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 .
Summary
This is the response to the Response to Election/Restriction Requirement filed on 01/13/2026.
Claims 1-20 remain pending in the application with claims 7-20 are withdrawn from consideration.
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election without traverse of Invention I, claims 1-6, in the reply filed on 01/13/2026 is acknowledged.
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.
(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.
Claim(s) 1-4 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Isenberg et al. (DE102008040332 with provided machine English translation).
Addressing claims 1-2, Isenberg discloses a photovoltaic (PV) string (fig. 6, [0047]) comprising:
a first solar cell 1 comprising:
at least one first contact pad 73 (areas 73a of the bus layer 73 are connection areas [0036], which qualify the areas 73a as the claimed contact pad) on a first edge of the solar cell (the right most edge of the solar cell 1 as shown in fig. 3); and
a first plurality of metal contact fingers 7 (paragraph [0038] describes the metallization layer that forms the contact fingers 7) with a second plurality of metal contact fingers 5 (fig. 3), wherein at least one of the first plurality of metal contact fingers 7 comprises a wrap-around metal finger 55 that passes between the first edge of the solar cell and the at least one first contact (fig. 3);
a second solar cell 1’ (fig. 6);
an interconnect 20 that electrically connects the at least one first contact pad 73a of the first solar cell 1 to a contact pad 53a of the second solar cell 1’; and
an insulating material (23 as described in paragraph [0048] and fig. 7 or 8 as described in paragraph [0049 and fig. 8) positioned between the interconnect 20 and the wrap-around metal finger 55, the insulating material configured to prevent a short between the interconnect and the wrap-around metal finger (the insulating material is positioned between the interconnect and the wrap-around metal finger, which provides electrical insulation between the structures that accomplishes the claimed function of preventing a short between the interconnect and the wrap-around metal finger).
Addressing claim 3, the bus layer 73 outside of the bus areas 73a corresponds to the claimed busbar electrically connected to a contact pad of the first solar cell.
Addressing claim 4, paragraph [0046] discloses several (emphasis added) solar cells are usually connected in series to achieve higher currents or voltages, which implies one or more additional solar cells coupled to the first and/or second solar cell.
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.
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.
Claim(s) 5-6 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Isenberg et al. (DE102008040332 with provided machine English translation) in view of Aschenbrener et al. (US2005/0268959).
Addressing claim 5, Isenberg discloses in paragraph [0046] that several solar cells are interconnected as a solar cell string (fig. 6) in order to increase the output currents or voltages; however, Isenberg is silent regarding a solar cell array comprising two or more PV strings of claim 1 coupled together with a busbar.
Aschenbrener discloses in fig. 1 two or more PV strings, each made of back contact solar cells that are interconnected via the interconnect 110 similarly to those of Isenberg, are coupled together with a busbar 120 to form solar array to increase the output voltage [0022].
At the time of the effective filing date of the invention, one with ordinary skill in the art would have found it obvious to modify the system of Isenberg by coupling a plurality of PV strings via busbars as disclosed by Aschenbrener in order to increase the output voltage of the solar array (Aschenbrener, [0022]).
Addressing claim 6, Isenberg is silent regarding a photovoltaic laminate comprising the solar cell array of claim 5. Aschenbrener discloses in fig. 7 the solar array is laminated between the transparent cover 701, the encapsulants 702 and the backsheet 703 [0031]. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the effective filing date of the invention to modify the solar cell array of Isenberg in view of Aschenbrener with the photovoltaic laminate configuration disclosed by Aschenbrener in order to provide protection for the solar cell array from the environment (Aschenbrener, [0033-0034]).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to BACH T DINH whose telephone number is (571)270-5118. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Friday 8:00 - 4:30 EST.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Jeffrey Barton can be reached at (571)-272-1307. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/BACH T DINH/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1726 01/30/2026