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 .
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 1-18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Regarding claim 1, it is unclear exactly what the Q1:Q2 ratio is and how it is determined.
As to line 13 of claim 1, the E amount is described using c1, which creates and antecedent basis issue, as c1 is used in the formula for metal oxide A. It should read c2.
Claim 1 recites the limitation "the chemical formula" in lines 8 and 11-12. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. It should read “a chemical formula” because it is the first mention of the term.
Claims 2 and 11 recite the limitation "the mass fractions" in line 2. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. It should read “mass fractions” because it is the first mention of the term.
Claims 3 and 12 recite the limitation "the parts by weight ratio" in line 1. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. It should read “a parts by weight ratio” because it is the first mention of the term.
Claims 4, 5, 13 and 14 recite the limitation "the particle size distribution" in line 1. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. It should read “a particle size distribution” because it is the first mention of the term.
Claims 7 and 16 recites the limitation "the compaction density" in line 1. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. It should read “a compaction density” because it is the first mention of the term.
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.
Claim(s) 1, 2, 7-11 and 16-18 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Choi (U.S. Patent Publication 2018/0145322).
Regarding claims 1 and 10, Choi discloses a composite cathode active material on a current collector for a cathode of a lithium battery that is used in electronic devices, the active material comprising: a first lithium transition metal oxide represented by the formula LiaNibCocMndO2, wherein 1.0≤a≤1.03, 0.4<b<1.0, 0<c<0.3, 0<d<0.4, and b+c+d=1 (equivalent to transition metal oxide B); and a second lithium transition metal oxide represented by formula LixM4yM5zMnwO2, wherein 1.07≤x≤1.20, 0.1≤y<0.8, 0≤z≤0.13, 0.46≤w<0.8, and 0.80≤y+z+w≤0.93; and M4 and M5 each independently include nickel (Ni), vanadium (V), chromium (Cr), iron (Fe), cobalt (Co), zirconium (Zr), rhenium (Re), aluminum (Al), boron (B), germanium (Ge), ruthenium (Ru), tin (Sn), titanium (Ti), niobium (Nb), molybdenum (Mo), platinum (Pt), or a combination thereof (equivalent to transition metal oxide A) (Paragraphs 0003, 0037, 0042, 0043, 0049, 0061). Choi also discloses charge/discharge profiles of 1st and 2nd cycles of the lithium battery and their conversions into dQ/dV vs. voltage (V), which shows a small dip between 3.9 and 4.2 V which would result in a ratio of the intensity in this range to the intensity at 3.9 V to be slightly greater than 1 (Fig. 6B). As to claims 2 and 10, Choi teaches that the second lithium transition metal oxide is in an amount of 1-30 wt% (Paragraphs 0028), which would leave the first metal oxide in an amount of 70-99 wt%. If LiNi0.8Co0.1Mn0.1O2 is chosen for the first lithium transition metal oxide and LiNi0.5Mn0.5O2 is chosen for the second lithium transition metal, filling in the amounts into the equation of claims 3 and 11 would result in an R of 2.5, which falls within the range of the claims. Regarding claims 7 and 16, Choi states that the composite cathode active material may be compressed to have a press density of 3.10 g/cc or greater (Paragraph 0059). As to claims 8, 9, 17 and 18, Choi discloses that the amounts of the composite cathode active material, a conducting agent, and a binder may be in ranges that are suitable for use in lithium secondary batteries, such as a weight ratio of 92:4:4 (Paragraphs 0065 and 0119). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art that this ratio could be slightly adjusted so that the ranges are suitable for the desired battery.
Choi fails to specifically teach the temperature and the manner in which the Q1:Q2 ratio is determined.
Choi teaches that the graph of Fig. 6B was determined in a similar manner as described in the specification of the present invention (Paragraph 0130-0137).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the present invention that the temperature, voltages and currents used during charging and discharging of the battery can easily be adjusted to form a similar graph to that of Fig. 6A.
Claim(s) 3 and 12 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Choi (U.S. Patent Publication 2018/0145322) in view of Yang (CN Publication 113140700).
The teachings of Choi have been discussed in paragraph 5 above.
Choi fails to disclose that the lithium transition metal oxide with the lower amount of nickel is present in a larger weight percentage.
Yang discloses a positive electrode sheet comprising: a first positive electrode active material, a second positive electrode active material, a conductive agent and a binder, wherein first positive electrode active material has the formula LiNixCoyMn1-x-yO2, the second positive electrode active material has the formula LiNixCozMn1-x-zO2 with 0<x<1, 0<y<1, 0<z<1, and y>z, and wherein the mass ratio of the first positive electrode active material to the second active material is 3:1 to 1:3 (Paragraphs 0010-0011, 0013, 0019).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the present invention that the lithium transition metal oxide having the lower amount of nickel in Choi can have a larger weight percentage because Yang shows that the amounts of the metals in the active materials can be adjusted as well as the amounts of the active materials so that different parts of the capacity voltage graph can be suppressed or increased depending on the desired battery.
Claim(s) 4-6 and 13-15 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Choi (U.S. Patent Publication 2018/0145322) in view of Du (U.S. Patent Publication 2021/0126242).
The teachings of Choi have been discussed in paragraph 5 above.
Choi fails to disclose that the positive electrode active material is in a single crystal or single crystal-like morphology, and the ranges of the particle size distribution.
As to claims 6 and 15, Du discloses a positive electrode material comprises a lithium nickel transition metal oxide A and lithium nickel transition metal oxide B, which have different sizes and monocrystalline or monocrystalline-like particles, and an overall compacted density of 3.3- 3.7 g/cm3 (Paragraphs 0017-0020, 0032). Regarding claims 4, 5, 13 and 14, Du teaches that the D10 of the particles is 1-5 µm, the D50 is 5-15 µm, and the D90 is 12-25 µm (Paragraph 0028), which would result in a (D90-D10)/D50 of about 2 when choosing a particle size in the middle of the ranges.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the present invention that the active materials Choi could have single crystal morphology and a particle size distribution in the ranges of the present invention because Du teaches that a degree of crystallinity and particle size distribution of the active material can be controlled to mitigate particle crushing problems during pressing and cycling, improve the powder compacted density and ensure lower gassing and good cycle performance.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to BRITTANY L RAYMOND whose telephone number is (571)272-6545. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 9 am-6 pm.
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, Niki Bakhtiari can be reached at 571-272-3433. 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.
BRITTANY L. RAYMOND
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 1722
/BRITTANY L RAYMOND/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1722