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 .
Election/Restrictions
Claims 1-12 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected embodiment, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election was made without traverse in the reply filed on 04/29/2026.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 19 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Claims 19 recites the limitation "the reflector support comprises an angle regulation element; … an inner wall of the second housing". There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
For the purpose of examination the limitation will be interpreted as: wherein a reflector support comprises an angle regulation element; wherein an end of the angle regulation element is snapped into an accommodating slot of an inner wall of the housing, and the angle regulation element is movable in the accommodating slot.
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.
Claim(s) 12-18 and 20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over in Okuda (United States Patent Application Publication 2022/0308434 A1) view of Yamamoto (United States Patent Application Publication 2013/0308103 A1) and Naoki (United States Patent Publication 8, 757, 818 B2)
With respect to claims 12 and 20, Okuda discloses an optical engine (see figs.11 and 19), comprising: a light source assembly (see at least 60 in figs.11 and fig.19); a light modulation assembly (40 RGB); and a lens (50); wherein the light source assembly, (see at least 60 in figs.11 and 19) comprising: a plurality of lasers (60A, 60B1, 60B3, 60C1 and 60C2 in figs.11 and 19), wherein at least two of the plurality of lasers are disposed in a portion of the light source assembly (see figs.11 and 19), and are configured to emit lase light in three colors (see the light emitted by 60 in figs.11 and 19); beam combination mirror groups (140-143 in figs.11 and 19), each for mixing laser light emitted from each of the at least two lasers (see the operation in figs.11 and 19); a convex lens (121) and a second positive lens (122); an angle adjustment element (see 145); and a converging lens (see a lens of lenslet array 20A ); wherein the beam combination mirror group (see 140-143 in figs.11), the convex lens (see 121), the second positive lens (122), the angle adjustment element (21) and the converging lens (see a lens of lenslet array 20A ) are disposed in such a way that the laser light from each of the at least two lasers passes through the beam combination mirror group (see the operation disclosed in figs.11 and 19), the convex lens, the second positive lens (122), the angle adjustment element and the converging lens in sequence in that order (see the sequence of the elements in figs.11); and the laser light emitted from each beam combination group does not overlap with each other and is incident on a position of the convex lens that is different from each other (see LA and LB in figs.12) but Okuda does not explicitly disclose a housing or wherein the second positive lens is a concave lens.
Yamamoto discloses wherein the focusing lens group includes a concave lens as a focusing lens (see concave lens in Lefg3 in figs.2).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to modify the second lens of Okuda with the concave lens of Yamamoto to reduce material cost.
Okuda in view of Yamamoto does not disclose wherein the light source is contained in a housing.
Naoki discloses wherein the light source is contained in a housing structure (see 40 and 50 in fig.10, wherein 40 houses the light sources and 50 housing the optical engine).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to modify the light assembly and projection system of Okuda in view of Yamamoto with the teaching of Naoki so that at least two of the plurality of lasers are disposed in a portion of a same housing of the light source assembly to protect the components of the light source and facilitate maintenance.
With respect to claim 13, Okuda in view of Yamamoto and Naoki discloses the light source assembly according to claim 12, Okuda in combination with Yamamoto discloses further comprising a reflector (see the reflector 144 in fig.11 of Okuda) disposed between the convex lens (see 121 in fig.11 of Okuda) and the concave lens (see the concave lens as taught by Yamamoto see concave lens in Lefg3 in fig.2).
With respect to claim 14, Okuda in view of Yamamoto and Naoki discloses the light source assembly according to claim 13, Okuda in combination with Yamamoto and Naoki discloses wherein the convex lens (see the convex lens 121 in fig.11 of Okuda ), the reflector (see 144 in fig.11), the concave lens (see the concave lens as taught by Yamamoto see concave lens in Lefg3 in fig.2), the angle adjustment element (see 20 in fig.11) and the converging lens (see a lens of lenslet array 20A ) are disposed in a housing of the light source assembly (see the housing assembly of 50 in fig.10 as taught by Naoki ), which is different from the housing with the lasers (40 in fig.11).
With respect to claim 15, Okuda in view of Yamamoto and Naoki discloses the light source assembly according to claim 12, Okuda discloses wherein the laser comprises a plurality of light-emitting areas (see disclosed by 60C1); and a first light-emitting area among the plurality of light-emitting areas is configured to emit red laser light, and the first light-emitting area is close to the convex lens (examiner interpreted close as relative term: see red lasers of 60C1 which are closest to lens 121 in fig.11).
