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 .
Response to Amendment
The amendment filed on 10/28/2025 has been entered. The applicant has amended the claims 1, 9, 11, 12, 14, 16 and 17. Claims 1-20 are pending.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to amended independent claims 1 and 12 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on combination of references applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument. The Applicant argues “Greif in entirely silent, however, regarding any type of "a controller communicatively coupled to the light source and the beam scanner," such that "the controller causes the beam scanner to: scan the light beam about a first axis and a second axis within a field of view (FOV) following a consecutive non-linear pattern, adjust a width of at least one of the plurality of ridges, and control at least a property of the light source responsive to the adjustment of the width," as recited in claim 1”. The examiner respectfully disagrees. The combination of prior arts teaches the amended limitation. Prior art Greif teaches in [0039] and shows in Fig. 1: controller 112 operably coupled to the light engine 102 and the scanner 108, providing driving signals 105 to the scanner 108, and control signals 107 to the light engine 102 in coordination with operating the scanner 108, the controller 112 may cause the scanner 108 to scan the light beam 104. A feedback circuit provide information about the current reflector angular position by means of feedback signals 109 to the controller 112. The added new prior art Fu teaches the newly added limitations in claim 1 and 12 (see current rejection). Fu teaches “light from the source array 440 may include, e.g., expanding, collimating, adjusting orientation in accordance with instructions from the controller 330, some other adjustment of the light, or some combination thereof”, which is equivalent to “adjusting the width, controlling at least one property of light source. Fu in Fig. 6 and [C-10, L-18 – C-11, L7] teaches circuit 660 includes a CMOS based electrical circuit with one or more cell addressing circuits and one or more driver circuits that receive scanning instructions from the controller 330. Circuit 660 may include a different addressing scheme, and as such, the addressing scheme discussed in conjunction with FIG. 6 is only an example of an implementation of the addressing circuit. In a different configuration, the source array 602 can be addressed in an X/Y (row/column) grid architecture. circuit 660 also includes a driver circuit that drives the optical components of the source array 602 through one or more interconnects 670. Circuit 660 may be a component of the controller 330 of FIG. 3. The controller 330 provides scanning instructions to the source array 602. Therefore, the Applicant’s argument is not persuasive.
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.
The factual inquiries 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.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claims 1, 8, 10-13 and 16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over GREIF et al. (WO 2020/263476, of record) in view of Fu et al. (US 10,690,919).
Regarding claim 1, GREIF teaches an apparatus, comprising:
a light source to provide a light beam (Fig. 1, light engine 102 light-emitting diode, light beam 104, [0038]);
a two-dimensional (2D) beam scanner optically coupled to the light source to receive the light beam (scanner 108 optically coupled to the light source 102 to receive the light beam 104, Fig. 1, 102 based on a solid-state single-mode or multimode light sources …scanning the light beam 104 in two dimensions, [0038]) and to generate a light field by performing a scan of the light beam (the controller 112 may cause the scanner 108 to scan the light beam 104 through a succession of directions “A” through “G”, [0039]); and
a controller communicatively coupled to the light source and the beam scanner (controller 112 configured for providing driving signals 105 to the scanner 108, and control signals 107 to the light engine 102 in coordination with operating the scanner 108. A feedback circuit provided to provide information about the current MEMS reflector angular position by means of feedback signals 109 to the controller 112. The feedback signals 109 may include, for example, temporal sampling of the X and Y MEMS angular position, sync signals at specific pre-determined MEMS reflector tilt angles, etc. [0039]; Fig. 1), wherein the controller causes the beam scanner to:
scan the light beam about a first axis and a second axis within a field of view (FOV) following a consecutive io non-linear pattern (scanning the light beam 104 in two dimensions, e.g. about an X-axis and/or Y-axis perpendicular to the X-axis, The X- and Y-axes may be disposed in plane of the MEMS reflector at its normal i.e. unpowered position. Pre-tilted MEMS reflectors may also be used. A pupil replicator 110 provides a light field 115 including multiple laterally displaced parallel copies of the scanned light beam 104. [0038]; FIG. 3, a Y-tilt (vertical tilt) of the tiltable reflector 203 is plotted against an X-tilt (horizontal tilt) across a field of view (FOV) 300 of a scanning projector display. Herein, the terms “vertical” and “horizontal” are used for convenience only, and actual axes of tilt may be arbitrarily oriented for as long as they are non-parallel, [0045]).
