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 .
This is the initial office action for US Patent Application No. 18/252649 by Ma et al.
Claims 1-20 are currently pending and have been fully considered.
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(d):
(d) REFERENCE IN DEPENDENT FORMS.—Subject to subsection (e), a claim in dependent form shall contain a reference to a claim previously set forth and then specify a further limitation of the subject matter claimed. A claim in dependent form shall be construed to incorporate by reference all the limitations of the claim to which it refers.
The following is a quotation of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, fourth paragraph:
Subject to the following paragraph [i.e., the fifth paragraph of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112], a claim in dependent form shall contain a reference to a claim previously set forth and then specify a further limitation of the subject matter claimed. A claim in dependent form shall be construed to incorporate by reference all the limitations of the claim to which it refers.
Claims 6-8 rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(d) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, 4th paragraph, as being of improper dependent form for failing to further limit the subject matter of the claim upon which it depends, or for failing to include all the limitations of the claim upon which it depends.
Claim 6 recites the cathode active material of claim 1 and then further recites the limitation of the cathode active material “is represented by Formulas 3a to 3h”. Claim 6 fails to further limit the cathode active material composition of claim 1 because the limitation of the cathode active material being represented by formulas 3a to 3h is not a closed group of alternatives (see MPEP Chapter 2173.05(h)). Currently, claim 6 is written to include all formulas 3a to 3h in combination and therefore would not limit the compositional limitations of claim 1.
Claim 7 recites the cathode active material of claim 1 and then further recites the limitation of the cathode active material “is represented by Formulas 4a to 4h”. Claim 7 fails to further limit the cathode active material composition of claim 1 because the limitation of the cathode active material being represented by formulas 4a to 4h is not a closed group of alternatives (see MPEP Chapter 2173.05(h)). Currently, claim 7 is written to include all formulas 4a to 4h in combination and therefore would not limit the compositional limitations of claim 1.
Claim 8 recites the cathode active material of claim 1 and then further recites the limitation of the cathode active material “is represented by Formulas 5a to 5h”. Claim 8 fails to further limit the cathode active material composition of claim 1 because the limitation of the cathode active material being represented by formulas 5a to 5h is not a closed group of alternatives (see MPEP Chapter 2173.05(h)). Currently, claim 8 is written to include all formulas 5a to 5h in combination and therefore would not limit the compositional limitations of claim 1.
Applicant may cancel the claim(s), amend the claim(s) to place the claim(s) in proper dependent form, rewrite the claim(s) in independent form, or present a sufficient showing that the dependent claim(s) complies with the statutory requirements.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 1-4, 13, 14, 18 and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Kundu et al., Synthesis, Structure, and Na-Ion Migration in Na4NiP2O7F2: A Prospective High Voltage Positive Electrode Material for the Na-Ion Battery, Published January 5, 2015 in Chemistry of Materials, herein referred to as Kundu.
Regarding claims 1-4, Kundu teaches (Introduction, page 886) a positive electrode material (cathode active material) comprising Na4NiP2O7F2. The positive electrode material taught by Kundu satisfies Formula 1 of claim 1 wherein A is Na (Group 1 element), M is Ni (Group 10 element) and Z is F (Group 17 element). Also, the positive electrode material taught by Kundu satisfies the claimed ranges of x and y in claim 1 wherein the subscript of 4 for Na satisfies the condition of x=2 and the subscript of 2 for F satisfies the condition of y=2.
Regarding claim 13, Kundu teaches (Electrochemical Performance of Na4NiP2O7F2, page 890) the capacity of the positive electrode material is 150 mAh/g.
Regarding claim 14, Kundu teaches (Abstract) the positive electrode material is configured to have a high voltage of approximately 5 V.
Regarding claim 18, Kundu teaches (Experimental Section, page 886) the positive electrode material is used to make a cathode.
Regarding claim 20, Kundu teaches (Preparation of Single Phase Polycrystalline Powder, page 886) a method of preparation for a positive electrode material comprising Na4NiP2O7F2. A precursor, Na2PO3F, comprising Na, P, and F is mixed with a precursor NiO, comprising Ni, in a 2.5:1 molar ratio (stoichiometric ratio) to form a mixture. The mixture is subsequently heat treated under an argon gas flow (inert atmosphere) at a temperature of 575 degrees Celsius for 4 hours to obtain a positive electrode material comprising Na4NiP2O7F2.
