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 .
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.
Claims 1-4, 8, 12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hada et al (US Publication No.: US 2022/0276521 A1, “Hada”) in view of Lin et al (US Publication No.: US 2015/0029472 A1, “Lin”).
Regarding Claim 1, Hada discloses an image generation device (Figure 5) comprising:
A light source configured to produce an upstream light beam (Figure 5, light source 30); and
An array of elements with variable transmittance (Figure 5, array of elements 40; Paragraph 0034), wherein
The array of element is configured to selectively receive and transmit the upstream light beam so as to form a downstream light beam forming an image (Figure 5; Paragraph 0034 discloses the light is diverged in a desired direction; Figure 4), wherein
A downstream side of the array of elements with variable transmittance is in contact with an at least partially transparent plate (Figures 1 and 5, transparent plate 22; Paragraph 0018 discloses the plate is at least partially transmissive) configured to limit heating of the array of elements with variable transmittance (Paragraph 0029), and wherein A downstream side of the partially transparent plate is in contact with a side of the thermoelectric cooling module (Figures 1 and 5, thermoelectric cooling module 24/241; Paragraph 0032).
Hada fails to disclose that the thermoelectric cooling module has a cold side.
However, Lin discloses a similar thermoelectric module which comprises a cold side (Lin, Paragraph 0032; Figure 1, cold side 132).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the thermoelectric module as disclosed by Hada to include a cold side as disclosed by Lin. One would have been motivated to do so for the purpose of improving heat dissipating efficiency and optimizing air circulation within the device (Lin, Paragraph 0032).
Regarding Claim 2, Hada in view of Lin discloses the image generation device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the thermoelectric cooling module is in contact with a peripheral area of the downstream side of the at least partially transparent plate so as to leave a central area of the at least partially transparent plate free, making it possible for the downstream light beam to pass (Figure 1, thermoelectric cooling module 241 is in contact on a peripheral side of the transparent plate 22).
Regarding Claim 3, Hada in view of Lin discloses the image generation device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the thermoelectric cooling module is in contact with a peripheral area of the downstream side of the at least partially transparent plate so as to delimit the central area (Figure 1, thermoelectric cooling module 241 is in contact with a downstream peripheral side of the at least partially transparent plate 22).
Regarding Claim 4, Hada in view of Lin discloses the device as claimed in claim 2, comprising several thermoelectric cooling modules wherein the sides of thermoelectric cooling modules are in contact with the peripheral area of the downstream side of the partially transparent plate (Figure 5 discloses several thermoelectric cooling modules 242).
Hada fails to disclose that the thermoelectric cooling module has a cold side.
However, Lin discloses a similar thermoelectric module which comprises a cold side (Lin, Paragraph 0032; Figure 1, cold side 132).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the thermoelectric module as disclosed by Hada to include a cold side as disclosed by Lin. One would have been motivated to do so for the purpose of improving heat dissipating efficiency and optimizing air circulation within the device (Lin, Paragraph 0032).
Regarding Claim 8, Hada in view of Lin discloses the device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the at least partially transparent plate extends beyond the outlines of the array of elements with variable transmittance (Figure 1, at least partially transparent plate 22 extends beyond outlines of the array of elements 40), and wherein the upstream side of the at least partially transparent plate is in contact with a heat sink that acts as a support (Figure 1, heat sink 242).
Regarding Claim 12, Hada in view of Lin discloses a head-up display (Hada, Paragraph 0021) comprising an image generation device as claimed in claim 1.
Claim 5 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hada in view of Lin in further view of Carr (US Publication No.: US 2021/0381900 A1).
Regarding Claim 5, Hada in view of Lin discloses the device as claimed in claim 4.
Hada fails to disclose that the thermoelectric modules are electrically coupled in series.
