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 § 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 1-9 and 15-18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Liu (CN 203932198 with English Machine Translation).
Regarding claim 1, Liu discloses a negative electrode plate (title; abstract) comprising: a negative current collector and a negative active material layer disposed on the negative current collector ([0009]-[0012]; [0024]), wherein a plurality of pore channels are disposed in the negative active material layer (see Figs. 1-6; [0009]; [0013]; [0024]).
Regarding claim 2, Liu discloses all of the limitations as set forth above for claim 1. Liu further discloses that the plurality of pore channels are evenly distributed in the negative active material layer (see Figs. 1-4; [0026]-[0031]).
Regarding claims 3 and 4, Liu discloses all of the limitations as set forth above for claim 1. Liu further discloses that Liu further discloses that a width of each of the pore channels is between 30 and 100 µm ([0009]; [0024]), with a specific example in which the groove width is 100 µm ([0045]), reading on the claimed ranges of 40 µm to 1,000 µm and 100 µm to 300 µm.
Regarding claim 5, Liu discloses all of the limitations as set forth above for claim 1. Liu further discloses that a spacing between adjacent pore channels is between 50 and 400 µm ([0027]-[0031]), with a specific example in which the spacing is 400 µm ([0045]), reading on the claimed range of 40 µm to 500 µm.
Regarding claim 6, Liu discloses all of the limitations as set forth above for claim 1. Liu further discloses an embodiment in which the pore channels comprise first channels extending along a first direction (x) and second channels extending along a second direction (y), a plurality of first channels and a plurality of second channels form a lattice structure, and the second direction (y) is perpendicular to the first direction (x) (see Modified Figure 4 below; [0018]; [0031]).
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Modified Figure 4, Liu
Regarding claim 7, Liu discloses all of the limitations as set forth above for claim 1. Liu further discloses an embodiment in which each of the pore channels is a channel extending along a first direction (x), a plurality of the channels are arranged along a second direction (y) to form a striped structure, and the second direction (y) is perpendicular to the first direction (x) (see Modified Figure 1 below; [0015]; [0028]).
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Modified Figure 1, Liu
Regarding claim 8, Liu discloses all of the limitations as set forth above for claim 1. Liu further discloses an embodiment in which the pore channels are holes, and a plurality of the holes form a hole array structure (see Fig. 2; [0016]; [0029]).
Regarding claim 9, Liu discloses all of the limitations as set forth above for claim 1. Liu further discloses that the pore channels can be formed by a laser scribing process ([0036]-[0037]).
Regarding claim 15, Liu discloses an electrode assembly comprising: the negative electrode plate according to claim 1; a positive electrode plate, comprising a positive current collector and a positive active material disposed on the positive current collector, and a separator disposed between the negative electrode plate and the positive electrode plate ([0009]-[0012]; [0038]-[0040]).
Regarding claim 16, Liu discloses a battery cell comprising the electrode assembly according to claim 15 ([0009]-[0012]; [0038]-[0040]).
Regarding claim 17, Liu discloses a battery comprising the battery cell according to claim 16 ([0009]-[0012]; [0038]-[0040]).
Regarding claim 18, Liu discloses an electrical device comprising the battery according to claim 17, and the battery is configured to provide electrical energy ([0013]; [0004]).
Claims 1-5, 8-9, and 15-17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Akikusa et al. (US 2017/0263933) (Akikusa).
Regarding claim 1, Akikusa discloses a negative electrode plate (3) comprising: a negative current collector (10) and a negative active material layer (11) disposed on the negative current collector (10) (see Fig. 1; [0064]; [0067]-[0069]), wherein a plurality of pore channels (12) are disposed in the negative active material layer (11) (see Fig. 1; [0069]).
Regarding claim 2, Akikusa discloses all of the limitations as set forth above for claim 1. Akikusa further discloses that the plurality of pore channels (12) are evenly distributed in the negative active material layer (11) (see Fig. 2; [0069]; [0141]).
Regarding claims 3 and 4, Akikusa discloses all of the limitations as set forth above for claim 1. Akikusa further discloses that a width of each of the pore channels is 5 to 2,000 µm ([0032]; [0089]-[0090]), with specific examples in which the width is 100 µm (see Example 15, Table 3; Example 28, Table 6-1), reading on the claimed ranges of 40 µm to 1,000 µm and 100 µm to 300 µm.
Regarding claim 5, Akikusa discloses all of the limitations as set forth above for claim 1. Akikusa further discloses that a spacing between adjacent pore channels is between 500 and 8,000 µm ([0033]; [0091]-[0092]), with a specific example in which the spacing is 500 µm (Example 7, Table 2), reading on the claimed range of 40 µm to 500 µm.
Regarding claim 8, Akikusa discloses all of the limitations as set forth above for claim 1. Akikusa further discloses that the pore channels (12) are holes, and a plurality of the holes form a hole array structure (see Fig. 2; [0069]).
