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 .
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 3/19/2024 was considered by the examiner.
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.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claims 1-7, 9-13, and 17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Morikuni (US 2011/0164311) in view of Lin et al. (US 10,025,092).
Regarding Claim 1, Morikuni discloses a relay system (Fig. 1, Fig. 4, Fig. 6) that brings a beam output from a first image plane (Fig. 6, Fig. 2, S1, Paragraph 0058) into focus at a second image plane (Fig. 6, Fig. 2, S2, Paragraph 0058), the relay system comprising:
a first lens element (Fig. 6, Fig. 2, 51a, Paragraph 0056); a reflection member (Fig. 6, Fig. 2, concave mirror 52, Paragraph 0053); and a second lens (Fig. 6, Fig. 2, 51b, Paragraph 0056) element sequentially arranged in a direction in which the beam travels (Fig. 6, Fig. 2, as shown),
wherein the first lens element has positive power (Paragraph 0022, first and second lens have positive refracting power, lines 1-3),
the reflection member has … a reflective surface that is a concave surface that reflects the beam (Fig. 6, Fig. 2, concave mirror 52, Paragraph 0053),
the second lens element has positive power (Paragraph 0022, first and second lens have positive refracting power, lines 1-3),
the beam output from the first lens element … is reflected off the reflective surface (Fig. 6, Fig. 2, concave mirror 52, Paragraph 0058, line 4),
the beam reflected off the reflective surface … reaches the second lens element (Fig. 6, Fig. 2, light from concave mirror 52 passes through the second lens 51b, Paragraph 0058, lines 4-5), and
the beam output from the reflection member passes through the second lens element and is brought into focus at the second image plane (Fig. 6, Fig. 2, light from concave mirror 52 passes through the second lens 51b and is focused at the second image plane S2, Paragraph 0058, lines 4-6).
Morikuni does not specifically disclose the reflection member has a transmissive surface that is a concave surface on which the beam is incident and via which the beam exits, and a reflective surface … that reflects the beam from the transmissive surface, the beam output from the first lens element passes through the transmissive surface, the beam reflected off the reflective surface passes through the transmissive surface.
However, Lin, in the same field of endeavor, teaches the reflection member has a transmissive surface that is a concave surface on which the beam is incident and via which the beam exits (Fig. 2, surface S2, Col. 3, lines 56-65), and a reflective surface … that reflects the beam from the transmissive surface (Fig. 2, surface S1, Col. 3, lines 56-65), the beam output from the first lens element passes through the transmissive surface (Fig. 2, light from L2 passes through S2, Col. 3, lines 56-67-Col. 4, lines 1-15), the beam reflected off the reflective surface passes through the transmissive surface (Fig. 2, reflected off S1 passes through S2, Col. 3, lines 56-67-Col. 4, lines 1-15), for the purpose of reducing image defects such as ghost images (Col. 5, lines 11-13).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to have the relay system of Morikuni with the reflection member has a transmissive surface that is a concave surface on which the beam is incident and via which the beam exits, and a reflective surface … that reflects the beam from the transmissive surface, the beam output from the first lens element passes through the transmissive surface, the beam reflected off the reflective surface passes through the transmissive surface, of Lin, for the purpose of reducing image defects such as ghost images (Col. 5, lines 11-13).
Regarding Claim 2, Morikuni in view of Lin discloses as is set for above and Morikuni further discloses wherein a chief ray of the beam incident on the first lens element is parallel to a chief ray of the beam exiting out of the second lens element (Morikuni, Claim 2, lines 2-4).
Regarding Claim 3, Morikuni in view of Lin discloses as is set for above and Morikuni further discloses wherein further comprising a first reflection mirror that reflects the beam passing through the first lens element to guide the beam to the reflection member and further reflects the beam reflected off the reflection member to guide the beam to the second lens element (Fig. 6, mirror 56, Paragraph 0066).
Regarding Claim 4, Morikuni in view of Lin discloses as is set for above and Morikuni further discloses wherein further comprising a second reflection mirror that reflects the beam passing through the second lens element (Fig. 6, mirror 55, Paragraph 0066).
Regarding Claim 5, Morikuni in view of Lin discloses as is set for above and Morikuni further discloses wherein the first and second lens elements are lenses having the same shape and the same refractive index (Paragraph 0018, lines 1-4).
Regarding Claim 6, Morikuni in view of Lin discloses as is set for above and Morikuni further discloses wherein the transmissive surface and the reflective surface have shapes symmetrical with respect to a plane of symmetry containing an optical axis of the reflection member, and the first and second lens elements are provided symmetrically with respect to the plane of symmetry (Paragraph 0020, lines 1-6).
