DETAILED ACTION
This Office Action is in response to the Applicant’s Amendment filed on 12/01/2025. In virtue of the communication:
Claims 1, 2, 4-14 and 17-20 are pending in the instant application.
Claims 1, 4, 5 and 20 are currently amended.
Claims 3, 15 and 16 are canceled.
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim(s) 1-20 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 Objections
Claim 20 is objected to under 37 CFR 1.75 as being a substantial duplicate of claim 7. When two claims in an application are duplicates or else are so close in content that they both cover the same thing, despite a slight difference in wording, it is proper after allowing one claim to object to the other as being a substantial duplicate of the allowed claim. See MPEP § 608.01(m).
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.
Claim(s) 1, 5, 7 and 20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by LEE (WO 2013133579 A1).
Regarding claim 1, LEE discloses a light assembly (Fig. 3) comprising:
a first lighting module (831, Fig. 3) including a plurality of first lighting units (LEDs) connected in series and configured to perform a first lighting function (Fig. 3);
a second lighting module (832, Fig. 3) including a plurality of second lighting units (LEDs) connected in series and configured to perform a second lighting function (Fig. 3);
a third lighting module (833, Fig. 3) including a plurality of third lighting units (LEDs) connected in series and configured to perform a third lighting function (Fig. 3);
a fourth lighting module (834, Fig. 3) including a plurality of fourth lighting units (LEDs) connected in series and configured to perform a fourth lighting function (Fig. 3);
a driver (940 and CS, Fig. 3) connected in series with the first lighting module, the second lighting module, the third lighting module, and the fourth lighting module;
a first switching unit (S11, Fig. 3) connected in parallel to the first lighting module (831);
a second switching unit (S12, Fig. 3) connected in parallel to the second lighting module (832);
a third switching unit (S13, Fig. 3) connected in parallel to the third lighting module (833);
a fourth switching unit (S14, Fig. 3) connected in parallel to the fourth lighting module (834);
a controller (942, Fig. 3) configured to control the first switching unit, the second switching unit, the third switching unit, and the fourth switching unit (Fig. 3);
wherein:
the driver (940, CS) is configured to generate a constant output power (from CS, Fig. 3) and the controller (942) is configured to vary the power provided to at least one of the first lighting module, the second lighting module, the third lighting module, or the fourth lighting module by controlling a corresponding one of the first switching unit, the second switching unit, the third switching unit, or the fourth switching unit using Pulse Width Modulation (PWM) (Fig. 3, pars [0028, [0092], [0096]).
Regarding claim 5, LEE discloses the assembly wherein the fourth lighting module (834) is in low side position compared to the first, second and third lighting modules (Fig. 3).
Regarding claims 7 and 20, LEE discloses the assembly wherein the switching units (S11-S14) are controlled by the controller (942) via respective control circuits (SW control logic / sine generator / voltage detector) (Fig. 3).
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.
Claim(s) 2, 8-11 and 17 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over LEE, as applied above, in view of ITO (JP 2015174550 A).
Regarding claim 2, LEE discloses the assembly wherein the controller (942) is configured to control both the first switching unit (S11) and the second switching unit (S12) using PWM (Fig. 3, pars [0028], [0092], [0096]).
LEE does not explicitly teach the first lighting function is a high beam function and the second lighting function is a low beam function.
However, as evidenced by ITO, providing the first lighting function is a high beam function (high beam unit 504) and the second lighting function is a low beam function (low beam unit 506) (Fig. 6) is well known in the art.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having skill in the art at the time of the invention was made to provide the lighting system of LEE with the high and low beam function as taught by ITO in order to control the illumination of the lighting unit with high/low beam functions.
Regarding claim 8, LEE discloses all of the limitations as claimed except at least one of the switching units is controlled by the controller via an attenuation circuit, wherein the attenuation circuit is arranged to decrease a slope rate of a voltage controlling the at least one switching unit.
However, as evidenced by ITO, providing the at least one of the switching units (M1, Fig. 7) is controlled by the controller (60a, Fig. 7) via an attenuation circuit (R1C1, Fig. 7), wherein the attenuation circuit is arranged to decrease a slope rate of a voltage (Fig. 9) controlling the at least one switching unit (M1) is well known in the art.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having skill in the art at the time of the invention was made to provide the lighting system of LEE with the controlling of the attenuation circuit as taught by ITO in order to control the output of the voltage supplied to the lighting unit in the illumination device.
