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 .
Continued Examination under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on 3/5/26 has been entered. Claims 1,3-5,7-14 and 16-24 remain pending.
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 1,5,9-11, 15 and 23 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ebner (DE 102011085275 A1, cited previously) in view of Smith (US 20150285442 A1, cited previously) and further in view of Hoelen (US 20080062682 A1)
Regarding claim 1, Ebner teaches a light fixture (Fig.1), comprising: a fixture housing 3; and one or more lighting subassemblies(35 in Fig.3) in the fixture housing, each of the lighting subassemblies comprising: a light source (LED in recess 3) for emitting the light, and an optical element (6,7,8 in Fig.1) disposed in the fixture housing, the optical element receiving the light from the light source and directing the light toward a top surface of the optical element along an axis of the optical element, the optical element including an inner surface disposed axially around and at least partially enclosing the axis of the optical element, the inner surface at least partially containing the light within the optical element by internal reflection of the light (see in Ebner: Instead, the desired total reflection of the incident light beams can now also be achieved in these areas, so that ultimately the efficiency of the optical element according to the invention 20 Overall, significantly improved), the inner surface including first and second geometric (shapes 7 and 8 or 31 and 32 in Fig.6 or 15 and 8 in Fig.7) coaxially disposed with respect to the axis of the optical element.
Ebner does not teach the first and second geometric shapes defining two concentric circles having first and second respective radii, the first and second radii being different, at least a portion of the first geometric shapes extending to corners of an emission surface of the optical element.
Smith teaches a reflecting unit wherein the first 24 (Fig.5 and Fig.1-4) and second 26 geometric shapes defining two concentric circles having first and second respective radii, the first and second radii being different, at least a portion of the first geometric shapes extending to corners of an emission surface (54 in Fig.10 that applies to Fig.1-5 and [0036]) of the optical element.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention, to use different radii for the inner contour of the optical element as disclosed in Smith, the device of Ebner, in order to achieve the desired collimated beam.
Ebner in view of Smith does not explicitly teach:
the light source comprises a plurality of light emitting diode (LED) sources, wherein the plurality of LED sources have multiple colors, and the inner surface is configured to generate a desired color profile;
AND
wherein the first surface comprises one or more optical features that affect optical performance; and wherein the one or more optical features are in the group consisting of color mixing portions, optical distribution portions, collimators and diffusers.
Hoelen discloses:
[0014] By combining a light source comprising a set of differently colored light emitters and in Abstract: The illumination system has a light source (1) with a plurality of light emitters (R, G, B).
Further regarding: wherein the first surface comprises one or more optical features that affect optical performance; and wherein the one or more optical features are in the group consisting of color mixing portions, optical distribution portions, collimators and diffusers;
Hoelen discloses optical features in: [0020]-[0022] and [0045]. Also in [0041] see light shaping diffuser 17 in Fig.1A and it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention, to use different colors in conjunction with total internal reflection and use diffusers, from the teachings of Hoelen, in the device of Ebner in view of Smith, in order to create the desired light outputs with color mixing.
Regarding claim 5, Ebner teaches a lighting subassembly for a light fixture having a first surface through which light can be emitted, comprising: a light source for emitting the light, and an optical element for receiving the light from the light source and directing the light toward the surface along an axis of the optical element, the optical element including an inner surface disposed axially around and at least partially enclosing the axis of the optical element, the inner surface at least partially containing the light within the optical element by internal reflection of the light, the inner surface being defined by at least two geometric shapes coaxially disposed with respect to the axis of the optical element (see rejection in claim 1 above).
Ebner does not teach the at least two geometric shapes defining two concentric circles having first and second respective radii, the first and second radii being different, at least a portion of the at least two geometric shapes extending to corners of an emission surface of the optical element.
Smith teaches a reflecting unit wherein at least two geometric shapes (24,26 in Fig.1-5) defining two concentric circles having first and second respective radii, the first and second radii being different, at least a portion of the at least two geometric shapes extending to corners of an emission surface of the optical element (54 in Fig.10 that applies to Fig.1-5 and [0036]) of the optical element.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention, to use different radii for the inner contour of the optical element as disclosed in Smith, the device of Ebner, in order to achieve the desired collimated beam.
Ebner in view of Smith does not explicitly teach:
the light source comprises a plurality of light emitting diode (LED) sources, wherein the plurality of LED sources have multiple colors, and the inner surface is configured to generate a desired color profile;
AND
wherein the first surface comprises one or more optical features that affect optical performance; and wherein the one or more optical features are in the group consisting of color mixing portions, optical distribution portions, collimators and diffusers.
