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 Objections
Claims 5 objected to because of the following informalities: "one additional of layer" should read --one additional layer--. Appropriate correction is required.
Claims 6 and 15 are objected to because of the following informalities: ". Appropriate correction is required.
Claim 14 is objected to because of the following informalities: “the secondary battery according to claim 11” should read –the secondary battery according to claim 12--. For purposes of prosecution, the examiner will interpret this typo to read as claim 12. Appropriate correction is required.
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)(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 1-3, 6-8, 10-13, and 15-19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Lin (CN 116435448 A), where an English translation is used and cited herein.
Regarding claims 1-2 and 10-11, Lin teaches a secondary battery, that can be used as a power source for an electrical device such as an electric vehicle (Lin, [n0098]), that can contain one or more electrode components (which corresponds to the claimed battery cell) that is formed of a positive electrode, a negative electrode, and a separator (Lin, [n0090]);
A positive electrode sheet (Lin, [n0019]), which includes a current collector and an electrode film (which corresponds to the claimed cathode) formed on at least one surface of the current collector (Lin, [n0006-n0007]), which corresponds to the claimed cathode and current collector connected to the cathode,
Wherein the cathode is interpreted as a structure including a lithium and manganese rich composition and a lithium iron phosphate composition as defined by applicant (Instant specification, [0004]);
Instant Application
Lin
First Active Material
xLiMnO3 * (1-x)LiMO2
wherein x is in the range of 0.1 to 1, and M is at least one of Mn, Co, Ni
xLiMO2 – (1-x) LiMnO3 where x is 0-1, and M is at least one of Co, Ni, Mn (where values of x=0 to 0.9 correspond to the claimed formula)
Second Active Material
LiMnxFe1-xPo4, wherein x is in the range of 0 to 0.95
LiFePO4 (corresponds to claimed formula where x=0)
wherein the electrode membrane includes: a first positive electrode material layer containing hollow particles (Lin, [n0006]) with a formula shown as the first active material (Lin, [n0049]) above and a second positive electrode active material layer containing solid particles that can be LiFePO4 as shown above as the second active material (Lin, [n0108]), which corresponds to the claimed cathode including a lithium and manganese rich composition and a lithium iron phosphate composition, wherein the lithium and manganese rich composition exhibits a formula (shown above as the first active material) and the lithium iron phosphate composition exhibits a formula (shown above); a negative electrode sheet including a negative current collector and a negative electrode film layer (which corresponds to the claimed anode) disposed on at least one surface of the negative electrode current collector (Lin, [n0065-n0069]) which corresponds to the claimed anode and anode current collector connected to the anode;
a separator acting as a separator between the positive and negative electrodes (Lin, [n0114]) which corresponds to the claimed separator positioned between the anode and the cathode;
an electrolyte that plays a role in conducting ions between the positive and negative electrode plates (Lin, [n0065]), which one of ordinary skill in the art would recognize necessarily follows the claimed electrolyte contacting the anode and the cathode;
while Lin does not specifically reference the weight percent of the first and second active material layers, Lin teaches that the first and second active material layers in the electrode membrane (which corresponds to the claimed cathode) can have coating weights in a range of 2-30mg/cm2 (Lin, [n0055]), in which values found within this range can be used to calculate the weight percents of the first and second material as shown in the table below:
Coating Weight of Li2MnO3 (
X
)
Coating Weight of LiFePO4 (
Y
)
Weight Percent of Li2MnO3
X
X
+
Y
×
100
%
Weight Percent of LiFePO4
Y
X
+
Y
×
100
%
18 mg/cm2
2 mg/cm2
90%
10%
17 mg/cm2
3 mg/cm2
85%
15%
15 mg/cm2
5 mg/cm2
75%
25%
14 mg/cm2
6 mg/cm2
70%
30%
Which corresponds to the claimed lithium and manganese rich composition is present in a range of 75 to 85 weight percent of the total weight of the cathode, and the lithium iron phosphate is present in the range of 15 to 25 weight percent of the total weight of the cathode of claim 2 and lithium and manganese rich composition present in a range of 70 to 90 weight percent of the total weight of the cathode and the lithium iron phosphate present in the range of 10 to 30 weight percent of the total weight of the cathode of claim 11.
