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 .
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant’s submission filed on February 5, 2026 has been entered.
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.
Claims 1-14 and 17-21 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Weindorf (US 2020/0218044) in view of CIE Plastic Omnium SE (EP 3795406), hereinafter “CIE Plastic”, of record.
Regarding claim 1, Weindorf discloses a vehicle part (Figs. 1-3; paras. [0006, 0013]), comprising:
a light source (22, Fig. 1) capable of emitting a light image (para. [0014]),
a micro-mirror plate (28, Fig. 1) capable of projecting the light image outside the vehicle part in a form of a hologram (e.g., at 34, Fig. 1; para. [0015]; floating image considered to be a hologram), and
at least one privacy filter (50, Fig. 1) located between the light source (22) and the hologram (Fig. 1), the at least one privacy filter limiting, by filtering light, an angular range of the light image passing through the at least one privacy filter to within a predetermined angular range (52) centered on an axis (26) perpendicular to an exit surface of the at least one privacy filter (Fig. 1; para. [0018]), and attenuating light pollution formed by artifacts of the hologram located on a periphery of the hologram (paras. [0006, 0019]; light is limited to within viewing angle, increasing clarity and quality of image displayed).
Weindorf fails to explicitly disclose a sensor capable of detecting a presence of any object in a projection plane coinciding at least partially with the hologram.
However, CIE Plastic discloses a vehicle part (2, Figs. 1-12), comprising a sensor (16) capable of detecting a presence of any object in a projection plane (17) coinciding at least partially with the hologram (4) (Fig. 3; paras. [0031, 0036-0037]).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate a sensor capable of detecting a presence of any object in a projection plane coinciding at least partially with the hologram, as in CIE Plastic, into the vehicle part of Weindorf for effective and timely interaction with a user.
Regarding claims 2-3, Weindorf fails to explicitly disclose wherein the micro-mirror plate is covered by a skin transparent to visible light and infrared, and wherein the skin is made of polycarbonate, polypropylene or polymethyl methacrylate.
However, CIE Plastic discloses wherein the micro-mirror plate (12) is covered by a skin (14) transparent to visible light and infrared (Figs. 2-12; para. [0032]), and
wherein the skin (14) is made of polycarbonate, polypropylene or polymethyl methacrylate (para. [0032]).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate wherein the micro-mirror plate is covered by a skin transparent to visible light and infrared, and wherein the skin is made of polycarbonate, polypropylene or polymethyl methacrylate, as in CIE Plastic, into the vehicle part of Weindorf to protect the part from external stress, while not obstructing the light image.
Regarding claim 4, Weindorf fails to explicitly disclose wherein the sensor is formed by an infrared sensor.
However, CIE Plastic discloses wherein the sensor (16) is formed by an infrared sensor (para. [0033]).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate wherein the sensor is formed by an infrared sensor, as in CIE Plastic, into the vehicle part of Weindorf to effectively detect a person approaching (CIE Plastic, para. [0035]).
Regarding claim 5, Weindorf discloses forming a tailgate, a door, a front, middle or rear pillar, a hood, an exterior mirror or a vehicle bumper (paras. [0006, 0013]).
Regarding claim 6, Weindorf discloses wherein the light source (22) comprises an illuminated screen (Fig. 1; paras. [0013-0014]).
Regarding claim 7, Weindorf discloses wherein the at least one privacy filter (50) is colored and/or metallized (para. [0020]).
Regarding claim 8, Weindorf discloses a plurality of privacy filters (256, 254, Fig. 3).
Regarding claim 9, Weindorf discloses wherein the at least one privacy filter (50) is located adjacent to the micro-mirror plate (28) (Fig. 1).
Regarding claim 10, Weindorf discloses wherein the at least one privacy filter (50) is located at a distance from the micro-mirror plate (28) (Fig. 1).
Regarding claim 11, Weindorf discloses wherein the at least one privacy filter (50) is in contact with the micro-mirror plate (28) (Fig. 1; in contact within the system).