GREIF doesn’t explicitly teach performing a biresonant scan of the light beam; the light source including a plurality of ridges and adjust a width of at least one of the plurality of ridges, and control at least a property of the light source responsive to the adjustment of the width.
GREIF and Fu are related as optical scanning.
Fu teaches performing a biresonant scan of the light beam; the light source including a plurality of ridges and adjust a width of at least one of the plurality of ridges, and control at least a property of the light source responsive to the adjustment of the width (the scanning mirror assembly 480 may include a plurality of scanning mirrors that each scan in orthogonal directions to each other. The scanning mirror assembly 480 may perform a raster scan, horizontally, or vertically, a biresonant scan, or some combination thereof., [C-7, L-9-11]; source element 520A includes a ridge waveguide structure. The ridge waveguide structure is a circular or rectangular waveguide having one or more longitudinal internal ridges that provides a stronger optical confinement due to the presence of a material with a lower index of refraction than the ridges surrounding the three sides of the ridge waveguide. The source elements 520B and 520C also include the ridge waveguide structure. [C-8, L-60-67]; light from the source array 440 may include, e.g., expanding, collimating, adjusting orientation in accordance with instructions from the controller 330, some other adjustment of the light, or some combination thereof. [C-6, L-35-39]; light 435 is a light conditioned for incidence on the scanning mirror assembly 480. The light conditioning assembly 470 includes one or more optical components that condition the light from the source array 440. Conditioning light from the source array 440 may include, e.g., expanding, collimating, correcting for one or more optical errors (e.g., field curvature, chromatic aberration, etc.), some other adjustment of the light, or some combination thereof, [C-6, L-55-65]; Figs. 5A-B; also see Fig. 6 and [C-10, L-18 to C-11, L7] and Response to Arguments above).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the application was filed to modify the apparatus of GREIF for performing a biresonant scan of the light beam; the light source including a plurality of ridges and adjust a width of at least one of the plurality of ridges, and control at least a property of the light source responsive to the adjustment of the width, as taught by Fu for the predictable advantage of having light sources that generate an image light with very high brightness that has both spatial and temporal coherence, as taught by Fu in the chapter “background” and [C-4, L-43-47].
Regarding claim 8, the modified GREIF teaches the apparatus according to claim 1 (see above). wherein the two-dimensional (2D) beam scanner comprises two one-dimensional (1D) scanners (reflector 203 of a 2D MEMS scanner 208. A pair of ID MEMS scanners coupled via a pupil relay may be used in place of the 2D MEMS scanner 208, [0041]).
Regarding claim 10, the modified GREIF teaches the apparatus according to claim 1 (see above), wherein the light source comprises one of a side-emitting laser diode, a vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser diode, a super-luminescent light-emitting diode, or a light-emitting diode (light engine 102 based on a solid-state single-mode or multimode light source such as a light-emitting diode (LED), a super luminescent light-emitting diode (SLED), a side-emitting laser diode, [0038]).
Regarding claim 11, the modified GREIF teaches the apparatus according to claim 1 (see above), wherein, wherein the beam scanner is a micro- electromechanical system (MEMS) scanner, and the beam scanner paints a field of view (FOV) that is larger than a field of view (FOV) an image that is provided image (The scanner may include a microelectromechanical system (MEMS) scanner, [0010]).
