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 .
DETAILED ACTION
The instant application having Application No. 18/574,343 filed on December 27, 2023 is presented for examination by the examiner.
Examiner Notes
Examiner cites particular columns and line numbers in the references as applied to the claims below for the convenience of the applicant. Although the specified citations are representative of the teachings in the art and are applied to the specific limitations within the individual claim, other passages and figures may apply as well. It is respectfully requested that, in preparing responses, the applicant fully consider the references in entirety as potentially teaching all or part of the claimed invention, as well as the context of the passage as taught by the prior art or disclosed by the examiner.
Priority
As required by the M.P.E.P. 214.03, acknowledgement is made of applicant’s claim for priority based on applications filed on July 5, 2021 (Japan 2021-111775).
Receipt is acknowledged of papers submitted under 37 CFR 1.55, which papers have been placed of record in the file.
Drawings
The applicant’s drawings submitted on December 27, 2023 are acceptable for examination purposes.
Information Disclosure Statement
As required by M.P.E.P. 609, the applicant’s submission of the Information Disclosure Statement dated 12/27/2023 is acknowledged by the examiner and the cited references have been considered in the examination of the claims now pending.
Specification
The title of the invention is not descriptive. A new title is required that is clearly indicative of the invention to which the claims are directed.
The following title is suggested:
Contact Lens with Two Antenna Elements
Claim Objections
Claims 6, 9 and 10 are objected to because of the following informalities: claims 6, 9 and 10 are missing the word “claim” in the preamble before the number of the claim upon which they depend. Appropriate correction is required.
Claim 4 is objected to because of the following informalities: “on side of the eyelid” should be “on the side of the eyelid”. Appropriate correction is required.
Claim 9 is objected to because of the following informalities: “on side of the eyelid” should be “on the side of the eyelid”. 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 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), 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 1-17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), 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 applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Regarding claim 1, the limitation “a second conductor provided at a position that is … not in contact with the eyeball or the eyelid when the eye is open” is indefinite for at least the following reasons. In paragraphs [0013]-[0014] of the specification the meaning of “in contact with” is discussed: “The first conductor is in contact with the eyelid (at least one of the upper eyelid 400 or the lower eyelid 500) directly or via some layer both when the eye is open and when the eye is closed… The second conductor… comes in contact with the eyelid (the upper eyelid 400 and the lower eyelid 500) directly or via some layer when the eye is closed.” This explanation of the meaning of “in contact with” is problematic for the interpretation of what “not in contact” might mean. In particular, if indirect contact through additional layers is interpreted as being “in contact”, then it is unclear how any element of the contact lens could possibly be “not in contact” with the eyeball or the eyelid. Secondly, it is unclear how “the eyeball or the eyelid” should be interpreted. Possibilities include (a) the conductor is not in contact with the eyeball and not in contact with the eyelid (b) the conductor is not in contact with at least one of the eyeball or the eyelid. Furthermore, although the claim language is repeated multiple times throughout the specification, based on the Figures and paragraphs [0013]-[0014] it seems likely that “the eyeball or the eyelid” is actually just a mistake, and that the correct language should have been just “the eyelid”. If the examiner’s best guess of the intended meaning is correct, the examiner recommends the following amendment to claim 1:
1. (proposed amendment) “A contact lens comprising: a lens substrate to be worn on an eyeball;
an antenna unit that is provided on the lens substrate and receives alternating-current energy through a human body; and
a load that receives electric power supplied from the antenna unit, wherein the antenna unit includes:
a first antenna element including a first conductor provided at a position that overlaps the eyelid in planar view when an eye is open; and
a second antenna element including a second conductor provided at a position that is separated from the first conductor by a predetermined gap and does not overlap the eyelid in planar view when the eye is open.”
Appropriate correction is required.
For the purpose of applying prior art the limitation “a second conductor provided at a position that is … not in contact with the eyeball or the eyelid when the eye is open” will necessarily be interpreted broadly in light of the above indefiniteness issues, including the strong possibility that the examiner’s best guess is wrong.
Claims 2-17 depend from claim 1 and inherit and do not mitigate the above indefiniteness issue from claim 1.
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 1-3, 8-9, 12 and 15-17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Pugh et al. US 2013/0194540 A1 (hereafter Pugh).
