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
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(s) 1-4, 6, 7, 10-15 and 17-20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wu (CN Publication 110061188) in view of Wang (CN Publication 112886009).
Regarding claims 1 and 3, Wu discloses a positive electrode mixture for a positive electrode sheet of a lithium ion battery comprising: a positive electrode active material, a first ion conductor, and a solvent, wherein the ion conductor can be lithium sulfonated graphene salt (Paragraphs 0018, 0021, 0136). As to claim 2, Wu teaches that the active material mixture can have a coating on the surface including a second ion conductor, which can comprise lithium sulfonated graphene salt (Paragraphs 0019, 0021). Regarding claim 4, Wu states that the sulfonated graphene lithium salts can be conventional products, such as GTCS-1000/2000/3000, and that a lithium polystyrene sulfonate could also be used as an ion conductor, wherein the molar ratio of sulfonate to lithium is 1:1 to 4:1. Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art that a molar ratio of sulfonate to lithium in the sulfonated graphene lithium salt would be about the same to have the same effect. As to claim 6, Wu discloses that the positive electrode mixture comprises 0.05 to 8 wt% of the first ion conductor, based on the weight of the mixture (Paragraph 0018). Regarding claim 7, Wu teaches that the positive electrode active material can be lithium nickel cobalt manganese oxide, lithium cobalt oxide, lithium iron phosphate, lithium manganese oxide, etc. (Paragraph 0055), which are known to have the formulas shown in claim 7. As to claims 10-12, Wu states that the positive electrode mixture can comprise a binder, such as chitosan, polyacrylic acid, polyacrylonitrile, or combinations, in an amount of about 2.5 wt% (Paragraphs 0057, 0069, 0136). Regarding claims 13 and 14, Wu discloses that the positive electrode mixture can comprise an electric conductive agent, such as carbon black, conductive graphite, etc., in an amount of about 4.5 wt% (Paragraphs 0056, 0136). As to claim 15, Wu teaches that the solid content in the positive electrode active material slurry is 45-50% (Paragraph 0136). Regarding claims 18-20, Wu states that the positive electrode active material slurry is deposited onto a current collector to form a positive electrode plate, which is part of a lithium ion battery (Paragraphs 0011, 0013-0015, 0136).
Wu fails to disclose that the solvent is water, and that the slurry is made by first preparing an agglomerated material by mixing the positive electrode active material, lithium-containing graphene, a dispersant, and a conductive agent; and then mixing the agglomerated material with a binder and water.
Regarding claim 1, Wang discloses a conductive agent mixture to be mixed with a positive electrode active material, the conductive agent mixture comprising: sulfonated graphene metal salt and carbon nanotubes, and wherein the mixture can comprise a solvent, such as deionized water and ethanol (Paragraphs 0031, 0066, 0153, 0155). As to claim 17, Wang teaches that the mixture is formed by first mixing the conductive materials to form a powder, adding the powder to a solution, adding the active material, and then forming the positive electrode (Paragraphs 0088, 0090, 0091, 0094). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art that in order to form the final positive electrode, the active material mixture is commonly combined with a solvent and binder so that the mixture can be deposited on the current collector and dried effectively.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the present invention that the solvent of Wu could contain water because Wang teaches that water can be mixed with other solvents in order to form a positive electrode active material mixture. It also would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art that the positive electrode of Wu could be formed by mixing materials in the order described in Wang because Wang teaches that this allows for the solid materials to be combined in a manner that creates improves properties for the battery.
Claim(s) 5 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wu (CN Publication 110061188) in view of Wang (CN Publication 112886009) as applied to claims 1-4, 6, 7, 10-15 and 17-20 above, and further in view of Zhang (CN Publication 105720231).
The teachings of Wu and Wang have been discussed in paragraph 3 above.
Wu and Wang fail to disclose that the molar ratio of C to S in the sulfonated graphene lithium salt is (3-12):1.
Regarding claim 5, Zhang (‘231) discloses a method of preparing a sulfur-carbon electrode comprising: immersing sulfonated graphene in a lithium hydroxide solution, removing, washing and drying the sulfonated graphene to obtain lithium-modified sulfonated graphene, dispersing the lithium-modified sulfonated graphene and a binder in a dispersant, and then spraying the dispersion onto a sulfur-carbon composite electrode, and drying, wherein the carbon to sulfur ratio in the sulfonated graphene is 9:1 to 6:1 (Paragraphs 0009-0010).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the present invention that the carbon to sulfur ratio in the sulfonated graphene lithium salt of Wu can be (3-12):1 because Zhang (‘231) teaches that this ratio prevents polysulfides from dissolving into the electrode material, thereby improving battery capacity and cycle stability.
Claim(s) 8-9 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wu (CN Publication 110061188) in view of Wang (CN Publication 112886009) as applied to claims 1-4, 6, 7, 10-15 and 17-20 above, and further in view of Zhang (CN Publication 105870403).
The teachings of Wu and Wang have been discussed in paragraph 3 above.
Wu and Wang fail to disclose that the cathode mixture comprises a dispersant in an amount of 0.01-2 wt%.
Regarding claims 8 and 9, Zhang (‘403) discloses a lithium ion battery positive electrode sheet including a carbon material coating on a positive electrode material, wherein the carbon material coating is made of carbon material and a dispersant with a mass percentage of 0.5-30% and 70-99.5% deionized water (Paragraph 0011-0012).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the present invention that the positive electrode mixture of Wu can comprise a dispersant in an amount of 0.01-2 wt% because Zhang (‘403) teaches that dispersant aid in the mixing process of the different layer components and that a small percentage creates a desired viscosity of the mixture.
Claim(s) 16, 21 and 22 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wu (CN Publication 110061188) in view of Wang (CN Publication 112886009) as applied to claims 1-4, 6, 7, 10-15 and 17-20 above, and further in view of Li (CN Publication 113036125).
The teachings of Wu and Wang have been discussed in paragraph 3 above.
Wu and Wang fail to disclose that the positive electrode mixture has a viscosity of 100-10000 cP, and that the battery can be used in a battery module or battery pack.
Regarding claim 16, Li discloses a positive electrode slurry comprising: a positive electrode active material, a composite conductive agent, and a binder, wherein the composite conductive agent can contain graphene, and wherein the viscosity of the slurry is 3000-8000 cP (Paragraphs 0011, 0015). As to claims 21 and 22, Li teaches that the positive electrode slurry is used to make a positive electrode that is combined with other components to form a lithium secondary battery, wherein multiple secondary batteries can be used to form a battery module, and the battery module can be used to form a battery pack (Paragraphs 0020, 0022, 0048).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the present invention that the viscosity of the positive electrode mixture of Wu could be 100-10000 cP because Li teaches that this viscosity allows for the mixture to be efficiently spread on the current collector. It also would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art that the battery of Wu could be used in a battery module or battery pack because Li teaches that it is common to combine multiple battery cells to form a battery module or pack for use in a larger devices or vehicles.
Conclusion
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BRITTANY L. RAYMOND
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 1722
/BRITTANY L RAYMOND/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1722