DETAILED ACTION
This is the first Office Action regarding application number 19/151,270, filed on 07/25/2025, which is a 371 of PCT/JP2023/042150, filed on 11/24/2023, and which claims foreign priority to JP 2023-010068, filed on 01/26/2023.
This action is in response to the Applicant’s Response received 07/23/2026.
Election of Restricted Inventions
The Applicant’s election without traverse of Group I (claims 1, 3, and 4) in the reply is acknowledged.
Status of Claims
Claims 1-6 are pending.
Claims 2, 5, and 6 are withdrawn.
Claims 1, 3, and 4 are examined below.
No claim is allowed.
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.
The factual inquiries set forth in Graham v. John Deere Co., 383 U.S. 1, 148 USPQ 459 (1966), that are applied 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.
Claims 1, 3, and 4 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over ADACHI (US 2018/0033904 A1) in view of SAKUMA (US 2020/0313020 A1).
Regarding claim 1, ADACHI teaches a method for manufacturing a divided solar cell, the method comprising:
a first electrode forming step of
applying conductive paste (711) containing liquid resin onto a first main surface of a photoelectric conversion substrate and
solidifying the conductive paste in a state where a part of the liquid resin of the conductive paste oozes out from an applied area on the photoelectric conversion substrate (liquid resin oozes out from the applied area into surrounding areas, see Figs. 5-6),
thereby forming a first electrode part and a first resin coating part containing a resin component of the liquid resin (in “the electroconductive paste, a resin (insulating material) and a solvent more easily ooze than metal particles”, para. 109).
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ADACHI does not disclose a dividing groove forming step.
SAKUMA teaches a dividing groove forming step of forming a dividing groove from a side of the first main surface of the photoelectric conversion substrate on which the first electrode part and the first resin coating part are formed in the first electrode forming step so as to pass through the first resin coating part (Figs. 10 and 11, groove 81 is formed with laser, then split along groove to form multiple solar cells; resulting in improved performance (paras. 119 and 121).
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312
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Skilled artisans would have found it obvious to modify ADACHI and add a dividing groove forming step in order to form multiple solar cells as taught by SAKUMA, with benefits such as improved performance.
Regarding claim 3, modified ADACHI teaches the method for manufacturing a divided solar cell according to claim 1, wherein a photoelectric conversion substrate on which the dividing groove is formed is broken apart along the dividing groove to be divided into a plurality of divided solar cells (SAKUMA, para. 97, imparting bending stress of substrate to split along groove).
Regarding claim 4, modified ADACHI teaches the method for manufacturing a divided solar cell according to claim 1, wherein in the dividing groove forming step, the dividing groove is formed by irradiating with laser beam (SAKUMA already teaches that the groove is formed by laser irradiation).
Conclusion
No claim is allowed.
Contact Information
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ANGELO TRIVISONNO whose telephone number is (571) 272-5201 or by email at <angelo.trivisonno@uspto.gov>. The examiner can normally be reached on MONDAY-FRIDAY, 9:00a-5:00pm EST. The examiner's supervisor, NIKI BAKHTIARI, can be reached at (571) 272-3433.
/ANGELO TRIVISONNO/
Primary Examiner
