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
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.
Claim(s) 1 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Shiozaki et al. (US 2020/0020921 A1) in view of Ozaki et al. (US 20190031522 A1).
As to claim 1, Shiozaki et al. discloses an electrode sheet (figure 3b), comprising:
a substrate, wherein the substrate comprises
a current collector (21) and
a protective layer (23) provided on a surface of the current collector (figure 3b);
an active material layer (22-positive active material layer) is further provided on the protective layer (23, figure 3b);
the protective layer (23) comprises a non-active material comprising an inorganic material (inorganic compound)[0043];
However Shiozaki is silent to the inorganic material has a weight loss rate a measured by a thermogravimetric analysis, 0.1%≤a≤10%, a=(m0-m1)/m0, m0 is a mass of the inorganic material before the thermogravimetric analysis, and m1 is a mass of the inorganic material after the thermogravimetric analysis;
the mass after the thermogravimetric analysis is a mass of the inorganic material when its temperature is raised from 25±5℃ to 900±20℃ at a heating rate of 20±2℃/min under an inert atmosphere.
Ozaki et al. teaches the use of alumina for a film [0001]. Ozaki et al. teaches the use of thermogravimetric analysis to determine the rate loss of the alumina to be 0.3 % [0019] the thermogravimetric analysis is at rate of 20 C/min and a temperature range of 25-480 C [0182-0187]. While the parameters are not those of the claimed range [0071], one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the application was filed could extend the range of the temperature range because this “[W]here the general conditions of a claim are disclosed in the prior art, it is not inventive to discover the optimum or workable ranges by routine experimentation.” See In re Aller, 220 F.2d 454, 456, 105 USPQ 233, 235 (CCPA 1955). The discovery of an optimum value of a known result effective variable, without producing any new or unexpected results, is within the ambit of a person of ordinary skill in the art. See In re Boesch, 205 USPQ 215 (CCPA 1980) (see MPEP § 2144.05, II.). In this case by ensuring a purity of the alumina, the electrical insulation proper is ensured [0074].
As to claim 2. Shiozaki et al. discloses the electrode sheet according to claim 1, wherein the protective layer further comprises:
a conductive agent (electrical conductor [0045]]) and a binder ([0045]), and
a mass percentage of the non-active material (inorganic particles composed of alumina) is 60%-96% ([0057]-92 parts alumina),
a mass percentage of the conductive agent is 1% to 10% (5 parts of acetylene black), and
a mass percentage of the binder is 3% to 30% (3 parts of PVDF) based on a total mass of the protective layer.
As to claims 3 and 4, Shiozaki et al. discloses electrode sheet according to claim 1,
wherein the inorganic material comprises oxide, [0044];
the oxide comprises at least one of alumina, titanium oxide, magnesium oxide, zirconium oxide, manganese oxide, and silicon oxide [0044];
the non-active material further comprises an organic material (mixture of binders [0045]), and the organic material comprises polytetrafluoroethylene [0042].
As to claims 5 and 6, Shiozaki et al. discloses the electrode sheet according to claim 1, wherein the inorganic material is aluminum oxide. The inorganic material of alumina has a thermal decomposition temperature greater than or equal to 1200°C (MP is about 2054C thus the thermal decomposition is greater).
As to claims 9. Shiozaki et al. discloses the electrode sheet according to claim 1, a thickness of the protective layer is 0.1μm-10μm [0046] (1-5 micrometers).
As to claim 11. Shiozaki et al. discloses electrode sheet according to claim 1, wherein both surfaces of the current collector are provided with the protective layer (23, Figure 3b); and the protective layer further comprises a binder [0045]; the binder in the protective layer (3 parts) has a content greater than the binder in the active material layer (1.5 parts PVDF) [0058].
As to claim 12. Shiozaki et al. discloses electrode sheet according to claim 1, an uncoated foil area is disposed between the protective layer and an outer edge of the current collector on at least one of a first end and a second end of the electrode sheet; the active material layer comprises a first part and a second part connected to the first part; the first part is disposed on a surface of the protective layer, and the second part is disposed on a surface of the current collector in the uncoated foil area (figure 3b) (tab 27 is located on an uncoated portion 28-bonding part, the active material 22 has a straight portion on the flat part of the protective area and a bent portion on the current collector).
As to claim 14 and 16. Shiozaki et al. discloses the electrode sheet according to claims 2 and 11, wherein the binder comprises at least one of polyvinylidene fluoride [0057].
As to claim 15 and 17. Shiozaki et al. discloses the electrode sheet according to claims 2 and 11, wherein the conductive agent comprises acetylene black [0057].
As to claim 18. Shiozaki et al. discloses an electrochemical device (battery)[0002], comprising the electrode sheet according to claim 1.
Claim(s) 13 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Shiozaki et al. (US 2020/0020921 A1) in view of Ozaki et al. (US 20190031522 A1) as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Ozaki et al. (US 2015/0004465 A1).
As to claim 13, Shiozaki et al. discloses the electrode sheet according to claim 1, but is silent to wherein in the inorganic material, an iron element has a content of a1, a sodium element has a content of b1, a potassium element has a content of c1, and a calcium element has a content of d1, and a1≤100ppm, b1≤400ppm, c1≤100ppm, and d1≤400ppm.
Ozaki et al. discloses a inorganic material such as alumina and states that impurities contain in the powder such as Silica, Sodium and iron or the like increase, the good electrical insulation decreases [0030]. And gives an example of si-12ppm, Fe-5ppm, Cu-1ppm, Na-2ppm and Mg2ppm [0103]. While Ozaki does not disclose calcium or potassium but since impurities decrease the insulation ability of the alumina it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the application was filed to have as few impurities as possible in order to have good insulation properties.
Claim(s) 7, 8 and 10 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Shiozaki et al. (US 2020/0020921 A1) in view of Ozaki et al. (US 20190031522 A1)] as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Omae et al. (JP 2013073924 A)
As to claims 7 and 8. Shiozaki et al. discloses the electrode sheet according to claim 1, but is silent to wherein a relationship between a thickness H1 of the protective layer and a particle diameter D50 of the non-active material satisfies H1≥2×D50; and/or, a particle diameter of the non-active material satisfies: D50≤2μm, D90≤5μm or wherein the particle diameter of the non-active material satisfies: D50 is 0.05μm-1μm, and D90 is 1μm-3μm.
Omae et al. discloses a battery and teaches a protective layer make of a metal oxide where in the protective layer is 3 times more than the average diameter of the metal oxide ([0010]) and also teaches the metal oxide is 1 micrometer or more and the D90 is 4 micrometer or less which overlap the claimed ranges [0012]. These sizes ensure the prevention of internal short circuiting [0014].
Therefore it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the application was filed to have D50 be 1 micrometer and D90 be 4 micrometer or less micrometer respectively because this would prevent internal short circuiting.
As to claim 10. Shiozaki et al. discloses the electrode sheet according to claim 7, a thickness of the protective layer is 0.1μm-10μm [0046] (1-5 micrometers).
Conclusion
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/Maria Laios/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1727
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