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 .
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election without traverse of claims 1, 4-6 and 17-20 in the reply filed on 01/13/2026 is acknowledged.
Claims 7-16 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected invention, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election was made without traverse in the reply filed on 01/13/2026.
Status of Claims
Claims 1 and 4-20 are currently pending in the application, of claims 7-16 are withdrawn from consideration. Claims 2-3 were cancelled.
Claims 1, 4-6 and 17-20 are being examined on the merits in this Office Action.
Claim Objections
Claim 1 is objected to because of the following informalities:
In claim 1, line 8, it is suggested to amend “the total mass” to - -a total mass- -.
In claim 1, lines 8-10, it is suggested to amend “the mass content” to - -a mass content- -.
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 nonobviousness.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claim(s) 1, 5-7 and 17-20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Sha et al. (U.S. Patent Application Publication 2021/0288316) and further in view of Zhe et al. (CN108461723B).
The Examiner has provided a machine translation of CN108461723B. The citation of the prior art in this rejection refer to the machine translation.
Regarding claim 1, Sha teaches a negative electrode active material (i.e., silicon-oxygen composite anode) (paragraph [0002]), characterized by comprising:
an inner core (i.e., kernel) (1) (see figure 2 below) (paragraph [0007], [0032]) comprising silicon (i.e., nano-silicon), an oxide of silicon (i.e., silicon oxide), and lithium silicate (paragraph [0011]);
an interlayer (i.e., intermediate layer) (2) (see figure 2 below) (paragraph [0032]) comprising silicon (i.e., nano-silicon), or comprising silicon (i.e., nano-silicon) and lithium silicate (paragraph [0039]);
an outer shell (i.e., coating layer) (3) (see figure 2 below) layer comprising amorphous carbon (paragraph [0016], [0032]);
wherein the interlayer is cladded on a surface of the inner core, and the outer shell layer is cladded on the surface of the interlayer (i.e., coating layer is wrapped outside the kernel and intermediate layer is locate between the kernel and coating layer) (paragraph [0032]);
Sha does not explicitly teach the specifics of based on the total mass of the negative electrode active material, the mass content of silicon element is 50%-70%, the mass content of lithium element is 3%-10%, and the mass content of carbon element is 2%-10%.
Zhe, also directed to a negative electrode active material (i.e., silicon-based composite material) (page 1, line 14-15), teaches that based on the total mass of the negative electrode active material with a core-shell structure (page 3, lines 8-10). Further, Zhe teaches the mass content of silicon element is 41.6-79.9%, the mass content of lithium element is 0.083-20%, and the mass content of carbon element is 0.01-16.67% (page 3, lines 5-27) (see calculations below). Zhe teaches the negative electrode active material exhibit high capacity, high Coulomb efficiency, and long cycle life (page 3, lines 1-5).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Sha an include in the negative electrode active material the mass content of silicon element, lithium element and carbon element as taught by Zhe in order to increase high capacity, high Coulomb efficiency, and long cycle life.
It is noted that Zhe differ in the exact same mass range as recited in the instant claim however, one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention would have considered the invention to have been obvious because the mass range of Zhe overlap the instant claimed and therefore is considered to establish a prima facie case of obviousness. It has been held in the courts that in the case where the claimed ranges "overlap or lie inside ranges disclosed by the prior art" a prima facie case of obviousness exists. 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).
Calculations
Zhe teaches “the silicon element content is 49.9-79.9 wt%, and the oxygen element content is 20- 50wt%, the lithium element content is 0.1-20wt%, and the sum of the three elements content is 100%; in the carbon film layer, the weight ratio of the carbon film to the lithium silicon oxide compound particles is 0.01:100-20:100; In the carbon film/conductive additive composite film layer, the weight ratio of the carbon film to the lithium silicon oxide compound particles is 0.01:100-20:100, and the weight ratio of the conductive additive to the lithium silicon oxide compound particles is 0:100-10 :100.” (page 3, lines 18-27).
