DETAILED ACTION
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
The foreign priority application No. PCT/JP2020/031096 filed on August 18, 2020 has not been made of record in the instant application.
Claims 1-16 are pending, with claims 2 and 11-16 withdrawn from consideration as being directed to a non-elected invention.
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and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114.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 May 29, 2026 has been entered.
Claim Objections
Claims 5 and 6 are objected to because of the following informalities: the limitation of claim 5 “a fibrous or porous ionically conductive layer” should be amended to recite “a fibrous ionically conductive layer”.
Claim 6 is objected to as being dependent on the objected claim 5
Appropriate correction is required.
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 and 4-10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Park et al. (WO 2020/091453, with citations from the English language equivalent US 2021/0104748) in view of Hu et al. (US 2019/0260066) and Ying et al. (US 2001/0053475) and in further view of Zhamu et al. (US 2017/0103856).
With regard to claim 1, Park et al. teach the lithium secondary battery of fig.1:
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The lithium secondary battery comprises:
- a positive electrode including the positive electrode current collector (11) and the positive electrode mixture (13),
-a negative electrode including the negative current collector (21) and the first to third protective layers (22), (23), and (24), and
-the separator (30) (par.0024).
The positive electrode including the positive electrode current collector (11) and the positive electrode mixture (13) of Park et al. is equivalent to the “positive electrode” in claim 1.
The negative electrode including the negative current collector (21) of Park et al. is equivalent to the “negative electrode not having a negative electrode active material” in claim 1.
The separator (30) of Park et al. is “a separator placed between the positive electrode and the negative electrode” in claim 1.
Park et al. teach that an electrode assembly is formed (par.0123), but fail to teach that the protective layers are formed on the surface of the separator.
However, it is well-known in the art that one or more protective layers may be provided on a separator on the side facing the negative electrode (see fig.1, par.0076-0077, par.0084 of Hu et al. and the abstract of Ying et al.).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the filing date of the claimed invention to place the protective layers (24), (23), and (22) on the surface facing the negative current collector (21) of the separator (30) of Park et al.
An electrode assembly including a positive electrode including the positive electrode current collector (11) and the positive electrode mixture (13), a separator (30) having deposited thereon the protective layers (24), (23), and (22), and a negative current collector (21) of Park modified by Hu and Ying comprises the same components and in the same order as the electrode assembly in fig.1 of Park et al.
Park et al. further teach that the second protective layer (23) comprises pores and an electrically conductive matrix (par.0045, par.0047).
The first protective layer (22) is a polymeric layer having ionic conductivity (par.0038-0040), and the third protective layer (24) is a polymeric layer having low ionic conductivity (par.0060).
Polymeric layers with ionic conductivity may be porous, as evidenced in par.0087 of Hu et al.
The examiner would like to note that the instant application allows for multiple layers to form the “buffering function layer” (see par.0017 of the specification).
Park et al., Hu et al., and Ying et al. fail to teach that the porous layers with electric and ionic conductivity are fibrous layers, as required in claim 1.
However, Zhamu et al. teach that a conductive porous layer structure may be a conductive polymer-coated fiber foam or a conductive polymer nano-fiber mat (par.0037, claim 8).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the filing date of the claimed invention to obtain a porous fibrous layer (22) with ionic conductivity and a porous fibrous layer (23) with electric conductivity on the separator of Park modified by Hu and Ying.
The lithium secondary battery of Park modified by Hu, Ying, and Zhamu is equivalent to the lithium secondary battery in claim 1.
With regard to claim 4, Park et al. teach that the first protective layer (22) has a thickness of 200nm to 10mm (par.0041), but fail to teach the total thickness of the first to third protective layers (22), (23), and (24).
However, it would be expected that the second protective layer (23) and the third protective layer (24) have a thickness in the same range as the thickness of the first protective layer (22).