Regarding claim 1, Pugh teaches “A contact lens (optical lens assembly 100, which can be a contact lens see e.g. paragraph [0036]) comprising:
a lens substrate (lens structure 102) to be worn on an eyeball (e.g. paragraph [0036] “contact lens”);
an antenna unit (antenna 220) that is provided on the lens substrate (see Figs. 1A and 2) and receives alternating-current energy (paragraph [0064]: “A secondary inductive circuit 714 is coupled to and provides a power signal to the rectifier circuit 702… a rectifier circuit converts an alternating current to a direct current… The secondary inductive circuit 714 may comprise one or more of a single-turn loop antenna, a multi-turn loop antenna, spiral antenna structures, or a coil antenna subassembly.” thus multi-turn loop antenna 220 receives alternating-current energy) through a human body (see e.g. paragraph [0005] communication through the antenna structure is while the lens is in use, paragraph [0006] inductive power can be from a distance and paragraph [0073] “Any antenna designed preferably is designed to work on-body”. Thus antenna 220 receives AC energy through the human body when worn.); and
a load (electronic components 110 or controller 710 and actuator 712) that receives electric power supplied from the antenna unit (see Fig. 7 and paragraph [0064]), wherein the antenna unit includes:
a first antenna element (Fig. 2 paragraph [0038] multi-turn loop antenna can comprise turns of conductive traces on opposite sides of the circuit board. Let the antenna element on the posterior side of the circuit board be the first antenna element.) including a first conductor (paragraph [0038]: “wire, conductive traces or the like”) provided at a position that is in contact with the eyeball or an eyelid when an eye is open (the antenna element on the posterior side of the circuit board is in contact with at least the eyeball when the eye is open, albeit indirectly through encapsulating layer 1312. Such an indirect contact is consistent with the specification of the instant application paragraph [0013]: “The first conductor is in contact with the eyelid… directly or via some layer); and
a second antenna element (Fig. 2 paragraph [0038] multi-turn loop antenna can comprise turns of conductive traces on opposite sides of the circuit board. Let the antenna element on the anterior side of the circuit board be the first antenna element.) including a second conductor (paragraph [0038]: “wire, conductive traces or the like”) provided at a position that is separated from the first conductor by a predetermined gap (the antenna elements on either side of the circuit board are separated from each other by the thickness of the circuit board) and not in contact with the eyeball or the eyelid when the eye is open (the antenna on the anterior surface of the circuit board is not in contact with the eyeball because more than one layer is between the anterior antenna and the eyeball).”
Regarding claim 2, Pugh teaches “The contact lens according to claim 1, wherein the first conductor is provided on an outer edge of the lens substrate (see Figs. 12 and 13, the antenna 1206/1304/1332/1342 are on the outer edge of the lens substrate at least in the sense that they are proximate to the outer edge of the lens substrate. Note that the antennas can be any of the previous antennas, see paragraph [0047]: “any of the antennas described herein, including the single-turn loop antenna, the multi-loop antenna, the spiral antenna or the coil antenna subassembly may also be encapsulated into the polymer forming the lens”.).”
Regarding claim 3, Pugh teaches “The contact lens according to claim 2, wherein the second conductor is provided at a middle of the lens substrate or in a ring-shaped region centering on the middle of the lens substrate (see Figs. 2 and 12, multi-loop antenna 220, or antenna layer 1206 is in a ring-shaped region centered on the middle of the lens substrate).”
Regarding claim 8, Pugh teaches “The contact lens according to claim 1, wherein the first conductor is provided on a surface, of the lens substrate, opposite to the eyelid (the first conductor was considered to be the antenna element on the posterior side of the contact lens which would be opposite to the anterior surface of the lens substrate and thus opposite to the eyelid).”
Regarding claim 9, Pugh teaches “The contact lens according to 8, wherein the second conductor is provided on a surface, of the lens substrate, on side of the eyelid (the second conductor was considered to be the antenna element on the anterior side of the contact lens which is on the side of the eyelid).”
Regarding claim 12, Pugh teaches “The contact lens according to claim 1 further comprising: an insulating layer that covers the second conductor (Figs. 12-13 encapsulating polymer, contact lens polymer 1312 provides insulation, see paragraph [0048]: “the conductive antenna traces, for example, a wire coil configuration, on a circuit board, via a stacked die or conductive traces printed directly on and/or in the material forming the lens, the antenna traces should preferably be insulated from the surrounding conductive fluids found in or on the eye.” Insulating layers 1310, 1324 and 1348 also cover the antenna and thus the second conductor.).”
