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 .
The Applicant has amended independent claims 1 and 8 and 18, and dependent claim 7. The pending claims are claims 1-20.
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on 8/5/2025 has been entered.
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.
Claim(s) 1-20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Jang, US 2022/0302440.
Regarding claim 1, Jang teaches a liquid electrolyte (abstract; 0061-0063), consisting of: (i) an alkali metal salt (lithium salt) (abstract; 0011; 0045) in an amount of from about 0.1%-30% by wt (0027); (ii) a solvent (0011; 0015); and (iii) an additive (abstract; 0011) in an amount of from 0.1 wt% to 8 wt% based on a total weight of the electrolyte (0.1%-50% by weight; 0027; 0172); wherein the solvent consists of an aliphatic sulfone (0015; 0024; 0035), a fluorinated alkyl carbonate (0030; 0034; 0115) and a carbonate solvent (0015; 0030; claim 7); wherein the additive consists of vinylene carbonate (VC) (0015; 0018) in an amount from 0.1 wt% to 5 wt% based on the total weight of the electrolyte (0.1%-50% by weight; 0027), and one or more optional additives of phosphites (0018), tris(trimethylsilyl)phosphite (TTSPi) (0038; 0123); tris(trimethylsilyl)phosphite (TMPSi) (0123), tris(trimethylsilyl)phosphate (TMSPa) (0038), ethylene sulfite (ES) (0015; 0018), butadiene sulfone (BS) (0015; 0018), prop-1-ene-1,3-sultone (PES) (0123), triallyl phosphate (TAP) (0038; 0123), or a combination thereof.
Jang does not teach in an amount from greater than 0 vol% to 60 vol% based on a total volume of the electrolyte.
However, "[W]here the general conditions of a claim are disclosed in the prior art, it is not inventive to discover the optimum or workable ranges by routine experimentation." In re Aller, 220 F.2d 454, 456, 105 USPQ 233, 235 (CCPA 1955).
Regarding claim 2, Jang teaches wherein the alkali metal salt consists of a mixture of lithium salts (0021; 0067).
Regarding claim 3, Jang teaches wherein the aliphatic sulfone consists sulfolane (0030; 0115).
Regarding claim 4, Jang teaches wherein the fluorinated alkyl carbonate consists of fluoroethylene carbonate (FEC) (0015; 0018; 0030).
Regarding claim 5, Jang teaches wherein the fluorinated alkyl carbonate consists of fluoroethylene carbonate (FEC) in an amount of greater than 0.1 wt% of the total weight of the electrolyte (0186).
Regarding claim 6, Jang teaches wherein the carbonate solvent (fluorinated carbonate) (diethyl carbonate)(0030) is diethyl carbonate (0030) and/or ethylene carbonate (0015; 0030).
Regarding claim 7, Jang teaches wherein the liquid electrolyte (0011; 0019-0021) includes the one or more optional additives (0017; 0029; 0067).
Regarding claim 8, Jang teaches a battery cell (0021; 0047), comprising: a positive electrode including a cathode on an aluminum current collector (0013; 0057; 0086);
a negative electrode (abstract; 0011; 0017) including an intercalation material (0147) and a lithiophilic material (0057; 0150) on a copper current collector (0013; 0086) and which copper current collector is a different current collector than the positive electrode including the cathode (0013; 0057; 0086); and an electrolyte (abstract; 0011) that comprises: (i) a lithium salt (abstract; 0011); (ii) free solvents including free aliphatic sulfone solvent (0015; 0018) and a fluorinated solvent (0015; 0018); and (iii) an additive including an alkene carbonate (0015; 0018; 0030); and a solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) (solid electrolyte separator between anode and cathode layer) (0137; 0199) on the negative electrode (0199); wherein the SEI is formed from the free sulfone solvent (0015; 0018; 0024), fluorinated solvent (0015; 0018; 0024) and alkene carbonate (vinylene carbonate; ethylene carbonate) (0015).
Regarding claim 9, Jang teaches further comprising a positive electrode (abstract; 0011) that comprises a cathode active material (abstract; 0011) including a lithium metal oxide (0058; 0152), a lithium metal phosphate (0015; 0018), lithium spinel (0163; 0165), or a combination thereof; wherein cathode active material is directly on a metal foil current collector (0011; 0013; 0057).
