DETAILED ACTION
Response to Amendment
Claims 1-5 and 8-12 are currently pending. Claims 6 and 7 have been cancelled. The amended claims do overcome the previously stated 102 and 103 rejections. However, upon further consideration, claims 1-5 and 8-12 are rejected under the following new 112 and 103 rejections. This action is made FINAL as necessitated by the amendment.
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 4 and 5 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 claims 4 and 5, it is unclear whether “the optional second binder” is referring to “a second binder” that is positively recited in claim 1.
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, 2, and 4-12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kim et al (KR 102264699 B1, machine translation) in view of Kim et al (US 2024/0413335).
Regarding claims 1, 2, and 4-9, Kim et al discloses a secondary battery comprising comprising a negative electrode comprising a multilayer electrode plate comprising: a Cu foil (substrate), a first active material layer (one binding layer), and a second active material layer (one barrier layer) laminated in sequence on the Cu foil, wherein the first active material layer and the second active material layer are distributed alternatively in the thickness direction with the second active material layer being provided on the outside of the first active material layer;
the first active material layer comprising styrene-butadiene rubber (first binder); and the second active material layer comprising styrene-(meth)acrylic acid ester copolymer (multi-component copolymer) different from the styrene-butadiene rubber and a carboxymethyl cellulose (second binder) different from styrene-(meth)acrylic acid ester copolymer), the carboxymethyl cellulose different from styrene-butadiene rubber (first binder); wherein the styrene-(meth)acrylic acid ester copolymer is a linear multi-component copolymer, the linear multi-component copolymer is a copolymer comprising only one monomer of acrylic acid obtained by co-polymerization;
wherein the styrene-(meth)acrylic acid ester copolymer (multi-component copolymer) has a content of 1.2 wt% and the carboxymethyl cellulose (second binder) has a content of 0.8 wt% corresponding to a weight ratio of styrene-(meth)acrylic acid ester copolymer to carboxymethyl cellulose of (1.2 : 0.8) or 1.5; and
wherein the thickness of the first active material layer (binding layer) may be 25% of the thickness of the second active material layer (barrier layer) which corresponds to a thickness ratio of the first active material layer to the second active material layer that is 2 : 8;
wherein in the first active material layer, the styrene-butadiene rubber (first binder) has a content of 1.5 wt%;
wherein in the second active material layer, the styrene-(meth)acrylic acid ester copolymer (multi-component copolymer) and the carboxymethyl cellulose (second binder) have a total content of 2 wt%;
wherein a ratio of a weight of the styrene-butadiene rubber (first binder) in the first active material layer (binding layer) relative to a total weight of the styrene-(meth)acrylic acid ester copolymer (multi-component copolymer) and the carboxymethyl cellulose (second binder) in the second active material layer is 1.5 : (1.2+0.8) which is 1.5 : 2 ([0033],[0084]-[0087],[0089]).
However, Kim ‘699 does not expressly teach a thickness ratio of the binding layer to the barrier layer that is 3:7 – 7:3 (claim 1).
Kim ‘335 discloses a thickness of a first negative electrode active material layer (binding layer) that is 31.75 um and a thickness of a second negative electrode active material layer (barrier layer) that is 31.75 um which correspond to a thickness ratio of the first negative electrode active material layer (binding layer) to the second negative electrode active material layer (barrier layer) that is 5 : 5 ([0169]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the Kim ‘699 negative electrode to include a thickness ratio of the first negative electrode active material layer (binding layer) to the second negative electrode active material layer (barrier layer) that is 5 : 5 in order to provide excellent adhesion and thickness expansion control performance, lifespan performance may be improved to an excellent level ([0055]). There is no evidence of criticality of the claimed thickness ratio of the binding layer to the barrier layer.
Regarding claims 10-12, Kim ‘699 does not expressly teach a battery module, characterized by comprising a secondary battery (claim 10); a battery pack, characterized by comprising a battery module (claim 11); a power consuming device, characterized by comprising the battery pack (claim 12).
The Office takes the position that a power consuming device comprising a battery pack comprising a battery module comprising a secondary battery is well known in the art.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to modify the Kim ‘699 secondary battery to include a battery pack comprising a battery module comprising the secondary battery because all of the elements were known in the prior art and one skilled in the art could have combined the elements as claimed by known methods with no change in their respective functions, and the combination would have yielded predictable results to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention.
Claim 3 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kim et al (KR 102264699 B1, machine translation) in view of Kim et al (US 2024/0413335) as applied to claim 1, and further in view of Zhu et al (US 2019/0067685).
However, Kim ‘699 as modified by Kim ‘335 does not expressly teach a second binder that is selected from at least one of styrene-butadiene rubber polymers or styrene-propadiene rubbers.
Zhu et al discloses a negative electrode plate (barrier layer) comprising sodium carboxymethylcellulose, sodium polyacrylate (multi-component copolymer), and styrene-butadiene latex (second binder) ([0047]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the Kim ‘699/Kim ‘335 second active material layer to include styrene-butadiene latex in order to utilize a water-soluble binder that can effectively improve dynamic performance in precipitation lithium, rate capability, and impedance ([0004]).
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claims 1-5 and 8-12 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
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.
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/T.S.C/Examiner, Art Unit 1751
/Haroon S. Sheikh/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1751
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