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 § 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 1-4, 7, 8, 14, and 15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Son et al. (US 20120135307), hereinafter Son, in view of Yang et al. (WO 2017107103), hereinafter Yang, and in further view of Kaempgen (WO 2022104213).
Regarding claim 1, Son teaches:
A method of producing a cathode for a battery cell ([0030]):
pre-treating a cathode active material with a first covalent linker, thereby obtaining a pre-treated active material ([0030-0034]);
Yang teaches:
reacting to the pre-treated active material with a monomer capable of forming an electronically conductive redox polymer in the presence of a solvent, thereby obtaining a cathode mixture comprising the monomer covalently bonded to the cathode active material through the first covalent linker (Claim 1, Summary of the invention, Formula 1, Component c): silane coupling agent, Preparation process of an anode).
Son and Yang teach:
heating the pre-treated cathode current collector comprising the cathode mixture to a temperature between 50 °C and 150 °C, thereby removing the solvent (Son, [0137]), polymerizing the monomer into an electronically conductive redox polymer,, and obtaining the cathode (Yang, Component c): silane coupling agent, iii) Formation of a conductive polymer moiety by polymerization of the aromatic conjugated moiety in the silane coupling agent)
Kaempgen teaches:
pre-treating a cathode current collector with a second covalent linker, thereby obtaining a pre-treated cathode current collector ([0012], [0020], [0022]);
applying the cathode mixture to at least a portion of a surface of the pre-treated cathode current collector ([0012]).
Yang and Kaempgen teach:
wherein the electronically conductive redox polymer is covalently bonded to the cathode active material through the first covalent linker and to the cathode current collector through the second covalent linker (Yang, i) Hydrolysis of the silane coupling agent; Kaempgen, [0012]).
Son, Yang, and Kaempgen are considered analogous art to the claimed invention because they are in the same field of battery electrode materials and methods of producing electrochemical battery electrodes. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the current invention to modify the battery cathode and electrode manufacturing process of Son in view of the teachings of Yang and Kaempgen, because such modification would have provided a conductive electrode having improved electrical conductivity and electrochemical performance while maintaining compatibility with conventional battery electrode manufacturing techniques.
Regarding claim 3, Son, Yang, and Kaempgen teach the limitations of claim 1, as stated above. Son further teaches the solvent comprises water and/or an alcohol ([0030-0034]).
Regarding claim 4, Son, Yang, and Kaempgen teach the limitations of claim 1, as stated above. Son further teaches the heating is performed at a temperature between 60 °C and 100 °C ([0098]).
Regarding claim 7, Son, Yang, and Kaempgen teach the limitations of claim 1, as stated above. Son fails to teach the first and/or the second covalent linker is an organofunctional silane, and wherein the covalent bond through the first covalent linker and/or through the second covalent linker is a -Si-O- bond.
Yang teaches the method of producing the cathode of claim 1, as stated above, including the use of covalent linkers for bonding the cathode active material and/or cathode components (Summary of the invention, Formula 1, Component c): silane coupling agent).
Kaempgen teaches the use of organofunctional silanes as coupling agents for electrode materials, wherein the silane forms a covalent Si-O- bond with the surface of the electrode material ([0007]).
Son, Yang, and Kaempgen are considered analogous art to the claimed invention because they are in the same field of battery electrode materials and methods of producing electrochemical battery electrodes. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the current invention to modify the covalent-linker arrangement of Yang to employ the organofunctional silane and resulting -Si-O- covalent bonding taught by Kaempgen, because the use of such silane coupling chemistry was a known technique for covalently attaching materials to electrode surfaces and would have provided predictable bonding and adhesion between the respective electrode components.
Regarding claim 8, Son, Yang, and Kaempgen teach the limitations of claim 7, as stated above. Son fails to teach the organofunctional silane is an organofunctional alkoxysilane.
Yang teaches the silane coupling agent comprises an organofunctional silane having an organic functional group capable of forming an electrically conductive polymer and hydrolysable groups attached to silicon, identifies alkoxy groups as suitable hydrolysable groups on the silicon atom (Claim 1, Summary of the invention).
Son, Yang, and Kaempgen are considered analogous art to the claimed invention because they are in the same field of battery electrode materials and methods of producing electrochemical battery electrodes. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the current invention to employ the organofunctional alkoxysilane taught by Yang in the covalent-linker arrangement of the combined teachings because the organofunctional alkoxysilanes were known coupling agents for functionalizing electrode materials and providing covalent attachment between the respective components.
