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 .
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claim 4 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Regarding claim 4, it is unclear what components the volume ratio is between.
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.
Claim(s) 1-6, 8-10, 14, 16 and 19 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Zhen (CN Publication 108987810).
Regarding claim 1, Zhen discloses an electrolyte comprising a lithium salt and an organic solvent, wherein the lithium salt can include lithium difluoro oxalate borate (LiDFOB) in a concentration of 0.01 to 3 mol/L, and wherein the organic solvent can be a carbonate (Paragraphs 0009-0012, 0014, 0028).
As to claim 2, Zhen teaches that the solvent can be propylene carbonate, ethylene carbonate, etc. (Paragraphs 0014, 0028, 0032).
Regarding claims 3 and 4, Zhen states that two or three solvents can be used and that the additional solvent can be a different type of carbonate, wherein the ratio of the solvents can be 1:1 or 1:1:1 (Paragraphs 0014, 0028, 0032).
As to claims 5 and 6, Zhen discloses that three salts can be used, wherein the additional salt can have a concentration of 0.01 to 1 mol/L (Paragraphs 0010, 0028, 0032).
Regarding claim 8, Zhen does not teach the use of water in the solvent of the electrolyte.
As to claims 9 and 10, Zhen states that the electrolyte is contained in a battery casing for a secondary lithium battery that also comprises a positive electrode, separator, and negative electrode (Paragraph 0017).
Regarding claim 14, Zhen discloses that the negative electrode can be made of lithium titanate, metallic lithium, etc. (Paragraph 0019).
As to claim 16 and 19, Zhen teaches a process of preparing the electrolyte comprising: mixing two or three carbonate solvents, dropping the temperature and adding the different lithium salts to the solvent in different concentrations, and stirring for 24 hours (Paragraphs 0028, 0032).
Zhen teaches every limitation of claims 1-6, 8-10, 14, 16 and 19 of the present invention and thus anticipates the claims.
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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claim(s) 7 and 17-18 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Zhen (CN Publication 108987810) in view of Zhang (U.S. Patent 7820323).
The teachings of Zhen have been discussed in paragraph 5 above.
Zhen fails to disclose that the electrolyte does not containing other lithium salts, and that the LiDFOB is heated to a temperature of at least 120 degrees Celsius for a duration of 48 hours before dissolving in the solvent.
Regarding claim 7, Zhang discloses a halogenated electrolyte, such as containing LiDFOB, wherein the electrolyte can be in pure form or in combination with other salts (Col. 6, Lines 64-67, Col. 7, Lines 28-36). As to claims 17 and 18, Zhang teaches that the LiDFOB is made by heating a mixture of components to 120 degrees Celsius for 6 hours (Col. 8, Example 1).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the present invention that the LiDFOB or Zhen could be used without other lithium salts because Zhang teaches that this is an alternative to a mixture of salts and that it works as efficiently as the mixture. It also would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art that the LiDFOB of Zhen could be heated prior to mixing with the solvent because Zhang teaches that this is how the salt is created after combination of precursors.
Claim(s) 11-13 and 15 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Zhen (CN Publication 108987810) in view of Sakamoto (U.S. Patent Publication 2019/0372165).
The teachings of Zhen have been discussed in paragraph 5 above. Regarding claim 13, Zhen teaches that the positive electrode active material can be lithium iron phosphate, lithium cobalt oxide, etc. (Paragraph 0018).
Zhen fails to disclose that the positive electrode is formed on an aluminum current collector, that the cathode is a mixture of active material, binder and conductive additive, that the binder and conductive additive are chosen from the list of claim 13 of the present invention, and that the battery has multiple cathode, anode and separator layers.
Regarding claims 11-13, Sakamoto discloses a lithium secondary battery comprising: a cathode, an anode, and an electrolyte, wherein the electrolyte can comprise LiDFOB, and wherein the cathode comprises an active material, a binder, such as polyacrylonitrile, polyvinylidene fluoride, etc., and a conductive agent, such as carbon black, carbon nanotubes, etc., formed on a current collector, such as aluminum (Paragraphs 0026, 0111-0113). As to claim 15, Sakamoto teaches that the electrode group of the battery may be a laminated electrode group in which a plurality of the cathode layers and a plurality of the anode layers are alternately stacked in such a manner that the separator is interposed between each of the cathode layers and each of the anode layers (Paragraph 0131).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the present invention for the positive electrode of Zhen to have the binder and conductive agent taught by Sakamoto because Sakamoto teaches that these are common components of electrodes to hold the electrode together and improve conductivity. It also would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to have used an aluminum current collector for the positive electrode of Zhen because Sakamoto teaches that this is a common material used for a cathode current collector in a secondary battery. Finally, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art that the battery of Zhen would include multiple electrode and separator layers because Sakamoto teaches that batteries commonly have stacks or rolled up layers of components in order for the battery to run properly.
Claim(s) 20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Zhen (CN Publication 108987810).
The teachings of Zhen have been discussed in paragraph 5 above.
Zhen fails to specifically state that an additional salt is added before or after dissolving the LiDFOB in the solvent.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the present invention that the three salts could be added sequentially so that the additional salt is added before or after the LiDFOB.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to BRITTANY L RAYMOND whose telephone number is (571)272-6545. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 9 am-6 pm.
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BRITTANY L. RAYMOND
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 1722
/BRITTANY L RAYMOND/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1722