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 .
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and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114.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 05/08/2026 has been entered.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim(s) 05/08/2026 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
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) 1-4 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Nishimura (‘Mirror Unit’ JP 2011150099 A, 08/04/2011, retrieved 09/16/2025 from Espacenet Machine Translation, of record) in view of Fujimoto (US 20210132332 A1, of record).
Re Claim 1, Nishimura discloses on Fig. 3-4, a mirror device comprising: a mirror (Reflector 40) including a main body portion (Fig. 3-4: Concave mirror 41) having a reflection surface that reflects display light (display light L is reflected, see Fig. 3), and a rotating shaft (Fig. 3-4: First shaft 47 and second shaft 48) protruding from a side wall of the main body portion (side portion 46); and a driving member that includes (driving means 42): a motor (stepping motor 42a) including an output shaft (Fig. 3-4: Driving shaft 42b) arranged parallel to the rotating shaft and neighboring the rotating shaft in a direction orthogonal to a rotation axis line of the rotating shaft (Fig. 3-4: drive shaft 42b is parallel to first shaft 47 and neighbors shaft 47 in an orthogonal direction) [Par 27-30]; a first gear (Fig. 3-4: output gear 42c) portion coupled to the output shaft; and a second gear portion (Gear 48a) engaged with the first gear portion (Fig. 3-4: gear 42c) and coupled to the rotating shaft (shaft 47), and that rotates the mirror by transmitting rotation of the output shaft of the motor to the rotating shaft via the first gear portion and the second gear portion (shaft 42b is driven, rotating gear 42c which meshes with gear 48a attached to a second shaft 48) [Par 27-31],
wherein the driving member (driving means 42) includes a motor support portion (Fig. 3: circumference of motor 42a and Fig. 5: support 55).
But Nishimura does not explicitly disclose, wherein the motor includes a motor case amd the output shaft protrudes out of the motor case, extends through the motor support portion, and extends into the first gear portion.
However, within the same field of endeavor, Fujimoto teaches, on Fig. 2-3, that it is desirable in mirror devices to include wherein, the motor (Fig. 3: motor 4) [Par 54-55] includes a motor case (Fig. 3: housing 40) [Par 54-55] and the output shaft (output shaft 41) protrudes out of the motor case (see Fig, 3 where shaft is outside housing) [Par 54-55], extends through the motor support portion (Fig. 2: shaft extends through holding member 3 to worm 5) [Par 54-55], and extends into the first gear portion (worm 5) [Par 54-55].
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the filing date of the invention to modify the system of Nishimura with Fujimoto in order to provide, allow the motor to be affixed to the support portion while also reaching the first gear, as taught by Fujimoto [Par 55-57].
Re Claim 2, Nishimura discloses, on Fig. 2-4, a vehicle display device comprising: a casing (housing 50) including an opening portion (opening window 52); an image display device that is provided in the casing (reflectors 30 and 40, LCD 20, and source 21) and outputs display light of an image (See Fig. 2); and a mirror device provided in the casing (reflector 40), wherein the mirror device includes: a mirror (Reflector 40) including a main body portion (Fig. 3-4: Concave mirror 41) having a reflection surface that reflects display light (display light L is reflected, see Fig. 3), and a rotating shaft (Fig. 3-4: First shaft 47 and second shaft 48) protruding from a side wall of the main body portion (side portion 46); and a driving member that includes (driving means 42): a motor (stepping motor 42a) including an output shaft (Fig. 3-4: Driving shaft 42b) arranged parallel to the rotating shaft and neighboring the rotating shaft in a direction orthogonal to a rotation axis line of the rotating shaft (Fig. 3-4: drive shaft 42b is parallel to first shaft 47 and neighbors shaft 47 in an orthogonal direction) [Par 27-30]; a first gear (Fig. 3-4: output gear 42c) portion coupled to the output shaft; and a second gear portion (Gear 48a) engaged with the first gear portion (Fig. 3-4: gear 42c) and coupled to the rotating shaft (shaft 47), and that rotates the mirror by transmitting rotation of the output shaft of the motor to the rotating shaft via the first gear portion and the second gear portion (shaft 42b is driven, rotating gear 42c which meshes with gear 48a attached to a second shaft 48) [Par 27-31],
wherein the driving member (driving means 42) includes a motor support portion (Fig. 3: circumference of motor 42a and Fig. 5: support 55).
But Nishimura does not explicitly disclose, wherein the motor includes a motor case amd the output shaft protrudes out of the motor case, extends through the motor support portion, and extends into the first gear portion.
However, within the same field of endeavor, Fujimoto teaches, on Fig. 2-3, that it is desirable in mirror devices to include wherein, the motor (Fig. 3: motor 4) [Par 54-55] includes a motor case (Fig. 3: housing 40) [Par 54-55] and the output shaft (output shaft 41) protrudes out of the motor case (see Fig, 3 where shaft is outside housing) [Par 54-55], extends through the motor support portion (Fig. 2: shaft extends through holding member 3 to worm 5) [Par 54-55], and extends into the first gear portion (worm 5) [Par 54-55].
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the filing date of the invention to modify the system of Nishimura with Fujimoto in order to provide, allow the motor to be affixed to the support portion while also reaching the first gear, as taught by Fujimoto [Par 55-57].
Re claim 3, Nishimura in view of Fujimoto discloses, the vehicle display device according to claim 2, and Nishimura further discloses on Fig. 2, wherein the casing includes a box portion (Fig. 2: housing 50 is a box shape) [Par 32] with an opened upper part (Fig. 2: opening window 52 is on the upper part of housing 50) [Par 32, and a lid portion (translucent cover 53) [Par 33] covering the opening of the box portion and including the opening portion (Fig. 2: cover 53 covers window 52 and the opening portion of window 52) [Par 33], on a mating surface of the box portion and the lid portion (Fig. 2: leftmost end of cover 53 where it connects to window 52 and housing 50) [Par 33], one portion of the mating surface is formed at a height position lower than a height position of a different portion of the mating surface (Fig. 2: leftmost end of cover 53 where it connects to window 52 and housing 52 is at a lower height than the rightmost end of cover 53 where it connects to window 52 and housing 50) , and the one portion of the mating surface (leftmost end of cover 53 wherein it connects to window 52 and housing 50) includes a portion neighboring at least the driving member (Fig. 2: left most end of cover 53 neighbors mirror 40 and thus driving means 42 attached to mirror 40).
Re Claim 4, Nishimura in view of Fujimoto discloses, the vehicle display device according to claim 3, and Nishimura further discloses on Fig. 2, wherein the mirror (concave mirror 41 of mirror unit 40) reflects the display light through the opening portion (Fig. 2 shows mirror unit 40 reflecting light through a portion of translucent cover 53) , and the opening portion is in the lid portion (the display light reflects through the translucent portion of translucent cover 53) and is spaced away from the mating surface of the box portion and the lid portion (Fig. 2 shows the display light going through a sagging portion of translucent cover 53 that is spaced away from the edges of cover 53 where it mates with window part 52 and housing 50) [Par 34].
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Henon (US 20190219823 A1), teaches a mirror rotating device for a display.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to RAY ALEXANDER DEAN whose telephone number is (571)272-4027. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 7:30-5:00.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Bumsuk Won can be reached at (571)-272-2713. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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.
/RAY ALEXANDER DEAN/ Examiner, Art Unit 2872
/BUMSUK WON/ Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2872
Prosecution Insights