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 Objections
Claim 12 is objected to because of the following informalities: L3 of the claim should recite “the negative electrode active material comprises at least one of a carbon material…” in order to be grammatically correct.
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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 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.
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 1-5 and 11-14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Li et al. (CN 111599984 A, cited on the IDS dated June 12, 2023, see also the EPO machine generated English translation provided with this Office Action).
Regarding Claims 1-2, 5, and 11, Li discloses a lithium ion secondary battery ([0012], [0151]-[0153], Example 6), comprising:
a positive electrode for a lithium ion secondary battery comprising a positive electrode composite material for a lithium ion secondary battery ([0153]), comprising:
a positive electrode active material ([0153], lithium iron phosphate); and
a positive electrode additive, wherein the positive electrode additive comprises an oxycarbide of sodium, comprising Na2CO3 ([0153]),
and
a negative electrode ([00152], [0154]).
Regarding Claims 3-4, Li discloses all of the limitations as set forth above and further discloses wherein relative to a total of 100 wt% of the positive electrode active material and the positive electrode additive, the positive electrode additive has a content of 0.5 wt% ([0153]), which falls within and therefore reads on the instantly claimed ranges of 0.1 wt% - 10 wt% and further 0.5 wt% - 4 wt%,
Regarding Claims 12-13, Li discloses all of the limitations as set forth above and further discloses wherein:
the negative electrode comprises a negative electrode active material ([0154], [0050]); and
the negative electrode active material comprises a metal or nonmetal compound, wherein the metal or nonmetal compound is an oxide of silicon ([0154], [0050], SiOx/C, 0 <x < 2).
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.
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.
Claims 6-10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Nho et al. (US PGPub 2018/0261832 A1).
Regarding Claims 6-7, Nho discloses a positive electrode for a lithium ion secondary battery ([0010], [0012]) comprising:
a positive electrode current collector ([0137]-[0138]);
a positive electrode active material layer comprising a positive electrode active material ([0137], [0146], [0050]-[0051]); and
a positive electrode additive layer comprising a positive electrode additive, wherein the positive electrode additive may be chosen to comprise an oxycarbide of sodium or potassium, such as Na2C2O4 (sodium oxalate) ([0052]-[0053], [0059], [0062]).
Specifically, Nho discloses wherein the positive electrode comprising the positive electrode additive layer has superior capacity characteristics and can exhibit superior lifetime characteristics ([0041]-[0042]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to choose Na2C2O4 as the positive electrode additive, as disclosed by Nho, wherein the skilled artisan would have reasonable expectation that such would successfully form a positive electrode that has superior capacity characteristics and can exhibit superior lifetime characteristics, as desired by Nho.
Regarding Claim 8, modified Nho discloses all of the limitations as set forth above and further discloses wherein the positive electrode additive layer is disposed on the positive electrode active material layer ([0052]-[0053], [0137], wherein the positive electrode additive layer is disposed on the positive electrode active material of the positive electrode active material layer and therefore the positive electrode additive layer is disposed on the positive electrode active material layer).
Regarding Claims 9-10, modified Nho discloses all of the limitations as set forth above and further discloses wherein relative to a total of 100 wt% of the positive electrode active material and the positive electrode additive, the positive electrode additive has a content of 0.01 wt% to 5 wt% in order to obtain a structurally stable positive electrode additive layer that has superior thermal stability and capacity characteristics ([0063]-[0064]), which overlaps with the instantly claimed ranges of 0.1 wt% - 10 wt% and further 0.5 wt% - 4 wt%.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to form the positive electrode additive layer to comprise the positive electrode additive in the overlapping portion of the range disclosed by modified Nho, in order to obtain a structurally stable positive electrode additive layer that has superior thermal stability and capacity characteristics, as desired by modified Nho.
Claims 14-15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Li et al. (CN 111599984 A, cited on the IDS dated June 12, 2023, see also the EPO machine generated English translation provided with this Office Action), as applied to Claims 11 and 12 above.
Regarding Claim 14, Li discloses all of the limitations as set forth above and further discloses wherein the metal or nonmetal compound is SiOx/C, 0 <x < 2 ([0154], [0050]), which encompasses SiO.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to utilize SiO as the negative electrode active material of Li, as disclosed by Li, wherein the skilled artisan would have reasonable expectation that such would successfully form the negative electrode desired by Li.
Regarding Claim 15, Li discloses all of the limitations as set forth above. However, Li remains silent regarding the intended use of the lithium ion secondary battery and consequently does not disclose a power consuming device comprising the lithium ion secondary battery.
Though, Li discloses wherein lithium ion secondary batteries may be used in a power consuming device, such as an electric vehicle ([0004]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to utilize the lithium ion secondary battery of Li in a power consuming device, as disclosed by Li, wherein the skilled artisan would have reasonable expectation that such would successfully provide power to the power consuming device.
Conclusion
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/KIMBERLY WYLUDA/Examiner, Art Unit 1725