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and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114.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 06/15/2026 has been entered.
Response to Amendment
Claims 1-20 are currently pending in the present application. Claims 1, 9 and 11 are currently amended; claims 2-3, 6 and 12-13 are previously presented; and claims 4-5, 7-8, 10 and 14-20 are original. The amendment dated May 21, 2026 has been entered into the record.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments with respect to at least claim 1 have been fully considered, but are moot in light of the new ground of rejection set forth below. The new ground of rejection cites Pollack (US 2286570 A).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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 (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) 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.
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, 4, 9, 11, 15 and 18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Pollack (US 2286570 A).
Regarding claim 1, Pollack discloses an electromagnetic communication system (Fig. 3; Page 2 column 1 line 71 - column 2 line 20) comprising:
an electromagnetic source existing in a first environment of matter occupiable free space (“LIGHT SOURCE” existing in Room 14);
a first polarized medium (Window 19 comprising a medium having polarization at an angle of 45°; see the broken lines on 19 indicating the direction of the polarization of the light; Page 1 column 2 lines 43-47, Page 2 column 1 lines 64-67) having a first polarization direction separating the first environment from a second environment of matter occupiable free space (19 separating Room 14 from Room 15); and
a second polarized medium (Window 20 comprising a medium having polarization at an angle of 45° but positioned at 90° to the planes of 19) having a second polarization direction separating the second environment from a third environment of matter occupiable free space (20 separating Room 15 from Room 16), the first polarization direction differing from the second polarization direction (Fig. 3), wherein electromagnetic waves originating from the first environment are substantially blocked from passing directly through the second environment to the third environment due to a polarization-dependent interaction with the first and the second polarized media, the first, second, and third environments of matter occupiable free space each configured to allow matter to freely enter and exit the environments and the electromagnetic communication system (see the polarization directions of Windows 19 and 20 in Fig. 3 and Page 2 column 1 lines 71-73 “With such an arrangement the polarizing window 20 completely blocks any light passing through windows 19 and 21”).
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Regarding claim 4, Pollack discloses the limitations of claim 1 above, and further discloses wherein the first and the second polarized media are each linear or circular polarizers (Fig. 3; Page 2 column 1 lines 64-71).
Regarding claim 9, Pollack discloses a method for communicating information (Fig. 3; Page 2 column 1 line 71 – column 2 line 20) through at least two polarized media (Window 19 having polarization at an angle of 45° and Window 20 having polarization at an angle of 45° but positioned at 90° to the planes of 19; see the broken lines on 19 and 20 indicating the direction of the polarization of the light; Page 1 column 2 lines 43-47, Page 2 column 1 lines 64-71) comprising:
generating electromagnetic waves for transmission of information from a first environment of matter occupiable free space (“LIGHT SOURCE” existing in Room 14);
changing the electromagnetic waves as they pass through two polarized media, each having a different polarization direction (see the polarization directions of Windows 19 and 20 in Fig. 3 and Page 2 column 1 lines 71-73), a second environment of matter occupiable free space existing between the two polarized media (Room 15 exists between 19 and 20);
receiving the electromagnetic waves at a recipient in a third environment of matter occupiable free space (see Room 16), wherein the electromagnetic waves originating from the first environment are substantially blocked from passing directly through the second environment to the third environment due to a polarization-dependent interaction with the first and the second polarized media, the first, second, and third environments of matter occupiable free space each configured to allow matter to freely enter and exit the environments (see the polarization directions of Windows 19 and 20 in Fig. 3 and Page 2 column 1 lines 71-73 “With such an arrangement the polarizing window 20 completely blocks any light passing through windows 19 and 21”).
