UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE
`
`
`
`BEFORE THE PATENT TRIAL AND APPEAL BOARD
`
`
`
`SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS CO., LTD.,
`Petitioner,
`
`v.
`
`RJ TECHNOLOGY, LLC,
`Patent Owner.
`
`
`Case: IPR2023-01183
`
`U.S. Patent No. 7,749,641
`
`
`
`
`DECLARATION OF MARC JUZKOW
`
`
`
`
`
`
`1
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`APPLE 1002
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`TABLE OF CONTENTS
`
`BACKGROUND AND QUALIFICATIONS .............................................. 1
`I.
`II. TECHNICAL OVERVIEW ......................................................................... 4
`A. GENERAL PRINCIPLES OF LITHIUM-ION BATTERIES .......................................... 5
`B. MATERIALS USED IN LI-ION BATTERIES. ........................................................14
`C. CHARGE CUTOFF VOLTAGE AND DESIGN CAPACITY OF ELECTRODES ............16
`D. BATTERY PROTECTION CIRCUITS ....................................................................22
`III. MATERIALS CONSIDERED ...................................................................25
`IV. SUMMARY OF MY OPINIONS AND ANALYSIS ................................27
`V.
`LEGAL PRINCIPLES ................................................................................28
`A. PERSON HAVING ORDINARY SKILL IN THE ART ..............................................28
`B. CLAIM CONSTRUCTION ...................................................................................29
`C. LEGAL STANDARDS FOR ANTICIPATION ..........................................................30
`D. LEGAL STANDARDS FOR OBVIOUSNESS ..........................................................31
`E. ANALOGOUS ART ...........................................................................................35
`VI. THE QUALIFICATIONS OF THE PHOSITA .......................................36
`VII. OVERVIEW OF THE ’641 PATENT .......................................................40
`A. THE ’641 PATENT DESCRIPTION .....................................................................40
`B. EFFECTIVE FILING DATE .................................................................................42
`VIII. THE CLAIMS OF THE ’641 PATENT ....................................................42
`IX. CLAIM CONSTRUCTION ........................................................................48
`A. ELEMENT [1P]: “A METHOD FOR IMPROVING . . . CHARACTERIZED IN THAT” ..48
`B. “A RATIO OF POSITIVE ELECTRODE MATERIAL TO NEGATIVE ELECTRODE
`MATERIAL OF THE SECONDARY LITHIUM ION CELL OR BATTERY IS FROM 1:1.0
`TO 1:2.5 AS CALCULATED BY A SPECIFIC CAPACITY WITH A CHARGE VOLTAGE
`LIMITED TO 4.2 V” (CLAIM 1); “A RATIO OF POSITIVE ELECTRODE MATERIAL TO
`NEGATIVE ELECTRODE MATERIAL AS CALCULATED BY A THEORETIC CAPACITY
`WITH A CHARGE CUT-OFF VOLTAGE SET AT 4.2 V” (CLAIM 5) .........................49
`C. “AT LEAST 7500 OF CAPACITY” (CLAIM 11) ....................................................52
`X.
`PRIOR ART STATUS OF REFERENCES AND ANALOGOUS ART 52
`A. THE FIELD OF ENDEAVOR OF THE ’641 PATENT. .............................................53
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`2
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`B. UEMURA (EX1009) IS ANALOGOUS ART. .......................................................55
`C. ABE (EX1005) IS ANALOGOUS ART. ..............................................................58
`D. GUYOMARD (EX1008) IS ANALOGOUS ART. ..................................................62
`E. IWAIZONO (EX1007) IS ANALOGOUS ART. .....................................................67
`XI. DETAILED DISCUSSION OF MY OPINIONS REGARDING
`INVALIDITY. ........................................................................................................70
`A. GROUND 1: UEMURA ANTICIPATES CLAIMS 1-8. ............................................70
`1. Claims 1 and 5 ............................................................................................70
`2. Claims 2-4 and 6-8. ....................................................................................93
`B. GROUND 2: UEMURA RENDERS CLAIMS 1-8 OBVIOUS AND GROUND 3:
`UEMURA RENDERS CLAIMS 11-18 OBVIOUS. .................................................95
`1. Claims 1-8 ..................................................................................................96
`2. Claims 11-18 ............................................................................................101
`C. GROUND 4: UEMURA AND GUYOMARD RENDER CLAIMS 11-18 OBVIOUS. ...106
`1. Claims 11-18: Remaining Capacities After 400 Cycles ..........................106
`D. GROUND 5: ABE ANTICIPATES CLAIMS 1-8 AND GROUND 6: ABE RENDERS
`OBVIOUS CLAIMS 1-8. ..................................................................................113
`1. Claims 1 and 5. .........................................................................................114
`2. Claims 2-3 and 6-7 ...................................................................................123
`3. Claims 4 and 8 ..........................................................................................124
`E. GROUND 7: ABE AND GUYOMARD RENDER CLAIMS 2-4, 6-8, AND 11-18
`OBVIOUS. ......................................................................................................124
`1. Claims 2-3 and 6-7. ..................................................................................126
`2. Claims 4 and 8. .........................................................................................129
