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 .
Response to Amendments
2. The Amendments filed April 2nd, 2026 are noted. Applicant’s amendments to the Specification to overcome the objections set forth in the Non-Final Office Action mailed 01/02/2026 are noted. Applicant’s amendment(s) to the Specification have overcome the objection(s) to the Title previously set forth in the Non-Final Office Action mailed 01/02/2026, so the objection(s) to the Title has been withdrawn.
Applicant’s amendments to the claims are noted.
3. Claim 10 is now canceled; Claims 1-9 and 11-20 remain pending in the application; Claims 5-6 and 16-20 are now withdrawn.
4. Claims 1-4, 7-9 and 11-15 have been fully considered in examination.
It is noted that page 1 of Applicant’s Remarks filed 04/02/2026 note that Examiner both rejected claim 6 and indicated claim 6 as withdrawn in the Election/Restrictions section of the Non-Final Rejection mailed 01/02/2026. Examiner mistakenly indicated claim 6, rather than claim 5, was withdrawn in only the Election/Restrictions section; this was a typographical error - and claim 6 did not need to be withdrawn. It is noted, however, that the essential subject matter of claim 6 is also in claim 8, Examined herein.
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claim 7 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Claim 7 recites the limitation "the electrode" in line 2. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. There is no prior recitation of “an electrode” in claim 7 or claim 1 on which claim 7 depends, rendering it unclear if “the electrode” in claim 7 refers to a newly- or previously- recited electrode element. Therefore, for the purposes of Examination, Examiner has interpreted “the electrode” in claim 7 as --- an electrode --- however, this edit may be altered if Applicant intends otherwise.
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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
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.
Claims 1-4, 7 and 11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kondo (U.S. PG Pub No US2018/0006645A1) (of record) in view of Kondo-II (U.S. PG Pub No US2017/0277065A1) and Tada (U.S. PG Pub No US2020/0227506A1).
Regarding claim 1, Kondo teaches a light-emitting component (C) fig. 13A [0254],
comprising:
a substrate (10) fig. 13A [0253]; and
a light-emitting element (T) fig. 13A [0255] provided on the substrate (10) and configured to emit light [0258] in a (vertical) direction intersecting a (top) surface of the substrate (10) (as indicated by arrows in fig. 13A), wherein:
the light-emitting element (T) includes a thyristor (photo-thyristor T) [0257] having an opening (20) fig. 13A [0255] through which light is emitted (as indicated by arrow [0258]);
However, Kondo does not explicitly disclose an inner surface of the opening is covered with a light shield that suppresses transmission of light, and the light shield covers a portion of the inner surface corresponding to at least one of an n-gate layer or a p-gate layer of the thyristor.
Kondo-II teaches a light emitting component (C) fig. 6B [0095-0097] wherein an inner surface of the opening (gap between 302 and 303) fig. 6B [0106] is covered with a shield (77) fig. 6B [0137] (‘wiring’ acting at least as a physical shield/barrier for underlying components), and the shield (77) covers a portion of the inner surface corresponding to at least one of an n-gate layer (82) fig. 6B [0100] or a p-gate layer (83) fig. 6B [0100] of the thyristor (C comprising S1) fig. 6B [0097].
Therefore, it would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the light emitting component of Kondo such that the opening of the light emitting component further comprises a wiring shield that covers inner portions of the p-gate and n-gate [0100] of the thyristor(s) layers in order to promote the formation of additional electrical connections [0137] in the light emitting, thyristor comprising apparatus [0096-0097], as taught by Kondo-II.
However, Kondo in view of Kondo-II (with reference to Kondo-II) does not explicitly disclose wherein the shield (77) is a light shield that suppresses transmission of light (77 is disclosed as a wiring layer [0137]; Kondo-II is silent with respect to light shielding properties).
Tada teaches a light emitting component [see title, 0103, 0106, fig. 8] wherein the shield (230) fig. 8 [0106-0107] (‘formed by a plurality of wirings’) is a light shield [0106-0107] that suppresses transmission of light (by inducing reflection [0106-0107]) (77 is disclosed as both wiring and light shielding since it is formed of reflective metal [0107]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the light emitting component of Kondo in view of Kondo-II such that the wiring is explicitly formed of a metal material [0107] in order to provide the light emitting apparatus with controllable reflection properties [0106-0107], thereby improving realization of desirable optical characteristics of the light emitting apparatus [0096, 0107], as taught by Tada.
Regarding claim 2, Kondo in view of Kondo-II and Tada teaches the light-emitting component of claim 1. Kondo in view of Kondo-II and Tada (with reference to Kondo-II) also teaches the light shield (77) fig. 6B [0137] is made of a metal (when modified by Tada to be composed of metal [0107 Tada] having light shielding properties [0106-0107 Tada]), and
an insulating portion (90) fig. 6B [0104] is provided (horizontally) between the thyristor (C comprising S1) fig. 6B [0097] and the light shield (77).