Regarding claim 12, GREIF teaches a near-eye display device apparatus, comprising:
a waveguide to provide an image on an eye box (The optics block may include various lenses, e.g. a refractive lens, a Fresnel lens, a diffractive lens, an active or passive Pancharatnam-Berry phase (PBP) lens, a liquid lens, a liquid crystal lens, etc., a pupil-replicating waveguide, grating structures, coatings, etc. The display system 1680 may further include a varifocal module 1635, [0084] Figs. 16A-B.); a projector optically coupled to the waveguide (scanning projector displays, [0006]), the projector comprising: a multi-ridge light source to provide a light beam (Fig. 1, light engine 102 light-emitting diode, light beam 104, [0038]; a light engine having N emitters, [0006]), wherein a distance between ridges of the multi-ridge light source is larger than one pixel and the ridges are aligned horizontally, vertically, or at an angle (The N emitters are spaced apart from each other such that pixels of the image concurrently energized by neighboring ones of the N emitters are non-adjacent. A controller is operably coupled to the light engine and the scanner and configured to cause the scanner to concurrently scan the fan of Alight beams about the first and second axes, and cause the light engine to vary the optical power levels of the N emitters with time delays such that adjacent pixels of the image are energized by different ones of the N emitters, [0006], [0011-0012]; FIG. 11 is an FOV diagram illustrating a grid of intersection points of scanning trajectories due to simultaneous scanning about horizontal and vertical axes;, [0062-0067]), a two-dimensional (2D) beam scanner optically coupled to the multi-ridge light source to receive the light beam and to generate a light field by performing a scan of the light beam (scanner 108 optically coupled to the light source 102 to receive the light beam 104, Fig. 1; the controller 112 may cause the scanner 108 to scan the light beam 104 through a succession of directions “A” through “G”, [0039]); and
a controller communicatively coupled to the multi-ridge light source and the beam scanner (controller 112 may be configured for providing driving signals 105 to the scanner 108, and control signals 107 to the light engine 102 in coordination with operating the scanner 108, [0039]; Fig. 1), the controller to cause the beam scanner to scan the light beam about a first axis and a second axis within a field of view (FOV) following a coherent Lissajous pattern while varying a brightness of the light beam to provide the image (scanning the light beam 104 in two dimensions, e.g. about an X-axis and/or Y-axis perpendicular to the X-axis, The X- and Y-axes may be disposed in plane of the MEMS reflector at its normal i.e. unpowered position. Pre-tilted MEMS reflectors may also be used. A pupil replicator 110 provides a light field 115 including multiple laterally displaced parallel copies of the scanned light beam 104. [0038]; FIG. 3, a Y-tilt (vertical tilt) of the tiltable reflector 203 is plotted against an X-tilt (horizontal tilt) across a field of view (FOV) 300 of a scanning projector display. Herein, the terms “vertical” and “horizontal” are used for convenience only, and actual axes of tilt may be arbitrarily oriented for as long as they are non-parallel, [0045]. the controller 1405 determines the brightness and/or color of these pixels, and operates the electronic drivers 1404 accordingly, [0070]).
GREIF doesn’t explicitly teach performing a biresonant scan of the light beam; the light source including a plurality of ridges and adjust a width of at least one of the plurality of ridges, and control at least a property of the light source responsive to the adjustment of the width.
GREIF and Fu are related as optical scanning.