`3. Claims 11-18 ............................................................................................135
`4. A PHOSITA Would Have Found It Obvious To Combine Abe with
`Guyomard. ...............................................................................................137
`F. GROUND 8: UEMURA AND IWAIZONO RENDER CLAIM 9 OBVIOUS. ..............150
`1. Claim 9 .....................................................................................................150
`G. GROUND 9: UEMURA, IWAIZONO, AND GUYOMARD RENDER CLAIMS 9-10
`OBVIOUS. ......................................................................................................163
`1. Claims 9 and 10 ........................................................................................163
`H. GROUND 10: ABE, GUYOMARD, AND IWAIZONO RENDER CLAIMS 9-10
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`3
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`OBVIOUS. ......................................................................................................168
`1. Claims 9 and 10 ........................................................................................168
`XII. DECLARATION .......................................................................................171
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`4
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`I, Marc Juzkow, hereby declare as follows:
`BACKGROUND AND QUALIFICATIONS
`I.
`1. My name is Marc Juzkow, and I have been retained on behalf of
`
`Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. to provide my opinions on the patentability of the
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`claims of United States Patent No. 7,749,641 (“the ’641 patent”). I understand that
`
`this declaration may be submitted to the Patent Trial and Appeal Board at the United
`
`States Patent and Trademark Office as part of an inter partes review proceeding
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`related to the ’641 patent. I am being compensated at my customary rate for the time
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`I spend on this matter. My compensation is not contingent on the content of my
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`opinions nor the outcome of the inter partes review proceeding. I have no direct
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`financial interest in any of the parties or this proceeding.
`
`2.
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`In formulating my opinions, I have relied on my knowledge, training,
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`and experience in the relevant field, which I have summarized below. My
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`curriculum vitae, which includes a more detailed summary of my background,
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`experience, and publications, is attached to this declaration as Appendix 1.
`
`3.
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`I am a General Partner of Lithiumion Expert Services, LLC. I am also
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`Cell Supplier Lead of Joby Aviation, LLC. I am an expert in the field of lithium-ion
`
`cells. I have studied, researched, and practiced in the field of electrochemical cells
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`and packaging for more than 37 years.
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`5
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`4.
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`I received my Bachelor of Science (BSc) degree in the field of
`
`Chemistry from Simon Fraser University in Burnaby, British Columbia in 1985. I
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`received my Master of Science (MSc) degree in the same field from the same
`
`university in 1989.
`
`5.
`
`I began my career as a Research Scientist with Moli Energy Limited in
`
`Vancouver, British Columbia in 1985. Initially, my work involved lithium metal
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`cells. But, by the early 1990’s the work I was doing transitioned to developing
`
`lithium-ion cells. I worked at Moli Energy between 1985 and 1996. During this time
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`I had various titles and leadership positions. I was a research technologist and
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`scientist, a Manager of Product Evaluation, a Manager of Product Development, and
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`a Manager of Sales & Marketing. While I was at Moli Energy the company became
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`the first North American company to commercialize lithium-ion technology. Among
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`the projects I was involved in was the development of the first BB-2847 lithium-ion
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`battery for the U.S. Army.
`
`6.
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`Between 1996 and 2000 I was Director of Sales and Marketing for
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`PolyStor Corporation out of California. During my time at PolyStor, I was involved
`
`with the development of the BB-2590/U lithium-ion battery for the United States
`
`Army.
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`6
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`

