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 .
Examiner’s Note
Examiner has cited particular paragraphs/columns and line numbers or figures in the references as applied to the claims below for the convenience of the applicant. Although the specified citations are representative of the teachings in the art and are applied to the specific limitations within the individual claim, other passages and figures may apply as well. It is respectfully requested from the applicant, in preparing the responses, to fully consider the references in entirety as potentially teaching all or part of the claimed invention, as well as the context of the passage as taught by the prior art or disclosed by the examiner. Applicant is reminded that the Examiner is entitled to give the broadest reasonable interpretation to the language of the claims. Furthermore, the Examiner is not limited to Applicants’ definition which is not specifically set forth in the claims.
Response to Amendment
The amendment filed 5/17/2026 has been entered. Claims 1, 4-10, and 12-15 remain pending in the application.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 5/27/2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
Firstly regarding the arguments against the rejection, the Sun, Dorsch, Gavrilov, and Hultermans references are no longer used to reject the claims as currently amended and as such arguments against these reference are moot. The Examiner does not concede to any allegation of impermissible hindsight based on the number of references, in part because number of references is not hindsight reasoning.
Further, the argument that some references represent a robot/drone but others are stationary systems does not make the rejection improper. This is used in regards to the Sela reference which does remain in the rejection and is not directed to a mobile robot/drone/IoT device. As examined the previous iteration of the independent claim was silent on the robot/drone/IoT device, burying this in a dependent claim, while the currently amended independent claim still claims a system that is not contained entirely within or using the robot/drone/IoT device; instead simply claiming that the system includes one. The claim also includes “wherein the system further comprises a light source, and solar panels”, which precludes the full system from being contained on or in the robot/drone/device as the solar panels being cleaned certainly will not be. This said, even if this were the case it would be an obvious combination as the Tadayon reference discloses a solar panel cleaning robot system having a dirt sensor, and Sela being a dirt sensor is an obvious modification to use a particular type of sensor in place of the existing one.
Finally regarding the Sela reference, the applicant alleges it is improper to use as Sela “does disclose a light source and detector on opposite sides of the solar panel, not for triggering cleaning, but to determine efficiency”. This ignores the fact that Sela “determines efficiency” explicitly in order to detect dirt- this is a dirt detection sensor ([0031] “a photovoltaic cell array; an illuminator for artificially illuminating a dirt-effectible surface of said solar panel; and an efficiency estimation module connected to said illuminator and to at least one cell of said photovoltaic cell array, said module being configured to estimate, based on an amount of artificial illumination received by said at least one cell, the efficiency of said solar panel due to dirt on said surface”). Therefore it would be plainly obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art at the time of the applicant’s claimed invention to combine Sela’s dirt detection sensor with Tadayon with has a dirt detection sensor and triggers cleaning based on said detection. For this and the reasons above, the examiner considers the rejection proper, see updated rejection below.
Claim Objections
Claims 12 and 15 are objected to because of the following informalities: As currently amended, the claims 12 and 15 are now the same claim and depend from the same previous claim, making them redundant. Further, Claim 12 still recites “a robot” despite said robot being defined in the amended Claim 1 and should read “the robot” or “robot” as in other dependent claims.. Appropriate correction is required.
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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claims 1, 2, 4-8, and 12-15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Tadayon (US 20120152877), herein after referred to as Tadayon, in view of Sela (US 20110265840), herein after referred to as Sela.
Regarding Claim 1, Tadayon discloses:
a wired or wireless communication interface, (see at least [0182] “ The stations may wirelessly communicate with the robot, each other, and/or a network infrastructure. ”)
a drone, robot, or IoT device; (see at least [0062] “ cleaning robot (for cleaning the panels)”)
one or more sensors configured to detect the at least one of dust, dirt, snow, and ice; (see at least [0067] “the robot can also use a camera(s) or sensor(s) for optical measurements. For example, it can take a picture of the surface of the device or panel, to see the roughness of the surface, or measure the reflectivity changes (by shining the light on the surface, and measuring the reflection using a detector or sensor nearby, on the path of reflection), to detect the debris, dirt, snow, or ice on the panel or device,”)
and one or more processors configured to perform instructions, the instructions configured to cause the one or more processors to receive an indication from the one or more sensors relating to a detection of at least one of dust, dirt, snow, and ice (see at least [0067] “Anything above a threshold or having a specific pattern(s) is considered as unacceptable debris, dirt, snow, or ice on the panel or device, as an example. The photo-luminescence and other optical measurements (mentioned above) may require a detector (for light or particle detector), plus a computer and/or frequency analyzer, as an example.”)
wherein the system further comprises a light source, (see at least [Fig. 16a] [0069] “ In one embodiment, the robot may have a light source or infrared source, for better illumination and detection, on the panel,”)
and solar panels (see at least [0180] “dry or clean the solar cells or solar panel, from water, rain, dust or debris.”)
