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 .
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statements (IDS) submitted on March 29, 2024 and May 12, 2026 have been considered by the examiner.
Claim Interpretation
Claims 1, 9, and 15 include a limitation drawn to a button cell including a positive electrode material and lithium metal, which is charged and discharged at a current of 0.04C in the voltage range of 2.8 V to 4.5 V. The claims, however, are drawn to a positive electrode material, electrochemical apparatus comprising the positive electrode material, and electronic apparatus comprising the positive electrode material. The limitations following “wherein when an electrode comprising the positive electrode material is assembled with lithium metal to form a button cell” limit the properties of a button cell produced using the positive electrode material of claims 1, 9 and 15, but do not further limit the positive electrode material. For the purposes of examination, the properties of a supposed button cell including the claimed positive electrode material of claims 1, 9, and 15 are not considered as further limiting the positive electrode material, as additional factors regarding the cell as a whole impact the properties.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of 35 U.S.C. 112(a):
(a) IN GENERAL.—The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor or joint inventor of carrying out the invention.
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112:
The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor of carrying out his invention.
Claims 1-7, 9-13, and 15-18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), first paragraph, because the specification, while being enabling for a positive electrode material meeting the limitations of claim, 14, and 19, does not reasonably provide enablement for any positive electrode material as claimed.
The specification does not enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make the invention commensurate in scope with these claims. There are many factors to be considered when determining whether there is sufficient evidence to support a determination that a disclosure does not satisfy the enablement requirement and whether any necessary experimentation is “undue.” These factors include, but are not limited to:
The breadth of the claims;
The nature of the invention;
The state of the prior art;
The level of one of ordinary skill;
The level of predictability in the art;
The amount of direction provided by the inventor;
The existence of working examples; and
The quantity of experimentation needed to make or use the invention based on the content of the disclosure.
Regarding claims 1, 9, and 15, upon applying this test to the claims, it is believed that undue experimentation would be required because of the following:
Breadth of the claims: Independent claims 1, 9, and 15 broadly recite a positive electrode material, but do not further specify the structure or composition of the positive electrode material. The scope of claims 1, 9, and 15 is significantly broader than the lithium transition metal composite oxide comprising element M and element T specified in dependent claims 8, 14, and 19.
Amount of direction provided by the inventor: The inventor specifies in dependent claim 8 that the positive electrode material is a lithium transition metal composite oxide comprising element M and element T, wherein M includes at least one of Na, K, or Y and T includes at least one of Ni, Co, or Mn. Paragraphs [0069]-[0080] provide additional details on the composition of the positive electrode material, however, the instant specification does not provide any direction on a positive electrode material meeting the limitations of claims 1, 9, and 15 that does not meet the limitations of claims 8, 14, and 19.
Existence of working examples: The working examples provided (Examples 1-25) in the instant specification include lithium nickel manganese composite oxides including an element M selected from Na, K, or Y. There are no additional examples providing direction on how to make the claimed positive electrode material with any other composition.
Quantity of experimentation needed: The quantity of experimentation necessary to make the claimed positive electrode material other than the lithium transition metal composite oxide comprising element M and element T in dependent claims 8, 14, and 19 is excessive. There are an extremely high number of possible positive electrode materials and not enough guidance is provided on selecting an alternative.
Regarding claims 2-7, 10-13, and 16-18, these claims are rejected based on their dependency on claims 1, 9, and 15.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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.
Claims 1-19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Li, et al. (CN 108172820 A).
Regarding claims 1, 9, and 15, Li teaches a Y-doped NCM ternary cathode material (positive electrode material) used in energy storage batteries (¶ [0002], Ln. 1-2). Li teaches the use of lithium-ion rechargeable batteries (electrochemical apparatus) in small, portable electronic devices, and specifically teaches the use of lithium transition metal composite oxide ternary cathode materials in electric vehicles (electronic apparatus) (¶ [0004], Ln. 8-15). In Example 1, Li teaches a Y-doped NCM ternary cathode material LiNi0.79Co0.1Mn0.1Y0.01O2, abbreviated as Y-NCM811 (¶ [0040], Ln. 7-9). As noted above, the claim limitations following “wherein an electrode comprising the positive electrode material is assembled with lithium metal to form a button cell” do not further limit the positive electrode material, and therefore, the Y-doped NCM ternary cathode material of Li meets the limitations of claims 1, 9, and 15 drawn to a positive electrode material, an electrochemical apparatus comprising a positive electrode active material, and an electronic apparatus comprising an electrochemical apparatus comprising a positive electrode active material.
