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 .
This office action is responsive to a response filed on November 11th, 2025.
Claims 1-5, 7, and 18-20 are pending.
Claims 1-5, 7, and 18-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b).
Response to Amendment
This communication is in response to amendments filed on November 11th, 2025.
Claims 1 and 18 have been amended.
Claims 6 and 8-17 have been canceled.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments filed on November 11th, 2025 that the prior art of record fails to disclose the subject matter of the independent claims, as amended, are persuasive.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1-5, 7, and 18-20 would be allowable if they overcome claim objections and 35 U.S.C. 112(b) rejection set forth in this office action. In interpreting the currently amended claims, in light of the specification, the Examiner finds the claimed invention to be patentably distinct from the prior art of record.
Claim Objections
Claims 5 is objected to because of the following informality:
“... outputs the addressing command packet that is counted up by itself to an input terminal of the controller ...” should read “... outputs the addressing command packet that is counted up by itself to [[ the input terminal of the controller ...”
Appropriate correction is required.
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 pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, 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 1-5, 7, and 18-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112,
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 pre-AIA the applicant regards as the invention.
Claim 1 recites the limitation “the unique identification code” in "each of the plurality of light-emitting devices except for the first device sets the individual device identification address that is represented by the two bit values among the N bit values included in the addressing command packet from the previous one of the plurality of light-emitting devices as the unique identification code thereof." The phrase “unique identification code,” for each of the plurality of light-emitting devices except for the first device, has never been introduced in the instant claim. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Claims 2-5, 7, and 18-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b), as they depend on claim 1.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ABDELBASST TALIOUA whose telephone number is (571)272-4061. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday-Thursday 7:30 am - 5:30 pm.
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/Abdelbasst Talioua/Examiner, Art Unit 2445