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 § 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.
Claim 8 is 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 applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Regarding claim 8, the term “M” and “X” in line 4 of the formula LiαMβXγ is indefinite as “M” and “X” are not defined in claim 1 or claim 8.
For the purposes of compact prosecution, the limitation will be interpretated as being dependent on claim 6.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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 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.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claims 1-15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yushin et al. (US20170170515A1).
Regarding claim 1, Yushin discloses a coated active material (See annotated Fig. 6C below, active particles 601, porous coating 604, and protective coating 606) comprising: a positive electrode active material (Fig. 6C, active particles 601); and a coating layer (porous coating 604 and protective coating 606) coating at least a portion of a surface of the positive electrode active material (See Fig. 6C), wherein the coating layer includes a first coating layer (Fig. 6C, porous layer 604) and a second coating layer (Fig. 6C, protective layer 606), and the first coating layer is located outside of the second coating layer ([0091] protective sub-layer 606 may be disposed under the porous layer 604). Yushin also discloses that the battery containing the coated active material may utilize “volume changing”, “high capacity”, conversion-type active materials in anodes or cathodes, or both ([0101]) and that the coating may have pore size from around 0.3 nm to around 100 nm ([0090]).
Yushin does not disclose that at least one selected from the group consisting of the following conditions is satisfied: a condition that a percentage of change from a cumulative value S1 to a cumulative value S2 is greater than or equal to -78.0% and less than or equal to -15.0%; and a condition that a percentage of change from a value S3 to a value S4 is greater than or equal to -77.0% and less than or equal to -12.0%, where the cumulative value S1 is a value representing a sum of differential pore volumes dV/dD over a range of pore diameters of 2 nm to 100 nm in a BJH differential pore volume distribution of the positive electrode active material coated with the second coating layer, the cumulative value S2 is a value representing a sum of the differential pore volumes dV/dD over a range of pore diameters of 2 nm to 100 nm in the BJH differential pore volume distribution of the coated active material, the value S3 is a value of the differential pore volume dV/dD at a pore diameter of 3 nm in the BJH differential pore volume distribution of the positive electrode active material coated with the second coating layer, and the value S4 is a value of the differential pore volume dV/dD at a pore diameter of 3 nm in the BJH differential pore volume distribution of the coated active material.
Yushin and the instant application have substantially similar structure in battery coating active material, positive electrode material, and coating layers. Although Yushin does not explicitly disclose the conditions of claim 1, Yushin discloses that the battery containing the coated active material may utilize “volume changing”, “high capacity”, conversion-type active materials in anodes or cathodes, or both ([0101]) and that the coating may have pore size from around 0.3 nm to around 100 nm ([0090]). As the volume changing coated active material is a variable that can be modified by adjusting said percentage of change from differential pore volumes or sum of differential pore volumes with said coated active material decreasing as the percentage change is increased, the percentage of change from differential pore volumes or sum of differential pore volumes would have been considered a result effective variable by one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date. As such, without showing unexpected results, the claimed percentage of change cannot be considered critical. Thus, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art to have selected the overlapping portions of the differential pore volumes absent any unexpected result or criticality to satisfy the condition and arrive at the desired coated active material such that the percentage of change from a cumulative value S1 to a cumulative value S2 is greater than or equal to -78.0% and less than or equal to -15.0% or the percentage of change from a value S3 to a value S4 is greater than or equal to -77.0% and less than or equal to -12.0%.
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Regarding claim 2, Yushin discloses the coated active material (See annotated Fig. 6C above, active particles 601, porous coating 604, and protective coating 606) according to claim 1 but does not disclose the percentage of change from the cumulative value S1 to the cumulative value S2 is greater than or equal to -77.0% and less than or equal to -16.3%.
Yushin and the instant application have substantially similar structure in battery coating active material, positive electrode material, and coating layers. Although Yushin does not explicitly disclose the conditions of claim 1, Yushin discloses that the battery containing the coated active material may utilize “volume changing”, “high capacity”, conversion-type active materials in anodes or cathodes, or both ([0101]) and that the coating may have pore size from around 0.3 nm to around 100 nm ([0090]). As the volume changing coated active material is a variable that can be modified by adjusting said percentage of change from differential pore volumes or sum of differential pore volumes with said coated active material decreasing as the percentage change is increased, the percentage of change from differential pore volumes or sum of differential pore volumes would have been considered a result effective variable by one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date. As such, without showing unexpected results, the claimed percentage of change cannot be considered critical. Thus, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art to have selected the overlapping portions of the differential pore volumes absent any unexpected result or criticality to satisfy the condition and arrive at the desired coated active material such that the percentage of change from the cumulative value S1 to the cumulative value S2 is greater than or equal to -77.0% and less than or equal to -16.3%.
