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 .
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and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114.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 04/06/2026 has been entered.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed on 04/06/2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
The applicant argues on page 9, “ The cited portion of Kates does not teach, show, or suggest the desirability of a "photovoltaic window treatment system couplable to a window".
The examiner respectfully disagrees. The conventional Kates motorized window system does need power to operate and, by adding the solar cells on the surface of the window provide power for the Kates window treatment to operate independently.
The applicant further argues on page 9, “the FOA improperly maps the same portion of Kates to the "window treatment external to the window" recited in claims 1, 10, and 16. However, the same portion of Kates cannot teach BOTH the "photovoltaic window treatment system couplable to a window" AND the "window treatment external to the window" as recited in independent claims 1, 10, and 16.”
The examiner wants to point out that the window treatment system is part of the preamble and has two parts, where Kates does disclose the first part of window treatment, which is external to the window (Col. 1, lines 24-25.)
Applicant’s arguments, see page 10-11, with respect to the rejection(s) of claim(s) 1, 10, and 16 under 35 USC 103 have been fully considered and are persuasive. Therefore, the rejection has been withdrawn. However, upon further consideration, a new ground(s) of rejection is made in view of Campbell (US 2011/0203660).
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.
Claim(s) 1-3,7-11, 14-17, 20, 21 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kates (US 7,389,806), Gurhlke et al. (US 2013/0118547), herein after Gurhlke, and Campbell (US 2011/0203660).
Regarding claim 1, Kates discloses A photovoltaic window treatment system (Abstract) couplable to a window having an exterior surface and an interior surface (a window inherently has interior surface and exterior surface ), the system comprising:
a window treatment external to the window (The brackets are designed to be mounted inside a window frame; Col. 1, lines 24-25; shows that the window treatment is external to window), the window treatment couplable to a surface of a wall that defines an interior space of a structure(The tube 202 is mounted to (or near) a window frame 250; Col. 5; line 29; shows that the window shade 202 is mounted on the wall and defines the interior space), wherein the window treatment includes at least one electrical actuator (303, fig. 3) to position the window treatment at each of a plurality of positions along the window (The tubular motor is configured to raise and lower the window shade, Col. 2; line 19); Kates further discloses the electronically-controlled motorized shade includes a solar cell configured to charge the first power source (Col. 2, line 34). Kates also discloses the voltage generated by solar cells are used to operate the shade (the one or more conductors in the shade material provide connections to power sources, such as, for example, solar cells (see e.g., FIG. 4b); Col. 6; lines 29-30). However, Kates is silent about a photovoltaic film layer affixable to at least a portion of the interior surface of the window, the photovoltaic film layer including that includes:
a transparent substrate;
a plurality of photovoltaic cells arranged in a frit pattern on the transparent substrate, the frit pattern to permit a first portion of sunlight to pass between the plurality of photovoltaic cells and through the transparent substrate and the plurality of photovoltaic cells to provide a voltage output when exposed to a second portion of the sunlight; and an electrical grid that includes a plurality of discrete electrical conductors that conductively couple the voltage output generated by the plurality of photovoltaic cells to the at least one electrical actuator.
Gruhlke discloses a photovoltaic film layer (the photovoltaic cell 100 can be formed by using thin film technology, paragraph [0034]) affixable to at least a portion of the interior surface of the window (a method of manufacturing a window includes providing a partially transmissive pane, the pane including a surface for receiving light, disposing a plurality of photovoltaic cells around the perimeter of the pane, paragraph [0009] please note that edge is also part of the interior surface of the window), the photovoltaic film layer including that includes:
a transparent substrate(photovoltaic cell 100 can be formed by using thin film technology. For example, in one implementation, where optical energy passes through a transparent substrate, the photovoltaic cell 100 may be formed by depositing a first or front electrode layer 103 of TCO on a substrate, paragraph [0034]);
a plurality of photovoltaic cells arranged in a frit pattern (202, fig. 2A; 202 is arranged around the perimeter of the window 200, paragraph [0037]Note: from the specification of instant application The frit pattern of a fritted glass panel may include an arrangement of dots, lines, holes, blocks, or other geometric shapes, paragraph [0002]) on the transparent substrate, and the plurality of photovoltaic cells to provide a voltage output when exposed to a portion of the sunlight(A photovoltaic cell can convert light energy into electrical energy (voltage) or current, paragraph [0028]);
and an electrical grid that includes a plurality of discrete electrical conductors that conductively couple the voltage output generated by the plurality of photovoltaic cells to the at least one electrical actuator ((The network of conductive carriers can collect current over substantially the entire surface of the photovoltaic device. Carriers can be collected by relatively thin lines at relatively close spacing throughout the surface of the photovoltaic device and the combined current from these thin lines can flow through a few sparsely spaced and wider width bus lines to the edge of the photovoltaic device, paragraph [0036] Ohm's law states that voltage is directly proportional to the current in a circuit; thus, the photovoltaic cells also provide equal amount of voltage as current).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of claimed invention to modify Kates’s window treatment to have the solar cells on thin film disposed on the interior surface of the window as taught by Gruhlke, in order to improve the design, and efficiency and increase the usage of the photovoltaic cells to operate various devices like window shade.
