DETAILED ACTION
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1. Application number (checked for accuracy, including series code and serial no.).
2. Group art unit number (copied from most recent Office communication).
3. Filing date.
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5. Title of invention.
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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 § 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.
Claim(s) 1, 6, 9, 11 – 15 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Branda et al. (US 2015/0109651) in view of Li et al. (US 2022/0163836).
As to claim 1, Branda discloses a vehicle window (automotive windows [0008], [0048]) comprising a composite structure (fig. 13) with a window outer body (layer 120 of fig. 13A) and a window inner body (layer 134 of fig. 13A) and also an electrically switchable shading device (variable transmittance layer 128a of fig. 13A connected to a control circuit [0079]) which is arranged between the window outer body (layer 120 of fig. 13A) and the window inner body (layer 134 of fig. 13A) and comprises:
two plastics films (104 of fig. 13A, ITO-coated PET [0191]) which are each provided with an electrically conductive coating (ITO-coated PET [0191]), and a liquid crystal layer (106 switchable material [0191] comprising liquid crystal [0009]) which is arranged between the two plastics films (104 of fig. 13A, ITO-coated PET [0191]), wherein,
between the shading device (variable transmittance layer 128a of fig. 13A) and the window outer body (layer 120 of fig. 13A) and between the shading device (variable transmittance layer 128a of fig. 13A) and the window inner body (layer 134 of fig. 13A), respectively, at least one further plastics film (PET layers 100 of fig. 13A) and a layer made of optically clear adhesive are arranged (adhesive 102 of fig. 13A), and at least one of the layers made of optically clear adhesive is provided with a coloring (adhesive layers may be colored [0077]), but does not explicitly disclose that the adhesive is optically clear adhesive.
In the same field of endeavor, Li discloses a liquid crystal assembly for a window (fig. 1), wherein adhesive used is an optically clear adhesive (OCA 912 and OCA922 of fig. 9A).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of Branda and the teachings of Li such that an optically clear adhesive was used as disclosed by Li, with motivation to allow user to see clearly through the LC assembly regardless of how the light transmittance is changed (Li, [0004]).
As to claim 6 (dependent on 1), Branda in view of Li discloses the vehicle window, wherein the optically clear adhesive is an acrylate adhesive (Li, Acrylic is a suitable adhesive in the context of an LC assembly because it is color-stable and resists yellowing over time [0150]).
As to claim 9 (dependent on 1), Branda discloses the vehicle window (automotive windows [0008], [0048]), wherein the plastics films and/or the further plastics films of the shading device is or are (a) PET film(s) (PET [0191]).
As to claim 11 (dependent on 1), Branda in view of Li discloses the vehicle window (automotive windows [0008], [0048]), wherein the window inner body and the window outer body (Li, Glass 1202 and 1226 of fig. 12A) each border a polymer adhesive layer (Li, OCA 1204 and OCA1224 of fig. 12A) which borders the respective further plastics film of the composite structure (TAC-Protected polarizers 1206 and 1222 of fig. 12A).
As to claim 12 (dependent on 1), Branda in view of Li discloses the vehicle window (automotive windows [0008], [0048]), which has two further layers made of optically clear adhesive (Li, OCA 1208 and OCA1220 of fig. 12A).
As to claim 13 (dependent on 12), Branda in view of Li discloses the vehicle window (automotive windows [0008], [0048]), wherein
the two further layers made of optically clear adhesive (Li, OCA 1208 and OCA1220 of fig. 12A) are each arranged between the shading device (Li, LC between ITO 1212 and 1216 of fig. 12A) and a respective one of the layers made of optically clear adhesive optically clear adhesive (Li, OCA 1204 and OCA1224 of fig. 12A).
As to claim 14 (dependent on 12), Branda in view of Li discloses the vehicle window (automotive windows [0008], [0048]), wherein the further layers made of optically clear adhesive are free of a coloring (Li, clear OCA 912 and OCA922 of fig. 9A).
As to claim 15 (dependent on 1), Branda discloses the vehicle window (automotive windows [0008], [0048]), wherein the layers made of optically clear adhesive (adhesive 102 of fig. 13A) are each arranged between two further plastics films (102 of fig. 13A is arranged between PET 104 and PET 100 [0191]).
Claim(s) 10 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Branda in view of Li and Kingman et al. (US 11,347,096).
As to claim 10 (dependent on 1), Branda discloses the vehicle window (automotive windows [0008], [0048]), but Branda in view of Li do not explicitly disclose the liquid crystal layer is a PDLC layer.
