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 § 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) 1-4 and 7-10 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Japanese Patent Publication No. 2005228683 to Onda, citing to both the enclosed original document for figures and machine translation for paragraph numbers (“Onda”). Regarding claims 1-4 and 8 and 9, Onda discloses electrolytes for lithium ion batteries that include a cyclic and/or linear carbonate solvent (ethylene carbonate, propylene carbonate and butylene carbonate preferred), a lithium salt (LiPF6 preferred), an additive according to the following chemical formula with tri(trifluorotolyl)phosphate which corresponds to the first structure shown in claim 3 a preferred example. Onda at paragraphs [0009], [0022] and [0023].
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Further regarding claim 7, it is noted that the second additive remains optional. Thus, although claim 7 narrows the allowed amount when the second additive is present, it does not alter the fact that the second additive remains optional.
Further regarding claim 10, the batteries made with those electrolytes include a positive electrode, separator, and negative electrode stacked in that order and wound with the separator being injected with the electrolyte solution. Id. at paragraph [0046].
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) 5 and 6 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Onda. Onda is applied as described above. Onda discloses including the additive in the electrolyte in an amount ranging from 0.1-20% in order to achieve reduced flammability while maintaining good viscosity and dissociation characteristics. Onda at paragraph [0016]. This range overlaps with the recited range thereby rendering it obvious.
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/WYATT P MCCONNELL/ Examiner, Art Unit 1727
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