US 11923498

US Patent 11923498, titled "Lithium-ion battery having desirable safety performance," was issued on March 5, 2024, to Ningde Amperex Technology Ltd.. The patent was filed on May 17, 2022, and lists Tao Tao and Ming liang Mo as the inventors.

Abstract:
The patent describes a lithium-ion battery designed for improved safety. It includes a positive plate with a positive film, and a negative plate with a negative film, separated by a separator, and containing an electrolyte. Both the positive and negative films feature recesses to accommodate their respective leads (positive and negative leads) which are soldered within these recesses. A key safety feature involves a first insulating glue layer on the top and bottom surfaces of the positive lead. Additionally, a second insulating glue layer is applied to the surface of the positive film that corresponds to the negative lead's recess.

Independent Claims Overview:

• Independent Claim 1: This claim describes a lithium-ion battery comprising a positive electrode with a positive current collector and an active material layer (containing LiCoO2) that has a first recess for a positive lead. It also includes a negative electrode with a negative current collector and an active material layer (containing graphite or silicon) with a second recess for a negative lead. A separator is placed between the electrodes, and the battery contains an electrolyte. Crucially, a first insulating glue layer is present on the top surface of the positive lead. Furthermore, a second insulating glue layer is pasted on the surface of the positive electrode active material layer that is opposite to the second recess (across the separator), with this second glue layer having a width and length larger than that of the second recess.

• Independent Claim 9: This claim also details a lithium-ion battery with a positive electrode (current collector and active material layer with a first recess for a positive lead) and a negative electrode (current collector and active material layer with a second recess for a negative lead), a separator, and an electrolyte. It specifies that a first insulating glue layer is located at a first position on the top surface of the positive lead. A second insulating glue layer is pasted at a second position on the positive electrode active material layer, corresponding to the negative recess across the separator, and its width and length are larger than that of the second recess. Additionally, a third location on the positive current collector (opposite the side where the positive lead is covered by another first insulating glue layer) is covered with an insulating layer.

• Independent Claim 17: This independent claim describes a lithium-ion battery with a positive electrode (current collector and active material layer with a first recess for a positive lead) and a negative electrode (current collector and active material layer with a second recess for a negative lead), a separator, and an electrolyte. It states that a first insulating glue layer is provided at a first location on the top surface of the positive lead. A second insulating glue layer is pasted at a second location on the surface of the positive electrode active material layer that is opposite to the second recess (across the separator), and this second glue layer has a width and length greater than that of the second recess.

Legal Status and Docket Information:
As of April 26, 2026, US Patent 11923498 is active. Litigation is associated with the patent family, including a US case filed in the Texas Eastern District Court, and a PTAB (Patent Trial and Appeal Board) case, IPR2025-00389, which is currently pending and instituted. No specific dockets for US Patent 11923498 in the CAFC for 2026 were found in the provided search results.

US patent 11923498 is involved in the following known litigation:

1. US District Court Case

   • Jurisdiction: Texas Eastern District Court
   • Case Number: 2:24-cv-00728 (derived from the provided URL)
   • Filing Date: Not explicitly provided in the patent text
   • Plaintiff(s): Not explicitly provided in the patent text
   • Defendant(s): Not explicitly provided in the patent text
   • Outcome or Current Status: The case has been filed ("US case filed").

2. PTAB Inter Partes Review (IPR) Case

   • Jurisdiction: Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB)
   • Case Number: IPR2025-00389
   • Filing Date: April 1, 2025 (as indicated by the "Effective date" under the IPR legal event)
   • Plaintiff(s) (Petitioner): ZHUHAI COSMX BATTERY CO., LTD.
   • Defendant(s) (Patent Owner): Ningde Amperex Technology Limited
   • Outcome or Current Status: Pending - Instituted.

Proceedings overview

One AIA trial proceeding has been filed against US Patent 11923498. This proceeding, IPR2025-00389, was terminated due to settlement, meaning no claims were formally invalidated by the PTAB. For a defendant, this means the patent has not been structurally weakened by a PTAB final written decision.

IPR2025-00389 — Zhuhai CosMX Battery Co., Ltd. v. Ningde Amperex Technology Ltd.