Regarding claim 15, Pugh teaches “The contact lens according to claim 1, wherein the second conductor has a height from a surface of the lens substrate that is higher than a height of the first conductor from the surface of the lens substrate (the second conductor was of the antenna element on the anterior side of the circuit board, while the first conductor was of the antenna element on the posterior side of the circuit board. Thus the height of the second conductor from the posterior surface of the contact lens substrate is higher than the height of the first conductor from the posterior surface of the contact lens substrate).”
Regarding claim 16, Pugh teaches “The contact lens according to claim 1, further comprising a rectifier circuit (rectifier circuit 702) that rectifies alternating-current electric field energy received by the antenna unit into direct-current (paragraph [0064]: “A secondary inductive circuit 714 is coupled to and provides a power signal to the rectifier circuit 702… a rectifier circuit converts an alternating current to a direct current.”).”
Regarding claim 17, Pugh teaches “The contact lens according to claim 16 further comprising a capacitor (paragraph [0013]: “The antenna/antenna assembly of the present invention may be utilized to transmit and/or receive information and/or data as well as provide a means for charging the battery, batteries or capacitors utilized to power the electronics by inductive charging or radio frequency (RF) energy harvesting methods.”) that stores (that’s what capacitors and batteries do) a direct-current signal obtained by rectification in the rectifier circuit (paragraph [0064]: “The rectifier circuit 702 rectifies the power signal to provide a direct current (DC) signal to the battery charging circuit 704. The battery charging circuit 704 is coupled to the battery 706”).”
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 1-12 and 15-17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ashida et al. JP 2020016812 A (hereafter Ashida, where reference will be made to the attached machine translation) in view of Pugh et al. US 2013/0194540 A1 (hereafter Pugh).
Regarding claim 1, Ashida teaches “A contact lens (contact lens 10 of Figs. 1 and 2) comprising:
a lens substrate (mounting sections 12 and 14) to be worn on an eyeball (see Fig. 2 and page 2 lines 8-9: “As shown in FIG. 1, the contact lens 10 includes an inner mounting portion 12 that can be mounted on the surface of the eyeball, and an outer mounting portion 14 that can be mounted on the surface of the eyeball.”);
an antenna unit (loop antenna 16a and loop antenna 16b) that is provided on the lens substrate (see Figs. 1 and 2) and receives … energy (page 8 under the heading Modification: “In the first to fourth embodiments, the signal is transmitted wirelessly. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the power may be transmitted wirelessly.”) through a human body (see Figs. 2a and 2b 16b is under the eyelid while 16a is partly exposed thus, the transmission is at least partly through a human body); and
a load (electronic device 30) that receives electric power supplied from the antenna unit (e.g. page 9 second paragraph “transmitting … power … to the electronic device 30, 30a, 30b”), wherein the antenna unit includes:
a first antenna element (loop antenna 16b) including a first conductor (page 8 under the heading Modification: “an electromagnetic induction method in which power is transmitted by magnetic flux generated by two coils on a power supply side and a power receiving side, and power transmission by magnetic resonance generated by two coils on a power supply side and a power receiving side Or a microwave system that converts electricity into microwaves and transmits electric power.” All of these mechanisms require the antenna to be made of a conductor.) provided at a position that is in contact with the eyeball or an eyelid when an eye is open (see Figs. 2a and 2b 16b is in a position in contact with the eyelid when the eye is open via mounting unit 14, compare 16b in Fig. 2a of Ashida to 20 in Fig. 3 of the instant application); and
a second antenna element (loop antenna 16a) including a second conductor (page 8 under the heading Modification: “an electromagnetic induction method in which power is transmitted by magnetic flux generated by two coils on a power supply side and a power receiving side, and power transmission by magnetic resonance generated by two coils on a power supply side and a power receiving side Or a microwave system that converts electricity into microwaves and transmits electric power.” All of these mechanisms require the antenna to be made of a conductor.) provided at a position that is separated from the first conductor by a predetermined gap (see gap between 16a and 16b in Figs. 1, 2a and 2b) and not in contact with the eyeball or the eyelid when the eye is open (This is met in at least two ways. First in Fig. 2a at least portions of loop antenna 16a are not in contact with the eyelid when the eye is open. Second, 16a is embedded in mounting part 12, such that it is not in direct contact with either of the eyeball or the eyelid).”
However, Ashida fails to explicitly teach “alternating-current energy”.
