Patent Application 17910586 - OUTER PACKAGE MATERIAL FOR ALL-SOLID-STATE - Rejection
Patent Application 17910586 - OUTER PACKAGE MATERIAL FOR ALL-SOLID-STATE
Title: OUTER PACKAGE MATERIAL FOR ALL-SOLID-STATE BATTERIES, METHOD FOR PRODUCING SAME AND ALL-SOLID-STATE BATTERY
Application Information
- Invention Title: OUTER PACKAGE MATERIAL FOR ALL-SOLID-STATE BATTERIES, METHOD FOR PRODUCING SAME AND ALL-SOLID-STATE BATTERY
- Application Number: 17910586
- Submission Date: 2025-04-09T00:00:00.000Z
- Effective Filing Date: 2022-09-09T00:00:00.000Z
- Filing Date: 2022-09-09T00:00:00.000Z
- National Class: 429
- National Sub-Class: 163000
- Examiner Employee Number: 100174
- Art Unit: 1722
- Tech Center: 1700
Rejection Summary
- 102 Rejections: 1
- 103 Rejections: 4
Cited Patents
The following patents were cited in the rejection:
Office Action Text
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 § 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 – 2, 9, and 11 – 12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Yasuda et al. (JP-2016186872-A), hereinafter Yasuda.
Regarding claim 1, Yasuda teaches an exterior material for an all-solid-state battery, comprising a laminate (Abstract; fig. 1) including at least a base material layer (Abstract; substrate layer 1), a barrier layer (Abstract; stainless steel foil 3), and a heat-sealable resin layer (Abstract; sealant layer 4) in this order from outside, the heat-sealable resin layer being formed of a polybutylene terephthalate film (pg. 10, paragraph 3; examples of polyester resin for forming the sealant layer 4 includes polybutylene terephthalate) containing an elastomer (pg. 11, paragraph 3; in addition to the polyester resin, there can be polyolefins having characteristics as an elastomer for sealant layer 4).
Regarding claim 2, Yasuda teaches all of the limitations of claim 1. Yasuda also teaches that the elastomer contains at least one thermoplastic elastomer selected from polyester-based elastomers, polyamide-based elastomers, polyurethane-based elastomers, polyolefin-based elastomers, polystyrene-based elastomers, and polyether-based elastomers, or a thermoplastic elastomer which is a copolymer of any of the foregoing elastomers (pg. 11, paragraph 3; teaches polyolefin-based elastomers).
Regarding claim 9, Yasuda teaches all of the limitations of claim 1. Yasuda also teaches that the base material layer contains at least one of polyamide and polyester (pg. 3, paragraph 2; example materials to form base layer 1 include polyester resin and polyamide resin).
Regarding claim 11, Yasuda teaches a method for producing an exterior material for an all-solid-state battery, the method comprising a step of laminating at least a base material layer, a barrier layer, and a heat-sealable resin layer in this order from outside to obtain a laminate (Abstract; fig. 1), the heat-sealable resin layer being formed of a polybutylene terephthalate film (pg. 10, paragraph 3; examples of polyester resin for forming the sealant layer 4 includes polybutylene terephthalate) containing an elastomer (pg. 11, paragraph 3; in addition to the polyester resin, there can be polyolefins having characteristics as an elastomer for sealant layer 4).
Regarding claim 12,
Yasuda teaches a polybutylene terephthalate film (pg. 10, paragraph 3; examples of polyester resin for forming the sealant layer 4 includes polybutylene terephthalate) for use in a heat-sealable resin layer of an exterior material for an all-solid-state battery which includes a laminate including at least a base material layer, a barrier layer, and the heat-sealable resin layer in this order from outside (Abstract; Fig. 1), the polybutylene terephthalate film containing an elastomer (pg. 11, paragraph 3; in addition to the polyester resin, there can be polyolefins having characteristics as an elastomer for sealant layer 4).
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 3 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yasuda et al. (JP-2016186872-A), hereinafter Yasuda, in view of Tomoaki et al. (US-9941493-B2), hereinafter Tomoaki.
Regarding claim 3, Yasuda teaches all of the limitations of claim 1, as seen in paragraph 3 above. Yasuda does not teach that the elastomer contains polytetramethylene glycol.
Tomoaki is considered analogous to the claimed invention because they are in the same field of laminates (fig. 1; col. 5, lines 16 – 22). Tomoaki does teach that the elastomer contains polytetramethylene glycol (col. 6, lines 16 – 27)
Yasuda and Tomoaki are considered analogous to the claimed invention because they are in the same field of laminates. Therefore, it would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Yasuda to incorporate the teachings of Tomoaki and provide an elastomer containing polytetramethylene glycol. Doing so would be beneficial in terms of hydrolysis resistance, heat resistance, and low-temperature characteristics (Tomoaki col. 6, lines 16 – 27).
Claim 6 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yasuda et al. (JP-2016186872-A), hereinafter Yasuda, in view of Ojiri et al. (US-20190157633-A1), hereinafter Ojiri.
Regarding claim 6, Yasuda teaches all of the limitations of claim 1, as seen in paragraph 3 above. Yasuda does not teach that an indentation elastic modulus of the laminate from the heat-sealable resin layer side is 0.3 GPa or more.
