DETAILED ACTION
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
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 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.
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of papers submitted under 35 U.S.C. 119(a)-(d), which papers have been placed of record in the file.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statements (IDS) submitted on 11/21/2024 is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statements have been considered by the examiner.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
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.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claim 9 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, 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.
Regarding claim 9, cited term of “wherein the contact portion is arranged or formed opposite the flattening” (line 1-2) are indefinite and lacks antecedent. Claim 9 depends on claim 6, then claim 5 and claim 1, but none of the claims specifies “a flattening”.
Therefore proper amendments are required in order to clarify the scopes of the claims and overcome the rejections.
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 1 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Bergh et al (US 20120200908).
Regarding Claim 1, Bergh teaches an electrochromic arrangement for a long- range optical device (abstract; figs. 1-4; ¶[0002], line 1-5, automotive windows, aircraft window assemblies), comprising
at least one electrochromic element formed by or comprising an electrochromic material arranged or formed between two electrically conductive elements (fig. 1, 20/21, 22, 23),
wherein:
at least one substrate element with a substrate element body having a disk-type or disk- shaped basic shape (fig. 1, 24, 25; fig. 2D, 62/63; ¶[0018], line 6-9, various alternative arrangements of bus bars for devices having square and circular perimeters);
wherein a contact layer which is made of an electrically conductive material and extends at least in sections around the edge of the substrate element body is applied to the upper or lower side of the substrate element body (fig. 2D, 226, 227; ¶[0068], line 10-20, an electro chromic stack having a perimeter that is square (FIGS. 2A, 2B, and 2C) or circular (FIGS. 2D and 2E) and varying numbers and locations of bus bars 226 and 227 in contact with the first and second electrically conductive layers) by means of a chemical and/or physical application method (¶[0054], line 20-25, Each of the layers in the electro chromic device; solid state material may be deposited or otherwise formed by processes employing liquid components such as certain processes employing sol-gels or chemical vapor deposition).
Claim 1 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Goto et al (US 20170176833).
Regarding Claim 1, Goto teaches an electrochromic arrangement for a long- range optical device (abstract; figs. 1-6), comprising
at least one electrochromic element formed by or comprising an electrochromic material arranged or formed between two electrically conductive elements (fig. 1, 13, 12, 15),
wherein:
at least one substrate element with a substrate element body having a disk-type or disk- shaped basic shape (fig. 3, 21, 22; fig. 4, 21, 22),
wherein a contact layer which is made of an electrically conductive material and extends at least in sections around the edge of the substrate element body is applied to the upper or lower side of the substrate element body (fig. 3, 21, 22; fig. 4, 21, 22) by means of a chemical and/or physical application method (¶[0131], line 1-9, extraction electrodes 21 and 22 were each formed by forming an Ag-PdCu (APC) alloy film having an average thickness of 150 nm by sputtering …).
Claims 1-6 and 11-13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Rukavina et al (US 20030047457).
Regarding Claim 1, Rukavina teaches an electrochromic arrangement for a long- range optical device (abstract; figs. 1-5), comprising
at least one electrochromic element (fig. 1, 10; fig. 4, 110) formed by or comprising an electrochromic material arranged or formed between two electrically conductive elements (fig. 3, 40/41, 29, 39; figs. 4-5, 140, 129,139),
wherein:
at least one substrate element with a substrate element body having a disk-type or disk- shaped basic shape (figs. 4-5, 120, 130);
wherein a contact layer which is made of an electrically conductive material (figs. 4-5, 160a/160c, 180b/180d) and extends at least in sections around the edge of the substrate element body is applied to the upper or lower side of the substrate element body (figs. 4-5, 120, 130160a/160c, 180b/180d) by means of a chemical and/or physical application method (¶[0040], line 1-6, Bus bars 60 and 80 can be made of any highly conductive material typically used for bus bars and well known in the art. Nonlimiting examples of typical bus bar materials include metal foil, e.g. copper foil, metal coating, e.g. gold coatings, and conductive metal containing ceramic paints, e.g. silver ceramic paint).
Regarding Claim 2, Rukavina teaches the electrochromic arrangement according to claim 1, wherein the substrate element body has a circular disk-type or circular basic shape (figs. 4-5, 120, 130).
Regarding Claim 3, Rukavina teaches the electrochromic arrangement according to claim 1, wherein the contact layer has the shape of a ring or a ring segment (figs. 4-5, 160a/160c, 180b/180d).
Regarding Claim 4, Rukavina teaches the electrochromic arrangement according to claim 1, wherein the contact layer is arranged or formed at least in sections at a distance from the edge of the upper or lower side of the substrate element body (fig. 4, 130, 160a/160c; -- 160a/160c is separated from 130 by 145).
Regarding Claim 5, Rukavina teaches the electrochromic arrangement according to claim 1,wherein the contact layer comprises a contact portion which can be contacted by an electrical contact element (fig. 10, 360a/360b, 390; -- 360a/360b wire connected to electrical controller 390).