Regarding claims 3 and 12, Lin teaches that the first positive electrode active material layer (which corresponds to the claimed lithium and manganese rich composition) is located between the current collector and the second positive electrode material layer (Lin, [n0006]) which corresponds to the claimed first layer of lithium and manganese rich composition contacts the cathode current collector;
And since the second positive electrode active material layer is on the outer side of the positive electrode and the electrolyte necessarily follows a structure in which it contacts the electrode, one of ordinary skill in the art would recognize the second positive electrode active material layer follows a structure in which it contacts the electrolyte as claimed.
Regarding claims 7 and 16, Lin teaches that the negative electrode active material can be any electrode active material known in the art for use in batteries , and gives examples of artificial and natural graphite, silicon-based materials, and lithium titanate (Lin, [n0072]), which corresponds to the claimed anode including at least one or more of the following materials: graphite, silicon, silicon dioxide, and lithium metal.
Regarding claims 8 and 17, Lin teaches that the electrolyte can be liquid, gel, or completely solid, and in a case where the electrolyte is an electrolyte solution, the electrolyte includes electrolyte salts and solvents, wherein the electrolyte salt can be lithium hexafluorophosphate, and the solvent can be a mix of ethylene carbonate and ethyl methyl carbonate (Lin, [n0078-n0081], [n0110]), which corresponds to the claimed electrolyte including a lithium salt dissolved in a non-aqueous organic solvent.
Regarding claim 19, Lin teaches that the positive electrode, the separator, and negative electrode are stacked in sequence and wound to obtain a bare cell, and the cell is placed in an aluminum shell (which corresponds to the claimed pouch), wherein the positive electrode includes the positive electrode current collector, and the negative electrode includes the negative electrode current collector as discussed above (Lin, [n0114]), which corresponds to the claimed battery cell further including a pouch defining a volume, wherein the cathode, the cathode current collector, the anode, the anode current collector, and the separator are positioned at leas partially in the volume defined by the pouch,
Wherein because the bare cell is placed in the aluminum shell, one of ordinary skill in the art would recognize that the aluminum shell necessarily follows a structure of having a volume.
Claims 1 and 9 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) and 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Yushin (US 20200091517 A1).
Regarding claim 1, Yushin teaches figure 1 which shows a battery 100 including a negative anode 102, a positive cathode 103, a separator 104 interposed between the anode 102 and the cathode 103, an electrolyte (not shown) which impregnates the anode 102 and the cathode 103 (Yushin, [0035]), that rechargeable batteries are desirable for electric vehicles (Yushin, [0003]), and figures 3 and 4, which show a current collector-electrode interface (Yushin, [0086]), which corresponds to the claimed battery cell comprising a cathode, a cathode current collector connected to the cathode, an anode, an anode current collector connected to the anode, a separator positioned between the anode and the cathode, and an electrolyte contacting the anode and the cathode,
Wherein Ichikawa (US 20090098464 A1) teaches that an electrode can be used as an anode or a cathode (Ichikawa, [0055]), so the current collector-electrode interface can be interpreted as the interface between the cathode and cathode current collector, and the interface between the anode and anode current collector,
The electrodes may comprise a mixture of the composites and intercalation-type active materials (Yushin, [0078]) which corresponds to the claimed cathode, wherein the mass fraction of the composite particles can be 1 wt %, and the intercalation type active materials can be Li2MnO3 and LiFePO4 (Yushin, [0063]) and conventional cathode materials utilized in Li and Li-ion batteries may be made of an intercalation-type (Yushin, [0041]), which corresponds to the claimed cathode including a lithium and manganese rich composition having a formula of Li2MnO3, wherein x=1 in the claimed formula of the lithium and manganese rich composition, and a lithium iron phosphate composition having a formula of LiFePO4, wherein x=0 in the claimed formula of the lithium iron phosphate composition, and since one part of the mixture is 1%, the mixture can be made such that LiMnO3 can have a weight percent of 1-98 wt%, and the LiFePO4 can have a weight percent of 1-98 wt% based on the total weight of the cathode,