However, Carr discloses a similar device where the thermoelectric modules are electrically coupled in series (Carr, Paragraph 0093).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the plurality of thermoelectric cooling modules as disclosed by Hada to be coupled in series as disclosed by Carr. One would have been motivated to do so for the purpose of providing a heightened cooling function (Carr, Paragraph 0093).
Claim 6 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hada in view of Lin in further view of Sun (US Publication No.: US 2009/0086171 A1).
Regarding Claim 6, Hada in view of Lin discloses the device as claimed in claim 1.
Hada fails to explicitly disclose that the thermoelectric cooling module comprises a hot side opposite the cold side, wherein the hot side being is in contact with a heat sink.
However, Sun discloses a similar device where the thermoelectric cooling module comprises a hot side opposite the cold side, wherein the hot side being is in contact with a heat sink (Sun, Paragraphs 0019-0020).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the thermoelectric cooling module as disclosed by Hada to include a hot side near a heat sink as disclosed by Sun. One would have been motivated to do so for the purpose of reducing a heat conducting resistance (Sun, Paragraph 0020).
Claims 7 and 10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hada in view of Lin in further view of Uchimi et al (US Publication No.: US 2021/0033916 A1, “Uchimi”).
Regarding Claim 7, Hada in view of Lin discloses the device as claimed in claim 1, further comprising an optical diffuser, wherein the optical diffuser and the array of elements with variable transmittance are coupled to a heat sink, wherein the heat sink acts as a support for the optical diffuser and for the array of elements with variable transmittance (Hada, Figure 1, optical diffuser 23 and array of elements 40 are coupled to heat sink 242 which acts as a support for both).
Hada fails to disclose that the optical diffuser is situated between the light source and the array of elements with variable transmittance.
However, Uchimi discloses a similar device where the optical diffuser is situated between the light source and the array of elements with variable transmittance (Uchimi, Figure 2, light source 4, optical diffuser 11, array of elements 2).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the device as disclosed by Hada to have a particular layout as disclosed by Uchimi. One would have been motivated to do so for the purpose of optimizing support for the display device (Uchimi, Paragraph 0055).
Regarding Claim 10, Hada in view of Lin discloses the device as claimed in claim 1.
Hada fails to disclose that the array of elements with variable transmittance is a liquid-crystal display.
However, Uchimi discloses a similar device where the array of elements with variable transmittance is a liquid-crystal display (Uchimi, Figure 2, array of elements 2; Paragraph 0055).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the device as disclosed by Hada to have a particular layout as disclosed by Uchimi. One would have been motivated to do so for the purpose of optimizing support for the display device (Uchimi, Paragraph 0055).
Claim 9 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hada in view of Lin in further view of Suzuki (US Publication No.: US 2020/0298707 A1).
Regarding Claim 9, Hada in view of Lin discloses the device as claimed in claim 1.
Hada fails to disclose that at least one heat sink is coupled to a forced-convection cooling module.
However, Suzuki discloses a similar device where at least one heat sink is coupled to a forced-convection cooling module (Suzuki, Paragraph 0090).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the device as disclosed by Hada to include a heat sink with a forced-convection cooling module as disclosed by Suzuki. One would have been motivated to do so for the purpose of improving cooling performance (Suzuki, Paragraph 0090).
Claim 11 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hada in view of Lin in further view of Ichikawa et al (US Publication No.: US 2021/0289672 A1, “Ichikawa”).
Regarding Claim 11, Hada in view of Lin discloses the device as claimed in claim 1.
Hada fails to disclose that the at least partially transparent plate is an at least partially transparent ceramic plate.
However, Ichikawa discloses a similar device where the at least partially transparent plate is an at least partially transparent ceramic plate (Ichikawa, Paragraph 0059).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the partially transparent plate as disclosed by Hada to be ceramic as disclosed by Ichikawa. One would have been motivated to do so for the purpose of choosing a material with high thermal conductivity (Ichikawa, Paragraph 0059).
Conclusion
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/MARIAM QURESHI/Examiner, Art Unit 2871