Regarding claims 2-5, 10-11, and 16, Li teaches all of the limitations of claims 1, 9, and 15 above. As noted above, the claim limitations following “wherein an electrode comprising the positive electrode material is assembled with lithium metal to form a button cell” and additional limitations drawn to the results of testing performed on a button cell assembled with the positive electrode material do not further limit the positive electrode material, and therefore, the Y-doped NCM ternary cathode material of Li meets the limitations of claims 1, 9, and 15 drawn to a positive electrode material, an electrochemical apparatus comprising a positive electrode active material, and an electronic apparatus comprising an electrochemical apparatus comprising a positive electrode active material.
Regarding claims 6, 12, and 17, Li teaches all of the limitations of claims 1, 9, and 15 above. Li further teaches that the Y-NCM811 cathode material has an a-lattice parameter of 2.86812 Å, within the claimed range of 2.5-3.0 Å, a c-lattice parameter of 14.21049 Å, within the claimed range of 14.2-15 Å, and a c/a value of 4.9546, within the claimed range of 4.93-5.10 (Table 1).
Regarding claims 7, 13, and 18, Li teaches all of the limitations of claims 1, 9, and 15 above. Li further teaches that XRD tests were performed on the Y-NCM811 cathode material (¶ [0045], Ln. 1-2). The results, shown in Figure 4, include a peak in the range of 16° to 20°, a peak in the range of 34° to 38°, and a peak in the range of 42° to 46° (Fig. 4).
Regarding claims 8, 14, and 19, Li teaches all of the limitations of claims 1, 9, and 15 above, including that the Y-NCM811 cathode material of Example 1 is represented by the formula LiNi0.79Co0.1Mn0.1Y0.01O2 (¶ [0040], Ln. 7-9). Therefore, Li teaches a cathode material comprising a lithium transition metal composite oxide including Y (element M), Ni, Co, and Mn (element T) satisfying conditions: (1) that the molar percentage of Ni is greater than or equal to 50% based on a molar content of Ni, Co, and Mn; (2) that the molar percentage of Mn is less than or equal to 50% based on a molar content of Ni, Co, and Mn; (3) that the molar percentage of Co is less than or equal to 50% based on a molar content of Ni, Co, and Mn; and (4) that the molar percentage of Y is 0.1-5% based on a total molar content of Ni, Co, and Mn.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Manthiram, et al. (US 2022/0181618 A1) teaches cathode active materials for a lithium ion battery (¶ [0006], Ln. 1-3). Manthiram teaches electrode active materials following the formula LiaNi1-b-cCobMcOd, wherein a is 0.9-1.1, b is 0-0.1, c is 0-0.67, d is 1.9-2.1, and M may be Mn, Al, Mg, Fe, Cr, B, Ti, Zr, Ga, Zn, V, Cu, Yb, Li, Na, K, F, Ba, Ca, Lu, Y, Nb, Mo, Ru, Rh, Ta, Pr, W, Ir, In, Tl, Sn, Sr, S, P, Cl, Ge, Sb, Er, Te, La, Ce, Nd, Dy, Eu, Sc, Se, Si, Tc, Pd, Pm, Sm, Gd, Tb, Ho, Tm, or any combination of these (¶ [0014], Ln. 1-8). The reference shows dQ/dV curves of several cathode materials in Figure 12, including the curve for LiNi0.9Mn0.05Al0.05O2, which includes an oxidation peak and reduction peak in the range of 4.2 V to 4.5 V (Fig. 12).
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to SARAH J JACOBSON whose telephone number is (703)756-1647. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday 8:00am - 5:00pm.
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/SARAH J JACOBSON/Examiner, Art Unit 1785
/MARK RUTHKOSKY/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 1785
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