Regarding Claim 6, Rukavina teaches the electrochromic arrangement according to claim 5, wherein the contact portion is arranged or formed up to the edge of the upper or lower side of the substrate element body (fig. 10, 360a, 390 and wire connection to 360a).
Regarding Claim 11, Rukavina teaches the electrochromic arrangement according to claim 1,comprising a spacer element arranged or formed on the electrochromic element and made of an electrically insulating material (fig. 3, 45; fig. 4, 145; ¶[0029], line 18-24, Spacing element 45 can be constructed of any nonelectrically conductive material. In one nonlimiting embodiment of the invention, element 45 is a polymeric material, ….).
Regarding Claim 12, Rukavina teaches a long-range optical device, comprising at least one electrochromic arrangement according to claim 1 (figs. 1-5; abstract, line 1-5, electrochromic window assembly).
Regarding Claim 13, Rukavina teaches a method of manufacturing an electrochromic arrangement for a long-range optical device (abstract; figs. 1-5), comprising at least the steps of:
a) providing at least one substrate element with a substrate element body having a disk- type or disk-shaped basic shape (figs. 4-5, 120, 130);
b) applying a contact layer (figs. 4-5, 160a/160c, 180b/180d), which is made of an electrically conductive material and extends at least in sections around the edge of the substrate element body to the upper or lower side of the substrate element body by means of a chemical and/or physical application method (figs. 4-5, 120, 130160a/160c, 180b/180d; (¶[0040], line 1-6, Bus bars 60 and 80 can be made of any highly conductive material typically used for bus bars and well known in the art. Nonlimiting examples of typical bus bar materials include metal foil, e.g. copper foil, metal coating, e.g. gold coatings, and conductive metal containing ceramic paints, e.g. silver ceramic paint);
c) arranging or forming at least one electrically conductive element, in particular a transparent, electrically conductive element, on the substrate element body (fig. 3, 29, 39; figs. 4-5, 129,139; ¶[0031], line 1-6, First substrate 20 and second substrate 30 are each provided with a layer of a transparent electrically conductive material in the form of first conductive coating 29 and second conductive coating 39);
d) arranging or forming an electrochromic element formed by or comprising an electrochromic material on the electrically conductive element (fig. 3, 40/41; figs. 4-5, 140).
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.
Claims 7-9 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Rukavina et al (US 20030047457) in a view of Dixit et al (US 20160097960).
Regarding Claim 7, Rukavina discloses as set forth above but does not specifically disclose that the electrochromic arrangement according to claim1, wherein the edge of the substrate element body comprises at least one defined flattening.
However, Dixit teaches an electrochromic devices (abstract; figs. 14-15), wherein the edge of the substrate element body comprises at least one defined flattening (fig 14A, BB1, LED; fig 15; BB1, LED).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the electrochromic device of Rukavina by the electrochromic devices of Dixit for a purpose of providing of a uniform ending optical state and smooth and speedy optical transitions across the face of the device without hotspots (¶[0006], line 1-15).
Regarding Claim 8, Rukavina - Dixit combination teaches that the electrochromic arrangement according to claim 7, wherein the at least one flattening is defined by a line extending through at least two points on the edge of the substrate element body forming the outer circumference of the substrate element body (fig 14A, BB1, LED; fig 15; BB1, LED. As disclosed in Dixit).
Regarding Claim 9, Rukavina - Dixit combination teaches that the electrochromic arrangement according to claim 6, wherein the contact portion is arranged or formed opposite the flattening (fig 14A, BB1, LED; fig 15; BB1, LED. As disclosed in Dixit).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 10 is 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 following is an examiner’s statement of reasons for the allowable subject matter: The prior art taken singularly or in combination fails to anticipate or fairly suggest the limitations of the claims, in such a manner that a rejection under 35 U.S.C. 102 or 103 would be proper.
In regard to claim 10, the prior art taken either singly or in combination fails to anticipate or fairly suggest a electrochromic device further comprising wherein the edge of the substrate element body of the first substrate element comprises at least one corresponding flattening and comprises a contact portion arranged or formed opposite the flattening, and the edge of the substrate element body of the second substrate element comprises at least one corresponding flattening and comprises a contact portion arranged or formed opposite the flattening.
Examiner’s Note
Regarding the references, the Examiner cites particular figures, paragraphs, columns and line numbers in the reference(s), as applied to the claims above. Although the particular citations are representative teachings and are applied to specific limitations within the claims, other passages, internally cited references, and figures may also apply. In preparing a response, it is respectfully requested that the Applicant fully consider the references, in their entirety, as potentially disclosing or teaching all or part of the claimed invention, as well as fully consider the context of the passage as taught by the reference(s) or as disclosed by the Examiner.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communication from the examiner should be directed to Jie Lei whose telephone number is (571) 272 7231. The examiner can normally be reached on Mon.-Thurs. 8:00 am to 5:30 pm.
If attempts to reach the examiner by the telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner's supervisor, Stephone Allen can be reached on (571) 272 2434.The Fax number for the organization where this application is assigned is (571) 273 8300.
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/JIE LEI/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2872
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