Pugh teaches “A contact lens (optical lens assembly 100, which can be a contact lens see e.g. paragraph [0036]) comprising:
a lens substrate (lens structure 102) to be worn on an eyeball (e.g. paragraph [0036] “contact lens”);
an antenna unit (antenna 220) that is provided on the lens substrate (see Figs. 1A and 2) and receives alternating-current energy (paragraph [0064]: “A secondary inductive circuit 714 is coupled to and provides a power signal to the rectifier circuit 702… a rectifier circuit converts an alternating current to a direct current… The secondary inductive circuit 714 may comprise one or more of a single-turn loop antenna, a multi-turn loop antenna, spiral antenna structures, or a coil antenna subassembly.” thus multi-turn loop antenna 220 receives alternating-current energy) through a human body (see e.g. paragraph [0005] communication through the antenna structure is while the lens is in use, paragraph [0006] inductive power can be from a distance and paragraph [0073] “Any antenna designed preferably is designed to work on-body”. Thus antenna 220 receives AC energy through the human body when worn.); and
a load (electronic components 110 or controller 710 and actuator 712) that receives electric power supplied from the antenna unit (see Fig. 7 and paragraph [0064]), wherein the antenna unit includes:
a first antenna element (Fig. 2 paragraph [0038] multi-turn loop antenna can comprise turns of conductive traces on opposite sides of the circuit board. Let the antenna element on the posterior side of the circuit board be the first antenna element.) including a first conductor (paragraph [0038]: “wire, conductive traces or the like”) provided at a position that is in contact with the eyeball or an eyelid when an eye is open (the antenna element on the posterior side of the circuit board is in contact with at least the eyeball when the eye is open, albeit indirectly through encapsulating layer 1312. Such an indirect contact is consistent with the specification of the instant application paragraph [0013]: “The first conductor is in contact with the eyelid… directly or via some layer); and
a second antenna element (Fig. 2 paragraph [0038] multi-turn loop antenna can comprise turns of conductive traces on opposite sides of the circuit board. Let the antenna element on the anterior side of the circuit board be the first antenna element.) including a second conductor (paragraph [0038]: “wire, conductive traces or the like”) provided at a position that is separated from the first conductor by a predetermined gap (the antenna elements on either side of the circuit board are separated from each other by the thickness of the circuit board) and not in contact with the eyeball or the eyelid when the eye is open (the antenna on the anterior surface of the circuit board is not in contact with the eyeball because more than one layer is between the anterior antenna and the eyeball).”
Ashida teaches the contact lens of claim 1 except for the type of current received by the antenna unit. The possibly types of current received are only three, direct current, time-varying current and alternating current. Pugh teaches that wireless power can be transmitted and received by an antenna on a contact lens using alternating current, which can then be rectified to direct current to power a battery charging circuit (Pugh Fig. 7 paragraph [0064]).
Thus it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to utilize alternating current to transmit power to the contact lens antenna 16a of Ashida so that it can be rectified into DC current to power a battery charging circuit and a load as taught by Pugh.
Regarding claim 2, the Ashida – Pugh combination teaches “The contact lens according to claim 1,” and Ashida further teaches “wherein the first conductor is provided on an outer edge of the lens substrate (see Figs. 1, 2a and 2b 16b is provided on an outer edge of the lens substrate).”
Regarding claim 3, the Ashida – Pugh combination teaches “The contact lens according to claim 2,” and Ashida further teaches “wherein the second conductor is provided at a middle of the lens substrate or in a ring-shaped region centering on the middle of the lens substrate (see Figs. 1 and 2a 16a is provided in a ring-shaped region centering on the middle of the lens substrate).”
Regarding claim 4, the Ashida – Pugh combination teaches “The contact lens according to claim 1,” and Ashida further teaches “wherein the first conductor is provided on a surface, of the lens substrate, on side of the eyelid (see Fig. 2b, 16b is in the middle of the lens substrate and thus “on” the surface of the lens substrate on the side of the eyelid, in that it is “on” both lens major-surfaces.).”
Regarding claim 5, the Ashida – Pugh combination teaches “The contact lens according to claim 4,” and Ashida further teaches “wherein the second conductor is provided on the surface, of the lens substrate, on the side of the eyelid (see Fig. 2b, 16a is in the middle of the lens substrate and thus “on” the surface of the lens substrate on the side of the eyelid, in that it is “on” both lens major-surfaces.).”
Regarding claim 6, the Ashida – Pugh combination teaches “The contact lens according to claim 4,” and Ashida further teaches “wherein the second conductor is provided on a surface, of the lens substrate, opposite to the eyelid (see Fig. 2b, 16a is in the middle of the lens substrate and thus “on” the surface of the lens substrate on the side of opposite to the eyelid, in that it is “on” both lens major-surfaces.).”
