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 .
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed October 6, 2025 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
As best as Examiner understands, Applicant’s remarks appear to be a combination of nonanalogous art - “Gruber, however, is not related to such problem” and no teaching, suggestion, or motivation to combine - “Therefore, one skilled in the art would not be motivated to combine the teachings of Harding with those of Gruber”. Examiner respectfully disagrees.
As set forth in the Office Action mailed July 7, 2025, Gruber is cited for showing the structural details of a color vision correction lens (Gruber Figure 8A; para. [0002] - More specifically, this disclosure relates to the use of photoluminescent material with nanocrystals capable of emitting desirable light at specific wavelengths in the direction of the retina; para. [0013] - In another embodiment, the photoluminescent material is placed on a lens along with a filter layer selected and configured to attenuate at least a portion of the desired or selected wavelengths of light emitted by the photoluminescent material)
Specifically, Gruber Figure 8A is cited to show the various layers which absorb and emit different wavelengths of light.
What Gruber does not detail are the particular wavelength transmission and absorption spectral bands as claimed.
Harding is then cited to cure this deficiency, specifically for the case of color blindness, to provide such fluorescent materials and absorbing materials with the same wavelength bands as Applicant’s claim and intended disclosure of Figure 5.
The motivation to combine is as discussed by Harding, to correct color blindness.
In response to Applicant's argument that Gruber is nonanalogous art, it has been held that a prior art reference must either be in the field of the inventor’s endeavor or, if not, then be reasonably pertinent to the particular problem with which the inventor was concerned, in order to be relied upon as a basis for rejection of the claimed invention. See In re Oetiker, 977 F.2d 1443, 24 USPQ2d 1443 (Fed. Cir. 1992). In this case, Gruber is both in the field of endeavor of using fluorescent materials and absorbers of eyewear to shift/attenuate incoming wavelengths to different wavelengths at the user’s retina, and reasonably pertinent to the particular problem of how to arrange such materials on/within the eyewear.
In response to Applicant’s argument that there is no teaching, suggestion, or motivation to combine the references, the examiner recognizes that obviousness may be established by combining or modifying the teachings of the prior art to produce the claimed invention where there is some teaching, suggestion, or motivation to do so found either in the references themselves or in the knowledge generally available to one of ordinary skill in the art. See In re Fine, 837 F.2d 1071, 5 USPQ2d 1596 (Fed. Cir. 1988), In re Jones, 958 F.2d 347, 21 USPQ2d 1941 (Fed. Cir. 1992), and KSR International Co. v. Teleflex, Inc., 550 U.S. 398, 82 USPQ2d 1385 (2007). In this case, Harding explicitly states that such wavelengths to be fluoresced and absorbed are well known in the art for correcting color blindness.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The text of those sections of Title 35, U.S. Code not included in this action can be found in a prior Office action.
Claims 1-8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Gruber (US 2009/0204186; of record) in view of Harding (US 2021/0309913; of record).
As to claim 1, Gruber teaches a color vision correction lens for correcting color vision deficiency of a person (Gruber para. [0013]), the color vision correcting lens comprising
a first resin layer having a convex surface (Gruber Fig. 5A - 103, 104; Fig. 5C - 107; Fig. 8A - 220, 224; para. [0052], [0060] - as shown and discussed, lens layer (220, 107) can be made of known resins (plastic, polycarbonate), such lens layer having a convex surface (away from eye side surface));
a second resin layer stacked on the convex surface (Gruber Fig. 5A - 103, 104; Fig. 5C - 108; Fig. 8A - 222; para. [0045], [0058] - as shown and discussed, photoluminescent layer (222, 108) includes resins (polymer binder/substrates));
the first resin layer including an absorbing material that absorbs first green light, the first green light being in a first wavelength band (Gruber Fig. 8A - 224; para. [0060] - as discussed, one example is an orange dye which absorbs green light1);
the second resin layer includes a fluorescent material that emits second green light, the second green light being in a second wavelength band light (Gruber Fig. 8A - 222, λB; para. [0060] - as discussed, the absorber absorbs the emission wavelength λB, where the absorber absorbs green light as per the orange dye);
the fluorescent material is a type of material different from the absorbing material (Gruber para. [0012], [0060] - absorbing material (224) being dye; fluorescent material being quantum dots, nanocrystals, etc.);
the first wavelength band and the second wavelength band partially overlap (Gruber Fig. 8A - λB; para. [0060]), with the first wavelength band including the first green light absorbed by the absorbing material (Gruber Fig. 8A - λB; para. [0060]), and with the second wavelength band including the second green light emitted by the fluorescent material (Gruber Fig. 8A - λB; para. [0060]).
