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 without traverse of group I and specie 1A (claims 1-5, 11-15) in the reply filed on 11/4/2025 is acknowledged.
Specification
The disclosure is objected to because of the following informalities: the specification discloses soldering and welding. It is unclear if the invention is welding or soldering.
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 1-5, 11-15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
The term “fine grid lines” in claim 1 is a relative term which renders the claim indefinite. The term “fine” is not defined by the claim, the specification does not provide a standard for ascertaining the requisite degree, and one of ordinary skill in the art would not be reasonably apprised of the scope of the invention. At what value would the grid lines no longer be considered fine? Is there a specific value or range that must be met for the grid lines to be considered fine?
Claim 1 is indefinite because it is unclear what is meant by “connecting any two of the cells through welding strips so as to obtain a plurality of cell strings”. How are a plurality of cell strings formed by connecting any two of the cells? This would only create one cell string. Are there multiple connections of any two cells being created in order to obtain a plurality of cell strings? The Examiner requests that the Applicant please clarify.
Claim 1 is indefinite because it is unclear if “the cell strings” are the same as the “plurality of cell strings” or if they are different cell strings. If they are the same, is this referring to all of the plurality of cell strings? The Examiner requests that the Applicant please clarify this limitation.
Claims 1-5 and 11-15 are indefinite because it is unclear if the process is welding or soldering. The claims state welding strips and welding; however; the background discusses solder and how too much solder paste is consumed. The summary of the invention mentions reducing the consumption of silver paste (solder) during the bonding process to save on manufacturing costs. The “Summary” of the specification then states that the cell strings are typesetted, reflow-soldered, and then laminated. This would indicate that there is a soldering process occurring. The specification also states that an embodiment of the welding strip may be a copper wire or a copper strip with a low temperature alloy coating that can be melted to form an alloy connection. Since the claims all refer to welding strips, is there actually a welding process or is it a soldering process? Welding and soldering are different processes and cannot be used interchangeably. Welding uses heat to melt two or more materials to join them together. Solder is a low-melting alloy used for joining metals together. It is unclear if the steps of the method are actually welding or soldering. The Examiner requests that the Applicant please clarify. Since the Examiner does not know which process is actually being performed, art cannot be applied to the current claims.
Claim 11 is indefinite because it is unclear what is meant by “before heating and laminating the cell string laminate, limiting each welding strip by a pre-crosslinked packaging film”. What is meant by “limiting each welding strip by a cross-linked packaging film”. How are the welding strips limited? Are they limited in size and shape? Are they limited in location? The specification does not give any guidance as to what is meant by this limitation. It is unclear what is meant by limiting and requests that the Applicant please clarify.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ERIN B SAAD whose telephone number is (571)270-3634. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Thursday 7:30a-6p.
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/ERIN B SAAD/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1735
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