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 .
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statements (IDS) submitted on 2/12/2025 and 7/14/2025 were considered by the examiner.
Claim Objections
Claim 8 is objected to because of the following informalities: in line 2, the phrase “40 cd/m2” is assumed to be a typographical error. Examiner assumes that the phrase should have been written “40 cd/[[m2]]m2”. Appropriate correction is required.
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 (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) 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.
Claims 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 11, 12, 13, and 14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Jackson et al. (WO 2020/061546, of record).
Regarding Claim 1, Jackson discloses a device for providing an eye metric (see reference number 100 in fig. 1A and par. 149, lines 1-6), the device comprising a display unit (fig. 2A in combination with par. 179, lines 1-6, as well as par. 185, lines 1-4, of the description, disclose, that the light source S can be a liquid crystal display),
producing a visual stimulus to an eye (see par. 180, light source S can be configured to generate stimulus light, par. 183, lines 3-5, and par. 184, lines 3-13, par. 185, lines 3-4), a feedback unit measuring a response to the stimulus (see reference number 460 in fig. 4A-4B and par. 253, lines 1-8, par. 254, lines 1-10, feedback system, par. 51, lines 1-7, par. 69, lines 1-8) and an analysing unit (see reference number 310, a processor, in fig. 3 and par. 217, lines 3-6, par. 218, lines 1-10, par. 219, lines 1-5, par. 220, lines 1-9, par. 221, lines 1-11, in combination with par. 256-260), outputting a metric result (see par. 81, line 9, scotopic visual field test, par. 181, lines 1-12, and par. 276, lines 1-16, par. 295, the subject-response can be coupled with the response analyzer, lines 1-10), characterized by the device being configured to produce a recurring bleaching impulse together with the stimulus (see par. 181, lines 1-16, par. 182, lines 1-3, par. 183-184) wherein the bleaching impulse is repeated with a frequency greater than 0.3 Hz (see par. 182, lines 1-4, stimulating the subject’s eye every second would be 1 Hz and one stimulate every 2 seconds would be 0.5 Hz, thus the condition is met).
Regarding Claim 2, Jackson discloses as is set forth above and further discloses wherein the feedback unit comprises an eye-tracking unit, measuring the eye's movements in response to said stimulus (eye tracking, par. 191, 192, 299, and 300).
Regarding Claim 3, Jackson discloses as is set forth above and further discloses wherein the feedback unit comprises a manual control, recording a tested person's response to said stimulus (par. 254, lines 1-10, subject mode).
Regarding Claim 4, Jackson discloses as is set forth above and further discloses wherein the display unit is configured to produce a moving stimulus with a decreasing visibility parameter, the eye-tracking unit is configured to detect the eye following and subsequently loosing visual contact with the stimulus, and the analysing unit is configured to provide a metric result based on the visibility parameter at the time when loss of visual contact was detected (par. 181, 191, 192, 300, and 301).
Regarding Claim 6, Jackson discloses as is set forth above and further discloses wherein the visibility parameter is a parameter in the group comprising size, grey contrast, colour contrast brightness (par. 276, contrast sensitivity and color vision), and movement velocity and jump size (par. 276, motion perception).
Regarding Claim 11, Jackson discloses as is set forth above and further discloses wherein the bleaching impulse is produced by the display device (par. 179 and par. 185, the light source S can be a liquid crystal display (LCD)).
Regarding Claim 12, Jackson discloses as is set forth above and further discloses wherein the bleaching impulse is produced by a light source separate from the display device (par. 179 and par. 185, the light source S can be a LED).
Regarding Claim 13, Jackson discloses as is set forth above and further discloses wherein the bleaching impulse is repeated with a frequency in the range than 0.5-20 Hz (see par. 182, lines 1-4, stimulating the subject’s eye every second would be 1 Hz and one stimulate every 2 seconds would be 0.5 Hz, thus the condition is met).
Regarding Claim 14, Jackson discloses a method (par. 144, line 1) for providing an eye metric (see reference number 100 in fig. 1A and par. 149, lines 1-6) in a device comprising a display unit (fig. 2A in combination with par. 179, lines 1-6, as well as par. 185, lines 1-4, of the description, disclose, that the light source S can be a liquid crystal display), producing a visual stimulus to an eye (see par. 180, light source S can be configured to generate stimulus light, par. 183, lines 3-5, and par. 184, lines 3-13, par. 185, lines 3-4), a feedback unit measuring a response to the stimulus (see reference number 460 in fig. 4A-4B and par. 253, lines 1-8, par. 254, lines 1-10, feedback system, par. 51, lines 1-7, par. 69, lines 1-8), and an analysing unit (see reference number 310, a processor, in fig. 3 and par. 217, lines 3-6, par. 218, lines 1-10, par. 219, lines 1-5, par. 220, lines 1-9, par. 221, lines 1-11, in combination with par. 256-260), outputting a metric result (see par. 81, line 9, scotopic visual field test, par. 181, lines 1-12, and par. 276, lines 1-16, par. 295, the subject-response can be coupled with the response analyzer, lines 1-10), characterized by a recurring bleaching impulse is produced together with the stimulus (see par. 181, lines 1-16, par. 182, lines 1-3, par. 183-184) wherein the bleaching impulse is repeated with a frequency greater than 0.3 Hz (see par. 182, lines 1-4, stimulating the subject’s eye every second would be 1 Hz and one stimulate every 2 seconds would be 0.5 Hz, thus the condition is met).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 5, 7, and 8-10 are 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.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: with respect to the allowable subject matter, none of the prior art either alone or in combination disclose or teach of the claimed combination of limitations to warrant a rejection under 35 USC 102 or 103.
Specifically, with respect to claim 5, none of the prior art either alone or in combination disclose or teach of a device including, as the distinguishing feature(s) in combination with the other limitations, wherein the display unit is configured to produce a stimulus that carries out a sequence of jumps, the eye-tracking unit is configured to detect whether the eye is capable of following the stimulus, and the analysing unit is configured to provide a metric result based on characteristics of the symbol and/or the jump at the time in the sequence when loss of visual contact was detected.
Specifically, with respect to claim 7, none of the prior art either alone or in combination disclose or teach of a device including, as the distinguishing feature(s) in combination with the other limitations, wherein the display unit is configured to produce a moving stimulus, the frequency with which the bleaching impulse is repeated increases, the eye-tracking unit is configured to detect the eye following and subsequently loosing visual contact with the stimulus, and the analysing unit is configured to provide a metric result based on the bleaching frequency at the time when loss of visual contact was detected.
Specifically, with respect to claim 8, none of the prior art either alone or in combination disclose or teach of a device including, as the distinguishing feature(s) in combination with the other limitations, wherein the bleaching impulse exceeds 40 cd/m2 at the location of the eye.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Jackson et al. (US 2020/0093361), Jackson et al. (US 7,494,222), Jackson et al. (US 2007/0121071), Edwards et al. (US 2021/0307601), Edwards et al. (US 2020/0352434), Kelly (US 2020/0221945), Todd (US 2019/0269322), Lichtenauer et al. (US 10,542,882), and Lictenauer et al. (US 2017/0325676) are cited to show similar devices and methods.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to WILLIAM R ALEXANDER whose telephone number is (571)270-7656. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8:30 AM- 4:00 PM.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Pinping Sun can be reached on (571) 270-1284. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/WILLIAM R ALEXANDER/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2872