Regarding Claim 7, Morikuni in view of Lin discloses as is set for above and Morikuni further discloses wherein the first and second lens elements are formed of an integral lens member having positive power, and the lens member has a shape rotationally symmetrical around an optical axis of the lens member (Paragraph 0022, lines 1-7).
Regarding Claim 9, Morikuni in view of Lin discloses as is set for above and Morikuni further discloses wherein the relay system has a telecentric portion facing the first image plane (Paragraph 0027, lines 4-8).
Regarding Claim 10, Morikuni in view of Lin discloses as is set for above and Morikuni further discloses wherein the relay system has a telecentric portion facing the second image plane (Paragraph 0027, lines 4-14).
Regarding Claim 11, Morikuni in view of Lin discloses as is set for above and Morikuni further discloses wherein further comprising a light adjustment member that is disposed on an optical path between the first lens element and the reflection member and restricts an amount of light to be incident on the reflection member (Fig. 6, Fig. 2, diaphragm 58, Paragraph 0057).
Regarding Claim 12, Morikuni in view of Lin discloses as is set for above and Morikuni further discloses wherein the beam output from the first image plane is brought into focus at the second image plane with the size of the beam unchanged (Fig. 6, Fig. 2, S1 and S2, as shown).
Regarding Claim 13, Morikuni in view of Lin discloses as is set for above and Morikuni further discloses wherein further comprising: a first optical member that is disposed between the first image plane and the first lens element and transmits the beam output from the first image plane (Fig. 4, dichroic prism 40 is between S1 and first lens 51a, Fig 2, Paragraph 0064); and a second optical member that is disposed between the second lens element and the second image plane and transmits the beam output from the second lens element (Fig. 4, dummy prism 54 is between S2 and second lens 51b, Fig. 2, Paragraph 0064), wherein the second optical member makes an optical distance between a light exiting surface of the second lens element and the second image plane equal to an optical distance between the first image plane and a light incident surface of the first lens element (Fig. 4, as shown).
Regarding Claim 17, Morikuni in view of Lin discloses as is set for above and Morikuni further discloses wherein a projection system comprising: the relay system according to claim 1; and an enlargement system that enlarges the beam that the relay system brings into focus at the second image plane and projects the enlarged beam onto a third image plane (Paragraphs 0050-0051, Fig. 1, projector PJ, third image plane 80).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 8, 14, 15, 16, 18, and 19 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: with respect to the allowable subject matter, none of the prior art either alone or in combination disclose or teach of the claimed combination of limitations to warrant a rejection under 35 USC 102 or 103.
Specifically, with respect to claim 8, none of the prior art either alone or in combination disclose or teach a relay system including, as the distinguishing feature(s) in combination with the other limitations, wherein the transmissive surface and the reflective surface each have a shape rotationally symmetrical around the optical axis of the reflection member.
Specifically, with respect to claim 14, none of the prior art either alone or in combination disclose or teach a relay system including, as the distinguishing feature(s) in combination with the other limitations, wherein the first and second optical members have different refractive indices.
Specifically, with respect to claim 15, none of the prior art either alone or in combination disclose or teach a relay system including, as the distinguishing feature(s) in combination with the other limitations, wherein the second optical member includes a reflection film that reflects the beam passing through the second lens element.
Specifically, with respect to claim 16, none of the prior art either alone or in combination disclose or teach a relay system including, as the distinguishing feature(s) in combination with the other limitations, wherein the first and second image planes are each a rectangular image plane having first sides facing each other in a first direction and second sides facing each other in a second direction perpendicular to the first direction, a center line of the first image plane that is parallel to the first sides does not overlap with a center line of the second image plane that is parallel to the first sides, and a center line of the first image plane that is parallel to the second sides does not overlap with a center line of the second image plane that is parallel to the second sides.
Specifically, with respect to claim 18, none of the prior art either alone or in combination disclose or teach a relay system including, as the distinguishing feature(s) in combination with the other limitations, wherein the enlargement system is replaceable with the relay system unchanged.
Specifically, with respect to claim 19 none of the prior art either alone or in combination disclose or teach a relay system including, as the distinguishing feature(s) in combination with the other limitations, wherein a projector comprising: the projection system according to claim 17; and a light modulator that forms a projection image at the first image plane.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Morikuni (US 2014/0176919), Lin et al. (US 9,417,443), Lin et al. (US 9,448,464), Lin et al. (US 2015/0346469), and Lin et al. (US 2016/0116830) are cited to show similar projectors.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to WILLIAM R ALEXANDER whose telephone number is (571)270-7656. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8:30 AM- 4:00 PM.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Pinping Sun can be reached on (571) 270-1284. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/WILLIAM R ALEXANDER/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2872