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and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114.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 12/11/2025 has been entered.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claims 1, 5-6, and 9-10 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
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 and 5 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ford (US 2013/0265507, of record) in view of Walker (US 7,717,556, of record) and Weichelt (US 2016/0291230).
Regarding claim 1, Ford discloses a contact lens (see Fig 14A), suitable for a virtual image display system (see Fig 14A; Para [0042]; device may be used with head-mounted optical vision devices), comprising: a first type polarization structure, disposed in a first area of the contact lens, wherein the first area surrounds a center area of the contact lens (see Fig 14A; Para [0080]; a first central polarization filter may be placed over a circular area 1401 of the center of the contact lens as seen in Fig 14a); and a second type polarization structure, disposed in a second area of the contact lens (see Fig 14a; Para [0080]; a second polarization filter is disposed in an outer annular aperture 1402), wherein the second area surrounds the first area, and the second type polarization structure and the first type polarization structure have different polarization directions (see Fig 14A; Para [0080]; the second area 1402 is annular and disposed around central area 1401; polarization of the second area is orthogonal to that of the first area), wherein the first type polarization structure has a horizontal polarization direction (see Fig 14A; Para [0080-0081]; a first central region 1401 has a horizontal polarization when viewed at a tilt of 90 deg of the frontal view of 14A), and the second type polarization structure has a vertical polarization direction (see Fig 14A; Para [0080-0081]; when at a tilt of 90 deg of the frontal view of 14A; the second aperture 1402 polarization is at a vertical polarization direction); or the first type polarization structure has the vertical polarization direction, and the second type polarization structure has the horizontal polarization direction (see Fig 14A; Para [0080]; a first central region 1401 has a vertical polarization direction and a second region 1402 has a horizontal polarization region) wherein the contact lens further comprising: a third area, disposed between the first area and the second area, and surrounding the first area (see Fig 14A; Para [0049; 0080]; a third interior area 1403 is disposed between the first and second areas and surrounds the interior first area 1401). Ford does not disclose wherein the first area and the central area do not overlap each other; and wherein the third area has a third type polarization structure disposed in the third area, and the third type polarization structure has the horizontal polarization direction and the vertical polarization direction at any position in the third area. Ford and Walker are related because both disclose optical elements with multiple polarization structures.
Walker discloses an optical element with multiple polarization structures (see Fig 2) wherein the first area and the central area do not overlap each other (see Fig 2; Col 2, lines 44-61; a first area defined as area 25 may have a single horizonal polarization and does not overlap the central zone 21) and wherein the third area has a third type polarization structure disposed in the third area, and the third type polarization structure has the horizontal polarization direction and the vertical polarization direction (see Fig 2; Col 2, lines 44-61; a first area defined as area 25 may have a single horizonal polarization; a second area defined as area 23 has a vertical polarization; and a third area defined as areas of rings 22 and 26 has both vertical and horizontal polarizations).
Therefore, it would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to modify Ford with wherein the first area and the central area do not overlap each other and wherein the third area has a third type polarization structure disposed in the third area, and the third type polarization structure has the horizontal polarization direction and the vertical polarization direction of Walker for the purpose of improving visual acuity by eliminating overlapped image and blur circles (Col 1, lines 37-44)
Ford in view of Walker does not disclose wherein the third area has the horizontal polarization direction and the vertical polarization direction at any position in the third area. Ford in view of Walker and Weichelt are related because both disclose lenses with polarization rings.
Weichelt discloses a lens with multiple polarization rings (see Fig 1B) wherein the third area has the horizontal polarization direction and the vertical polarization direction at any position in the third area (see Fig 1B; Para [0051]; lens with multiple annular areas wherein Para 0051 discloses further annular zones with tilt of between 0-90 deg with respect to the axes of the circular zone 210; a linear polarization with such a tilt would be interpreted as having both horizontal and vertical polarization depending on the fast axis)
Therefore, it would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to modify Ford in view of Walker with wherein the third area has the horizontal polarization direction and the vertical polarization direction at any position in the third area of Weichelt for the purpose of achieving suitable pupil function at reduced costs (Para [0039-0040])
Regarding claim 5, Ford in view of Walker and Weichelt discloses the contact lens according to claim 1 (see Fig 14A). Ford further discloses wherein the first type polarization structure has a first polarization direction, the second type polarization structure has a second polarization direction, and the first polarization direction is different from the second polarization direction (see Fig 14A; Para [0080]; a first central region 1401 has a vertical polarization direction and a second region 1402 has a horizontal polarization region orthogonal to the first region).
