NONAQUEOUS ELECTROLYTE SECONDARY BATTERY
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 .
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 3/26/2024 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
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 1-9 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Takijri et al. (US 2017/0317380 A1) and further in view of Uchida et al. (JP 2007/141494 A).
Regarding claims 1-7, Takijiri et al. teach a non-aqueous electrolyte secondary battery (Abstract) comprising:
a negative electrode including a negative electrode mixture (Paragraph 0049; Fig. 1, element 12);
a separator (Fig. 1, element 13);
a positive electrode opposed to the negative electrode with the separator interposed between the negative electrode and the positive electrode (Paragraph 0012; Fig. 1, element 11 discloses a positive electrode opposite the negative electrode where a separator is placed in between.); and
a non-aqueous electrolyte (Paragraph 0051),
wherein the negative electrode mixture includes a negative electrode active material,
the negative electrode active material includes composite particles each including a matrix phase, and a silicon phase dispersed in the matrix phase (Paragraphs 0027-0028; 0049 discloses fine Si grains dispersed in a matrix of amorphous SiO2.), and
the non-aqueous electrolyte includes:
a fluorine-containing cyclic carbonate, a cyclic carbonate having a carbon-carbon unsaturated bond, and lithium difluorophosphate (Paragraph 0049 discloses the electrolyte can comprise 4-fluoroethylene carbonate, vinylene carbonate, and lithium difluorophosphate.).
While Takijiri the electrolyte can also comprise a cyclic ether (Paragraph 0041 discloses 1,3,5-trioxane.) they do not teach a heterocyclic compound represented by the following formula:
PNG
media_image1.png
152
176
media_image1.png
Greyscale
where X1, X2, and X3 are each an oxygen element or a sulfur element, and R1, R2, and R3 are each an alkyl group having 1 to 5 carbon atoms.
Uchida et al. teach an electrolyte for a battery (Abstract). Further, the electrolyte can comprise paraldehyde a 0.1% by mass (Paragraph 0071). Finally, the structure of paraldehyde is
PNG
media_image2.png
324
303
media_image2.png
Greyscale
.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to modify Takijiri with Uchida in order to improve high temperature storage characteristics.
Regarding claim 8, the combination of Takijiri and Uchida et al. teach the non-aqueous electrolyte secondary battery according to claim 1. Further, Takijiri et al. teach wherein a content of the composite particles in the negative electrode active material is 1 mass% or more and 10 mass% or less (Paragraph 0049 discloses 4 parts by weight.).
Regarding claim 9, the combination of Takijiri and Uchida et al. teach the non-aqueous electrolyte secondary battery according to claim 1. Further, Takijiri et al. teach wherein a concentration of the fluorine-containing cyclic carbonate in the non-aqueous electrolyte is 0.01 mass% or more (Paragraph 0049).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to DANIEL S GATEWOOD whose telephone number is (571)270-7958. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8:00-5:30.
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, Ula Tavares-Crockett can be reached at 571-272-1481. 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.
Daniel S. Gatewood, Ph.D.
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 1729
/DANIEL S GATEWOOD, Ph. D/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1729 July 16th, 2026
Prosecution Insights