Regarding claim 3, Yushin discloses the coated active material (See annotated Fig. 6C above, active particles 601, porous coating 604, and protective coating 606) according to claim 1 but does not disclose the percentage of change from the cumulative value S1 to the cumulative value S2 is greater than or equal to -70.0% and less than or equal to -40.0%.
Yushin and the instant application have substantially similar structure in battery coating active material, positive electrode material, and coating layers. Although Yushin does not explicitly disclose the conditions of claim 1, Yushin discloses that the battery containing the coated active material may utilize “volume changing”, “high capacity”, conversion-type active materials in anodes or cathodes, or both ([0101]) and that the coating may have pore size from around 0.3 nm to around 100 nm ([0090]). As the volume changing coated active material is a variable that can be modified by adjusting said percentage of change from differential pore volumes or sum of differential pore volumes with said coated active material decreasing as the percentage change is increased, the percentage of change from differential pore volumes or sum of differential pore volumes would have been considered a result effective variable by one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date. As such, without showing unexpected results, the claimed percentage of change cannot be considered critical. Thus, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art to have selected the overlapping portions of the differential pore volumes absent any unexpected result or criticality to satisfy the condition and arrive at the desired coated active material such that the percentage of change from the cumulative value S1 to the cumulative value S2 is greater than or equal to -70.0% and less than or equal to -40.0%.
Regarding claim 4, Yushin discloses the coated active material (See annotated Fig. 6C above, active particles 601, porous coating 604, and protective coating 606) according to claim 1 but does not disclose the percentage of change from the value S3 to the value S4 is greater than or equal to -75.9% and less than or equal to -13.9%.
Yushin and the instant application have substantially similar structure in battery coating active material, positive electrode material, and coating layers. Although Yushin does not explicitly disclose the conditions of claim 1, Yushin discloses that the battery containing the coated active material may utilize “volume changing”, “high capacity”, conversion-type active materials in anodes or cathodes, or both ([0101]) and that the coating may have pore size from around 0.3 nm to around 100 nm ([0090]). As the volume changing coated active material is a variable that can be modified by adjusting said percentage of change from differential pore volumes or sum of differential pore volumes with said coated active material decreasing as the percentage change is increased, the percentage of change from differential pore volumes or sum of differential pore volumes would have been considered a result effective variable by one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date. As such, without showing unexpected results, the claimed percentage of change cannot be considered critical. Thus, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art to have selected the overlapping portions of the differential pore volumes absent any unexpected result or criticality to satisfy the condition and arrive at the desired coated active material such that the percentage of change from the value S3 to the value S4 is greater than or equal to -75.9% and less than or equal to -13.9%.
Regarding claim 5, Yushin discloses the coated active material (See annotated Fig. 6C above, active particles 601, porous coating 604, and protective coating 606) according to claim 1 but does not disclose the percentage of change from the value S3 to the value S4 is greater than or equal to -70.0% and less than or equal to -25.0%.
Yushin and the instant application have substantially similar structure in battery coating active material, positive electrode material, and coating layers. Although Yushin does not explicitly disclose the conditions of claim 1, Yushin discloses that the battery containing the coated active material may utilize “volume changing”, “high capacity”, conversion-type active materials in anodes or cathodes, or both ([0101]) and that the coating may have pore size from around 0.3 nm to around 100 nm ([0090]). As the volume changing coated active material is a variable that can be modified by adjusting said percentage of change from differential pore volumes or sum of differential pore volumes with said coated active material decreasing as the percentage change is increased, the percentage of change from differential pore volumes or sum of differential pore volumes would have been considered a result effective variable by one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date. As such, without showing unexpected results, the claimed percentage of change cannot be considered critical. Thus, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art to have selected the overlapping portions of the differential pore volumes absent any unexpected result or criticality to satisfy the condition and arrive at the desired coated active material such that the percentage of change from the value S3 to the value S4 is greater than or equal to -70.0% and less than or equal to -25.0%.
Regarding claim 6, Yushin discloses the coated active material (See annotated Fig. 6C above) according to claim 1, wherein the first coating layer (Fig. 6C, porous coating 604) contains a first solid electrolyte ([0091] porous layer 604 is filled with solid electrolyte), and the first solid electrolyte contains Li ([0014] solid electrolyte composition may comprise Li), M, and X, where M is at least one selected from the group consisting of metalloid elements and metal elements other than Li ([0014], and X is at least one selected from the group consisting of F, Cl, Br, and I ([0014]).
