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 2-5 and 8 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.
The weight amount of the dilute sulfuric acid as recited on claims 2 and 8, cannot be determined based on the weight of the lead powder given that the dilute sulfuric acid is an aqueous solution without a recited specific concentration. Appropriate correction is required.
Because of the dependency of claims 3-5 on claim 2, these claims are rejected. Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
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 non-obviousness.
Claim 1 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wu et al. (CN 106058175 A, see machine translation for citation) in view of Zhou et al. (CN 103219512 A, see machine translation for citation), Zhou et al. (CN 103762359 A, see machine translation for citation), AI, B. (CN 108767230 A, see machine translation for citation) and Zhang et al. (CN 107887591 A, see machine translation for citation).
Regarding claim 1, Wu teaches a lead-acid battery having different composition ratios of positive and negative electrode lead pastes [0009]. The positive electrode paste comprises the following components in parts by weight: 900-1000 parts of lead oxide powder (70-85 wt.%), 0-100 parts of red lead, 5-30 parts of tetrabasic lead sulfate (4PbO-PbSO4), 10-100 parts of conductive graphite (commonly employed as a powder), 0.4-1 parts of short fibers, 60-100 parts of sulfuric acid solution (35-45 wt.%) and 100-150 parts of water [0011]. It is taught that in existing conventional lead-acid batteries, the negative electrode paste usually includes deionized water [0016]. From the previous description would be reasonable to say that the taught positive electrode lead paste would employ deionized water as well as a common practice in academic and industrial applications.
Wu does not teach where its positive electrode lead paste comprises SnSO4, Ti407, Sb2O3 and sodium perborate.
Zhou (‘512 A) teaches a deep-cycle battery internalized lead paste, including positive electrode lead paste and negative electrode lead paste [0020]. The components of the positive electrode lead paste, by mass percentage, are: 0.15% carboxymethyl cellulose, 0.25% anisotropic graphite, 0.20% potassium sulfate, 0.35% stannous sulfate (SnSO4), 0.08% polyester staple fiber, 6.8% dilute sulfuric acid, 9% water, and 83.17% lead powder [0023]. It is taught that the addition of stannous sulfate (SnSO4) to the positive electrode lead paste forms a conductive layer between the active material of the electrode plates and the grid, preventing the formation of a high-resistivity CaSO4 isolation layer on the electrode plates due to cycling, and reducing the conductivity resistance of the active material [0016].
Zhou (‘359 A) teaches a positive electrode paste for lead-acid batteries [0002]. Its positive electrode paste comprises the following components and the weight percentage of each component is: lead powder 50%-90%, red lead 1%-25%, sulfuric acid 3%-15%, short fiber 0.05%-2%, deionized water 5%-20%, titanium suboxide (Ti4O7) 0.1%-20%, and tetrabasic lead sulfate 0.1%-10% [0007 and 0008]. The employed titanium suboxide (Ti4O7) a purity of ≥99%, which can generate a high oxygen evolution potential on the electrode material [0025]. By adding the titanium oxide (Ti4O7), the combination force with a positive active substance-lead dioxide can be increased, so that the forming property of the positive active substance and the utilization rate of the active substance can be improved [Abstract].
AI teaches a lead paste for the positive electrode of a lead-acid battery for electric bicycles [0032]. The positive electrode lead paste comprises 950-970 parts of lead powder, 85-90 parts of sulfuric acid, 4.0–5.0 parts of colloidal graphite, 30-50 portions of red lead, stannous sulfate 1.0–1.5 parts, 3.0–5.0 parts of tetrabasic lead sulfate, antimony trioxide (Sb2O3) 0.5–1.0 parts, 1.5 to 2.5 parts of polytetrafluoroethylene emulsion, phosphoric acid 1.0–3.0 parts, short fiber 0.7–0.9 parts and 110-125 parts pure water [0033-0043]. It is taught that antimony trioxide (Sb2O3) has a stable triangular crystal structure, which can reduce the breakage of the active material and make it easier to fall off, thereby improving battery life [0047].
Zhang teaches a lead paste for a positive electrode grid in a lead-acid battery [0002]. The lead paste comprises 80-90% lead powder, 8-10% sulfuric acid, 0.1-0.3% stannous sulfate, 0.08-0.10% conductive fiber, 0.3-0.5% colloidal graphite, 0.05-0.15% sodium borate, 1.0-1.2% antimony oxide, and the balance being deionized water (percentages are mass proportions) [0009]. The sodium borate is one or both of sodium tetraborate and sodium perborate [0012]. It is taught that the employment of the sodium borate (sodium tetraborate and/or sodium perborate) acts as an interface binder, which can be uniformly mixed in the active material lead paste and act as an interface etchant during electrode curing, thereby increasing the thickness of the etched layer on the grid [0027].
