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 .
Drawings
The drawings submitted have been reviewed and determined to facilitate understanding of the invention. The drawings are accepted as submitted.
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)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 1, 9, 12-13, 16-17, and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by US Patent Application Publication US 2023/0341684 A1 to Yang et al. (“US1”).
Regarding Claim 1, US1 describes a waveguide (100, 700, see Figs 1, 4, 7), comprising:
a mirror region (100, 400, 710A);
a non-mirror region (“non-grating region” see [0036]); and
a mitigation element (418) to mitigate a phase difference between a first beam portion passing through the mirror region and a second beam portion passing through the non-mirror region (see [0035]-[0036]).
Regarding Claim 9, US1 describes the mitigation element comprising a phase matching layer situated on a reflective layer formed in the mirror region, and wherein the phase matching layer comprises a gradient of refractive index (see [0035]-[0036]).
Regarding Claim 12, US1 describes the mitigation element comprising at least one phase compensating layer formed on at least one total internal reflection (TIR) surface of the waveguide (see Fig 4 and [0035]-[0036]).
Regarding Claim 13, US1 describes the phase compensating layer adjusts a first phase imparted on the first beam portion such that a second phase imparted on the first portion of the light beam matches a phase of the second beam portion (see [0035]-[0036]).
Regarding Claim 16, US1 describes a waveguide grating (110, 410, 710, see Figs 1, 4, 7), comprising:
a substrate (102); and
at least one mirror (410)formed on the substrate, the at least one mirror comprising:
at least one reflective layer (411) formed on the substrate; and
at least one mitigation element (418) formed on the at least one reflective layer to mitigate a phase difference between a first beam portion passing through the at least one reflective layer and a second beam portion passing through a non-mirror region of a waveguide (see [0035]-[0036]).
Regarding Claim 17, US1 describes the at least one mitigation element as a material of the at least one reflective layer having a refractive index that is matched to a refractive index of the non-mirror region (see [0035]-[0036]).
Regarding Claim 20, US1 describes a wearable head-mounted display system (850, see Fig 8) comprising:
the waveguide of claim 1 (100, 800, see [0046]);
an image source (860) to project light comprising an image; and
at least one lens element (inherent to the “eyeglasses” described, see [0046]).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 2-8, 10-11, 14-15, and 18-19 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.
Claims 2-6 describe the mitigation element comprising a reflective layer of the mirror region.
Claims 7-8 describe a buffer layer having a thickness of at least 3 micrometers and situated between the reflective layer and the mitigation element.
Claim 10 describes a first refractive index at a first portion of the phase matching layer closest to the reflective layer and a second refractive index at a second portion of the phase matching layer farthest from the reflective layer are the same as a refractive index of the non-mirror region, and wherein the first refractive index and the second refractive index gradually change towards a center of the phase matching layer.
Claim 11 describes the mitigation element comprising a structured phase matching layer formed on a reflective layer of the mirror region and comprising a plurality of protrusions extending outwardly from the reflective layer with each protrusion including a base proximal to the reflective layer and a tip distal to the reflective layer
Claim 14 describes the mitigation element comprising an apodized reflective layer formed in the mirror region.
Claim 15 describes the mitigation element comprising a reflective layer formed in the mirror region having serrated edges.
Claims 18-19 describe a buffer layer situated between the reflective layer and the at least one mitigation element.
Conclusion
The prior art cited in the attached form PTO-892 are made of record and considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. The cited prior art describes various waveguide structures with mirror regions and/or mitigation elements.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JERRY RAHLL whose telephone number is (571)272-2356. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9:00am-5:00pm.
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, Uyen-Chau Le can be reached at 571-272-2397. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/JERRY RAHLL/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2874
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