Regarding claim 3, Kondo in view of Kondo-II and Tada teaches the light-emitting component of claim 2. Kondo in view of Kondo-II and Tada (with reference to Kondo-II) also teaches wherein the light shield (77) fig. 6B [0137] extends from an electrode (333) fig. 6B [0127] electrically connected to the thyristor (C comprising S1) fig. 6B [0097] to the inner surface of the opening (inner surface of open space of opening defined by layer 90 borders).
Regarding claim 4, Kondo in view of Kondo-II and Tada teaches the light-emitting component of claim 2. Kondo in view of Kondo-II and Tada (with reference to Kondo-II) also teaches wherein the light shield (77) fig. 6B [0137] extends from a current supply wire (333) fig. 6B [0127] (333 capable of supplying/exchaning current [0127, 0137]) electrically connected to the thyristor (C comprising S1) fig. 6B [0097] to the inner surface of the opening (inner surface of open space of opening defined by layer 90 borders).
Regarding claim 7, Kondo in view of Kondo-II and Tada teaches the light-emitting component of claim 1. Kondo in view of Kondo-II and Tada (with reference to Kondo-II) also teaches wherein the light shield (77) fig. 6B [0137] is made of a metal (when modified by Tada to be composed of metal [0107 Tada] having light shielding properties [0106-0107 Tada]) and covers an electrode (333) fig. 6B [0127] with an insulating portion (90) fig. 6B [0104] therebetween.
Regarding claim 11, Kondo in view of Kondo-II and Tada teaches the light-emitting component of claim 1. Kondo in view of Kondo-II and Tada (with reference to Kondo-II) wherein the light shield (77) fig. 6B [0137] is a light reflector that reflects light (when modified by Tada to be composed of metal [0107 Tada] having light shielding/reflecting properties [0106-0107 Tada]).
Claim 8 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kondo (U.S. PG Pub No US2018/0006645A1) (of record) modified by Kondo-II (U.S. PG Pub No US2017/0277065A1) and Tada (U.S. PG Pub No US2020/0227506A1), as applied in claim 1, and further in view of Oohata (U.S. PG Pub No US2023/0223503A1) (of record)
Regarding claim 8, Kondo in view of Kondo-II and Tada teaches the light-emitting component of claim 1. However, Kondo in view of Kondo-II and Tada does not explicitly disclose wherein the light shield (77) fig. 6B [0137 Kondo-II] is a light absorbing body that absorbs light (light absorption properties not explicitly disclosed).
Oohata teaches a light-emitting component [see fig. 6A, 0091, 0094] wherein the light shield (121-123) fig. 6A [0102 Oohata] is a light absorbing body that absorbs light (15w comprising 121-123 [0102] may further comprise light absorbing carbon particles [0100 Oohata]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the light shielding material in the opening of Kondo in view of Kondo-II and Tada to further comprise an additional layer of light absorbing material [0100, 0102] in order to enhance the selective modulation of light transmission [0101] so as to prevent light leakage [0101], as taught by Oohata.
Claim 9 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kondo (U.S. PG Pub No US2018/0006645A1) (of record) modified by Kondo-II (U.S. PG Pub No US2017/0277065A1), Tada (U.S. PG Pub No US2020/0227506A1), and Oohata (U.S. PG Pub No US2023/0223503A1) (of record), as applied in claim 8 above, and further in view of Kondo-III (U.S. PG Pub No US2018/0234583A1) (of record).
Regarding claim 9, Kondo in view of Kondo-II, Tada, and Oohata teaches the light-emitting component (C) fig. 13A [0254] according to claim 8. However, Kondo does not explicitly disclose wherein at least one of layers constituting the thyristor (T) fig. 13A [0258-0262] absorbs light having a longer wavelength than the emitted light (relative wavelengths not specified).
Kondo-III teaches a light emitting component (C) fig. 7 [0143] wherein at least one of layers (85) fig. 7 [0143] constituting the thyristor (S with 85 directly thereon) fig. 7 [0182-0183] absorbs light [0143] having a longer wavelength (with less energy/ smaller band gap [0182]) than the emitted light [0182].
Therefore, it would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the light emitting system of Kondo to include the light absorbing layer [0143, 0182-0183] of Kondo-III in order to improve thyristor current-voltage characteristics [0189] and reduce unwanted light determinantal to image quality [0180], as taught by Kondo-III.
Claims 12-15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kondo (U.S. PG Pub No US2018/0006645A1) (of record) modified by Kondo-II (U.S. PG Pub No US2017/0277065A1), Tada (U.S. PG Pub No US2020/0227506A1), as applied in claim 1 above, and further in view of Kondo-IV (U.S. PG Pub No US2019/0373693A1) (of record).
Regarding claim 12, Kondo does not explicitly disclose an optical measurement device comprising:
the light-emitting component (T) fig. 13A [0255] according to claim 1;
a light-receiving unit configured to receive light reflected from an object irradiated with the light emitted from the light-emitting component (T) fig. 13A [0255]; and
a processing unit configured to process information related to the light received by the light-receiving unit to measure the distance from the light-emitting component (T) fig. 13A [0255] to the object or the shape of the object.