Regarding claim 7, Yushin discloses the coated active material (See annotated Fig. 6C above) according to claim 6, wherein M includes yttrium ([0014] solid electrolyte comprises Y).
Regarding claim 8, Yushin discloses the coated active material (See annotated Fig. 6C above) according to claim 1, wherein the first coating layer (604) contains a first solid electrolyte ([0091] porous layer 604 is filled with solid electrolyte), and the first solid electrolyte is represented by Formula 1: LiαMβXγ (1) where α, β, and γ are each independently a value greater than 0. ([0014] solid electrolyte composition may comprise Li, [0014] solid electrolyte composition may further comprise at least one of the following metals, and [0014] two of the following: I, F, Br, and Cl). A solid electrolyte that contains at least Li, M, and X in the composition necessarily satisfies LiαMβXγ where α, β, and γ are each independently a value greater than 0.
Regarding claim 9, Yushin discloses the coated active material (See annotated Fig. 6C above) according to claim 1, wherein the second coating layer (606) contains a base material ([0041] electrolyte composition), and the base material contains a lithium-containing oxide ([0041] solid electrolyte composition Liz1Mz2(Ox1—Sx2)z3(Iy1—Bry2—Cly3—Fy4)z4,).
Regarding claim 10, Yushin discloses the coated active material (See annotated Fig. 6C above) according to claim 1, wherein the second coating layer (606) contains a base material ([0041] electrolyte composition), and the base material contains a lithium-containing oxide (([0041] solid electrolyte composition Liz1Mz2(Ox1—Sx2)z3(Iy1—Bry2—Cly3—Fy4)z4,). A lithium containing-oxide composition with that formula necessarily has lithium ion conductivity.
Regarding claim 11, Yushin discloses the coated active material (See annotated Fig. 6C above) according to claim 1, wherein the second coating layer (Fig. 6C, protective coating 606) contains a base material ([0041] electrolyte composition), and the base material contains a lithium-containing oxide (([0041] solid electrolyte composition Liz1Mz2(Ox1—Sx2)z3(Iy1—Bry2—Cly3—Fy4)z4,). Yushin also discloses that M in the previous equation can be niobium (Nb) ([0041]). It would have been well within the ambit of a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to utilize another known embodiment of solid electrolyte composition equation with M as niobium (Nb) such that the solid electrolyte composition contains lithium niobate (LiNbO3) as identified by Yushin to form the active material with a reasonable expectation of success.
Regarding claim 12, Yushin discloses a positive electrode material (See annotated Fig. 10C below, cathode active material particles) comprising: the coated active material (Fig. 10C, cathode active material particles) according to claim 1; and a second solid electrolyte (Fig. 10C melt-infiltrated solid-state electrolyte).
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Regarding claim 13, Yushin discloses the positive electrode material (See annotated Fig. 10C above, cathode active material particles) according to claim 12, wherein the second solid electrolyte contains Li and S ([0102] see lithium sulfide Li2S).
Regarding claim 14, Yushin discloses a positive electrode (See annotated Fig. 10C above, dense thermally stable cathode 1004) comprising the positive electrode material (Fig. 10C, cathode active material particles) according to claim 12.
Regarding claim 15, Yushin discloses a battery ([0102] Li and Li-ion batteries) comprising: the positive electrode (1004) according to claim 14; a negative electrode (Fig. 10C, porous carbon or porous metal infiltrated with Li or Li alloy anode); and an electrolyte layer disposed between the positive electrode and the negative electrode (Fig. 10C, stable separator membrane 1006 and [0132] stable separator membrane 1006 also infiltrated with a solid electrolyte 1003).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Miki et al. (US20150287985A1) discloses an active material with a coating layer containing LiNbO3 ([0057]) and total volume of pores having a diameter of 2 nm to 200 nm ([0027]).
Tsuchida et al. (US20130260258A1) discloses an electrode body with an electrode active material comprising an oxide, a first solid electrolyte material comprising a sulfide, and a second solid electrolyte material disposed at an interface between the electrode active material and the first solid electrolyte material ([0033]).
Xueliang et al. (CN110828797A) discloses a positive electrode with a core-shell structure, a coating layer made of lithium niobate, and a positive electrode material with good interface compatibility with sulfide solid electrolyte.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to DAN N TRAN whose telephone number is (571)270-0183. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Thurs 7:30am-5pm.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Susan Leong can be reached at 5702701487. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/DAN NGUYEN TRAN/Examiner, Art Unit 1754
/SUSAN D LEONG/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 1754
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