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 Objections
Claim 1: Claim 1 is objected to because of the following informalities: “the” should be added before “sun” to be grammatically correct. Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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 (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) 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.
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.
The factual inquiries 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.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claims 1-10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Raab et al. (US PG Pub 2014/0137770; hereafter ‘770) in view of Murata (US PG Pub 2009/0275462; hereafter ‘462).
Claim 1: ‘770 is directed towards a method of coating a solar cell (a solar collector; see abstract; ¶s 4, 34, 35, & 74; and claim 18) comprising:
applying an aqueous solution of collagen hydrolysate to the solar cell (gelatine hydrolysate reads on collagen hydrolysate, abstract; ¶s 4, 34, 35, & 74 and claim 18; note that pork-rind gelatin is gelatin obtained from collagen in pork rinds, ¶ 46); and
allowing the aqueous solution to dry (see ¶s 4, 13, 34, 35, 65, & 74 and claim 18).
‘770 teaches that the coating can be used as a dirt-repelling or self-cleaning coating for solar cells (i.e. the coating would be applied to the outermost surface which is exposed to the sun; ¶ 4).
‘770 does not provide a structure for the solar collector.
However, ‘462, which is directed towards solar cells (title) teaches that solar cells can be constructed with a cover glass that faces the sun (¶ 55).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of filing to use a solar cell structure as disclosed in ‘462 as the specific solar cell in ‘770 during the process of ‘770 because a solar cell with a cover glass that faces the sun is an art recognized configuration and would have predictably been suitable as the specific solar cell in ‘770.
Thus, the combination teaches applying a coating comprising collagen hydrolysate on the cover glass of a solar collector.
The combination teaches the claimed invention but fails to explicitly teach coating increases the efficiency of the solar collector. Since the same materials are applied to the same substrate; it is reasonable to presume the same results are observed from the coating. Support for said presumption is found in the use of like materials and like processes which would result in the claimed property.
The burden is upon the Applicant to prove otherwise. In re Fitzgerald 205 USPQ 594. In addition, the presently claimed properties would obviously have been present once the product is provided. Note In re Best, 195 USPQ at 433, footnote 4 (CCPA 1977).
Claim 2: The rejection of claim 1 relies on a coating applied to a solar collector.
Claim 2 is contingent on selection of “a solar module” in claim 1 and thus the limitations are contingent limitations and based on the broadest reasonable interpretation are not required. See MPEP §2111.04(II).
Claim 3: ‘770 teaches the coating can be applied by pouring (¶ 34).
Claim 4: ‘770 does not teach a specific concentration of the collagen hydrolysate in the final coating solution.
However, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of filing to use a concentration within the claimed range because differences in concentration or temperature will not support the patentability of subject matter encompassed by the prior art unless there is evidence indicating such concentration or temperature is critical. "[W]here the general conditions of a claim are disclosed in the prior art, it is not inventive to discover the optimum or workable ranges by routine experimentation." In re Aller, 220 F.2d 454, 456, 105 USPQ 233, 235 (CCPA 1955). MPEP 2144.05(II)(A).
Claim 5: 770 does not teach a specific concentration of the collagen hydrolysate in the final coating solution.
However, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of filing to use a concentration within the claimed range because differences in concentration or temperature will not support the patentability of subject matter encompassed by the prior art unless there is evidence indicating such concentration or temperature is critical. "[W]here the general conditions of a claim are disclosed in the prior art, it is not inventive to discover the optimum or workable ranges by routine experimentation." In re Aller, 220 F.2d 454, 456, 105 USPQ 233, 235 (CCPA 1955). MPEP 2144.05(II)(A).
Claim 6: The collagen hydrolysate is produced by chemical hydrolysis of collagen-containing starting materials (¶ 16).
Claim 7: The collagen hydrolysate has an average molecular weight of 500-9000 Da (¶ 15).
Claim 8: The solution also comprises gelatin (abstract).
Gelatin is an amphoteric molecule which inherently acts as a amphoteric surfactant.
Claim 9: The solution also comprises gelatin (abstract).
Gelatin is an amphoteric molecule which inherently acts as a amphoteric surfactant.
Claim 10: The coating solution can comprise silver nanoparticles (i.e. a preservative; ¶ 31).
Claims 11-12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over the combination of ‘770 and ‘462 as applied above, and further in view of Baumgart et al. (US PG Pub 2011/0094417; hereafter ‘417).
Claims 11-12: As noted above, the coating of ‘770 is an aqueous self-cleaning coating.
‘770 does not teach repeated application of the coating or cleaning prior to each application.
However, ‘417, which is also directed towards self-cleaning compositions (title), teaches that it is known in the art of these types of coatings to remove (i.e. cleaning the substrate) and reapply them to maintain the self-cleaning properties of the coatings (¶ 10).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of filing to clean and reapply the coating of ‘770 multiple times because it is art recognized to remove and reapply self-cleaning coatings to maintain the self-cleaning properties of the coatings.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JAMES M MELLOTT whose telephone number is (571)270-3593. The examiner can normally be reached 8:30AM-4:30PM CST.
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/James M Mellott/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1759