In the same field of endeavor, Kingman discloses a light-control panel (TITLE) comprising a switchable component (304 of fig. 3), wherein a liquid crystal layer is a PDLC layer (PDLC layer 316 of fig. 3).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of Branda in view of Li and the teachings of Kingman such that the liquid crystal layer was a PDLC layer as disclosed by Kingman, with motivation to provide a design choice alternative for selectively providing thermal shielding from radiation, single or bi-directional illumination, or tinting or scattering for privacy within a vehicle cabin (Kingman, BACKGROUND),
Claim(s) 1 – 5, 7 and 17 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Sergent et al. (US 2023/0152651) in view of Li et al. (US 2022/0163836).
As to claim 1, Sergent discloses a vehicle window (glass of the vehicle.[0045] [0071]) comprising
a composite structure with a window outer body (101 of fig. 1) and a window inner body (102 of fig. 1)and also an electrically switchable shading device (variable transmittance layer 105 of fig. 1) which is arranged between the window outer body (101 of fig. 1) and the window inner body (102 of fig. 1) and comprises:
two plastics films which are each provided with an electrically conductive coating (layer 103 and 104 of fig. 1), and a liquid crystal layer which is arranged between the two plastics films (variable transmittance layer 105 of fig. 1 [0073]), wherein, between the shading device and the window outer body and between the shading device and the window inner body, respectively, at least one further plastics film and a layer made of adhesive are arranged (adhesive layers [0090]), and at least one of the layers made of optically clear adhesive is provided with a coloring (colored adhesive [0134]), but does not explicitly disclose that the adhesive is optically clear adhesive.
In the same field of endeavor, Li discloses a liquid crystal assembly for a window (fig. 1), wherein adhesive used is an optically clear adhesive (OCA 912 and OCA922 of fig. 9A).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of Sergent and the teachings of Li such that an optically clear adhesive was used as disclosed by Li, with motivation to allow user to see clearly through the LC assembly regardless of how the light transmittance is changed (Li, [0004]).
As to claim 2 (dependent on 1), Sergent discloses the vehicle window, wherein the coloring comprises color particles which have been taken up by the adhesive (dyed adhesive [0134]).
As to claim 3 (dependent on 1), Sergent discloses the vehicle window, wherein
the coloring comprises a dye which has been mixed into the adhesive (dyed adhesive [0134]).
As to claim 4 (dependent on 1), Sergent discloses the vehicle window, wherein the coloring comprises a color coating of the adhesive (dyed adhesive [0134]).
As to claim 5 (dependent on 1), Sergent discloses the vehicle window, wherein
the layer made of optically clear adhesive, which is provided with the coloring, has a thickness of between 0.5 µm and 50 µm (using a very thin (e.g. 0.25 to 5 mil) (0.006 mm to 0.127 mm) layer of adhesive [0090], .25 mil = 6.35 micrometers).
As to claim 17 (dependent on 5), Sergent discloses the vehicle window, wherein
the layer made of optically clear adhesive, which is provided with the coloring, has a thickness of between 0.5 µm and 25 µm (using a very thin (e.g. 0.25 to 5 mil) (0.006 mm to 0.127 mm) layer of adhesive [0090], 25 mil = 6.35 micrometers).
As to claim 7 (dependent on 1), Sergent in view of Li discloses the vehicle window, but does not disclose that the coloring is a black coloring.
However, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the device of Sergent in view of Li and to try various appropriate colors including black, wherein such modification would have been nothing more than a simple design choice alternative and would have required a routine skill.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 8, 16, 18, 19 and 20 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:
As to claim 8 (dependent on 1), the Prior Art of record fails to disclose alone or in a combination the vehicle window, wherein the coloring is designed such that the composite structure has a transmittance for visible light of less than 30% in a transmitting state of the shading device and has a transmittance for visible light of at most 8% in a blocking state of the shading device. (Emphasis Added.)
As to claim 16 (dependent on 1), the Prior Art of record fails to disclose alone or in a combination the vehicle window, wherein at least one of the layers made of optically clear adhesive has a refractive index which differs by less than 0.2. (Emphasis Added.)
As to claim 20 (dependent on 2), the Prior Art of record fails to disclose alone or in a combination the vehicle window, wherein the color particles are formed from ceramic nanoparticles (Emphasis Added.).
Conclusion
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/DMITRIY BOLOTIN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2623
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