Hoelen discloses:
[0014] By combining a light source comprising a set of differently colored light emitters and in Abstract: The illumination system has a light source (1) with a plurality of light emitters (R, G, B).
Further regarding: wherein the first surface comprises one or more optical features that affect optical performance; and wherein the one or more optical features are in the group consisting of color mixing portions, optical distribution portions, collimators and diffusers;
Hoelen discloses optical features in: [0020]-[0022] and [0045]. Also, in [0041] see light shaping diffuser 17 in Fig.1A and it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention, to use different colors in conjunction with total internal reflection and to use diffusers, from the teachings of Hoelen, in the device of Ebner in view of Smith, in order to create the desired light outputs with color mixing.
Regarding claim 9, Ebner in view of Smith and Hoelen teaches the lighting sub-assembly wherein the at least two geometric shapes include a first and second geometric shapes (24,26 in Smith). shapes include a first and second geometric shapes.
Regarding claims 10 and 11, Ebner in view of Smith and Hoelen teaches the lighting sub-assembly wherein the emission surface of the optical element is rectangular or square (see top profile/shape in Fig.1-5,10 in Smith).
Regarding claim 23, Ebner in view of Smith and Hoelen teaches the light assembly, comprising: a plurality of the subassemblies arranged in an array (from the teachings of Fig.10 and 11 of Ebner, Fig.1 and 2 of Smith and all of Figures 3 and 4 of Hoelen) wherein the first surface extends over the plurality of subassemblies and includes a plurality of regions; wherein each of the regions extends over a different one of the subassemblies, wherein each of the regions includes a pattern of the optical features (from the teachings of 17 in Fig.1A of Hoelen, wherein 17 has optical features, and from the teachings of the top surface 54 in Fig.10-17 of Smith and where Smith explicitly discloses in [0036]: and light emission surfaces 52 and 54 are selected to achieve a pre-determined result, e.g., a beam substantially collimated relative to axis A. And it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention, to use the top surface over the entire array of subassemblies, such that each region has the same or different desired pattern, based on the desired orientation or desired distribution of light).
Claims 3-4 and 7-8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ebner in view of Smith and Hoelen and further in view of Dross (US 20190003685, cited previously)
Regarding claims 3 and 7, Ebner in view of Smith and Hoelen teaches the invention set forth in claims 1 and 9 above, but is silent regarding a third geometric shape coaxially disposed with the first and second geometric shapes
Dross teaches a light fixture wherein a third geometric shape coaxially disposed with the first and second geometric shapes (Fig.15,16 and 17, [0015], [0097], [0098],[011], [0108], [0111], [0116]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention, to use different radii for the inner contour of the optical element as disclosed in Dross, the device of Ebner in view of Smith and Hoelen, in order to achieve better tessellation ([0015]).
Regarding claims 4 and 8, Ebner in view of Smith, Hoelen and Dross teaches a light fixture wherein the first, second and third geometric shapes define concentric circles having the first, the second and a third respective radii, the first, second and third radii being different (Fig.15,16 and 17, [0015], [0097], [0098],[011], [0108], [0111], [0116]).
Claims 12-14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ebner in view of Smith and Hoelen and further in view of Eichele (WO 2019175389 A1, cited previously)
Regarding claims 12-14, Ebner in view of Smith and Hoelen teaches the invention set forth in claim 5 above but is silent regarding: the plurality of LED sources comprise a cluster of individual LEDs having different colors (for claim 12); wherein the cluster of individual LEDs comprises a red LED, a green LED, a blue LED and a white LED (for claim 13) and wherein the plurality of LED sources comprise a red-green-blue-white quad LED source (claim 14).
However, colors in the LED clusters is a design choice.
Eichele teaches in its claim 14 and in the following paragraphs:
According to a preferred embodiment, the LEDs within the LED cluster have different colors. For example, the LED colors in an LED cluster may include red, green and blue. By the light mixture, white light can be generated. A single cluster would still show color differences, because the mixture of light within a cluster with an optic, as far as it is not light scattering, not sufficient for complete mixing of the light of the LEDs. The inventive arrangement of several clusters, which are twisted to each other, however, this effect is compensated, so that the different LED colors in the entire headlamp are mixed so far that, for example, white light can be generated. Any other mixed color can also be generated, in which case the number of red, green and blue LED colors are selected accordingly. It is also possible to mix the light of different colored clusters, each having a uniform light color, by rotating the clusters. This may be predetermined as an alternative or in addition to the color mixing within the clusters.
