DETAILED ACTION Claims 1-12 are presented for examination. 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 § 103 In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status. 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. This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention. Claims 1-12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kim et al (KR 2019/0125935) in view of Qi (Qi et al, L-Cysteine-Modified Acacia Gum as a Multifunctional Binder for Lithium–Sulfur Batteries , 11 (51) ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces, 47956-62 (2019)) . Regarding independent claim 1 , Kim teaches a lithium-sulfur battery with high-capacity, resulting from a lack of sulfur capacity degradation , stable high-load ing of sulfur; improved battery stability by eliminating problems such as short circuits and heat generation; and, improved lifespan characteristics with high charge and discharge efficiency, said lithium-sulfur battery comprising a cathode with an improved cathode active material; an anode; a separator imposed between said cathode and anode ; and , an electrolyte, said cathode comprising: (i) a current collector composed of e.g. stainless steel, aluminum, copper, or titanium; and, (ii) a positive electrode applied to said current collector as a slurry and then dried, said positive electrode comprising said improved cathode active material (also “positive electrode active material”), a binder, and a conductive material, wherein said cathode active material may be one or more of elemental sulfur (S 8 ), Li 2 S n (n ≥ 1), organic sulfur compounds, and carbon-sulfur polymers [(C 2 S x ) n , x=2.5 to 50, n ≥ 2], that includes a coating layer containing a carbon material on a surface of positive electrode active material, thereby resolving problems caused by lithium polysulfide generated in a positive electrode of a lithium-sulfur battery, suppressing adverse reactions with an electrolyte, and improving electrical conductivity ; wherein said binder may be two or more known binders, specifically, fluoropolymer-based binders including polyvinylidene fluoride (PVdF) or polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE); rubber-based binders including styrene-butadiene rubber; cellulose-based binders including carboxymethylcellulose (CMC), starch, hydroxypropylcellulose, and regenerated cellulose; polyolefin-based binders including polyethylene and polypropylene; one or more mixtures or copolymers selected from the group consisting of these, but are not limited thereto ; and, wherein an example of said positive electrode includes a proportion of components in an amount of 88 parts by weight of said cathode active material, 5 parts by weight of said conductive material, and 7 parts by weight of said binder composition (e.g. ¶¶ 0000, 20-28 25, 28, 4 4 -46 , 7 1, 7 4, 78 -81 , 85-87, 89, 95-96, 109-113, and 132-134 ), reading on “binder composition for manufacturing a positive electrode of a lithium secondary battery;” alternatively , the preamble limitation “for manufacturing a positive electrode of a lithium secondary battery” is interpreted as merely intended use and does not patentably distinguish the instant invention from the art, see also e.g. MPEP § 2111.02, said binder comprising: (1)-(2) said known binder, such as two or more selected from e.g. said fluoropolymer-based binder including polyvinylidene fluoride (PVdF) or polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE); said rubber-based binder including styrene butadiene rubber (SBR); said cellulose-based binder including carboxyl methyl cellulose (CMC), starch, hydroxypropyl cellulose, or regenerated cellulose; a polyalcohol-based binder; and, said polyolefin-based binder including polyethylene or polypropylene (e.g. supra ), wherein said two or more known binders may include polyvinylidene fluoride (PVdF) plus at least one more from e.g. polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE); styrene butadiene rubber (SBR); starch; hydroxypropyl cellulose; regenerated cellulose; polyethylene; and, polypropylene (e.g. supra ), said taught at least one more from e.g. polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE); styrene butadiene rubber (SBR); starch; hydroxypropyl cellulose; regenerated cellulose; polyethylene; and, polypropylene corresponding with the claimed “binder,” reading on “a binder ,” see also e.g. claim 5; plus, wherein said two or more known binders may include at least one selected from said cellulose-based binder of e.g. carboxyl methyl cellulose (CMC) and hydroxypropyl cellulose (e.g. supra ), said taught cellulose-based binder reads on the limitation “thickener,” since Lee teaches identical/substantially identical compositions (see supra , compared with instant specification, at e.g. ¶0037 plus e.g. claim 6), see further MPEP § 2112.01, said