Gruber doesn’t further specify the entirety of the bands such that the second wavelength band includes a third wavelength band, the third wavelength band not being included in the first wavelength band, and a first peak wavelength of the first green light absorbed by the absorbing material is located more toward a long wavelength side than a second peak wavelength of the second green light emitted by the fluorescent material.
In the same field of endeavor Harding teaches a correction lens for correcting color vision (Harding para. [0002], [0110]) having a fluorescent material that emits second green light in a second wavelength band (Harding para. [0008], [0024] - fluorescent emission band being 495-620nm, which includes green (~500-565nm)), an absorbing material that absorbs first green light in a first wavelength band (Harding para. [0008], [0009], [0092]-[0094] - the absorbing dye having a FWHM of 100nm and a peak in the range of 570-630nm which includes green (~500-565nm)),
the second wavelength band includes a third wavelength band, with the third wavelength band not being included in the first wavelength band (Harding para. [0024] - second band 495-620) including third band (495-570) which is not included in the first band (570-630nm));
a first peak wavelength of the first green light absorbed by the absorbing material is located more toward a long wavelength side than a second peak wavelength of the second green light emitted by the fluorescent material (Harding para. [0021], [0094] - first peak emission of absorbing dye being within e.g. 570-630nm (para. [0094]), which is more toward long wavelength side than second peak emission of fluorescent material being withing e.g. 550-570 (para. [0021]).
It would have been obvious to provide such fluorescent emission and absorption bands since, as taught by Harding, such bands are well known in the art for the purpose of compositions that correct for color blindness (Harding para. [0002]).
As to claim 2, Gruber in view of Harding teaches all the limitations of the instant invention as detailed above with respect to claim 1, and Harding further teaches the first wavelength band falls within a range from 440nm to 600nm (Harding para. [0094]).
As to claim 3, Gruber in view of Harding teaches all the limitations of the instant invention as detailed above with respect to claim 1, and Harding further teaches the second wavelength band falls within a range from 440nm to 600nm (Harding para. [0021], [0024]).
As to claim 4, Gruber in view of Harding teaches all the limitations of the instant invention as detailed above with respect to claim 1, and Gruber/Harding further teaches the fluorescent material emits a second green light in response to reception of light having a wavelength ranging from 300nm to 440nm (Gruber Fig. 4 - 12a; para. [0046], [0049]; Harding para. [0021]).
As to claim 5, Gruber in view of Harding teaches all the limitations of the instant invention as detailed above with respect to claim 1, and Harding further teaches the first resin layer and the second resin layer have equal refractive indices (Harding para. [0106]).
As to claim 6, Gruber in view of Harding teaches all the limitations of the instant invention as detailed above with respect to claim 1, and Gruber/Harding teaches the first resin layer and the second resin layer include a same resin material (Gruber para. [0052], [0058] - both resins being polymers and thus the “same”; Harding para. [0106]).
As to claim 7, Gruber in view of Harding teaches all the limitations of the instant invention as detailed above with respect to claim 1, and Gruber teaches a plurality of the color vision correction lenses (Gruber Fig. 5A).
As to claim 8, Gruber in view of Harding teaches all the limitations of the instant invention as detailed above with respect to claim 1, and Gruber teaches the a pair of eyeglasses (Gruber Fig. 5A).
Conclusion
THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ZACHARY W WILKES whose telephone number is (571)270-7540. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8-4 (Pacific).
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Ricky Mack can be reached at 571-272-2333. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/ZACHARY W WILKES/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2872 October 27, 2025
1 Gruber para. [0060] has a typographical error of US Pat. 4,952,056. This appears to be US Pat. 4,952,046.