However, Kates and Gruhlke do not explicitly disclose a plurality of photovoltaic cells arranged in a frit pattern on the transparent substrate, the frit pattern to permit a first portion of sunlight to pass between the plurality of photovoltaic cells and through the transparent substrate.
Campbell discloses the solar cells can be arranged such that the frit pattern to permit a first portion of sunlight to pass between the plurality of photovoltaic cells and through the transparent substrate ( "window shade effect" whereby solar cells are formed on a transparent substrate with gaps between adjacent solar cells. This allows some light to pass through to create a transparent effect. The larger the gaps, the more transparency the device has, paragraph [0011], [0024]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of claimed invention to modify Kates’s window treatment system in view of Gruhlke to have the solar cells arranged with the gap over the surface of the window as taught by Campbell, in order to maximize exposure of the photovoltaic cells to sunlight adjacent the window and thereby improve charging capability for the motorized shade system.
Regarding claim 2, Kates in view of Gruhlke and Campbell discloses the photovoltaic window treatment system of claim 1. Kates further discloses the system further comprising, one or more energy storage devices operatively coupled to the plurality of photovoltaic cells (one or more solar cells are provided to recharge the batteries when light is available, Col. 3; lines 31-32) and to the at least one electrical actuator ( a solar cell 307 is provided to the controller 301, Col. 5; lines 65-66; A motor 303, such as, for example, a tubular motor with a gearbox, is provided to the controller 301, Col. 5, lines 36-37).
Regarding claim 3, Kates in view of Gruhlke and Campbell discloses the photovoltaic window treatment system of claim 1. Kates further discloses the system further comprising control circuitry (controller 301, fig. 4) operatively coupled to the plurality of photovoltaic cells (301 is coupled with solar cell 404, fig. 4) and to the at least one electrical actuator (controller 301 is also connected to tubular motor 303, fig. 4), the control circuitry to position the window treatment with respect to the window (IR control is used for programming the controller 301 (e.g., for inserting or reading an identification code) and RF control is used to raise and lower the blinds, Col. 6; lines 7-9).
Regarding claim 7, Kates in view of Gruhlke and Campbell discloses the photovoltaic window treatment system of claim 3. Kates further discloses the system further comprising one or more sensors operatively coupled to the photovoltaic cells and to the control circuitry, the one or more sensors to receive at least a portion of the output voltage provided by the plurality of photovoltaic cells (solar cells 404 is connected to the controller 301 and 301 is further connected to an InfraRed (IR) and/or light sensor receiver, fig. 4; Col. 5, lines 48-50).
Regarding claim 8, Kates in view of Gruhlke and Campbell discloses the photovoltaic window treatment system of claim 7. Kates further discloses wherein the one or more sensors includes at least one occupancy sensor (Col. 3; lines 47-49).
Regarding claim 9, Kates in view of Gruhlke and Campbell discloses the photovoltaic window treatment system of claim 7. Kates further discloses the control circuitry including at least one communication interface, the at least one communications interface to communicatively couple the control circuitry to one or more external networks (Col. 3, lines 33-46).
