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 .
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 1-8, 12-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Dias (US 11,762,208).Re claim 1: Dias discloses A video headset (100 in fig. 1), comprising: an extended reality (XR) device (102 in fig. 1) comprising: a housing (housing of 102 in fig. 1); and a video display (104 in fig. 1) and electronic circuits (VR displays have electronic circuits) disposed in the housing, wherein the electronic circuits are configured to control the video display (VR displays have electronic circuits that control it); a thermal control mechanism (110 in fig. 1); a harness (106 in fig. 1) configured to be worn by a user and comprising a frontal portion (front region of 106 in fig. 1) and a rear portion (rear region of 106 in fig. 1); and a fluid-based cooling system (121, 122, 300, 130a, 130b in fig. 3) comprising a closed loop conduit (121, 122, 300 in fig. 3) extending through the XR device, the harness, and the thermal control mechanism, wherein: the XR device is secured in the frontal portion of the harness (102 is secured to the front of 106 in fig. 1); and the thermal control mechanism is secured in the rear portion (fig. 1) and configured to dissipate heat transferred from the XR device through the closed loop conduit (110 dissipates heat transferred from 102 through 121, 122, 300 in fig. 1).
Re claim 17: Dias discloses
A method of cooling a video headset (100 in fig. 1), comprising: moving a fluid (300 in fig. 3) through a closed loop conduit (121, 122, 300 in fig. 3) extending through: an extended reality (XR) device (102 in fig. 1) comprising a video display (104 in fig. 1) and electronic circuits (VR displays have electronic circuits) disposed in a housing (housing of 102 in fig. 1); a thermal control mechanism (110 in fig. 1) configured to dissipate heat from the fluid (fig. 1); and a harness (106 in fig. 1) comprising a frontal portion (front region of 106 in fig. 1) configured to secure the XR device (fig. 1) and a rear portion (rear region of 106 in fig. 1) configured to secure thermal control mechanism (fig. 1).Re claim 20:
Dias discloses
A method in a video headset (100 in fig. 1), comprising: generating heat in electronic circuits (VR displays have electronic circuits) in an extended reality (XR) device (102 in fig. 1) comprising a video display (104 in fig. 1);
securing the XR device on a frontal portion of a harness (front region of 106 in fig. 1) and securing a thermal control mechanism (110 in fig. 1) on a rear portion of the harness (rear region of 106 in fig. 1); moving a fluid (300 in fig. 3) in a closed loop conduit (121, 122, 300 in fig. 3) through the XR device, the harness, and the thermal control mechanism (fig. 1); and dissipating, by the thermal control mechanism, heat from the fluid to environmental air adjacent to the thermal control mechanism (110 dissipates heat from 300 to the environment in fig. 1).Re claim 2: Dias discloses the XR device, further comprising a first heat exchange apparatus (112 in fig. 2) thermally coupled to the electronic circuits (fig. 1) and in contact with a fluid (112 is in contact with 300 in 121 in fig. 1) in the XR device and configured to transfer heat from the electronic circuits to the fluid (fig. 1).Re claim 3: Dias discloses the first heat exchange apparatus comprising a heat transfer plate (201 in fig. 2), wherein the electronic circuits are thermally coupled to a first side of a wall of the heat transfer plate (outer side of the wall of 201 in fig. 2), and the fluid is in contact with a second side of the wall of the heat transfer plate (inner side of the wall of 201 in fig. 2).Re claim 4:
Dias discloses wherein the thermal control mechanism is configured to transfer heat from a fluid to environmental air adjacent to the rear portion of the harness (110 transfers heat from 300 to the environment near the rear region of 106 in fig. 1).Re claim 5: Dias discloses the thermal control mechanism comprising a second heat exchanger (118 in fig. 2), comprising at least one fin (fins of 118 in fig. 2) configured to be in thermal contact with a fluid (300 in fig. 3) and with environmental air adjacent to the thermal control mechanism (the outside environment near 110 in fig. 1).Re claim 6: Dias discloses the thermal control mechanism further comprising an air-moving device (114 in fig. 2) configured to force air across the at least one fin.Re claim 7: Dias discloses the closed loop conduit comprising: a first fluid channel (122 in fig. 1) extending along a first side of the harness (right side of 106 in fig. 1) between the XR device and the thermal control mechanism (fig. 1); and a second fluid channel (121 in fig. 1) extending along a second side of the harness (left side of 106 in fig. 1) between the XR device and the thermal control mechanism (fig. 1).Re claim 8: Dias discloses the closed loop conduit further to transfer fluid heated in the XR device to the thermal control mechanism in the first fluid channel (fig. 1) and transfer fluid cooled in the thermal control mechanism back to the XR device in the second fluid channel (fig. 1).Re claim 12: Dias discloses the fluid-based cooling system further comprising a valve (‘dial’ in col. 3, lines 61-67) disposed in one of the first fluid channel and the second fluid channel and configured to control a rate of fluid flow through the closed loop conduit (col. 3, lines 61-67).Re claim 13: Dias discloses the fluid-based cooling system further comprising a thermal sensor (‘heat sensor’ in col. 4, line 8) configured to control the valve based on at least one of a temperature of the electronic circuits and a surface temperature of the XR device (col. 4, lines 7-29).Re claim 14: Dias discloses the fluid-based cooling system configured to dissipate a configurable percentage of heat generated in the XR device to environmental air from the thermal control mechanism (adjusting the fan speed controls the percent of heat that is dissipated to the environment from 110 in fig. 1; col. 4, lines 