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 § 102
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.
Claims 1-2 and 11-15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Sheng (US 2019/0166337; hereinafter referred to as Sheng).
Regarding Claim 1, Sheng teaches an electronic device (Figure 14; Projector 1400) comprising:
a first light source (Figure 14; wherein the first light source is the light source of light source 1470 which emits red light) configured to emit a first light (see Figure 14 and Paragraph [0041]);
a second light source (Figure 14; wherein the second light source is the light source of light source 1470 which emits blue light) disposed parallel to the first light source and configured to emit a second light (see Figure 14 and Paragraph [0041]);
a total internal reflection prism (Figure 14; Prisms 1402 and 1410) disposed in front of the first light source and the second light source (see Figure 14), and configured to refract the first light and the second light (see Figure 14 and Paragraph [0041]);
a first image former (Figure 14; SLM 1404) disposed adjacent to a first surface of the total internal reflection prism (see Figure 14), and configured to form the first light refracted by the total internal reflection prism (Figure 14; Prism 1402) as a first image light and reflect the first image light to the total internal reflection prism (Figure 14; Prism 1402) so that the total internal reflection prism (Figure 14; Prism 1402) emits the first image light (see Figure 14 and Paragraph [0041]);
a second image former (Figure 14; SLM 1412) disposed adjacent to the first surface of the total internal reflection prism (Figure 14; Prisms 1402 and 1410) and parallel to the first image former (see Figure 14), and configured to form the second light refracted by the total internal reflection prism (Figure 14; Prism 1410) as a second image light and reflect the second image light to the total internal reflection prism (Figure 14; Prism 1410) so that the total internal reflection prism (Figure 14; Prism 1410) emits the second image light (see Figure 14 and Paragraph [0041]);
a beam reducer prism (Figure 14; X-Prism 1414) configured to adjust a distance between the first image light and the second image light emitted from the total internal reflection prism (see Figure 14); and
a projection lens (Figure 14; Projection Optics 1420) configured to project the distance adjusted first image light and second image light onto a screen (see Paragraph [0041]).
Regarding Claim 2, Sheng teaches the limitations of claim 1 as detailed above.
Sheng further teaches the beam reducer prism (Figure 14; X-Prism 1414) is configured to adjust the distance between the first image light (Figure 14; wherein the first image light corresponds to the image light produced by SLM 1404) and the second image light (Figure 14; wherein the second image light corresponds to the image light produced by SLM 1412) so that the distance adjusted first image light and second image light form one of a single image, a wide image, and dual images on the screen (see Figure 14 and Paragraph [0041]).
Regarding Claim 11, Sheng teaches the limitations of claim 1 as detailed above.
Sheng further teaches the first image former (Figure 14; SLM 1404) and the second image former (Figure 14; SLM 1412) each include a digital micromirror device (see Claim 3).
Regarding Claim 12, Sheng teaches the limitations of claim 1 as detailed above.
Sheng further teaches the first image former (Figure 14; SLM 1404) and the second image former (Figure 14; SLM 1412) are disposed on a same plane (see Figure 14).
Regarding Claim 13, Sheng teaches the limitations of claim 1 as detailed above.
Sheng further teaches the projection lens (Figure 14; Projection Optics 1420) includes a wide-angle projection lens or an ultra-wide-angle projection lens (see Paragraph [0041]).
Regarding Claim 14, Sheng teaches the limitations of claim 1 as detailed above.
Sheng further teaches a case (see Abstract wherein a housing is an inherent property of the projector), wherein the first light source (Figure 14; wherein the first light source is the light source of light source 1470 which emits red light), the second light source (Figure 14; wherein the second light source is the light source of light source 1470 which emits blue light), the total internal reflection prism (Figure 14; Prisms 1402 and 1410), the beam reducer prism (Figure 14; X-Prism 1414), and the projection lens (Figure 14; Projection Optics 1420) are disposed inside the case (see Abstract wherein a housing is an inherent property of the projector).
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 15 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Sheng (US 2019/0166337; hereinafter referred to as Sheng) as applied to claim 14, in view of Hirouchi et al (US 2008/0055552; hereinafter referred to as Hirouchi).
Regarding Claim 15, Sheng teaches the limitations of claim 14 as detailed above.
Sheng does not expressly disclose that the case includes a display part configured to display a button for adjusting the beam reducer prism.
Hirouchi discloses a case (Figure 1; Casing 2) that includes a display part configured to display a button (Figure 1; Removal Button 7) for adjusting an optical element (see Paragraph [0053]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the instant invention to modify the case of Sheng such that the case includes a display part configured to display a button for adjusting an optical element, wherein upon combination the display part would be configured to display a button for adjusting the beam reducer prism, because doing so would predictably allow for maintenance to be performed on the optical elements within the projector casing.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 3-10 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 3, the prior art of record, whether taken alone or in combination, fails to teach, suggest or render obvious the limitations which require the beam reducer prism includes: a fixed prism adjacent to an exit surface of the total internal reflection prism, a moving prism spaced apart from the fixed prism, and a moving device configured to linearly move the moving prism with respect to the fixed prism.
Claim 3 would be non-obvious over the prior art of record if combined with the limitations of claim 1.
Dependent claims 4-10 would likewise be allowable if the abovementioned amendments were made by virtue of their dependency upon claim 3.
Inquiry
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to CHRISTOPHER A LAMB II whose telephone number is (571)270-0648. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 10am - 5pm EST.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Minh-Toan Ton can be reached at (571) 272-2303. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/CHRISTOPHER A LAMB II/Examiner, Art Unit 2882
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