Regarding claim 10, Kates discloses a photovoltaic window treatment (Abstract) method, comprising:
generating an output voltage using a photovoltaic cell in a portion of an interior surface of a window (the internal power source of the motorized shade is recharged by a solar cell, Abstract; Note: the solar cell inherently generates a direct current (DC) voltage when exposed to sunlight);
receiving, by control circuitry, at least a portion of the voltage output generated by the plurality of photovoltaic cells (the solar cells 404 is connected to controller 301, fig. 4); receiving, by an electrically actuated window treatment actuator operatively coupled to the control circuitry (tubular motor is connected to the controller 301, fig. 4), at least a portion of the voltage output generated by the plurality of photovoltaic cells (the electronically-controlled motorized shade includes a solar cell configured to charge the first power source, Col. 2; lines 33-35), the electrically actuated window treatment couplable to a surface of a wall that defines an interior space of a structure (The tube 202 is mounted to (or near) a window frame 250; Col. 5; line 29; shows that the window shade 202 is mounted on the wall and defines the interior space); and
positioning, by the control circuitry via the electrical operator, the window treatment at each of a plurality of positions along the window to control a quantity of light admitted to the interior space of the structure (The controller 301 controls the motor 303. In one embodiment, the motor 303 provides position feedback to the controller 301. In one embodiment, the controller 301 reports shade position to the central control system 601 and/or group controllers 607, 608. The motor 303 provides mechanical movements to control the light through the window, Col. 8, lines 21-25). Kates further discloses the solar cell provide power to recharge the first power source, however, Kates is silent about generating an output voltage using a photovoltaic film layer affixable to at least a portion of an interior surface of a window; wherein the photovoltaic film layer includes: a transparent substrate; a plurality of photovoltaic cells arranged in a frit pattern on the transparent substrate, the frit pattern to permit a first portion of sunlight to pass between the plurality of photovoltaic cells and through the transparent substrate and the plurality of photovoltaic cells to generate a voltage output when exposed to a second portion of the sunlight ; and an electrical grid that includes a plurality of discrete electrical conductors that conductively couple the plurality of photovoltaic cells.
Gruhlke discloses generating an output voltage using a photovoltaic film layer (the photovoltaic cell 100 can be formed by using thin film technology, paragraph [0034]) affixable to at least a portion of an interior surface of a window (a method of manufacturing a window includes providing a partially transmissive pane, the pane including a surface for receiving light, disposing a plurality of photovoltaic cells around the perimeter of the pane, paragraph [0009]); wherein the photovoltaic film layer includes:
a transparent substrate (photovoltaic cell 100 can be formed by using thin film technology. For example, in one implementation, where optical energy passes through a transparent substrate, the photovoltaic cell 100 may be formed by depositing a first or front electrode layer 103 of TCO on a substrate, paragraph [0034]);
a plurality of photovoltaic cells arranged in a frit pattern on the transparent substrate(202, fig. 2A; 202 is arranged around the perimeter of the window 200, paragraph [0037]Note: from the specification of instant application The frit pattern of a fritted glass panel may include an arrangement of dots, lines, holes, blocks, or other geometric shapes, paragraph [0002]), the plurality of photovoltaic cells to generate a voltage output when exposed to sunlight ; and
an electrical grid (electrical grid pattern can be seen if fig. 2B, paragraph [0039]) that includes a plurality of discrete electrical conductors that conductively couple the plurality of photovoltaic cells (The network of conductive carriers can collect current over substantially the entire surface of the photovoltaic device. Carriers can be collected by relatively thin lines at relatively close spacing throughout the surface of the photovoltaic device and the combined current from these thin lines can flow through a few sparsely spaced and wider width bus lines to the edge of the photovoltaic device, paragraph [0036] Ohm's law states that voltage is directly proportional to the current in a circuit; thus, the photovoltaic cells also provide equal amount of voltage as current).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of claimed invention to modify Kates’s window treatment to have the solar cells on thin film disposed on the interior surface of the window as taught by Gruhlke, in order to improve the design, and efficiency and increase the usage of the photovoltaic cells to operate various devices like window shade.
Campbell discloses the solar cells can be arranged such that the frit pattern to permit a first portion of sunlight to pass between the plurality of photovoltaic cells and through the transparent substrate ( "window shade effect" whereby solar cells are formed on a transparent substrate with gaps between adjacent solar cells. This allows some light to pass through to create a transparent effect. The larger the gaps, the more transparency the device has, paragraph [0011], [0024]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of claimed invention to modify Kates’s window treatment system in view of Gruhlke to have the solar cells arranged with the gap over the surface of the window as taught by Campbell, in order to maximize exposure of the photovoltaic cells to sunlight adjacent the window and thereby improve charging capability for the motorized shade system.
