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 .
Detailed Action
Applicant’s election with traverse of Group I, further group IA and Figs. 1 and 3 inventions in response/amendment is acknowledged. The traversal is on the ground(s) that the search and the examination of the entire application can be made without serious burden. The examiner has incorporated claim 2, for examination, but regarding cited figures and method claim, not found persuasive because each of the group inventions as were specified are classified in different class/subclasses and require different search strings (though the examiner may adjoin the withdrawn claim 12 at the time of allowance). Note that the limitations of the product and process steps maybe are interpreted differently as the product can be made/used using different methods/process-steps than claimed. The requirement is still deemed proper and is therefore made FINAL.
Information Disclosure Statement
The prior art documents submitted by Applicant(s) in the information Disclosure Statement(s) have all been considered and made of record (note the attached copy of form(s) PTO-1449).
Claim objection
In line 3 of the claim 1, “comprises has” is wrong and need to be corrected such as deleting the word “has”.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 11 is objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims. Claim 11 is allowable because the prior art of record, taken alone or in combination, fails to disclose or render obvious its respective limitations in combination with the rest of the limitations of the base claim. Claim 13 is allowable because of dependency.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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.
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.
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.
Claim(s) 1-10 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by “Kraft” et. al. EP 3842845 A1. .
Regarding claims 1, Kraft teaches an optical device (see figs. 1-16 and entire disclosure) , comprising
an optical module 1 for modifying a light beam (shown in at least figs. 10 and 16 and summary),
wherein the optical module is made of a single-piece solid body material and comprises has the following features (shown in at least figs. 10 and 16): a passage surface for receiving the light beam (clearly shown in at least figs. 10 and 15-16); a beam deflecting region lying opposite the passage surface for deflecting the light beam (clearly shown in at least figs. 15 and 10), wherein the beam deflecting region is designed as a curved region on the exterior of the optical module (see at least parag. 0017 shaped as curved reflecting mirror, also see at least fig. 15), in particular so as to have a hollow mirror function ; a pass-through surface for outputting the light beam deflected by the beam deflecting region (see at least parag. 0017 and at least figs. 15); and a beam shaping region which is designed to shape the light beam and/or the deflected light beam such that the light beam has a beam profile with a homogeneous intensity distribution over a specified range (see at least parag. 0017 and at least figs. 15; wherein since the claim limitations having the same features then would have the same functional characteristics); and
a waveguide 3 for guiding the light beam to the passage surface of the optical module (clearly shown in at least figs. 15 and 10), wherein the waveguide terminates at a distance from the beam deflecting region (clearly shown in at least figs. 15 and 10), in particular wherein the optical device is designed to allow the light to propagate divergently from one end of the waveguide to the beam deflecting region, wherein the optical device and the optical module are made in a single piece from the solid body material (clearly shown in at least fig. 16; see summary).
The statements advanced in rejection of claim 1, above, as to the applicability and disclosure of Ktaft are incorporated herein in rejection of the following claims as follows:
Regarding claims 2, Kraft teaches an optical device (shown in at least figs. 10 and 16 and summary), comprising
an optical module 1 for modifying a light beam, wherein the optical module is made of a single-piece solid body material (shown in at least figs. 10 and 16 and summary), and comprises:
a pass-through surface for receiving a light beam; a passage surface for outputting the light beam deflected by the beam deflecting region (shown in at least figs. 10 and 16); a beam deflecting region lying opposite the passage surface for deflecting the light beam, wherein the beam deflecting region is designed as a curved region on the exterior of the optical module (shown in at least figs. 10 and 16), in particular so as to have a hollow mirror function (shown in at least figs. 10 and 16); beam shaping region that is designed to shape the light beam such that the light beam has a beam profile with a homogeneous intensity distribution over a specified range (shown in at least figs. 10 and 16); and
a waveguide 3 for guiding the light beam from the passage surface of the optical module (shown in at least figs. 10 and 16), wherein the waveguide terminates at a distance from the beam deflecting region (shown in at least figs. 6), in particular wherein the optical device is designed to allow the light to propagate convergently from the beam deflecting region to one end of the waveguide (shown in at least figs. 10 and 16), wherein the optical device and the optical module are made in a single piece from the solid body material (shown in at least figs. 10 and 16, see summary).
3. (Previously Presented) The optical device according to claim 1, wherein the beam deflecting region and the beam shaping region are arranged at overlapping sections of the exterior of the optical module (clearly shown in at least figs. 10 and 15-16).
4. (Previously Presented) The optical device according to claim 1, wherein the pass-through surface is formed by the beam shaping region (clearly shown in at least figs. 10 and 15-16).
5. (Previously Presented) The optical device according to claim 1, wherein the beam shaping region for shaping the light beam and/or the deflected light beam: is either formed with at least two turning points; and/or is formed free of turning points in the optical surface with at least two turning points in the first derivative of the optical surface (clearly shown in at least figs.15-16).
6. (Previously Presented) The optical device according to claim 1, wherein the beam deflecting region is designed to convert the light beam into the deflected light beam by total internal reflection and/or is designed to deflect the light beam at an obtuse angle to obtain the deflected light beam (clearly shown in at least figs.15-16).
7. (Previously Presented) The optical device according to claim 1, wherein the beam deflecting region is formed with a layer reflecting the light beam, in order to obtain the deflected light beam (clearly shown in at least figs. 10 and 15-16).
8. (Previously Presented) The optical device according to claim 1, wherein the light propagation in the optical device is free of free beam regions (clearly shown in at least fig. 16).
9.(Previously Presented) The optical device according to claim 1, wherein the beam deflecting region is formed as part of a blind hole in the solid body material (clearly shown in at least figs. 16).
10. (Currently Amended) The optical device according to claim 1, wherein the beam deflecting region for deflecting the light beam has a deflection angle between 70* and 120" (clearly shown in at least figs. 15-16 that at least partially encompass the range).
Citation of Relevant Prior Art
Prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant’s disclosure. In accordance with MPEP 707.05 the following references are pertinent in rejection of this application since they provide substantially the same information disclosure as this patent does. These references are:
US 20160029977 A1
US 20160022179 A1
US 12461321 B2
US 11624879 B2
US 20190034020 A1
US 20170102503 A1
EP 3842845 A1
US 12216314 B2
US 8540434 B2
US 20250291130 A1
US 6950570 B1
US 10345542 B2
US 20010053260 A1
US 5193132 A
US 20150351669 A1
US 20120044546 A1
Contact Information
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to KAVEH C KIANNI whose telephone number is (571)272-2417. The examiner can normally be reached on 9-19.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Thomas Hollweg can be reached on571-270-1739. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/KAVEH C KIANNI/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2874
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