and wherein the instructions configured to cause the one or more processors to automatically instruct the drone, robot, or IoT device to clean the solar panels based on the indication. (see at least [0125] “ FIG. 16b shows a robot in action/cleaning, which is monitored in real-time or on-spot, using a camera connected to HQ, with a light illuminating the panel for inspection, analyzing the images at HQ, for pattern recognition or surface analysis, to stop the cleaning or do more, depending the quality (status) of the surface, if needed, based on some threshold or range of cleanliness,”)
Tadayon does not explicitly disclose:
and wherein the light source and the one or more sensors are positioned on opposite sides of the solar panels
such that the one or more sensors are configured to detect the amount of light passing through the solar panels
and wherein the indication is related to the amount of light passing through the solar panels.
In the same field of endeavor, Sela discloses:
and wherein the light source and the one or more sensors are positioned on opposite sides of the solar panels (see at least [Fig 3, items 33 and 50] [0077] “In an embodiment, an artificial light 33 may be placed external to casing 38 of efficiency estimator 31.”)
such that the one or more sensors are configured to detect the amount of light passing through the solar panels (see at least [0079] “Processing unit 41 may filter digital signal 40, to detect D.C. and A.C. components in the voltage generated by photovoltaic cell 50. Detected D.C. may be attributed to sunlight, whereas detected A.C. may be attributed to the artificial illumination ... As a simplistic example, if the artificial illuminator is configured to emit light at an X intensity level, and the voltage generated by photovoltaic cell 50 in response to the illumination is 0.8.times., the efficiency reduction due to dirt is 20%.”)
and wherein the indication is related to the amount of light passing through the solar panels. (see at least [0077] “In this embodiment, lack of dirt will cause essentially the entire amount of light emitted by artificial light 33 to be received by photovoltaic cell 50, while the existence of dirt 37 will cause less light to be received.”)
The above pieces of prior art are considered analogous as they both represent inventions in the solar panel maintenance field. 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 the teachings of Tadayon to use a system in which the light and sensor are on opposite side of the solar panel in order to determine the amount of light passing through the panel to determine dirt or other debris. as taught by Sela to use the photovoltaic power generation to determine debris [0077].
Regarding Claim 2, modified Tadayon discloses the limitations of Claim 1, and Tadayon further discloses:
and wherein the one or more sensors comprise the drone, the robot, or IoT device. (see at least [0125] “ FIG. 16b shows a robot in action/cleaning, which is monitored in real-time or on-spot, using a camera connected to HQ, with a light illuminating the panel for inspection,”)
Regarding Claim 4, modified Tadayon discloses the limitations of Claim 1, and Tadayon further discloses:
wherein the layout of the solar panels and an area adjacent the solar panels can be programmed into the system, (see at least [0128] “The movement of the robot is based on, e.g.: (1) a pattern (for the routes it uses, on the ground of the farm, e.g. using a GPS/global positioning system, or marker/flags around/along the routes) instructed from HQ,”)
and wherein the drone, robot, or IoT device are configured to autonomously deploy from the area adjacent the solar panels. (see at least [0189] “ navigation e.g. GPS or tags or IDs to find and locate objects, robots, or panels (or find the best/fastest/shortest route to get to a destination/panel),”)
Regarding Claim 5, modified Tadayon discloses the limitations of Claim 4, and Tadayon further discloses:
wherein the drone, a robot, or IoT device also comprises a brush or vacuum to clean the at least one of dust, dirt, snow, and ice detected on the solar panels. (see at least [Fig 16 a-c] [Fig 19 a-c] [0077] “ in case of the dirty panel, the cleaning robot comes in, near the dirty panel, and it uses the brush, water, soap, chemicals, razor blade, broom, or combinations of them,”)
Regarding Claim 6, modified Tadayon discloses the limitations of Claim 1, and Tadayon further discloses:
wherein the detection of the at least one of dust, dirt, snow, and ice comprises detection of the at least one of dust, dirt, snow, and ice beyond a pre- determined threshold amount (see at least [0067] “ Anything above a threshold or having a specific pattern(s) is considered as unacceptable debris, dirt, snow, or ice on the panel or device,”)
Regarding Claim 7, modified Tadayon discloses the limitations of Claim 1, and Tadayon further discloses:
further comprising one or more databases communicatively coupled to the one or more processors and configured to store data relating to at least one of dust, dirt, snow, and ice levels. (see at least [0075] “ by taking pictures of the surface for debris detection, using a pattern recognition software (or comparing to the clean surface's picture stored previously, as a baseline or calibration/test sample),”)
Regarding Claim 8, modified Tadayon discloses the limitations of Claim 1, and Tadayon further discloses:
wherein the data relating to the at least one of dust, dirt, snow, and ice levels comprises image data. (see at least [0067] “the robot can also use a camera(s) or sensor(s) for optical measurements. For example, it can take a picture of the surface of the device or panel, to see the roughness of the surface, or measure the reflectivity changes (by shining the light on the surface, and measuring the reflection using a detector or sensor nearby, on the path of reflection), to detect the debris, dirt, snow, or ice on the panel or device,”)
