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 .
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election of group I, claims 1-4, in the reply filed on January 20, 2026 is acknowledged. Because applicant did not distinctly and specifically point out the supposed errors in the restriction requirement, the election has been treated as an election without traverse (MPEP § 818.01(a)).
Claims 5-10 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected invention, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election was made without traverse in the reply filed on January 20, 2026.
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.
Claims 1, 3, and 4 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Meyer (US 2011/0272646).
Considering Claim 1: Meyer teaches a dispersion of an inorganic IR absorber, a dispersant and a solvent such as toluene (¶0058). The original specification of the instant application identifies toluene as mutually soluble for methyl methacrylate monomer and polymethyl methacrylate (¶0032). Meyer teaches the dispersant as being an acrylate (¶0062), which would be capable of intermolecular interaction with polymethyl methacrylate through hydrogen bonding of the carboxylic ester groups.
Considering Claim 3: Meyer teaches the IR absorber as being Cs0.33WO3 (¶0040) having a particle size of 5 to 100 nm (¶0055).
Considering Claim 4: Meyer teaches the dispersant as being an acrylate, which reads on the broadest reasonable interpretation of an ester.
Claims 1, 2, and 4 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Zhang (CN 107640786).
Considering Claims 1 and 4: Zhang teaches a tungsten oxide/IR absorber dispersion comprising cesium tungsten oxide, a dispersant and an organic solvent (Abstract), where the dispersant is preferably a polyoxyethylene copolymer, cetyl sodium sulfate, or polymethyl sodium acrylate (pg. 3) and the solvent is preferably toluene, ethanol, xylene, ethyl acetate, isopropanol or methyl isobutyl ketone (pg. 3). The original specification of the original specification teaches the dispersants of Zhang as being capable of generating intermolecular forces with polymethyl methacrylate, and teaches the solvents of Zhang as being mutually soluble with methyl methacrylate monomer and polymethyl methacrylate (¶0031-32).
Considering Claim 2: Zhang teaches an embodiment comprising 50% of the cesium tungsten oxide particles, 5% of the dispersing agent, and 45% of the solvent (Embodiment 4).
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.
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.
Claim 3 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Zhang (CN 107640786) as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Meyer (US 2011/0272646).
Considering Claim 3: Zhang teaches the composition of claim 1 as shown above.
Zhang teaches the particles as being cesium tungsten oxide nanoparticles, but is silent towards the particle size of the particles. However, Meyer teaches the IR absorber as being Cs0.33WO3 (¶0040) having a particle size of 5 to 100 nm (¶0055). Zhang and Meyer are analogous art as they are concerned with the same field of endeavor, namely infrared absorbing dispersions. It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art to have selected the particle size of Meyer for the particles of Zhang, and the motivation to do so would have been, as Meyer suggests, to provide particles that are transparent in the visible spectrum while having absorption in the IR range (¶0055).
Correspondence
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to LIAM J HEINCER whose telephone number is (571)270-3297. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 7:30-5:00.
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, Mark Eashoo can be reached at 571-272-1197. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/LIAM J HEINCER/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1767
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