Regarding claim 10, Jang teaches wherein the battery cell is configured to have a nominal unit cell voltage of at least 4 V (0087; 0196).
Regarding claim 11, Jang teaches wherein the intercalation material is a carbonaceous material (0147; 0015).
Regarding claim 12, Jang teaches wherein the negative electrode includes lithium metal (0017; 0057) when the battery cell is in a charged state (0017;0077).
Regarding claim 13, Jang teaches wherein the alkene carbonate comprises vinylene carbonate (VC) (0015; 0018; 0030).
Regarding claim 14, Jang teaches wherein the aliphatic sulfone comprises sulfolane (0030; 0036; 0115).
Regarding claim 15, Jang teaches wherein the fluorinated solvent comprises fluoroethylene carbonate (FEC) (0015; 0018; 0030).
Regarding claim 16, Jang teaches wherein the lithium salt (abstract; 0011; 004) is in an amount of from about 0.5 Molar (M) to about 3 M (1% to 99%; 0011); wherein the aliphatic sulfone (0015; 0024; 0035); comprises sulfolane (0030; 0115); and wherein the alkene carbonate comprises vinylene carbonate (VC) up to about 5 wt% (0.1%-30% by weight of lithium salt; 0027).
Jang does not teach sulfolane in an amount of greater than 0 vol% to about 60 vol% and the fluorinated solvent comprises fluoroethylene carbonate (FEC) in an amount of up to 5 wt.
However, "[W]here the general conditions of a claim are disclosed in the prior art, it is not inventive to discover the optimum or workable ranges by routine experimentation." In re Aller, 220 F.2d 454, 456, 105 USPQ 233, 235 (CCPA 1955).
Regarding claim 17, Jang teaches a vehicle comprising the battery cell of claim 8 (0056; 0153).
Regarding claim 18, Jang teaches a method, comprising: charging (0089; 0146) and discharging a battery cell (0089; 0091); wherein the battery cell comprises: a positive electrode (abstract; 0011) including a cathode on an aluminum current collector (0013; 0057; 0086); a negative electrode (abstract; 0011; 0017) including an intercalation material (0147) and a lithiophilic material (0057; 0150) on a copper current collector (0013; 0086) and which copper current collector is a different current collector than the positive electrode including the cathode (0013; 0057; 0086); and an electrolyte (abstract; 0011) that comprises: (i) a lithium salt; (ii) free solvent including a free aliphatic sulfone solvent and a free fluorinated solvent; and (iii) an additive including an alkene carbonate; and a solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) on the negative electrode; wherein the SEI is formed from the free sulfone solvent, fluorinated solvent and alkene carbonate; and a solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) (solid electrolyte separator between anode and cathode layer) (0137; 0199) on the negative electrode (0199); wherein the SEI is formed from the free sulfone solvent (0015; 0018; 0024), fluorinated solvent (0015; 0018; 0024) and alkene carbonate (vinylene carbonate; ethylene carbonate) (0015).
Regarding claim 19, Jang does not teach wherein the Negative-to-Positive electrode capacity (N/P) ratio of the battery cell is less than 1.0.
However, "[W]here the general conditions of a claim are disclosed in the prior art, it is not inventive to discover the optimum or workable ranges by routine experimentation." In re Aller, 220 F.2d 454, 456, 105 USPQ 233, 235 (CCPA 1955).
Regarding claim 20, Jang teaches wherein the intercalation material is a carbonaceous material (0147; 0015).
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 7/15/2025 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
The Applicant has overcome the 35 USC 112 Rejection of Claim 7 by amending the claim.
The Applicant argues that “Jang does not teach or suggest forming “a solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) on a surface of the negative electrode…wherein the SEI is formed from the free sulfone solvent.”
However, Jang teaches a liquid electrolyte (0011; 0019-0020) and a semi- interpenetrating network (0136); and it teaches the free sulfone solvent (0015; 0024; 0030; 0035). Thus, Jang has the compounds needed to form the electrolyte and the electrodes.
Conclusion
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ANGELA J. MARTIN
Examiner
Art Unit 1727
/ANGELA J MARTIN/Examiner, Art Unit 1727
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