`

`7.
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`Between 2000 and 2003, I transitioned into electrochemical double
`
`layer capacitor devices. During this time I was with Cooper Electronic Technologies,
`
`PowerStor Corporation and was involved with development of spirally wound cells.
`
`8.
`
`I have had various high-level roles in companies over the last 20 years.
`
`The details of these roles can be found in my attached CV, but I summarize a few of
`
`them here. For instance, between 2007 and 2014 I was Vice President of Research
`
`and Development at Leyden Energy. At Leyden we designed and assembled lithium-
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`ion cylindrical and pouch cells. Leyden subcontracted the manufacturing of both
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`polymer pouch and cylindrical cells and over 2 million cells were assembled. I had
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`responsibility for all R&D efforts including the development of novel lithium-ion
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`cell and battery technologies.
`
`9.
`
`After my time at Leyden Energy, I hired five engineers and assembly
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`technicians, purchased equipment and die sets, and started a contract services
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`company, Iontensity. Our typical customer was either a start-up or a large industrial
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`chemical company that had new lithium-ion cell components but were not skilled in
`
`the art of lithium-ion cell assembly, nor had the equipment required. We also
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`subcontracted on several U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) contracts, providing cell
`
`design, assembly and testing services. At Iontensity, we assembled and tested coin
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`cells and Al foil-polymer laminate packaged lithium-ion cells for our customers who
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`typically provided us with one of the many components that make up a lithium-ion
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`7
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`cell. We were responsible for chemical and mechanical cell design, assembling
`
`electrodes, final cell assembly and testing. During this time I developed a cell design
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`modeling tool to calculate matching electrode formulations and structures, adjusting
`
`the specific areal capacities of the electrodes to provide high capacity and specific
`
`energy lithium ion cell designs.
`
`10. As I was the leader of a small group of engineers and technicians, it was
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`important to be hands-on in my role as a team member and for training additional
`
`personnel we hired. I personally mixed cathode and anode slurries, coated electrodes
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`on a 2m long roll-to-roll coater, punched electrodes, assembled coin cells and pouch
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`cells, and ran performance testing. Following Iontensity, I was the Principal Cell
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`Specialist at NIO, responsible for the lithium-ion cell technology for this electric
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`vehicle company.
`
`11. All told, I have over three decades of experience with secondary
`
`batteries including lithium metal and lithium-ion secondary batteries.
`
`II. TECHNICAL OVERVIEW
`12. The ’641 patent says that it “relates to a new method for improving
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`capacity, average operating voltage and specific energy of a secondary lithium ion
`
`cell or battery, and to a secondary lithium ion cell or battery prepared by using the
`
`method, a protecting circuit adapted for the secondary lithium ion cell or battery, a
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`electronic device using the secondary lithium ion cell or battery, and a charging
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`8
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`device for the secondary lithium ion cell or battery.”1 In this section I provide some
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`technical information that I believe is relevant to an understanding of the ’641 patent
`
`and how the prior art reveals that what is being claimed was not patentable.
`
`A. General Principles of Lithium-ion Batteries
`I base this section in part off a description provided by the U.S.
`13.
`
`Department of Energy related to “How Lithium-ion Batteries Work”2 and cite some
`
`additional materials herein. These principles were known in the field by the 1990s.
`
`14. Lithium-ion batteries are generally made up of a positive electrode
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`(often called a cathode) consisting of an active material coated onto a current
`
`collector, a negative electrode (often called an anode) consisting of an active material
`
`coated onto a current collector, an electrolyte, a separator, and a container or cell
`
`case.3 These elements are illustrated below:
`
`1 EX1001 (’641 pat.), 1:8-15.
`
`2 See https://www.energy.gov/energysaver/articles/how-lithium-ion-batteries-work.
`
`3 See, e.g., https://www.energy.gov/energysaver/articles/how-lithium-ion-batteries-
`
`work; EX1011 (U.S. Pat. No. 5,871,863), 2:12-15 (“[T]he present invention resides
`
`in a lithium ion secondary battery comprising a positive electrode, a negative
`
`electrode, non-aqueous electrolyte, and a container sealing the electrodes and
`
`electrolyte therein”); EX1012 (Au), pp.3-4 (describing components in Sony battery
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`9
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`
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`15. The positive electrode stores lithium atoms and releases the lithium as
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`ions when the battery is being charged. The negative electrode stores lithium atoms
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`and releases the lithium as ions when the battery is being discharged. The electrolyte
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`is located between the negative and positive electrodes and includes mobile lithium
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`ions.4 The separator, filled with electrolyte, can allow the lithium ions to flow from
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`including electrodes, separator, electrolyte solution, separator, and cell case);
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`EX1005 (Abe), ¶[0004] (“Typically, the non-aqueous electrolyte-based secondary
`
`battery will have a negative electrode, a separator, a positive electrode, and an
`
`electrolyte solution.”).
`
`4 EX1013 (U.S. Pat. No. 5,721,067), 1:11-17 (“Most rechargeable lithium ion
`
`10
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`