Wu, Zhou (‘512 A), Zhou (‘359 A), AI and Zhang are analogous prior art to the current invention because they are concerned with the same field of endeavor, namely a positive electrode lead paste for a lead acid batteries, comprising most of the claimed components. Since a long-life silicon-based bipolar lead battery is a specialized type of lead acid battery, the above taught positive electrode lead paste teachings could be employed on such batteries.
It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the
effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the positive electrode lead paste of Wu to include “SnSO4, Ti407, Sb2O3 and sodium perborate”, because Zhou (‘512 A) teaches that the addition of stannous sulfate (SnSO4) to the positive electrode lead paste forms a conductive layer between the active material of the electrode plates and the grid, preventing the formation of a high-resistivity CaSO4 isolation layer on the electrode plates due to cycling, and reducing the conductivity resistance of the active material. Zhou (‘359 A) teaches that by adding the titanium oxide (Ti4O7), the combination force with a positive active substance-lead dioxide can be increased, so that the forming property of the positive active substance and the utilization rate of the active substance can be improved. AI teaches that antimony trioxide (Sb2O3) has a stable triangular crystal structure, which can reduce the breakage of the active material and make it easier to fall off, thereby improving battery life and Zhang teaches that the employment of the sodium borate (sodium tetraborate and/or sodium perborate) acts as an interface binder, which can be uniformly mixed in the active material lead paste and act as an interface etchant during electrode curing, thereby increasing the thickness of the etched layer on the grid.
Claim 2 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wu et al. (CN 106058175 A, see machine translation for citation) in view of Zhou et al. (CN 103219512 A, see machine translation for citation), Zhou et al. (CN 103762359 A, see machine translation for citation), AI, B. (CN 108767230 A, see machine translation for citation) and Zhang et al. (CN 107887591 A, see machine translation for citation) as applied to claim 1 above, further in view of Lin et al. (CN 107732251 A, see machine translation for citation).
Regarding claim 2, Wu, Zhou (‘512 A), Zhou (‘359 A) and AI and Zhang teach all the elements of the current invention in claim 1. From the components and ranges taught by the references as applied to claim 1, the following weight percents with respect to the weight of the lead powder can be calculated (see Table 1):
Table 1: Wu's modified positive electrode lead paste components weight percentages.
Wu
Compound
Parts by Weight
Weight percentage with respect to the lead powder (%)
Claimed weight percent (%)
.4-1
short fiber
1
0.11
.5-1.5
10-100
graphite
25
2.63
2-5
AI
0.5-1
antimony trioxide (Sb2O3)
0.5
0.05
.03-.1
5-30
4BS (4PbO-PbSO4)
10
1.05
.5-1.5
Zhou '512 A
.3-.42
stannous sulfate (SnSO4)
0.4
0.04
.03-.1
Zhou '359 A
.1-20
titanium suboxide (Ti4O7)
2
0.21
.1-.3
100-150
deionized water
100
10.53
9-11
60-100
dilute sulfuric acid
90
9.47
8-12
Zhang
.05-.15
sodium perborate
0.15
0.02
.01-.05
0-100
red lead
5
0.53
900-1000
lead powder
950
75.36
From the calculated weight percents, the short fiber taught amount by Wu does not met the claimed range.
Lin teaches a method for preparing a positive electrode plate for a lead-carbon battery, in which a lead paste is prepared employing 80-90 wt.% lead powder, 5-10 wt.% α/β-PbO2-SiO2 composite, 1-5 wt.% colloidal graphite, and 1-5 wt.% short fibers. The active material is then slowly mixed with 10-15 wt.% water and 4-8 wt.% sulfuric acid by weight [0013 and 0017].
Lin is analogous prior art to the current invention because it is concerned with the same field of endeavor, namely a positive electrode lead paste for a lead acid batteries, comprising some of the claimed components. Since a long-life silicon-based bipolar lead battery is a specialized type of lead acid battery, as well as the lead-carbon battery, the above taught positive electrode lead paste teachings could be employed on such batteries.
If the short fiber amount taught by Lin is employed on the modified lead paste composition of Wu, the short fibers would be in a range of (1/950)x100=0.11 wt.% to (5/950)x100=0.53 wt.% with respect of the weight taught for the lead powder.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to have selected the overlapping portion of the short fibers amount range disclosed by Lin because overlapping ranges have been held to be a prima facie case of obvious. 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). See MPEP § 2144.05.
