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Upon consideration, the previous rejection of record was withdrawn in light of new amendments. However new rejection is applied to the amended claims. All changes made in the rejection are necessitated by the amendment.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 03-20-2026 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) 1-4 and 7-20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over CN 114464885 A hereinafter Chou in view of U.S. Pre-Grant Publication No. 2020/0388884 hereinafter Kawakami and U.S. Pre-Grant Publication No. 2015/0340739 hereinafter Klaehn.
Regarding Claim 1, Chou teaches a flame-retardant sodium-ion battery electrolyte (paragraph 4), the electrolyte comprising: trimethyl phosphate [TMP]; vinylene carbonate; bis(2,2,2-trifluoroethyl) ether [BTFE] and (2,2,2-trifluoroethyl)phosphate [TTFP] (paragraphs 4-11 and Examples 1-4).
Chou further teaches that the electrolyte comprises ester solvent and mixture solvent (paragraph 11 describes a mixing ratio including 1:9 to 4:1).
Chou teaches that the electrolyte comprises trimethyl phosphate [TMP] but does not specify tris(trimethylsilyl) phosphite.
However, Kawakami teaches an electrolyte for a sodium battery (paragraph 388), the electrolyte comprises tris(trimethylsilyl) phosphite (paragraph 155) and vinylene carbonate (paragraph 198). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to form a flame-retardant sodium-ion battery electrolyte that comprises such solvent combination as described above before the effective filing date of the claimed invention such configuration can form an organic flame-retardant electrolyte for sodium ion battery in order to improve the safety of the sodium ion battery (paragraph 4 of Chou).
In addition, the simple substitution of one known element for another (i.e., tris(trimethylsilyl) phosphite for trimethyl phosphate [TMP]) is likely to be obvious when predictable results are achieved. See KSR International Co. v. Teleflex Inc., 550 U.S._,_, 82 USPQ2d 1385, 1395 - 97 (2007) (see MPEP § 2143, B.).
Klaehn further teaches that the electrolyte can be used in a sodium-ion battery or a sodium metal battery (paragraphs 25, 57) and it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to use such energy storage device before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Regarding Claims 2-4, the combination teaches that the fluoroether diluent is bis(2,2,2-trifluoroethyl) ether [BTFE] and characterized in that, at 25°C, the solubility of sodium bis(fluorosulfonyl)imide in the fluoroether diluent is expected to be less than 10g (paragraphs 4-11).
Regarding Claims 7-9, the combination teaches that the electrolyte comprises tris(trimethylsilyl) phosphite (paragraph 155 of Kawakami).
Regarding Claims 10-13, the combination teaches that the mixture solvent comprises a fluoroether diluent (bis(2,2,2-trifluoroethyl) ether [BTFE]) and a flame retardant ((2,2,2-trifluoroethyl)phosphate [TTFP]) (paragraphs 4-11 and Examples 1-4).
Regarding Claim 14, the combination teaches that the electrolyte comprises 5% to 60% of mixture solvent (paragraphs 4-11).
Regarding Claim 15, the combination teaches that the electrolyte comprises sodium bis(fluorosulfonyl)imide (NaFSI) in an amount of 10% to 40% (paragraphs 4-11).
Regarding Claims 16-20, the combination teaches an electric apparatus comprising a sodium-ion secondary battery that includes a positive electrode, a negative electrode, and an electrolyte as described above (see Examples 1-4). In addition, the rationale to support a conclusion that the claim would have been obvious is that all the claimed elements were known in the prior art and one skilled in the art could have combined the elements as claimed by known methods with no change in their respective functions, and the combination yielded nothing more than predictable results to one of ordinary skill in the art. KSR, 550 U.S. at 416, 82 USPQ2d at 1395 (see MPEP § 2143, A).
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