Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on 3 December 2025 has been entered.
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 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.
The claims embrace a large number of material combinations by allowing for many different alternatives, and applicant is encouraged to focus on a single type of battery (i.e. lithium, sodium or potassium ion) and a single type of additive in order to advance prosecution in a meaningful way.
Relevant MPEP Sections
MPEP 2112.01 relating to Composition, Product, and Apparatus Claims: Where the claimed and prior art products are identical or substantially identical in structure or composition, or are produced by identical or substantially identical processes, a prima facie case of either anticipation or obviousness has been established. In re Best, 562 F.2d 1252, 1255, 195 USPQ 430, 433 (CCPA 1977). “When the PTO shows a sound basis for believing that the products of the applicant and the prior art are the same, the applicant has the burden of showing that they are not.” In re Spada, 911 F.2d 705, 709, 15 USPQ2d 1655, 1658 (Fed. Cir. 1990).
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.
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 1, 4-12 and 14-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1 or 2) as being anticipated by Shimonishi et al. (US Pub 2015/0221940 newly cited).
In regard to claim 1, 4-7, 9-12, 14-19, Shimonishi et al. teach a lithium-ion secondary battery (figure 1, note the prior art also appreciates the ability to use other active alkali metals such as sodium – paragraph [0047]) including a carbon-based anode 2 such as artificial or natural graphite (paragraph [0078]) and cathode 1 (paragraphs [0072] such as LiCoO2 or LiNiO2), separator 7 (paragraph [0069]) and
an electrolyte (paragraphs [0081-0082]) including a capacity-compensation electrolyte for a lithium-ion secondary battery, comprising:
a non-aqueous ester organic solvent such as EC:DMC:DEC (paragraph [0082,0098]),
an electrolyte salt/additive component capable of compensating ions selected from one or more of lithium hexafluorophosphate (LiPF6), lithium tetrafluoroborate (LiBF4), lithium perchlorate (LiClO4), lithium hexafluoroarsenate (LiAsF6) such as LiPF6 (paragraph [0082], particularly as a 1M solution) and an electrolyte additive component capable of compensating electrons such as 2 mass% vinylene carbonate (VC) (paragraph [0098]).
The materials of the prior art are indistinguishable from the claimed materials and are therefore reasonably presumed to have the claimed properties – see MPEP 2112.01 above.
The Examiner notes that as the prior art teaches “a composition of a component capable of compensating ions and a component capable of compensating electrons”, the limitations regarding “a component capable of compensating ions and electrons simultaneously” (such as independent claim 1 and claim 4, 15, 16) do not distinguish the claims from the prior art as such are not positively required by the claims when the first component is present in the prior art. Similarly, as the prior art teaches a lithium-ion battery or sodium-ion battery alternatively, the limitations regarding lithium-ion batteries (for claim 6 or 18) or sodium ion and potassium ion batteries (for claims 7, 11, 15, 19) do not distinguish the claims from the prior art as such are not positively required by the claims when a lithium-ion or sodium-ion battery is present in the prior art (i.e. the claims have many limitations which are required in the alternative).
In regard to claim 8 and 20, in an example of the prior art the VC additive is present in 2 mass% and the LiPF6 is a 1M solution (paragraph [0098]). Therefore, as LiPF6 has a molar mass of 151.9 g/mol, the LiPF6 represents approximately 13.2 mass% of the electrolyte (i.e. 151.9/(151.9+1000)). The combined additives VC and LiPF6 add up to a total additive amount of 15.2 mass%.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Visco et al. (US Pub 2004/0131944) teaches LiP layers in electrolytes.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Nicholas P D'Aniello whose telephone number is (571)270-3635. The examiner can normally be reached Monday to Friday 9am to 5pm EST.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Tong Guo can be reached at 571-272-3066. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/NICHOLAS P D'ANIELLO/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1723