Carbon Element
Carbon ratio: 0.01 to 20 parts of 100 parts of compound
Total mass range: 100.1 to 120
Minimum carbon: 0.01/100.1 = 0.01%
Maximum Carbon 20/120=16.67%
Range of carbon element: 0.01% to 16.67%
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Silicon Element
Maximum silicon
Silicon in compound: 79.9%’
Carbon loading minimum: 0.01% (0.01 parts)
Maximum silicon: 79% x (100/100.01) = 79.9%
Minimum silicon
Silicon in compound: 49.9%
Carbon loading maximum: 16.67% (20 parts)
Minimum Silicon: 49.9 x (100/120) = 41.6%
Range of Silicon element: 41.6% to 79.9%
Lithium Element
Maximum Lithium: Lithium in compound: 20% x (100/101.01) = 20%
Minimum lithium: 0.1 x (100/120) = 0.1 x 0.833 = 0.083%
Range of Lithium element: 0.083% to 20%
Element
Claimed Range
Prior Art Range
Silicon
50-70 %
41.6-79.9%
Lithium
3-10 %
0.083-20%
Carbon
2-10 %
0.01-16.67%
Regarding claim 5, Sha teaches that a phase interface between the inner core and the interlayer has a recessed structure (paragraph [0042]) (see figure 5).
Regarding claim 6, Sha teaches that the oxide of silicon is SiOx, wherein 0.6<x<2 (paragraph 0034]).
Regarding claim 17, Sha teaches a battery comprising the negative electrode active material as described above in claim 1.
Regarding claims 18-20, Sha does not explicitly articulate the specifics of the battery module, the battery pack and electrical apparatus as recited in the instant claims. However, individual batteries are well known to be configured in modules or pack in order to provide electrical energy on demand. The more batteries the more electricity it produces. Because of the modularity, batteries can be configured to scale for a variety of needs. For instance, Zhe teaches batteries having applications in portable electronic devices, electric vehicles and other energy storage systems (corresponds to the claimed electrical apparatus) (page 1, lines 18-20). It would be apparent to a skilled artisan to consider a using a battery for a portable electronic device or using a battery pack or module for an electric vehicle, as both require different demands for electric energy.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 4 is objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims. In other words, claim 1 would be allowable if rewritten in independent form to incorporate either:
all the limitations of claim 1 and claim 4.
Applicant may consider amending claim 1 accordingly to place the application in condition of allowance. The prior art is silent with regards to the combined features as recited in claims 1 and 4. In particular:
“A negative electrode active material, characterized by comprising:
an inner core comprising silicon, an oxide of silicon, and lithium silicate;
an interlayer comprising silicon, or comprising silicon and lithium silicate;
an outer shell layer comprising amorphous carbon; wherein the interlayer is cladded on a surface of the inner core, and the outer shell layer is cladded on the surface of the interlayer;
wherein based on the total mass of the negative electrode active material, the mass content of silicon element is 50%-70%, the mass content of lithium element is 3%-10%, and the mass content of carbon element is 2%-10%; and
wherein a volume average particle size Dv50 of the negative electrode active material is 3.5 µm-10 µm, a thickness of the interlayer is 100 nm-400 nm, and a thickness of the outer shell layer is 20 nm-150 nm.”
Pertinent Prior Art
The following prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure:
Kwon et al. (U.S. Patent Application Publication 2021/0384492). Kwon teaches a negative electrode active material having a core-shell structure including carbon and silicon (paragraph [0010]) (see figure 1).
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Moon et al. (U.S. Patent Application Publication 2022/0149358). Moon teaches a negative electrode active material having a core-shell structure having carbon, silicon and lithium silicate (paragraph [0018]).
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Correspondence
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to CHRISTIAN ROLDAN whose telephone number is (571)272-5098. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Thursday 9:00 am - 7:00 pm.
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/CHRISTIAN ROLDAN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1723