Regarding Claim 12, modified Tadayon discloses the limitations of Claim 1, and Tadayon further discloses:
wherein the instructions are further configured to cause the drone, a robot, or IoT device to spray a cleaning formulation onto at least a portion of the solar panels upon the detection of the at least one of dust, dirt, snow, and ice. (see at least [0077] “in case of the dirty panel, the cleaning robot comes in, near the dirty panel, and it uses the brush, water, soap" [0181] "multiple nozzles may be used to dispense or spray various materials (e.g., liquids or gas or powder or mixture or compound or fluid or detergent”)
Regarding Claim 13, modified Tadayon discloses the limitations of Claim 1, and Tadayon further discloses:
further comprising a wired or wireless communication interface, and wherein the instructions are further configured to cause the one or more processors to communicate, via the communication interface to a platform, data relating to at least one of the indication and the cleaning. (see at least [0189] “ FIG. 33b shows robot components, connected electrically or data-wise, wirelessly or by wire or optically, communicating or sending data/information to each other. For example, they are: memory, processor unit or microprocessor for analysis, connected to HQ for further processing, communication devices or antennas or optical for sending data in/out, controllers e.g. to adjust air pressure,”)
Regarding Claim 14, modified Tadayon discloses the limitations of Claim 13, and Tadayon further discloses:
wherein the data relating to at least one of the indication and the cleaning comprises before and after image data. (see at least [0125] “a robot in action/cleaning, which is monitored in real-time or on-spot, using a camera connected to HQ, with a light illuminating the panel for inspection, analyzing the images at HQ, for pattern recognition or surface analysis, to stop the cleaning or do more, depending the quality (status) of the surface, if needed, based on some threshold or range of cleanliness,”)
Regarding Claim 15, modified Tadayon discloses the limitations of Claim 1, and Tadayon further discloses:
wherein the instructions are further configured to cause the drone, robot, or IoT device to spray a cleaning formulation onto at least a portion of the solar panels upon the detection of the at least one of dust, dirt, snow, and ice. (see at least [0077] “in case of the dirty panel, the cleaning robot comes in, near the dirty panel, and it uses the brush, water, soap" [0181] "multiple nozzles may be used to dispense or spray various materials (e.g., liquids or gas or powder or mixture or compound or fluid or detergent”)
Claim 9 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Tadayon (US 20120152877), herein after referred to as Tadayon, in view of Sela (US 20110265840), herein after referred to as Sela, and Xu (CN 112183403), herein after referred to as Xu.
Regarding Claim 9, Sun discloses the limitations of Claim 1, but Sun does not explicitly disclose:
wherein the data relating to the at least one of dust, dirt, snow, and ice levels comprises pixel data.
In the same field of endeavor, Xu discloses:
wherein the data relating to the at least one of dust, dirt, snow, and ice levels comprises pixel data. (see at least [P. 12, Ln 3-7] “the pixel point in the first pixel value range is defined as the normal pixel point (i.e., no dirty pixel point; namely the pixel point of the solar panel itself); the pixel point in the range of the second pixel value is the dirty pixel point.”)
The above pieces of prior art are considered analogous as they both represent inventions in the solar panel cleaning field. 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 the teachings of Sun to use pixel data as the data relating to the at least one of dust, dirt, snow, and ice levels, as taught by Xu to detect dust detection on a solar panel from data on the pixels in a captured image [Page 4].
Claim 10 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Tadayon (US 20120152877), herein after referred to as Tadayon, in view of Sela (US 20110265840), herein after referred to as Sela, and Wang (CN 110404835), herein after referred to as Wang.
Regarding Claim 10, Sun discloses the limitations of Claim 1, but Sun does not explicitly disclose:
wherein the data relating to the at least one of dust, dirt, snow, and ice levels comprises at least one of laser and infrared measurement data.
In the same field of endeavor, Wang discloses:
wherein the data relating to the at least one of dust, dirt, snow, and ice levels comprises at least one of laser and infrared measurement data. (see at least [P. 4, Ln 34-35] “In order to ensure the accuracy of dust detection system for detecting the light emitting light source 11 adopts special infrared light source”)
The above pieces of prior art are considered analogous as they both represent inventions in the cleaning field. 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 the teachings of Sun to use one of infrared and laser data as the data relating to the at least one of dust, dirt, snow, and ice levels, as taught by Wang to ensure accurate readings [P. 4].
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JACOB D UNDERBAKKE whose telephone number is (571)272-6657. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 8:00-5:00.
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/JACOB DANIEL UNDERBAKKE/Examiner, Art Unit 3662
/MAHMOUD S ISMAIL/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3662
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