DETAILED ACTION
A request for continued examination (RCE) 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and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114.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 07/02/2026 has been entered.
In virtue of the RCE:
Claims 1-20 are pending in the instant application.
Claims 1 and 3 are currently amended.
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 Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to the rejection(s) of claim(s) 1-6 have been fully considered and are persuasive. However, upon further consideration, a new ground(s) of rejection of claims 1-6 is made in view of Liu (U.S. Pub. 2009/0140179 A1).
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.
Claim(s) 1, 2 and 4-6 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Liu (U.S. Pub. 2009/0140179 A1) in view of Chu (U.S. Patent 9,664,556 B2).
Regarding claim 1, Liu discloses a light-emitting device with a sensing function (Fig. 3), comprising:
a substrate (120, Fig. 3);
a first light-emitting-diode die (optical emitter 112, Fig. 3), disposed on the substrate (120), comprising a main light-emitting top surface and a side light-emitting surface surrounding the main light-emitting top surface (Fig 3); and a first photosensitive element (optical receiver 116, Fig. 3, “an optical receiver device such as a phototransistor” - pars [0026]), disposed on the substrate, comprising a photosensitive surface (top surface as in Fig. 3), wherein the photosensitive surface is parallel to the main light-emitting top surface (Fig. 3),
wherein light emitted from the side light-emitting surface directly reaches the first photosensitive element (the optical emitter device 112 which is mounted on the die attach pad 120(a)-3 is oriented substantially perpendicular to the optical receiver device 116, and the first surface 120-1 of the substrate 120. This allows the emitter surface of the optical emitter device 112 to provide light substantially directly to the receiver surface of the optical receiver device 116, par [0037], Fig. 3).
Liu, as in Fig. 3, does not teach wherein a distance between the main light-emitting top surface and the substrate is greater than a distance between the photosensitive surface and the substrate.
However, Fig. 1 of Liu show that the distance between the main light-emitting top surface (top surface of emitter 16) and the substrate (24) is greater than the distance between the photosensitive surface (top surface of phototransistor 12) and the substrate (24).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having skill in the art before the filing date of the invention to employ the package in Fig. 3 of Liu with the construction as taught in Fig. 1 of Liu in order to provide the suitable device configurations to permit the passage of light emitting between the parts in the device.
Liu does not teach a micro control circuit, configured to adjust an optical power of the first light-emitting- diode die according to an output signal generated by the first photosensitive element.
However, as evidenced by Chu, providing a micro control circuit (142, Figs. 57A-60B, col. 27, line 14), configured to adjust an optical power of the first light-emitting- diode die according to an output signal generated by the first photosensitive element (… A microcontroller is an integrated circuit chip configured to trigger the emittance of the light sources or to process the signals received from the photodetectors. An analogue front end is configured to receive and process the analogue signals from the photodetectors. The microcontroller and analogue front end may have a function of analogue to digital signal conversion. An operational amplifier is configured to receive and process the analogue signals from the photodetectors. An operational amplifier can amplify at least a part of the signals to achieve signal augmentation, filtering, or noise reduction. A light source driver is configured to control the electrical current flow through the light source, such as LED or laser diode, col. 26, lines 53-66) is well known in the art.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having skill in the art before the filing date of the invention to employ the device of Liu with the microcontroller as taught by Chu in order to control or adjust the power provided to the light source.
Regarding claim 2, Liu/Chu discloses the light-emitting device with a sensing function, wherein a gap (gap between emitter 112 and phototransistor 115, Fig. 3 of Liu) is located between the side light-emitting surface and the first photosensitive element (Fig. 3 of Liu), and the light emitted from the side light-emitting surface directly passes through the gap and enters the photosensitive surface (Fig. 3, par [0037] of Liu).
Regarding claim 4, Liu/Chu discloses the light-emitting device with a sensing function, wherein the substrate has a central point (where the light source 110 located, Fig. 58A of Chu), and a distance between the first light- emitting-diode die (110) and the central point is less than a distance between the first photosensitive element (120, Fig. 58A of Chu) and the central point (Fig. 58A of Chu).
Regarding claim 5, Liu/Chu discloses the light-emitting device with a sensing function, further comprising: a second light-emitting-diode die (light source 110 has two dies, Fig. 57A-57B, 70A of Chu) disposed on the substrate (140, Fig. 70A of Chu).
Regarding claim 6, Liu/Chu discloses the light-emitting device with a sensing function, wherein the first light-emitting-diode die is disposed between the second light-emitting-diode die and the first photosensitive element (Figs. 49A-54C of Chu).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 10-20 are allowed.
The reasons for the allowance of claims 10-20 have been indicated in previous Office Action mailed on 10/22/2025.
Claims 3 and 7-9 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.
Inquiry
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JIMMY T VU whose telephone number is (571)272-1832. The examiner can normally be reached on 9:00 AM - 6:00 PM.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Alexander H. Taningco can be reached on 571-272-8048. The fax phone numbers for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned are 571-273-8300.
Any inquiry of a general nature or relating to the status of this application or proceeding should be directed to the receptionist whose telephone number is 571-272-2800.
/JIMMY T VU/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2845
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