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 .
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
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 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.
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 of this title, 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 1-2 and 6 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Li (US 2020/0089025) (hereinafter Li ’025) in a view of Ogasawara (US 20040108984).
Regarding Claim 1, Li ’025 teaches a liquid crystal dimming eyeglasses (abstract; figs. 1-4), comprising:
a frame (fig. 1A, 102);
one or more lenses, positioned in the frame (fig. 1A, 104a-b);
one or more liquid crystal films, attached to the lenses (fig. 2A-B, 202--lens, 204-- liquid crystal layer), each of the liquid crystal film comprising a first conductive layer, a second conductive layer, and a liquid crystal layer (fig. 2B, 230/240, 250, 252; ¶[0050], line 1-12, Liquid crystal layer 204 can include liquid crystal molecules 230, which act as a host material, and dye molecules 240, which act as a guest material. Liquid crystal molecules 230 and dye molecules 240 are sandwiched between two substrates 250 and 252, which can be attached to or part of electrodes),
wherein the first conductive layer and the second conductive layer are arranged opposite to each other (fig. 2B, 250, 252);
and a circuit board (fig. 4A-C, 402/410).
But Li ’025 does not specifically disclose that wherein the first conductive layer has an inner ring portion, an outer ring portion, and an etched portion, the outer ring portion partially surrounds the inner ring portion, the etched portion is located between the inner ring portion and the outer ring portion, the inner ring portion and the outer ring portion are insulated from each other by the etched portion, the liquid crystal layer is located between the inner ring portion and the second conductive layer; and a circuit board, electrically connected to the inner ring portion and the second conductive layer, respectively.
However, Ogasawara teaches a liquid-crystal lens (abstract; fig. 10), wherein
the first conductive layer (fig. 10, 23) has an inner ring portion, an outer ring portion, and an etched portion, the outer ring portion partially surrounds the inner ring portion, the etched portion is located between the inner ring portion and the outer ring portion, the inner ring portion and the outer ring portion are insulated from each other by the etched portion (fig. 10, E4, E0; F4, F0; ¶[0054], line 1-11, lead electrodes 61 (FL1) and 62 (FL2) electrically isolated each other);
the liquid crystal layer is located between the inner ring portion and the second conductive layer (fig. 10, 21, 23, 24); and
a circuit board, electrically connected to the inner ring portion and the second conductive layer, respectively (fig. 10, FL1, FL2; fig. 5, 40(41, 42)) .
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the liquid crystal dimming eyeglasses of Li ’025 by the liquid-crystal lens of Ogasawara for a purpose of providing of a high-performance lens having a fast response time and compact in size and light in weight (¶[0066], line 10-17).
Regarding Claim 2, Li ’025 - Ogasawara combination teaches that the liquid crystal dimming eyeglasses according to claim 1, further comprising:
a wiring, at least partially positioned within the frame, the circuit board is electrically connected to the inner ring portion and the second conductive layer through the wiring (fig. 4A-C, 402/410, as disclosed in Li ’025; fig. 5, 40(41, 42), as disclosed in Ogasawara).
Regarding Claim 6, Li ’025 - Ogasawara combination teaches that the liquid crystal dimming eyeglasses according to claim 1,
wherein the one or more lenses include two lenses (fig. 1A, 104a-b, as disclosed in Li ’025) and the one or more liquid crystal films include two liquid crystal films , the two lenses are spaced apart from each other in the frame, the two lenses and the two liquid crystal films correspond one to one, and each of the two liquid crystal films is attached to a corresponding one of the two lenses (fig. 1A, 104a-b; fig. 2A, 104, 202, 204, as disclosed in Li ’025); or
the one or more lenses include one lens and the one or more liquid crystal films include one liquid crystal film, the liquid crystal film is attached to the lens, the liquid crystal film has two light-transmitting areas, and the two light-transmitting areas correspond respectively to left and right eyes of a wearer (fig. 1A, 104a-b; fig. 2A, 104, 202, 204, as disclosed in Li ’025).
Claims 5, 7-9 and 12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Li (US 2020/0089025) (hereinafter Li ’025) in a view of Ogasawara (US 20040108984), further in a view of Li (US 11213429) (hereinafter Li ’429) .
Regarding Claim 5, Li ’025 - Ogasawara combination discloses as set forth above but does not specifically disclose that the liquid crystal dimming eyeglasses according to claim 1, wherein the liquid crystal film further comprises sealing frame adhesive, the sealing frame adhesive is located between the first conductive layer and the second conductive layer, the sealing frame adhesive is arranged around the liquid crystal layer; a part of the etched portion is arranged to correspond to the sealing frame adhesive, and another part of the etched portion extends to an outside of the sealing frame adhesive.
However, Li ’429 teaches an eyewear apparatus (abstract; fig. 2), wherein the liquid crystal film further comprises sealing frame adhesive, the sealing frame adhesive is arranged around the liquid crystal layer (fig. 2, 600a-- sealing frame adhesive, 300-- liquid crystal lens).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the liquid crystal dimming eyeglasses of Li ’025 - Ogasawara combination by the eyewear apparatus of Li ’429 to have the sealing frame adhesive positioned as claimed, for a purpose of providing of a lens which can be dimmed to adapt to different ambient light, protect user's eyesight, and enhance user experience (col. 3, line 30-33).