Kondo-IV teaches an optical measurement device (1) fig. 15 [0247] comprising:
the light-emitting component (10) fig. 15 [0247] according to claim 1 [see fig. 3B, 0077-0078];
a light-receiving unit (20) fig. 15 [0247] configured to receive light reflected from an object (40) fig. 15 [0247-0259] irradiated with the light emitted from the light-emitting component (20); and
a processing unit (30) fig. 15 [0247] configured to process information [0251] related to the light received by the light-receiving unit (20) to measure the distance [0250] from the light-emitting component (10) to the object or the shape of the object [0250].
Therefore, it would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have incorporated the light emitting structure of Kondo into the optical measurement architecture [0247] of Kondo in order to improve the utility of Kondo’s light emitting device for the measurement of spatial characteristics of detected objects [0250-0255], as taught by Kondo-IV.
Regarding claim 13, Kondo does not explicitly disclose an optical measurement device comprising:
the light-emitting component (T) fig. 13A [0255] according to claim 2;
a light-receiving unit configured to receive light reflected from an object irradiated with the light emitted from the light-emitting component (T) fig. 13A [0255]; and
a processing unit configured to process information related to the light received by the light-receiving unit to measure the distance from the light-emitting component (T) fig. 13A [0255] to the object or the shape of the object.
Kondo-IV teaches an optical measurement device (1) fig. 15 [0247] comprising:
the light-emitting component (10) fig. 15 [0247] according to claim 2 [see fig. 3B, 0077-0078];
a light-receiving unit (20) fig. 15 [0247] configured to receive light reflected from an object (40) fig. 15 [0247-0259] irradiated with the light emitted from the light-emitting component (20); and
a processing unit (30) fig. 15 [0247] configured to process information [0251] related to the light received by the light-receiving unit (20) to measure the distance [0250] from the light-emitting component (10) to the object or the shape of the object [0250-0255].
Therefore, it would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have incorporated the light emitting structure of Kondo into the optical measurement architecture [0247] of Kondo in order to improve the utility of Kondo’s light emitting device for the measurement of spatial characteristics of detected objects [0250-0255], as taught by Kondo-IV.
Regarding claim 14, Kondo does not explicitly disclose optical measurement device comprising: the light-emitting component (T) fig. 13A [0255] according to claim 3;
a light-receiving unit configured to receive light reflected from an object irradiated with the light emitted from the light-emitting component (T) fig. 13A [0255]; and
a processing unit configured to process information related to the light received by the light-receiving unit to measure the distance from the light-emitting component (T) fig. 13A [0255] to the object or the shape of the object.
Kondo-IV teaches an optical measurement device (1) fig. 15 [0247] comprising:
the light-emitting component (10) fig. 15 [0247] according to claim 3 [see fig. 3B, 0077-0078];
a light-receiving unit (20) fig. 15 [0247] configured to receive light reflected from an object (40) fig. 15 [0247-0259] irradiated with the light emitted from the light-emitting component (20); and
a processing unit (30) fig. 15 [0247] configured to process information [0251] related to the light received by the light-receiving unit (20) to measure the distance [0250] from the light-emitting component (10) to the object or the shape of the object [0250].
Therefore, it would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have incorporated the light emitting structure of Kondo into the optical measurement architecture [0247] of Kondo in order to improve the utility of Kondo’s light emitting device for the measurement of spatial characteristics of detected objects [0250-0255], as taught by Kondo-IV.
Regarding claim 15, Kondo does not explicitly disclose image forming apparatus comprising: the light-emitting component according to claim 1; and
a drive controller configured to receive input of an image signal and drive the light-emitting component (T) fig. 13A [0255] according to the image signal so that a two-dimensional image is formed by the light emitted from the light-emitting component (T) fig. 13A [0255].
Kondo-IV teaches an image forming apparatus (2) fig. 16 [0259] comprising:
the light-emitting component (10) fig. 16 [0259] according to claim 1 [see fig. 3B, 0077-0078]; and
a drive controller (50) fig. 16 [0259] configured to receive input of an image signal [0261] and drive the light-emitting component (10) according to the image signal so that a two-dimensional image [0261] is formed by the light emitted from the light-emitting component (10).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have incorporated the light emitting structure of Kondo into the optical measurement architecture [0247] of Kondo in order to improve the utility of Kondo’s light emitting device for two-dimensional image formation applications [0257-0262], as taught by Kondo-IV.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments, see pages 2-6, filed 04/02/2026, with respect to the rejection(s) of claim(s) 1 under 35 U.S.C. 103 have been fully considered and are persuasive. Therefore, the rejection has been withdrawn. However, upon further consideration, a new ground(s) of rejection is made in view of Kondo-II (U.S. PG Pub No US2017/0277065A1) and Tada (U.S. PG Pub No US2020/0227506A1) under 35 U.S.C. 103.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Remaining references made available on the PTO-892 form (of record) are considered relevant to the present disclosure because they all feature semiconductor devices with light emitting and light shielding components.
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). 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 nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) 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.
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/SEAN AYERS WINTERS/Examiner, Art Unit 2892 06/18/2026
/NORMAN D RICHARDS/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2892
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