Claim 3 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wu et al. (CN 106058175 A, see machine translation for citation) in view of Zhou et al. (CN 103219512 A, see machine translation for citation), Zhou et al. (CN 103762359 A, see machine translation for citation), AI, B. (CN 108767230 A, see machine translation for citation), Zhang et al. (CN 107887591 A, see machine translation for citation) and Lin et al. (CN 107732251 A, see machine translation for citation) as applied to claim 2 above, further in view of Nethaji et al. (IN 201711015823 A, see NPL documents for citation).
Regarding claim 3, Wu, Zhou (‘512 A), Zhou (‘359 A), AI, Zhang and Lin teach all the elements of the current invention in claim 2, except “wherein the dilute sulfuric acid has a density of (1.325- 1.400)
∓
0.003 g/cm3”.
Nethaji teaches a composition of a paste used for making positive electrode of lead acid battery [p. 3; line 19-20]. The positive electrode paste formula consists of the following raw materials by weight percentage per weight of lead oxide having 25-30% of free lead used: 10-11% of sulfuric acid (specific gravity at 25 °C of 1.395-1.405), 0.095-0.105% of Modacrylic/Polyester fiber, 0.1-0.2% of calcium peroxide or sodium peroxide, 11-12% of demineralized water [p. 3; line 20-24].
Nethaji is analogous prior art to the current invention because it is concerned with the same field of endeavor, namely a positive electrode lead paste for a lead acid batteries, comprising some of the claimed components. Since a long-life silicon-based bipolar lead battery is a specialized type of lead acid battery, the above taught positive electrode lead paste teachings could be employed on such batteries.
If the sulfuric acid specific gravity taught by Nethaji substitute the sulfuric acid solution taught by Wu, solutions with density between 1.395-1.405 g/cm3 would be obtained. This range overlaps the claimed range.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to have selected the overlapping portion of the sulfuric acid specific gravity range disclosed by Nethaji because overlapping ranges have been held to be a prima facie case of obvious. 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). See MPEP § 2144.05.
Claim 4 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wu et al. (CN 106058175 A, see machine translation for citation) in view of Zhou et al. (CN 103219512 A, see machine translation for citation), Zhou et al. (CN 103762359 A, see machine translation for citation), AI, B. (CN 108767230 A, see machine translation for citation), Zhang et al. (CN 107887591 A, see machine translation for citation) and Lin et al. (CN 107732251 A, see machine translation for citation)as applied to claim 2 above, further in view of Liu et al. (CN 106450293 A, see machine translation for citation) and Abe, H. (JP 2004199993 A, see machine translation for citation).
Regarding claim 4, Wu, Zhou (‘512 A), Zhou (‘359 A), AI, Zhang and Lin teach all the elements of the current invention in claim 2. Wu further teaches that it is employed lead oxide powder is 70-85 wt.% (oxidation degree) [0011]. Wu, Zhou (‘512 A), Zhou (‘359 A), AI, Zhang and Lin do not teach wherein “in the lead powder, iron, manganese, copper, and chlorine contents each are lower than 5 ppm and a bismuth content is lower than 40 ppm”.
Liu teaches the preparation of a negative lead paste comprising lead powder, sulfuric acid and deionized water among other materials [0012]. Lead powder has an oxidation degree of 70% to 80% and the content of impurities such as iron, manganese, copper, and chlorine is less than 5 ppm [0013]. It is taught that lead-acid batteries using this negative electrode formulation ensure that lifecycle is not reduced and improve the early performance of the battery [0027]. Despite Liu teaches a negative electrode paste, it could be reasonably thought that its lead powder having the claimed impurities content could be applied to a positive lead paste manufacture, since it is the same claimed material. From this reasoning, a similar beneficial effect as the one taught by Liu could be expected for positive electrode paste modified to meet the above referred lead powder having the taught impurities composition.
Liu is analogous prior art to the current invention because it is concerned with the same field of endeavor, namely an electrode lead paste for a lead acid batteries, comprising some of the claimed components. Since a long-life silicon-based bipolar lead battery is a specialized type of lead acid battery, the above taught electrode lead paste teachings could be employed on such batteries. As explained above, despite Liu teaches a negative electrode paste, it could be reasonably thought that its lead powder having the claimed impurities content could be applied to a positive lead paste manufacture, since this material is part of the claimed composition of this invention.
It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the lead powder of Wu, Zhou (‘512 A), Zhou (‘359 A), AI, Zhang and Lin to include the feature where “iron, manganese, copper, and chlorine contents each are lower than 5 ppm”, because from Liu teachings it could help the formulation comprising it to ensure that battery lifecycle is not reduced and improve the early performance of the battery.