1-6).Re claim 15: Dias discloses the fluid-based cooling system configured to dissipate more heat generated in the XR device to environmental air from the thermal control mechanism than is dissipated to the environmental air from the XR device (121, 122, 300, 130a, 130b in fig. 1 dissipates more heat to the environment from the 110 than is dissipated to the environment 120 in fig. 1).Re claim 16: Dias discloses wherein the XR device does not include an active air-moving device (102 doesn’t have an active air-moving device in fig. 1).Re claim 18: Dias discloses further comprising, in the thermal control mechanism, transferring heat from the fluid to environmental air adjacent to rear portion of the harness (110 transfers heat from 300 to the environment neat the rear region of 106 in fig. 1).Re claim 19: Dias discloses wherein moving the fluid through the closed loop conduit (fig. 1) further comprises: moving the fluid away from the XR device through a first fluid channel (122 in fig. 1) along a first side of the harness (right side of 106 in fig. 1) and to the thermal control mechanism (110 in fig. 1); and moving the fluid away from the thermal control mechanism through a second fluid channel (121 in fig. 1) on the second side of the harness (left side of 106 in fig. 1) and back to the XR device (fig. 1).
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 9, 10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Dias (US 11,762,208).Re claim 9: Dias does not explicitly disclose the closed loop conduit further comprising a third fluid channel extending between the XR device and the thermal control mechanism and between the first side and the second side of the harness, wherein the closed loop conduit is further configured to: transfer fluid heated in the XR device to the thermal control mechanism through the third fluid channel; and transfer fluid cooled in the thermal control mechanism to the XR device through the first fluid channel and the second fluid channel. However, it would obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the video headset of Dias wherein the closed loop conduit further comprising a third fluid channel extending between the XR device and the thermal control mechanism and between the first side and the second side of the harness, wherein the closed loop conduit is further configured to: transfer fluid heated in the XR device to the thermal control mechanism through the third fluid channel; and transfer fluid cooled in the thermal control mechanism to the XR device through the first fluid channel and the second fluid channel, in order to be able to remove more heat from the XR device, since it has been held that mere duplication of the essential working parts of the a device involves only routine skill in the art. St. Regis Paper Co. v. Bemis Co., 193 USPQ 8.Re claim 10: Dias does not explicitly disclose the closed loop conduit further comprising a third fluid channel extending between the XR device and the thermal control mechanism and between the first side and the second side of the harness, wherein the closed loop conduit is further configured to: transfer fluid heated in the XR device to the thermal control mechanism through the first fluid channel and the second fluid channel; and transfer fluid cooled in the thermal control mechanism to the XR device through the third fluid channel. However, it would obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the video headset of Dias wherein the closed loop conduit further comprising a third fluid channel extending between the XR device and the thermal control mechanism and between the first side and the second side of the harness, wherein the closed loop conduit is further configured to: transfer fluid heated in the XR device to the thermal control mechanism through the first fluid channel and the second fluid channel; and transfer fluid cooled in the thermal control mechanism to the XR device through the third fluid channel, in order to be able to remove more heat from the XR device, since it has been held that mere duplication of the essential working parts of the a device involves only routine skill in the art. St. Regis Paper Co. v. Bemis Co., 193 USPQ 8.
Claim 11 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Dias (US 11,762,208) in view of Toleno (US 2024/0361085).Re claim 11: Dias does not explicitly disclose the fluid-based cooling system further comprising a two-phase cooling system, wherein fluid heated in the XR device changes phase from a liquid to a gas, and fluid cooled in the thermal control mechanism changes phase from the gas to the liquid. Toleno discloses the fluid-based cooling system further comprising a two-phase cooling system, wherein fluid heated in the XR device changes phase from a liquid to a gas, and fluid cooled in the thermal control mechanism changes phase from the gas to the liquid (para. 0053). Thus it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the video headset of Dias wherein the fluid-based cooling system further comprising a two-phase cooling system, wherein fluid heated in the XR device changes phase from a liquid to a gas, and fluid cooled in the thermal control mechanism changes phase from the gas to the liquid as taught by Toleno, in order to increase heat dissipation from the XR device.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure:
US 11,058,026 – is considered pertinent because this reference describes an air deflector for cooling system in a head mounted device.
US 11,036,054 – is considered pertinent because this reference describes an head-mounted display with adjustment mechanism.
US 10,898,798 – is considered pertinent because this reference describes a directed wind effect for AR/VR experience.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ZHENGFU J FENG whose telephone number is (571) 272-2949. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday - Friday, 900am-530pm EST.
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/ZHENGFU J FENG/
Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2835 February 7, 2026