Regarding claim 9, Akikusa discloses all of the limitations as set forth above for claim 1. Akikusa further discloses that the pore channels (12) are formed by a laser scribing process ([0101]; [0159]; [0180]).
Regarding claim 15, Akikusa discloses all of the limitations as set forth above for claim 1. Akikusa further discloses an electrode assembly comprising: the negative electrode plate (3) according to claim 1; a positive electrode plate (2), comprising a positive current collector (5) and a positive active material (6) disposed on the positive current collector (5); and a separator (4) disposed between the negative electrode plate (3) and the positive electrode plate (2) (see Fig. 1; [0067]-[0073]).
Regarding claim 16, Akikusa discloses a battery cell comprising the electrode assembly according to claim 15 (title; [0066]-[0069]; [0144]).
Regarding claim 17, Akikusa discloses a battery comprising the battery cell according to claim 16 (abstract; [0066]-[0069]).
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.
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 10-14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Akikusa et al. (US 2017/0263933) (Akikusa) in view of Pan et al. (US 2024/0145760) (Pan).
Regarding claims 10 and 11, Akikusa discloses all of the limitations as set forth above for claim 1. Akikusa further discloses that the negative active material layer (11) comprises a negative active material ([0069]-[0070]), and a positive electrode plate (2) contains a positive electrode active material layer (6) with a positive electrode active material (see Fig. 1; [0067]-[0068]; [0072]-[0073]). Akikusa fails to explicitly disclose, however, that a volume of the negative active material is less than 80% of the volume of the positive active material.
Pan teaches a similar battery (title) comprising: a negative electrode plate (10) with a negative current collector (11) and a negative active material layer (12) disposed on the negative current collector (11) (see Fig. 1; [0020]), and a positive electrode plate (20) with a positive current collector (21) and a positive active material layer (22) disposed on the positive current collector (21) (see Fig. 1; [0020]). Pan further teaches that a volume of a negative active material in the negative active material layer (12) is between 13.75% and 82.5% of a volume of a positive active material in the positive active material layer (22) ([0031]), overlapping the claimed range of less than 80%. In the case where the claimed range overlaps the range disclosed by the prior art, a prima facie case of obviousness exists. See MPEP §2144.05. Pan further teaches that configuring the battery in this way improves the energy density of the battery ([0031]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have configured the volume of the negative active material disclosed by Akikusa to be less than 80% of the volume of the positive active material, as taught by Pan, because they would have had a reasonable expectation that doing so would improve the energy density of the battery.
Regarding claim 12, modified Akikusa discloses all of the limitations as set forth above for claim 10. Modified Akikusa further discloses that the positive electrode plate (Akikusa: 2) comprises corresponding pore channels (Akikusa: 7) to the pore channels (Akikusa: 12) in the negative electrode plate (Akikusa: 3) (Akikusa: see Fig. 1; [0064]; [0067]-[0069]). Modified Akikusa further discloses that the pore channels (Akikusa: 7) in the positive electrode plate (Akikusa: 2) do not have to face the pore channels (Akikusa: 12) in the negative electrode plate (Akikusa: 3) ([0069]), and modified Akikusa further discloses that the pore channels (Akikusa: 7, 12) can penetrate through the entire active material layer (Akikusa: 6, 11) (Akikusa: see Figs. 3A and 3B; [0059]; [0130]). Thus, modified Akikusa suggests the scenario in which a portion of the negative active material layer (Akikusa: 11) without a pore channel (Akikusa: 12) faces a portion of the positive active material layer (Akikusa: 6) with a pore channel (Akikusa: 7), which would necessarily be a region in which the negative active material has a greater volume than the positive active material since no positive active material would be present in the corresponding pore channel (Akikusa: 7). Thus, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention for modified Akikusa to have satisfied all of the limitations in claim 12 based on the range of possible configurations of the negative and positive active material layers suggested by modified Akikusa.
Regarding claims 13 and 14, modified Akikusa discloses all of the limitations as set forth above for claim 10. Modified Akikusa further discloses that the positive electrode plate (Akikusa: 2) comprises corresponding pore channels (Akikusa: 7) to the pore channels (Akikusa: 12) in the negative electrode plate (Akikusa: 3) (Akikusa: see Fig. 1; [0064]; [0067]-[0069]). Modified Akikusa further discloses that the pore channels (Akikusa: 7) in the positive electrode plate (Akikusa: 2) do not have to face the pore channels (Akikusa: 12) in the negative electrode plate (Akikusa: 3) ([0069]), and modified Akikusa further discloses that the pore channels (Akikusa: 7, 12) can penetrate through the entire active material layer (Akikusa: 6, 11) (Akikusa: see Figs. 3A and 3B; [0059]; [0130]). Thus, modified Akikusa suggests the scenario in which a portion of the negative active material layer (Akikusa: 11) comprising a pore channel (Akikusa: 12) faces a portion of the positive active material layer (Akikusa: 6) without a pore channel (Akikusa: 6), which would necessarily be a region in which the volume of the negative active material is less than 60% of the volume of the positive active material since no negative active material would be present in the corresponding pore channel (Akikusa: 12). Thus, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention for modified Akikusa to have satisfied all of the limitations in claims 13 and 14 based on the range of possible configurations of the negative and positive active material layers suggested by modified Akikusa.
