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 .
Status of Claims
Claims 1-13 are currently pending.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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 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 1-13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Nakama (WO 2021/187391 A1, hereinafter using, for citation purposes, corresponding US 2022/0416296 A1 as cited in the IDS on 07/18/2024) in view of Shindo (US 2017/0155127 A1).
Regarding claims 1-11, Nakama teaches a battery (2000) comprising a positive electrode (201); a negative electrode (203); and an electrolyte layer (202) disposed between the positive electrode and the negative electrode (fig. 2; [0236]-[0238]), wherein the positive electrode comprises a positive electrode active material (110) including a lithium nickel cobalt manganese oxide; a first halide solid electrolyte material (111) comprising Li, Ti, M1 and F (where M1 can be at least one of Al, Ca, Mg, Y and Zr) such as Li2.6Ti0.4Al0.6F6 coating at least a portion of a surface of the positive electrode active material; and a second sulfide solid electrolyte material (100) such that the active material and the second solid electrolyte material are separated by the first solid electrolyte material (figs. 1-3; [0091]-[0117], [0141], [0177] & [0195]-[0196]). While Nakama does not explicitly teach the composition recited in claim 4 for the first solid electrolyte, it is noted that the claimed composition corresponds to the same composition described in [0117] of Nakama in which x2 = 0.7 is used in formula 2 ([0110]) describing the broader composition of the first solid electrolyte. Since Nakama encompasses a range of 0.3 to 0.7 for x2, the composition in claim 4 is found to be anticipated by Nakama ([0114]). Nakama is silent as to a ratio a of a capacity of the negative electrode to a capacity of the positive electrode ranges from 0.78 to 1.31. Shindo teaches a battery comprising a positive electrode, a negative electrode and a solid electrolyte layer disposed between the positive electrode and the negative electrode, wherein a ratio a of a capacity of the negative electrode to a capacity of the positive electrode is 0.95 or less and 0.5 or more ([0089]-[0109]) which overlaps with the ranges recited in claims 1 and 5-7. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the present invention, to set a ratio a of a capacity of the negative electrode to a capacity of the positive electrode ranges to 0.95 or less and 0.5 or more because the electrical potential of the positive electrode active material layer decreases more during discharge of the all-solid-state battery if the capacity of the negative electrode active material is lower than the capacity of the positive electrode active material and, as a result, battery capacity can be further increased and battery internal resistance can be further lowered as taught by Shindo ([0084] & [0108]).
Regarding claim 12-13, Nakama as modified by Shindo teaches the battery of claim 1 as noted above. Nakama further teaches the negative electrode comprising a negative electrode active material but is silent as to the negative electrode active material comprising an oxide material. However, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the present invention, to use an oxide material such as lithium titanate (LTO) as described in Shindo ([0105]) as a suitable negative electrode active material and an art-recognized equivalent to carbon and Si (i.e described in both Nakama and Shindo) used for the purpose of a negative electrode active material. “The selection of a known material based on its suitability for its intended use supported a prima facie obviousness determination in Sinclair & Carroll Co. v. Interchemical Corp., 325 U.S. 327, 65 USPQ 297 (1945)”. See MPEP 2144.07. “In order to rely on equivalence as a rationale supporting an obviousness rejection, the equivalency must be recognized in the prior art, and cannot be based on applicant’s disclosure or the mere fact that the components at issue are functional or mechanical equivalents. In re Ruff, 256 F.2d 590, 118 USPQ 340 (CCPA 1958)”. See MPEP 2144.06 II.
Contact Information
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to NATHANAEL T ZEMUI whose telephone number is (571)272-4894. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8am-5pm (EST).
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/NATHANAEL T ZEMUI/Examiner, Art Unit 1727
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