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 .
The Applicant has amended independent claim 1; and canceled claims 2, 5, 12 ; and added new claim 17.
The pending claims are claims 1, 3, 4, 6-11, 13-17.
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.
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, 3, 4, 6-11, 13-17 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yang et al., WO 2018216866, in view of Eitouni et al., US 2017/0033400.
Regarding claim 1, Yang et al., teaches an electrolyte (0020) for a lithium-sulfur battery (abstract) comprising a lithium salt (0020-0021); and a non-aqueous organic solvent (0020; 0038); containing an additive (0020; 0030), an ether-based compound (0081-0084) and a heterocyclic compound (0025; 0033; 0035; 0090), the heterocyclic compound including one or more double bonds (0054), and bonds (0039; 0048; 0070), wherein the additive comprises an alkyl vinyl ether compound (0047; 0052-0053; 0068). Yang et al., teaches an ether in amount of up to 15% by wt based on a total of 100% by wt of electrolyte for lithium sulfur battery (0038-0039).
Yang et al., does not teach a compound represented by Formula 1: [Formula 1]
PNG
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17
118
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Greyscale
wherein R is an alkyl group a heterocyclic compound, the heterocyclic compound including one or more double having 1 to 10 carbon atoms.
However, Eitouni et al., teaches Formula 1: [Formula 1]
PNG
media_image1.png
17
118
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Greyscale
wherein R is an alkyl group a heterocyclic compound, the heterocyclic compound including one or more double having 1 to 10 carbon atoms, wherein “What is really needed is a way to take full advantage of the high lithium capacity of sulfur-containing cathode materials coupled with lithium metal electrodes to make stable, long life cycle electrochemical cells.” (0007).Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to employ the general Formula I in Eitouni, which is a basic ether structure.
Regarding claim 3, Yang et al., teaches wherein the alkyl vinyl ether compound comprises at least one selected from the group consisting of ether (0081-0084).
Regarding claim 4, Yang et al., teaches wherein the alkyl vinyl ether compound has the effect of improving the efficiency and stability of the negative electrode (0090; 0104-0105) comprised in the lithium-sulfur battery (0018; 0020).
Regarding claim 6, Yang et al., teaches wherein the ether-based compound comprises a linear ether compound (0082-0083).
Regarding 7, Yang et al., teaches wherein the linear ether compound (0082-0083) comprises at least one selected from the group consisting of butyl vinyl ether (0081; 0082).
Regarding claim 8, Yang et al., teaches wherein the heterocyclic compound includes at least one hetero atom selected from the group consisting of a sulfur atom (0057).
Regarding claim 9, Yang et al., teaches wherein the heterocyclic compound comprises at least one selected from the group consisting of furan (0084).
Regarding claim 10, Yang et al., does not teach wherein the non- aqueous organic solvent comprises the ether-based compound and the heterocyclic compound in a volume ratio of 95:5 to 5:95.
However, "[W]here the general conditions of a claim are disclosed in the prior art, it is not inventive to discover the optimum or workable ranges by routine experimentation." In re Aller, 220 F.2d 454, 456, 105 USPQ 233, 235 (CCPA 1955).
Regarding claim 11, Yang et al., teaches wherein the lithium salt (0020-0022) comprises at least one selected from the group consisting of LiBF4, LiPF6 (0079).
Regarding claim 13, Yang et al., teaches a lithium-sulfur battery (abstract; 0018) comprising a positive electrode comprising a positive electrode active material (0096); a negative electrode comprising a negative electrode active material (0104); and an electrolyte (0074) according to claim 1.
Regarding claim 14, Yang et al., teaches wherein the positive electrode active material comprises at least one selected from the group consisting of elemental sulfur (0095) and a sulfur compound (0004; 0095-0096).
Regarding claim 15, Yang et al., teaches wherein the positive electrode active material comprises at least one selected from the group consisting of organic sulfur compound (0095).
Regarding claim 16, Yang et al., teaches wherein the negative electrode active material (0104) comprises at least one selected from the group consisting of lithium metal (0101; 0104) and lithium alloy (0104).
Regarding claim 17, Yang et al., teaches an electrolyte for a lithium-sulfur battery (abstract) comprising: a lithium salt (0020; 0038; 0079); and
a non-aqueous organic solvent (0081) containing an additive in the electrolyte (0020; 0030; 0038), wherein the additive comprises an alkyl vinyl ether compound (0081-0084), wherein the alkyl vinyl ether compound (0081-0084; 0102).
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 4/7/2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive. The Applicant argues that “the additive is not a polymer.”
However, “the additive is not a polymer” is not recited in the claim .
The Applicant argues that “the cited reference does not teach or suggest an additive as recited in the claims.”
However, the prior art teaches an additive comprising an alkyl chain (0025), which can be employed in the electrolyte as an additive.
Additionally, a new reference, Yang et al., WO 2018216866, is now employed as the primary reference in this rejection.
Conclusion
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ANGELA J. MARTIN
Examiner
Art Unit 1727
/ANGELA J MARTIN/Examiner, Art Unit 1727
/BARBARA L GILLIAM/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 1727
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