DETAILED ACTION
Application 18/464854, “ALLOY COATING ON LITHIUM METAL ANODES WITH NITROGEN-RICH SOLID ELECTROLYTE INTERPHASE”, was filed with the USPTO on 9/11/23.
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
This Office Action on the merits is in response to communication filed on 5/6/26.
Election/Restriction
Applicant's election with traverse of Group II, claims 9-20 in the reply filed on 5/6/26 is acknowledged. The traversal is on the ground(s) that there is no burden because prior art readable on Group II may be relevant to the Group I invention. This is not found persuasive because although some of the art readable on Group II may be readable on Group I, the closest prior art may not be. Specifically, the search of Group II requires emphasizing the method of manufacture, whereas the search for Group I would include only the structural features without direct consideration of the method of manufacture. Therefore, a different field of search would be required to find the closest prior art for Group I.
The requirement is still deemed proper and is therefore made FINAL.
Claims 1-8 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b), as being drawn to a nonelected product, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Applicant timely traversed the restriction (election) requirement in the reply filed on 5/6/26.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(B) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 14, 19 and 20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor, or for pre-AIA the applicant regards as the invention.
Regarding claim 14, 19 and 20, the steps of “using a liquid electrolyte” and “using a solid-state electrolyte” are unclear because they do not adequately explain the manner of using the electrolyte.
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 of this title, 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.
Claims 9-11 and 14-20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over the combination of Ritchie (USP 2022/0093908) and Sun (KR 10-2021-0114655).
Regarding claim 9, Ritchie teaches (e.g. Fig. 1,3; paragraph [0018]) a method for manufacturing a battery cell (item 100) comprising: providing a lithium metal anode electrode including first and second lithium metal layers (items 104 and 304) arranged on opposite sides of an anode current collector (item 102); and, wherein the lithium metal anode electrode is coated with a lithium alloy layer (items 106 and 306).
Ritchie does not appear to teach wherein the method comprises immersing the first and second lithium metal layers and the anode current collector in a bath including a metal salt solution comprising a lithiophilic metal and a nitrate salt, and a nitrate layer is coated on the anode.
In the battery art, Sun teaches a method of making an anode comprising immersing an anode in a bath including a metal salt solution comprising a lithiophilic metal and a nitrate salt such that a nitrate layer is coated on the anode (T015-T017, T027, T072). Sun further teaches that the addition of the lithium nitrate coating layer provides benefits such as providing a protective function, stabilizing the lithium metal and improving efficiency of a battery comprising the anode (T027).
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art at the time of invention to modify the method of Ritchie by including a step of immersing an anode in a bath including a metal salt solution comprising a lithiophilic metal and a nitrate salt such that a nitrate layer is coated on the anode for the benefit of protecting the anode, stabilizing the lithium metal and/or improving efficiency of a battery comprising the anode as taught by Sun.
Regarding claim 10, the cited art remains as applied to claim 9. Ritchie further teaches wherein the lithiophilic metal is from a group consisting of zinc, indium, tin, aluminum, silver, and gallium (paragraphs [0028, 0029]).
Regarding claim 11, the cited art remains as applied to claim 10. Ritchie further teaches creating a battery cell stack including: A of the lithium metal anode electrode; C cathode electrodes including a cathode active material layer arranged adjacent to a cathode current collector; and S separators arranged between the A anode electrodes and the C cathode electrodes (Figs. 1, 3 illustrate separators S between anode A and cathode C).
Regarding claim 14, the cited art remains as applied to claim 9. Ritchie further teaches using a liquid electrolyte (paragraph [0004, 0026]), but does not expressly teach arranging the battery cell stack in an enclosure.
In the battery art, Sun teaches using an enclosure to contain the battery cell (T051).
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art at the time of invention to arrange the battery cell stack in an enclosure as taught by Sun in order to contain and protect the components of the cell.
Regarding claim 15-16, the cited art remains as applied to claim 9. Ritchie further teaches wherein the anode current collector is made of a material selected from a group consisting of copper, stainless steel, and nickel (paragraph [0027]). The “laminated foil” limitation of claim 16 is obvious over the cited art because the various layers are arranged to form a laminate, such as in Figs. 1 and 3.
Regarding independent claim 17 and dependent claims 18-20, the claims are found to be obvious for reasons previously set forth in the rejection of claims 9, 10, 11, 13, 14. Claim 17 further requires tat the immersing is performed for a “predetermined period”; however, this limitation is not found to distinguish over the prior art because predetermining is a mental step and no specific magnitude of time is required.
Claims 12 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over the combination of Ritchie (USP 2022/0093908), Sun (KR 10-2021-0114655) and Lin (CN 114335554).
Regarding claim 12, the cited art remains as applied to claim 10. As previously described, Sun teaches the anode comprising a lithium nitrate layer having a protective function, but does not expressly teach removing the lithium nitrate layer.
In the battery art, Lin teaches that a protective lithium nitrate layer is consumed or dissolved into the electrolyte during cycling of the battery (T035).
Thus, a step of removing the lithium nitrate layer is found to be an obvious consequence of normal use of the battery.
Regarding claim 13, the cited art remains as applied to claim 12. Ritchie further teaches wherein the battery cell stack includes a solid-state electrolyte (paragraph [0019]).
Relevant or Related Art
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure, though not necessarily pertinent to applicant’s invention as claimed.
Chang (US 2022/0158226) anode comprising lithium alloy layers;
Ma (US 2022/0407071) anode comprising lithium alloy layers;
Kim (US 2023/0009297) anode comprising plated lithium metal layer; includes ordered carbon and optionally metal oxide; metal nitride may be precursor thereof.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JEREMIAH R SMITH whose telephone number is (571)270-7005. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Fri: 9 AM-5 PM (EST).
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, Tiffany Legette-Thompson can be reached on (571)270-7078. 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.
/JEREMIAH R SMITH/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1723
Prosecution Insights