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 .
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 03 December 2025 is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
Response to Amendment
The amendments filed 18 November 2025 have been entered. Claims 1 and 3-8 remain pending in the application (claim 2 has been cancelled). The Applicant’s amendments to the claims and specification overcome each and every objection and rejection previously set forth in the Non-Final Rejection dated 27 August 2025.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments, see pages 6-7, filed 18 November 2025, with respect to the rejection of claim 1 under 35 U.S.C. 102 have been fully considered and are persuasive. Therefore, the rejection has been withdrawn. However, upon further consideration, a new ground of rejection is made in view of Boutami et al. (FR 3044466 A1).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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.
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, 3, and 5-8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Roh et al. (USPGPub 20210126035 A1) in view of Boutami et al. (FR 3044466 A1).
Regarding claim 1, Roh teaches an optical element, comprising: a transparent layer (120) for covering a plurality of pixels (111/112/113/114) each including a photoelectric conversion element (see figures 19A-19B, spacer layer 120 (i.e. transparent layer) disposed over photosensitive cells 111, 112, 113, and 114; and ¶112, the pixel array 1100 includes a sensor substrate 110 including a plurality of photosensitive cells 111, 112, 113, and 114 configured to sense light, the spacer layer 120 that is transparent and provided on an upper surface of the sensor substrate 110, and the color separating lens array 130 provided on an upper surface of the spacer layer 120 above the sensor substrate); and a plurality of structure bodies (NP) arranged on the transparent layer (120) or in the transparent layer (120) in a plane direction of the transparent layer (120) (see figures 19A-19B, nanoposts NP (i.e. structure bodies) arranged on spacer layer 120), wherein the plurality of structure bodies (NP) is arranged in such a manner that, among incident light, light of a first color is condensed on a first pixel (111) located immediately below, and light of a second color is condensed on a second pixel (112) located immediately below according to an incident angle of incident light of each of the structure bodies (NP) (¶117, The color separating lens array 130 is partitioned such that the light of the first wavelength is branched into and focused on the first and fourth photosensitive cells 111 and 114 and condensed, the light of the second wavelength is branched and focused on the second photosensitive cell 112 and condensed, and the light of the third wavelength is branched and focused on the third photosensitive cell 113 and condensed). However, Roh fails to explicitly teach wherein a cross-sectional shape of the plurality of structure bodies is different between a central portion and an outer peripheral portion of the optical element.
However, Boutami teaches wherein a cross-sectional shape of the plurality of structure bodies (107) is different between a central portion and an outer peripheral portion of the optical element (105) (see figures 4 and 5).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Roh to incorporate the teachings of Boutami to have the structure bodies have different shapes because a mere carrying forward of an original patented conception involving only change of form, proportions, or degree, or the substitution of equivalents doing the same thing as the original invention, by substantially the same means, is not such an invention as will sustain a patent, even though the changes of the kind may produce better results than prior inventions (MPEP 2144.05 II A).
Regarding claim 3, Roh as modified by Boutami teaches the optical element according to claim 1, wherein each of the plurality of structure bodies (Roh NP | Boutami 107) is a columnar structure body having a refractive index higher than a refractive index of the transparent layer (Roh 120) and giving an optical phase delay amount according to a cross-sectional shape to the incident light (Roh, ¶114, the spacer layer 120 may include a dielectric material having a lower refractive index than a refractive index of the nanoposts NP; ¶163, the nanoposts may have a shape of a pillar with various cross-sectional shapes; and ¶120, the first and fourth regions 131 and 134 corresponding to the green pixel G, the second region 132 corresponding to the blue pixel B, and the third region 133 corresponding to the red pixel R may include nanoposts NP, each of which has a cylindrical shape of a circular cross-section), and the cross-sectional shapes of the plurality of structure bodies (Roh NP | Boutami 107) are set according to an optical phase amount delay distribution for achieving the light condensation, and the plurality of structure bodies (Roh NP | Boutami 107) are arranged according to the optical phase amount delay distribution for achieving the light condensation (Roh, ¶108, The nanoposts NP having a difference in a refractive index from the refractive index of the peripheral material may change a phase of light that passes therethrough. This is caused by a phase delay that is caused by the sub-wavelength dimensions, and a delayed degree of the phase may be determined by detailed shape dimensions, arrangement types, etc. of the nanoposts NP).
Regarding claim 5, Roh as modified by Boutami teaches the optical element according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of structure bodies (Roh NP | Boutami 107) is arranged in such a manner that light of a color corresponding to one pixel among light incident on an outside of a region facing the one pixel is also condensed on the one pixel (Roh, see figure 3; and ¶133, the target phase distribution denotes the distribution of phase of light at the location right after passing through the color separating lens array 130. When the light after passing through the color separating lens array 130 has the above phase distribution, the light of first to third wavelengths is respectively condensed into the corresponding first to fourth photosensitive cells 111 to 114. For example, an effect that the light that has passed through the color separating lens array 130 branches according to the wavelengths and then proceeds to different directions to be focused may be obtained).
Regarding claim 6, Roh as modified by Boutami teaches an imaging element (Roh 1000), comprising: the optical element according to claim 1 (Roh ¶90, an image sensor including a color separating lens array and an electronic device including the image sensor will be described in detail with reference to accompanying drawings); and the plurality of pixels (Roh 111/112/113/114) covered with the transparent layer (Roh 120) (Roh see figures 19A-19B, spacer layer 120 (i.e. transparent layer) disposed over photosensitive cells 111, 112, 113, and 114; and ¶102, the pixel array 1100 of the image sensor 1000 may include a color separating lens array that is configured to focus light of a color corresponding to each pixel onto the each pixel).
Regarding claim 7, Roh as modified by Boutami teaches the imaging element according to claim 6, further comprising a filter layer (Roh 105) provided between the plurality of pixels (Roh 111/112/113/114) and the transparent layer (Roh 120) (Roh, see figures 19A-19B, color filters 105; and ¶195, The color filter 105 may be arranged between the sensor substrate 110 and the spacer layer 120).
Regarding claim 8, Roh as modified by Boutami teaches an imaging device (Roh 2000), comprising: the imaging element according to claim 6 (Roh, ¶201, the camera 2000 according to the example embodiment may include an objective lens 2010 configured to form an optical image by focusing light reflected from an object and an image sensor 1000 configured to convert the optical image formed by the objective lens 2010 to an electric image signal); and a signal processing unit (Roh 2200) that generates an image signal on a basis of an electric signal obtained from the imaging element (Roh 1000) (Roh, ¶201, the camera 2000 further includes a processor 2200 configured to process the electrical signal from the image sensor 1000 as an image signal).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 4 is 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.
Regarding claim 4, the prior art of record individually or combined fails to teach the optical element according to claim 1 as claimed, more specifically in combination with wherein the cross-sectional shape of each of the plurality of structure bodies is a four-fold rotationally symmetrical shape.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ERIN R GARBER whose telephone number is (571)272-4663. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 0730-1730.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Georgia Y Epps can be reached at (571)272-2328. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/ERIN R GARBER/Examiner, Art Unit 2878
/GEORGIA Y EPPS/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2878