Regarding claim 11, Pollack discloses a light communication system (Fig. 3; Page 2 column 1 line 71 - column 2 line 20) comprising:
a light source existing in a first environment of matter occupiable free space (“LIGHT SOURCE” existing in Room 14);
a first polarized filter (Window 19 comprising a medium having polarization at an angle of 45°; see the broken lines on 19 indicating the direction of the polarization of the light; Page 1 column 2 lines 43-47, Page 2 column 1 lines 64-67) having a first polarization direction separating the first environment from a second environment of matter occupiable free space (19 separating Room 14 from Room 15); and
a second polarized filter (Window 20 comprising a medium having polarization at an angle of 45° but positioned at 90° to the planes of 19) having a second polarization direction separating the second environment from a third environment of matter occupiable free space (20 separating Room 15 from Room 16), the first polarization direction differing from the second polarization direction (see Fig. 3), wherein light originating from the first environment is substantially blocked from passing directly through the second environment to the third environment due to a polarization-dependent interaction with the first and the second polarized filters, the first, second, and third environments of matter occupiable free space each configured to allow matter to freely enter and exit the environments and the light communication system (see the polarization directions of Windows 19 and 20 in Fig. 3 and Page 2 column 1 lines 71-73 “With such an arrangement the polarizing window 20 completely blocks any light passing through windows 19 and 21”).
Regarding claim 15, Pollack discloses the limitations of claim 1 above, and further discloses wherein the first and the second polarized filters are each linear or circular polarizers (Fig. 3; Page 2 column 1 lines 64-71).
Regarding claim 18, Pollack discloses the limitations of claim 11 above, and further discloses wherein the light source illuminates a target in the second environment, and the target is visible from the third environment, but light emitted from the light source is substantially blocked from the third environment (Fig. 3; Page 2 column 2 lines 4-8).
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.
Claims 2 and 12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Pollack in view of Kwon (US 20170205636), of record.
Regarding claim 2, Pollack discloses the limitations of claim 1 above.
Pollack does not explicitly disclose one of the first and the second polarized media is a layer of material rotatable with reference to the other of the first and the second polarized media, wherein the rotation affects information passed from the first environment to the third environment.
However, Kwon teaches one of the first and the second polarized media is a layer of material rotatable with reference to the other of the first and the second polarized media, wherein the rotation affects information passing between different environments (Fig. 3 and Paras. [0042]-[0043] teaching rotating a first polarized media, i.e., a layer of material, to adjust the information passing between polarized media).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at a time before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the system as disclosed by Pollack with the teachings of Kwon, wherein one of the first and the second polarized media is a layer of material rotatable with reference to the other of the first and the second polarized media, wherein the rotation affects information passed from the first environment to the third environment, for the purpose of using known polarizers to control the image (Kwon: Paras. [0042]-[0043]).
Regarding claim 12, Pollack discloses the limitations of claim 11 above.
Pollack does not explicitly disclose one of the first and the second polarized filters is a layer of material rotatable with reference to the other of the first and the second polarized filters, wherein the rotation affects information passed from the first environment to the third environment.
However, Kwon teaches one of the first and the second polarized filters is a layer of material rotatable with reference to the other of the first and the second polarized media, wherein the rotation affects information passing between different environments (Fig. 3 and Paras. [0042]-[0043] teaching rotating a first polarized media, i.e., a layer of material, to adjust the information passing between polarized media).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at a time before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the system as disclosed by Pollack with the teachings of Kwon, wherein one of the first and the second polarized filters is a layer of material rotatable with reference to the other of the first and the second polarized filters, wherein the rotation affects information passed from the first environment to the third environment, for the purpose of using known polarizers to control the image (Kwon: Paras. [0042]-[0043]).
Claims 5-6 and 16-17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Pollack in view of Nakai (US 20110261268), of record.
Regarding claim 5, Pollack discloses the limitations of claim 1 above.
Pollack does not explicitly disclose one or both of the first and the second polarized media include an area of non-polarization surrounded by another area of polarization.
However, Nakai teaches one or both of the first and the second polarized media include an area of non-polarization surrounded by another area of polarization (Fig. 3, the area wherein the BM is formed, which is also surrounded by another area of polarization; Para. [0233]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at a time before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the system as disclosed by Pollack with the teachings of Nakai, wherein one or both of the first and the second polarized media include an area of non-polarization surrounded by another area of polarization, for the purpose of obtaining switching between different states using known methods (Nakai: Paras. [0201]-[0202]).
Regarding claim 6, Pollack discloses the limitations of claim 1 above.
Pollack does not necessarily disclose one or both of the first and the second polarized media include a non-uniform pattern of polarization.