FIG. 5 shows an embodiment with six LED clusters 12, each having a 4x4 matrix of LEDs. In this embodiment, however, differently colored LEDs 9, 10 and 11 in the colors red, green and blue are combined in each cluster. Also in this embodiment, the clusters are rotated at the angle a against each other, as in the previous embodiments described. The light of the cluster 12 is already mixed within the clusters, so that the color red, green and blue produces approximately white light. However, the light mixture within the clusters 12 is still insufficient. By using multiple clusters 12 that are rotated to each other, this effect of the light mixture is also improved, so that the total light of the headlight appears almost uniformly white.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention, to use combination of various colors as claimed, in the clusters of Ebner in view of Smith and Hoelen, based on the desired design and color output, in order to achieve an improved color mixture output.
Claim 16 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Smith in view of Hoelen
Regarding claim 16, Smith teaches a lighting subassembly for a light fixture (Fig.1 and 2) having a first surface through which light can be emitted, comprising: a light source for emitting the light, wherein the light source comprises an optical element for receiving the light from the light source and directing the light toward the surface along an axis of the optical element, the optical element including an inner surface disposed axially around and at least partially enclosing the axis of the optical element, the inner surface at least partially containing the light within the optical element by internal reflection of the light, the inner surface being defined by at least two geometric shapes coaxially disposed with respect to the axis of the optical element.
Smith does not explicitly teach:
the light source comprises a plurality of light emitting diode (LED) sources, wherein the plurality of LED sources have multiple colors, and the inner surface is configured to generate a desired color profile;
AND
wherein the first surface comprises one or more optical features that affect optical performance; and wherein the one or more optical features are in the group consisting of color mixing portions, optical distribution portions, collimators and diffusers.
Hoelen discloses:
[0014] By combining a light source comprising a set of differently colored light emitters and in Abstract: The illumination system has a light source (1) with a plurality of light emitters (R, G, B).
Further regarding: wherein the first surface comprises one or more optical features that affect optical performance; and wherein the one or more optical features are in the group consisting of color mixing portions, optical distribution portions, collimators and diffusers;
Hoelen discloses optical features in: [0020]-[0022] and [0045]. Also, in [0041] see light shaping diffuser 17 in Fig.1A and it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention, to use different colors in conjunction with total internal reflection and to use diffusers, from the teachings of Hoelen, in the device of Smith, in order to create the desired light outputs with color mixing.
Claims 17-19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Smith in view of Hoelen and further in view of Eichele (WO 2019175389 A1, cited previously)
Regarding claims 17-19, Smith in view of Hoelen teaches the invention set forth in claim 5 above but is silent regarding: the plurality of LED sources comprise a cluster of individual LEDs having different colors (for claim 17); wherein the cluster of individual LEDs comprises a red LED, a green LED, a blue LED and a white LED (for claim 18) and wherein the plurality of LED sources comprise a red-green-blue-white quad LED source (claim 19).
However, colors in the LED clusters is a design choice.
Eichele teaches in its claim 14 and in the following paragraphs:
According to a preferred embodiment, the LEDs within the LED cluster have different colors. For example, the LED colors in an LED cluster may include red, green and blue. By the light mixture, white light can be generated. A single cluster would still show color differences, because the mixture of light within a cluster with an optic, as far as it is not light scattering, not sufficient for complete mixing of the light of the LEDs. The inventive arrangement of several clusters, which are twisted to each other, however, this effect is compensated, so that the different LED colors in the entire headlamp are mixed so far that, for example, white light can be generated. Any other mixed color can also be generated, in which case the number of red, green and blue LED colors are selected accordingly. It is also possible to mix the light of different colored clusters, each having a uniform light color, by rotating the clusters. This may be predetermined as an alternative or in addition to the color mixing within the clusters.
FIG. 5 shows an embodiment with six LED clusters 12, each having a 4x4 matrix of LEDs. In this embodiment, however, differently colored LEDs 9, 10 and 11 in the colors red, green and blue are combined in each cluster. Also in this embodiment, the clusters are rotated at the angle a against each other, as in the previous embodiments described. The light of the cluster 12 is already mixed within the clusters, so that the color red, green and blue produces approximately white light. However, the light mixture within the clusters 12 is still insufficient. By using multiple clusters 12 that are rotated to each other, this effect of the light mixture is also improved, so that the total light of the headlight appears almost uniformly white.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention, to use combination of various colors as claimed, in the clusters of Smith in view of Hoelen, based on desired design and color output, in order to achieve an improved color mixture output.
Claims 21 and 22 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ebner (DE 102011085275 A1, cited previously) in view of Smith (US 20150285442 A1, cited previously) and Hoelen and further in view of Hoelen2 (WO 2006033032 A1, hereafter Hoelen2)
Regarding claims 21 and 22, Ebner in view of Smith and Hoelen teaches the invention set forth in claims 1 and 5 above (see disclosure of Hoelen in claims 1 and 5 above).