Abe teaches a positive electrode for a lead-acid battery [0009]. The positive electrode lead paste comprises lead powder, water and diluted sulfuric acid among other materials [0013]. The positive electrode lead paste comprises bismuth is preferably in the range of 10 to 100 ppm [0012].
Abe is analogous art to the current invention because it is concerned with the same field of endeavor, namely a positive electrode lead paste for a lead acid batteries, comprising some of the claimed components. Since a long-life silicon-based bipolar lead battery is a specialized type of lead acid battery, the above taught positive electrode lead paste teachings could be employed on such batteries.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to have selected the overlapping portion of the bismuth content range disclosed by Abe because overlapping ranges have been held to be a prima facie case of obvious. 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). See MPEP § 2144.05.
Claim 5 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wu et al. (CN 106058175 A, see machine translation for citation) in view of Zhou et al. (CN 103219512 A, see machine translation for citation), Zhou et al. (CN 103762359 A, see machine translation for citation), AI, B. (CN 108767230 A, see machine translation for citation), Zhang et al. (CN 107887591 A, see machine translation for citation) and Lin et al. (CN 107732251 A, see machine translation for citation)as applied to claim 2 above, further in view of Li et al. (CN 104167546 A, see machine translation for citation).
Regarding claim 5, Wu, Zhou (‘512 A), Zhou (‘359 A), AI, Zhang and Lin teach all the elements of the current invention in claim 2, except “wherein in the dilute sulfuric acid, an iron content is lower than 0.5 ppm and a chlorine content is lower than 5 ppm”.
Li teaches a type of lead paste for start-stop batteries, comprising positive lead paste and negative lead paste [0008]. The chemical components in the positive electrode lead paste are as follows by weight: lead powder 990-1010 parts, red lead 40-60 parts, conductive fiber 0.6-1.0 parts, graphite 2.5-3.5 parts, antimony trioxide 1.5-2.5 parts, stannous sulfate 0.5-1.5 parts, water 110-130 parts, and sulfuric acid 80-90 parts [0009]. The sulfuric acid has a density of 1.40 g/cm³, chloride content ≤0.00003% (≤0.3 ppm) (overlaps feature: lower than 5 ppm) and iron content ≤0.00005% (≤0.5 ppm) (overlaps feature: lower than 0.5 ppm) [0027].
Li is analogous art to the current invention because it is concerned with the same field of endeavor, namely a positive electrode lead paste for a lead acid batteries, comprising some of the claimed components. Since a long-life silicon-based bipolar lead battery is a specialized type of lead acid battery, the above taught positive electrode lead paste teachings could be employed on such batteries.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to have selected the overlapping portion of the iron and chloride amount ranges disclosed by Li because overlapping ranges have been held to be a prima facie case of obvious. 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). See MPEP § 2144.05.
Claim 6 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wu et al. (CN 106058175 A, see machine translation for citation) in view of Zhou et al. (CN 103219512 A, see machine translation for citation), Zhou et al. (CN 103762359 A, see machine translation for citation), AI, B. (CN 108767230 A, see machine translation for citation), Zhang et al. (CN 107887591 A, see machine translation for citation), Nethaji et al. (IN 201711015823 A, see NPL documents for citation) and Malloy, J. (US 3194685 A).
Regarding claim 6, Wu teaches a lead-acid battery having different composition ratios of positive and negative electrode lead pastes [0009]. The positive electrode paste comprises the following components in parts by weight: 900-1000 parts of lead oxide powder (70-85 wt.%), 0-100 parts of red lead, 5-30 parts of tetrabasic lead sulfate (4PbO-PbSO4), 10-100 parts of conductive graphite (commonly employed as a powder), 0.4-1 parts of short fibers, 60-100 parts of sulfuric acid solution (35-45 wt.%) and 100-150 parts of water [0011]. It is taught that in existing conventional lead-acid batteries, the negative electrode paste usually includes deionized water [0016]. From the previous description would be reasonable to say that the taught positive electrode lead paste would employ deionized water as well as a common practice in academic and industrial applications.
The positive electrode lead paste is done first by dry mixing the lead oxide powder, red lead, tetrabasic lead sulfate, graphite and short fibers for 10-15 minutes (overlaps 4- 7 min period) to obtain the positive electrode mixed lead powder (S1, premixture 1). Then water is added to the positive electrode mixed lead powder while stirring for 5-15 minutes (overlaps 8-13 min period) (S2, premixture 2). Finally, sulfuric acid solution is added while stirring for 15-20 minutes (overlaps 10-15 min period) (third mixture). After adding acid, stir for 5-15 minutes (overlaps 5-10 min period) and control the apparent density of the lead paste to be 4.3-4.5 g/cm³ (S3).