Regarding claim 7, the Ashida – Pugh combination teaches “The contact lens according to claim 4,” and Ashida further teaches “wherein the first antenna element further includes an extraction electrode (signal line 32 of cable 16c which is an extraction electrode in that it is a wire in the claimed position) in contact with the first conductor (see Fig. 1 and page 2 last paragraph: “The signal line 32 is connected to the loop antenna 16b.”), and the extraction electrode is a wiring-like electrode (page 2 last paragraph “the signal line 32 is coaxially wired”) configured to reach a face surface from the surface of the lens substrate (see Fig. 2a and page 3 first and fourth paragraphs “the other end is connected to the outside of the eye… The cable 16c pulled out from the right eye corner is fixed with the seal 18 so that it can be stably maintained outside the eye 20.”).”
Regarding claim 8, the Ashida – Pugh combination teaches “The contact lens according to claim 1,” and Ashida further teaches “wherein the first conductor is provided on a surface, of the lens substrate, opposite of the eyelid (see Fig. 2b, 16b is in the middle of the lens substrate and thus “on” the surface of the lens substrate opposite of the eyelid, in that it is “on” both lens major-surfaces.).”
Regarding claim 9, the Ashida – Pugh combination teaches “The contact lens according to claim 8,” and Ashida further teaches “wherein the second conductor is provided on a surface, of the lens substrate, on the side of the eyelid (see Fig. 2b, 16a is in the middle of the lens substrate and thus “on” the surface of the lens substrate on the side of the eyelid, in that it is “on” both lens major-surfaces.).”
Regarding claim 10, the Ashida – Pugh combination teaches “The contact lens according to claim 8,” and Ashida further teaches “wherein the second conductor is provided on the surface, of the lens substrate, opposite to the eyelid (see Fig. 2b, 16a is in the middle of the lens substrate and thus “on” the surface of the lens substrate on the side of opposite to the eyelid, in that it is “on” both lens major-surfaces.).”
Regarding claim 11, the Ashida – Pugh combination teaches “The contact lens according to claim 8,” and Ashida further teaches “wherein the first antenna element further includes an extraction electrode (signal line 32 of cable 16c which is an extraction electrode in that it is a wire in the claimed position) in contact with the first conductor (see Fig. 1 and page 2 last paragraph: “The signal line 32 is connected to the loop antenna 16b.”), and the extraction electrode is a wiring-like electrode (page 2 last paragraph “the signal line 32 is coaxially wired”) configured to reach a face surface from the surface of the lens substrate (see Fig. 2a and page 3 first and fourth paragraphs “the other end is connected to the outside of the eye… The cable 16c pulled out from the right eye corner is fixed with the seal 18 so that it can be stably maintained outside the eye 20.”).”
Regarding claim 12, the Ashida – Pugh combination teaches “The contact lens according to claim 1” however, Ashida fails to explicitly teach “further comprising: an insulating layer that covers the second conductor.”
Pugh teaches “The contact lens according to claim 1 further comprising: an insulating layer that covers the second conductor (Figs. 12-13 encapsulating polymer, contact lens polymer 1312 provides insulation, see paragraph [0048]: “the conductive antenna traces, for example, a wire coil configuration, on a circuit board, via a stacked die or conductive traces printed directly on and/or in the material forming the lens, the antenna traces should preferably be insulated from the surrounding conductive fluids found in or on the eye.” Insulating layers 1310, 1324 and 1348 also cover the antenna and thus the second conductor.).”
Pugh further teaches (paragraph [0048]): “Regardless of the physical implementation of the conductive antenna traces, for example, a wire coil configuration, on a circuit board, via a stacked die or conductive traces printed directly on and/or in the material forming the lens, the antenna traces should preferably be insulated from the surrounding conductive fluids found in or on the eye… Accordingly, without proper insulation, undesirable shorts could develop between antenna traces, or the performance of the antenna may be degraded by the presence of a nearby conductive fluid or material with a high dielectric constant. For example, a tear film, as stated above comprises a conductive solution of water and salt ions. Human tissue as well as tear film also exhibit dielectric properties which could change the tuning, frequency response and efficiency of the antenna.”
Thus it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate an insulating layer that covers the second conductor as taught by Pugh in the contact lens of the Ashida-Pugh combination for the purpose of insulating the antenna traces from the surrounding conductive fluids found in or on the eye to avoid undesirable shorts, avoid performance degradation and maintain the tuning, frequency response and efficiency of the antenna as taught by Pugh (paragraph [0048]).