Claims 6-7 and 18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Akikusa et al. (US 2017/0263933) (Akikusa) in view of Liu (CN 203932198 with English Machine Translation).
Regarding claim 6, Akikusa discloses all of the limitations as set forth above for claim 1. Akikusa further discloses that the pore channels (12) are designed to help migrate an electrolyte solution to the active material layer (11) ([0040]; [0054]). However, Akikusa fails to explicitly disclose the claimed first channels and second channels. Instead, Akikusa discloses that the pore channels (12) are circular shaped (see Fig. 2; [0069]).
However, the claimed configuration of the pore channels is a known alternative to circular shaped channels. For instance, Liu teaches a similar negative electrode plate (title; abstract) comprising: a negative current collector and a negative active material layer disposed on the negative current collector ([0009]-[0012]; [0024]), wherein a plurality of pore channels are disposed in the negative active material layer (see Figs. 1-6; [0009]; [0013]; [0024]). Liu further teaches that, as an alternative to circular shaped channels (see Fig. 2; [0016]; [0029]), the pore channels can comprise first channels extending along a first direction (x) and second channels extending along a second direction (y), wherein a plurality of first channels and a plurality of second channels form a lattice structure, and wherein the second direction (y) is perpendicular to the first direction (x) (see Modified Figure 4 above; [0018]; [0031]). Liu further teaches that these pore channels are more conducive to deep wetting of the electrolyte, allowing the capacity of the active material near the current collector to be utilized more effectively, leading to an improvement in high-rate charge and discharge performance ([0013]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the pore channels disclosed by Akikusa to have the claimed configuration, as taught by Liu, because they would have had a reasonable expectation of success in improving high-rate charge and discharge performance.
Regarding claim 7, Akikusa discloses all of the limitations as set forth above for claim 1. Akikusa further discloses that the pore channels (12) are designed to help migrate an electrolyte solution to the active material layer (11) ([0040]; [0054]). However, Akikusa fails to explicitly disclose the channel configuration. Instead, Akikusa discloses that the pore channels (12) are circular shaped (see Fig. 2; [0069]).
However, the claimed configuration of the pore channels is a known alternative to circular shaped channels. For instance, Liu teaches a similar negative electrode plate (title; abstract) comprising: a negative current collector and a negative active material layer disposed on the negative current collector ([0009]-[0012]; [0024]), wherein a plurality of pore channels are disposed in the negative active material layer (see Figs. 1-6; [0009]; [0013]; [0024]). Liu further teaches that, as an alternative to circular shaped channels (see Fig. 2; [0016]; [0029]), each of the pore channels can be a channel extending along a first direction (x), wherein a plurality of the channels are arranged along a second direction (y) to form a striped structure, and wherein the second direction (y) is perpendicular to the first direction (x) (see Modified Figure 1 above; [0015]; [0028]). Liu further teaches that these pore channels are more conducive to deep wetting of the electrolyte, allowing the capacity of the active material near the current collector to be utilized more effectively, leading to an improvement in high-rate charge and discharge performance ([0013]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the pore channels disclosed by Akikusa to have the claimed configuration, as taught by Liu, because they would have had a reasonable expectation of success in improving high-rate charge and discharge performance.
Regarding claim 18, Akikusa discloses all of the limitations as set forth above for claim 17. Akikusa fails to explicitly disclose, however, an electrical device comprising the battery according to claim 17, wherein the battery is configured to provide electrical energy.
However, it is common in the art to use batteries in electrical devices to provide electrical energy. For instance, Liu teaches a similar electrode assembly comprising: a negative electrode plate; a positive electrode plate, comprising a positive current collector and a positive active material disposed on the positive current collector, and a separator disposed between the negative electrode plate and the positive electrode plate ([0009]-[0012]; [0038]-[0040]). Liu further teaches a battery cell comprising the electrode assembly, a battery comprising the battery cell ([0009]-[0012]; [0038]-[0040]), and an electrical device comprising the battery in order to provide electrical energy to the device ([0013]; [0004]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have used the battery disclosed by Akikusa in an electrical device because they would have had a reasonable expectation of success in providing electrical energy to the device.
Conclusion
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/B.C.D./Examiner, Art Unit 1749
/KATELYN W SMITH/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 1749
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