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 .
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Drawings
The subject matter of this application admits of illustration by a drawing to facilitate understanding of the invention. Applicant is required to furnish a drawing under 37 CFR 1.81(c). No new matter may be introduced in the required drawing. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d).
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)(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 1-10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Yamada et al. (US 2022/0271293 A1).
Regarding claim 1, Yamada teaches a binder solution for an all-solid-state battery (Par. 0012), the binder solution comprising: a binder made of a vinylidene fluoride polymer (Par. 0015); and an organic solvent (Par. 0019-0022; the solvent is an aromatic or an ester, both organic compounds), wherein the organic solvent is an ester (Par. 0022), the organic solvent has a boiling point of 60°C or higher and 160°C or lower (Par. 0177; ethyl butyrate is a potential solvent, and Table 1 of the present application lists the boiling point of ethyl butyrate as 120°C), a residual moisture content of the organic solvent is 300 ppm or less (Par. 0180; water content of 500 ppm or less and 100 ppm or less), the vinylidene fluoride polymer is a copolymer including a structural unit derived from vinylidene fluoride and a structural unit derived from hexafluoropropylene (Par. 0016, “HFP”), and a content of the structural unit derived from hexafluoropropylene is 15 mass% or more with respect to all structural units of the copolymer (Par. 0131; all mass ratios fit the claimed range).
Regarding claim 2, Yamada teaches the binder solution for an all-solid-state battery according to claim 1, wherein the organic solvent has a boiling point of 80°C or higher and 160°C or lower (Par. 0177; ethyl butyrate is a potential solvent, and Table 1 of the present application lists the boiling point of ethyl butyrate as 120°C).
Regarding claim 3, Yamada teaches the binder solution for an all-solid-state battery according to claim 1, wherein the organic solvent is ethyl butyrate (Par. 0177).
Regarding claim 5, Yamada teaches a slurry (Par. 0011) comprising: the binder solution described in claim 1 (Par. 0012; “a binder used in a slurry”); and a solid electrolyte (Par. 0012; “solid-based electrolyte particles”).
Regarding claim 6, Yamada teaches a solid electrolyte layer produced from the slurry described in claim 5, wherein the solid electrolyte layer has an ionic conductivity of 0.05 x 10-3 S/cm or more (Par. 0277; the solid electrolyte sheet has a conductivity of 4x10^-4 S/cm).
Regarding claim 7, Yamada teaches an electrode mixture comprising: the slurry described in claim 5; and an active material (Claims 11 & 13; an electrode comprises the slurry which further contains active material particles).
Regarding claim 8, Yamada teaches an electrode comprising the solid-state electrolyte layer described in claim 6 (Claims 8 & 13; an electrode contains the slurry which contains the solid electrolyte layer).
Regarding claim 9, Yamada teaches an all-solid-state battery comprising the solid electrolyte layer described in claim 6 (Claims 13 & 17; a lithium-ion solid-state battery comprises the electrode which contains the solid electrolyte layer, as stated above).
Regarding claim 10, Yamada teaches the binder solution for an all-solid-state battery according to claim 2, wherein the organic solvent is ethyl butyrate (Par. 0177).
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.
Claim(s) 1-10 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Senga et al. (KR 20080041627 A), in view of Isojima et al. (US 2022/0344710 A1, priority date of 2/7/2020), and further in view of Makino et al. (U.S. Patent No. 11,489,163 B2, priority date of 10/12/2017).
Regarding claim 1, Senga teaches a binder solution (Par. 0056-0057; Fig. a) for an all-solid-state battery (Par. 0001; “all-solid lithium batteries”), the binder solution comprising: a binder made of a vinylidene fluoride polymer (Par. 0043; “polyvinylidene-fluoride (PVDF)”); and an organic solvent (Par. 0051; “hydrocarbon solvents”), wherein a residual moisture content of the organic solvent is 300 ppm or less (Par. 0051; “30 ppm or less”), the vinylidene fluoride copolymer is a copolymer including a structural unit derived from vinylidene fluoride and a structural unit derived from hexafluoropropylene (Par. 0043; “vinylidene-fluoride-hexafluoropropylene copolymer”). Senga fails to teach the organic solvent consisting of a cyclic ether, a ketone and/or an ester, the organic solvent having a boiling point of 60°C or higher and 160°C or lower.
