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 § 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) 1-20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over U.S. Pre-Grant Publication No. 2012/0082904 hereinafter Brown in view of U.S. Pre-Grant Publication No. 2017/0170515 hereinafter Yushin.
Regarding Claim 1, Brown teaches an aluminum battery (rechargeable battery cell) comprising: an anode that comprises aluminum metal; a cathode that comprises a material capable of intercalating aluminum ions during a discharge cycle and deintercalating the aluminum ions during a charge cycle (i.e., cathode material includes an alkali metal); an electrolyte capable of supporting reversible deposition and stripping of aluminum at the anode, and reversible intercalation and deintercalation of aluminum at the cathode (paragraph 43); and a separator disposed between the anode and the cathode (paragraph 75).
Brown teaches an electrolyte that comprises an ionic liquid, aluminum, and alkali metal (paragraphs 46-49, 56) but does not specifically disclose that the electrolyte ionically couples the anode and the cathode.
However, Yushin teaches a rechargeable battery (paragraph 32) that comprises an anode, a cathode, a separator disposed between the anode and the cathode, and an electrolyte that ionically couples the anode and the cathode (paragraphs 12, 34). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to form such electrolyte before the effective filing date of the claimed invention because Yushin discloses that such configuration can provide improved performance for lithium batteries (paragraphs 7-8, 38).
Regarding Claim 2, the combination teaches that the alkali metal comprises sodium (Na) or potassium (K) or both (paragraph 56 of Brown and paragraph 53 of Yushin).
Regarding Claims 3-5, the combination teaches that the alkali metal comprises sodium (Na) or potassium (K) and an atomic fraction of the Na or K in all the alkali metal is about 50 at. % or more and a weight fraction of lithium (Li) in all the alkali metal is less than about 5 wt. % (paragraph 56 of Brown and paragraph 53 of Yushin).
Regarding Claim 6, the combination teaches that the electrolyte comprises a halide salt comprising aluminum (paragraph 49 of Brown and paragraph 53 of Yushin).
Regarding Claims 7-8, the combination teaches that the electrolyte exhibits a melting point in a range of about 200° C. to about 450° C (paragraphs 13, 39-41 of Yushin).
Regarding Claim 9, the combination teaches that the electrolyte comprises an ionic liquid (paragraph 48 of Brown).
Regarding Claims 10-12, the combination teaches that the electrolyte comprises a solvent composition and the electrolyte is fully or partially solid during at least a portion of the charging and/or discharging of the rechargeable battery cell (paragraphs 47, 61 of Brown and paragraph 53 of Yushin).
Regarding Claims 13-16, the combination teaches that the separator membrane comprises ceramic particles, the cathode active material comprises a layered metal oxide, and wherein the concentration of the Al in the electrolyte increases during the discharging; a concentration of the alkali metal ions in the electrolyte decreases during the discharging; the concentration of the Al in the electrolyte decreases during the charging; and the concentration of the alkali metal ions in the electrolyte increases during the charging (see Brown and Yushin).
Regarding Claim 17, the combination teaches an energy storage system, comprising: a plurality of the battery cells (see Brown and Yushin).
Regarding Claims 18-20, the combination teaches a method of making the rechargeable battery cell above (see Brown and Yushin), the method comprising: providing an anode comprising aluminum (Al) metal or an Al alloy; providing a cathode comprising a cathode active material comprising at least one alkali metal; melt-infiltrating an electrolyte into (a) the anode, or (b) the cathode, or (c) the anode and the cathode; providing a separator layer on at least one of the anode and the cathode; and assembling the rechargeable battery cell comprising the anode and the cathode, wherein: the electrolyte ionically couples the anode and the cathode in the rechargeable battery cell; and the electrolyte comprises Al and ions of the at least one alkali metal.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to OSEI K AMPONSAH whose telephone number is (571)270-3446. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday, 8:00 am - 5:00 pm EST.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, NICHOLAS A SMITH can be reached at (571)272-8760. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/OSEI K AMPONSAH/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1752
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