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`the negative electrode to the positive electrode and vice versa, while providing an
`
`electrically insulating barrier.
`
`16. During the discharge of the battery, lithium ions move from the
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`negative electrode to the positive electrode as illustrated below:
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`As more lithium ions move from the negative electrode to the positive electrode, the
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`battery’s charge is depleted and the lithium ions are incorporated into the positive
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`electrode material structure.
`
`
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`batteries have a negative electrode containing elemental lithium, which is usually
`
`intercalated in some carbonaceous substance, a positive electrode bearing a
`
`chalcogenide, which is capable of incorporating lithium ions in its structure, an
`
`electrolyte containing mobile lithium ions, located between the negative and positive
`
`electrodes and, optionally, a separator.”).
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`11
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`

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`The when the battery is charged, the flow of lithium ions is reversed and the ions are
`
`inserted into the structure of the negative electrode as illustrated below.
`
`
`
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`12
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`17. The process by which lithium is inserted into the structure of the
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`positive and negative electrode materials is called “intercalation.”5 These types of
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`secondary or rechargeable lithium-ion batteries were known as “rocking chair” type
`
`secondary batteries because the lithium would be “rocked” back and forth between
`
`the electrodes.6 As the ’641 patent explains, common positive electrode materials
`
`5 EX1018 (U.S. Pat. No. 5,853,914), 1:8-14 (“The present invention relates to a
`
`highly reliable rechargeable lithium battery using intercalation and deintercalation
`
`reactions of lithium ions in charging and discharging. The rechargeable lithium
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`battery using intercalation and deintercalation reactions of lithium ions in charging
`
`and discharging will be hereinafter simply referred to as rechargeable lithium
`
`battery.”).
`
`6 EX1012, p.1 (“Rechargeable batteries which contain lithium intercalation
`
`compounds, instead of the free lithium metal, should be much safer and have a
`
`13
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`included lithium cobalt oxide and this material “has a theoretical capacity of 248
`
`mAh/g . . . .”7 But, “the actually used capacity of it is merely about 140 mAh/g, i.e.,
`
`greater cycle life. Such systems are called ‘rocking chair’ types, since the lithium-
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`ions move back and forth, between the cathode and anode on charge and discharge.
`
`The Sony Corp produced a lithium-ion rechargeable battery which is incorporated
`
`into cellular phone equipment only in Japan. . . . Eighteen batteries and two chargers
`
`were obtained and subjected to the evaluation described in this report.”); EX1008
`
`(Guyomard), 1:20-30 (“A more advanced and inherently safer approach to
`
`rechargeable lithium batteries is to replace lithium metal with a material capable of
`
`reversibly intercalating lithium ions, thereby providing the so-called ‘rocking-chair’
`
`battery in which lithium ions ‘rock’ between the intercalation electrodes during the
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`charging/recharging cycles. Such a Li metal-free ‘rocking-chair’ battery may thus
`
`be viewed as comprising two lithium-ion-absorbing electrode ‘sponges’ separated
`
`by a lithium-ion conducting electrolyte usually comprising a Li+ salt dissolved in a
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`non-aqueous solvent or mixture of such solvents.”); EX1025 (Dahn), p.2208
`
`(discussing “the selection of appropriate materials for the electrodes of ‘rocking
`
`chair’ cells” and showing that “cycle testing these cells . . . demonstrate that most of
`
`the disadvantages associated with secondary Li cells are eliminated”).
`
`7 EX1001 (’641 pat.), 1:40-42.
`
`14
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`about half of said theoretic capacity is not utilized.”8 The capacity, however,
`
`increases when a higher charge cutoff voltage is applied. For instance, the ’641
`
`patent discusses a publication by Pistoia et al. that reports “the capacity of lithium
`
`cobalt oxide reaches 159 mAh/g when the charge cut-off voltage is 4.35V . . . .”9
`
`Those knowledgeable about secondary lithium-ion batteries were aware that
`
`applying additional voltage would extract more lithium ions from the cathode than
`
`a lower voltage. For example, a patent publication by Watanabe et al. explains:
`
`[I]n lithium ion secondary batteries, when they are charged
`in excess of a given charging voltage due to, for example,
`troubles of charging control circuits,
`they are
`in
`overcharged state, and lithium ions in the positive
`electrode are excessively extracted and migrate to negative
`electrode to cause absorption of lithium in an amount
`larger than the prescribed design capacity in the negative
`electrode or to cause precipitation of lithium as metallic
`lithium on the surface of negative electrode.10
`
`This passage shows that additional lithium is extracted from the positive electrode
`
`at higher voltages. It also indicates that the plating of metallic lithium on the negative
`
`8 Id., 1:42-44.
`
`9 Id., 2:15-25.
`
`10 EX1019 (U.S. Pat. App. Pub. No. 2003/0118912), ¶[0005].
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`15
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`electrode was undesirable.11 Based on these realities, those in the field knew to
`
`ensure that the negative electrode had sufficient capacity to avoid plating or
`
`precipitating lithium.12 In other words the negative electrode should have at least as
`
`11 EX1005 (Abe), ¶[0009] (“[I]n general, in the case of overcharging lithium-ion
`
`secondary batteries or when the charging current is increased, etc., needle-like
`
`lithium may be precipitated on the surface of the negative electrode, interposed
`
`between the positive electrode and the negative electrode, making it easier to break
`
`through the separator and short out. As a result, lithium-ion secondary batteries may
`
`also explode and ignite.”).
`
`12 EX1023 (U.S. Patent No. 5,618,640), 1:17-26 (“To solve the problem, a calcined
`
`carbonaceous material capable of intercalating and deintercalating lithium has
`
`recently been put to practical use. However, since the carbonaceous material has
`
`electrical conductivity by itself, metallic lithium is sometimes precipitated on the
`
`carbonaceous material at the time of an overcharge or a rapid charge. It eventually
`
`follows that lithium grows dendritically thereon. This problem has been dealt with
`
`by altering a charger or reducing the amount of positive electrode active material to
`
`prevent an overcharge.”); EX1009 (Uemura), ¶[0033] (“If the capacity balance ratio
`
`B/A is below 1, lithium ion holding sites on the negative electrode material become
`
`insufficient. As the result, branch-shaped or needle-shaped crystal (dendrite crystal)
`
`16
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`

