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 .
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 5 and 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 5 recites “to have the property” but fails to teach or suggest what structure has what property. Thus, the bounds of the claim cannot be ascertained.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1 – 4 and 6 – 9 are allowed.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: The prior art of record, taken alone or in combination, fails to disclose or render obvious an optical device comprising, among other things, a diffusion plate that diffuses and transmits the light emitted from the light guide body and emits the light onto the mirror surface reflecting plate, and diffuses and transmits the light reflected by the mirror surface reflecting plate and emits the light to the light receiving unit.
The closest relevant prior art of record, Takahashi et al. (U.S. PG Pub. # 2015/0002913 A1), teaches a light guide body (16) that scatters (par. 0034) light, a mirror (4,41), a light receiving unit (171), having the light traversing as claimed, but fails to teach or suggest a diffusion plate that diffuses the light traveling to the mirror and diffuses the light traveling from the mirror as claimed. Thus, with no teaching from the prior art, and without the benefit of applicant's teachings, there is no motivation for one of ordinary skill in the art to combine/modify the prior art of record in a manner so as to create the claimed invention.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to CHAD SMITH whose telephone number is (571)270-1294. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 7:30 - 5.
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/CHAD H SMITH/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2874
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