Wu does not teach where its positive electrode mixed lead powder (premixture 1) comprises SnSO4, Ti407, Sb2O3, sodium perborate, where the dilute sulfuric acid has a density of (1.325-1.400)+0.003 g/cm3 and cooling the third resulting mixture to 50°C.
Zhou (‘512 A) teaches a deep-cycle battery internalized lead paste, including positive electrode lead paste and negative electrode lead paste [0020]. The components of the positive electrode lead paste, by mass percentage, are: 0.15% carboxymethyl cellulose, 0.25% anisotropic graphite, 0.20% potassium sulfate, 0.35% stannous sulfate (SnSO4), 0.08% polyester staple fiber, 6.8% dilute sulfuric acid, 9% water, and 83.17% lead powder [0023]. It is taught that the addition of stannous sulfate (SnSO4) to the positive electrode lead paste forms a conductive layer between the active material of the electrode plates and the grid, preventing the formation of a high-resistivity CaSO4 isolation layer on the electrode plates due to cycling, and reducing the conductivity resistance of the active material [0016]. Regarding its preparation method, Zhou (‘512 A) teaches that positive electrode lead paste formula should be premixed (S1 analogous) for 20 minutes before mixing [0025].
Zhou (‘359 A) teaches a positive electrode paste for lead-acid batteries [0002]. Its positive electrode paste comprises the following components and the weight percentage of each component is: lead powder 50%-90%, red lead 1%-25%, sulfuric acid 3%-15%, short fiber 0.05%-2%, deionized water 5%-20%, titanium suboxide (Ti4O7) 0.1%-20%, and tetrabasic lead sulfate 0.1%-10% [0007 and 0008]. The employed titanium suboxide (Ti4O7) a purity of ≥99%, which can generate a high oxygen evolution potential on the electrode material [0025]. By adding the titanium oxide (Ti4O7), the combination force with a positive active substance-lead dioxide can be increased, so that the forming property of the positive active substance and the utilization rate of the active substance can be improved [Abstract].
AI teaches a lead paste for the positive electrode of a lead-acid battery for electric bicycles [0032]. The positive electrode lead paste comprises 950-970 parts of lead powder, 85-90 parts of sulfuric acid, 4.0–5.0 parts of colloidal graphite, 30-50 portions of red lead, stannous sulfate 1.0–1.5 parts, 3.0–5.0 parts of tetrabasic lead sulfate, antimony trioxide (Sb2O3) 0.5–1.0 parts, 1.5 to 2.5 parts of polytetrafluoroethylene emulsion, phosphoric acid 1.0–3.0 parts, short fiber 0.7–0.9 parts and 110-125 parts pure water [0033-0043]. It is taught that antimony trioxide (Sb2O3) has a stable triangular crystal structure, which can reduce the breakage of the active material and make it easier to fall off, thereby improving battery life [0047].
Zhang teaches a lead paste for a positive electrode grid in a lead-acid battery [0002]. The lead paste comprises 80-90% lead powder, 8-10% sulfuric acid, 0.1-0.3% stannous sulfate, 0.08-0.10% conductive fiber, 0.3-0.5% colloidal graphite, 0.05-0.15% sodium borate, 1.0-1.2% antimony oxide, and the balance being deionized water (percentages are mass proportions) [0009]. The sodium borate is one or both of sodium tetraborate and sodium perborate [0012]. It is taught that the employment of the sodium borate (sodium tetraborate and/or sodium perborate) acts as an interface binder, which can be uniformly mixed in the active material lead paste and act as an interface etchant during electrode curing, thereby increasing the thickness of the etched layer on the grid [0027].
If the SnSO4, Ti4O7, Sb2O3 and sodium perborate taught by Zhou (‘512 A), Zhou (‘359 A), AL and Zhang respectively are added to the first mixture, the claimed step S1 would be met.
Wu, Zhou (‘512 A), Zhou (‘359 A), AL and Zhang are analogous prior art to the current invention because they are concerned with the same field of endeavor, namely a positive electrode lead paste for a lead acid batteries, comprising most of the claimed components. Since a long-life silicon-based bipolar lead battery is a specialized type of lead acid battery, the above taught positive electrode lead paste teachings could be employed on such batteries.
