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 08/11/2026 amended claim 1. Claims 1-6, 8, and 9 are rejected on new grounds of rejections necessitated by the amendments of claim 1.
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and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114.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 08/11/2026 has been entered.
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 1-6 and 9 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wakabayashi (US 20210247671 A1).
Regarding claim 1, Wakabayashi teaches a pixel shifting device comprising: an optical member (10); a first frame (20) which is configured to hold the optical member (10), and which oscillates around a first oscillation axis (J1); a second frame (30) which is disposed on a periphery of the first frame (20), which is coupled to the first frame (20), and which oscillates around a second oscillation axis (J2) perpendicular to the first oscillation axis (J1); a base (5) which is disposed on a periphery of the second frame (30), and which is coupled to the second frame (30); a first actuator (6) configured to oscillate the first frame (20) with respect to the second frame (30) between the first frame (20) and the second frame (30); a second actuator (7) which is disposed in an area at a side at which the first actuator (6) is disposed in the second frame (30), and which oscillates the second frame (30) with respect to the base (5); and a frame reinforcement member (36, 37, 38, 310) which is disposed in an area at a side at which the first actuator (6) and the second actuator (7) are disposed in the second frame (30), and which has a first surface having contact with a surface of the second frame (30; Fig. 7), wherein the frame reinforcement member (36, 37, 38, 310) includes a coupling shaft part (38/39) which is located on the second oscillation axis (J2) and couples the second frame (30) to the base (5; [0045], [0046]).
Wakabayashi does not explicitly teach the frame reinforcement member being formed integrally with a coupling shaft part which is located on the second oscillation axis and couples the second frame to the base.
Having the frame reinforcement member being formed integrally with the coupling shaft part is prima facie obvious. In re Larson, 340 F.2d 965, 968, 144 USPQ 347, 349 (CCPA 1965) (A claim to a fluid transporting vehicle was rejected as obvious over a prior art reference which differed from the prior art in claiming a brake drum integral with a clamping means, whereas the brake disc and clamp of the prior art comprise several parts rigidly secured together as a single unit. The court affirmed the rejection holding, among other reasons, "that the use of a one piece construction instead of the structure disclosed in [the prior art] would be merely a matter of obvious engineering choice.").
Regarding claim 2, Wakabayashi further teaches the second actuator (7) is constituted by a magnet (71) and a coil (72), one of the magnet (71) and the coil (72) is disposed at the second frame (30) side, and another of the magnet (71) and the coil (72) is disposed at the base (5) side (Fig. 7; [0057]).
Regarding claim 3, Wakabayashi further teaches the second actuator (7) is constituted by a pair of actuators (7A and 7B) disposed across the second oscillation axis (J2).
Regarding claim 4, Wakabayashi further teaches the frame reinforcement member (36, 37, 38, 310) has an uprise wall part (36 or 37) rising from a second surface at an opposite side to the first surface.
Regarding claim 5, Wakabayashi further teaches a part (71 and/or 73) of the second actuator (7) is disposed in the uprise wall part (36 or 37) of the frame reinforcement member (36, 37, 38, 310; [0058]).
Regarding claim 6, Wakabayashi further teaches the second frame (30) has an extending part (31) which extends toward an opposite side to the first oscillation axis (J1) with respect to the first actuator (6), and toward one side in an axial direction along the second oscillation axis (J2), and which is coupled to the base (5), and the frame reinforcement member (36, 37, 38, 310) is fixed to the extending part (31; Fig. 7).
Regarding claim 9, Wakabayashi further teaches a projector (Fig. 1) comprising: an image generator (108B/G/R) configured to generate image light; a projection optical system (3) configured to project the image light; and the pixel shifting device (2) according to claim 1 which is disposed between the image generator (108B/G/R) and the projection optical system (3), and which is configured to shift a light path of the image light from the image generator.
Claim 8 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wakabayashi in view of Kadotani (US 20170104965 A1).
Regarding claim 8, Wakabayashi further teaches the first frame (20) being formed of stainless steel ([0039]) and the base (5) being formed of aluminum ([0029]).
Kadotani teaches first, second frames (54, 55) and the rim (52) being made of aluminum ([0126], [0189]).
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skills in the art at the time of the invention to combine Wakabayashi with Kadotani such that the second frame (30) formed of aluminum; because aluminum allows heat dissipation to improve service life of the device ([0126], [0189] of Kadotani).
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments with respect to claim 1 have been considered but are moot in view of the new ground(s) of rejection.
Conclusion
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.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Minh-Toan Ton can be reached on (571) 272 230303. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of an application may be obtained from the Patent Application Information Retrieval (PAIR) system. Status information for published applications may be obtained from either Private PAIR or Public PAIR. Status information for unpublished applications is available through Private PAIR only. For more information about the PAIR system, see http://pair-direct.uspto.gov. Should you have questions on access to the Private PAIR system, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative or access to the automated information system, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
Any response to this action should be mailed to:
Commissioner for Patents
P.O. Box 1450
Alexandria, Virginia 22313-1450
Or faxed to:
(571) 273-8300, (for formal communications intended for entry)
Or:
(571) 273-7490, (for informal or draft communications, please label “PROPOSED” or “DRAFT”)
Hand-delivered responses should be brought to:
Customer Service Window
Randolph Building
401 Dulany Street
Alexandria, VA 22314
/BAO-LUAN Q LE/
Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2882
