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 .
DETAILED ACTION
This Office action is in response to Application No. 18/494,771 to Takebayashi et al., assigned to Prime Planet Energy & Solutions, Inc., Tokyo, Japan, filed 10/26/2023, and published as U.S. PG Publication 2024/0204202 A1 on 06/20/2024.
Status of the Claims
Claims 1-5 are currently pending in this application. All the pending claims are under full consideration.
Foreign Priority Benefit
Acknowledgment is made of applicant’s claim to foreign priority benefit from Japanese Patent Application JP2022-202327 filed 12/19/2022. A certified copy of the priority document has been filed and is made of record.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 10/26/2023 and 01/23/2024 have been placed in the application file and the information referred to therein has been considered by the examiner. Duly initialed and signed copies are attached herewith. Accordingly, information disclosure statement(s) is/are being considered if signed and initialed by Examiner.
Drawing
The drawing file on 10/26/2023 are acceptable for examination purposes.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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.
Claims 1 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Takeda et al. (U.S. PG Publication 2017/0098863)
Regarding claim 1 Takeda discloses a nonaqueous electrolyte lithium-ion secondary battery (Takeda paragraph 0009, 0022), including a positive electrode sheet, a negative electrode sheet and a separator (Takeda Fig. 2, paragraph 0009,0026 ), the sheet of the positive electrode, the negative electrode have an elongated sheet shape (Takeda Fig. 2, paragraph 0026) considered equivalent to the strip-shaped positive electrode, negative electrode and separator. The positive electrode, and negative electrode are laminated and wound with the separator interposed therebetween (Takeda paragraph 0037).
The battery includes a nonaqueous solution containing lithium hexafluoro phosphate, LiPF6 (Takeda paragraph 0009, 0010), and the wound electrode body and the nonaqueous electrolytic solution are accommodated in a battery case (Takeda Fig. 1, paragraph 0009, 0022).
The positive electrode plate includes a current collector foil made of aluminum (Takeda paragraph 0003, 0009, 0029), and a positive electrode active material layer is laminated on a surface of the positive current collector foil (Takeda Fi. 2, paragraph 0009, 0027, 0029). The positive electrode sheet P has a portion in which the positive electrode material layer P2 is laminated on a surface of the positive current collector foil P1 (Takeda Fig. 2, paragraph 0027). The positive electrode current collector laminate part has current collecting foil end portions in the width direction (Takeda Fig. 2), considered equivalent to the current collecting foil end portions located at both ends of the positive electrode laminated part. The positive electrode laminated part also includes a current collecting central portion locate between the two current collecting foil end portions (Takeda Fig. 2).
A passive film of aluminum fluoride (AlF3) is formed on a surface of the positive electrode non-forming region PB, this passive film is formed derived from aluminum, which is the material of the positive electrode current collector foil P1, and LiPF6 as the first electrolyte of the first electrolytic solution (Takeda paragraph 0046).
Thus, the amount of the AlF3 per unit area in the surface of the current collecting portion will be greater on the end portion of the positive electrode laminated part than in the central laminated part.
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 set forth in Graham v. John Deere Co., 383 U.S. 1, 148 USPQ 459 (1966), that are applied 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 2-3 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Takeda et al. (U.S. PG Publication 2017/0098863) in view of Shindo (U.S. PG Publication 2016/0064729)
The discussion of Takeda as applied to claim 1 above is fully incorporated here and relied upon for the limitation of the claims in this section.
Regarding claim 2 and 3 Takeda discloses a method of producing a nonaqueous electrolyte lithium-ion secondary battery (Takeda paragraph 0009, 0022), including forming a positive electrode sheet, a negative electrode sheet and a separator (Takeda Fig. 2, paragraph 0009,0026 ), the sheet of the positive electrode, the negative electrode have an elongated sheet shape (Takeda Fig. 2, paragraph 0026) considered equivalent to the strip-shaped positive electrode, negative electrode and separator. The positive electrode, and negative electrode are laminated and wound with the separator interposed therebetween (Takeda paragraph 0037).
The method of the battery includes injecting and accommodating the electrolytic nonaqueous solution containing lithium hexafluoro phosphate, LiPF6 (Takeda paragraph 0009, 0010, 0041), and the wound electrode body and the nonaqueous electrolytic solution are stored in a battery case (Takeda Fig. 1, paragraph 0009, 0022). The battery which has undergone accommodation step is initially charged (Takeda paragraph 0044).
The positive electrode plate includes a current collector foil made of aluminum (Takeda paragraph 0003, 0009, 0029), and a positive electrode active material layer is laminated on a surface of the positive current collector foil (Takeda Fi. 2, paragraph 0009, 0027, 0029). The positive electrode sheet P has a portion in which the positive electrode material layer P2 is laminated on a surface of the positive current collector foil P1 (Takeda Fig. 2, paragraph 0027). The positive electrode current collector laminate part has current collecting foil end portions in the width direction (Takeda Fig. 2), considered equivalent to the current collecting foil end portions located at both ends of the positive electrode laminated part. The positive electrode laminated part also includes a current collecting central portion locate between the two current collecting foil end portions (Takeda Fig. 2).
A passive film of aluminum fluoride (AlF3) is formed on a surface of the positive electrode non-forming region PB, this passive film is formed derived from aluminum, which is the material of the positive electrode current collector foil P1, and LiPF6 as the first electrolyte of the first electrolytic solution (Takeda paragraph 0046).