Fu teaches performing a biresonant scan of the light beam; the light source including a plurality of ridges and adjust a width of at least one of the plurality of ridges, and control at least a property of the light source responsive to the adjustment of the width (the scanning mirror assembly 480 may include a plurality of scanning mirrors that each scan in orthogonal directions to each other. The scanning mirror assembly 480 may perform a raster scan (horizontally, or vertically), a biresonant scan, or some combination thereof., [C-7, L-9-11]; source element 520A includes a ridge waveguide structure. The ridge waveguide structure is a circular or rectangular waveguide having one or more longitudinal internal ridges that provides a stronger optical confinement due to the presence of a material with a lower index of refraction than the ridges surrounding the three sides of the ridge waveguide. The source elements 520B and 520C also include the ridge waveguide structure. [C-8, L-60-67]; light from the source array 440 may include, e.g., expanding, collimating, adjusting orientation in accordance with instructions from the controller 330, some other adjustment of the light, or some combination thereof. [C-6, L-35-39]; light 435 is a light conditioned for incidence on the scanning mirror assembly 480. The light conditioning assembly 470 includes one or more optical components that condition the light from the source array 440. Conditioning light from the source array 440 may include, e.g., expanding, collimating, correcting for one or more optical errors (e.g., field curvature, chromatic aberration, etc.), some other adjustment of the light, or some combination thereof, [C-6, L-55-65]; Figs. 5A-B; also see Fig. 6 and [C-10, L-18 to C-11, L7] and Response to Arguments above).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the application was filed to modify the apparatus of GREIF for performing a biresonant scan of the light beam; the light source including a plurality of ridges and adjust a width of at least one of the plurality of ridges, and control at least a property of the light source responsive to the adjustment of the width, as taught by Fu for the predictable advantage of having light sources that generate an image light with very high brightness that has both spatial and temporal coherence, as taught by Fu in the chapter “background” and [C-4, L-43-47].
Regarding claim 13, the modified GREIF teaches the near-eye display device according to claim 12 (see above), wherein a skip is a vertical displacement for the ridges and is determined based on a vertical dimension of the field of view (FOV), a frequency ratio of the Lissajous pattern, and a number of horizontal periods of the Lissajous pattern, and a distance between two ridges is selected by a ratio of the skip over a number of ridges (an FOV diagram illustrating a grid of intersection points of scanning trajectories due to simultaneous scanning about horizontal and vertical axes, [0027]).
Regarding claim 16, the modified GREIF teaches the apparatus according to claim 12 (see above), wherein the multi-ridge light source comprises two or more ridges for each color, and the two or more ridges have equidistant angular spacing (the controller 112 may cause the scanner 108 to scan the light beam 104 through a succession of directions “A” through “G” in coordination with causing the light engine 102 to change the optical power level of the light beam 104, to form an image in angular domain, [0039] The pupil replicator 110 provides multiple laterally displaced parallel copies of the light beam 104 as the light beam 104 is scanned by the scanner 108 through directions “A”,“B”,“C”,“D”,“E”,“F”, and “G”. A viewer’s eye 114 receives the light field 115, and forms an image at the eye’s retina 116 from the corresponding replicated light beams at various angles, [0040].; the controller 212 may determine the corresponding brightness and/or color value, [0043]).
Claims 2-4, 9 and 15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over GREIF et al. in view of Fu et al. as applied to claims 1 or 12, and further in view of Sarkar et al. (US 2021/0124416, of record).
Regarding claim 2, the modified GREIF teaches the apparatus according to claim 1 (see above), Molinari further teaches, wherein the consecutive non-linear pattern is a coherent Lissajous pattern (advantageously used also in a biresonant raster scan system, [0150]).
GREIF doesn’t explicitly teach the Lissajous pattern.
GREIF and Sarkar are related as optical scanning.
Sarker teaches the Lissajous pattern (Any Lissajous pattern of a given frequency ratio can be re-analyzed as being a processing form of a different Lissajous pattern with a simpler rational frequency ratio. For example, a Lissajous pattern formed using a drive-frequency ratio of 800:401 is substantially a processing form of a Lissajous pattern formed using a drive-frequency ratio of 2:1., [0072])
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the application was filed to modify the apparatus of GREIF to use the Lissajous pattern, as Sarkar teaches for the predictable advantage of providing rapid, high-accuracy measurements of eye position without the need for time-consuming image processing, as Sarkar teaches in [0004].
