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 .
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 04/12/2024 and 05/05/2025 being considered by the examiner. A copy of initialed form is attached for Applicant’s record.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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 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 and 5 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Toyoshima (US 20240377631 A1).
Regarding claim 1, Toyoshima discloses a display unit (2) in figures 3 and 4, that is mounted on a vehicular display device (figure 1) and emits a display image including display light to be projected onto a projection target member provided outside the vehicular display device (2), the display unit comprising:
a display panel (22)(figure 4) configured to display the display image based on light from a light source (23)(figure 4);
a case (21)(figure 4) that supports the display panel (22); and
a heat dissipation member (21b)(figure 4) configured to dissipate heat accumulated in the display unit (2), wherein a shield case (24)(figure 3) of the case (21) and the heat dissipation member (21b) are connected (col.3, line 54 – col.4., line 3).
Regarding claim 5, the vehicular display device (1) provided on an instrument panel (DB)(figure 1) of a vehicle, the vehicular display device (1) comprising: the display unit (2) according to claim 1;
at least one reflection mirror (31/32)(figure 1) disposed on an optical path of the display light from the display unit (2) to the projection target member (WS)(figure 1) and configured to reflect the display light; and
a control unit configured to control the display unit (2)(col.5, lines 4-6).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 2-4 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: (claim 2) a relay member configured to relay a connection between the display unit and a control unit of the vehicular display device configured to control the display unit, and relay a connection between the shield case and the heat dissipation member.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to TUYEN TRA whose telephone number is (571)272-2343. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 10-6.
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/TUYEN TRA/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2872