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.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statements (IDS) submitted on 01-31-2024 and 10-02-2025 are in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102/103
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 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.
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.
Claim(s) 1-4 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as anticipated by or, in the alternative, under 35 U.S.C. 103 as obvious over CN 114270575(A) [English equivalent US 2022/0320484) hereinafter Chen.
Regarding Claim 1, Chen teaches a negative electrode plate comprising: a lithium metal layer [2]; and a porous framework layer (metal reinforcement structure) [3] that is embedded (intercalated) into the lithium metal layer (paragraph 39, see annotated figure 1 below).
PNG
media_image1.png
436
811
media_image1.png
Greyscale
Chen further teaches that the porous framework layer (metal reinforcement structure) [3] is made of a metal material (paragraph 17). In addition, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to select a metal material as the porous framework layer (metal reinforcement structure) before the effective filing date of the claimed invention because Chen discloses that such configuration can form a porous framework layer that helps to improve the cycle performance of the electrochemical device (paragraph 17).
Regarding Claim 2, Chen teaches that the porous framework layer (metal reinforcement structure) [3] comprises a metal mesh (see annotated figure 1 above).
Regarding Claims 3-4, Chen teaches that the thickness of the porous framework layer (metal reinforcement structure) [3] is 5 to 100 µm (paragraph 12) and the thickness of the lithium metal layer is 20 µm (paragraph 48, see Table 1). In addition, a prima facie case of obviousness exists because the claimed ranges “overlap or lie inside ranges disclosed by the prior art”, see In re Wertheim, 541 F.2d 257, 191 USPQ 90 (CCPA 1976); In re Woodruff, 919 F.2d 1575, l16USPQ2d 1934 (Fed. Cir. 1990).
Claim(s) 5-20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over CN 114270575(A) [English equivalent US 2022/0320484) hereinafter Chen in view of CN206250306 (U) hereinafter Guan and U.S. Pre-Grant Publication No. 2008/0118840 hereinafter Yew.
Regarding Claims 5, 9, and 15-17, Chen teaches an electrochemical device (lithium metal battery) that comprises a positive electrode plate, a negative electrode, and a separator formed in a sealed housing with an electrolytic solution injected into the housing (paragraph 31).
Guan teaches that the lithium metal battery comprises a steel can to accommodate an electrode assembly (paragraph 8), wherein the electrode assembly is formed by winding the positive electrode plate, the separator, and the negative electrode plate, wherein a first end of the negative electrode tab is connected to the negative electrode plate and a second end of the negative electrode tab is connected to an inner wall of the steel can, wherein a first end of the positive electrode tab is connected to the positive electrode plate, wherein the cap is disposed at an opening of the steel can and a second end of the positive electrode tab is welded to the cap, and where the insulation member is arranged at both ends of the electrode assembly (paragraphs 21-28, see figure 1).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to use steel can as the sealed housing before the effective filing date of the claimed invention because Guan discloses that such configuration can form a liquid-retaining and shock-resistant structure (paragraph 2).
Yew further teaches that the cap plate for the sealed housing has a T-shaped cross section (see figure 2, paragraph 65), and it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to form such cap before the effective filing date of the claimed invention because Yew discloses that such configuration can form a liquid-retaining and shock-resistant structure (paragraph 2).
The combination teaches that the cap plate comprises a positioning portion and a connecting portion which are connected to each other, the positioning portion protrudes relative to the housing, and the connecting portion is connected to the positive electrode tab (see figures of Guan and Yew as described above).
Regarding Claims 6-8, the combination teaches that the thickness of the porous framework layer (metal reinforcement structure) [3] is 5 to 100 µm (paragraph 12) and the thickness of the lithium metal layer is 20 µm (paragraph 48, see Table 1 of Chen). In addition, a prima facie case of obviousness exists because the claimed ranges “overlap or lie inside ranges disclosed by the prior art”, see In re Wertheim, 541 F.2d 257, 191 USPQ 90 (CCPA 1976); In re Woodruff, 919 F.2d 1575, l16USPQ2d 1934 (Fed. Cir. 1990). Chen further teaches that the porous framework layer (metal reinforcement structure) [3] is made of a metal material (paragraph 17).
Regarding Claims 10-11 and 18-20, the combination teaches that the insulation assembly comprises a first insulation member disposed in the steel can and formed at the bottom of the electrode assembly, and a second insulation member disposed at the top end of the electrode assembly (see figures of Chen, Guan and Yew as described above).
Regarding Claims 12-14, the combination teaches that the second insulation member is provided with a through hole, and the positive electrode tab is connected to the cap through the through hole, and wherein the positive electrode tab comprises a conductive portion connected to the positive electrode plate and a welding portion connected to the cap (see figures of Chen, Guan and Yew as described above).
A rationale to support a conclusion that a claim would have been obvious is that all the claimed elements (i.e., lithium metal battery of Chen, Guan and Yew) were known in the prior art and one skilled in the art could have combined the elements as claimed by known methods with no change in their respective functions, and the combination would have yielded nothing more than predictable results to one of ordinary skill in the art. See KSR International Co. v. Teleflex Inc., 550 U.S._,_, 82 USPQ2d 1385, 1395 (2007) (see MPEP §§ 2143 and 2143.02).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to OSEI K AMPONSAH whose telephone number is (571)270-3446. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday, 8:00 am - 5:00 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, NICHOLAS A SMITH can be reached at (571)272-8760. 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.
/OSEI K AMPONSAH/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1752
Prosecution Insights