Thus, the amount of the AlF3 per unit area in the surface of the current collecting portion will be greater on the end portion of the positive electrode laminated part than in the central laminated part.
Takeda is silent about the hydroxide particles are supplied in forming the electrode plate in the current collecting end portions in the positive electrode active material layer. Shindo discloses a method of producing a positive electrode active material for a lithium secondary battery (Shindo paragraph 0010) which contains lithium hydroxide in the positive electrode mixture layer (Shindo paragraph 0023). Shindo discloses a method that in a battery wherein LiOH is included in the positive electrode mixture slurry with other lithium salt such as lithium phosphate the internal resistance of the battery was low (Shindo paragraph 0067). Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill to have modified the positive electrode active material slurry of Takeda by including LiOH so as to obtain a mattery with low internal resistance as taught by Shindo (Shindo paragraph 0067). According to the MPEP this is considered The use of known technique to improve similar devices (methods, or products) in the same way; (MPEP 2143 I C). LiOH is recited with lithium carbonate. A choosing LIOH would have been obvious to try since it constitutes choosing from a finite number of identified, predictable solutions, with a reasonable expectation of success (MPEP 2143 I E). Confining the portion wherein the LiOH only to the end portion of current collecting foil would have also been obvious to a person of ordinary skill since it is shifting of the position of parts of device (MPEP 2144.04 VI C).
Claim 4-5 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Takeda et al. (U.S. PG Publication 2017/0098863) in view of Tokoro et al. (U.S. PG Publication 2019/0207215)
The discussion of Takeda as applied to claim 1 above is fully incorporated here and relied upon for the limitation of the claims in this section.
Regarding claim 4 and 5 Takeda discloses a method of producing a nonaqueous electrolyte lithium-ion secondary battery (Takeda paragraph 0009, 0022), including forming a positive electrode sheet, a negative electrode sheet and a separator (Takeda Fig. 2, paragraph 0009,0026 ), the sheet of the positive electrode, the negative electrode have an elongated sheet shape (Takeda Fig. 2, paragraph 0026) considered equivalent to the strip-shaped positive electrode, negative electrode and separator. The positive electrode, and negative electrode are laminated and wound with the separator interposed therebetween (Takeda paragraph 0037).
The method of the battery includes injecting and accommodating the electrolytic nonaqueous solution containing lithium hexafluoro phosphate, LiPF6 (Takeda paragraph 0009, 0010, 0041), and the wound electrode body and the nonaqueous electrolytic solution are stored in a battery case (Takeda Fig. 1, paragraph 0009, 0022). The battery which has undergone accommodation step is then initially charged (Takeda paragraph 0044).
The positive electrode plate includes a current collector foil made of aluminum (Takeda paragraph 0003, 0009, 0029), and a positive electrode active material layer is laminated on a surface of the positive current collector foil (Takeda Fi. 2, paragraph 0009, 0027, 0029). The positive electrode sheet P has a portion in which the positive electrode material layer P2 is laminated on a surface of the positive current collector foil P1 (Takeda Fig. 2, paragraph 0027). The positive electrode current collector laminate part has current collecting foil end portions in the width direction (Takeda Fig. 2), considered equivalent to the current collecting foil end portions located at both ends of the positive electrode laminated part. The positive electrode laminated part also includes a current collecting central portion locate between the two current collecting foil end portions (Takeda Fig. 2).
A passive film of aluminum fluoride (AlF3) is formed on a surface of the positive electrode non-forming region PB, this passive film is formed derived from aluminum, which is the material of the positive electrode current collector foil P1, and LiPF6 as the first electrolyte of the first electrolytic solution (Takeda paragraph 0046).
Thus, the amount of the AlF3 per unit area in the surface of the current collecting portion will be greater on the end portion of the positive electrode laminated part than in the central laminated part.
Takeda is silent about an amount of water in each of the positive active material layer end portion and the positive active material layer in the central portion. Tokoro discloses a method of producing positive electrode active material (Tokoro paragraph 0011), and water content in the electrode active material tend to react with the electrolyte and generate hydrogen fluoride and possibly deteriorate the battery property (Tokoro paragraph 0080); thus, Tokoro discloses trace amount of water in the positive electrode material and in working examples the water content range is disclosed to be 190 to 240 ppm (Tokoro Table 3). This range is included in the claimed range of claims 4 (equal to on higher than 100 ppm) and claim 5 (100 ppm or higher but 290 ppm).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art to have made the moisture i.e. the water content of the positive electrode material of Takeda in trace amounts only such as in the range disclosed by Tokoro of 190 to 240 ppm (Tokoro Table 3) to prevent possible deterioration of the battery property due to excessive moisture content (Tokoro paragraph 0080), considered equivalent to the claimed water content. According to the MPEP “In the case where the claimed ranges “overlap or lie inside ranges disclosed by the prior art” a prima facie case of obviousness exists. In re Wertheim, 541 F.2d 257, 191 USPQ 90 (CCPA 1976); In re Woodruff, 919 F.2d 1575, 16 USPQ2d 1934 (Fed. Cir. 1990)” (MPEP 2144.05).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to OMAR M KEKIA whose telephone number is (571)270-5918. The examiner can normally be reached 9:00am-5:00 pm,.
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/JONATHAN G JELSMA/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1722
/OMAR M KEKIA/Examiner, Art Unit 1722
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