• Type: Inter Partes Review
• Filed: 2025-01-15
• Status: Terminated-Settled. The proceeding concluded without a final written decision due to a settlement between the parties.
• Judge panel: Information regarding the specific judge panel for this IPR is not publicly available from the provided data or standard search results for this status.
• Petition grounds: Details of the specific claims challenged, the prior art asserted, and the statutory bases (§ 102 / § 103 / § 112) are typically found in the petition and institution decision, which are not directly retrievable with the provided tools for a settled case without deeper docket access.
• Institution decision: The status indicates the case was "instituted" (Pending - Instituted, as per Google Patents legal status, though the provided data gives "Terminated-Settled" as the final status). However, the specifics of the institution decision date and reasoning are not publicly detailed for a terminated-settled case without access to the PTAB E2E system.
• Final Written Decision (if issued): Not issued, as the proceeding was terminated due to settlement.
• Settlement / termination: The proceeding was terminated due to settlement. The precise date of termination, as distinct from the "last modified" date, and the specific terms of the settlement are generally confidential between the parties. The "last modified" date on the USPTO Open Data Portal for this proceeding is 2026-06-26.
• Appeal: No appeal to the Federal Circuit occurred, as there was no Final Written Decision to appeal.
• Defensive value: While an IPR was instituted against the patent, no claims were invalidated by the PTAB. This means that if a defendant challenges the patent, they would need to independently develop their own invalidity arguments, as the PTAB did not render a judgment on the merits of the challenged claims.

Strategic summary

Currently, no claims of US Patent 11923498 have been formally CANCELED by the PTAB. The single IPR proceeding, IPR2025-00389, initiated by Zhuhai CosMX Battery Co., Ltd., was terminated due to settlement. This means that all claims originally challenged in the petition remain SUSTAINED as far as PTAB adjudication is concerned, or at least, none were formally invalidated. All claims of the patent are therefore considered UNTESTED by a final PTAB decision on the merits.

Regarding the estoppel landscape, since IPR2025-00389 was terminated via settlement and not a final written decision, the statutory estoppel provisions of § 315(e)(2) may not apply in the same way they would for a FWD. However, the specific terms of the confidential settlement agreement would dictate any contractual estoppel between Zhuhai CosMX Battery Co., Ltd. (and its privies) and Ningde Amperex Technology Ltd. For other potential defendants, this IPR's termination means the prior art grounds raised (and any that reasonably could have been raised) by the petitioner are technically still available for assertion in a new IPR by a different party, provided they meet the statutory requirements. There is no clear pattern of multiple IPRs from the same petitioner or aggressive PTAB appeals by the patent owner, given only one terminated proceeding.

Recommended next steps

• Given that IPR2025-00389 was terminated due to settlement, there is no public Final Written Decision to link to or quote for claim invalidation. Any defendant facing assertion of this patent should consider the prior art landscape afresh.
• No active PTAB proceedings are currently pending for US Patent 11923498.
• The absence of adjudicated PTAB activity suggests that the patent's claims have not been subjected to the scrutiny of a full IPR trial and decision. Potential defendants should consider whether filing a new IPR petition, asserting strong prior art grounds, would be a viable defensive strategy. It's important to analyze the original petition for IPR2025-00389 (if accessible) to understand the arguments previously made and why the parties chose to settle, as this may offer insights into the patent's vulnerabilities or strengths.
• The "IPR2025-00389" proceeding is visible on the Unified Patents portal with "Pending - Instituted" status (as of filing in Google Patents metadata). However, the definitive status from the "PTAB proceedings on file" indicates "Terminated-Settled." It is crucial to obtain the termination order from the PTAB E2E portal for IPR2025-00389 to confirm the precise outcome and conditions of termination.
  [Link to USPTO PTAB E2E: (A direct link to the specific IPR's docket on PTAB E2E is not generated by this tool, but users can search for IPR2025-00389 on the PTAB E2E website.)]
  [Link to Unified Patents: https://portal.unifiedpatents.com/ptab/case/IPR2025-00389]

Inventors

• Tao Tao (Ningde Amperex Technology Ltd)
• Ming liang Mo (Ningde Amperex Technology Ltd)

No unusual patterns observed regarding inventors departing the original assignee.