It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the
effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the positive electrode mixed lead powder (premixture 1) of Wu to include “SnSO4, Ti407, Sb2O3 and sodium perborate”, because Zhou (‘512 A) teaches that the addition of stannous sulfate (SnSO4) to the positive electrode lead paste forms a conductive layer between the active material of the electrode plates and the grid, preventing the formation of a high-resistivity CaSO4 isolation layer on the electrode plates due to cycling, and reducing the conductivity resistance of the active material. Zhou (‘359 A) teaches that by adding the titanium oxide (Ti4O7), the combination force with a positive active substance-lead dioxide can be increased, so that the forming property of the positive active substance and the utilization rate of the active substance can be improved. AI teaches that antimony trioxide (Sb2O3) has a stable triangular crystal structure, which can reduce the breakage of the active material and make it easier to fall off, thereby improving battery life and Zhang teaches that the employment of the sodium borate (sodium tetraborate and/or sodium perborate) acts as an interface binder, which can be uniformly mixed in the active material lead paste and act as an interface etchant during electrode curing, thereby increasing the thickness of the etched layer on the grid.
Nethaji teaches a composition of a paste used for making positive electrode of lead acid battery [p. 3; line 19-20]. The positive electrode paste formula consists of the following raw materials by weight percentage per weight of lead oxide having 25-30% of free lead used: 10-11% of sulfuric acid (specific gravity at 25 °C of 1.395-1.405), 0.095-0.105% of Modacrylic/Polyester fiber, 0.1-0.2% of calcium peroxide or sodium peroxide, 11-12% of demineralized water [p. 3; line 20-24].
Nethaji is analogous prior art to the current invention because it is concerned with the same field of endeavor, namely a positive electrode lead paste for a lead acid batteries, comprising some of the claimed components. Since a long-life silicon-based bipolar lead battery is a specialized type of lead acid battery, the above taught positive electrode lead paste teachings could be employed on such batteries.
If the sulfuric acid specific gravity taught by Nethaji substitute the sulfuric acid solution taught by Wu, solutions with density between 1.395-1.405 g/cm3 would be obtained. This range overlaps the claimed range.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to have selected the overlapping portion of the sulfuric acid specific gravity range disclosed by Nethaji because overlapping ranges have been held to be a prima facie case of obvious. 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). See MPEP § 2144.05.
Malloy teaches a method of manufacturing stable, pre-sulfated, dry active material for both positive and negative lead-acid storage battery electrodes (premixture 1 analogous) in which sulfuric acid and water are added to lead-lead oxide powder [col. 1; line 15-17 and 39-44]. Commonly on lead-acid storage battery active material processing, the wet pastes (third mixture analogous) are mixed and cooled to about 120-130 °F (48.89-54.44 °C) (overlaps 50 °C) [col. 1; line 45-47]. By maintaining the referred temperature the wet paste properties variation can be minimized and a more stable plate weight and performance can be achieved [col. 1; line 48-51 and 55-56].
Malloy is analogous prior art to the current invention because it is concerned with the same field of endeavor, namely the manufacture of lead-acid battery electrodes, comprising some of the claimed components. Since a long-life silicon-based bipolar lead battery is a specialized type of lead acid battery, the above taught positive electrode lead paste teachings could be employed on such batteries.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to have selected the overlapping portion of the wet pastes cooling range disclosed by Malloy because overlapping ranges have been held to be a prima facie case of obvious. 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). See MPEP § 2144.05.
Claim 7 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wu et al. (CN 106058175 A, see machine translation for citation) in view of Zhou et al. (CN 103219512 A, see machine translation for citation), Zhou et al. (CN 103762359 A, see machine translation for citation), AI, B. (CN 108767230 A, see machine translation for citation), Zhang et al. (CN 107887591 A, see machine translation for citation), Nethaji et al. (IN 201711015823 A, see NPL documents for citation) and Malloy, J. (US 3194685 A) as applied to claim 6 above, further ion view of Shen et al. (CN 103762358 A, see machine translation for citation).
Regarding claim 7, Wu, Zhou (‘512 A), Zhou (‘359 A), AL, Zhang, Nethaji and Malloy teach all the elements of the current invention in claim 6, except “wherein in S3, the second premixture and the dilute sulfuric acid are mixed at a temperature controlled at 65 °C to 75 °C”.
Shen teaches a positive electrode paste for lead-acid batteries and its preparation method [0002]. Its positive electrode paste formula comprises the following raw materials by weight percentage: 7.0%–10% dilute sulfuric acid (1.4 g/ml), 8%–12% deionized water, 5%–20% red lead, 0.1%–0.4% colloidal graphite, 0.1%–0.3% stannous sulfate, 0.1%–0.3% anhydrous sodium sulfate, 0.2%–0.5% 4BS, 0.1%–0.3% antimony trioxide, 0.05%–0.2% polyester staple fiber, and the remainder being lead powder [0008]. Its preparation method consist of first, put the prescribed amount of lead powder into the paste mixer, then add the prescribed amounts of red lead, colloidal graphite, 4BS and polyester short fibers. Turn on the paste mixer and dry stir for 5-10 minutes (S1 and premixture 1 analogous). Then add deionized water containing dissolved stannous sulfate and anhydrous sodium sulfate. Add the deionized water into the paste mixer within 0.8-2 minutes and wet stir for 5-8 minutes (S2 and premixture 2 analogous). Add dilute sulfuric acid containing dissolved antimony trioxide at a concentration of 1.4 g/ml. Control the acid addition time to 12-18 minutes. During the mixing process, control the paste temperature between 50-75°C (overlaps the 65-75 °C range). The paste temperature should be maintained above 70°C for no less than 5 minutes (S3 and third mixture analogous). Finally, stir for 8-12 minutes and test the specific gravity [0009].