Therefore, the total thickness of the first to third protective layers (22), (23), and (24) of Park modified by Hu, Ying, and Zhamu would be expected to be about 600 nm to 30 mm. This range overlaps the claimed range.
Alternatively, the thickness of the protective layers formed on a separator has influence over the energy density of the battery, as evidenced in par.0085 of Hu et al.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to vary the thickness of the protective layers (22) to (24) of Park modified by Hu, Ying and Zhamu, in order to optimize the energy density of the battery.
With regard to claim 5, Park et al. teach that the second protective layer (23) comprises pores and an electrically conductive matrix (par.0045), the first protective layer (22) is a polymeric layer having ionic conductivity (par.0038-0040), and the third protective layer (24) is a polymeric layer having low ionic conductivity (par.0060).
Polymeric layers with ionic conductivity may be porous (see par.0087 pf Hu et al.).
Zhamu et al. teach that a conductive porous layer structure may be a conductive polymer-coated fiber foam or a conductive polymer nano-fiber mat (par.0037, claim 8).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the filing date of the claimed invention to obtain a porous fibrous layer (22) with ionic conductivity on the separator of Park modified by Hu and Ying.
The second protective layer (23) which comprises pores and an electrically conductive matrix is equivalent to the “electronically conductive layer which covers the ionically conductive layer” in claim 5 (see the order to protective layers in fig.1 of Park et al.).
With regard to claim 6, Park et al. teach that the second protective layer (23) has electronical conductivity (par.0045, par.0047).
Park et al. further teach that the first protective layer (22) has a thickness of 200nm to 10mm (Par.0041), but fail to teach the thickness of the second protective layer (23).
However, it would be expected that the second protective layer (23) has a thickness in the same range as the thickness of the first protective layer (22).
Therefore, it would be expected that thickness of the second protective layers (23) of Park modified by Hu, Ying, and Zhamu is about 200nm to 10mm. This range overlaps the claimed range.
With regard to claim 7, Park et al. teach that the battery is charged by applying a voltage of a certain level or higher, lithium ions are released from the positive electrode mixture (13) in the positive electrode (10), migrate towards the negative electrode current collector (21) after passing through the separator (30) and the protective layers (22)-(24), and form a lithium metal layer (25) on the negative electrode current collector (21) (par.0030 and fig.2).
It is inherent that lithium metal deposited on the negative electrode current collector (21) dissolves electrolytically during the discharge cycle.
With regard to claim 8, Park et al. further teach that the negative electrode current collector (21) may be copper, stainless steel, nickel, or titanium (par.0034).
With regard to claim 9, fig. 1 of Park et al. shows clearly that the negative electrode does not have a lithium foil in the surface thereof before the initial charge.
Park et al. teach that a lithium foil forms on the negative current collector (21) only after the first charging cycle (par.0030, fig.2).
With regard to claim 10, Park et al. teach that the battery is charged by applying a voltage of a certain level or higher, lithium ions are released from the positive electrode mixture (13) in the positive electrode (10), migrate towards the negative electrode current collector (21) after passing through the separator (30) and the protective layers (22)-(24), and form a lithium metal layer (25) on the negative electrode current collector (21) (par.0030 and fig.2).
The specification of the instant application teaches that a lithium secondary battery equipped with a negative electrode without a negative electrode active material has a high energy because lithium metal precipitates in the surface of the negative electrode and charge/discharge are performed by depositing lithium metal on the surface of the negative electrode and electrolytically dissolving the deposited lithium (par.0013 of the specification). The lithium secondary battery may have an energy density of 350Wh/kg or more (par.0022).
The lithium secondary battery of Park modified by Hu, Ying, and Zhamu comprises the same compounds as the lithium secondary battery of the instant application, and functions in the same way as the lithium secondary battery of the instant application.
Therefore, it would be expected that the lithium secondary battery of Park modified by Hu, Ying, and Zhamu has an energy density of 350Wh/kg or more.