However, Makino teaches a binder solution (Abstract) for an all-solid-state battery (Abstract), the binder solution comprising an organic solvent (non-aqueous dispersion medium (B)), wherein the organic solvent is at least one selected from the group consisting of a cyclic ether, a ketone, and an ester (Column 3, lines 46-49; ketone, ether, and ester compound solvents), the organic solvent has a boiling point of 60°C or higher and 160°C or lower (Column 14, lines 1-5; range of 70°C to 220°C encompasses the claimed range).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the organic solvent taught by Senga by selecting a ketone, ether, and/or an ester with a boiling point of 60°-160°C, as taught by Makino. This would be done in order to ensure high stability of the solid electrolyte, as stated in Makino (Column 14, lines 9-17).
Senga also fails to teach a content of the structural unit derived from hexafluoropropylene being 15 mass% or more with respect to all structural units of the copolymer.
However, Isojima teaches a binder solution (Abstract; polymer binder) for an all-solid-state battery (Abstract), the binder solution comprising a binder made of vinylidene fluoride polymer (Par. 0164; PVdF); and the vinylidene fluoride copolymer is a copolymer including a structural unit derived from vinylidene fluoride and a structural unit derived from hexafluoropropylene (Par. 0164; “a copolymer of polyvinylene difluoride and hexafluoropropylene”, PVdF is derived from VDF), and a content of the structural unit derived from hexafluoropropylene is 15 mass% or more with respect to all structural units of the copolymer (Par. 0164; 5:5 and 7:3 PVdF:HFP ratios are 50% and 30% by mass).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the binder solution taught by Senga by restricting a mass% of a structural unit of hexafluoropropylene to 15% or more, as taught by Isojima. This would be done to ensure that the solution upholds its adhesiveness, as stated in Isojima (Par. 0164).
Regarding claim 2, Makino teaches the organic solvent having a boiling point of 80°C or higher and 160°C or lower (Column 14, lines 1-5; range of 70°C to 220°C encompasses the claimed range).
Regarding claim 3, Makino teaches the organic solvent as at least one selected from the group consisting of 1,4-dioxane (Column 13, lines 34-35), ethyl butyrate (Column 13, line 51), and ethyl propionate (Column 13, line 50).
Regarding claim 5, modified Senga teaches a slurry (Par. 0049) comprising: the binder solution described in claim 1 (Par. 0049; binder is dissolved in the organic solvent); and a solid electrolyte (Par. 0049; “inorganic solid electrolyte”).
Regarding claim 6, modified Senga teaches a solid electrolyte layer (Par. 0060; solid electrolyte sheet) produced from the slurry described in claim 5, wherein the solid electrolyte layer has an ionic conductivity of 0.05 x 10-3 S/cm or more (Par. 0060; all ion conductivity values are greater than 0.05 x 10-3 S/cm).
Regarding claim 7, modified Senga teaches an electrode mixture (Par. 0084-0085; Formation of the cathode and anode) comprising: the slurry described in claim 5 (Par. 0084-0085); and an active material (lithium cobaltate and amorphous carbon are active materials, as stated in Par. 0064).
Regarding claim 8, modified Senga teaches an electrode comprising the solid electrolyte layer as described in claim 6 (Par. 0086; the solid electrolyte is placed between the electrodes).
Regarding claim 9, modified Senga teaches an all-solid-state battery comprising the solid electrolyte layer described in claim 6 (Par. 0083; Solid electrolyte sheet and electrodes form a battery cell).
Regarding claim 10, Makino teaches the organic solvent of the binder solution of claim 2, wherein the organic solvent is at least one selected from the group consisting of 1,4-dioxane (Column 13, lines 34-35), ethyl butyrate (Column 13, line 51), and ethyl propionate (Column 13, line 50).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to CAMERON M BAIRD whose telephone number is (571)272-9742. The examiner can normally be reached 7:30am-5pm.
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/CAMERON M BAIRD/ Examiner, Art Unit 1728
/MATTHEW T MARTIN/ Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 1728
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