Shen is analogous prior art to the current invention because it is concerned with the same field of endeavor, namely a positive electrode lead paste for a lead acid batteries, comprising most of the claimed components. Since a long-life silicon-based bipolar lead battery is a specialized type of lead acid battery, the above taught positive electrode lead paste teachings could be employed on such batteries.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to have selected the overlapping portion of the paste temperature range disclosed by Shen because overlapping ranges have been held to be a prima facie case of obvious. 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). See MPEP § 2144.05.
Claim 8 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wu et al. (CN 106058175 A, see machine translation for citation) in view of Zhou et al. (CN 103219512 A, see machine translation for citation), Zhou et al. (CN 103762359 A, see machine translation for citation), AI, B. (CN 108767230 A, see machine translation for citation), Zhang et al. (CN 107887591 A, see machine translation for citation), Nethaji et al. (IN 201711015823 A, see NPL documents for citation) and Malloy, J. (US 3194685 A) as applied to claim 6 above, further ion view of Lin et al. (CN 107732251 A, see machine translation for citation).
Regarding claim 8, Wu, Zhou (‘512 A), Zhou (‘359 A), AL, Zhang, Nethaji and Malloy teach all the elements of the current invention in claim 6. From the components and ranges taught by the references as applied to claim 6, the following weight percents with respect to the weight of the lead powder can be calculated (see Table 2):
Table 2: Wu's modified positive electrode lead paste components weight percentages.
Wu
Compound
Parts by Weight
Weight percentage with respect to the lead powder (%)
Claimed weight percent (%)
.4-1
short fiber
1
0.11
.5-1.5
10-100
graphite
25
2.63
2-5
AI
0.5-1
antimony trioxide (Sb2O3)
0.5
0.05
.03-.1
5-30
4BS (4PbO-PbSO4)
10
1.05
.5-1.5
Zhou '512 A
.3-.42
stannous sulfate (SnSO4)
0.4
0.04
.03-.1
Zhou '359 A
.1-20
titanium suboxide (Ti4O7)
2
0.21
.1-.3
100-150
deionized water
100
10.53
9-11
60-100
dilute sulfuric acid
90
9.47
8-12
Zhang
.05-.15
sodium perborate
0.15
0.02
.01-.05
0-100
red lead
5
0.53
900-1000
lead powder
950
75.36
From the calculated weight percents, the short fiber taught amount by Wu does not met the claimed range.
Lin teaches a method for preparing a positive electrode plate for a lead-carbon battery, in which a lead paste is prepared employing 80-90 wt.% lead powder, 5-10 wt.% α/β-PbO2-SiO2 composite, 1-5 wt.% colloidal graphite, and 1-5 wt.% short fibers. The active material is then slowly mixed with 10-15 wt.% water and 4-8 wt.% sulfuric acid by weight [0013 and 0017].
Lin is analogous prior art to the current invention because it is concerned with the same field of endeavor, namely a positive electrode lead paste for a lead acid batteries, comprising some of the claimed components. Since a long-life silicon-based bipolar lead battery is a specialized type of lead acid battery, as well as the lead-carbon battery, the above taught positive electrode lead paste teachings could be employed on such batteries.
If the short fiber amount taught by Lin is employed on the modified lead paste composition of Wu, the short fibers would be in a range of (1/950)x100=0.11 wt.% to (5/950)x100=0.53 wt.% with respect of the weight taught for the lead powder.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to have selected the overlapping portion of the short fibers amount range disclosed by Lin because overlapping ranges have been held to be a prima facie case of obvious. 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). See MPEP § 2144.05.
Claim 9 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wu et al. (CN 106058175 A, see machine translation for citation) in view of Zhou et al. (CN 103219512 A, see machine translation for citation), Zhou et al. (CN 103762359 A, see machine translation for citation), AI, B. (CN 108767230 A, see machine translation for citation), Zhang et al. (CN 107887591 A, see machine translation for citation), Nethaji et al. (IN 201711015823 A, see NPL documents for citation) and Malloy, J. (US 3194685 A) as applied to claim 6 above, further ion view of Liu et al. (CN 106450293 A, see machine translation for citation), Abe, H. (JP 2004199993 A, see machine translation for citation) and Li et al. (CN 104167546 A, see machine translation for citation).
