DETAILED ACTION
This is the first Office Action regarding application number 18/757,551, filed on 06/28/2024, which is a CON of PCT/EP2021/087862, filed on 12/30/2021.
This action is in response to the Applicant’s Response received 11/26/2025.
Election of Restricted Inventions
The Applicant’s election without traverse of Species A1 (claims 1-4 and 9-20) in the reply received on 11/26/2025 is acknowledged.
Status of Claims
Claims 1-20 are pending.
Claims 5-8 are withdrawn.
Claims 1-4 and 9-20 are examined below.
No claim is allowed.
Drawings
The drawings are objected to because Figs. 2A-2C are not identified as prior art. These figures are illustrated identically on page 800 of RENZO (“Reconfigurable Intelligent Surfaces vs. Relaying: Differences, Similarities, and Performance Comparison”, cited in 08/27/2024 IDS).
Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. The figure or figure number of an amended drawing should not be labeled as "amended." If a drawing figure is to be canceled, the appropriate figure must be removed from the replacement sheet, and where necessary, the remaining figures must be renumbered and appropriate changes made to the brief description of the several views of the drawings for consistency. Additional replacement sheets may be necessary to show the renumbering of the remaining figures. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either "Replacement Sheet" or "New Sheet" pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
Claim Objections
Claim 10 is objected to because of the following informalities:
Claim 10 should be amended to read “The PV apparatus of claim 1”.
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
Indefiniteness
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.
Claims 1-4 and 9-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112 as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor, or for pre-AIA the applicant regards as the invention.
The claims are generally narrative and indefinite, failing to conform with current U.S. practice. They appear to be a literal translation into English from a foreign document and are replete with grammatical errors or phrases that skilled artisans would consider odd, confusing, and unclear (e.g., “entities of the PV environment”). The examiner strongly recommends that the claims be carefully reviewed, and that clarifying language is introduced to improve overall clarity.
Claim 1 recites “one or more reconfigurable intelligent surface, RIS, elements” and then recites only “the RIS element”, which must be amended to “the one or more RIS elements”.
Claim 1 recites “the PV apparatus is connectable to a grid for feeding energy into the grid”. The claim is confusing because it does not clearly indicate whether there must actually be a grid connection, or whether there must be supporting electrical components such as inverters so that electricity can actually be sent outbound into an external utility grid. The examiner assumes the word “grid” means a utility network having multiple connected and distinct customers.
At least claims 2-4, 11, 13 and 16-20 recite “the RIS element” or “the RIS”, and must be amended to “the one or more RIS elements”.
At least claims 3, 4 and 9-19 each include numerous instances of exemplary language, specifically, “e.g.,” and “like”. Each of these terms renders the claim indefinite because it is unclear whether the limitations following the phrase are part of the claimed invention. MPEP 2173.05(d).
At least claims 2, 3, 10-15 and 19 recite “the EM wave or EM beam”, occasionally adding “incident” or “outgoing” but claim 1 recites “one or more incident [EM] waves”, and “one or more incident [EM] beams”. The claims lack the necessary antecedent basis, and the examiner cannot determine exactly what waves or beams are referred to within any of the identified claims.
The entirety of claim 4 is determined to be indefinite and unclear because it seems to use imprecise and unrecognized jargon or descriptors.
At least claims 11 and 12 recite “the second/third direction”, but a third direction was never previously recited, and lacks antecedent basis.
Claim 11 recites “the radio communication system” and “the sensing system”, but these terms lack antecedent basis as neither was previously recited in claim 1.
At least claim 12 recites “the control parameter and/or the control instruction”, but claim 11 recites “one or more predefined or stored control parameters and/or control instructions”. Claim 12 is not clear whether, when there is more than one parameter/instruction, if they each all must be held in RIS controller memory. Claim 12 also recites without antecedent basis “the RIS deployment”, “the sensing elements”, and “the transmitting elements”.
The entirety of claim 14 is determined to be indefinite and unclear because the sentence structure is confusing and includes numerous instances of “or” and “and/or”.
Claims 16-18 each lack antecedent basis for “the energy harvesting element”.
Claim 19 recites “a radiation absorbing structure”, however, the examiner was not able to determine what exactly this does and does not include. Technically speaking, anything having mass will absorb some non-zero amount of incident radiant energy, since nothing is a perfect reflector.
The applicant is required to provide an explanation to why the claims contain such a prolific number of unclear terms and recitations.