Wherein the cathode is interpreted as a structure including a lithium and manganese rich composition and a lithium iron phosphate composition as defined by the instant specification (Instant specification, [0004]);
Regarding claim 9, Yushin teaches that the electrode composition ranges from around 2 mAh/cm2 to around 16 mAh/cm2 (Yushin, [0008]), wherein the electrodes can be assembled from the electrode composition (Yushin, [0076]),
While Yushin does not explicitly teach a ratio of the anode capacity to cathode capacity, values from the range of areal capacities given by Yushin can be used to create the claimed range of 1 to 1.3: the anode can have an electrode composition with an areal capacity of mAh/cm2, and the cathode can have an electrode composition with an areal capacity of 5 mAh/cm2 to 6.5 mAh/cm2, which when plugged into the claimed ratio (N/P), gives a range of 1 to 1.3,
Wherein the instant specification defines N and P as the areal capacities of the anode and cathode, respectively (Instant specification, [0053]).
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.
Claims 4, 6, 13 and 15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lin (CN 116435448 A), where an English translation is used and cited herein.
Regarding claims 4 and 13, Lin teaches that the first positive electrode active material layer and the second positive electrode active material layer can have a thickness within 40 micrometers and 500 micrometers (Lin, [n0060]), where values within the range of thicknesses given by Lin can be chosen to fall within the claimed range as shown in the table (wherein the first positive electrode active material layer and the second positive electrode active material layer are referenced as the first active material layer and the second active material layer) below:
Thickness of First Active Material layer (Micrometers)
Thickness of Second Active Material Layer (Micrometers)
Total thickness of Electrode Membrane (Micrometers)
% Thickness of First Active Material
% Thickness of Second Active Material
Situation 1
160
40
200
80%
20%
Situation 2
40
40
80
50%
50%
The table above shows a variety of thicknesses of the first positive electrode active material layer and second positive electrode active material layers which creates a variety of ranges:
The total thickness of the electrode membrane can fall within a range of 80 micrometers to 200 micrometers, where the claimed range is 50 micrometers to 200 micrometers
The thickness of the first positive electrode active material layer can be in a range of 50% to 80% of the total thickness of the electrode membrane, where the claimed range is 50% to 95%
The thickness of the second positive electrode active material layer can be in a range of 20% to 50% of the total thickness of the cathode, where the claimed range is 5% to 50%,
Overlapping ranges are prima facie obvious (see MPEP § 2144.05).
Regarding claims 6 and 15, Lin teaches figure 1 which shows the first positive electrode active material layer, composed of hollow particles (which correspond to the claimed domain of the lithium and manganese rich composition, since the hollow particles follow the claimed formula of the lithium and manganese rich composition as discussed above) and the second positive electrode active material layer containing solid particles (which correspond to the claimed domain of the lithium iron phosphate composition, since the solid particles follow the formula of the lithium iron phosphate composition as discussed above) sequentially stacked (Lin, [n0046]) on the current collector, which corresponds to the claimed domains of the lithium and manganese rich composition mixed with the domains of the lithium iron phosphate composition,
Wherein examiner interprets “mixed” as combined into one mass, as evidenced by attached document of Merriam Webster,
And, the hollow particles composed of LiMNO3 (which corresponds to the claimed domain of the lithium and manganese rich composition) have a median particle size of 0.1 micrometers to 20 micrometers, which corresponds to the claimed domain of lithium and manganese rich composition exhibiting a length of 5 micrometers to 10 micrometers, and solid particles composed of LiFePO4 (which corresponds to the claimed domain of the lithium iron phosphate composition) which have a median particle size of 0.2 micrometers to 2 micrometers, which overlaps with the claimed domain of the lithium iron phosphate composition exhibiting a length in the range of 1 micrometer to 10 micrometers.
