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 .
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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 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 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Lund-Hansen (US 6,384,314).
Regarding claim 1, Lund-Hansen discloses a slat for a solar cell, the slat comprising:
a plate-like slat body (8), Fig 1) including a first surface (top surface), a second surface (bottom surface) opposite to the first surface, and a first side surface (between the first and second side surfaces);
a plate-like solar cell unit (10) fixed to the plate-like slat body; and
a connection box (16) including a conductor (flat conductors), a housing (enclosing conductors), and a cable (20),
the plate-like slat body (10) having a longitudinal direction being a first direction along the first surface (Fig 1),
the plate-like solar cell unit (10) including a third surface (bottom surface of 10) on the first surface (top surface of the slat body), a fourth surface (top surface of 10) opposite to the third surface, and a second side surface (vertical edge) connecting the third surface and the fourth surface,
the plate-like solar cell unit (10) having a longitudinal direction being the first direction (Fig 1),
the conductor (16) being connected to a wire (40) connected to an electrode (28) in the plate-like solar cell unit (Fig 4), the housing accommodating the conductor and being along at least one of the first side surface or the second side surface (Figs 3, 5, 7, and 8),
the cable (20) being electrically connected to the conductor (16) and protruding from inside the housing to outside the housing (via 14).
Regarding claim 2, wherein the first side surface is at an end of the plate-like slat body (8) in the first direction, and the second side surface is at an end of the plate-like solar cell unit (10) in the first direction (Fig 3).
Regarding claim 3, wherein the plate-like solar cell unit includes a first portion along the plate-like slat body (main body of solar cell 10) and a second portion protruding from the plate-like slat body in the first direction (protrusion over 28 and 30, shown in Fig 5), and the housing is along a first area including a surface of the second portion in the third surface and along the first side surface (housing overlaps the second portion, see Figs 5 and 7).
Claims 1-2, 4, 6-8, and 10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Ishiguro (JP 2008-7934 A).
Regarding claim 1, Ishiguro discloses a slat for a solar cell (Figs 2 and 3), the slat comprising:
a plate-like slat body (2) including a first surface, a second surface opposite to the first surface, and a first side surface;
a plate-like solar cell unit (3) fixed to the plate-like slat body; and
a connection box including a conductor (4), a housing (35), and a cable (41 of 4 with 35 have a wiring cable),
the plate-like slat body (2) having a longitudinal direction being a first direction along the first surface,
the plate-like solar cell unit including a third surface on the first surface, a fourth surface opposite to the third surface, and a second side surface connecting the third surface and the fourth surface (Figs 1-3),
the plate-like solar cell unit having a longitudinal direction being the first direction,
the conductor being connected to a wire connected to an electrode in the plate-like solar cell unit, the housing accommodating the conductor and being along at least one of the first side surface or the second side surface (Figs 2 and 4),
the cable being electrically connected to the conductor and protruding from inside the housing to outside the housing (Fig 1).
Regarding claim 2, wherein the first side surface is at an end of the plate-like slat body in the first direction, and the second side surface is at an end of the plate-like solar cell unit in the first direction (Figs 2 and 3).
Regarding claim 4, wherein the plate-like slat body includes a third portion along the plate-like solar cell unit and a fourth portion protruding from the plate-like solar cell unit in the first direction, the third surface is along a second area including a surface of the third portion in the first surface, and the housing is along a third area including at least a part of a surface of the fourth portion in the first surface and along the second side surface (Figs 2 and 3).
Regarding claim 6, wherein the plate-like slat body includes a recess or a groove receiving the plate-like solar cell unit on the first surface (evident in Fig 2).
Regarding claim 7, wherein the plate-like slat body has a lateral direction being a third direction along the first surface and orthogonal to the first direction, the plate-like solar cell unit has a lateral direction being the third direction, the plate-like slat body includes a thin plate member (Fig 2), the thin plate member includes a first plate portion and at least one of a second plate portion or a third plate portion, the first plate portion is along the third surface, the second plate portion is connected to an end of the first plate portion in the third direction and is along a side surface of the plate-like solar cell unit in the third direction, and the third plate portion is connected to an end of the first plate portion in a fourth direction opposite to the third direction and is along a side surface of the plate-like solar cell unit in the fourth direction (Figs 2 and 3).
Regarding claim 8, wherein the thin plate member includes the second plate portion and the third plate portion (Figs 2 and 3).
Regarding claim 10, Ishiguro discloses a solar cell blind, comprising: a plurality of the slats according to claim 1, the plurality of slats being arranged in a fifth direction perpendicular to the first direction (Fig 1).
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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 9 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ishiguru, as applied in claim 1 above, in further view of Fuji (JP 2004-027661).
Regarding claim 9, although Ishiguru fails to teach wherein the plate-like slat body has a lateral direction being a third direction along the first surface and orthogonal to the first direction, the plate-like solar cell unit has a lateral direction being the third direction, the first side surface is at an end of the plate-like slat body in the third direction or at an end of the plate-like slat body in a fourth direction opposite to the third direction, and the second side surface is at an end of the plate-like solar cell unit in the third direction or at an end of the plate-like solar in the fourth direction, Fuji teaches such configuration so that both ends of the solar cell (11) have a portion to coincide with ends of the slat (21), therefore it would have been obvious to modify Ishiguru with the configuration claimed since such modification involves mere design change. It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention with a reasonable expectation of success to modify Ishiguru in view of Fuji since such modification would not lead to any new or unpredictable results.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 5 objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Conclusion
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/Johnnie A. Shablack/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3634