Regarding claim 9, Wu, Zhou (‘512 A), Zhou (‘359 A), AL, Zhang, Nethaji and Malloy teach all the elements of the current invention in claim 6. Wu further teaches that it is employed lead oxide powder is 70-85 wt.% (oxidation degree) [0011]. Wu, Zhou (‘512 A), Zhou (‘359 A), AL, Zhang, Nethaji and Malloy do not teach wherein “in the lead powder, iron, manganese, copper, and chlorine contents each are lower than 5 ppm and a bismuth content is lower than 40 ppm” and wherein “in the dilute sulfuric acid, an iron content is lower than 0.5 ppm and a chlorine content is lower than 5 ppm”.
Liu teaches the preparation of a negative lead paste comprising lead powder, sulfuric acid and deionized water among other materials [0012]. Lead powder has an oxidation degree of 70% to 80% and the content of impurities such as iron, manganese, copper, and chlorine is less than 5 ppm [0013]. It is taught that lead-acid batteries using this negative electrode formulation ensure that lifecycle is not reduced and improve the early performance of the battery [0027]. Despite Liu teaches a negative electrode paste, it could be reasonably thought that its lead powder having the claimed impurities content could be applied to a positive lead paste manufacture, since it is the same claimed material. From this reasoning, a similar beneficial effect as the one taught by Liu could be expected for positive electrode paste modified to meet the above referred lead powder having the taught impurities composition.
Liu is analogous prior art to the current invention because it is concerned with the same field of endeavor, namely an electrode lead paste for a lead acid batteries, comprising some of the claimed components. Since a long-life silicon-based bipolar lead battery is a specialized type of lead acid battery, the above taught electrode lead paste teachings could be employed on such batteries. As explained above, despite Liu teaches a negative electrode paste, it could be reasonably thought that its lead powder having the claimed impurities content could be applied to a positive lead paste manufacture, since this material is part of the claimed composition of this invention.
It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the lead powder of Wu, Zhou (‘512 A), Zhou (‘359 A), AL, Zhang, Nethaji and Malloy to include the feature where “iron, manganese, copper, and chlorine contents each are lower than 5 ppm”, because from Liu teachings it could help the formulation comprising it to ensure that battery lifecycle is not reduced and improve the early performance of the battery.
Abe teaches a positive electrode for a lead-acid battery [0009]. The positive electrode lead paste comprises lead powder, water and diluted sulfuric acid among other materials [0013]. The positive electrode lead paste comprises bismuth is preferably in the range of 10 to 100 ppm [0012].
Abe is analogous art to the current invention because it is concerned with the same field of endeavor, namely a positive electrode lead paste for a lead acid batteries, comprising some of the claimed components. Since a long-life silicon-based bipolar lead battery is a specialized type of lead acid battery, the above taught positive electrode lead paste teachings could be employed on such batteries.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to have selected the overlapping portion of the bismuth content range disclosed by Abe because overlapping ranges have been held to be a prima facie case of obvious. 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). See MPEP § 2144.05.
Li teaches a type of lead paste for start-stop batteries, comprising positive lead paste and negative lead paste [0008]. The chemical components in the positive electrode lead paste are as follows by weight: lead powder 990-1010 parts, red lead 40-60 parts, conductive fiber 0.6-1.0 parts, graphite 2.5-3.5 parts, antimony trioxide 1.5-2.5 parts, stannous sulfate 0.5-1.5 parts, water 110-130 parts, and sulfuric acid 80-90 parts [0009]. The sulfuric acid has a density of 1.40 g/cm³, chloride content ≤0.00003% (≤0.3 ppm) (overlaps lower than 5 ppm) and iron content ≤0.00005% (≤0.5 ppm) (overlaps lower than 0.5 ppm) [0027].
Li is analogous art to the current invention because it is concerned with the same field of endeavor, namely a positive electrode lead paste for a lead acid batteries, comprising some of the claimed components. Since a long-life silicon-based bipolar lead battery is a specialized type of lead acid battery, the above taught positive electrode lead paste teachings could be employed on such batteries.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to have selected the overlapping portion of the iron and chloride amount ranges disclosed by Li because overlapping ranges have been held to be a prima facie case of obvious. 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). See MPEP § 2144.05.
Conclusion
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/G.R./Examiner, Art Unit 1725
/NICOLE M. BUIE-HATCHER/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 1725