taught at least one selected from said cellulose-based binder of e.g. carboxyl methyl cellulose (CMC) and hydroxypropyl cellulose corresponding with the claimed “thickener,” reading on “a thickener ,” see also e.g. claim 6 .” Kim teaches said two or more known binders may include polyvinylidene fluoride (PVdF) (e.g. supra ), but does not expressly teach the limitation “binder composition comprising… a cysteine-modified gum arabic . ” However, Qi teaches a binder for lithium–sulfur batteries, said binder comprising L-cysteine-modified acacia gum (hereinafter “L-AG”) is a water soluble binder prepared by simple and facile reaction between L-cysteine (hereinafter “L-Cys”) and acacia gum (hereinafter “AG”), which introduce amino (−NH 2 ) and carboxyl (−COOH) branches on said AG chains, wherein said amino and carboxyl branches of said substituted L-cysteine in said L-AG increases adsorption sites and electrostatic force between L-AG and soluble polysulfides (also “LiPSs”), result ing in enhanced polysulfide trapping ability and effectively restrain ing shuttling of polysulfides, such that the interaction between said Li-AG binder and said soluble polysulfides can be effectively tuned by electron density of said substituted L-cysteine; wherein said L-AG binder also improves cathode materials adhesion and shows large electrolyte uptake, contributing to the even distribution of active materials and fast Li-ion diffusion, thus enhancing the reaction kinetics; plus, wherein said L-AG can build a highly flexible network to accommodate the volume change of sulfur during cycling and maintain electrode integrity, preventing an electrode structure from collapsing, so an Li−S battery with said L-AG binder shows improved rate performance and cyclic stability than those with PVDF and AG binders (e.g. pp. 47956-5 8 and 60). As a result, it would have been obvious to substitute a binder of Kim—such as the PVDF binder—with the L-AG binder of Qi, since Qi teaches said L-AG binder results in enhanced polysulfide trapping ability and effectively restraining shuttling of polysulfides; improves cathode materials adhesion and shows large electrolyte uptake, contributing to the even distribution of active materials and fast Li-ion diffusion, thus enhancing the reaction kinetics; and/or , builds a highly flexible network to accommodate the volume change of sulfur during cycling and maintain electrode integrity, preventing an electrode structure from collapsing, so an Li−S battery with said L-AG binder shows improved rate performance and cyclic stability than those with PVDF and AG binders, noting that “acacia gum” is a synonym/used interchangeably with “acacia gum,” reading on said limitation. Regarding claim 2 , Kim as modified teaches the binder composition of claim 1, wherein Qi teaches said amino and carboxyl branches of said substituted L-cysteine in said L-AG increases adsorption sites and electrostatic force between L-AG and soluble polysulfides (also “LiPSs”), resulting in enhanced polysulfide trapping ability and effectively restraining shuttling of polysulfides, such that the interaction between said Li-AG binder and said soluble polysulfides can be effectively tuned by electron density of said substituted L-cysteine (e.g. supra ), but does not expressly teach the limitation “ the cysteine-modified gum arabic comprises 95 to 99.9% by weight of gum arabic and 0.1 to 5% by weight of cysteine, based on the total weight of the cysteine-modified gum arabic. ” However, Qi indicates that the electron density of substituted L- cysteine is result-effective on the adsorption sites and electrostatic force between L-AG and soluble polysulfides, polysulfide trapping ability, and effectively restraining shuttling of polysulfides (e.g. supra , compared with instant specification, at e.g. ¶0044), so it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art to optimize the amount of L-cysteine substitution in the L-AG to within the claimed range, see also e.g. MPEP § 2144.05(II), reading on said limitation. Regarding claim 3 , Kim as modified teaches the binder composition of claim 1, wherein Kim teaches said known binder, such as two or more selected from e.g. said fluoropolymer-based binder including polyvinylidene fluoride (PVdF) or polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE); said rubber-based binder including styrene butadiene rubber (SBR); said cellulose-based binder including carboxyl methyl cellulose (CMC), starch, hydroxypropyl cellulose, or regenerated cellulose; a polyalcohol-based binder; and, said polyolefin-based binder including polyethylene or polypropylene (e.g. supra ), but does not expressly teach the limitation “the binder composition includes 20 to 60% by weight of the binder, 15 to 35% by weight of the thickener, and 10 to 65% by weight of the cysteine-modified gum