The Office has identified an extremely large number of indefiniteness issues to the applicant herein. The number of issues is so great and the claims are to a large degree incomprehensible, that there exists some likelihood that the examiner was unable to include explicitly one or more other indefiniteness issues. The applicant has been provided sufficient notice and description of this ground of rejection and specific instances lacking clarity. Where further indefiniteness issues regarding existing language arise that are not specifically mentioned above, they will not be considered to be a new ground of rejection in the next Office action.
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 of this title, 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 set forth in Graham v. John Deere Co., 383 U.S. 1, 148 USPQ 459 (1966), that are applied 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 1-4 and 9-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over CHEN (CN 113764900 A).
Regarding claim 1, CHEN teaches a photovoltaic, PV, apparatus for the conversion of light into electrical energy, the PV apparatus comprising:
a surface to receive incident light (Fig. 1),
PV elements in or at the surface (“thin film solar cell 13”), the PV elements to convert light incident on the surface into electrical energy by the photovoltaic effect, and
one or more reconfigurable intelligent surface, RIS, elements (“active reflective element layer 11”) in or at the surface, the RIS element operating as reconfigurable intelligent surface, RIS, to direct or reflect one or more incident electromagnetic, EM, waves or one or more incident EM beams (EM from source 5) incident on the surface from an incident first direction into one or more outgoing EM waves or one or more outgoing EM beams propagating along at least one second direction (see illustrate EM reflection, Fig. 1),
wherein the PV apparatus is connectable to a grid for feeding energy into the grid (electricity network connected by leads 4; capable of intended use),
wherein the PV apparatus comprises one or more solar panels (can be multiple solar cells arranged as panels), and each of the solar panels comprises an array of the PV elements (6 rows and 6 columns, Fig. 1; each row column is an array).
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CHEN does not disclose expressly that the one or more RIS elements are located in a space between the PV elements, however, this is only a routine rearrangement and repositioning of known elements and parts, does not actually modify any particularly claimed operation of the device, and is an obvious matter of design choice. MPEP 2144.04(VI)(C).
Regarding claim 2, modified CHEN teaches the PV apparatus of claim 1, wherein the RIS acts on the incident EM wave or EM beam so as to create a deflected or reflected or diffused or transmitted or focused or diverged or collimated EM wave or EM beam propagating along the second direction (please see Fig. 1 of CHEN illustrating this reflection).
Regarding claim 3, modified CHEN teaches the PV apparatus of claim 1, wherein the RIS acts on the incident EM wave or EM beam so as to cause
a reflection of a first part of the incident EM wave or EM beam propagating along the second direction, e.g., away from a surface of the RIS (please see Fig. 1 of CHEN illustrating this reflection), and
a transmission of a second part of the incident EM wave or EM beam propagating along a third direction, e.g., through the surface of the RIS.
Regarding claim 4, modified CHEN teaches the PV apparatus of claim 1, wherein the RIS element comprises one or more of the following:
an antenna-array-based structure (“radiation patch” antenna), e.g., a structure comprising reflect-arrays with tunable, e.g., varactor-tuned, resonators, a structure of Micro-Electro-Mechanical-Systems, MEMS, elements, or a structure of Liquid Cristal Display, LCD, elements, or
a meta-surface-based structure, e.g., a frequency selective active base structure utilizing PIN diodes, a structure comprising tunable meta-surfaces with binary phase state capabilities, a structure of binary elements based meta-surfaces, or a structure of PIN diode-equipped cells based meta-surfaces.
Regarding claim 9, modified CHEN teaches the PV apparatus of claim 1, comprising a single layer rigid structure comprising the PV elements and the RIS elements, like a semiconductor substrate or a support plate, or a single layer flexible structure comprising the PV elements and the RIS elements, like a foil or a film (“metal back plate 14 “ or “metal back panel 22”).
Regarding claim 10, modified CHEN teaches the PV apparatus claim 1, wherein
the light to be converted into electrical energy by the PV effect comprises light in the visible or invisible part of the electromagnetic spectrum, e.g., visible light in the wavelengths from 380 nm to 700 nm or ultraviolet radiation or infrared radiation (solar cells can convert wavelengths that are both visible and invisible to the human eye), and
the EM wave or EM beam to be directed or reflected from the incident first direction to the second/third direction comprises an EM wave or EM beam in the electromagnetic spectrum used by a radio communication system, like a 3GPP wireless communication network or a WiFi system, or by a sensing system, like radar and or radio astronomy (CHEN discusses use in radio comms networks).
