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.
This Office Action is in response to Amendments/Remarks filed on April 13, 2026.
Claim Objections
Claims 8 and 10 are objected to because of the following informalities: the limitation “a plurality of holes” appears to be recited in claim 1. Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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.
Claim(s) 1-2 and 10-11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2012/0218752 A1 to Sumitani (“Sumitani”) in view of U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2012/0170253 A1 to Park et al. (“Park”).
As to claim 1, although 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, surrounding 40) disposed on the surface of the substrate (10) and covering the light emitting device (20); and an optical pattern (40) embedded in the encapsulation structure (11, 70, surrounding 40) and overlapping the light emitting device (20), the optical pattern (40) is provided with a plurality of holes (52), 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), Sumitani does not further disclose wherein the encapsulation structure extends into the plurality of holes. However, Park does disclose wherein the encapsulation structure (230, 235) extends into the plurality of holes (adjacent 260) (See Fig. 7, ¶ 0052-¶ 0055, ¶ 0075-¶ 0081). In view of the teaching of Park, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the teaching of Sumitani to have wherein the encapsulation structure extends into the plurality of holes because the encapsulation structure provides strong adhesion to the light emitting device and the optical pattern and uniform luminance (See ¶ 0053, ¶ 0080). 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, surrounding 40) 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. 103 as being unpatentable over KR-20110127387-A to Jung et al. (“Jung”) in view of U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2012/0170253 A1 to Park et al. (“Park”).
As to claim 1, Jung discloses a light source module, comprising: a substrate (210, 330); a light emitting device (321) disposed on a surface of the substrate (210, 330); an encapsulation structure (Air, 260) disposed on the surface of the substrate (210, 330) and covering the light emitting device (321); and an optical pattern (350) embedded in the encapsulation structure (Air, 260) and overlapping the light emitting device (321), the optical pattern (350) is provided with a plurality of holes (355), wherein the encapsulation structure (Air, 260) extends into the plurality of holes (355), the optical pattern (350) has characteristics of partial penetration (355) and partial reflection (350) 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 (210, 330), the first active zone (above 321) and the second active zone (away 321) of the optical pattern (350) respectively has a first transmittance and a second transmittance, and the first transmittance is different from the second transmittance (See Fig. 14, Fig. 15, Fig. 22, Page 6, Page 15-Page 19, Page 26, Page 27). Further, Park also discloses wherein the encapsulation structure (230, 235) extends into the plurality of holes (adjacent 260) (See Fig. 7, ¶ 0052-¶ 0055, ¶ 0075-¶ 0081). In view of the teaching of Park, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the teaching of Jung to have wherein the encapsulation structure extends into the plurality of holes because the encapsulation structure provides strong adhesion to the light emitting device and the optical pattern and is adjusted to provide uniform luminance by applying specific materials (See ¶ 0053, ¶ 0080). As to claim 8, Jung further discloses wherein the optical pattern (350) 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 (350) 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 (350) is arranged symmetrically about a central axis, and the central axis is perpendicular to the surface of the substrate (210, 330) and passes through the geometric center of the light emitting device (321) (See Fig. 14, Fig. 15).
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments with respect to claim 1 have been considered but are
moot in view of the new ground(s) of rejection.
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
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
Prosecution Insights