Regarding claim 11, Kates in view of Gruhkle and Campbell discloses the photovoltaic window treatment method of claim 10. Kates further discloses the method further comprising: storing at least a portion of the electrical energy produced by the plurality of photovoltaic cells in one or more operatively coupled energy storage devices (one or more solar cells are provided to recharge the batteries when light is available, Col. 3; lines 31-32; a solar cell 307 is provided to the controller 301, Col. 5; lines 65-66; A motor 303, such as, for example, a tubular motor with a gearbox, is provided to the controller 301, Col. 5, lines 36-37).
Regarding claim 14, Kates in view of Gruhkle and Campbell discloses the photovoltaic window treatment method of claim 10. Kates further discloses the method further comprising transferring at least a portion of the output voltage produced by the plurality of photovoltaic cells to one or more sensors operatively coupled to the control circuitry (solar cells 404 is connected to the controller 301 and 301 is further connected to an InfraRed (IR) and/or light sensor receiver, fig. 4; Col. 5, lines 48-50).
Regarding claim 15, Kates in view of Gruhkle and Campbell discloses the photovoltaic window treatment method of claim 14. Kates further discloses wherein transferring at least the portion of the output voltage produced by the plurality of photovoltaic cells to the one or more sensors operatively coupled to the control circuitry (solar cells 404 is connected to controller 301 which is which is further connected to various sensors, fig. 4) further comprises: transferring at least a portion of the output voltage produced by the plurality of photovoltaic cells to one or more occupancy sensors operatively coupled to the control circuitry (Col. 3, lines 47-53).
Regarding claim 16, Kates discloses a photovoltaic window treatment controller (301, fig. 4), comprising:
communications interface circuitry (a communication system to allow for remote control of the motorized shade, Abstract); and control circuitry (controller 301, fig. 4), the control circuitry to:
receive at least a portion of an output voltage produced by a photovoltaic cell (the one or more conductors in the shade material provide connections to power sources, such as, for example, solar cells (see e.g., FIG. 4b); Col. 6; lines 29-30),
provide at least a portion of the voltage output produced by the plurality of photovoltaic cells to an electrical actuator operatively coupled to an electrically actuated window treatment (solar cell 404 is coupled to the controller 301 which is further connected to 303, fig. 4), to a window, the electrically actuated window treatment couplable to a surface of a wall that defines an interior space of a structure (The tube 202 is mounted to (or near) a window frame 250; Col. 5; line 29; shows that the window shade 202 is mounted on the wall and defines the interior space);
cause an electrical actuator to position the electrically actuated window treatment at each of a plurality of positions along the window to control a quantity of light admitted to the interior space of the structure(The controller 301 controls the motor 303. In one embodiment, the motor 303 provides position feedback to the controller 301. In one embodiment, the controller 301 reports shade position to the central control system 601 and/or group controllers 607, 608. The motor 303 provides mechanical movements to control the light through the window, Col. 8, lines 21-25). Kates further discloses the solar cell recharge the first power source; However, Kates is silent over wherein the photovoltaic film layer includes: a transparent substrate; a plurality of photovoltaic cells arranged in a frit pattern on the transparent substrate, the frit pattern to permit a first portion of sunlight to pass between the plurality of photovoltaic cells and through the transparent substrate and the plurality of photovoltaic cells to generate a voltage output when exposed to sunlight; and an electrical grid that includes a plurality of discrete electrical conductors that conductively couple the plurality of photovoltaic cells.