Regarding claim 15, the Ashida – Pugh combination teaches “The contact lens according to claim 1,” and Ashida further teaches “wherein the second conductor has a height from a surface of the lens substrate that is higher than a height of the first conductor from the surface of the lens substrate (see Fig. 2b, the height of 16a from the posterior surface of the lens substrate of mounting section 14 is higher than the height of 16b from the posterior surface of the lens substrate of mounting section 14).”
Regarding claim 16, the Ashida – Pugh combination teaches “The contact lens according to claim 1” however, Ashida fails to explicitly teach “further comprising a rectifier circuit that rectifies alternating-current electric field energy received by the antenna unit into direct-current.”
Pugh teaches “The contact lens according to claim 1, further comprising a rectifier circuit (rectifier circuit 702) that rectifies alternating-current electric field energy received by the antenna unit into direct-current (paragraph [0064]: “A secondary inductive circuit 714 is coupled to and provides a power signal to the rectifier circuit 702… a rectifier circuit converts an alternating current to a direct current.”).”
Pugh further teaches in paragraph [0064] that this direct current is what is usable by the battery charging circuit, the power management circuit, the controller and the actuator.
Thus it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate a rectifier circuit that rectifies alternating-current electric field energy received by the antenna unit into direct-current as taught by Pugh in the contact lens of the Ashida – Pugh combination because Pugh teaches that direct current is what is needed for the battery charging circuit, the power management circuit, the controller and the actuator.
Regarding claim 17, the Ashida – Pugh combination teaches “The contact lens according to claim 1” however, Ashida fails to explicitly teach “further comprising a capacitor that stores a direct-current signal obtained by rectification in the rectifier circuit.”
Pugh teaches “The contact lens according to claim 16 further comprising a capacitor (paragraph [0013]: “The antenna/antenna assembly of the present invention may be utilized to transmit and/or receive information and/or data as well as provide a means for charging the battery, batteries or capacitors utilized to power the electronics by inductive charging or radio frequency (RF) energy harvesting methods.”) that stores (that’s what capacitors and batteries do) a direct-current signal obtained by rectification in the rectifier circuit (paragraph [0064]: “The rectifier circuit 702 rectifies the power signal to provide a direct current (DC) signal to the battery charging circuit 704. The battery charging circuit 704 is coupled to the battery 706”).”
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate a capacitor that stores energy as taught by Pugh in the contact lens of the Ashida – Pugh combination for the purpose of storing energy for later use.
Claims 13-14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Pugh et al. US 2013/0194540 A1 (hereafter Pugh) as applied to claim 1 above and further in view of Watanabe et al. WO 9745502 A1 (hereafter Watanabe, where reference will be made to the attached machine translation).
Regarding claim 13, Pugh teaches “The contact lens according to claim 1,” however, Pugh fails to teach “wherein a surface of the second conductor is subjected to water repellant treatment or hydrophobic treatment.”
Watanabe teaches ““wherein a surface of the [contact lens] (page 7 third paragraph: “contact lens”) is subjected to water repellant treatment or hydrophobic treatment (page 4 seventh paragraph: “In FIG. 1, a member 1 is composed of a base material 2 and a surface layer 3 formed thereon. The surface layer 3 is composed of a silicone or silica layer 4 and a water-repellent fluororesin dispersed in the layer 4. 5 and a photocatalytic oxide 6, and a part of the water-repellent fluororesin 5 is exposed on the outermost surface of the silicone or silicon force layer 4.” and page 7 third paragraph: “For example, at the outermost surface of the surface layer, the hydrophobic portion derived from the water-repellent fluororesin and the hydrophilic portion derived from the silicone or silica are at least partially concentrated per 10 nm .sup.2 to 100 nm .sup.2. Existing members have the property that biopolymers are unlikely to adhere. Therefore, such a member can be applied to an antithrombotic material, a protein-adhering material, a lipid-adhering preventing material, etc., and more specifically, a contact lens”).”
Watanabe further teaches (page 2 lines 5-10): “The present invention relates to a member having a surface to which a substance is not easily attached, more specifically, a member having an antifouling surface to which so-called dirt such as sediment and contaminant is not easily attached, and production of a member having such a surface. For compositions for: The present invention also relates to a method for imparting a property to which a substance is unlikely to adhere to the surface of a desired member, and more specifically to a method for imparting a property to which a stain such as a deposit or a contaminant is unlikely to adhere.”
