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 species B in the reply filed on 09/28/2026 is acknowledged.
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.
Claim(s) 1 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102a1 as being anticipated by CN218241864, hereinafter as ‘864.
Regarding claim 1 and 11, ‘864 teaches a PV module comprising an adhesive film 100 (package film) (abstract) where the adhesive film comprising:
an edge portion provided with a first embossment recessed towards an interior of the edge portion [fig 1-3 see drawing below];
a transition portion provided with a second embossment recessed towards an interior of the transition portion (fig 1-3 see drawing below); and
a middle portion provided with a third embossment recessed towards an interior of the middle portion [fig 1-3 see drawing below];
wherein the edge portion is connected to the middle portion through the transition portion , a recessed space volume per unit area of the third embossment is greater than a recessed space volume per unit area of the second embossment , and the recessed space volume per unit area of the second embossment is greater than a recessed space volume per unit area of the first embossment [fig 1-3 see drawing below].
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Regarding claim 2, 12, since ‘864 teaches the transition portion including a portion of the depth of edge portion and middle portion where D3>D1, it is considered that D3>D2>D1.
Regarding claim 3, 13, since ‘864 teaches the transition portion including a portion of the depth of edge portion and middle portion, the second embossment (21) has a minimum depth D₂ᵐin and a maximum depth D₂ᵐᵃx, where D₂ᵐin=D₁ and D₂ᵐᵃx=D₃ [fig 1-3]and a depth of the second embossment gradually decreases along a direction from the middle portion (3) to the edge portion.
Regarding claim 9, 19, ‘864 teaches the edge portion, the transition portion and the middle portion have a same thickness [fig 1-3 see drawing above].
Regarding claim 10, 20, the adhesive film is in a shape of a rectangle, and the edge portion is provided on at least one pair of opposite sides of the adhesive film (on the left and right side) [fig 1-3 para 3 of specific implementation examples section].
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.
Claim(s) 4-8, 14-18 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over CN218241864 as applied to claim 2 above.
Regarding claim 4 and 5, 14-15, ‘864 teaches the adhesive 100 being made of POE where the difference of D1 and D3 is more than 90 micron which is overlapped claimed range [para 4 10 of specific implementation examples section]. According to MPEP 2144.05, in the case where the claimed ranges “overlap or lie inside ranges disclosed by the prior art” a prima facie case of obviousness exists. In re Wertheim, 541 F.2d 257, 191 USPQ 90 (CCPA 1976); In re Woodruff, 919 F.2d 1575, 16 USPQ2d 1934 (Fed. Cir. 1990).
Regarding claim 6, 16, ‘864 teaches D1 being 0.01-80 micron and D3 being 100-250 microns which is overlapped the claimed range [para 11 12 of specific implementation examples section]. According to MPEP 2144.05, in the case where the claimed ranges “overlap or lie inside ranges disclosed by the prior art” a prima facie case of obviousness exists. In re Wertheim, 541 F.2d 257, 191 USPQ 90 (CCPA 1976); In re Woodruff, 919 F.2d 1575, 16 USPQ2d 1934 (Fed. Cir. 1990).
Regarding claim 7, 17, ‘864 teaches the edge portion having width of 10-100 nm [para 16 of specific implementation examples section] which is overlapped the claimed range. According to MPEP 2144.05, in the case where the claimed ranges “overlap or lie inside ranges disclosed by the prior art” a prima facie case of obviousness exists. In re Wertheim, 541 F.2d 257, 191 USPQ 90 (CCPA 1976); In re Woodruff, 919 F.2d 1575, 16 USPQ2d 1934 (Fed. Cir. 1990).
Regarding claim 8, 18, ‘864 teaches the edge portion has a gram weight per unit area M₁, the transition portion has a gram weight per unit area M₂, the middle portion has a gram weight per unit area M3, but ‘864 does not teach M1, M2,M3 and difference between M1 and M3 as claimed.
‘864 teaches by controlling the end area and the middle area of gram weight, the end area and the middle area of the gram weight difference, it would improve the process efficiency reduce the production of the packaging film edge bubble, reduce the risk of hiding the battery sheet edge [para 22 of specific implementation examples section].
The court has held that absent evidence of criticality or unexpected results, optimization of a result effective variable will not support the patentability of subject matter encompassed by the prior art."[W]here the general conditions of a claim are disclosed in the prior art, it is not inventive to discover the optimum or workable ranges by routine experimentation." See In re Aller, 220 F.2d 454, 456, 105 USPQ 233, 235 (CCPA 1955). The discovery of an optimum value of a known result effective variable, without producing any new or unexpected results, is within the ambit of a person of ordinary skill in the art. See In re Boesch, 205 USPQ 215 (CCPA 1980) (see MPEP§ 2144.05, II.).
Therefore, absent the showing of criticality or unexpected results, it would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to adjust M1,M2 and M3 to arrive clamed range for improving the process efficiency, reducing the production of the packaging film edge bubble, and the risk of hiding the battery sheet edge [para 22 of specific implementation examples section].
Conclusion
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/UYEN M TRAN/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1726
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