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 .
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statements filed 1/22/24, 2/21/25, 5/27/25, and 8/28/25 have been considered by the examiner.
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.
Claims 1-12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kim et al. (US 2022/0223911) in view of Ohashi et al. (JP 2014-026917).
Regarding claim 1, Kim teaches an electrolyte for lithium-ion secondary battery, comprising:
a solvent;
a lithium salt,
and an additive composition comprising a compound of formula I, i.e. tetravinyl silane, and a compound of formula II, i.e. 1,3-propane sultone;
wherein percentage of the compound formula I in the electrolyte is a wt%, specifically 0.1 wt%, and percentage of the compound of formula II is b wt%, specifically 0.5 wt% ([0120]). The examiner notes that the values of a and b of Kim meet the requirements of claim 1 since a/b = 0.2 and a+b=0.6.
Further regarding claim 1, Kim fails to teach specifically that the compound of formula II includes at least one of R1, R2, and R3 is F.
Ohashi teaches an electrolyte for lithium-ion secondary battery including an additive include 1,3-propanoic sultone in which one or more hydrogen atoms are substituted with a fluoride atom ([0025]). Ohashi further teaches that 1,3-propanoic sultone in which one or more hydrogen atoms are substituted with a fluoride atom effectively and reliably increases long-term durability of the electrolyte ([0009], [0025]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to the person having ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention to substitute one or more hydrogen atoms with a fluoride atom in the compound of formula II of Kim such as suggested by Ohashi in order to effectively and reliably increase long-term durability of the electrolyte.
As for claim 2, as is discussed above, Kim teaches tetravinyl silane. With regard to the compound of formula II, since Kim in view of Ohashi teaches 1,3-propane sultone in which one or more hydrogen atoms are substituted with a fluoride atom, the examiner finds that the compounds of formula II of claim 2 are at once envisaged from the disclosure of Ohashi. MPEP 2131.02 III
Regarding claims 3-5, as is discussed above, a/b = 0.2; a+b=0.6; and b is 0.5 wt%.
With regard to claim 6, Kim teaches that the solvent is a non-protonic chain organic carbonate, i.e. ethylene carbonate:ethyl methyl carbonate ([0120]).
As for claim 7, Kim teaches that the lithium salt is lithium tetrafluoroborate, i.e. LiBF4 ([0120]).
With regard to claim 8, Kim teaches that the amount of the lithium salt and the amount of the third additive, i.e. the tetravinyl silane and 1,3-propane sultone discussed above, are result effective for producing desired effects of the electrolyte ([0040]-[0041], [0088]). The skilled artisan will easily understand that optimizing the amount of additives of an electrolyte necessarily affects the amount of solvent. The examiner finds that it is within the level of ordinary skill in the art to find workable or optimum ranges for the components of the electrolyte of Kim in view of Ohashi since it has been held that it is not inventive to discover optimum or workable ranges by routine experimentation. MPEP 2144.05 II A
Regarding claim 9, Kim in view of Ohashi teaches a secondary battery comprising the electrolyte ([0125]).
As for claims 10-12, Kim in view of Ohashi teaches the use of the battery in an electric apparatus, or device ([0004]). The examiner finds that a battery provided in a device is necessarily provided in a pack in a module, and further notes that the claims do not limit the structure of those components.
Conclusion
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/ALIX E EGGERDING/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1729