With respect to claim 16, Okuda in view of Yamamoto and Naoki discloses the light source assembly according to claim 12, Okuda in combination with Yamamoto discloses wherein the laser light emitted from each beam combination mirror group forms a light spot on the convex lens (disclosed by the arrangement of light sources of 10 and the convex lens 121); and a plurality of light spots formed by the laser light emitted by the beam combination mirror groups on the convex lens are respectively located on both sides of a plane where an optical axis of the convex lens is located (disclosed by the arrangement of light sources of 10 and both sides the convex lens 121); or laser light emitted from the convex lens forms a plurality of light spots on the concave lens and the converging lens; and the plurality of light spots formed on the concave lens or the converging lens is symmetrical with respect to a sagittal plane of a light pipe of a light modulation assembly; or the plurality of light spots formed on the concave lens (Okuda in combination with Yamamoto teach a concave lens for lens 122 in fig.11 and 19 as discussed above) or the converging lens is symmetrical with respect to a meridian plane of a light pipe of a light modulation assembly; or the plurality of light spots formed on the concave lens or the converging lens is symmetrical with respect to a meridian plane and a sagittal plane of a light pipe of a light modulation assembly simultaneously.
With respect to claim 17, Okuda in view of Yamamoto and Naoki discloses the light source assembly according to claim 12, wherein the angle adjustment element is one of a diffusion sheet (see 20 in fig.11), a fly-eye lens or a fly-eye lens pair.
With respect to claim 18, Okuda in view of Yamamoto and Naoki discloses the light source assembly according to claim 12, Okuda discloses wherein a plurality of beam combination mirrors in each beam combination mirror group are all inclined relative to a light-emitting surface of the laser (see the mirrors 140-143 and 14 in figs.11 and 19); and the plurality of beam combination mirrors reflect incident laser light toward a target direction (see the arrows of light in figs.11 and 19), wherein the target direction is parallel to an arrangement direction of the plurality of beam combination mirrors (see the arrangement of mirrors (the mirrors 140-143 and 14 in figs.11 and 19) and the direction of arrows in fig.19: ); wherein a part of beam combination mirrors among the plurality of beam combination mirrors reflect incident laser light to other beam combination mirrors (see the operation of the mirrors 140-143 and 14 in figs.11 and 19); and the other beam combination mirrors are dichroic mirrors, and configured to reflect incident laser light emitted from corresponding light-emitting areas and transmit the incident laser light emitted from other light-emitting areas (see the operation of dichroic mirrors in figs.11 and 19).
Claim(s) 19 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over in Okuda (United States Patent Application Publication 2022/0308434 A1) view of Yamamoto (United States Patent Application Publication 2013/0308103 A1) and Naoki (United States Patent Publication 8, 757, 818 B2) and Huber (United States Patent Publication 4, 150, 887).
With respect to claim 19, Okuda in view of Yamamoto and Naoki discloses the light source assembly according to claim 12, but does not disclose wherein a reflector support comprises an angle regulation element; wherein an end of the angle regulation element is snapped into an accommodating slot of an inner wall of the housing, and the angle regulation element is movable in the accommodating slot.
Huber discloses wherein a reflector support (see the reflector support of 4b) comprises an angle regulation element (4c); wherein an end of the angle regulation element (end of 4c) is snapped (examiner interprets snapped as abruptly putting in place which a screw is configurable to do and thus meet the limitation in an apparatus claim) into an accommodating slot of an inner wall of the housing (see the hole in which 4c is placed), and the angle regulation element is movable in the accommodating slot (see the structure and operation of 4c).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to modify the mirror of Okuda in view of Yamamoto and Naoki with the teaching of Huber so that a reflector support comprises an angle regulation element; wherein an end of the angle regulation element is snapped into an accommodating slot of an inner wall of the housing, and the angle regulation element is movable in the accommodating slot to improve the maintainability of the optical system.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JERRY L. BROOKS whose telephone number is (571)270-5711. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9:00-4:00 PM.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Toan Ton can be reached at 5712722303. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/JERRY L BROOKS/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2882
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