DETAILED ACTION
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
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 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.
Response to Amendment/Restriction
Applicant’s election without traverse of Species III, FIG. 5, and Claims 1-2 and 5-11 in the reply filed on December 22, 2025 is acknowledged. However, Claims 5-6 appear to read on non-elected FIG. 8/FIG.9 as disclosed in [0084]/[0086] of the Specification, Claim 7 appears to read on non-elected FIG. 10 as disclosed in [0087]/[0088] of the Specification, and Claim 9 appears to read on non-elected FIG. 12 as disclosed in [0090] of the Specification. Thus, Claims 3-7, 9, and 12-22 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected invention. Election was made without traverse in the reply filed on December 22, 2025.
Specification
The title of the invention is broad and not descriptive. A new title is required that is clearly indicative of the invention to which the claims are directed.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim(s) 1-2 and 10-11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1)(2) as being anticipated by U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2012/0218752 A1 to Sumitani (“Sumitani”). As to claim 1, Sumitani discloses a light source module, comprising: a substrate (10); a light emitting device (20) disposed on a surface of the substrate (10); an encapsulation structure (11, 70) disposed on the surface of the substrate (10) and covering the light emitting device (20); and an optical pattern (40) covered by the encapsulation structure (11, 70) and overlapping the light emitting device (20), wherein the optical pattern (40) has characteristics of partial penetration (52) and partial reflection (50, 51) and is provided with a first active zone (above 20) and a second active zone (away 20), the first active zone (above 20) and the second active zone (away 20) are arranged in a direction parallel to the surface of the substrate (10), the first active zone (above 20) and the second active zone (away 20) of the optical pattern (40) respectively has a first transmittance and a second transmittance, and the first transmittance is different from the second transmittance (See Fig. 1-Fig. 7, ¶ 0097-¶ 0100, ¶ 0106-¶ 0117, ¶ 0122, ¶ 0123). As to claim 2, Sumitani further discloses wherein a first height (H1) is provided between a surface of the optical pattern (40) facing the light emitting device (20) and the surface of the substrate (10), the encapsulation structure (11, 70) has a second height (H1+H2+1 mm) in a normal direction of the surface of the substrate (10), and a ratio (3/9) of the first height (H1) to the second height (H1+H2+1 mm) is less than 0.5 (See Fig. 2, ¶ 0108, ¶ 0112, ¶ 0122). As to claim 10, Sumitani further discloses wherein the optical pattern (40) has a first surface and a second surface facing away from each other and is provided with a plurality of holes (52), the first surface has a first opening defining each of the holes (52), the second surface has a second opening defining each of the holes (52), and an opening contour of each of the first opening and the second opening comprises a circle, a rectangle, or a polygon (See Fig. 6). As to claim 11, Sumitani further discloses wherein the light emitting device (20) has a geometric center, the optical pattern (40) is arranged symmetrically about a central axis, and the central axis is perpendicular to the surface of the substrate (10) and passes through the geometric center of the light emitting device (20) (See Fig. 1, Fig. 2, Fig. 6).
Claim(s) 1, 8, and 10-11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1)(2) as being anticipated by KR-20110127387-A to Jung et al. (“Jung”). As to claim 1, Jung discloses a light source module, comprising: a substrate (330); a light emitting device (321) disposed on a surface of the substrate (330); an encapsulation structure (335, 353) disposed on the surface of the substrate (330) and covering the light emitting device (321); and an optical pattern (351, 352) covered by the encapsulation structure (335, 353) and overlapping the light emitting device (321), wherein the optical pattern (351, 352) has characteristics of partial penetration (355) and partial reflection (351, 352) and is provided with a first active zone (above 321) and a second active zone (away 321), the first active zone (above 321) and the second active zone (away 321) are arranged in a direction parallel to the surface of the substrate (330), the first active zone (above 321) and the second active zone (away 321) of the optical pattern (351, 352) respectively has a first transmittance and a second transmittance, and the first transmittance is different from the second transmittance (See Fig. 14, Fig. 15, Page 15-Page 19) (Notes: the encapsulation structure covers to encapsulate the light emitting device). As to claim 8, Jung further discloses wherein the optical pattern (351, 352) has a first surface and a second surface facing away from each other and is provided with a plurality of holes (355), the holes (355) extend between the first surface and the second surface, and an extending direction of each of the holes (355) is inclined relative to the first surface or the second surface (See Fig. 15). As to claim 10, Jung further discloses wherein the optical pattern (351, 352) has a first surface and a second surface facing away from each other and is provided with a plurality of holes (355), the first surface has a first opening defining each of the holes (355), the second surface has a second opening defining each of the holes (355), and an opening contour of each of the first opening and the second opening comprises a circle, a rectangle, or a polygon (See Fig. 15). As to claim 11, Jung further discloses wherein the light emitting device (321) has a geometric center, the optical pattern (351, 352) is arranged symmetrically about a central axis, and the central axis is perpendicular to the surface of the substrate (330) and passes through the geometric center of the light emitting device (321) (See Fig. 14, Fig. 15).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to DAVID CHEN whose telephone number is (571)270-7438. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 12-6.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, JOSHUA BENITEZ can be reached at (571) 270-1435. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/DAVID CHEN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2815