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 .
Status of Claims
Claim 1 is amended. Claims 1-7 are currently pending.
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.
Claims 1-5 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Iwasaki (US 2018/0166740 A1) in view of Yamada (US 2020/0373612 A1).
Regarding claims 1-4, Iwasaki teaches a method of producing a method of producing a sulfide solid electrolyte, the method comprising: a step of mixing a Li element source, a P element source and a S element source, thereby obtaining a raw material composition ([0032]-[0040]); a step of firing the raw material composition, thereby obtaining a sulfide having a crystalline phase ([0055]-[0067]); a step of milling a slurry containing an organic solvent such as tridecane and heptane (i.e having an alkyl group) and 1 mass% to 35 mass% of the sulfide, thereby preparing a slurry ([0068]-[0076] & [0086]); and a step of drying the slurry ([0084]); wherein a particle size of the sulfide after milling is preferably 0.5 microns to 4 microns, the particle size being a volume-based cumulative particle size D50 at a cumulative volume of 50 vol% as measured using the laser diffraction scattering particle size distribution method ([0076]). While Iwasaki is silent as to the claimed particle size of the sulfide before milling being 0.3 microns or more, since the particle size after milling is 0.5 microns to 4 microns as noted above, the claimed particle size before milling would be expected to be greater than at least 0.5 microns since the milling step reduces the particle size and the particle size after milling can’t be greater than the particle size prior to milling. Iwasaki is silent as to the solvent having fluorine atoms. Yamada teaches a method of preparing a sulfide solid electrolyte for a battery in which an organic solvent having fluorine atoms is used ([0022]-[0028] & [0104]). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the present invention, to use an organic solvent having fluorine atoms in Iwasaki’s milling step because the resulting solid electrolyte produced can have high ion conductivity as taught by Yamada ([0025]).
Regarding claim 5, Iwasaki teaches the step of milling being performed in an argon environment ([0088]) but does not explicitly teach an environment with a temperature which is -20°C or lower than a dew point. However, argon has a dew point of around -70°C where the milling step in Iwasaki is assumed to take place at room temperature in the absence of any heating during the milling step. Accordingly, the milling step being performed at room temperature would correspond to a temperature which is -20°C or lower than a dew point.
Claims 6-7 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Iwasaki (US 2018/0166740 A1) and Yamada (US 2020/0373612 A1), as applied to claims 1-5 & 7 above, and further in view of Fujii (US 2024/0055653 A1).
Regarding claim 6, Iwasaki as modified by Yamada teaches the method of claim 1, wherein the step of milling is a step of wet milling the sulfide ([0071]), and mixing the wet milled sulfide and a solvent, thereby preparing the slurry ([0079]-[0083]) but is silent as to dry milling the sulfide. However, one of ordinary skill in the art readily understands that the milling step of a sulfide material after firing can be performed in a dry state as taught by Fujii ([0107] & [0141]). Thus, it would have been obvious to perform the milling step in Iwasaki in a dry state as a suitable means for milling a sulfide to obtain a desired particle size.
Regarding claim 7, Iwasaki as modified by Yamada teaches the method of claim 1, wherein the sulfide comprises a crystalline phase but is silent as to argyrodite-type crystal structure. However, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the present invention, to form a sulfide solid electrolyte having an argyrodite-type crystal structure in view of achieving higher ionic conductivity as taught by Fujii ([0006]).
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claims 1-7 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. The amendment to claim 1 has prompted a new ground of rejection in view of the newly cited Iwasaki and Yamada references. As presently claimed, claims 1-5 are found to be obvious over the combined teachings of Iwasaki and Yamada with claims 6-7 being found obvious further in view of Fujii Thus, in view of the foregoing, claims 1-7 stands rejected.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Peng (US 2022/0272293 A1) and JP 2016062709 A (as cited in the IDS) each disclose a step of milling a sulfide with an organic solvent having fluorine atoms to produce a sulfide solid electrolyte.
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.
Contact Information
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to NATHANAEL T ZEMUI whose telephone number is (571)272-4894. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8am-5pm (EST).
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, BARBARA GILLIAM can be reached at (571)272-1330. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/NATHANAEL T ZEMUI/Examiner, Art Unit 1727
