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 .
This is the initial Office action based on application number 18/575987 filed on 1/2/2024. Claims 1-6 are currently pending and have been considered below.
Claim Interpretation
Regarding to claim 2: Examiner interprets “the primary particle that is not substantially aggregated" as “a single particle-based particles".
Claim Objections
Claim 5 objected to because of the following informalities:
Regarding to claim 5: In line 2 “[[the]] an electrode assembly”.
Appropriate correction is required.
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.
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, 3-6 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ueki et al. (US 20140193691 A1) in view of Chen et al. (US 20210005860 A1).
Regarding to claim 1: Ueki et al. disclose a nonaqueous electrolyte secondary battery (100) (equivalent to an energy storage device) (abstract) comprising:
a positive electrode (10) (par. 34, fig. 1);
a negative electrode (20) (par. 34, fig. 1); and
a separator (30) (par. 34, fig. 1) disposed between the positive electrode (10) and the negative electrode (20),
wherein the positive electrode (10) includes a positive electrode active material layer (14) (equivalent to a positive active material layer) (par. 34, fig. 1) containing a positive electrode active material (equivalent to a positive active material) (par. 34) having an average particle size of 0.7 µm or more (par. 13). 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). See MPEP §2144.05(I).
Ueki et al. fail to explicitly disclose a creep strain in the separator after a load of 2 MPa is held for 24 hours at a temperature of 65 °C is 11 % or more and 28% or less. However, Chen et al. disclose a polyolefin microporous membrane (abstract). The polyolefin microporous membrane is used as a separator in a battery (par. 35). Chen et al. disclose a membrane thickness change rate (equivalent to a creep strain) of 0 % or more and 15 % or less after the polyolefin microporous membrane is compressed under heat at a temperature of 80 °C at a pressure of 1 MPa for 60 minutes (par. 26). Chen et al. recognize as the self-discharge characteristics of a secondary battery are variables that can be modified, among others, by adjusting the membrane thickness change rate, with the self-discharge characteristics improving as the membrane thickness change rate is decreased (par. 26), the precise membrane thickness change rate would have been considered a result effective variable by one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention. As such, without showing unexpected results, the claimed membrane thickness change rate cannot be considered critical. Accordingly, one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention would have optimized, by routine experimentation, the membrane thickness change rate of the separator of Ueki et al. to obtain the desired self-discharge characteristics as taught by Chen et al. Discovery of optimum value of result effective variable in known process is ordinarily within skill of art. In re Boesch, CCPA 1980, 617 F.2d 272, 205 USPQ215.
Regarding to claim 3: Ueki et al. disclose a porous filler layer (32) (equivalent to an inorganic particle layer) (par. 35, fig. 1) is formed between the separator (30) and the positive electrode (10) (par. 35, fig. 1). The porous filler layer (32) contains a filler made of an inorganic material (par. 35).
Regarding to claim 4: Ueki et al. disclose the average particle size of the electrode active material is not more than 5.5 µm (par. 13).
Regarding to claim 5: Ueki et al. disclose a pressure (90) applied to an electrode assembly (80) along the stacking direction is suitably about at least 0.1 MPa (par. 36, fig. 1)
Regarding to claim 6: Ueki et al. disclose the nonaqueous electrolyte secondary battery (100) according to claim 1; and aluminum plates (equivalent to a pressurizing member) (par. 99).
Claim 2 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ueki et al. (US 20140193691 A1) in view of Chen et al. (US 20210005860 A1) as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Hiratsuka (US 20160254536 A1).
Regarding to claim 2: Ueki et al. disclose the nonaqueous electrolyte secondary battery as described in paragraph 4 above. Ueki et al. fail to explicitly disclose the positive active material is a secondary particle having a ratio of an average secondary particle size to the average primary particle size of 5 or less, or a primary particle that is not substantially aggregated. However, Hiratsuka discloses a positive electrode active material (abstract). The positive electrode active materials have a particle diameter (Dv) (equivalent to an average secondary particle size) of 9.7 µm and a primary particle diameter of 2.5 µm in Example 3 (par. 86, Table) (equivalent to a ratio of an average secondary particle size to the average primary particle size of 3.88). It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to use the primary and secondary particle sizes of Hiratsuka to constitute the positive electrode active material of Ueki et al. because Hiratsuka teaches that this configuration can improve the capacity per active material weight (par. 15). 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). See MPEP §2144.05(I).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to PIN JAN WANG whose telephone number is (571)272-7057. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9am-5pm.
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/PIN JAN WANG/Examiner, Art Unit 1717
/Dah-Wei D. Yuan/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 1717
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