"[T]he discovery of a previously unappreciated property of a prior art composition, or of a scientific explanation for the prior art’s functioning, does not render the old composition patentably new to the discoverer." Atlas Powder Co. v. IRECO Inc., 190 F.3d 1342, 1347, 51 USPQ2d 1943, 1947 (Fed. Cir. 1999) (MPEP 2112.I. SOMETHING WHICH IS OLD DOES NOT BECOME PATENTABLE UPON THE DISCOVERY OF A NEW PROPERTY)
Claim 3 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Park et al. (WO 2020/091453, with citations from the English language equivalent US 2021/0104748) in view of Hu et al. (US 2019/0260066) and Ying et al. (US 2001/0053475) and in further view of Zhamu et al. (US 2017/0103856) as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Lee (US 2007/0082261).
Park modified by Hu, Ying, and Zhamu teach the lithium secondary battery of claim 1 (see paragraph 7 above), but fail to teach the porosity of the first to third protective layers (22), (23), and (24).
However, it is well-known in the art that the porosity of a separator determines the mechanical strength and the ionic conductivity (see par.0065 of Lee).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the filing date of the claimed invention to vary the porosity of the first to third protective layers (22), (23), and (24) of Park modified by Hu, Ying and Zhamu, in order to optimize the mechanical strength and the ionic conductivity.
Terminal Disclaimer
The terminal disclaimer filed on May 15, 2026 disclaiming the terminal portion of any patent granted on this application which would extend beyond the expiration date of any patent issued from the co-pending application No.18/111,339 has been reviewed and is accepted. The terminal disclaimer has been recorded.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed on May 15, 2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
The examiner would like to note that:
-the provisional rejection of claims 1 and 3 on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claims 1, 7, and 8 of copending Application No. 18/111,339 (US 2023/0216044) is withdrawn after the filing and the approval of the Terminal Disclaimer;
-the rejection of claims 1 and 4-10 under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Park et al. (WO 2020/091453, with citations from the English language equivalent US 2021/0104748) in view of Hu et al. (US 2019/0260066) and Ying et al. (US 2001/0053475) is withdrawn after the applicant’s amendment to claim 1; and
-the rejection of claim 3 under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Park et al. (WO 2020/091453, with citations from the English language equivalent US 2021/0104748) in view of Hu et al. (US 2019/0260066) and Ying et al. (US 2001/0053475) as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Lee (US 2007/0082261) is withdrawn after the applicant’s amendment to claim 1.
However, new grounds of rejection for claims 1 and 3-10 are presented in paragraphs 6-8 above.
On page 6 of the Remarks the applicant argues that Ying discourages the use of fiber-based structures at the separator interface for suppressing dendrites (par.0144). Because an objective of Park et al. is preventing a decrease in the battery lifetime caused by lithium dendrites, one of ordinary skill would not look at the fiber-based layer unacceptable for addressing dendrite concerns.
The examiner would like to note that par.0144 of Ying et al. teach that traditional porous separators made of fibers such as glass, TeflonTM, and polypropylene have larger pores that makes them unacceptable for rechargeable cells when dendrite formation is a concern. While Ying et al. discourages from the use of these traditional separators, Ying et al. does not discourage from using fibers in separators.
Park et al. (WO 2020/091453, with citations from the English language equivalent US 2021/0104748) and Hu et al. (US 2019/0260066) teach porous conductive layers (par.0045, par.0047, par.0067 of Park et al., and par.0087 of Hu et al.). and Zhamu et al. (US 2017/0103856) evidence that a conductive porous layer structure may be a conductive polymer-coated fiber foam or a conductive polymer nano-fiber mat (par.0037, claim 8).
Therefore, one of ordinary skill would have been motivated to obtain a porous fibrous layer (22) with ionic conductivity and a porous fibrous layer (23) with electric conductivity on the separator of Park modified by Hu and Ying.
Conclusion
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/ANCA EOFF/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1722
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