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 .
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim(s) 1, 7-12 and 14-22 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election without traverse of a sodium secondary battery comprising a positive electrode active material comprising a polyanionic compound comprising Na4Fe3(PO4)2P2O7 with a coating layer comprising a carbon material; a negative electrode plate comprising a negative electrode current collector and a carbon nanotube primer layer disposed thereon and a solid electrolyte comprising a polymer solid electrolyte comprising poly(vinylidene fluoride-copolyhexafluoropropylene) and a sodium salt comprising sodium bis(fluorosulfonyl)imide in the reply filed on 4-25-2025 is acknowledged.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
Claims 1, 7-12 and 14-22 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention. Claim 1 is rejected because it is unclear when “an angle of a molten sodium” would form on the surface of the polymer solid electrolyte so that a measurement of “a contact angle would be less than 82 degrees”. Claim 7 is rejected because it is unclear why the polymer solid electrolyte is tested to determine the molar percentage of the oxygen element existing because there is no oxygen components claimed in claim 1. Claim 12 is rejected because the claim needs to cite “wherein the ‘polymer’ solid electrolyte is subjected to a surface treatment selected from the group consisting of one or more of … and”. Claim 14 is rejected because the secondary battery is missing a negative electrode plate. Claim 18 resolves this issue. Claim 16 is rejected because the active material comprising Na1/9CoFe(CN)6 is not a polyanionic compound. Therefore, this compound should be deleted.
Claim 16 is rejected because the active material comprising Na2NiFe(CN)6 is not a polyanionic compound. Therefore, this compound should be deleted.
Claim 22 is rejected because there is no antecedent basis for the phrase “polymer-in-salt electrolyte”.
Claim Objections
Claims 12, 14 and 19 are objected to because of the following informalities: Claim 12 is objected to because there is no antecedent basis for “the plasma cleaning treatment”. Claim 14 is objected to because the claim should cite “A secondary battery comprising a positive electrode plate comprising a positive electrode active material, a negative electrode plate and the polymer solid electrolyte according to claim 1”. Claim 19 is objected to because the claim should cite “a thickness of the primer layer is 2 um to 100 um” and not “2 um to 100 2 um”. Appropriate correction is required.
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.
Claim(s) 1, 7-10, 12, 14-16 and 20-22 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kim et al. (US 2016/0056509) in view of Liang et al. (CN113690483). Kim et al. teaches a surface treatment method for a solid electrolyte for a sodium secondary battery comprising a 1st step of preparing a polymer solution; a 2nd step of coating a polymer solution onto a region of the surface of the sodium ion conductive solid electrolyte to form a polymer film; and a 3rd step of forming a porous carbon coating by carbonizing the polymer film. The carbon coating of the solid electrolyte may contact the molten sodium of the sodium secondary battery to ensure the wettability of the solid electrolyte relative to the molten sodium. It is known that the contact angle of molten sodium with respect to a solid electrolyte made from ceramic material has a significantly bad wettability of 128 degrees at 265°C. The solid electrolyte produced by the surface treatment method described above has significant wettability even at low temperature operating environment of 250°C. The sodium secondary battery includes an anode containing sodium; molten sodium in contact with the carbon coating of the solid electrolyte and a cathode containing a transition metal and/or the transition metal halide. Kim et al. teaches in claims 15-17, that the sodium battery includes an anode; a molten sodium contacting the carbon coating layer of the solid electrolyte and a cathode containing a transition metal. Kim et al. teaches in [0075], that the molten sodium may be an aqueous solution containing a sodium salt and a molten state and the sodium salt may include, hydroxides, borates, phosphates, halides of sodium or mixtures thereof. In the event any differences can be shown for the product of the product by process claims 1, 7-10, 12, 14-16 and 20-22, as opposed to the product taught by Kim et al., such differences would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art as a routine modification of the product in the absence of a showing of unexpected results. In re Thrope 227 USPQ 964; (Fed. Cir. 1985).
Kim et al. teaches the claimed invention except does not specifically teach subjecting the polymer solid electrolyte to a surface treatment of plasma treatment so a contact angle of the molten sodium on the surface of the polymer solid electrolyte is less than 82°. Liang et al. teaches a method for modifying a sodium super ionic conductor type solid electrolyte by performing plasma modification treatment on sodium super ionic conductor type solid electrolyte particles to obtain activated sodium super ionic conductor type solid electrolyte particles; weighing a polymer and the activated sodium super ionic conductor type solid electric particles; dissolving the polymer in the activated sodium super ionic conductor type solid electrolyte particles in an organic solvent to obtain a mixed solution, and then pouring the mixed solution into a preset mold and trying to remove the organic solvent forming a composite solid electrolyte membrane. Liang et al. teaches that the polymer comprises polyethylene oxide, PVDF-HFP, polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF), [claim 10], etc. Liang et al. teaches that the prepared composite solid electrolyte is applied to a solid sodium ion battery, which can reduce the interface impedance, prolong the cycle life of the battery and improves the electric chemical performance of the battery pack. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to improve the interface, wettability between the solid electrolyte and the positive electrode/negative electrode plate by reducing the contact angle of the surface of the solid electrolyte to a lower contact angle such as less than 82°, thereby improving the cycle characteristics of the battery taught by Kim et al. subject the solid electrolyte to a surface treatment by plasma cleaning treatment as taught by Liang et al. When Kim et al. or Kim et al. in view of Liang et al. teaches the same polymer solid electrolyte subjected to a plasma surface treatment so that the contact angle of molten sodium on the surface of the polymer solid electrolyte is less than 82°, then inherently the same polymer solid electrolyte of the molar percentage of the oxygen element on the surface of the polymer solid electrolyte not being greater than 10% based on the molar amount of all elements detected must also be obtained.
In addition, the presently claimed property of polymer solid electrolyte of the molar percentage of the oxygen element on the surface of the polymer solid electrolyte not being greater than 10% based on the molar amount of all elements detected would have obviously been present once the Kim et al. or Kim et al. in view of Liang et al. product is provided. See MPEP 2122.01, I.
Conclusion
THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Laura Weiner whose telephone number is (571)272-1294. The examiner can normally be reached 9 am-5 pm EST M, Th and F.
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/LAURA S. WEINER/
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 1723
/Laura Weiner/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1723
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