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 10 and 11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kundu et al., Synthesis, Structure, and Na-Ion Migration in Na4NiP2O7F2: A Prospective High Voltage Positive Electrode Material for the Na-Ion Battery, Published January 5, 2015 in Chemistry of Materials, herein referred to as Kundu.
Kundu teaches the claimed cathode active material recited in claim 1. Kundu does not appear to explicitly teach the limitations of claims 10 and 11.
However, in view of claims 10 and 11, Kundu teaches (Figure 3, page 889) an X-ray diffraction pattern of the synthesized Na4NiP2O7F2. The X-ray diffraction pattern shows a first peak intensity at approximately 2Ɵ = 20.5 degrees and a second peak intensity at approximately 2Ɵ = 29 degrees. Since the intensity of the first peak is greater than the second peak, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art that the ratio of the first peak to second peak be greater than 1. Kundu also teaches (Results and Discussion, page 887) the crystal structure of the synthesized Na4NiP2O7F2 is orthorhombic which is analogous to a monoclinic crystal structure.
At the time of the filing date of the instant application, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to synthesize a cathode active material to have a desired crystal structure, based on the teachings of Kundu, for the purpose optimizing the ionic conductivity and thermal stability of the cathode active material.
Claims 1-9, 12 and 17-19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Miara et al. (US 2019/0140265 A1), herein referred to as Miara.
Regarding claims 1-4, Miara teaches (Claims 1 and 3) a positive electrode active material (cathode active material) comprising a lithium composite having formula (I) of LimM1nXp. With respect to the claimed composition in claim 1, the composite taught by Miara include Li corresponds to A, M1 corresponds to M, and Xp corresponds to P2O7Zy. Miara teaches M1 can be a metal element such as Al, Ba, Bi, Ca, Cd, Cr, Cs, Fe, Ga, Gd, Ge, Hf, In, Mg, Mo, Sn, Sr, Y, Zr or Zn. Miara further teaches X can be a combination of P2O7 and F or Cl, which satisfies Applicant’s claimed composition in claim 1. Miara also teaches m can be greater than 0 and less than or equal to 6 (overlapping 0<x≤4); n can be greater than or equal to zero and less than or equal to 1 (corresponding to M having a subscript of 1); and p can be greater than 0 and less than or equal to 7 (overlapping 0<y≤4).
At the time of the filing date of the instant application, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to form a cathode active material based on teachings of Miara for the purpose of optimizing the ionic conductivity and thermal stability of the cathode active material.
Regarding claims 5-9, Miara teaches (Claims 1 and 3) a positive electrode active material (cathode active material) that may further be modified to include different combinations of compounds for M1 and Xp as discussed above. Therefore, at the time of the filing date of the instant application, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to select compounds for a cathode active material based on teachings of Miara for the purpose of optimizing the ionic conductivity and thermal stability of the cathode active material.
Regarding claim 12, Miara further teaches (Claim 8) the positive electrode active material may further include a compound such as LiScP2O7 (which corresponds to Formula 7a) or LiZnPO4 (which corresponds to Formula 7d).
Regarding claim 17, Miara further teaches [0037] the positive electrode active material may include particles having an average diameter of 1 to 5 µm which overlaps the claimed range.
Regarding claims 18 and 19, Miara further teaches (Claim 14) an electrochemical cell (lithium battery) comprising a positive electrode (cathode) comprising the positive electrode active material discussed above, a negative electrode (anode) and an electrolyte arranged between the positive electrode and the negative electrode.
Claims 15 and 16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Miara et al. (US 2019/0140265 A1), herein referred to as Miara, in view of Gauthier et al. (US 2015/0118561 A1), herein referred to as Gauthier.
Miara teaches the cathode active material of claim 1, but does not teach or suggest the limitations of claims 15 and 16 directed to applying a carbon coating layer on the cathode active material.
However, from the same field of technology, Gauthier recites the formation of an electrode material. In view of claims 15 and 16, Gauthier teaches [0117 and 0178-0179] forming an adherent carbon coating on a surface of electrode particles, which are then used to manufacture a cathode.
At the time of the filing date of the instant application, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to modify the cathode active material taught by Miara to include the teachings of Gauthier directed to forming a carbon coating on the cathode active material for the purpose optimizing the ionic conductivity and thermal stability of the cathode active material.
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/STEWART A FRASER/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1724