Thus it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to treat the surface of the contact lens of Pugh with a water-repellant surface treatment as taught by Watanabe for the purpose of creating an antifouling surface that prevents contaminants from adhering to the contact lens as taught by Watanabe page 2 lines 5-10 and page 7 third paragraph.
Note that the combination of limitations “wherein a surface of the second conductor is subjected to water repellant treatment or hydrophobic treatment” are considered to be met by the combination of references because Watanabe teaches treating the surface of a contact lens with hydrophobic water-repellant treatment and the contact lens of Pugh has the second conductor therein. Thus the surface of the contact lens is a surface of the second conductor in the sense that is encapsulated by the contact lens which is then treated.
Regarding claim 14, Pugh teaches “The contact lens according to claim 1,” however, Pugh fails to teach “wherein a water repellant structure or a hydrophobic structure is formed on a surface of the second conductor.”
Watanabe teaches “wherein a water repellant structure or a hydrophobic structure (page 4 seventh paragraph: “In FIG. 1, a member 1 is composed of a base material 2 and a surface layer 3 formed thereon. The surface layer 3 is composed of a silicone or silica layer 4 and a water-repellent fluororesin dispersed in the layer 4. 5 and a photocatalytic oxide 6, and a part of the water-repellent fluororesin 5 is exposed on the outermost surface of the silicone or silicon force layer 4.” thus surface layer 3 is both a water repellant structure and a hydrophobic structure) is formed on a surface of the [contact lens] (page 7 third paragraph: “For example, at the outermost surface of the surface layer, the hydrophobic portion derived from the water-repellent fluororesin and the hydrophilic portion derived from the silicone or silica are at least partially concentrated per 10 nm .sup.2 to 100 nm .sup.2. Existing members have the property that biopolymers are unlikely to adhere. Therefore, such a member can be applied to an antithrombotic material, a protein-adhering material, a lipid-adhering preventing material, etc., and more specifically, a contact lens”).”
Watanabe further teaches (page 2 lines 5-10): “The present invention relates to a member having a surface to which a substance is not easily attached, more specifically, a member having an antifouling surface to which so-called dirt such as sediment and contaminant is not easily attached, and production of a member having such a surface. For compositions for: The present invention also relates to a method for imparting a property to which a substance is unlikely to adhere to the surface of a desired member, and more specifically to a method for imparting a property to which a stain such as a deposit or a contaminant is unlikely to adhere.”
Thus it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to form a water-repellent, hydrophobic structure as taught by Watanabe on the surface of the contact lens of Pugh for the purpose of creating an antifouling surface that prevents contaminants from adhering to the contact lens as taught by Watanabe page 2 lines 5-10 and page 7 third paragraph.
Note that the combination of limitations “wherein a water repellant structure or a hydrophobic structure is formed on a surface of the second conductor” are considered to be met by the combination of references because Watanabe teaches forming a hydrophobic water-repellant on the surface of a contact lens and the contact lens of Pugh has the second conductor therein. Thus the surface of the contact lens is a surface of the second conductor in the sense that is encapsulated by the contact lens to which a water-repellent, hydrophobic layer is then applied.
Claims 13-14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ashida et al. JP 2020016812 A (hereafter Ashida, where reference will be made to the attached machine translation) in view of Pugh et al. US 2013/0194540 A1 (hereafter Pugh) as applied to claim 1 above and further in view of Watanabe et al. WO 9745502 A1 (hereafter Watanabe, where reference will be made to the attached machine translation).
Regarding claim 13, the Ashida – Pugh combination teaches “The contact lens according to claim 1,” however, Ashida and Pugh fail to teach “wherein a surface of the second conductor is subjected to water repellant treatment or hydrophobic treatment.”
Watanabe teaches ““wherein a surface of the [contact lens] (page 7 third paragraph: “contact lens”) is subjected to water repellant treatment or hydrophobic treatment (page 4 seventh paragraph: “In FIG. 1, a member 1 is composed of a base material 2 and a surface layer 3 formed thereon. The surface layer 3 is composed of a silicone or silica layer 4 and a water-repellent fluororesin dispersed in the layer 4. 5 and a photocatalytic oxide 6, and a part of the water-repellent fluororesin 5 is exposed on the outermost surface of the silicone or silicon force layer 4.” and page 7 third paragraph: “For example, at the outermost surface of the surface layer, the hydrophobic portion derived from the water-repellent fluororesin and the hydrophilic portion derived from the silicone or silica are at least partially concentrated per 10 nm .sup.2 to 100 nm .sup.2. Existing members have the property that biopolymers are unlikely to adhere. Therefore, such a member can be applied to an antithrombotic material, a protein-adhering material, a lipid-adhering preventing material, etc., and more specifically, a contact lens”).”
