DETAILED ACTION
Application 18/391,658, “NON-AQUEOUS ELECTROLYTE SECONDARY BATTERY”, was filed with the USPTO on 12/21/2023 and has a foreign priority document of JP2023-008078 filed on 1/23/2023.
This office action is in response to communication filed on 12/21/2023.
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 .
Priority
Acknowledgment is made of applicant’s claim for foreign priority under 35 U.S.C. 119 (a)-(d). The certified copy has been filed in parent Application No. 18/391,658, filed on 3/4/2024.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 12/21/2023 and 4/22/2025 are in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
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, 3-6 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) and (a)(2) as being anticipated by Mitsuhashi et al. (US 20140322579 A1, provided on IDS filed on 4/22/2025).
Regarding claim 1, Mitsuhashi et al. teaches a non-aqueous electrolyte secondary battery (Example 2, [0104]; also see 12, Fig. 2; note: Example 2 has the same battery assembly of Example 1, [0104]) comprising an electrode assembly (wound electrode assembly, [0102]; also see 50, Fig. 2) and an electrolyte solution (nonaqueous electrolyte, [0102]), wherein
the electrode assembly (wound electrode assembly, [0102]; also see 50, Fig. 2) includes a positive electrode plate (positive electrode sheet, [0100]; also see 64, Fig. 2), a separator (separator sheet (polypropylene/polyethylene/polypropylene), [0102]; also see 90, Fig. 2), and a negative electrode plate (negative electrode sheet, [0101]; also see 84, Fig. 2),
the electrolyte solution (nonaqueous electrolyte, [0102]) contains a lithium salt (LiPF6, [0102]), a solvent (mixed solvent of ethylene carbonate (EC), dimethyl carbonate (DMC) and ethyl methyl carbonate (EMC), [0102]), and an additive agent (Lithium bis(oxalate)borate (LiBOB), [0102]),
the positive electrode plate (positive electrode sheet, [0100]; also see 64, Fig. 2) includes a positive electrode core body (aluminum foil, [0100]; also see Fig. 62) and a positive electrode active material layer (LiNi1/3Mn1/3Co1/3O2, [0100]; also see 66, Fig. 2),
the negative electrode plate (negative electrode sheet, [0101]; also see 84, Fig. 2) includes a negative electrode core body (copper foil, [0101]; also see 82, Fig. 2) and a negative electrode active material layer (natural graphite particles, [0101]; also see 86, Fig. 2), and
in at least one of the positive electrode active material layer and the negative electrode active material layer (100 mm negative electrode active material layer, [0112]; also see natural graphite particles, [0101]; also see 86, Figs 2 and 4), a ratio A/B (region E/C = 0.035/0.022, see regions E and C of Example 2 in Table 2, [0112]) of a concentration A of a component (0.035, see boron content (mass %) of region E of Example 2 in Table 2, [0112]) originated from the additive agent (Lithium bis(oxalate)borate (LiBOB), [0102]) in a region (region E, Fig. 7) disposed on an end portion side (note: region E is an 15mm end, see Fig. 7; 15 mm is 15% of 100 mm, [0112]) in a width direction (direction of length a, see Fig. 7; note: length a is the same direction as arrow X in Fig. 4) of the electrode assembly to a concentration B of the component (0.022, see boron content (mass %) of region C of Example 2 in Table 2, [0112]) originated from the additive agent (Lithium bis(oxalate)borate (LiBOB), [0102]) in a region (region C, Fig. 7) disposed in a central portion (note: region C is a 15 mm central portion, see Fig. 7; 15 mm is 15% of 100 mm, [0112]) in the width direction (direction of length a, see Fig. 7; note: length a is the same direction as arrow X in Fig. 4) of the electrode assembly is 1.4 or more and 2.6 or less (1.6; region E/C = 0.035/0.022 = 1.6, see regions E and C of Example 2 in Table 2, [0112]).
Regarding claim 3, Mitsuhashi et al. teaches wherein the additive agent (Lithium bis(oxalate)borate (LiBOB), [0102]) includes at least one selected from a group consisting of LiBOB (Lithium bis(oxalate)borate (LiBOB), [0102]) and LiFSO3.