Gruhkle discloses wherein the photovoltaic film layer(the photovoltaic cell 100 can be formed by using thin film technology, paragraph [0034]) includes: a transparent substrate (photovoltaic cell 100 can be formed by using thin film technology. For example, in one implementation, where optical energy passes through a transparent substrate, the photovoltaic cell 100 may be formed by depositing a first or front electrode layer 103 of TCO on a substrate, paragraph [0034]); a plurality of photovoltaic cells arranged in a frit pattern on the transparent substrate(202, fig. 2A; 202 is arranged around the perimeter of the window 200, paragraph [0037]Note: from the specification of instant application The frit pattern of a fritted glass panel may include an arrangement of dots, lines, holes, blocks, or other geometric shapes, paragraph [0002]),
and an electrical grid(electrical grid pattern can be seen if fig. 2B, paragraph [0039]) that includes a plurality of discrete electrical conductors that conductively couple the plurality of photovoltaic cells (The network of conductive carriers can collect current over substantially the entire surface of the photovoltaic device. Carriers can be collected by relatively thin lines at relatively close spacing throughout the surface of the photovoltaic device and the combined current from these thin lines can flow through a few sparsely spaced and wider width bus lines to the edge of the photovoltaic device, paragraph [0036] Ohm's law states that voltage is directly proportional to the current in a circuit; thus, the photovoltaic cells also provide equal amount of voltage as current).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of claimed invention to modify Kates’s window treatment to have the solar cells on thin film disposed on the interior surface of the window as taught by Gruhlke, in order to improve the design, and efficiency and increase the usage of the photovoltaic cells to operate various devices like window shade.
Campbell discloses the solar cells can be arranged such that the frit pattern to permit a first portion of sunlight to pass between the plurality of photovoltaic cells and through the transparent substrate ( "window shade effect" whereby solar cells are formed on a transparent substrate with gaps between adjacent solar cells. This allows some light to pass through to create a transparent effect. The larger the gaps, the more transparency the device has, paragraph [0011], [0024]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of claimed invention to modify Kates’s window treatment system in view of Gruhlke to have the solar cells arranged with the gap over the surface of the window as taught by Campbell, in order to maximize exposure of the photovoltaic cells to sunlight adjacent the window and thereby improve charging capability for the motorized shade system.
Regarding claim 17, Kates in view of Gruhkle and Campbell discloses the controller of claim 16. Kates further discloses the control circuitry to further: store at least a portion of the electrical energy produced by the plurality of photovoltaic cells in one or more operatively coupled energy storage devices (one or more solar cells are provided to recharge the batteries when light is available, Col. 3; lines 31-32; a solar cell 307 is provided to the controller 301, Col. 5; lines 65-66; A motor 303, such as, for example, a tubular motor with a gearbox, is provided to the controller 301, Col. 5, lines 36-37).
Regarding claim 20, Kates in view of Gruhlke and Campbell discloses the photovoltaic window treatment system of claim 1. However, Kates is silent about wherein the transparent substrate further comprises an adhesive to physically couple the transparent substrate to the interior surface of the window.
Gruhlke discloses wherein the transparent substrate further comprises an adhesive to physically couple the transparent substrate to the interior surface of the window (photovoltaic cells are arranged the perimeter of a window pane. Abstract; fig. 1).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of claimed invention to modify Kates’s window treatment to have the solar cells on thin film disposed on the interior surface of the window as taught by Gruhlke, in order to improve the design, and efficiency and increase the usage of the photovoltaic cells to operate various devices like window shade.
Regarding claim 21, Kates in view of Gruhlke and Campbell discloses the photovoltaic window treatment method of claim 10. However, Katesand Campbell are silent over the method further comprising: physically coupling the transparent substrate to the interior surface of the window using an adhesive.
Gruhlke discloses the method comprising physically coupling the transparent substrate to the interior surface of the window using an adhesive (the front and back electrodes 103 and 102 can include a transparent conductor, for example, transparent conducting oxide (TCO), for example, aluminum-doped zinc oxide (ZnO:Al), fluorine-doped tin Oxide (SnO.sub.2:F), or indium tin oxide (ITO). The TCO can provide electrical contact and conductivity and simultaneously be transparent to incident radiation, including light, paragraph [0031]; fig. 1; where a plurality of photovoltaic cells are disposed around the perimeter of the pane, paragraph [0055]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of claimed invention to modify Kates’s window treatment to have the solar cells on thin film disposed on the interior surface of the window as taught by Gruhlke, in order to improve the design, and efficiency and increase the usage of the photovoltaic cells to operate various devices like window shade.
Claim(s) 4-6, 12-13, 18-19 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kates (US 7,389,806), Gurhlke (US 2013/0118547), and Campbell (US 2011/0203660). as applied to claim 3, 10, 16 above, and further in view of Hagen et al. (US 2013/0076057), herein after Hagen.
