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.
1. Claims 1, 4-7, 11, 12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Ise et al. (US20180277835).
2. Regarding claim 1, Ise teaches an electrolyte solution for a lithium secondary battery (The secondary battery comprises a negative electrode containing negative electrode active material particles, a positive electrode, and an electrolyte [0063]), comprising: a lithium salt comprising a first lithium salt and a second lithium salt; and a solvent, wherein the first lithium salt comprises lithium hexafluorophosphate (Ethylene carbonate (EC) and diethyl carbonate (DEC) were mixed to obtain a mixed solvent. The volume ratio of EC and DEC in this mixed solvent was 1:2. Then, lithium hexafluorophosphate (LiPF6) was dissolved in this mixed solvent to prepare a nonaqueous electrolyte, Example 1, [0294]), and the second lithium salt comprises lithium bis(fluorosulfonyl)imide or lithium bis(trifluorosulfonyl)imide (A nonaqueous electrolyte was obtained in the same manner as that described in Example 1 except that lithium bis(fluorosulfonyl)imide (LiFSI; LiN(SO2F)2) was further added to a nonaqueous electrolyte [0325], Example 19)
3. Regarding claim 4, Ise teaches wherein the first lithium salt comprises only lithium hexafluorophosphate hexafluorophosphate (Ethylene carbonate (EC) and diethyl carbonate (DEC) were mixed to obtain a mixed solvent. The volume ratio of EC and DEC in this mixed solvent was 1:2. Then, lithium hexafluorophosphate (LiPF6) was dissolved in this mixed solvent to prepare a nonaqueous electrolyte, Example 1, [0294]), and the second lithium salt comprises only lithium bis(fluorosulfonyl)imide or lithium bis(trifluorosulfonyl)imide A nonaqueous electrolyte was obtained in the same manner as that described in Example 1 except that lithium bis(fluorosulfonyl)imide (LiFSI; LiN(SO2F)2) was further added to a nonaqueous electrolyte [0325], Example 19) [0325]).
4. Regarding claim 5, Ise teaches wherein the solvent comprises a carbonate-based compound (Ethylene carbonate (EC) and diethyl carbonate (DEC) were mixed to obtain a mixed solvent [0294]).
5. Regarding claim 6, Ise teaches wherein the solvent comprises a first solvent and a second solvent, and each of the first solvent and the second solvent contains different carbonate-based compounds (Ethylene carbonate (EC) and diethyl carbonate (DEC) were mixed to obtain a mixed solvent [0294]).
6. Regarding claim 7, Ise teaches wherein the first solvent is ethylene carbonate, and the second solvent is dimethyl carbonate or ethyl methyl carbonate (A nonaqueous electrolyte was obtained in the same manner as that described in Example 1 except that a solvent of a nonaqueous electrolyte was changed from a mixed solvent of EC and DEC to a mixed solvent of EC and dimethyl carbonate (DMC). The volume ratio of EC and DMC in this mixed solvent was 1:2 [0331]).
7. Regarding claim 11, Ise teaches a lithium secondary battery, comprising: a positive electrode (The positive electrode may include a positive electrode current collector and a positive electrode active material-containing layer [0171]) containing a lithium nickel cobalt manganese-based positive electrode active material (lithium nickel cobalt manganese composite oxides (LiNi1−x−yCoxMnyO2; 0<x<1, 0<y<1, x+y<1) [0173]); a negative electrode; one or more of a separator and a solid electrolyte between the positive electrode and the negative electrode (The secondary battery according to the first embodiment can further include a separator disposed between the positive electrode and the negative electrode [0067]).
8. Regarding claim 12, Ise teaches wherein the lithium secondary battery does not deform or explode under temperature conditions of 170° C. or higher (Where the claimed and prior art products are identical or substantially identical in structure or composition, or are produced by identical or substantially identical processes, a prima facie case of either anticipation or obviousness has been established. In re Best, 562 F.2d 1252, 1255, 195 USPQ 430, 433 (CCPA 1977). (MPEP 2112.01)).
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 of this title, 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.
9. Claims 2, 3, 8-10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ise et al. (US20180277835) as applied to claim 1.
10. Regarding claim 2, Ise teaches wherein a molar ratio of the first lithium salt (The molar concentration of LiPF6 in this nonaqueous electrolyte was 1 mol/m3 [0294]) to the second lithium salt is 1:0.4 to 0.9 (The molar concentration of LiFSI in the nonaqueous electrolyte was 0.2 mol/m3 [0325])
Regarding claim 3, Ise teaches wherein the concentration of the lithium salt comprising the first lithium salt and the second lithium salt is 1.5 M to 4.0 M (The concentration of the electrolyte salt is preferably 0.5 mol/L to 2.5 mol/L [0186]).
11. Regarding claim 8, Ise teaches wherein a mixing ratio of the first solvent to the second solvent is 5:95 to 35:65 in the volume ratio (The volume ratio of EC and DEC in this mixed solvent was 1:2 (33:66) [0294]).
12. Regarding claim 9, Ise teaches wherein the mixing ratio of the first solvent to the second solvent is 10:90 to 30:70 in the volume ratio (The volume ratio of EC and DEC in this mixed solvent was 1:2 (33:66) [0294]).
13. Regarding claim 10, Ise teaches wherein a molar ratio of the first lithium salt (The molar concentration of LiPF6 in this nonaqueous electrolyte was 1 mol/m3 [0294]) to the second lithium salt is 1:0.4 to 0.8 (The molar concentration of LiFSI in the nonaqueous electrolyte was 0.2 mol/m3 [0325]).
14. It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Ise with optimized ranges for the benefit of a battery having a high energy density [0003]. In the case where the claimed ranges "overlap or lie inside ranges disclosed by the prior art" a prima facie case of obviousness exists (MPEP 2144.05).
9. Claims 13-14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ise et al. (US20180277835) in view of Roberts (US20190198838)
10. Regarding claim 13, Roberts teaches wherein the solid electrolyte (“inorganic solid-state electrolyte” is used interchangeably with the phrase “solid separator [0058]) is comprised in the lithium secondary battery by being attached to one surface of the positive electrode or the negative electrode (The electrode 101 is layered to a solid separator 104 (e.g., a lithium-stuffed garnet electrolyte monolith or thin film). The solid separator 104 is layered to a lithium-metal negative electrode 105 [0099]), and the solid electrolyte comprises at least one selected from the group consisting of a polymer-based solid electrolyte, a sulfide-based solid electrolyte, and an oxide-based solid electrolyte (In some examples, the solid separator is a lithium-stuffed-garnet, an LiBHI, Li3N, a lithium-sulfides, a LiPON, a LISON, or a combination thereof [0238]).
11. Regarding claim 14, Roberts teaches wherein the solid electrolyte comprises only a polymer-based solid electrolyte (In some examples, the inorganic solid-state electrolyte also includes a polymer [0058]), and wherein the polymer-based solid electrolyte comprises: at least one polymer selected from the group consisting of polypropylene carbonate (PPC), polyacrylonitrile (PAN) and polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP); and a lithium salt (In certain examples, the bonding layer further comprises a polymer selected from the group consisting of polyacrylonitrile (PAN) [0197]; In some of these examples, the lithium salt in the bonding layer is selected from LiPF6, LiBOB, LFTSi, or combinations thereof [0197]) for the benefit of preventing flammability and leakage problems [0003].
12. It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Ise with Roberts for the benefit of preventing flammability and leakage problems.
Conclusion
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/OLATUNJI A GODO/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1752
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