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 .
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
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.
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 1-3 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being patentable by Chang et al. (EP 3575269 A1).
Claims 1-3: Chang teaches a method of preparing a cathode active material for a lithium secondary battery comprising a secondary particle (i.e., aggregated particle) of a nickel-based active material, LiNi0.8Mn0.1Co0.1O2 , wherein the method comprises a heat treatment step wherein a fluoride precursor [0052] such as polytetrafluoroethylene (i.e., perfluoroalkyl) [0055] is added to the nickel-based active material secondary particles and heated at a temperature between 300 to 600 ̊C [0052] so that a lithium fluoride based compound is formed on a surface of the nickel-based active material [0054-0055] (i.e., the first treatment step), wherein the heat treatment may be carried out for about 2 hours to about 20 hours [0054]. A heterogeneous element compound comprising a lithium metal oxide such as Li2ZrO3 (i.e., Lithium zirconate) is added to the surface during this period [0055]. This step defines the second treatment step of the process.
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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claim 6-8 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Chang et al. (EP 3575269 A1).
Claim 6: Chang teaches a coin lithium secondary batter comprising a positive active material LiNi0.6Mn0.2Co0.2O2 manufactured according to the method described above [0118-0122] that was tested for gas generation amount during high temperature storage. Chang does not explicitly teach the amount of gas produced by the battery over a 60-day period. However, Chang teaches after being stored at stored at 60 ̊C for 13 days the battery showed a swelling degree that was much less than a comparable active material manufactured using a different method [0111], indicating that when a lithium secondary battery contained an active material manufactured using the method described above, the amount of gas generated at the time of high-temperature storage is reduced [0133-0134, 0137].
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art that the amount of gas generated by a battery comprising the active material LiNi0.8Mn0.1Co0.1O2 described above would be much less than a comparable active material manufactured using a different method according to Chang’s teaching.
Claim 7-8: Chang teaches a lithium secondary battery including a cathode including the cathode active material described above and a non-aqueous electrolyte including a lithium salt [0078-0079].
Claims 4-5 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Chang et al. (EP 3575269 A1), and further in view of Takamori et al. (US 2022/0029158 Al).
Claims 4-5: Chang teaches preparation of aggregated particles comprising single particles as described above. Chang does not teach mixing aggregated particles with single particles or the ratio of the particles. However, Takamori teaches a method of preparing a lithium metal composite oxide positive electrode active material comprising preparing secondary and primary particles separately and then mixing them [0116, 0133]. Takamori teaches the mass ratio of single particles to secondary particles is within range 1/99 to 60/40 [0072]. Takamori teaches when single particles and secondary particles are mixed, the single particles move into spaces between broken secondary particles thereby increasing surface contact area between the particles and reducing voids which improves the density of the electrode [0087]. Additionally, the single particles promote secondary particle breakage which also reduces large voids while maintaining smaller voids. Takamori teaches that this improves volumetric capacity of the lithium battery [0088].
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to have mixed Yushin’s aggregate and single particles in a 50:50 ratio to improve volumetric capacity of the battery.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Yushin et al. (US 20220131125 A1) Yushin teaches a method of depositing one or more surface layer coating on particles of an electrode active material powder using atomic-layer deposition ALD [0007, 0023] wherein the cathode material comprises a lithium nickel manganese cobalt oxide (NMC or NCM) [0100], and comprises from around 75.0 at.% to around 100.0 at. % Nickel (Ni) as a fraction of all non-Li metals in the cathode composition [0101]. Yushin further teaches deposition of an interfacial, ionically conducting layer between the electrolyte and the intercalation-type cathode may reduce or even eliminate gassing during storage at elevated temperatures in a charged state (particularly at higher potentials) [0099, 0102].
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/L.N.R./Examiner, Art Unit 1712
/MICHAEL B CLEVELAND/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 1712
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