Claim 6 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ford (US 2013/0265507, of record) in view of Walker (US 7,717,556, of record) and Weichelt (US 2016/0291230) as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Zhan (US 2010/0141939, of record).
Regarding claim 6, Ford in view of Walker and Weichelt discloses the contact lens according to claim 5. Ford in view of Walker and Weichelt does not disclose wherein the first polarization direction is toward the center area, and the second polarization direction is perpendicular to the first polarization direction. Ford in view of Walker and Weichelt and Zhan are related because both disclose optical elements with polarization structures.
Zhan discloses an optical element with polarization structure (see Fig 2) wherein the first polarization direction is toward the center area (see Fig 1; Para [0004]; a first polarization direction may be in a radial direction as seen in Fig 1a), and the second polarization direction is perpendicular to the first polarization direction (see Fig 1; Para [0004]; Polarization of a second state may be azimuthally polarized or polarized in a directed towards/away a center of the lens as seen in Fig 1b)
Therefore, it would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to modify Ford in view of Walker and Weichelt with wherein the first polarization direction is toward the center area, and the second polarization direction is perpendicular to the first polarization direction of Zhan for the purpose of expanding the functionality and enhancing the capability of the optical system (Para [0003])
Claim 9 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over in view of Ford (US 2013/0265507, of record) in view of Walker (US 7,717,556, of record) and Weichelt (US 2016/0291230) as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Marsh (US 2021/0361413, of record)
Regarding claim 9, Ford in view of Walker and Weichelt discloses the contact lens according to claim 1. Ford in view of Walker and Weichelt does not disclose wherein the first area is configured to generate a first reflection beam having a first polarization direction, the second area is configured to generate a second reflection beam having a second polarization direction, and the first polarization direction is different from the second polarization direction. Ford in view of Walker and Weichelt and Marsh are related because both disclose contact lens suitable for virtual image display.
Marsh discloses a contact lens (see Fig 2) wherein the first area is configured to generate a first reflection beam having a first polarization direction, the second area is configured to generate a second reflection beam having a second polarization direction, and the first polarization direction is different from the second polarization direction (see Fig 2; Para [0029]; inner and outer polarizers 204 and 212 may be reflective polarizer passing light orthogonal to their structures and reflecting light parallel to their structure; polarization direction of the first and second polarizers is substantially orthogonal as stated in Para [0030]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to modify Ford in view of Walker and Weichelt with wherein the first area is configured to generate a first reflection beam having a first polarization direction, the second area is configured to generate a second reflection beam having a second polarization direction, and the first polarization direction is different from the second polarization direction of Marsh for the purpose of reducing undesired optical artifacts on output image (Para [0001])
Claim 10 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Marsh J. (US 2017/0337706, of record) in view of Walker (US 7,717,556, of record) and Weichelt (US 2016/0291230).
Regarding claim 10, Marsh J. discloses an eye tracking device (see Fig 9), comprising: a contact lens (see Fig 9; Para [0027]; contact lens subsystem 200); a beam transmitter, for projecting a transmission beam to the contact lens (see Fig 9; Para [0027]; a light source 901 transmits light towards the contact lens 200), so that the contact lens correspondingly generates a first reflection beam having a first polarization direction and a second reflection beam having a second polarization direction (see Fig 9; Para [0027-0030]; contact lens 200 may generate a first and second reflected polarized light, reflected from fiducials with different polarizations as stated in Para [0030]); and a beam receiver, for receiving the first reflection beam and the second reflection beam (see Fig 9: Para [0044]; a photodetector 906 receives light from fiducials on the contact lens), wherein the eye tracking device tracks a line of sight direction of a user according to intensities of the first reflection beam and the second reflection beam (see Fig 9; Para [0037-0038, 0051]; eye tracking device tracks a user’s gaze according to intensity patterns of light).
