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 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.
Claim(s) 1, 3, 5, 8, 9, 11, 14, 15, and 17-20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Grosser, III et al. (US 2015/0269876 Hereinafter Grosser).
Regarding claim 1, Grosser discloses a system comprising:
a frame (34, Fig. 2) of a solar-powered sign (18, Fig. 3) supporting a solar sign sheet (18, Fig. 3);
a solar panel (42, Figs. 2 and 3) disposed relative to the frame;
a light source (14, Figs. 2 and 3) configured to illuminate the solar sign sheet (Figs. 1-3); and
a battery (48, Paragraph 0024) configured to store power generated via the solar panel and provide power to control circuitry (controller, Paragraph 0024) configured to control the light source.
Regarding claim 3, Grosser discloses the solar panel being disposed relative to the frame includes the solar panel being located on an exterior of the frame (Fig. 2).
Regarding claim 5, Grosser discloses the solar-powered sign is a dual-sided solar-powered sign (18 and 20, Fig. 2), the system further comprising:
a second solar sign sheet (20, Fig. 2 and 3) disposed relative to the first solar sign sheet.
Regarding claim 8, Grosser discloses a system comprising:
a first light guide (18, Fig. 2) configured to receive light from a first set of internal light sources (half of 14, Figs. 2 and 3) to illuminate a first surface of a dual-sided solar-powered sign;
a second light guide (20, Fig. 3) configured to receive light from a second set of internal light sources (the other half of 14, Fig. 3) to illuminate a second surface (20, Fig. 3) of the dual-sided solar-powered sign;
a solar panel (42, Fig. 2) configured to capture light; and
a battery (48, Paragraph 0024) configured to store power generated via the solar panel and provides the power to at least one of the first set of internal light sources or the second set of internal light sources (Fig. 3, Paragraph 0025).
Regarding claim 9, Grosser discloses the solar panel is located on an exterior of a frame (34, Fig. 2) of the sign.
Regarding claim 11, Grosser discloses control circuitry (controller, Paragraph 0024) configured to control the first set of internal light sources and the second set of internal light sources (Paragraph 0025).
Regarding claim 14, Grosser discloses a method for illuminating content, the method comprising:
collecting light using a solar panel of a solar-powered sign, wherein power generated via the solar panel is stored in a battery of the solar-powered sign (Paragraph 0025);
monitoring ambient light conditions of an environment in which the solar-powered sign is location to determine if a threshold is met (Paragraph 0025);
upon determining that the threshold is met, turning on an internal light source of the solar-powered sign (Paragraph 0025);
determining whether a predetermined time period has elapsed; and
turning off the internal light source (Paragraph 0025).
Regarding claim 15, Grosser discloses adjusting a brightness of the internal light source over the predetermined time period (Paragraph 0025, Specifically it goes from off to full light and back to off).
Regarding claim 17, Grosser discloses identifying an intermittent period of low ambient light; and
turning off the internal light source (Paragraph 0025).
Regarding claim 18, Grosser discloses resetting the panel to a monitoring state (Paragraph 0025).
Regarding claim 19, Grosser discloses the solar powered sign is a dual-sided solar-powered solar sign (Fig. 3).
Regarding claim 20, Grosser discloses the solar panel is located on an exterior of a frame (34, Figs. 2 or 3) of the solar-powered sign.
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) 2 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Grosser, III et al. (US 2015/0269876 Hereinafter Grosser) in view of Donahue (US 2019/0280139).
Regarding claim 2, Grosser teaches the solar sign sheet comprises an internal light guide.
Donahue teaches the solar sign sheet comprises an outer diffusion film (122, Paragraph 0023) and an internal light guide (123, Paragraph 0023).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the earliest effective filing date to have included the outer diffusion film of Donahue to the light guide of Grosser, in order to provide a desired light distribution and so an image as required for a given application.
Claim(s) 4 and 10 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Grosser, III et al. (US 2015/0269876 Hereinafter Grosser) in view of Blach (US 6215409).
Regarding claims 4 and 10, Grosser fails to teach the light source is an external light source.
Blach teaches the light source (25, Figs. 1-3) is an external light source electrically coupled to the control circuitry and configured to receive power via the battery (Fig. 4).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the earliest effective filing date to have included the light source of Blach outside the frame of Grosser, in order to provide additional lighting to the display and an alternative illumination method as desired for a given application.
Claim(s) 6, 7, 12, 13, and 16 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Grosser, III et al. (US 2015/0269876 Hereinafter Grosser) in view of Sadon (US 2009/0229154).
Regarding claims 6 and 12, Grosser teaches the control circuity is configured to:
determine whether a predetermined time period has elapsed; and
turn off the light source (Paragraph 0025).
Sadon teaches monitor ambient light conditions by monitoring a voltage of the solar panel (14, Fig. 2, Paragraph 0037) to determine if a threshold is met;
upon determining the threshold is met, turn on the light source (Paragraph 0037).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the earliest effective filing date to have included having the lights of Grosser turning on be due to low voltage from the solar panel as taught by Sadon, in order to reduce costs of required elements and to reduce what can go wrong with the system.
Regarding claims 7 and 13, Grosser teaches the control circuitry is further configured to:
adjust a brightness of the light source over the predetermined time period (Paragraph 0025, Specifically it goes from off to full light and back to off).
Regarding claim 16, Grosser fails to teach monitoring ambient light conditions includes monitoring a voltage of the solar panel to determine ambient light conditions.
Sadon teaches monitor ambient light conditions by monitoring a voltage of the solar panel (14, Fig. 2, Paragraph 0037) to determine ambient light conditions (Paragraph 0037).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the earliest effective filing date to have included having the lights of Grosser turning on be due to low voltage from the solar panel as taught by Sadon, in order to reduce costs of required elements and to reduce what can go wrong with the system.
Relevant Prior Art
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Homrighous et al. (US 2014/0092586) teaches a two sided solar sign. Laforce et al. (US 2017/0301268) teaches a solar light up sign. Gilbert et al. (US 2016/0072430) teaches a light up sign with diffuser. Castlen (US 20240/0071265) teaches a sign with external solar panel.
Conclusion
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/ERIC T EIDE/ Examiner, Art Unit 2875