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 .
DETAILED ACTION
Response to Election
1. This action is in response to the election filed April 13, 2026.
(Group I) Claims 1-12 were elected rendering (Group II) Claims 13-15 withdrawn to a non-elected invention.
RESPONSE TO REQUEST FOR RECONSIDERATION
2. Applicant's election with traverse of method of making a laminated glass (Group II) is acknowledged. The traversal is on the ground(s) that ‘if the search and examination of an entire application can be made without serious burden, the examiner must examine it on the merits, even though it includes claims distinct or independent inventions.’ M.P.E.P. 803. Additionally, ‘not only must the art be searched within which the invention is claimed, but also all analogous arts’ M.P.E.P. 904.01(c). The search of the 2 classes and subclasses would entail the requisite serious burden as the search for method of making is not the same as the article search. Additionally, the steps used in the method claims would not be expected to appear in the class/subclass of the product claims. Every laminated glass is not made using the same method steps
The requirement is deemed proper and is therefore made FINAL.
Information Disclosure Statement
3. The references disclosed within the information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on June 26, 2024, has been considered and initialed by the Examiner.
Claim Rejections – 35 USC § 102(a)(1)
4. 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.
5. Claims 1-2, 4, 7-9 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Gima et al. (WO 2021/095650).
Gima discloses a laminated glass comprising a pair of glass plates; a middle film which is located between the pair of glass plates; and a functional element which is located between the pair of glass plates and is in contact with the middle film (abstract).
FIG. 8 of Gima illustrates a cross section of the laminated glass 10 F having a flat electric heating element 15 F arranged in parallel to the pair of glass plates 11 and 12 as the functional element, and the electric heating element 15 F has an electrode 156 D₄ protruding outward from the surface of the electric heating element 15 F toward the outside in a wedge shape The electric heating element 15 F is in contact with the intermediate films 131 and 132 on both surfaces thereof, The intermediate film 132 on the side where the electrode 156 D₄ is not formed has a layered shape parallel to the glass plate 12, and the intermediate film 131 on the side where the electrode 156 D₄ is formed has a shape including an inclined recessed portion corresponding to the wedge-shaped protruding portion of the electrode 156 D₄ in a layer parallel to the glass plates 11 and 12 in the electrode non-forming portion, an aspect in which the intermediate film 133 is disposed in a portion corresponding to the thickness of the electric heating element 15 F is shown. (See Claim 1, paragraphs [0168]-[0169], FIG. 1, 6 (a), and 8) where Figure 8 is shown below:
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, as in claims 1-2, 4, 7-9.
Claim Objections
6. Claims 3, 5-6, 10-12 are 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. The closest prior art does not teach or suggest the recited laminated glass further including where the adhesive interlayer comprises four or more adhesive layers. The closest prior art does not teach or suggest the recited laminated glass further including wherein the two or more adhesive layers include a layer A having a glass transition point of 15°C or higher and a layer B having a glass transition point of less than 15°C. The closest prior art does not teach or suggest the recited laminated glass further including where the nonuniform region has a width of 20mm or less in a plan view. The closest prior art does not teach or suggest the recited laminated glass further including a shielding portion on the peripheral portion of at least one of the first glass plate and the second glass plate, and the nonuniform region overlaps the shielding portion in a plan view. The closest prior art does not teach or suggest the recited laminated glass further including wherein the loss factor at the primary resonance point measured at a temperature of 20°C in a frequency region of 0 Hz to 10,000 Hz is 0.1 or more.
The prior art does not teach motivation or suggestion for modification to make the invention as instantly claimed.
Conclusion
7. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Lawrence Ferguson whose telephone number is 571-272-1522. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday through Friday 9:00 AM – 5:30PM.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner's supervisor, Frank Vineis, can be reached on 571-270-1547. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/LAWRENCE D FERGUSON/Examiner, Art Unit 1781
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