Regarding claim 4, Kates in view of Gurhlke and Campbell discloses the photovoltaic window treatment of claim 3. However, they are silent over wherein the control circuitry further comprises voltage measurement circuitry to measure the voltage output of the plurality of photovoltaic cells.
Hagen discloses the controller 54 may monitor the voltage provided by the photovoltaic cells 56, and comparing that voltage to a threshold (paragraph [0030]).
It would have been obvious to one ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of claimed invention to modify Kates’s window treatment system in view of Gruhlke and and Campbell to include a step of measuring the voltage of photovoltaic cells as taught by Hagen, in order to assess the performance of photovoltaic cells, determining capability with other system components and ensuring efficient energy conversion.
Regarding claim 5, Kates in view of Gurhlke, Campbell and Hagen disclose the photovoltaic window treatment of claim 4. Kates further discloses wherein the control circuitry to further provide at least one output representative of a measured daylight intensity incident on at least a portion of the window (Col. 3; lines 20-27), the measured daylight intensity determined using the voltage signal provided by the plurality of photocells (one or more solar cells are provided to recharge the batteries when light is available. Col. 3; lines 30-32).
Regarding claim 6, Kates in view of Gurhlke, Campbell and Hagen disclose the photovoltaic window treatment of claim 5.Kates further discloses wherein the control circuitry positions the window treatment using the measured daylight intensity (the motor 303 includes a motor to control the amount of light that flows through the motorized shade 400 (e.g., the amount of light that flows from the window into the room). In one embodiment, the system 601 allows a user to set the desired room temperature and/or lighting. An optional sensor 404 is provided to the controller 301, Col. 8, lines 24-32).
Regarding claim 12, Kates in view of Gurhlke and Campbell disclose the method of claim 10. However, they are silent about the method further comprising: measuring, by voltage measurement circuitry operatively coupled to the control circuitry, an output voltage produced by the plurality of photovoltaic cells.
Hagen discloses further comprising: measuring, by voltage measurement circuitry operatively coupled to the control circuitry, an output voltage produced by the plurality of photovoltaic cells (paragraph [0030]).
It would have been obvious to one ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of claimed invention to modify Kates’s window treatment system in view of Gruhlke and Campbell to include a step of measuring the voltage of photovoltaic cells as taught by Hagen, in order to assess the performance of photovoltaic cells, determining capability with other system components and ensuring efficient energy conversion.
Regarding claim 13, Kates in view of Gurhlke, Campbell and Hagen disclose the method of claim 12. Kates further discloses wherein the window treatment to control the quantity of light admitted to the interior space proximate the window (Col. 3; lines 20-27) further comprises: positioning, by the control circuitry via the electrical operator, the window treatment based on the measured output voltage of the plurality of photovoltaic cells (one or more solar cells are provided to recharge the batteries when light is available. Col. 3; lines 30-32).
Regarding claim 18, Kates in view of Gurhlke and Campbell discloses the controller of claim 16. However, they are silent over the control circuitry to further: measure, by voltage measurement circuitry operatively coupled to the control circuitry, an output voltage produced by the plurality of photovoltaic cells.
Hagen discloses the control circuitry to further: measure, by voltage measurement circuitry operatively coupled to the control circuitry, an output voltage produced by the plurality of photovoltaic cells (paragraph [0030]).
It would have been obvious to one ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of claimed invention to modify Kates’s window treatment system in view of Gruhlke to include a step of measuring the voltage of photovoltaic cells as taught by Hagen, in order to assess the performance of photovoltaic cells, determining capability with other system components and ensuring efficient energy conversion
Regarding claim 19, Kates in view of Gurhlke, Campbell and Hagen disclose the controller of claim 18. Kates further discloses wherein to position the window treatment to control the quantity of light admitted to the interior space proximate the window (Col. 3; lines 20-27), the control circuitry to further: position the window treatment based on the measured output voltage of the plurality of photovoltaic cells (one or more solar cells are provided to recharge the batteries when light is available. Col. 3; lines 30-32).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to SADIA KOUSAR whose telephone number is (571)272-3386. The examiner can normally be reached M-Th 7:30am-5:30pm.
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SADIA . KOUSAR
Examiner
Art Unit 2859
/JULIAN D HUFFMAN/ Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2859
Prosecution Insights