Watanabe further teaches (page 2 lines 5-10): “The present invention relates to a member having a surface to which a substance is not easily attached, more specifically, a member having an antifouling surface to which so-called dirt such as sediment and contaminant is not easily attached, and production of a member having such a surface. For compositions for: The present invention also relates to a method for imparting a property to which a substance is unlikely to adhere to the surface of a desired member, and more specifically to a method for imparting a property to which a stain such as a deposit or a contaminant is unlikely to adhere.”
Thus it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to treat the surface of the contact lens of the Ashida - Pugh combination with a water-repellant surface treatment as taught by Watanabe for the purpose of creating an antifouling surface that prevents contaminants from adhering to the contact lens as taught by Watanabe page 2 lines 5-10 and page 7 third paragraph.
Note that the combination of limitations “wherein a surface of the second conductor is subjected to water repellant treatment or hydrophobic treatment” are considered to be met by the combination of references because Watanabe teaches treating the surface of a contact lens with hydrophobic water-repellant treatment and the contact lens of Ashida has the second conductor therein. Thus the surface of the contact lens is a surface of the second conductor in the sense that is encapsulated by the contact lens which is then treated.
Regarding claim 14, the Ashida - Pugh combination teaches “The contact lens according to claim 1,” however, Ashida and Pugh fail to teach “wherein a water repellant structure or a hydrophobic structure is formed on a surface of the second conductor.”
Watanabe teaches “wherein a water repellant structure or a hydrophobic structure (page 4 seventh paragraph: “In FIG. 1, a member 1 is composed of a base material 2 and a surface layer 3 formed thereon. The surface layer 3 is composed of a silicone or silica layer 4 and a water-repellent fluororesin dispersed in the layer 4. 5 and a photocatalytic oxide 6, and a part of the water-repellent fluororesin 5 is exposed on the outermost surface of the silicone or silicon force layer 4.” thus surface layer 3 is both a water repellant structure and a hydrophobic structure) is formed on a surface of the [contact lens] (page 7 third paragraph: “For example, at the outermost surface of the surface layer, the hydrophobic portion derived from the water-repellent fluororesin and the hydrophilic portion derived from the silicone or silica are at least partially concentrated per 10 nm .sup.2 to 100 nm .sup.2. Existing members have the property that biopolymers are unlikely to adhere. Therefore, such a member can be applied to an antithrombotic material, a protein-adhering material, a lipid-adhering preventing material, etc., and more specifically, a contact lens”).”
Watanabe further teaches (page 2 lines 5-10): “The present invention relates to a member having a surface to which a substance is not easily attached, more specifically, a member having an antifouling surface to which so-called dirt such as sediment and contaminant is not easily attached, and production of a member having such a surface. For compositions for: The present invention also relates to a method for imparting a property to which a substance is unlikely to adhere to the surface of a desired member, and more specifically to a method for imparting a property to which a stain such as a deposit or a contaminant is unlikely to adhere.”
Thus it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to form a water-repellent, hydrophobic structure as taught by Watanabe on the surface of the contact lens of the Ashida – Pugh combination for the purpose of creating an antifouling surface that prevents contaminants from adhering to the contact lens as taught by Watanabe page 2 lines 5-10 and page 7 third paragraph.
Note that the combination of limitations “wherein a water repellant structure or a hydrophobic structure is formed on a surface of the second conductor” are considered to be met by the combination of references because Watanabe teaches forming a hydrophobic water-repellant on the surface of a contact lens and the contact lens of Ashida has the second conductor therein. Thus the surface of the contact lens is a surface of the second conductor in the sense that is encapsulated by the contact lens to which a water-repellent, hydrophobic layer is then applied.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Chen US 2017/0358841 A1 “Multi-Layer Micro Receiver for a Wireless Communication System” pertinent to at least claim 1.
Mirjalili et al. US 20200018990 A1 “Eye-Mounted Displays Including Embedded Conductive Coils” Figs. 7A-9C, pertinent to at least claims 1-6, 8-10 and 15.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to CARA E RAKOWSKI whose telephone number is (571)272-4206. The examiner can normally be reached 9AM-4PM ET M-F.
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, Thomas Pham can be reached at 571-272-3689. 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.
/CARA E RAKOWSKI/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2872