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`much capacity as the positive electrode—and in many cases the negative electrode
`
`was over-designed to avoid the possibility of plating lithium.
`
`18. The reason that the negative electrode should have at least as much
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`capacity as the positive electrode can be explained with an analogy. Take two vessels
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`one can hold 10 gallons of water and the other can hold only 5 gallons of water. Start
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`with 10 gallons of water in the larger vessel. The water in this instance represents
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`the lithium in a positive electrode. Then imagine a pump that removes a specific
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`amount of that water and places that water in the second container before shutting
`
`off. This pump is analogous to the voltage applied to cause the lithium to be extracted
`
`from the positive electrode and the second container is analogous to the negative
`
`electrode. If the pump is configured to extract only 5 gallons of water from the 10
`
`gallon vessel, then it can be entirely held within the 5 gallon vessel. That amount of
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`water can move back and forth between the two vessels without problem. But,
`
`assume that the pump is adjusted to extract 5.5 gallons of water. This is analogous
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`to the application of additional voltage (e.g., an overvoltage condition based on the
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`cell design). In this case, after 5 gallons are moved into the 5 gallon container, the
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`container is full and can no longer hold any more water. It starts spilling out of the
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`tends to occur during the charge to cause a short circuit phenomenon between the
`
`positive electrode and the negative electrode.”).
`
`17
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`

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`container. This is analogous to what happens when the negative electrode can no
`
`longer incorporate any more lithium ions—dendrites can form and lithium can plate
`
`on the surface of the electrode thus deteriorating and damaging the battery and
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`potentially leading to a dangerous condition. For this reason, those in the field knew
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`to design their “water-receiving vessel” such that it could receive at least as much
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`“water” as would be extracted by the pump. And, having slightly more space in the
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`water receiving vessel would ensure that if the pump ran a little longer than expected,
`
`the additional water could be accommodated without spillage.
`
`B. Materials Used In Li-Ion Batteries.
`19. Those working in the field of lithium-ion batteries knew that common
`
`materials for lithium-ion batteries included lithium composite oxides used for the
`
`positive electrode and carbonaceous materials used for the negative electrodes.13
`
`13 EX1005 (Abe), ¶¶[0005]-[0006] (“Materials used in negative electrodes can
`
`include carbonaceous materials such as natural graphite, artificial graphite,
`
`refractory carbon, also called hard carbon, MesoCarbon MicroBeads, pitch-based
`
`carbon fibers, vapor-phase grown carbon fibers, etc. Substances used in the positive
`
`electrode can include lithium-containing composite oxides, such as lithium cobaltate
`
`(LiCoO2), lithium manganate (LiMn2O4, LiMnO2), lithium nickelate (LiNiO2),
`
`etc.”); EX1008 (Guyomard), 2:3-14 (“Among the alternative materials that can
`
`18
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`