Regarding claim 3, the modified GREIF teaches the apparatus according to claim 2 (see above), wherein the light source is a multi-ridge light source (light engine 102 based on a solid-state single-mode or multimode light source such as a light-emitting diode (LED), a super-luminescent light-emitting diode (SLED), a side-emitting laser diode, a vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser diode (VCSEL), etc., [0038]), and ridges of the multi-ridge light source are aligned horizontally, vertically, or at an angle (A light source with multiple light beams will be considered further below. A scanner 108, e.g. a microelectromechanical system (MEMS) including a tiltable reflector, is optically coupled to the light engine 102 for scanning the light beam 104 in two dimensions, e.g. about an X-axis and/or Y-axis perpendicular to the X-axis. The X- and Y-axes may be disposed in plane of the MEMS reflector at its normal [0038], a Y-tilt (vertical tilt) of the tiltable reflector 203 is plotted against an X-tilt (horizontal tilt) across a field of view (FOV) 300 of a scanning projector display, [0045]).
Regarding claim 4, the modified GREIF teaches the apparatus according to claim 3 (see above). The modified GREIF doesn’t explicitly teach, wherein a skip is a vertical displacement for the ridges of the multi-ridge light source and is determined by:
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43
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where FOVy is a vertical dimension of a field of view (FOV), ʋx is a horizontal frequency of the Lissajous pattern, ʋy is a vertical frequency of the Lissajous pattern, and S is a number of horizontal periods of the Lissajous pattern. The "vertical dimension and the frequencies " are not, by claim language tied to any governance of the Lissajous pattern or FOV; each can be arbitrarily chosen to these quantities as no other quantification or reference point are yet established within the claim, and no criticality has been established. The vertical displacement for the ridges of the multi-ridge light source and can be determined by arbitrarily chosen r.h.s. quantities. It is not inventive to discover the optimum or workable ranges by routine experimentation; see In re Aller, 220 F.2d 454, 456,105 USPQ 233, 235. It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art at the time the filing was made to determine a skip value in order to obtain a desired image. Benefits of optimizing location include improved image quality.
Regarding claim 9, the modified GREIF teaches the apparatus according to claim 1 (see above), wherein the controller is further to cause the beam scanner to scan the light beam in one of four painting directions (controller 212 is operably coupled to the multi-emitter light source 202 and the 2D MEMS scanner 208. The controller 212 may be configured to provide control signals 207 to the multi-emitter light source 202 in coordination with operating the 2D MEMS scanner 208 by providing driving signals 205 to scan the collimated light beams 231, 232, and 233, to provide an image in angular domain. Feedback signals 209 may be provided by the MEMS scanner 208 to the controller 212 to facilitate determination of the current tilt angle(s) of the tiltable reflector 203 by the controller 212, [0042]; FIG. 3, a Y-tilt (vertical tilt) of the tiltable reflector 203 is plotted against an X-tilt (horizontal tilt) across a field of view (FOV) 300 of a scanning projector display. Herein, the terms “vertical” and “horizontal” are used for convenience only, and actual axes of tilt may be arbitrarily oriented for as long as they are non-parallel.; [0045]).
GREIF doesn’t explicitly teach a Lissajous pattern has a frequency ratio of M / N, where M and N are mutually prime integers.
GREIF and Sarker are related as optical scanning.
Sarker teaches the Lissajous pattern has a frequency ratio of M / N, where M and N are mutually prime integers (Any Lissajous pattern of a given frequency ratio can be re-analyzed as being a processing form of a different Lissajous pattern with a simpler rational frequency ratio. For example, a Lissajous pattern formed using a drive-frequency ratio of 800:401 is substantially a processing form of a Lissajous pattern formed using a drive-frequency ratio of 2:1., [0072])
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the application was filed to modify the apparatus of GREIF wherein the Lissajous pattern has a frequency ratio of M / N, where M and N are mutually prime integers, as Sarkar teaches for the predictable advantage of providing rapid, high-accuracy measurements of eye position without the need for time-consuming image processing, as Sarkar teaches in [0004].
Regarding claim 15, the modified GREIF teaches the near-eye display device according to claim 12 (see above),
GREIF doesn’t explicitly teach the Lissajous pattern has a frequency ratio of M / N, where M and N are mutually prime integers.
GREIF and Sarker are related as optical scanning.
