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 .
Status
The filing on 01/13/2026 amended claim 1 and cancelled claims 4 and 6. Claims 1-3, 5, 7-11 are pending and rejected.
Objection/s to the Application, Drawings and Claims
The filing on 01/13/2026 appropriately amended the title; hence the objections to the title made in the last office action are withdrawn.
Claim Rejections - AIA 35 USC § 103
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 application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
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 of this title, 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 1-3, 5, and 8-11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Pang (CN 112505995 A) in view of Otsuki (US 20220137498 A1)
Regarding claim 1, Pang teaches a projection optical apparatus (000) comprising: an optical system (refractive portion of 200) that image light enters; a reflector (201) that reflects the image light that exits out of the optical system (refractive portion of 200); and an enclosure (Fig. 4-7) that houses the optical system (refractive portion of 200) and at least part of the reflector (201), and a reflector cooling mechanism (400, 401-403); wherein the enclosure has a hermetically sealed structure (100, 300, 600) that seals a housing space that houses the optical system and the reflector, with at least one slit (K) formed in the hermetically sealed structure (see highlighted portions of the supplied translation of Pang on p. 10, 11, and 12; Fig. 4-7).
Pang does not explicitly teach the reflector (201) includes a base having a first surface on which the image light is incident and a second surface opposite from the first surface, a reflection layer provided at the first surface of the base, and a heat dissipation member provided at the second surface of the base and including a protrusion protruding from the second surface and the heat dissipation member includes a heat pipe as the protrusion, and at least part of the heat pipe is exposed to a space outside the enclosure via the enclosure at least one slit.
Otsuki teaches a reflector (363) including a base (body of 363) having a first surface on which the image light is incident and a second surface opposite from the first surface, a reflection layer (3631) provided at the first surface of the base, and a heat dissipation member (40, 65) provided at the second surface of the base and including a protrusion protruding from the second surface (Fig. 3-7); and the heat dissipation member (40, 65) includes a heat pipe as the protrusion, and at least part of the heat pipe is exposed to a space outside the enclosure via the enclosure at least one slit (372; [0104], [0105]).
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skills in the art at the time of the invention to combine Pang with Otsuki; because it allows more efficient heat transfer to heat dissipation member.
Regarding claim 2, the combination of Pang and Otsuki consequently results in an illuminance distribution formed by the image light at the reflection layer has a first region where the illuminance is higher than a predetermined value, and the heat dissipation member is provided at the second surface at least at a second region thereof corresponding to the first region (Fig. 3-7 of Pang and Fig. 3-7 of Otsuki).
Regarding claim 3, the combination of Pang and Otsuki consequently results in the heat dissipation member (40, 65 of Otsuki) is a heat sink including a heat dissipating fin (401, 651 of Otsuki) as the protrusion, and at least part of the heat dissipating fin (401, 651 of Otsuki) is exposed to a space outside the enclosure (Fig. 3-7 of Otsuki).
Regarding claim 5, the combination of Pang and Otsuki consequently results in a heat dissipating fin is provided at a portion of the heat pipe that is exposed to the space outside the enclosure ([0104], [0105] of Otsuki).
Regarding claim 8, Pang further teaches the reflection layer has a concave shape (Fig. 3-7).
Regarding claim 9, the combination of Pang and Otsuki consequently results in the heat dissipation member also serves as a cover member that blocks at least part of an opening provided in the enclosure (Fig. 3-7 of Otsuki).
Regarding claim 10, Pang further teaches the image light that exits via a reduction-side conjugate plane enters the optical system (refractive portion of 200), and the reflector (201) reflects and projects the image light into an enlargement-side conjugate plane (Fig. 9; see highlighted portions of the supplied translation of Pang).
Regarding claim 11, Pang further teaches a projector (Fig. 9) comprising: a light source apparatus that outputs light; a light modulator that modulates the light from the light source apparatus; and the projection optical apparatus (000) according to claim 1 that projects modulated image light from the light modulator (Fig. 9; see highlighted portions of the supplied translation of Pang).