arabic, based on the total weight of the composition.” However, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art to use equal amounts of said known binders (i.e. 33% each) , since they are equivalent ly used as binders. Further, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art to L-GA for said binder of Kim being substituted—such as e.g. PVDF—in an equal amount since they are both binders. said taught at least one more from e.g. polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE); styrene butadiene rubber (SBR); starch; hydroxypropyl cellulose; regenerated cellulose; polyethylene; and, polypropylene corresponding with the claimed “binder;” said taught at least one selected from said cellulose-based binder of e.g. carboxyl methyl cellulose (CMC) and hydroxypropyl cellulose corresponding with the claimed “thickener;” and, said taught L-AG of Qi is substituted for a binder of Kim—such as the PVDF binder, corresponding with the claimed “cysteine-modified gum arabic,” i.e. 33% each, severably establishing a prima facie case of obviousness of the claimed ranges, see also e.g. MPEP § 2144.05(I), reading on “ the binder composition includes 20 to 60% by weight of the binder, 15 to 35% by weight of the thickener, and 10 to 65% by weight of the cysteine-modified gum arabic, based on the total weight of the composition. ” Regarding claims 4 and 6 , Kim as modified teaches the binder composition of claim 1, wherein Kim teaches said two or more known binders may include at least one selected from said cellulose-based binder of e.g. carboxyl methyl cellulose (CMC) and hydroxypropyl cellulose (e.g. supra ) , said taught cellulose-based binder reads on the limitation “thickener,” since Kim teaches an identical/substantially identical composition (see supra , compared with instant specification, at e.g. ¶0037 plus e.g. claim 6), see further MPEP § 2112.01; further, said taught cellulose - based binders are capable of being lithiated, since Kim teaches an identical/substantially identical composition (see supra , compared with instant specification, at e.g. ¶¶0037 and 107, see further MPEP § 2112.01, so are in a “form” capable of being “lithiated,” reading on “the thickener has a lithiated form” (claim 4), as claimed ; plus, “the thickener is one or more selected from the group consisting of carboxymethyl cellulose, methyl cellulose, hydroxypropyl cellulose, methyl hydroxypropyl cellulose, ethyl hydroxyethyl cellulose, methyl ethyl hydroxyethyl cellulose, and cellulose gum” (claim 6). Regarding claim 5 , Kim as modified teaches the binder composition of claim 1, wherein Kim teaches said two or more known binders may include polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE); styrene butadiene rubber (SBR); starch; hydroxypropyl cellulose; regenerated cellulose; polyethylene; and, polypropylene (e.g. supra ) , reading on “the binder is selected from the group consisting of poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF), vinylidene fluoride-hexafluoropropylene copolymer (PVDF-co-HFP), polyvinyl alcohol, polyacrylonitrile, starch, hydroxypropyl cellulose, regenerated cellulose, polyvinyl pyrrolidone, polytetrafluoroethylene, polyethylene, polypropylene, polybutyl acrylate, polypropyl acrylate, polyethyl acrylate, polyethylhexyl acrylate, polystyrene, ethylene-propylene-diene polymer (EPDM), sulfonated-EPDM, styrene-butadiene rubber (SBR), fluorine rubber, a mixture containing two or more thereof, and a copolymer of two or more thereof.” Regarding claims 7-12 , Kim and Qi are applied as provided supra , with the following modifications . Still regarding independent claim 7 , Kim as modified teaches said cathode in said lithium-sulfur secondary battery (e.g. supra ), reading on “positive electrode for a lithium secondary battery;” alternatively , the limitation “for a lithium secondary battery” is interpreted a merely intended use and does not patentably distinguish the instant invention from the art, see e.g. MPEP § 2111.02, said cathode comprising: (1) said current collector composed of e.g. stainless steel, aluminum, copper, or titanium (e.g. supra ), reading on “a current collector ;” and, (2) said positive electrode applied to said current collector as said slurry and then dried said positive electrode comprising said improved cathode active material (also “positive electrode active material”), said binder, and said conductive material (e.g. supra ), reading on “a positive electrode active material layer disposed on at least one surface of the current collector ,” and “ wherein the positive electrode active material layer comprises the binder composition according to claim 1, a positive electrode active material , and a conductive material . ” Still regarding claim 8 , Kim as modified teaches said cathode of claim 7, wherein Kim teaches said example of