Overlapping ranges are prima facie obvious (see MPEP § 2144.05).
Wherein applicant defines length to be the longest linear dimension (Instant Specification, [0045]).
Claims 5 and 14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lin (CN 116435448 A) and Park (US 20220407056 A1).
Lin teaches the battery of claim 3 and claim 12 as discussed above, but is silent as to the battery including at least one additional layer of the lithium and manganese composition and at least one additional layer of the lithium iron phosphate composition are being alternately layered between the first layer of the lithium and manganese rich composition and the second layer of the lithium iron phosphate composition,
However, Park teaches an electrochemical battery including a cathode (Park, [0011]) with a plurality of active material layers, of different active materials, alternately stacked (Park, Figure 5, [0065]), thus it would be prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the present invention to add alternating layers of the first positive electrode active material layer and second positive electrode active material layer of Lin to have multiple alternating layers of the first positive electrode active material layer and second positive electrode active material layer to fit the structure of the battery as taught by Park (Park, [0065]).
Furthermore, it would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the present invention to duplicate the first positive electrode material layer and the second positive electrode active material layer, as the mere duplication or rearrangement of parts is prima facie obvious in the absence of new or unexpected results. See MPEP 2144.04 (IV).
Claim 18 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lin (CN 116435448 A) and Campbell (US 20200303790 A1).
Lin teaches the secondary battery of claim 10, and teaches that the positive electrode, negative electrode, which contain positive and negative current collectors as discussed above, with the separator acting as a separator between the positive electrode and the negative electrode, and that the cells are wound to obtain a bare cell, and that tabs are welded to the bare cell (Lin, [n0114]),
But Lin is silent as to the shape of the rolled bare cell and the first and second tabs connected to the anode and cathode, respectively. However, Campbell teaches a battery cell with a cathode sheet, an anode sheet, and a separator separating the cathode sheet and the anode sheet in a cylindrical shape as well as a first tab included on the cathode sheet, and a second tab included on the anode sheet [0031], thus, it would be prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the present invention to add the cylindrical shape to the bare cell of Lin such that it only requires two electrode strips which simplifies the construction as taught by Campbell (Campbell, [0031]) and to add the first and second tab to the positive electrode and negative electrode, respectively, such that each respective tab can be a connection point to the respective electrode as taught by Campbell (Campbell [0031]).
Claims 20 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Droste (US 20150214584 A1) and Lin (CN 116435448 A).
Drost teaches a powertrain 10 of an electrified vehicle 12, wherein the powertrain includes a battery pack (Drost, [0034-0035]) that includes a plurality of battery modules in which at least one battery module includes a plurality of battery cells (Drost, [0023]), but is silent as to the battery cells including a cathode which includes a lithium and manganese rich composition and a lithium iron phosphate composition, cathode current collector connected to the cathode, an anode, an anode current collector connected to the anode, a separator positioned between the anode and the cathode, and an electrolyte contacting the anode and the cathode, and the weight percents of the compositions within the cathode.
However, Lin teaches a battery cell with the limitations of which Drost is silent to, as discussed in detail above, thus, it would be prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the present invention to substitute the battery cell of Lin for the battery cell of Drost such that the compaction density of the positive electrode sheet can be increased, thereby increasing the energy density of the battery cell without affecting the long-term cycle performance of the battery cell as taught by Lin (Lin, [n0005]).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JAMES M CLEVER whose telephone number is (571)270-3156. The examiner can normally be reached Tues-Thurs | 9:00am-4:00pm.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Jonathan Johnson can be reached at (571) 272-1177. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/J.M.C./Examiner, Art Unit 1734
/JONATHAN JOHNSON/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 1734
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