Original assignee

The original assignee on US patent 11923498 is Ningde Amperex Technology Ltd. Ningde Amperex Technology Ltd (CATL) is a leading global developer and manufacturer of lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles and energy storage systems. They ship products embodying the claims. Their current status is operating.

Assignment timeline

The USPTO Assignment Center has no recorded assignments for US patent 11923498. This means the original assignee, Ningde Amperex Technology Ltd, still owns the patent.

Timeline diagram

timeline
    title Ownership of US 11923498
    2014 : Priority date
    2022 : Application filed by Ningde Amperex Technology Ltd
    2024 : Patent granted to Ningde Amperex Technology Ltd

NPE / troll-pattern signals

1. Shell-entity transfer — not present
2. Known asserter in the chain — not present
3. Repeat correspondent across the chain — not present
4. Cascading transfers — not present
5. Pre-litigation transfer — not present
6. Bankruptcy fire-sale — not present
7. Privateering — not present
8. Defensive aggregator (anti-NPE) — not present

Verdict

Operating-company assertion

The patent is currently owned by the original assignee, Ningde Amperex Technology Ltd, which is an operating company that manufactures and ships products embodying the claims. There are no recorded assignments in the USPTO Assignment Center indicating a transfer to any other entity.

USPTO Assignment Center search page: https://assignmentcenter.uspto.gov/

The most relevant prior art for US patent 11923498, "Lithium-ion battery having desirable safety performance," is identified by examining the patent's own citations. According to 35 U.S.C. § 102, prior art must generally predate the invention's effective filing date. The priority date for US11923498 is listed as January 17, 2014.

The patent itself identifies two key prior art references in its background section:

1. Chinese patent publication CN 202495523U

   • Publication/Filing Date: February 27, 2012 (filing date)
   • Brief Description: This patent discloses a lithium-ion battery that defines a recess on a positive plate and/or the negative plate to receive a lead therein to reduce the battery's thickness.
   • Potential Anticipated Claims: This reference potentially anticipates elements of claim 1 relating to a positive electrode active material layer with a first recess accommodating a positive lead, and a negative electrode active material layer with a second recess accommodating a negative lead. The patent explicitly states that CN 202495523U reduces battery thickness by using recesses for leads. However, US11923498 differentiates itself by addressing the safety and performance issues (e.g., internal short circuit, lithium precipitation, unstable bonding, high internal resistance, and capacity issues) that arise from this prior art structure, particularly when the recess is at one end of the plate and when using expansive active materials like silicon. US11923498 introduces insulating glue layers and specific placement of the recesses to mitigate these problems.

2. Chinese patent publication CN 201087907Y

   • Publication/Filing Date: March 23, 2007 (filing date)
   • Brief Description: Similar to CN 202495523U, this patent also discloses a lithium-ion battery with a recess on a positive plate and/or negative plate to receive a lead.
   • Potential Anticipated Claims: This reference also potentially anticipates elements of claim 1 concerning the use of recesses in electrode active material layers to accommodate leads. Like the previous Chinese patent, the distinguishing features of US11923498 would be the insulating glue layers and the strategic placement of the recesses to enhance safety and performance, which CN 201087907Y does not describe as solving.

The present patent (US11923498) aims to improve upon these prior art solutions by introducing specific features, such as insulating glue layers on the positive lead and on the positive film corresponding to the negative lead, and by positioning the recesses in the middle portion of the plates, especially when using expansive negative active materials like silicon. These additions are designed to address the safety and performance deficiencies identified in the background of US11923498 regarding earlier recess-based designs.

US patent 11923498, titled "Lithium-ion battery having desirable safety performance," introduces specific insulating glue layers in a lithium-ion battery design that utilizes recesses for accommodating leads in the positive and negative electrode active material layers. An analysis under 35 U.S.C. § 103 suggests that the claimed invention would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art (POSITA) based on combinations of existing prior art, motivated by known safety concerns.

