 1 and 10, as well as the specific claimed LiNi1-x-yCoxAlyO2 (where 0.07≤x≤0.19 and 0.01≤y≤0.15) of claim 1 and LiNi1-x-yCoxAlyO2 (where 0.10≤x≤0.17 and 0.01≤y≤0.15) of claim 2. Kuzuo further teaches the positive electrode active material having a (003) plane half-value width of 0.09° or less, more preferably 0.05 to 0.085° [0052]. This overlaps with the claimed range of 0.01° to 0.10° of claims 1 and 9-10 and 0.03° to 0.08° of claim 8. In the case where the claimed ranges "overlap or lie inside ranges disclosed by the prior art" a prima facie case of obviousness exists. In re Wertheim, 541 F.2d 257, 191 USPQ 90 (CCPA 1976); In re Woodruff, 919 F.2d 1575, 16 USPQ2d 1934 (Fed. Cir. 1990).
Uhm and Kuzuo are both considered to be analogous to the claimed invention because they are in the same field of lithium secondary battery cathode active materials. Therefore, it would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Uhm to include the cathode active material taught by Kuzuo. Doing so would have provided improved crystallinity for the active material and excellent charge/discharge capacity and thermal stability for a battery using the active material [Kuzuo 0052]. Further, the selection of a known material, in this case the LiNi1-xyCoxMyO2 material of Kuzuo, based on its suitability for its intended use, in this case as a cathode active material, supported a prima facie obviousness determination in Sinclair & Carroll Co. v. Interchemical Corp., 325 U.S. 327, 65 USPQ 297 (1945).
Regarding claim 3, the combination of Uhm and Kuzuo teaches the lithium secondary battery according to claim 1. Uhm further teaches wherein the positive electrode active material to lithium metal compound weight ratio is 95:5 to 30:70 [0100]. This overlaps with the claimed range of 50% by mass or more and 100% by mass or less. In the case where the claimed ranges "overlap or lie inside ranges disclosed by the prior art" a prima facie case of obviousness exists. In re Wertheim, 541 F.2d 257, 191 USPQ 90 (CCPA 1976); In re Woodruff, 919 F.2d 1575, 16 USPQ2d 1934 (Fed. Cir. 1990).
Regarding claim 4, the combination of Uhm and Kuzuo teaches the lithium secondary battery according to claim 1. Uhm further teaches wherein charging and discharging are performed by depositing lithium metal on the surface of the negative electrode and dissolving the deposited lithium. In this case, the lithium ions are taught to migrate through charge [0015] and form a film on the negative electrode [0043].
Regarding claim 5, the combination of Uhm and Kuzuo teaches the lithium secondary battery according to claim 1. Uhm further teaches the negative electrode consisting of at least one selected from the group consisting of Cu, Ni, Ti, and stainless steel [0071].
Regarding claim 6, the combination of Uhm and Kuzuo teaches the lithium secondary battery according to claim 1. Uhm further teaches that the structure is capable of forming lithium metal on a negative electrode current collector using lithium ions transferred through charge after assembling the battery [0013]. This indicates that the foil is not formed on the surface of the negative electrode before initial charging.
Regarding claim 7, the combination of Uhm and Kuzuo teaches the lithium secondary battery according to claim 1. Uhm further teaches a first charge voltage range of 4.8 V to 2.5 V [0023]. This overlaps with the claimed range of 4.4 V or more. In the case where the claimed ranges "overlap or lie inside ranges disclosed by the prior art" a prima facie case of obviousness exists. In re Wertheim, 541 F.2d 257, 191 USPQ 90 (CCPA 1976); In re Woodruff, 919 F.2d 1575, 16 USPQ2d 1934 (Fed. Cir. 1990).
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim 1 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
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
US 20190020020 A1 teaches a cathode active material comprising Mn with a FWHM(003) of about 0.05 to 0.11.
JP 2000243394 A teaches a cathode active material comprising Mn or Al with a FWHM(003) of 0.1 to 0.16.
US 20130260248 A1 teaches a cathode active material comprising Mn with a FWHM(003) ≤0.13.
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/DUSTIN VAN KIRK/Examiner, Art Unit 1722
/ANCA EOFF/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1722
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