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 .
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement filed on December 3, 2024 has been considered by the Examiner.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
3. 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, 8-10 and 17-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102 (a)(1) as being anticipated by Feldmeier et al (US 8,128,439; hereinafter Feldmeier)
Regarding claim 1, Feldmeier discloses an apparatus (see figure 1) comprising: a junction box (10) comprising: a base; at least two electrical connections (21-24) disposed within the junction box (10), each configured to be electrically coupled to a photovoltaic generator; and a bypass mechanism (31-33) coupled between each pair of the at least two electrical connections (21-24), wherein each of the at least two electrical connections (21-24) is coupled to a heat spreader (51,52) configured to carry heat in at least two directions (see figures 15 and 16).
Regarding claim 8, Feldmeier discloses the apparatus (see figure 1), further comprising a cover (60) configured to fit over the base (70) such that the cover (60) is thermally coupled to the heat spreader (51,52) and is configured to dissipate heat received from the heat spreader (column 9 lines 43-65).
Regarding claim 9, Felmeier discloses the apparatus (see figure 1), wherein the cover (60) comprises a heat dissipation mechanism (66).
Regarding claim 10, Feldmeier discloses an apparatus (see figure 13) comprising: a photovoltaic (PV) panel comprising a plurality of PV substrings, each PV substring comprising a plurality of serially-connected PV cells (column 1 lines 25-56); a junction box (400) comprising a base (71) mounted on the PV panel; at least two electrical connections (21-24) disposed within the junction box (400), each configured to be electrically coupled to a photovoltaic generator (well known in the art); and a bypass mechanism (31-33) coupled between each pair of the at least two electrical connections (see figure 16); wherein each of the at least two electrical connections (21-24) is coupled to a heat spreader (51,52) configured to carry heat in at least two directions (see figure 15).
Regarding claim 17, Feldmeier discloses the apparatus (see figure 13), further comprising a cover (60) configured to fit over the base (70) such that the cover (60) is thermally coupled to the heat spreader (51,52) and is configured to dissipate heat received from the heat spreader (column 9 lines 43-65).
Regarding claim 18, Felmeier discloses the apparatus (see figure 13), wherein the cover (60) comprises a heat dissipation mechanism (66).
Regarding claim 19, Felmeier discloses a method comprising: inter-coupling a plurality of junction box components (see figure 13) by coupling an electrical conductor (21-24) between each pair of junction box components prior to coupling each junction box component to a photovoltaic panel, (column 1 lines 25-56; see figure 13) wherein at least one of the plurality of junction box components comprises: at least two electrical connections (21-24), each configured to be electrically coupled to a photovoltaic generator; and a bypass mechanism (31-33) coupled between each pair of the at least two electrical connections (see figure 16), wherein each of the at least two electrical connections (21-24) is coupled to a heat spreader (51,52) configured to carry heat in at least two directions (see figure 15).
Regarding claim 20, Feldmeier discloses the method, further comprising coupling each of the plurality of junction box components to a respective PV generator (see figure 13).
Allowable Subject Matter
4. Claims 2-7 and 11-16 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 an examiner's statement of reasons for allowance: The primary reasons for the indication of the allowability of claims 2-7 and 11-16 are:
Regarding claims 2-7, the prior art does not teach or fairly suggest in combination with the other claimed limitations the apparatus, further comprising: a switch coupled in parallel to the bypass mechanism; and a controller configured to turn the switch ON responsive to a determination of a bypass condition.
Regarding claims 11-16, the prior art does not teach or fairly suggest in combination with the other claimed limitations the apparatus, further comprising: a switch coupled in parallel to the bypass mechanism; and a controller configured to turn the switch ON responsive to a determination of a bypass condition.
Conclusion
5. The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Sella et al (US 9,748,897), Thoerner et al (US 9,466,961), Shmukler et al (US 9,099,849), Ger et al (US 8,581,099) and Lauermann et al (US 7,824,189) disclose a photovoltaic junction box.
6. Any inquiry concerning this communication should be directed to Angel R. Estrada at telephone number (571) 272-1973. The Examiner can normally be reached on Monday-Friday (8:30am -5:00pm).
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Imani N. Hayman can be reached on (571) 270-5528. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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August 5, 2026
/ANGEL R ESTRADA/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2841
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