`

`Examples of commonly used materials for positive electrodes in lithium ion
`
`materials included lithium cobalt oxides (LiCoO2), lithium manganate oxides
`
`(LiMn2O4), or lithium nickel oxides (LiNiO2).14 Combinations of lithium metal
`
`oxides with certain metals such as nickel and cobalt, forming, for example,
`
`LiNi0.2Co0.8O2 were also known.15
`
`effectively replace lithium metal as the negative electrode, carbon provides the best
`
`compromise between large specific capacity and good reversible cycling behavior. .
`
`. . To compensate for the loss of voltage associated with the negative electrode, a
`
`strongly oxidizing intercalation material is preferably used as the positive
`
`electrode.”).
`
`14 EX1005 (Abe) ¶[0006]; EX1015 (Guyomard-1992), p.937 (“The layered
`
`compounds LiNiO2 and LiCoO2 and the three-dimensional compound LiMn2O4 with
`
`the spinel structure, are the only phases presently known to intercalate Li reversibly
`
`at voltage larger than 3.5V vs. Li.”); EX1025 (Dahn), pp.2207-2208 (discussing Li1-
`
`yMn2O4 and Li1-yNiO2 cells).
`
`15 EX1015 (Guyomard-1992), p.937; EX1009 (Uemura), FIG. 3 (showing examples
`
`of various lithium complex oxides).
`
`19
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`

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`20. These materials were known to have different electrochemical
`
`properties including sensitivities to different voltages, heat, and exhibit different
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`cyclability properties.
`
`C. Charge Cutoff Voltage and Design Capacity of Electrodes
`21. As I mentioned above, the concept of the charge cutoff voltage and the
`
`design capacity of the electrodes are related. To avoid plating lithium and forming
`
`metal dendrites on the outer surface of the negative electrode, it was important to
`
`ensure that the negative electrode had at least as much capacity as the positive
`
`electrode based on the voltage to be applied to the cell or battery.16 This was common
`
`16 See, e.g., EX1005 (Abe), ¶¶[0018], [0078]; EX1009 (Uemura), ¶[0033]; EX1020
`
`(U.S. Patent No. 6,872,491), 25:2-7 (“In preparing the positive electrode and the
`
`negative electrode, the loading density and the electrode length were adjusted to
`
`permit a ratio (capacity balance) of the design capacity of the negative electrode to
`
`the design capacity of the positive electrode after pressing to fall within a range of
`
`between 1.03 and 1.1.”); EX1021 (U.S. Patent No. 6,926,992), 15:53-58 (“In
`
`preparing the negative electrode, the loading density and the electrode length were
`
`adjusted so as to allow the ratio (capacity balance) of the design capacity of the
`
`negative electrode after the pressing step to the design capacity of the positive
`
`electrode after the pressing step to be not smaller than 1.05 and not larger than 1.1.”);
`
`20
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`

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`in commercial batteries of the time and was a technique I was familiar with during
`
`my time at Moli Energy.17
`
`EX1023 (U.S. Patent No. 5,618,640), 1:17-26 (“To solve the problem, a calcined
`
`carbonaceous material capable of intercalating and deintercalation lithium has
`
`recently been put to practical use. However, since the carbonaceous material has
`
`electrical conductivity by itself, metallic lithium is sometimes precipitated on the
`
`carbonaceous material at the time of an overcharge or a rapid charge. It eventually
`
`follows that lithium grows dendritically thereon. This problem has been dealt with
`
`by altering a charger or reducing the amount of positive electrode active material to
`
`prevent an overcharge.”).
`
`17 EX1022 (U.S. Patent No. 6,800,399), 13:41-50 (“Here, for the purpose of
`
`evaluating the characteristics of the nickel positive electrode in particular, that is to
`
`say, in order to avoid the effect of the characteristics of the negative electrode on the
`
`cell performances as much as possible, the standard battery is made to have a
`
`theoretic capacity of the negative electrode as much as 1.8 times as large as that of
`
`the positive electrode by adjusting the normally designed capacity balance of the
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`positive and negative electrodes. For reference, commercially used batteries have
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`the negative electrodes which are 1.3 to 1.6 times as large.”).
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`21
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`

