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 .
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on 31 August 2026 has been entered.
Status of Claims and Other Notes
Claims 1–14 are pending.
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 text of those sections of Title 35, U.S. Code not included in this action can be found in a prior Office action.
The paragraph numbers cited in this Office Action in reference to the instant application are referring to the paragraph numbering of the PG-Pub of the instant application. See US 2024/0186570 A1.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
Claims 1, 4–6, and 7–14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Fukushima et al. (WO 2020/045633 A1; see English language equivalent, US 2021/0218056 A1; hereinafter Fukushima).
Regarding claim 1, Fukushima discloses a solid electrolyte material comprising:
Li, T, X and A (FIG. 2, TABLE 1, [0131])
wherein T is at least one element selected from the group consisting of P, As, Si, Ge, Al, Sb, W, and B (FIG. 2, TABLE 1, [0131]);
X is at least one element selected from the group consisting of F, Cl, Br, I and N (FIG. 2, TABLE 1, [0131]); and
A is one or more of S or Se (FIG. 2, TABLE 1, [0131]);
wherein the solid electrolyte material has peaks at 14.9° ± 0.50°, 20.4° ± 0.50°, and 25.4° ± 0.50° in X-ray diffraction measurement with Cu-Kα(1,2) = 1.5418 Å (FIG. 2, TABLE 1, [0131]), and
wherein the peak at 25.4°±0.50° has the second highest intensity in a range from 5° to 27° in the X-ray diffraction measurement (FIG. 2, TABLE 1, [0131]).
Regarding claim 4, Fukushima discloses all claim limitations set forth above and further discloses a solid electrolyte material:
at least one of glass ceramic phases, crystalline phases and mixed phases (FIG. 2, TABLE 1, [0131]).
Regarding claim 5, Fukushima discloses all claim limitations set forth above and further discloses a solid electrolyte material:
wherein mixed phases comprise crystalline phases containing peaks at 20.2°±0.50° and 23.6° ± 0.50°, and/or 21.0° ± 0.50° and 28.0° ± 0.50°, and/or 17.5° ± 0.50° and 18.2° ± 0.50°, and/or peaks at 17.8° ± 0.50° and 21.8° ± 0.50° in X-ray diffraction measurement with Cu-Kα(1,2) = 1.5418 Å (FIG. 2, TABLE 1, [0131]).
Regarding claim 6, Fukushima discloses all claim limitations set forth above and further discloses a solid electrolyte material:
wherein a ratio of peak intensity at 20.4° ± 0.50° to a peak at 21.0° ± 0.50° is 1 or more (FIG. 2, TABLE 1, [0131]).
Regarding claim 7, Fukushima discloses a lithium solid-state battery (10) comprising a positive electrode current collector (7), a positive electrode layer (6, [0161]); a negative electrode layer (5, [0161]); and a solid electrolyte layer (3) disposed between the positive electrode layer (6) and the negative electrode layer (5, FIG. 1), wherein at least one of the positive electrode layer (6), the negative electrode layer (5), and the solid electrolyte layer (3, [0161]) comprises a solid electrolyte material comprising
Li, T, X and A (FIG. 2, TABLE 1, [0131])
wherein T is at least one element selected from the group consisting of P, As, Si, Ge, Al, Sb, W, and B (FIG. 2, TABLE 1, [0131]);
X is at least one element selected from the group consisting of F, Cl, Br, I and N (FIG. 2, TABLE 1, [0131]); and
A is one or more of S or Se (FIG. 2, TABLE 1, [0131]);
wherein the solid electrolyte material has peaks at 14.9° ± 0.50°, 20.4° ± 0.50°, and 25.4° ± 0.50° in X-ray diffraction measurement with Cu-Kα(1,2) = 1.5418 Å (FIG. 2, TABLE 1, [0131]), and
wherein the peak at 25.4°±0.50° has the second highest intensity in a range from 5° to 27° in the X-ray diffraction measurement (FIG. 2, TABLE 1, [0131]).
Regarding claim 8, Fukushima discloses all the claim limitations as set forth above and further discloses a solid-state electrochemical cell:
wherein the positive electrode current collector (7) comprises aluminum, nickel, titanium, stainless steel, or carbon (FIG. 1, [0161]).
Regarding claim 9, Fukushima discloses all the claim limitations as set forth above and further discloses a solid-state electrochemical cell:
wherein the positive electrode layer (6) comprises metal oxides, metal phosphates, metal sulfides, sulfur, lithium sulfide (FIG. 1, [0161]).
Regarding claim 10, Fukushima discloses all the claim limitations as set forth above and further discloses a solid-state electrochemical cell:
wherein the positive electrode layer (6) further comprises a carbon containing material selected from the group consisting of carbon black, graphite, carbon nanotubes, carbon fiber and graphene (see conductive agent, [0097]).
Regarding claim 11, Fukushima discloses all the claim limitations as set forth above and further discloses a solid-state electrochemical cell:
wherein the positive electrode layer (6) further comprises a binder comprising polyvinyl chloride, polyaniline, poly(methyl methacrylate), nitrile butadiene rubber, styrene-butadiene rubber, PVDF, or polystyrene (see binder, [0097]).
Regarding claim 12, Fukushima discloses all the claim limitations as set forth above and further discloses a solid-state electrochemical cell:
wherein the negative electrode layer (5) comprises lithium metal, lithium alloys, silicon (Si), tin (Sn), graphitic carbon, or hard carbon (FIG. 1, [0161]).
Regarding claim 13, Fukushima discloses all the claim limitations as set forth above and further discloses a solid-state electrochemical cell:
wherein the negative electrode layer (5) further comprises a carbon containing material selected from the group consisting of carbon black, graphite, carbon nanotubes, carbon fiber and graphene (see conductive agent, [0089]).
Regarding claim 14, Fukushima discloses all the claim limitations as set forth above and further discloses a solid-state electrochemical cell:
wherein the negative electrode layer (5) further comprises a binder comprising polyvinyl chloride, polyaniline, poly(methyl methacrylate), nitrile butadiene rubber, styrene-butadiene rubber, PVDF, or polystyrene (see binder, [0090]).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 2 and 3 are 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.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
Fukushima does not disclose, teach, or suggest the following distinguishing feature:
A solid electrolyte material having a formula Li1-a-b-c-dPaTbAcXd wherein 0 ≤ a ≤ 0.150, 0 ≤ b < 0.176, 0.364 ≤ c ≤ 0.603, and 0.019 ≤ d ≤ 0.080.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claims 1, 4–6, and 7–14 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Sean P Cullen, Ph.D. whose telephone number is (571)270-1251. The examiner can normally be reached Monday to Thursday 6:00 am to 4:00 pm CT, Friday 6:00 am to 12:00 pm CT.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Basia A Ridley can be reached at (571)272-1453. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/Sean P Cullen, Ph.D./Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1725
Prosecution Insights