Ojiri is considered analogous to the claimed invention because they are in the same field of laminates (Abstract). Osada does teach that an indentation elastic modulus of the laminate from the heat-sealable resin layer side is 0.3 GPa or more (the heat-weldable sealant layer 4 made of resin component(s) ([0152]) has an elastic modulus measured using a nanoindenter in the range of 100 MPa to 1000 MPa ([0158] – [0159]); it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to choose the overlapping range exceeding 0.3 GPa).
Yasuda and Ojiri are considered analogous to the claimed invention because they are in the same field of laminates. Therefore, it would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Yasuda to incorporate the teachings of Ojiri and provide an indentation elastic modulus of 0.3 GPa or more. Doing so would result in battery packaging material having high insulation quality (Ojiri [0012]).
Claims 7 and 8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yasuda et al. (JP-2016186872-A), hereinafter Yasuda, in view of Osada et al. (EP-1640152-A1), hereinafter Osada.
Regarding claims 7 and 8, Yasuda teaches all of the limitations of claim 1, as seen in paragraph 3 above. Yasuda does not teach that a tensile rupture elongation of the polybutylene terephthalate film in an environment at 120°C is 580% or more in at least one of directions perpendicular to a direction along a thickness of the laminate and that a tensile rupture elongation of the laminate forming the exterior material for an all-solid-state battery in an environment at 120°C is 300% or more in at least one of directions perpendicular to a direction along a thickness of the laminate.
Osada is considered analogous to the claimed invention because they are in the same field of laminates (Abstract). Osada does teach that a tensile rupture elongation of the polybutylene terephthalate film in an environment at 120°C is 580% or more in at least one of directions perpendicular to a direction along a thickness of the laminate and that a tensile rupture elongation of the laminate forming the exterior material for an all-solid-state battery in an environment at 120°C is 300% or more in at least one of directions perpendicular to a direction along a thickness of the laminate ([0010] – [0011]; breaking elongation of the laminate of thermoplastic resins in at least one direction is in the range of 100 to 1000%)
Yasuda and Osada are considered analogous to the claimed invention because they are in the same field of laminates. Therefore, it would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Yasuda to incorporate the teachings of Osada and provide and breaking elongations of the laminate and polybutylene terephthalate film at greater than 300% and greater than 580%. Doing so would result in a laminate with a high rigidity and superior dimension stability under high temperatures (Osada [0010]).
Claim 10 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yasuda et al. (JP-2016186872-A), hereinafter Yasuda, in view of Sasaki et al. (WO-2020004413-A1), hereinafter Sasaki.
Regarding claim 10, Yasuda teaches an all-solid-state battery in which a battery element including at least a unit cell including a positive active material layer and a negative active material layer (pg. 17, paragraph 5) is housed in a packaging formed from an exterior material for an all- solid-state battery, wherein the exterior material for an all-solid-state battery includes laminate (Abstract; fig. 1) including at least a base material layer (Abstract; substrate layer 1), a barrier layer (Abstract; stainless steel foil 3), and a heat-sealable resin layer (Abstract; sealant layer 4) in this order from outside, the heat-sealable resin layer being formed of a polybutylene terephthalate film (pg. 10, paragraph 3; examples of polyester resin for forming the sealant layer 4 includes polybutylene terephthalate) containing an elastomer (pg. 11, paragraph 3; in addition to the polyester resin, there can be polyolefins having characteristics as an elastomer for sealant layer 4).
Yasuda fails to teach a solid electrolyte layer. However, solid electrolyte layers are known and common in the art. For example, Sasaki teaches an outer packaging material for an all solid state battery (Abstract; fig. 1; pg. 3 last paragraph – pg. 4 paragraph 2).
Yasuda and Sasaki are considered analogous to the claimed invention because they are in the same field of laminates (Sasaki Abstract; fig. 1) Therefore, it would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Yasuda to incorporate the teachings of Sasaki and provide a solid electrolyte layer for the all-solid-state battery common and obvious in the art.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 4 and 5 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Regarding claims 4 and 5, Yasuda, whether alone or in combination, does not teach the limitations of claims 4 and 5. Yasuda fails to teach that the elastomer is a thermoplastic elastomer including a block copolymer of polybutylene terephthalate and polyether, wherein the polyether component is a copolymer of terephthalic acid and polytetramethylene ether glycol. Yasuda only teaches a polyether resin as part of the adhesive layer 5, not the elastomer of the sealant layer 4. The addition of a secondary source such as Tomoaki et al. (US-9941493-B2) in combination with Yasuda fails to teach these limitations as well, since, while Tomoaki includes polytetramethylene glycol as part of the elastomer, Tomoaki fails to teach that it is a copolymer of terephthalic acid and fails to explicitly teach polyether. The addition of secondary sources Osada et al. (EP-1640152-A1), Ojiri et al. (US-20190157633-A1), or Sasaki et al. (WO-2020004413-A1) in combination with Yasuda would also fail to teach that limitations of claims 4 and 5.
Conclusion
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/M.L.K./Examiner, Art Unit 1722
/NIKI BAKHTIARI/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 1722