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`22. To explain this concept a bit further I rely on several illustrations. I
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`come back to these illustrations in discussing the prior art—particularly the
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`disclosures related to ratio in Uemura and Abe. The following illustration is a
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`diagram of a battery with the positive electrode illustrated by the bar on the left (the
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`green-red gradient) and the negative electrode illustrated by the bar on the right (grey
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`textured block). The green represents the typical amount of lithium that is rocked
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`back and forth reversibly to the positive electrode and no lithium plating on the
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`negative electrode. The red indicates additional lithium that is normally not extracted
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`during operation. If extracted this generally conveys the concept of an overcharged
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`state and potential damage to the structure of the positive electrode material. As seen
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`here, the amount of lithium extracted is dependent on the voltage applied to the
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`battery with more lithium being extracted as voltage increases.
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`22
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`

`

`
`
`23. As reflected by various prior art including Uemura and Abe, if there is
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`not enough capacity in the negative electrode to accommodate all of the lithium
`
`extracted at a particular voltage the battery becomes overcharged, metallic lithium
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`can be deposited on the surface of the negative electrode, and dendrites may form.
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`This damages the battery. This is illustrated below as all of the lithium being
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`extracted from the positive electrode and the negative electrode not being able to
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`accommodate all of the lithium.
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`
`
`23
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`

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`24.
`
` Using Uemura as an example, this reference discloses a charge cutoff
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`voltage of 4.3V.18 When a voltage of 4.3V is applied to Uemura’s batteries a certain
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`amount of lithium will intercalate. This means it moves from the positive electrode
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`to the negative electrode. In the situation in which the negative electrode can
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`accommodate the precise amount of lithium that is extracted at the 4.3V cutoff
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`voltage then the battery is said to be balanced, which means that the ratio of capacity
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`of the positive electrode and the negative electrode is 1:1 at 4.3V. This is illustrated
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`generally below where the amount of lithium extracted at 4.3V is illustrated in green.
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`As can be seen the negative electrode accommodates the extracted lithium at 4.3V.
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`
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`18 EX1009 (Uemura), ¶[0081].
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`24
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`

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`25. Now consider the case in which an electrode is designed at one voltage,
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`but the battery is operated at a different voltage. For instance, if the capacities of the
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`positive and negative electrodes are determined at 4.3V but the voltage applied is
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`lower, such as, for example, 4.2V the negative electrode ends up having excess
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`capacity as shown in the figure below.
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`26. On the other hand, if the negative electrode is designed to have
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`significantly more capacity than the capacity of the positive electrode at a particular
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`voltage (e.g., 4.3V), then it can accommodate all of the lithium but much of the
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`capacity of the negative electrode is not used.19 This is conceptually illustrated below
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`
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`19 EX1009 (Uemura), ¶[0033].
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`25
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`

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`where the grey textured bar is considerably higher than the green bar representing
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`the amount of lithium extracted from the positive electrode at 4.3V.
`
`
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`This excess negative electrode active material occupies space in batteries that could
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`otherwise be used for additional cathode material, and results in a battery with lower
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`capacity. Excessive capacity in the negative electrode is thus something that those
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`skilled in the art sought to avoid.
`
`D. Battery Protection Circuits
`27. As I explained above an increase in voltage generally caused the
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`extraction of more lithium from the positive electrode. If the negative electrode was
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`not designed to accommodate that additional lithium, metallic lithium could form on
`
`the negative electrode. One known solution to this problem was to alter how the
`
`26
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`

`

`charging of the battery was accomplished to regulate the voltage thus ensuring that
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`too much lithium would not be extracted from the positive electrode material. For
`
`instance, U.S. Patent No. 5,618,640 explains:
`
`the
`is sometimes precipitated on
`lithium
`metallic
`carbonaceous material at the time of an overcharge or a
`rapid charge. It eventually follows that lithium grows
`dendritically thereon. This problem has been dealt with
`by altering