Regarding claim 11, modified CHEN teaches the PV apparatus of claim 1, comprising a RIS controller (“RIS controller 3”), the RIS controller to configure the RIS to direct or reflect the incident EM wave or EM beam in the second/third direction, and
wherein the RIS controller comprises a processor configured to perform one or more of the following operations:
configure the RIS according to one or more predefined or stored control parameters and/or control instructions,
communicate with one or more network entities, like a base station, of the radio communication system or of the sensing system using the EM wave or EM beam,
communicate with one or more further PV panels with integrated RIS functionality and/or one or more further RIS panels for coordinating RIS functionality,
communicate with respective RIS controllers of one or more further PV panels with integrated RIS functionality and/or of one or more further RIS panels for coordinating RIS functionality (RIS controller would have necessary electronics and software to perform all of these required capabilities and would also be obvious because CHEN is intended to be used in a radio communication network like 6G, etc.).
Regarding claim 12, modified CHEN teaches the PV apparatus of claim 11, wherein
the RIS controller comprises a memory holding the control parameter and/or the control instruction, the RIS controller being preconfigured with the control parameter and/or the control instruction or receiving the control parameter and/or the control instruction from a remote unit, e.g., via a radio link from a network entity of a radio communication system or from a sensing system, and
the control parameter and/or the control instruction defines one or more of the following properties of the EM wave or EM beam propagating along the second/third direction (control parameters/instructions such as AI, “the RIS controller can also be introduced artificial intelligence, big data and combined with other intelligent device, AI algorithm to realize better control”):
a desired phase shift (“adjusting the first phase shift circuit 15 to change the phase of the incident signal”),
a desired signal-to-noise ratio, SNR,
a desired signal-to-noise-and-interference ratio, SINR,
a desired beamwidth,
a desired direction,
a desired polarization,
a desired cross-polar discrimination, XPD,
a desired orbital angular momentum, OAM,
a desired amplification or attenuation (“embodiment can amplify signal amplitude”),
a desired channel rank,
a desired beam sweep,
a desired functionality of the RIS deployment,
a desired functionality of the sensing elements,
a desired functionality of the transmitting elements,
a desired frequency translation, e.g., mixing products or frequency shifts.
Regarding claim 13, modified CHEN teaches the PV apparatus of claim 11, wherein the RIS controller is to communicate with a network entity of the radio communication system or of the sensing system so as to receive and/or transmit one or more of the following:
one or more operation commands, e.g., for turning on/off the RIS or for selecting an operation mode of the RIS, like an uplink, UL, mode or a downlink, DL, mode,
a configuration of the RIS,
a report, e.g., a report indicating a status or performance of the RIS or indicating information regarding the incident and/or outgoing EM wave or EM beam by measuring and reporting channel states,
an identification or registration of the RIS towards the radio communication system or towards the sensing system as a network entity (this is how radio comms works fundamentally; CHEN would be capable of all these actions/functions and prima facie obvious because it has the necessary electrical components and software).
Regarding claim 14, modified CHEN teaches the PV apparatus of claim 11, comprising a PV controller, like a charge controller, and/or an inverter and/or a grid connection controller, wherein the PV controller or an inverter controller or the grid connection controller further comprises the RIS controller (“power supply module is used for storing the electric energy generated by the thin film solar battery and supplying power to the first control circuit board and the RIS controller”).
Regarding claim 15, modified CHEN teaches the PV apparatus of claim 1, comprising a RIS communication device for a communication with one or more entities (“invention belongs to material and communication technology field”), like a base station (“base station 5”) or a user device, of a radio communication system or a sensing system using the EM wave or EM beam to operate, and
wherein the RIS communication device further allows for a communication with one or more entities of the PV environment, like an operator of the PV apparatus, the grid to which the PV apparatus is connected or the manufacturer of the PV apparatus, and wherein the PV apparatus may communicate one or more of the following:
a unique identification of the PV apparatus,
an activation of the PV apparatus,
a registration of the PV apparatus,
a theft or misuse of the PV apparatus,
a performance report of the PV apparatus,
a signal for controlling the ganging or interconnecting with one or more further PV apparatus. The examiner determines that the limitations recite intended use and that the RIS controller and circuit equipment would be capable of performing and achieving the recited actions through obvious configuration (CHEN would be capable of all these actions/functions and prima facie obvious).
