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
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)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 1-3 and 9-12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Li et al. (US 2026/0219542).
As to claims 1 and 9, Li discloses in figures 1-2, an electric control glass device comprising: a reverse electric control glass assembly comprising reverse electric control glass, the reverse electric control glass maintaining in a non-transparent state when receiving electrical signals (paragraph [0005]), and maintaining in a transparent state when receiving no electrical signal (paragraph [0004]); and a controller (power supply U and switch) electrically connected to the reverse electric control glass and configured for controlling the reverse electric control glass to be in a power on state or in a power off state, wherein when the controller controls the reverse electric control glass to be in the power on state, the reverse electric control glass receives the electrical signals to maintain in the non-transparent state; when the controller controls the reverse electric control glass to be in the power off state, the reverse electric control glass receives no electrical signal to maintain in the transparent state. Li further discloses that the electric control glass may be mounted on a vehicle body. See paragraphs [0180]-[0188].
As to claims 2 and 11, Li discloses all of the elements of the claimed invention discussed above regarding claims 1 and 9. Li further discloses wherein when the reverse electric control glass is in the power on state, the reverse electric control glass is configured for adjusting degrees of haziness of the reverse electric control glass based on a strength of the electrical signal received by the reverse electric control glass. See figures 4-5.
As to claims 3 and 12, Li discloses all of the elements of the claimed invention discussed above regarding claims 2 and 11. Li further discloses wherein when the reverse electric control glass is in the power on state, the controller is further configured to control the strength of the electrical signal provided to the reverse electric control glass, and a haziness of the reverse electric control glass increases as the strength of the electrical signal increases. See figures 4-5.
As to claim 10, Li discloses all of the elements of the claimed invention discussed above regarding claim 9. Li further discloses a glass material coating (lamination interlayer in paragraph [0200]), wherein the glass material coating is located between the vehicle body and the reverse electric control glass assembly; the glass material coating is used to connect the vehicle body and the reverse electric control glass assembly.
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 4-5 and 13-14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Li et al. (US 2026/0219542) in view of Li (US 2022/0413326).
As to claims 4 and 13, Li (2026) discloses all of the elements of the claimed invention discussed above regarding claims 1 and 9, but does not disclose a power supply battery and a solar energy conversion device, wherein the power supply battery is electrically connected to the controller and the solar energy conversion device, the solar energy conversion device converts solar energy into electrical energy, and the power supply battery stores the electrical energy to provide the electrical signal for the reverse electric control glass. Li (2022) discloses in paragraph [0148], a power source device 1310 which may be a solar cell battery. The solar cell battery comprises a power supply battery and a solar energy conversion device, wherein the power supply battery is electrically connected to the controller and the solar energy conversion device, the solar energy conversion device converts solar energy into electrical energy, and the power supply battery stores the electrical energy to provide the electrical signal for the reverse electric control glass. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Li (2026) by providing a solar cell battery as disclosed by Li (2022) in order to provide a rechargeable power source.
As to claims 5 and 14, Li (2026) discloses all of the elements of the claimed invention discussed above regarding claims 4 and 13. Furthermore, when the controller of Li (2026) is connected to the solar cell battery of Li (2022), the controller is further configured to control the strength of the electrical signal received by the reverse electric control glass based on a power generation intensity of the solar energy conversion device, such that the strength of the electrical signal received by the reverse electric control glass increases as the power generation intensity of the solar energy conversion device increases.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 6-8 and 15-17 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 following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: none of the prior art taught or fairly suggested an electric control glass comprising the combination required by claim 6, or a vehicle comprising the combination required by claim 15, wherein the solar energy conversion device is a solar glass; the solar glass surrounds and is connected to the reverse electric control glass, and the solar glass is integrated with the reverse electric control glass.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: none of the prior art taught or fairly suggested an electric control glass comprising the combination required by claim 7, or a vehicle comprising the combination required by claim 16, wherein the solar energy conversion device is a solar glass, the solar glass is stacked with the reverse electric control glass; the solar glass comprises a power generation area and a non-power generation area, the power generation area surrounds and connects to the non-power generation area, the power generation area is configured to convert the solar energy into electrical energy, and the non- power generation area is transparent.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: none of the prior art taught or fairly suggested an electric control glass comprising the combination required by claim 8, or a vehicle comprising the combination required by claim 17, wherein the solar energy conversion device is a solar energy coating, the solar energy coating is coated on an edge portion of a surface of the reverse electric control glass.
Conclusion
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/DAVID Y CHUNG/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2871
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