said positive electrode includes 7 parts by weight of said binder composition (e.g. supra ), establishing a prima facie case of obviousness of the claimed range, see also e.g. MPEP § 2144.05(I), reading on “ the binder composition is contained in an amount of 3 to 20% by weight, based on the total weight of base solids contained in the positive electrode active material layer ” Still regarding claim 9 , Kim as modified teaches said cathode of claim 7, wherein Kim teaches said example of said positive electrode includes 7 parts by weight of said binder composition; and, further said L-AG may be 33% of said binder composition (e.g. supra ), establishing a prima facie case of obviousness of the claimed range, see also e.g. MPEP § 2144.05(I), reading on “ the cysteine-modified gum arabic is contained in an amount of 0.5% by weight or more and less than 10% by weight, based on the total weight of base solids contained in the positive electrode active material layer. ” Still regarding claim 10 , Kim as modified teaches said cathode of claim 7, wherein Kim teaches said cathode active material may be one or more of elemental sulfur (S 8 ), Li 2 S n (n ≥ 1), organic sulfur compounds, and carbon-sulfur polymers [(C 2 S x ) n , x=2.5 to 50, n ≥ 2], and includes a coating layer containing a carbon material on a surface of positive electrode active material, thereby resolving problems caused by lithium polysulfide generated in a positive electrode of a lithium-sulfur battery, suppressing adverse reactions with an electrolyte, and improving electrical conductivity (e.g. supra ), reading on “ the positive electrode active material comprises one or more selected from the group consisting of elemental sulfur (S 8 ), Li 2 S n (n ≥ 1, n is an integer), organic sulfur compound and carbon-sulfur polymer ((C 2 S x ) n , 2.5 ≤ x ≤ 50, n ≥ 2, x and n are integers) and sulfur-carbon composite .” Still regarding independent claim 11 , Kim as modified teaches said lithium-sulfur secondary battery comprising said cathode with said improved cathode active material; said anode; said separator imposed between said cathode and anode, and said electrolyte (e.g. supra ), reading on “ lithium secondary battery comprising the positive electrode according to claim 7; a negative electrode ; a separator between the positive electrode and the negative electrode; and an electrolyte . ” Still regarding claim 12 , Kim as modified teaches said lithium-sulfur secondary battery of claim 11 (e.g. supra ), reading on “ the lithium secondary battery is a lithium-sulfur battery . ” In the alternative , claim 4 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kim et al (KR 2019/0125935) in view of Qi (Qi et al, L-Cysteine-Modified Acacia Gum as a Multifunctional Binder for Lithium–Sulfur Batteries , 11 (51) ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces, 47956-62 (2019)), as provided supra , and further in view of Shaibani et al (WO 2020/097672, with citations to US 2021/0399277). Regarding claim 4 , i n the event Kim as modified is interpreted to not teach the limitation “the thickener has a lithiated form ,” Kim as modified teaches the binder composition of claim 1, wherein said two or more known binders may include said cellulose-based binder of e.g. carboxyl methyl cellulose (CMC) (e.g. supra ). Shibani teaches a cathode for a Li—S battery, wherein said cathode may include a binder, wherein said binder is selected from the group of: Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF), Gum Binders such as Gum Arabic, Xanthan gum, and Guar gum, Natural Cellulose based binders, Polysaccharides such as Na-CMC, Li-CMC, Na-Alginate, Polyacrylates, Aliphatic Polymers such as Polyvinyl butyral (PVB), Aromatic Polymers such as Styrene-Butadiene Rubber (e.g. ¶¶ 0001 and 14-38). As a result, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art to substitute the Li-CMC of Shaibani for the CMC of Kim as modified, since Shaibani teaches Li-CMC and CMC are equivalent binders for use in a Li-S battery cathode, see also e.g. MPEP § 2144.06, said taught Li-CMC binder reads on the limitation “thickener,” since Shaibani teaches an identical/substantially identical composition (see supra , compared with instant specification, at e.g. ¶0037 plus e.g. claim 6), see further MPEP § 2112.01, reading on said limitation. Conclusion The art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Sun et al (US 2020/0152965) ; and, Chu et al (US 2015/0243995) . Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to FILLIN "Examiner name" \* MERGEFORMAT YOSHITOSHI TAKEUCHI whose telephone number is FILLIN "Phone number" \* MERGEFORMAT (571)270-5828 . 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Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000. /YOSHITOSHI TAKEUCHI/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1723