Claim 7 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Pang in view of Otsuki and in further view of Taylor (US 5864434 A).
Regarding claim 7, neither Pang nor Otsuki teaches the base being made of a plastic material.
Taylor teaches the base (11) being made of a plastic material (col. 3 line 59 – col. 4 line 35).
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skills in the art at the time of the invention to combine Pang and Otsuki with Taylor; because it allows producing a stable mirror for high heat intensity operating environment.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments with respect to claim 1 have been considered but are found not persuasive; hence the rejection/s of all pending claims are maintained.
Regarding claim 1, applicant/s argue,
None of the applied references make any disclosure regarding a hermetically sealed enclosure. The subject Office Action bottom of page 4 asserts that Pang has a hermetically sealed embodiment re housing the optical system. No disclosure regarding a hermetic seal is noted. However, it appears per the exploded view of FIG. 5 of Pang that the most which is disclosed is a complete elastic seal 600 (shown as a solid sheet) placed between housing 100 and a side cover 300. There are no slits or other openings formed through such solid sheet 600. (Remarks; p. 6).
Examiner respectfully disagrees. The elastic sealing member 600 is an “annular sealing piece.” Pang clearly teaches the enclosure being hermetically sealed. Below is a reproduction of the highlighted portions of the supplied translation of Pang on p. 10, 11, and 12.
Alternatively, referring to FIG. 5 and FIG. 6, the laser projection lens 000 further comprises: an annular elastic sealing member 600 located between the lens seat 100 and the metal side cover 300.
the lens seat 100 and the metal side cover 300 connected by the first clamping member 501 and the second clamping member 502, the annular elastic sealing member 600 is located between the lens seat 100 and the metal side cover 300; the annular elastic sealing member 600 for sealing the laser projection lens 000, effectively avoids the phenomenon of the outside sundries invading the laser projection lens 000, so as to avoid the lens group 200 by the phenomenon of sundries pollution, ensuring the laser projection lens 000 of good resolving power . and because the elastic sealing member 600 has a certain elasticity, therefore, when the laser projector lens 000 laser projection device works, the lens seat 100 of the laser projector lens 000 is heated to expand, the lens seat 100 after expansion 100 will extrude the elastic sealing member 600; so that the elastic sealing member 600 is compressed. Therefore, the lens base 100 and the metal side cover 300 between the force can be converted into the elastic sealing member after compression 600 rebound force, and the rebound force is uniformly distributed on the elastic sealing member 600. In this case, by the elastic sealing member 600 can reduce the lens seat 100 after being heated and expanded, the action force between the metal side cover 300, avoiding the lens seat 100 after expansion and the metal side cover 300 relative displacement occurs.
example, the annular elastic sealing piece 600 can be a high compression ratio of the elastic sealing piece, for example, the annular elastic sealing piece 600 can be annular foam.
Assuming that the free thickness of the elastic sealing member 600 (i.e., the thickness when the elastic sealing member 600 is not compressed) is H, the limit compression thickness (i.e., the thickness of the elastic sealing member 600 after the maximum compression is performed) is h, after the lens seat 100 and the metal side cover are fixedly connected; when the laser projection device of the laser projection lens 000 is in the non-working state (shutdown state), the elastic sealing member 600 of the action thickness is a1, when the laser projection device is in a stable working state (state after starting operation for a period of time), the action thickness of the elastic sealing member 600 is a2 . then, h <a2 <a1 <H, that is, the action thickness a1 of the elastic sealing member 600 in the non-working state is greater than the action thickness a2 of the elastic sealing member 600 in the stable working state.
Conclusion
THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. 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 extension fee 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 BAO-LUAN Q LE whose telephone number is (571)270-5362. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday-Friday; 9:00AM-5:00PM.
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Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2882