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 .
Response to Amendment
Upon consideration, the previous rejection was withdrawn in light of new amendments. However new rejection has been applied to the amended claims. All changes made in the rejection are necessitated by the amendment.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim(s) 1-5 and 7-15 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.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 08-12-2026 is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The text of those sections of Title 35, U.S. Code not included in this action can be found in a prior Office action.
Claim(s) 1-5 and 7-15 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over CN 111244546 A hereinafter Li [cited in IDS filed 10-17-2023] in view of U.S. Pre-Grant Publication No. 2017/0346136 hereinafter Wang.
Regarding Claim 1, Li teaches an electrolyte comprising: an organic solvent; lithium salt; and an additive (paragraph 10). Li further teaches that the additive includes compound B1 as shown below.
PNG
media_image1.png
116
558
media_image1.png
Greyscale
Li does not specifically disclose that the electrolyte comprises a cyclic sulfate ester as claimed.
However, Wang teaches an electrolyte that comprises an organic solvent, lithium salt, and additives (paragraph 34). Wang further teaches that the additive includes 1,2-ethylene sulfate (or 1,3-propylene sulfate) (paragraph 28) and when the additives include the additive C, the cycle performance of the lithium-ion battery can be further improved, for example, the lithium-ion battery can have relatively high-capacity retention rate after a plurality of cycles at a high voltage. Moreover, the rate performance and the discharge performance of the battery at low temperature can also be further improved (paragraph 55).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to include such cyclic sulfate ester in the electrolyte before the effective filing date of the claimed invention because Wang discloses that such configuration can improve the rate performance and the discharge performance of the battery at low temperature (paragraph 55).
Regarding Claims 2-5 and 7-10, the combination teaches that the additive comprises compound B1 in an amount of 0.1 to 5 wt% (paragraph 19 of Li) and the additive C includes 1,2-ethylene sulfate (or 1,3-propylene sulfate) in an amount of 0.01 to 10% by weight (paragraphs 55-56 of Wang).
Regarding Claims 11-12, the combination teaches that the electrolyte further comprises fluoroethylene carbonate, ethylene carbonate, and propyl propionate (paragraphs 21-22, 27 of Li).
Regarding Claims 13-14, the combination teaches that the electrolyte comprises lithium hexafluorophosphate as the lithium salt and the concentration of the lithium salt is 1 mol/L (paragraph 23 and Example 1 of Li).
Regarding Claim 15, the combination teaches a lithium battery comprising a cathode (positive electrode), an anode (negative electrode), and the electrolyte as described above (paragraphs 31-32 of Li).
Claim(s) 1-5 and 7-15 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over WO 2021/034141 A1 hereinafter Kim [cited in IDS filed 10-17-2023 and English equivalent US 2022/0223911] in view of U.S. Pre-Grant Publication No. 2017/0346136 hereinafter Wang.
Regarding Claim 1, Kim teaches an electrolyte comprising: an organic solvent; lithium salt; and an additive (paragraph 34). Kim further teaches that the additive includes compound 1a as shown below.
PNG
media_image2.png
126
358
media_image2.png
Greyscale
Kim does not specifically disclose that the electrolyte comprises a cyclic sulfate ester as claimed.
However, Wang teaches an electrolyte that comprises an organic solvent, lithium salt, and additives (paragraph 34). Wang further teaches that the additive includes 1,2-ethylene sulfate (or 1,3-propylene sulfate) (paragraph 28) and when the additives include the additive C, the cycle performance of the lithium-ion battery can be further improved, for example, the lithium-ion battery can have relatively high-capacity retention rate after a plurality of cycles at a high voltage. Moreover, the rate performance and the discharge performance of the battery at low temperature can also be further improved (paragraph 55).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to include such cyclic sulfate ester in the electrolyte before the effective filing date of the claimed invention because Wang discloses that such configuration can improve the rate performance and the discharge performance of the battery at low temperature (paragraph 55).
Regarding Claims 2-10, the combination teaches that the additive comprises compound 1a in an amount of 0.01 to 5 wt% (paragraphs 60-61 of Kim) and the additive C includes 1,2-ethylene sulfate (or 1,3-propylene sulfate) in an amount of 0.01 to 10% by weight (paragraphs 55-56 of Wang).
Regarding Claims 11-12, the combination teaches that the electrolyte further comprises fluoroethylene carbonate, ethylene carbonate, and propyl propionate (paragraphs 44, 48, 78 of Kim).
Regarding Claims 13-14, the combination teaches that the electrolyte comprises lithium hexafluorophosphate as the lithium salt and the concentration of the lithium salt is 1 mol/L (paragraphs 38-41 of Kim).
Regarding Claim 15, the combination teaches a lithium battery comprising a cathode (positive electrode), an anode (negative electrode), and the electrolyte as described above (paragraphs 89-91 of Kim).
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to OSEI K AMPONSAH whose telephone number is (571)270-3446. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday, 8:00 am - 5:00 pm EST.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, NICHOLAS A SMITH can be reached at (571)272-8760. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. 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.
/OSEI K AMPONSAH/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1752
Prosecution Insights