Sarker teaches the Lissajous pattern has a frequency ratio of M / N, where M and N are mutually prime integers (Any Lissajous pattern of a given frequency ratio can be re-analyzed as being a processing form of a different Lissajous pattern with a simpler rational frequency ratio. For example, a Lissajous pattern formed using a drive-frequency ratio of 800:401 is substantially a processing form of a Lissajous pattern formed using a drive-frequency ratio of 2:1., [0072])
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the application was filed to modify the apparatus of GREIF wherein the Lissajous pattern has a frequency ratio of M / N, where M and N are mutually prime integers, as Sarkar teaches for the predictable advantage of providing rapid, high-accuracy measurements of eye position without the need for time-consuming image processing, as Sarkar teaches in [0004].
Claims 17-18 and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over GREIF et al. (WO 2020/263476, of record) in view of Fu et al. (US 10,690,919) and further in view of Sarkar et al. (US 2021/0124416, of record).
Regarding claim 17, GREIF teaches a method, comprising: generating a light beam at a multi-ridge light source of a scanning projector (Fig. 1; (scanning projector displays, [0006]), (Fig. 1, light engine 102 light-emitting diode, light beam 104, [0038]; a light engine having N emitters, [0006]), wherein a distance between ridges of the multi-ridge light source is larger than one pixel and the ridges are aligned horizontally, vertically, or at an angle (The N emitters are spaced apart from each other such that pixels of the image concurrently energized by neighboring ones of the N emitters are non-adjacent. A controller is operably coupled to the light engine and the scanner and configured to cause the scanner to concurrently scan the fan of Alight beams about the first and second axes, and cause the light engine to vary the optical power levels of the N emitters with time delays such that adjacent pixels of the image are energized by different ones of the N emitters, [0006], [0011-0012]; FIG. 11 is an FOV diagram illustrating a grid of intersection points of scanning trajectories due to simultaneous scanning about horizontal and vertical axes;, [0062-0067]); scanning the light beam (light beam 104, Fig. 1), at a two-dimensional (2D) beam scanner (2D MEMS scanner 208, [0042]), about a first axis and a second axis within a field of view (FOV) following a pattern while varying a brightness of the light beam (scanning the light beam 104 in two dimensions, e.g. about an X-axis and/or Y-axis perpendicular to the X-axis, The X- and Y-axes may be disposed in plane of the MEMS reflector at its normal i.e. unpowered position. Pre-tilted MEMS reflectors may also be used, [0045], controller 212 may determine the corresponding brightness and/or color value, [0043]); and generating a light field on an eye box, by a waveguide, to provide an image to a viewer through the eye box. (see Fig. 16A).
GREIF doesn’t explicitly teach Lissajous pattern and adjusting a width of at least one of the ridges, and control at least a property of the light source responsive to the adjustment of the width.
GREIF and Fu are related as optical scanning.
Fu teaches the light source including a plurality of ridges and adjust a width of at least one of the ridges, and control at least a property of the light source responsive to the adjustment of the width (the scanning mirror assembly 480 may include a plurality of scanning mirrors that each scan in orthogonal directions to each other. The scanning mirror assembly 480 may perform a raster scan (horizontally, or vertically), a biresonant scan, or some combination thereof., [C-7, L-9-11]; source element 520A includes a ridge waveguide structure. The ridge waveguide structure is a circular or rectangular waveguide having one or more longitudinal internal ridges that provides a stronger optical confinement due to the presence of a material with a lower index of refraction than the ridges surrounding the three sides of the ridge waveguide. The source elements 520B and 520C also include the ridge waveguide structure. [C-8, L-60-67]; light from the source array 440 may include, e.g., expanding, collimating, adjusting orientation in accordance with instructions from the controller 330, some other adjustment of the light, or some combination thereof. [C-6, L-35-39]; light 435 is a light conditioned for incidence on the scanning mirror assembly 480. The light conditioning assembly 470 includes one or more optical components that condition the light from the source array 440. Conditioning light from the source array 440 may include, e.g., expanding, collimating, correcting for one or more optical errors (e.g., field curvature, chromatic aberration, etc.), some other adjustment of the light, or some combination thereof, [C-6, L-55-65]; Figs. 5A-B; also see Fig. 6 and [C-10, L-18 to C-11, L7] and Response to Arguments above).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the application was filed to modify the apparatus of GREIF for performing a biresonant scan of the light beam; the light source including a plurality of ridges and adjust a width of at least one of the plurality of ridges, and control at least a property of the light source responsive to the adjustment of the width, as taught by Fu for the predictable advantage of having light sources that generate an image light with very high brightness that has both spatial and temporal coherence, as taught by Fu in the chapter “background” and [C-4, L-43-47].