However, Nakai teaches one or both of the first and the second polarized media include a non-uniform pattern of polarization (see Fig. 3 wherein BM is non-uniformly formed around the pixel region; the examiner considers liquid crystal molecules generally rotate by pixel electrodes 208) (regarding “a non-uniform pattern”, the examiner considers Para. [0065] of the Specification, stating “regions of specific changes as to block out … waves passing therethrough).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at a time before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the system as disclosed by Pollack with the teachings of Nakai, wherein one or both of the first and the second polarized media include a non-uniform pattern of polarization, for the purpose of producing an image using known methods (Nakai: Paras. [0202], [0233]).
Regarding claim 16, Pollack discloses the limitations of claim 11 above.
Pollack does not explicitly disclose one or both of the first and the second polarized filters include an area of non-polarization surrounded by another area of polarization.
However, Nakai teaches one or both of the first and the second polarized filters include an area of non-polarization surrounded by another area of polarization (Fig. 3, the area wherein the BM is formed, which is also surrounded by another area of polarization; Para. [0233]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at a time before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the system as disclosed by Pollack with the teachings of Nakai, wherein one or both of the first and the second polarized filters include an area of non-polarization surrounded by another area of polarization, for the purpose of obtaining switching between different states using known methods (Nakai: Paras. [0201]-[0202]).
Regarding claim 17, Pollack discloses the limitations of claim 11 above.
Pollack does not necessarily disclose one or both of the first and the second polarized filters include a non-uniform pattern of polarization.
However, Nakai teaches one or both of the first and the second polarized filters include a non-uniform pattern of polarization (see Fig. 3 wherein BM is non-uniformly formed around the pixel region; the examiner considers liquid crystal molecules generally rotate by pixel electrodes 208) (regarding “a non-uniform pattern”, the examiner considers Para. [0065] of the Specification, stating “regions of specific changes as to block out … waves passing therethrough).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at a time before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the system as disclosed by Pollack with the teachings of Nakai, wherein one or both of the first and the second polarized filters include a non-uniform pattern of polarization, for the purpose of producing an image using known methods (Nakai: Paras. [0202], [0233]).
Claims 7-8 and 19-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Pollack in view of Ras (US 20200375466), of record.
Regarding claim 7, Pollack discloses the limitations of claim 1 above.
Pollack does not disclose multiple sets of additional electromagnetic sources and corresponding polarized media, each set arranged in a radial pattern around an object of interest and focused on the object of interest.
However, Ras teaches further providing multiple sets of additional electromagnetic sources (12, 16 in Figs. 1-4) and corresponding polarized media (Para. [0068] “a polariser or polarising filter can be provided for each light source(s)”), each set arranged in a radial pattern around an object of interest and focused on the object of interest (Fig. 4; Para. [0086]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at a time before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the electromagnetic communication system as disclosed by Pollack with the teachings of Ras, to have multiple sets of additional electromagnetic sources and corresponding polarized media, each set arranged in a radial pattern around an object of interest and focused on the object of interest, for the purpose of providing additional electromagnetic sources for polarizers to obtain better images (Ras: Para. [0005]).
Regarding claim 8, Pollack discloses the limitations of claim 1 above.
Pollack does not disclose multiple sets of additional electromagnetic sources and corresponding polarized media, each set arranged in three-dimensions around an on object of interest and focused on the object of interest.
However, Ras teaches providing multiple sets of additional electromagnetic sources (12, 16 in Figs. 1-4) and corresponding polarized media (Para. [0068]), each set arranged in three-dimensions around an on object of interest and focused on the object of interest (Fig. 4; Para. [0086]) (the examiner considers light sources are arranged in three-dimensions around an on object in this case, since they have the working distance D from the object and radially arranged; Para. [0080]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at a time before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the electromagnetic communication system as disclosed by Pollack with the teachings of Ras, to have multiple sets of additional electromagnetic sources and corresponding polarized media, each set arranged in three-dimensions around an on object of interest and focused on the object of interest, for the purpose of providing additional electromagnetic sources for polarizers to obtain better images (Ras: Para. [0005]).
Regarding claim 19, Pollack discloses the limitations of claim 11 above.
Pollack does not disclose multiple sets of additional light sources and corresponding polarized filters, each set arranged in a radial pattern around an object of interest and focused on the object of interest.