Regarding claim 12, Weindorf discloses wherein the at least one privacy filter (50) is located adjacent to the light source (22) (Fig. 1).
Regarding claim 13, Weindorf discloses wherein the at least one privacy filter (256) is located at a distance (246) from the light source (224) (Fig. 3).
Regarding claim 14, Weindorf discloses wherein the at least one privacy filter (50) is in contact with the light source (22) (Fig. 1).
Regarding claim 17, Weindorf discloses a vehicle part (Figs. 1-3; paras. [0006, 0013]), comprising:
a light source (22, Fig. 1) capable of emitting a light image (para. [0014]),
a micro-mirror plate (28, Fig. 1) capable of projecting the light image outside the vehicle part in a form of a hologram (e.g., at 34, Fig. 1; para. [0015]; floating image considered to be a hologram), and
at least one privacy filter (50, Fig. 1), in a form of a flat sheet, located between the light source (22) and the hologram (Fig. 1), the at least one privacy filter limiting, by filtering light, an angular range of the light image passing through the at least one privacy filter to within a predetermined angular range (52) centered on an axis (26) perpendicular to a flat exit surface of the at least one privacy filter (Fig. 1; para. [0018]), attenuating light pollution formed by artifacts of the hologram located on a periphery of the hologram (paras. [0006, 0019]; light is limited to within viewing angle, increasing clarity and quality of image displayed), and concealing the hologram from observers whose gaze presents an angle greater than the predetermined angular range (Fig. 1; para. [0006]),
wherein the privacy filter (46) is adjacent to the micro-mirror plate (20, 22, 42) or is adjacent to the light source (62) (Figs. 1-9; para. [0063]).
Weindorf fails to explicitly disclose a sensor capable of detecting a presence of any object in a projection plane coinciding at least partially with the hologram.
However, CIE Plastic discloses a vehicle part (2, Figs. 1-12), comprising a sensor (16) capable of detecting a presence of any object in a projection plane (17) coinciding at least partially with the hologram (4) (Fig. 3; paras. [0031, 0036-0037]).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate a sensor capable of detecting a presence of any object in a projection plane coinciding at least partially with the hologram, as in CIE Plastic, into the vehicle part of Weindorf to for effective and timely interaction with a user.
Regarding claims 18-19, Weindorf discloses wherein the predetermined angular range (52) is a 50-degree range (para. [0018]), but not explicitly a 60-degree range.
However, the angular range is a result-effective variable which achieves a recognized result (Weindorf, para. [0018]). One having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention would have been motivated to incorporate the predetermined angular range as a 60-degree range to increase the field of view as desired. Furthermore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate the recited range, since it has been held that where the general conditions of a claim are disclosed in the prior art, discovering the optimum or workable ranges involves only routine skill in the art. See MPEP 2144.05.
Regarding claim 20, Weindorf discloses wherein the at least one privacy filter (50) is in a form of a flat sheet in the location between the light source (22) and the hologram (Fig. 1).
Regarding claim 21, Weindorf discloses wherein the at least one privacy filter (50) further conceals the hologram from observers whose gaze presents an angle greater than the predetermined angular range (Fig. 1; para. [0006]).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 16 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.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
Regarding claim 16, Weindorf, along with the other prior art of record, fails to explicitly disclose a plurality of the privacy filters positioned such that each of the plurality of the privacy filters has a different filtering direction, the plurality of the privacy filters filtering light pollution formed by artifacts of the hologram in each of the different filtering directions, along with the other limitations of claims 1 and 8.
Therefore, claim 16 would be allowable.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claims 1 and 17 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on the primary reference applied in the prior rejection of record for the teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument. Therefore, the new ground of rejection over Weindorf in view of CIE Plastic is considered appropriate in accordance with the amendments to the claims.
Conclusion
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/PAISLEY L WILSON/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2871