Marsh J. does not disclose wherein the contact lens comprising: a first type polarization structure, disposed in a first area of the contact lens, wherein the first area surrounds a center area of the contact lens; and a second type polarization structure, disposed in a second area of the contact lens, wherein the second area surrounds the first area, and the second type polarization structure and the first type polarization structure have different polarization directions, wherein the first area and the central area do not overlap each other, wherein the first type polarization structure has a horizontal polarization direction, and the second type polarization structure has a vertical polarization direction; or the first type polarization structure has the vertical polarization direction, and the second type polarization structure has the horizontal polarization direction, wherein the contact lens further comprising: a third area, disposed between the first area and the second area, and surrounding the first area, wherein the third area has a third type polarization structure disposed in the third area, and the third type polarization structure has the horizontal polarization direction and the vertical polarization direction at any position in the third area. Marsh J. and Walker are related because both disclose the use of optical devices in optical systems.
Walker discloses an optical devices in optical system (see Fig 2) wherein the contact lens comprising: a first type polarization structure, disposed in a first area of the contact lens, wherein the first area surrounds a center area of the contact lens (see Fig 2; Col 2, lines 44-61; a first area defined as area 25 may have a single horizonal polarization and does not overlap the central zone 21); and a second type polarization structure, disposed in a second area of the contact lens, wherein the second area surrounds the first area (see Fig 2; Col 2, lines 44-61; a second area 23 has a vertical polarization and surrounds the first area), and the second type polarization structure and the first type polarization structure have different polarization directions (see Fig 2; Col 2, lines 44-61; the first region 25 has a horizontal polarization and the second region 23 has a vertical polarization), wherein the first area and the central area do not overlap each other (see Fig 2; Col 2, lines 44-61; a first area defined as area 25 may have a single horizonal polarization and does not overlap the central zone 21) wherein the first type polarization structure has a horizontal polarization direction, and the second type polarization structure has a vertical polarization direction; or the first type polarization structure has the vertical polarization direction, and the second type polarization structure has the horizontal polarization direction (see Fig 2; Col 2, lines 44-61; the first region 25 has a horizontal polarization and the second region 23 has a vertical polarization), wherein the contact lens further comprising: a third area, disposed between the first area and the second area, and surrounding the first area, wherein the third area has a third type polarization structure disposed in the third area, and the third type polarization structure has the horizontal polarization direction and the vertical polarization direction (see Fig 2; Col 2, lines 44-61; a third area comprises annular rings 22 and 26 exists between first and second areas)
Therefore, it would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to modify Marsh J. with wherein the contact lens comprising: a first type polarization structure, disposed in a first area of the contact lens, wherein the first area surrounds a center area of the contact lens; and a second type polarization structure, disposed in a second area of the contact lens, wherein the second area surrounds the first area, and the second type polarization structure and the first type polarization structure have different polarization directions, wherein the first area and the central area do not overlap each other wherein the first type polarization structure has a horizontal polarization direction, and the second type polarization structure has a vertical polarization direction; or the first type polarization structure has the vertical polarization direction, and the second type polarization structure has the horizontal polarization direction wherein the contact lens further comprising: a third area, disposed between the first area and the second area, and surrounding the first area, wherein the third area has a third type polarization structure disposed in the third area, and the third type polarization structure has the horizontal polarization direction and the vertical polarization direction of Walker for the purpose of improving visual acuity by eliminating overlapped image and blur circles (Col 1, lines 37-44).
Marsh J. in view of Walker does not disclose wherein the third area has the horizontal polarization direction and the vertical polarization direction at any position in the third area. Marsh J. in view of Walker and Weichelt are related because both disclose lenses with polarization rings.
Weichelt discloses a lens with multiple polarization rings (see Fig 1B) wherein the third area has the horizontal polarization direction and the vertical polarization direction at any position in the third area (see Fig 1B; Para [0051]; lens with multiple annular areas wherein Para 0051 discloses further annular zones with tilt of between 0-90 deg with respect to the axes of the circular zone 210; a linear polarization with such a tilt would be interpreted as having both horizontal and vertical polarization depending on the fast axis)
Therefore, it would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to modify Marsh J. in view of Walker with wherein the third area has the horizontal polarization direction and the vertical polarization direction at any position in the third area of Weichelt for the purpose of achieving suitable pupil function at reduced costs (Para [0039-0040])
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Dudai (US 6,874,888) discloses a contact lens with multiple annular polarization elements.
Ando (US 2010/0214640) discloses an optical element with annular ring-shaped regions providing distinct masking capabilities.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to GABRIEL ANDRES SANZ whose telephone number is (571)272-3844. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 8:30 am -5:30 pm.
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/G.A.S./Examiner, Art Unit 2872
/WILLIAM R ALEXANDER/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2872