Regarding claim 4, Mitsuhashi et al. teaches wherein at least one of the positive electrode active material layer (LiNi1/3Mn1/3Co1/3O2, [0100]; also see 66, Fig. 2) and the negative electrode active material layer (natural graphite particles, [0101]; also see 86, Fig. 2) includes the additive agent (Lithium bis(oxalate)borate (LiBOB), [0102]; note: Example 2 has only one injection step (S20 but no S30, S40, see Fig. 3) to inject 125 g nonaqueous electrolyte into the battery assembly of Example 1, and the 2.45 g of LiBOB was impregnated throughout the entirety of the wound electrode assembly including active material layers (see [0103]), therefore LiBOB is included in both active material layers; alternatively, the additive-derived coating was formed on the surface of the negative electrode active material, [0103]; note: alternatively, “the additive agent” has been broadly interpreted as “the additive agent (LiBOB) derivative”).
Regarding claim 5, Mitsuhashi et al. teaches wherein a thickness of each of the positive electrode active material layer and the negative electrode active material layer is 100 μm or more and 260 μm or less (positive electrode active material layer is 155 μm thick, [0100]; negative electrode active material layer is 130 μm thick, [0101]).
Regarding claim 6, Mitsuhashi et al. teaches wherein the electrode assembly (wound electrode assembly, [0102]; also see 50, Fig. 2) is a wound type (wound electrode assembly, see [0102]).
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.
Claim 2 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Mitsuhashi et al. (US 20140322579 A1, provided on IDS filed on 4/22/2025) in view of Onoda (US 20170256822 A1).
Regarding claim 2, Mitsuhashi et al. does not teach wherein a length of each of the positive electrode active material layer and the negative electrode active material layer in the width direction of the electrode assembly is 180 mm or more.
Onoda teaches wherein a length of each (length of 14 is 24c and length of 24 is (24c + 24n), see Fig. 3) of the positive electrode active material layer (14, Fig. 3) and the negative electrode active material layer (24, Fig. 3) in the width direction (width direction, Fig. 3) of the electrode assembly is 180 mm or more (length of 14 = 24c is 90 mm or more and 200 mm or less; length of 24 = (24c + 24n) is 92 mm or more and 202 mm or less, see [0063] and Fig. 3; note: 24 n is about 2 mm, see [0063]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to modify the length of the positive electrode active material layer and the length of the negative electrode active material layer taught by Mitsuhashi et al. to be 180 mm or more and 200 mm or less, 180 mm or more and 202 mm or less, respectively as taught by Onoda to have 200 mm or less from the viewpoint of realizing high input and output densities, 90 mm or more from the viewpoint of realizing high energy density and high capacity (see Onoda [0063]).
Claim 7 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Mitsuhashi et al. (US 20140322579 A1, provided on IDS filed on 4/22/2025).
Regarding claim 7, Example 2 of Mitsuhashi et al. does not teach wherein the electrode assembly is a stacked type.
Different embodiment of Mitsuhashi et al. teaches wherein the electrode assembly is a stacked type (stacked electrode assembly, [0095]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to modify to the wound electrode assembly taught by Example 2 of Mitsuhashi et al. to be the stacked electrode assembly taught by Mitsuhashi et al. because such stacked electrode assembly is known in the art (see Mitsuhashi et al. [0095]). Further, it has been held that combining two embodiments disclosed adjacent to each other in a prior art patent does not require a leap of inventiveness and involves only routine skill in the art.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
(Ishii) US-20190181429-A1, Figs. 2-3, LiBOB (boron) and LiFSO3 (FSO3−) [0057];
(Miyachi) US-20240266605-A1, exact Figs. 1-3 and 5-6 as Figs. 1-5 of instant application;
(Fujita) US-20240387871-A1, same battery assembly structure, Figs 2-3.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to NING CHEN whose telephone number is (571)272-1163. The examiner can normally be reached 9:30 AM - 4:30 PM.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Tiffany Legette can be reached at (571) 270-7078. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/NING CHEN/Examiner, Art Unit 1723 /TIFFANY LEGETTE/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 1723
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