Regarding claim 14, Son, Yang, and Kaempgen teach the limitations of claim 1, as stated above. Son teaches a battery cell comprising a cathode obtained according to the method of claim 1 (Abstract). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the current invention to configure the modified battery cell of Son, Yang, and Kaempgen, as a battery cell.
Regarding claim 15, Son, Yang, and Kaempgen teach the limitations of claim 14, as stated above. Son teaches the battery cell according to claim 14, wherein the battery cell is a secondary battery cell (Abstract). Son, Yang, and Kaempgen are considered analogous art to the claimed invention because they are in the same field of battery electrode materials and methods of producing electrochemical battery electrodes. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the current invention to configure the modified battery cell of Son, Yang, and Kaempgen, as a secondary battery cell.
Claim 2 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Son, in view of Yang, and in further view of Kaempgen, and in further view of Zimmermann et al. (KR 102353151), hereinafter Zimmermann.
Regarding claim 2, Son, Yang, and Kaempgen teach the limitations of claim 1, as stated above. Son fails to teach the cathode active material is vanadium-based, nickel-based and/or phosphate-based.
Zimmerman teaches the cathode active material is vanadium-based and/or nickel-based ([0054], Claim 9).
Son, Yang, Kaempgen, and Zimmerman are considered analogous art to the claimed invention because they are in the same field of battery electrode materials and methods of producing electrochemical battery electrodes. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the current invention to modify the cathode active material of Son to include the vanadium-based or nickel-based cathode active material taught by Zimmerman because materials were known cathode active materials for battery applications and would have provided a predictable battery electrode having the desired electrochemical properties.
Claim 5 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Son, in view of Yang, and in further view of Kaempgen, and in further view of Chaloner-Gill et al. (WO 1995016285), hereinafter Chaloner-Gill.
Regarding claim 5, Son, Yang, and Kaempgen teach the limitations of claim 1, as stated above. Son fails to teach the electronically conductive redox polymer comprises one or more of a polythiophene, a polypyrrole, a polyaniline or a polyacethylene.
Chaloner-Gill teaches the electronically conductive redox polymer comprises one or more of a polythiophene, a polypyrrole, a polyaniline or a polyacethylene (Claim 2).
Son, Yang, Kaempgen, and Chaloner-Gill are considered analogous art to the claimed invention because they are in the same field of battery electrode materials and methods of producing electrochemical battery electrodes. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the current invention to modify the redox polymer of Son to comprise one or more of the conductive polymers taught by Chaloner-Gill because these polymers were known electronically conductive materials for electrochemical electrodes and their substitution would have provided a predictable conductive electrode material having the expected electrical and electrochemical properties.
Claim 6 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Son, in view of Yang, and in further view of Kaempgen, and in further view of Seuring et al. (US 20180047988), hereinafter Seuring, and in further view of Strietzel et al. (Strietzel, 2020), hereinafter Strietzel.
Regarding claim 6, Son, Yang, and Kaempgen teach the limitations of claim 1, as stated above. Son fails to teach:
The electronically conductive redox polymer is
poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT);
PEDOT:polystyrene sulphonate;
the trimer EPE, wherein
E is 3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene (EDOT)
P is 3,4-propylenedioxythiophene (ProDOT).
Seuring teaches an electronically conductive redox polymer ([0036]):
poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT) ([0036]);
PEDOT:polystyrene sulphonate ([0039]).
Additionally, Strietzel teaches an electronically conductive redox polymer (Strietzel, 2020):
the trimer EPE, wherein (Strietzel, 2020)
E is 3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene (EDOT)
P is 3,4-propylenedioxythiophene (ProDOT).
Son, Yang, Kaempgen, Zimmerman, Seuring, and Strietzel are considered analogous art to the claimed invention because they are in the same field of battery electrode materials and methods of producing electrochemical battery electrodes. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the current invention to modify the electronically conductive redox polymer of Son to comprise PEDOT, PEDOT:PSS, and/or the EPE trimer taught by Seuring and Strietzel because these materials were known conductive redox-polymer materials for electrochemical energy-storage devices and would have provided a predictable conductive and electrochemically active electrode material.
Conclusion
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/TAMARA ORDUNA/Examiner, Art Unit 1776
/Jennifer Dieterle/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 1776