GREIF and Sarker are related as optical scanning.
Sarker teaches a Lissajous pattern (Any Lissajous pattern of a given frequency ratio can be re-analyzed as being a processing form of a different Lissajous pattern with a simpler rational frequency ratio. For example, a Lissajous pattern formed using a drive-frequency ratio of 800:401 is substantially a processing form of a Lissajous pattern formed using a drive-frequency ratio of 2:1., [0072])
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the application was filed to modify the apparatus of GREIF with the Lissajous pattern, as Sarkar teaches for the predictable advantage of providing rapid, high-accuracy measurements of eye position without the need for time-consuming image processing, as Sarkar teaches in [0004].
Regarding claim 18, the modified GREIF teaches the apparatus according to claim 17 (see above), further comprising: scanning the light beam in at least one of four directions (controller 212 is operably coupled to the multi-emitter light source 202 and the 2D MEMS scanner 208. The controller 212 may be configured to provide control signals 207 to the multi-emitter light source 202 in coordination with operating the 2D MEMS scanner 208 by providing driving signals 205 to scan the collimated light beams 231, 232, and 233, to provide an image in angular domain. Feedback signals 209 may be provided by the MEMS scanner 208 to the controller 212 to facilitate determination of the current tilt angle(s) of the tiltable reflector 203 by the controller 212, [0042]; FIG. 3, a Y-tilt (vertical tilt) of the tiltable reflector 203 is plotted against an X-tilt (horizontal tilt) across a field of view (FOV) 300 of a scanning projector display. Herein, the terms “vertical” and “horizontal” are used for convenience only, and actual axes of tilt may be arbitrarily oriented for as long as they are non-parallel.; [0045]).
Regarding claim 20, the modified GREIF teaches the apparatus according to claim 17 (see above), wherein the beam scanner is a micro-electromechanical system (MEMS) scanner, and the method further comprises: painting a beam scanner field of view (FOV) that is larger than the field of view (FOV) of the provided image ((MEMS) scanner, and the beam scanner is to paint a field of view (FOV) that is larger than a field of view (FOV) of the provided image (The scanner may include a microelectromechanical system (MEMS) scanner, [0010]).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 5-7, 14 and 19 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 are the statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: Claim 5, wherein a distance between two ridges is selected by a ratio of the skip over a number of ridges. Claim 6: wherein a brush width is selected to be equal or greater than the skip. Claim 7: wherein a brush width is selected to be smaller than the skip, and the controller is further to cause the beam scanner to scan the light beam in two or more directions. Claim 14: wherein a brush width is selected to be equal or greater than the skip, or the brush width is selected to be smaller than the skip, and the controller is further to cause the beam scanner to scan the light beam in two or more directions. Claim 19: The method further comprising: selecting a brush width to be smaller than a skip, wherein the skip is a vertical displacement for the ridges and is determined based on a vertical dimension of the field of view (FOV), a frequency ratio of the Lissajous pattern, and a number of horizontal periods of the Lissajous pattern in combination of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). 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 RAHMAN ABDUR whose telephone number is (571)270-0438. The examiner can normally be reached 8:30 am to 5:30 pm PST.
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/R.A/Examiner, Art Unit 2872
/BUMSUK WON/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2872