However, Ras teaches further providing multiple sets of additional electromagnetic sources (12, 16 in Figs. 1-4) and corresponding polarized filters (Para. [0068] “a polariser or polarising filter can be provided for each light source(s)”), each set arranged in a radial pattern around an object of interest and focused on the object of interest (Fig. 4; Para. [0086]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at a time before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the electromagnetic communication system as disclosed by Pollack with the teachings of Ras, to have multiple sets of additional light sources and corresponding polarized filters, each set arranged in a radial pattern around an object of interest and focused on the object of interest, for the purpose of providing additional electromagnetic sources for polarizers to obtain better images (Ras: Para. [0005]).
Regarding claim 20, Pollack discloses the limitations of claim 11 above.
Pollack does not disclose multiple sets of additional light sources and corresponding polarized filters, each set arranged in three-dimensions around an on object of interest and focused on the object of interest.
However, Ras teaches providing multiple sets of additional electromagnetic sources (12, 16 in Figs. 1-4) and corresponding polarized filters (Para. [0068]), each set arranged in three-dimensions around an on object of interest and focused on the object of interest (Fig. 4; Para. [0086]) (the examiner considers light sources are arranged in three-dimensions around an on object in this case, since they have the working distance D from the object and radially arranged; Para. [0080]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at a time before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the electromagnetic communication system as disclosed by Pollack with the teachings of Ras, to have multiple sets of additional light sources and corresponding polarized filters, each set arranged in three-dimensions around an on object of interest and focused on the object of interest, for the purpose of providing additional electromagnetic sources for polarizers to obtain better images (Ras: Para. [0005]).
Claim 10 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Pollack in view of Lim (US 20190235822 A1), of record.
Regarding claim 10, Pollack discloses the limitations of claim 9 above.
Pollack does not explicitly disclose rotating one of the polarized media with reference to the other of the polarized media, wherein the rotation affects the information passed from the first environment to the third environment.
However, Lim teaches the first polarized medium and the second polarized medium include liquid crystals (Fig. 13) wherein the LCD alters its transparency by rotation of liquid crystals (see Paras. [0046]-[0050] describing the structure of LCDs) such that wherein the rotation affects the information passed between different environments (see Figs. 8-11 and Paras. [0072], [0079]-[0080] and [0091] teaching 210 is operable in the blocking mode, see-through mode, background mode, and dual see-through and display mode).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at a time before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the system as disclosed by Pollack with the teachings of Lim, wherein rotating one of the polarized media with reference to the other of the polarized media, wherein the rotation affects the information passed from the first environment to the third environment, for the purpose of realizing an image generation feature based on the needs of viewers (Lim: Para. [0080]).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 3 and 13-14 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, Pollack discloses the limitations of claim 1 above.
However, Pollack does not explicitly disclose, in light of the specification, “a third polarized medium having a third polarization direction separating the second environment from a fourth environment of matter occupiable free space existing between the second and the third polarized media, wherein the electromagnetic waves originating from the first environment are substantially blocked from passing directly through the second and the fourth environments to the third environment”. The examiner further considered McNelley et al. (US 20210392290, hereinafter “McNelley”), Xue (US 8102478), Hayama (JP 2006037707A) and Press (WO 2011042135 A1). For example, McNelley teaches an electromagnetic communication system comprising polarizers and various environments (Figs. 24, 28, 78-79; Paras. [0247], [0289]-[0294]), but fails to disclose the arrangement of polarized filters and environments recited in the claim. The prior art of Pollack, Kwon, Nakai, Ras, Lim, McNelley, Xue, Hayama and Press, applied alone or in combination fails to teach or suggest the combination and arrangement of elements recited in Applicant's claim 3.
Regarding claim 13, Pollack discloses the limitations of claim 11 above.
However, Pollack does not explicitly disclose, in light of the specification, “a third polarized filter having a third polarization direction separating the second environment from a fourth environment of matter occupiable free space existing between the second and the third polarized filters, wherein the light originating from the first environment is substantially blocked from passing directly through the second and the fourth environments to the third environment”. The examiner further considered McNelley, Xue, Hayama and Press. However, the prior art of Pollack, Kwon, Nakai, Ras, Lim, McNelley, Xue, Hayama and Press, applied alone or in combination fails to teach or suggest the combination and arrangement of elements recited in Applicant's claim 13.
Dependent claim 14 is allowable by virtue of their dependence on claim 13.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JONATHAN Y JUNG whose telephone number is (469)295-9076. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday - Friday, 9:00 am - 5:00 pm.
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/JONATHAN Y JUNG/
Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2871
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