Regarding claim 16, modified CHEN teaches the PV apparatus of claim 1,
wherein the RIS is operated using at least a part of the electrical energy acquired by converting the light incident on the surface, and/or
wherein the PV apparatus comprises one or more energy harvesting elements in or at the surface, the energy harvesting element to convert a radiation incident on the surface into electrical energy, and to provide the electrical energy to the RIS for operating the RIS, e.g., for operating a RIS controller and/or a RIS communication device (“power supply module is used for storing the electric energy generated by the thin film solar battery and supplying power to the first control circuit board and the RIS controller”).
Regarding claim 17, modified CHEN teaches the PV apparatus of claim 1, comprising an energy storage for storing electrical energy, e.g., energy acquired by converting the light incident on the surface or energy acquired by the energy harvesting element, the energy storage coupled to the RIS for providing electrical energy for operating the RIS, e.g., for operating a RIS controller and/or a RIS communication device (“the storage battery ensures the power supply can stably continuously supply power to the active RIS part, so that it can normally work at night and day”).
Regarding claim 18, modified CHEN teaches the PV apparatus of claim 1, wherein the PV apparatus is connectable to one or more PV panels with integrated RIS functionality and/or one or more further RIS panels (obvious duplication of parts), and
wherein the PV apparatus is to provide the electrical energy generated by the PV elements or by the energy harvesting elements for use or storage to the one or more PV panels with integrated RIS functionality and/or to the one or more further RIS panels, and/or (“power supply module is used for storing the electric energy generated by the thin film solar battery and supplying power to the first control circuit board and the RIS controller”)
wherein the PV apparatus is to receive additional electrical energy for operating the RIS, e.g., for operating the RIS controller and/or the RIS communication device, from the one or more PV panels with integrated RIS functionality and/or from the one or more further RIS panels, e.g., if an amount of energy generated by the PV apparatus is at or below a predefined threshold.
Regarding claim 19, modified CHEN teaches the PV apparatus of claim 1, comprising
a radiation absorbing structure for converting an incident radiant energy into thermal energy or into electrical energy,
wherein the RIS acts on the incident EM wave or EM beam so as to cause a part of the incident EM wave or EM beam to be directed to the radiation absorbing structure (RIS would be capable to “act” on the EM).
Regarding claim 20, modified CHEN teaches a system for a reflection or redirection of an electromagnetic, EM, wave used by a radio communication system (CHEN describes 6G), like a 3GPP wireless communication network or a WiFi system, or by a sensing system, like radar and or radio astronomy, from an incident first direction to a second direction, the system comprising:
a plurality of apparatuses which are communicatively linked,
wherein the plurality of apparatuses comprising one or more PV apparatuses, the one or more PV apparatus comprising:
a surface to receive incident light (Fig. 1),
PV elements in or at the surface (“thin film solar cell 13”), the PV elements to convert light incident on the surface into electrical energy by the photovoltaic effect, and
one or more reconfigurable intelligent surface, RIS, elements (“active reflective element layer 11”) in or at the surface, the RIS element operating as reconfigurable intelligent surface, RIS, to direct or reflect one or more incident electromagnetic, EM, waves or one or more incident EM beams (EM from source 5) incident on the surface from an incident first direction into one or more outgoing EM waves or one or more outgoing EM beams propagating along at least one second direction (see illustrate EM reflection, Fig. 1),
wherein the PV apparatus is connectable to a grid for feeding energy into the grid (electricity network connected by leads 4; capable of intended use),
wherein the PV apparatus comprises one or more solar panels (can be multiple solar cells arranged as panels), and each of the solar panels comprises an array of the PV elements (6 rows and 6 columns, Fig. 1; each row column is an array). wherein at least one of the apparatuses is to control the RIS functionality provided by the plurality of apparatuses.
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CHEN does not disclose expressly that the one or more RIS elements are located in a space between the PV elements, however, this is only a routine rearrangement and repositioning of known elements and parts, does not actually modify any particularly claimed operation of the device, and is an obvious matter of design choice. MPEP 2144.04(VI)(C). Skilled artisans would have also found it obvious to duplicate the number of apparatuses because the output and performance is additive. MPEP 2144.04(VI)(B). The final modified device taught by the prior art would be capable of performing each of the intended use functions because the device possesses all the necessary components to do so.
Conclusion
No claim is allowed.
Contact Information
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ANGELO TRIVISONNO whose telephone number is (571) 272-5201 or by email at <angelo.trivisonno@uspto.gov>. The examiner can normally be reached on MONDAY-FRIDAY, 9:00a-5:00pm EST. The examiner's supervisor, NIKI BAKHTIARI, can be reached at (571) 272-3433.
/ANGELO TRIVISONNO/
Primary Examiner