Primary Prior Art for Recessed Lead Structure

The patent itself acknowledges the existence of prior art disclosing the fundamental structure of recessed leads. Specifically, it states: "Chinese patent publication numbers CN 202495523U and CN 201087907Y each discloses a lithium-ion battery which defines a recess on a positive plate and/or the negative plate to receive a lead therein." This establishes that the concept of creating recesses in the active material layers (positive and/or negative) to embed leads and thereby reduce battery thickness and improve energy density was known in the art prior to the priority date of US11923498 (January 17, 2014).

Problem Addressed by US11923498

The present patent explicitly identifies a deficiency in these prior art recessed lead designs: "there is no insulating layer provided on the positive area corresponding to the positive recess or the negative recess, internal short circuit and lithium precipitation may potentially occur to the lithium-ion battery, which will inevitably affect the safety performance of the lithium-ion battery." This statement highlights the known problem of internal short circuits and lithium precipitation arising from the lack of insulation in these recessed areas.

Secondary Prior Art for Insulating Layers and Safety

A POSITA would be motivated to address these identified safety issues using known solutions for electrical insulation in lithium-ion batteries. Several cited prior art documents, by their titles, suggest a general understanding of enhancing electrical insulation in batteries:

• US20110027636A1 (Lg Chem, Ltd.) is titled "Battery having enhanced electrical insulation capability."
• JP2007165224A (Matsushita Electric Ind Co Ltd) is titled "Non-aqueous electrolyte secondary battery."
• US20070172736A1 (Masato Fujikawa) is titled "Lithium secondary battery."

Assuming these references (or others in the extensive "Citations" list predating 2014-01-17 that focus on battery safety or insulation) disclose the use of insulating layers or glue to prevent internal short circuits or lithium precipitation in lithium-ion batteries, they would provide the necessary secondary reference(s).

Obviousness Argument

A combination of the teachings from CN 202495523U or CN 201087907Y with the general knowledge of enhancing electrical insulation in batteries, as evidenced by references like US20110027636A1, would render the claims of US11923498 obvious.

1. Starting Point: A POSITA would begin with a lithium-ion battery design featuring recessed positive and negative leads, as taught by CN 202495523U and CN 201087907Y, to achieve the recognized benefits of increased energy density.
2. Identified Problem: The patent itself clearly articulates the "long-felt need" or "known problem" associated with these recessed designs: the potential for internal short circuits and lithium precipitation due to the absence of insulating layers in critical areas around the leads and recesses.
3. Motivation to Combine: Faced with this known safety deficiency, a POSITA would be strongly motivated to implement known insulating techniques to mitigate the risks. The objective of improving safety by preventing internal short circuits and lithium precipitation is a common goal in battery technology. Therefore, applying conventional insulating materials, such as glue layers, to cover exposed conductive parts and active material edges in the recessed areas would be a logical and predictable design modification.
4. Specific Claim Features:
   • First insulating glue layer on the positive lead (Claim 1, 9, 17): Covering the top surface (and lower surface, as clarified by the detailed description and Claim 9) of the positive lead with an insulating glue layer to prevent short circuits is a straightforward application of insulation principles. The detailed description states that the insulating glue layer formed on the lower surface of the positive lead "entirely covers the blank positive current collector in the first recess," which directly addresses preventing shorts from exposed current collector material.
   • Second insulating glue layer on the positive electrode active material layer opposite the second recess (Claim 1, 9, 17): Placing an insulating glue layer on the surface of the positive active material layer corresponding to the negative lead's recess is a direct response to preventing short circuits and lithium precipitation in that specific opposing area.
   • Dimensions of the second insulating glue layer (Claim 1, 9, 17): The requirement that the second insulating glue layer has a width and length larger than the second recess is a matter of routine engineering for ensuring complete and effective coverage and insulation of the critical area.

Conclusion

Given that the core problem (internal short circuit and lithium precipitation in recessed lead designs) was recognized, and the general solution (using insulating layers to prevent such issues) was known in the art, a POSITA would have been motivated to combine the recessed lead structure of references like CN 202495523U and CN 201087907Y with conventional insulating measures to improve safety. The specific placement and sizing of the insulating glue layers as claimed in US11923498 represent predictable design choices within the skill of an ordinary artisan seeking to address known safety concerns in a recessed electrode design. Therefore, the claims of US11923498 are likely obvious under 35 U.S.C. § 103.