DETAILED ACTION
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments have been considered but are moot in view of the new rejections below, which were necessitated by amendment.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 5, 10, and 16 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.
Claim Objections
Claim 20 is objected to because it recites “locally centrally.” It is assumed “locally” should instead read located.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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 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 1-4, 6-9, 11, 14, 15, and 17-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Bohn, US 2018/0098056 in view of Chi et al., US 2020/0225479.
Claims 1 and 17 and 19. Bohn teaches an optical binocular disparity detection device, the disparity detection device comprising:
a left image source for displaying a left image to a user’s left eye; a right image source for displaying a right image to the user’s right eye [left and right imagers 22, Figs. 2-4, paras. 26-30]; and
an optical combiner [combiner optic 29, Figs. 2, 4, 5, paras. 26, 30-34], including:
a left input configured to receive a left image into the optical combiner [lens 28L, Figs. 2, 4, 5, paras. 30, 32];
a right input configured to receive a right image into the optical combiner [lens 28R, Figs. 2, 4, 5, paras. 30, 32];
a single image sensor configured to receive and sense the left image and the right image from the output grating, and to generate data indicative of a disparity between the left image and the right image [camera 27, Figs. 2, 4, 5, paras. 29-33].
Bohn is silent on an output grating and output director on opposite surfaces. Chi teaches a waveguide display including an output grating position on a first surface of the optical combiner and configured to direct the left image and the right image external to the optical combiner [e.g. first grating 630 on surface 612, Figs. 4, 6, 8, 10, paras. 78, 80, 83, 84, 87, 88, 96, 105]; and
an output director positioned on a second surface of the optical combiner opposite the first surface [e.g. second output grating 630 is located on opposite surface 614 of waveguide, Figs. 4, 6, 8, 10, paras. 78, 80, 83, 84, 87, 88, 96, 105].
Before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious to one skilled in the art to combine the references, separating the gratings in order to enlarge the eyebox of the display while minimizing display haze [see Chi, paras. 37, 78 80].
2. Bohn teaches the disparity detection device of claim 1, wherein the optical combiner comprises a waveguide combiner [optical combiner 29 is a waveguide, Fig. 5, para. 33].
3 and 20 (from 2 and 19). Bohn teaches left and right inputs and an output from the combiner [lenses 28, Figs. 2, 4, 5, 8, paras. 30, 32; combining interface 52, Fig. 5, paras. 33], the output being [located] centrally in the optical combiner [e.g. Fig. 8 shows a centrally located output].
Chi teaches gratings for the inputs/output elements [Figs. 4, 6, 8, 10, paras. 78, 80, 83, 84, 87, 88, 96, 105].
4. Chi teaches the disparity detection device of claim 3, wherein each of the left input grating, right input grating, and the output grating is selected from the group consisting of: a polarization volume hologram grating, a surface relief grating [e.g. surface ridges, para. 179], and a volume Bragg grating para. 80].
6. Bohn teaches the disparity detection device of claim 2, wherein the waveguide combiner further comprises: a left internal reflection region for transmitting the left image from the left input to the output [surface 51, Fig. 5, para. 33]; and a right internal reflection region for transmitting the right image from the right input to the output [interface 52, Fig. 5, para. 33].
Chi teaches output gratings [Figs. 4, 6, 8, 10, paras. 78, 80, 83, 84, 87, 88, 96, 105].
7. Bohn teaches the disparity detection device of claim 2, wherein the waveguide combiner further comprises an output light director on an opposing side of the waveguide combiner from the output, the output light director comprising at least one of a mirror or a grating [interface 52 reflects (i.e. mirrors) light and is opposed to the output surface of the combiner 29, Fig. 5, para. 33].
Chi teaches output gratings [Figs. 4, 6, 8, 10, paras. 78, 80, 83, 84, 87, 88, 96, 105].
8. Bohn teaches the disparity detection device of claim 2, wherein the waveguide combiner further comprises:
left light director on an opposing side of the waveguide combiner from the left input, the left light director comprising at least one of a mirror or a grating [surface 51 reflects (mirrors) light and is on opposing side of combiner from input lens 28L, Fig. 5, para. 33; also see Figs. 7, 8, paras. 36-38]; and
a right light director on an opposing side of the waveguide combiner from the right input, the right light director comprising at least one of a mirror or a grating [interface 52 is opposed to right input lens 28R and is reflective (a mirror), Fig. 5, para. 33; also see Figs. 7, 8, paras. 36-38].
9. Bohn teaches the disparity detection device of claim 2, wherein the waveguide combiner further comprises: a left output mirror for directing the left image toward the output [surface 51, Fig. 5, para. 33; also see Figs. 7, 8, paras. 36-38]; and a right output mirror for directing the right image toward the output [interface 52, Fig. 5, para. 33; also see Figs. 7, 8, paras. 36-38].
Chi teaches output gratings [Figs. 4, 6, 8, 10, paras. 78, 80, 83, 84, 87, 88, 96, 105].
11. Bohn teaches the disparity detection device of claim 1, wherein the optical combiner includes a left prism for directing the left image from the left input to the output and a right prism for directing the right image from the right input to the output [73L, 73R, Fig. 7, paras. 37, 38; single combiner optic 29 may also be a prism, and direct left and right images, Figs. 2, 5, para. 30, 33; also see Figs. 7, 8, paras. 36-38].
Chi teaches output gratings [Figs. 4, 6, 8, 10, paras. 78, 80, 83, 84, 87, 88, 96, 105].
14. Bohn teaches the disparity detection device of claim 1, wherein the single image sensor comprises at least one of: a single charge-coupled device (CCD) sensor [CCD, para. 30], or a single complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) sensor.
15. Bohn teaches the disparity detection device of claim 1, wherein the output comprises a central output centrally located between the left input and the right input [output is along axis 76, centered between L/R inputs, e.g. Fig. 8, paras. 36-38].
Chi teaches output gratings [Figs. 4, 6, 8, 10, paras. 78, 80, 83, 84, 87, 88, 96, 105].
18. Bohn teaches the binocular display system of claim 17, wherein the left image source comprises a left projector and the right image source comprises a right projector [e.g. OLED, which projects light, paras. 26-30].
Claim 12 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Bohn and Chi as cited above in view of Kennedy et al., US 2003/0185516.
12. Chi teaches the use of gratings, but the above references are silent on a lens focusing light for the sensor. Kennedy teaches an optical system comprising an optical lens between the output of a waveguide and an image sensor, the optical lens configured to focus light from the output for receipt by the single image sensor [Figs. 1, 2, paras. 22, 25, 26, 45]. Before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious to one skilled in the art to use a lens as an efficient and conventional manner to ensure that the desired light beams (i.e. both the left and right images) enter the sensor in focus.
Claim 13 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Bohn and Chi as cited above.
13. Bohn is silent on the sensor being an array of pixels. Official notice is taken that it was conventional and well-known before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to construct a sensor as an array of light detection pixels. Before that time, it would have been obvious to one skilled in the art to implement such a sensor in Bohn’s system, since a single pixel array sensor can be obtained easily and cheaply and will provide a digital output that can be used to compare left and right images.
Conclusion
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/TIMOTHY R NEWLIN/Examiner, Art Unit 2424