Regarding Claim 7, Li ’025 - Ogasawara - Li ’429 combination teaches that the liquid crystal dimming eyeglasses according to claim 1, wherein the frame comprises a front frame and a rear frame, the front frame is assembled to the rear frame, and the lens is held between the front frame and the rear frame (fig. 2, 100-- front frame, 200-- rear frame, 300-- liquid crystal lens, as disclosed in Li ’ 429).
Regarding Claim 8, Li ’025 - Ogasawara - Li ’429 combination teaches that the liquid crystal dimming eyeglasses according to claim 7, wherein one of the front frame and the rear frame has a slot, another one of the front frame and the rear frame has a snap, and the snap is snapped and connected into the slot (fig. 2, 100-- front frame, 200-- rear frame, 300-- liquid crystal lens; col. 4, line 9-12, the housing 200 matches the shape of the frame 100 and is clamped on the outer periphery of the frame 100 for installation and decoration of the frame 100; col. 7, line 45, 48, There can be multiple ways of detachable connection, such as magnetic connection, snap connection, etc., as disclosed in Li ’ 429).
Regarding Claim 9, Li ’025 - Ogasawara - Li ’429 combination teaches that the liquid crystal dimming eyeglasses according to claim 2, wherein the frame comprises a front frame and a rear frame, the front frame is assembled to the rear frame, and the lens is held between the front frame and the rear frame (fig. 2, 100-- front frame, 200-- rear frame, 300-- liquid crystal lens, as disclosed in Li ’ 429).
Regarding Claim 12, Li ’025 - Ogasawara - Li ’429 combination teaches that the liquid crystal dimming eyeglasses according to claim 5, wherein the frame comprises a front frame and a rear frame, the front frame is assembled to the rear frame, and the lens is held between the front frame and the rear frame (fig. 2, 100-- front frame, 200-- rear frame, 300-- liquid crystal lens, as disclosed in Li ’ 429).
Claims 13-14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Li (US 2020/0089025) (hereinafter Li ’025) in a view of Ogasawara (US 20040108984), and further in a view of Spitzer (US 6349001).
Regarding Claim 13, Li ’025 - Ogasawara combination discloses as set forth above and further teaches that the liquid crystal dimming eyeglasses according to claim 1, further comprising: temples, hinged to the frame, the circuit board is located within the temples; and a battery, located within the temples, the battery is electrically connected to the circuit board (fig. 4A-C, 404, 402, 410; ¶[0067], line 1-23, Input interface 402 … can be located at any location on frame 102, temple 404 connected to frame 102, etc. The microcontroller of the driver circuit can output different voltages based on the user's input detected at input interface 402 to adjust …; Eyewear 100 also includes a battery, such as a lithium battery, to supply power to the driver circuit and to input interface 402, as disclosed in Li ’025).
But Li ’025 - Ogasawara combination does not specifically disclose that wherein a battery, located within the temples.
However, Spitzer in the same field of endeavor teaches an eyeglass (abstract; fig. 1); wherein temples, hinged to the frame (fig. 2, 205, 206, 200), the circuit board is located within the temples; and a battery, located within the temples (fig. 1, 110, 112).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the liquid crystal dimming eyeglasses of Li ’025 - Ogasawara combination by the eyeglass of Spitzer for a purpose of providing of an compact eyeglass (abstract, line 14-19).
Regarding Claim 14, Li ’025 - Ogasawara - Spitzer combination teaches the liquid crystal dimming eyeglasses according to claim 13, wherein the temples comprise a body and a cover, the body is hinged to the frame (fig. 2, 205, 206, 200; fig.15, 800, 848, 849, 847, as disclosed in Spitzer), the cover is assembled to the body, the body and the cover together form a housing cavity (fig. 15, 847-cover, 848, as disclosed in Spitzer), and the circuit board and the battery are located within the housing cavity (fig. 15, 848, 849-- integrated circuits; col. 9, line 26-31, The battery may be located within the temple, as disclosed in Spitzer).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 3-4 and 10-11 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 an examiner’s statement of reasons for the allowable subject matter: The prior art taken singularly or in combination fails to anticipate or fairly suggest the limitations of the claims, in such a manner that a rejection under 35 U.S.C. 102 or 103 would be proper.
In regard to claim 3, the prior art taken either singly or in combination fails to anticipate or fairly suggest a liquid crystal dimming eyeglasses further comprising wherein a first conductive adhesive, the wiring is bound to the first binding part through the first conductive adhesive; and wherein a second conductive adhesive, and the wiring is bound to the second binding part through the second conductive adhesive.
Claims 4 and 10-11 are also allowable as they depend on claim 3.
Examiner’s Note
Regarding the references, the Examiner cites particular figures, paragraphs, columns and line numbers in the reference(s), as applied to the claims above. Although the particular citations are representative teachings and are applied to specific limitations within the claims, other passages, internally cited references, and figures may also apply. In preparing a response, it is respectfully requested that the Applicant fully consider the references, in their entirety, as potentially disclosing or teaching all or part of the claimed invention, as well as fully consider the context of the passage as taught by the reference(s) or as disclosed by the Examiner.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communication from the examiner should be directed to Jie Lei whose telephone number is (571) 272 7231. The examiner can normally be reached on Mon.-Thurs. 8:00 am to 5:30 pm.
If attempts to reach the examiner by the telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner's supervisor, Thomas Pham can be reached on (571) 272 3689.The Fax number for the organization where this application is assigned is (571) 273 8300.
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/JIE LEI/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2872