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 .
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election without traverse of Species B (Q is not S) in the reply filed on July 1, 2026 is acknowledged. However, after further consideration, the requirement has been withdrawn. Claims 1-14 are under examination.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement filed September 18, 2025 fails to comply with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.98(a)(4) because it lacks the appropriate size fee assertion. It has been placed in the application file, but the information referred to therein has not been considered as to the merits.
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.
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 1-4 and 12-14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) and 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Kim (US 2021/0408534).
Claim 1: Kim discloses a negative electrode for a rechargeable lithium battery (¶¶ 24, 44-45, 71-74). The electrode includes a current collector (¶¶ 24-25, 65); a first layer on the current collector consisting of a Si-based material (¶¶ 26, 61-63), a linear conductive material (¶¶ 34, 61-63), a spherical conductive material (¶¶ 24, 26, 28, 30, 61-63), and a first binder (¶¶ 33, 61-63); and a second layer on the first layer, the second layer consisting of crystalline carbon and a second binder (¶¶ 39-42, 64-65).
Claim 2: Kim discloses the linear conductive material includes CNT’s (¶¶ 34, 63).
Claim 3: Kim discloses SWCNT’s and MWCNT’s (¶ 34).
Claim 4: Kim discloses the spherical conducting material including crystalline carbon (¶¶ 28, 30, 34).
Claim 12: Kim discloses the Si-based material includes Si (¶ 27).
Claim 13: Kim discloses the crystalline carbon including artificial graphite (¶¶ 39, 64).
Claim 14: Kim discloses the negative electrode as claimed in claim 1 above, a positive electrode and an electrolyte (¶¶ 51-54, 67-73).
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.
Claims 5-6 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kim (US 2021/0408534), as applied to claim 1 above, in view of Xie (CN 114005958; page numbers to attached English language translation).
Claim 5: Kim is silent as to the claimed relative layer thicknesses. However, Xie, in the same field of endeavor, discloses first and second layers on a negative current collector, with silicon-based material and graphite in the lower layer and fast-charging graphite in the upper layer (pages 1-2). Xie teaches that a thinner first layer and a thicker second layer improve lithium intercalation and charging kinetics and reduce the risk of lithium precipitation during high-rate charging (pages 1-2). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the application to have made the first layer of Kim’s electrode thinner and the second layer thicker in order to improve lithium intercalation and charging kinetics and reduce the risk of lithium precipitation during high-rate charging, as taught by Xie.
Claim 6: Xie discloses a ratio of the thickness of the first layer to a thickness of the second to be 20:80 (pages 1-2).
Claims 1-4 and 7-14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ryu (WO 2022/244918; paragraph numbers to attached English language translation) in view of Oh (US 2022/0325105).
Claim 1: Ryu discloses a negative electrode, current collector, first layer on the collector, and second layer on the first (¶¶ 52-54; fig. 1). Ryu places the first active-material/binder/conductor layer on the collector and teaches Si-C composite materials (¶¶ 63-68). Ryu discloses CMC binder for its first layer (¶¶ 73-77).
Oh, in the same field of endeavor, discloses a rechargeable lithium battery (¶Ҟ 127-128), carbon-coated silicon-based particles in the first layer (¶¶ 30, 154-155, 162-163), first and second SWCNTs forming the conductive structure (¶¶ 30-32), that are fibrous and linear (¶¶ 50, 74), carbon black crosslinking material that is spherical connecting the linear SWCNTs (¶¶ 73-74, 162-163), and CMC binder (¶¶ 110, 118-120). The Example 2 composite discloses the inner carbon-coated silicon-based core, outer carbon coating, SWCNTs, and carbon black crosslinker (¶¶ 162-163). Thus, Ryu teaches the collector, layer ordering, silicon material, binder and graphite/binder upper layer alternative, while Oh teaches the complete lower-layer composite formulation. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the application to have used Oh’s disclosed carbon-coated silicon-based composite with linear SWCNTs and spherical carbon black crosslinkers together with binder, as Ryu’s silicon-containing first layer, while retaining Ryu’s artificial-graphite and binder second layer to maintain electrical connections during silicon expansion and contraction and improve cycling stability.
Claims 2-3: Oh discloses single walled carbon nanotubes (¶¶ 30, 50).
Claim 4: Oh discloses spherical carbon black (Example 2).
Claim 7: Oh discloses 90:10 weight ratio (¶¶ 117-120).
Claim 8: Oh discloses the linear conductive material is 0.27 wt% of the first layer (¶¶ 117-120, 163).
Claim 9: Oh discloses the spherical conductive material to be 0.90 wt% of the first layer (¶¶ 117-120, 163).
Claim 10: Oh discloses the linear SWCNTs being 4.5-10 microns in length (¶¶ 52, 61).
Claim 11: Oh discloses the spherical conductive material having a diameter of 0.05 – 0.5 microns (¶ 77), which overlaps the claimed range. Where ranges overlap, a prima facie case of obviousness is made out). In re Boesch, 617 F.2d 272, 275 (CCPA 1980). See also In re Peterson, 315 F.3d 1325, 1329 (Fed. Cir. 2003) (a prima facie case of obviousness exists when the ranges of a claimed composition overlap the ranges disclosed in the prior art) and In re Harris, 409 F.3d 1339, 1341 (Fed. Cir. 2005) (same).
Claim 12: Ryu discloses SiOx where 0<x<2 (¶¶ 68-69).
Claim 13: Ryu discloses artificial graphite for the second layer (¶¶ 82-83).
Claim 14: Oh discloses the negative and positive electrodes, and an electrolyte (¶¶ 127-128).
Claims 5-6 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ryu (WO 2022/244918; paragraph numbers to attached English language translation) in view of Oh (US 2022/0325105), as applied to claim 1 above, in view of Xie (CN 114005958; page numbers to attached English language translation).
Claim 5: Modified Ryu is silent as to the claimed relative layer thicknesses. However, Xie, in the same field of endeavor, discloses first and second layers on a negative current collector, with silicon-based material and graphite in the lower layer and fast-charging graphite in the upper layer (pages 1-2). Xie teaches that a thinner first layer and a thicker second layer improve lithium intercalation and charging kinetics and reduce the risk of lithium precipitation during high-rate charging (pages 1-2). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the application to have made the first layer of modified Ryu’s electrode thinner and the second layer thicker in order to improve lithium intercalation and charging kinetics and reduce the risk of lithium precipitation during high-rate charging, as taught by Xie.
Claim 6: Xie discloses a ratio of the thickness of the first layer to a thickness of the second to be 20:80 (pages 1-2).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to LARRY THROWER whose telephone number is (571)270-5517. The examiner can normally be reached 9am-5pm MT M-F.
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, Susan Leong can be reached at 571-270-1487. 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.
/LARRY W THROWER/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1754
Prosecution Insights