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.
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.
Claims 4-10 are 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 4 recites the limitation "the bottom" in line 10. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. Because in claim 1, there is no “a bottom”, it is unclear which bottom it refers to. Thereby as being indefinite, claim 4 fails to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter. For examination purposes, the examiner has interpreted "the bottom" to be --a bottom--.
Claims 5-10 are rejected because they depend upon claim 4; they are likewise rejected under the same rationale as that set forth above with respect to claim 4.
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.
Claim 1 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Yonemoto (US 2016/0161742).
Regarding claim 1, Yonemoto discloses an efficient heat-dissipating head-up display (HUD) (1 in Figures 1-5; Paragraphs [0010]-[0014]), comprising:
an outer housing (201A), on which a light outlet through-hole (201L) is provided;
a light source housing (201B), wherein the light source housing and the outer housing are detachably connected (Figure 4 and Paragraph [0057]), and an optical machine mechanism is (20) also mounted in the light source housing (Figure 4), and the optical machine mechanism is used to output image light to the outer housing (Paragraph [0023]); a heat conducting member (22G, 22F) is also connected between the optical machine mechanism (20) and the light source housing (201B) (Figure 5; Paragraph [0057]), and the heat conducting member is used to conduct heat generated by the optical machine mechanism to the light source housing (Paragraphs [0057]-[0058]); the light source housing is also arranged with a first heat-dissipating member (22G), which is used to dissipate the heat conducted by the heat conducting member to the light source housing to the outside (Paragraph [0056]);
an image adjusting mechanism (202A, 202B, 202M), wherein the image adjusting mechanism is arranged in the outer housing (Figure 4), and the image adjusting mechanism is used to receive and adjust the image light output by the optical machine mechanism (Paragraphs [0050], [0072]), and emit the image light after adjustment to an external imaging member for imaging through the light outlet through-hole (see the light outlet through-hole 201L and Paragraph [0048]); and
a printed circuit board (PCB) master control component (11), wherein the PCB master control component is detachably mounted on the light source housing (see Figure 5 and Paragraph [0051]), and the PCB master control component is used to control operation of the entire HUD (Paragraph [0061]).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 2-10 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:
Regarding claim 2, Yonemoto discloses the limitations of claim 1 above, and further discloses wherein the optical machine mechanism comprises a light source mounting base (31), an optical machine light source (3) and a second heat-dissipating member (22F) mounted on the light source mounting base; one inner wall of the light source housing is also provided with a protruding block (22A): the heat conducting member comprises a plurality of first heat conducting sheets (Figure 4).
However, Yonemoto does not explicitly disclose, in light of the specification, “the protruding block being a heat-dissipating protruding block, and each of the first heat conducting sheets comprises a heat conduction fixing part and a heat conduction connecting part; each of the heat conduction fixing parts is fixedly connected with an outer wall of the light source mounting base, and each of the heat conduction connecting parts is inclined to extend downwards and attached to a surface of the heat-dissipating protruding block”. The examiner further considered Ben Nachouane (US 2025/0116859, hereinafter “Ben Nachouane”), Saito et al. (US 2020/0379256, hereinafter “Saito”), Yamaya (US 2020/0004119) and Misawa et al. (US 2019/0129172, hereinafter “Misawa”). However, Yonemoto, Ben Nachouane, Saito, Yamaya and Misawa, applied alone or in combination fails to teach or suggest the combination and arrangement of elements recited in Applicant's claim 2.
Dependent claim 3 is allowable by virtue of their dependence on claim 2.
Regarding claim 4, Yonemoto discloses the limitations of claim 1 above, and further discloses wherein the image adjusting mechanism comprises an optical path adjusting component (202A; Paragraph [0050]); the optical path adjusting component comprises an adjusting reflector (202A; Paragraph [0050]); the adjusting reflector is arranged on the inner wall of the light source housing at one end, and the adjusting reflector is located on a light outlet optical path of the optical machine mechanism, and the adjusting reflector is used to reflect the image light output by the optical machine mechanism to the image adjusting component (Figure 4 and Paragraphs [0048], [0050], [0072]).
However, Yonemoto does not explicitly disclose, in light of the specification, “the image adjusting mechanism comprises an image adjusting component; the image adjusting component comprises an adjusting support frame, a diffusion sheet, a fixed reflector and a rotating reflector; the adjusting support frame is installed in the outer housing, and the top of the adjusting support frame is also integrated with a fixed mirror fixing frame at one end, and the bottom of the adjusting support frame is also integrated with a diffusion sheet fixing frame; the diffusion sheet and the fixed reflector are respectively installed on the diffusion sheet fixing frame and the fixed mirror fixing frame; the rotating reflector is movably arranged on the other end of the top of the adjusting support frame; a light channel is also provided inside the diffusion sheet fixing frame, and reflected light reflected by the optical path adjusting component passes through the diffusion sheet, and is incident on the fixed reflector through the light channel, and then the fixed reflector reflects the light to the rotating reflector, and finally the rotating reflector emits the light through the light outlet through-hole to the outside” because Yonemoto teaches an image adjusting component, such as a light diffusion sheet (24), provided as a lens member (Figure 4; Paragraph [0057]) and a driving portion (motor 202M) not integrated with the elements recited in the claim. The examiner further considered the prior art of Ben Nachouane, Saito, Yamaya and Misawa. However, Yonemoto, Ben Nachouane, Saito, Yamaya and Misawa, applied alone or in combination fails to teach or suggest the combination and arrangement of elements recited in Applicant's claim 4.
Dependent claims 5-10 are allowable by virtue of their dependence on claim 4.
Any comments considered necessary by applicant must be submitted no later than the payment of the issue fee and, to avoid processing delays, should preferably accompany the issue fee. Such submissions should be clearly labeled “Comments on Statement of Reasons for Allowance.”
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JONATHAN Y JUNG whose telephone number is (469)295-9076. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday - Friday, 9:00 am - 5:00 pm.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Michael H Caley can be reached on (571)272-2286. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/JONATHAN Y JUNG/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2871