Regarding claim 9, LEE/ITO discloses the assembly wherein the switching unit in low side position compared to the other switching units is controlled by the controller via the attenuation circuit (Fig. 7 of ITO).
Regarding claim 10, LEE/ITO discloses the assembly wherein the attenuation circuit comprises an attenuation capacitor (C1) and an attenuation resistor (R1) (Fig. 7 of ITO).
Regarding claim 11, LEE/ITO discloses the assembly wherein the low side switching unit is an NMOS (M1, Fig. 7 of ITO), wherein the attenuation capacitor (C1) is connected between a drain of the NMOS (M1) and a gate of the NMOS (M1), and wherein the attenuation resistor (R1) is connected to the gate of the NMOS (M1) (Fig. 7 of ITO).
Regarding claim 17, LEE/ITO discloses the assembly wherein the switching units (S11-S14) are controlled by the controller (942) via respective control circuits (SW control logic / sine generator / voltage detector) (Fig. 3 of LEE).
Claim(s) 4 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over LEE, as applied above, in view of Ichikawa (U.S. Pub. 2020/0187327 A1).
Regarding claim 4, LEE discloses all of the limitation as claimed except the third lighting module is configured to perform a position lighting function, a daytime lighting function or to perform both a position lighting function and a daytime lighting function.
However, as evidenced by Ichikawa, providing the third lighting module is configured to perform a position lighting function, a daytime lighting function or to perform both a position lighting function and a daytime lighting function (refer to daytime Running lamps, par [0092] of Ichikawa) is well known in the art.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having skill in the art at the time of the invention was made to provide the lighting system of LEE with the daytime lighting function as taught by Ichikawa in order to provide the suitable lighting type for illumination.
Claim(s) 6 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over LEE, as applied above, in view of Tomono (U.S. Pub. 2020/0148096 A1)
Regarding claim 6, LEE discloses all of the limitations as claimed except the third lighting function is a daytime lighting function and the fourth lighting function is a position lighting function.
However, as evidenced by Tomono, providing the third lighting function is a daytime lighting function and the fourth lighting function is a position lighting function (par [0018]) is well known in the art.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having skill in the art at the time of the invention was made to provide the lighting system of LEE with the lighting functions as taught by Tomono in order to control and maintain the brightness of the lighting unit in the illumination device.
Claim(s) 12-14, 18 and 19 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over LEE, as applied above, in view of FUKUDA (JP 2017135086 A).
Regarding claims 12 and 18, LEE discloses all of the limitations as claimed except an absorber circuit in parallel to the lighting modules, wherein the controller is configured to turn on the absorber circuit before turning off one of the switching units to deactivate one of the lighting functions.
However, as evidenced by FUKUDA, providing the absorber circuit (extraction part 12, Fig. 1) in parallel to the lighting modules (13) wherein the controller (14) is configured to turn on the absorber circuit before turning off one of the switching units to deactivate one of the lighting functions (Fig. 1) is well known in the art.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having skill in the art at the time of the invention was made to provide the lighting system of LEE with the absorber circuit as taught by FUKUDA in order to control and maintain the brightness of the lighting unit in the illumination device.
Regarding claim 13, LEE/FUKUDA discloses the assembly wherein the absorber circuit (12) comprises an absorber resistor (120, Fig. 1 of FUKUDA) and an absorber switching unit (Q2, Fig. 1 of FUKUDA) and wherein the absorber circuit is turned on by closing the absorber switching unit (FIG. 1 of FUKUDA).
Regarding claims 14 and 19, LEE/FUKUDA discloses the assembly wherein the assembly is configured to perform the following sequence to deactivate one of the lighting functions: turn off the driver (power section 10); turn on the absorber circuit (12); turn off the switching unit (11) in parallel to the lighting function to be deactivated (Fig. 1 of FUKUDA).
Inquiry
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JIMMY T VU whose telephone number is (571)272-1832. The examiner can normally be reached on 9:00 AM - 6:00 PM.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Regis Betsch can be reached on 571-270-7101. The fax phone numbers for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned are 571-273-8300.
Any inquiry of a general nature or relating to the status of this application or proceeding should be directed to the receptionist whose telephone number is 571-272-2800.
/JIMMY T VU/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2844