DETAILED ACTION
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.
Claims 1-4, 9-12, and 17-19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Seidler, US 2020/0262185 A1.
Regarding claims 1 and 9, Seidler teaches a composite glazing (Fig. 3) comprising a first and second transparent substrate (102 and 203 of Fig. 3) with an interlayer therebetween, said interlayer comprising a polymer resin ([0017], [0037]), a thickness ([0024]), and two sets of visible, light-reflecting bodies (302 and 303 of Fig. 3) arranged in two parallel layers on films 112 and 113 of Fig. 3, resulting in the light-reflecting bodies being in two different planes that are substantially parallel.
Regarding claims 2-4 and 10-12, Seidler teaches that the light-reflecting bodies on each layer may be arranged in a rectangular grid pattern ([0119], [0123]).
Regarding claim 17, Seidler teaches a method for forming the laminate composite glazing, the method comprising (a) providing a first and second interlayer component sheet (3001 and 3002 of Fig. 3), each interlayer component sheet comprising a substrate (112 and 113 of Fig. 3) and a plurality of visible, light-reflecting bodies (302 and 303 of Fig. 3), (b) assembling the first and second interlayer component sheets to form a multilayer interlayer precursor ([0091]), (c) assembling the laminated composite glazing precursors with the multilayer interlayer precursors therebetween (Fig. 3), and (d) subjecting the glazing precursor to laminating conditions to form a composite glazing ([0095]).
Regarding claims 18 and 19, Seidler teaches the presence of various other sheets (e.g. 212, 202 of Fig. 3) positioned between the first and second interlayer component sheets, any of which may be regarded as corresponding to the claimed “optional interlayer component sheet” of claim 18 or the “spacer” sheet of claim 19.
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.
Claims 5-8 and 13-16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Seidler, US 2020/0262185 A1.
Regarding claims 5-8 and 13-16, Seidler teaches a glazing with an interlayer as discussed above. The teachings of Seidler differ from the present invention in that although Seidler teaches that the two patterned layers of light-reflecting bodies may be arranged to achieve spatial or optical effects ([0091]), Seidler does not teach any specific relative arrangement of the patterns (ie, does not teach whether the patterns are offset linearly or angularly). It would, however, have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to arrange to two reflecting layers in the product of Seidler in whatever manner was necessary to achieve the desired spatial or optical effect, based on the intended appearance of the product and the specific effect desired.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Ian A Rummel whose telephone number is (571)270-5692. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Thursday and alternating Fridays, 8:30-5:00.
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/IAN A RUMMEL/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1785