Further even more, regarding a size, a shape and a position of the inner surfaces (considered as facets) are configured to control internal reflection such that an output illumination can be generated having the desired color profile; Hoelen2 discloses from faceted (sides 3 in Fig.1B):
the light emitters comprising at least a first light-emitting diode of a first primary color and at least a second light-emitting diode of a second primary color, the first and the second primary colors being distinct from each other, a facetted light-collimator for collimating light emitted by the light emitters, the facetted light-collimator being arranged along a longitudinal axis of the illumination system, light propagation in the facetted light-collimator being based on total internal reflection or on reflection at a reflective coating provided on the facets of the facetted light collimator, the facetted light-collimator merging into a facetted light-reflector at a side facing away from the light source, the illumination system further comprising a light-shaping diffuser. By combining a light source comprising a set of differently colored light emitters with a facetted light-collimator that uses total internal reflection (TIR) to collimate the light, a facetted light-reflector and a light-shaping diffuser, an illumination system is obtained with a uniform spatial and spatio-angular color distribution of the light emitted by the light emitters. The light-collimator is facetted to optimally mix the various colors emitted by the light emitters.
Therefore, from the teachings of Hoelen, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention, to use combination of various colors along with the faceted sides and by using total internal reflection, in the device of Smith in view of Hoelen, in order to achieve the desired output color distribution.
Claim 24 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ebner in view of Smith and Hoelen and further in view of Gao (CN 109163304 A)
Regarding claim 24, Ebner in view of Smith and Hoelen teaches the invention set forth in claim 1 above, but is silent regarding a third geometric shapes coaxially disposed with respect to the axis of the optical element, the third geometric shape defining a third concentric circles having third radius different from the first radius and the second radius.
Gao teaches: The light distribution system has the first and second reflection arcs, the transition section, and the third and fourth reflection arcs along the optical axis direction, so that the light spot formed by the bicycle lamp is separated by two upper and lower sides, and each spot is substantially rectangular and it is matter of design to increase the segments having more than 2 radius of curvatures based on the desired complexity of the output light distribution, and it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention, to use more than 2 arcs with different radius of curvation, as disclosed in Gao, in the device of Ebner in view of Smith and Hoelen in order to achieve the desired light distribution.
Other art
US 20190003685 A1: [0113] The use of more sections can achieve an even better approximation of a desired square or rectangular aperture. Ray tracing modeling shows that the light distribution is still round with almost no artifacts resulting from the segmentation of the total internal reflection surface. If needed, faceting, or texture can be added in known manner for beam widening, smoothing or color mixing.
US 20120327655 A1: light emitted from light source sub-assembly 115 is directed to light conversion sub-assembly 116 for color mixing and color conversion.
US 20110242822 A1: For example, in certain exemplary embodiments, the LED package include one or more white LED's and one or more non-white LEDs, such as red, yellow, amber, or blue LEDs, for adjusting the color temperature output of the light emitted from the luminaire. A yellow or multi-chromatic phosphor may coat or otherwise be used in a blue or ultraviolet LED to create blue and red-shifted light that essentially matches blackbody radiation. The emitted light approximates or emulates "white," incandescent light to a human observer. In certain exemplary embodiments, the emitted light includes substantially white light that seems slightly blue, green, red, yellow, orange, or some other color or tint. In certain exemplary embodiments, the light emitted from the LEDs has a color temperature between 2500 and 5000 degrees Kelvin.OR
In certain exemplary embodiments, the LED driver is configured to separately control one or more portions of the LEDs 410 in the array to adjust light color or intensity.
US 20090201677 A1: As can be seen in the diagram in FIG. 6, by having a collimator and a reflector both having an octagonal facet structure, a relative color homogeneity of at least 80% can be obtained. For selecting the beam shaper type with best color mixing properties, calculations with various color maximum deviations are used.
Response to Arguments
The arguments filed by the Application on 3/5/26 is acknowledged. However, they are moot in light of new grounds of rejection for the amended claims.
Further regarding claim 23, additional prior art is provided below:
US 7918583 B2:
PNG
media_image1.png
467
595
media_image1.png
Greyscale
PNG
media_image2.png
431
497
media_image2.png
Greyscale
US 20080198604 A1:
PNG
media_image3.png
502
628
media_image3.png
Greyscale
PNG
media_image4.png
622
666
media_image4.png
Greyscale
of a Contact Information
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Fatima Farokhrooz whose telephone number is (571)-272-6043. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday- Friday, 9 am - 5 pm. If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the Examiner’s Supervisor, James Greece can be reached on (571) 272-3711.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/Fatima N Farokhrooz/
Examiner, Art Unit 2875