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.
Response to Amendment
The amendment filed April 24th, 2026 has been entered.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claims 1-15 and 17-20 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statements (IDS) submitted on March 23rd, 2026 has been 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.
Claims 1-15 and 17-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Guillot (US 2020/0393702) in view of Liang (US 2011/0029073).
Regarding claim 1, Guillot discloses a spectacle lens (Figs. 1 and 8, element 10) that exhibits the effect of suppressing the progression of myopia or reducing hyperopia ([0009], “reducing the progression of abnormal refractions of the eye such as myopia or hyperopia”), comprising:
a central clear area (16) that is an area including an eye point and allows a light beam entering from an object-side surface to exit from an eyeball-side surface, enter into a wearer's pupil, and converge on a retina ([0088], “central zone 16 comprises a framing reference point that faces the pupil of the person gazing straight ahead in standard wearing conditions”), wherein the eve point is a position where a line of sight passes when facing straight ahead when wearing the spectacle lens (as shown in Fig. 1, the center of 16 is an eye point corresponding to a straight line of sight);
a functional area (14) that is an annular functional area surrounding the central clear area (as shown in Fig. 8, 14 surrounds 16), and having a base area that achieves a prescribed refractive power ([0216], “the refraction area may comprise a progressive additional lens design adapted to the prescription of the person”) and a retinal non-convergence region that does not allow the light beam entering into the wearer's pupil to converge on the retina, while allowing the light beam entering from the object-side surface to exit from the eyeball-side surface ([0181], “having optical elements configured so that along at least one section of the lens the mean sphere and/or mean cylinder of optical elements increases from a point of said section towards the peripheral part of said section allows increasing the defocus of the light rays in front the retina in case of myopia”); and
an outer clear area (12) that is an annular area surrounding the functional area on an outer edge side of a spectacle lens (as shown in Fig. 8, 12 is a clear area surrounding 14), and allows the light beam entering from the object-side surface to exit from the eyeball-side surface, enter into the wearer's pupil, and converge on the retina ([0073], “The refraction area 12 has a refractive power P1 based on the prescription of the eye of the person for which the lens element is adapted.”), wherein an entire area between the outer edge of the spectacle lens and the functional area is the outer clear area (as shown in Fig. 1, the area between 14 and 10 is the outer clear area which is the entire area between the functional area 14 and an edge of the lens 10).
Guillot does not specifically disclose wherein in planar view, the functional area falls within a circle centered on an eye point and having a diameter that is any one value of 15.00 to 25.00 mm.
However Liang, in the same field of endeavor because both teach a spectacle lens, teaches wherein in planar view, the functional area (Figs. 4E, 5A, and 7A, element 46, 52b, and 73a respectively) falls within a circle centered on an eye point and having a diameter that is any one value of 15.00 to 25.00 mm ([claim 12], “a middle optical section having an outer diameter of 2.5 mm to 5 mm”, a functional area having a diameter of 5mm falls within a circle having a diameter of 15mm to 25mm).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the instant invention to have the spectacle lens of Guillot with the wherein in planar view, the functional area falls within a circle centered on an eye point and having a diameter that is any one value of 15.00 to 25.00 mm as taught by Liang for the purpose of reducing sensitivity to displacement ([0097]).
Regarding claim 2, Guillot discloses a spectacle lens (Figs. 1 and 8, element 10) that exhibits the effect of suppressing the progression of myopia or reducing hyperopia ([0009], “reducing the progression of abnormal refractions of the eye such as myopia or hyperopia”), comprising:
a central clear area (16) that is an area including an eye point and allows a light beam entering from an object-side surface to exit from an eyeball-side surface, enter into a wearer's pupil, and converge on a retina ([0088], “central zone 16 comprises a framing reference point that faces the pupil of the person gazing straight ahead in standard wearing conditions”), wherein the eve point is a position where a line of sight passes when facing straight ahead when wearing the spectacle lens (as shown in Fig. 1, the center of 16 is an eye point corresponding to a straight line of sight);
a functional area (14) that is an annular functional area surrounding the central clear area (as shown in Fig. 8, 14 surrounds 16), and having a base area that achieves a prescribed refractive power ([0216], “the refraction area may comprise a progressive additional lens design adapted to the prescription of the person”) and a retinal non-convergence region that does not allow the light beam entering into the wearer's pupil to converge on the retina, while allowing the light beam entering from the object-side surface to exit from the eyeball-side surface ([0181], “having optical elements configured so that along at least one section of the lens the mean sphere and/or mean cylinder of optical elements increases from a point of said section towards the peripheral part of said section allows increasing the defocus of the light rays in front the retina in case of myopia”); and
an outer clear area (12) that is an annular area surrounding the functional area on an outer edge side of a spectacle lens (as shown in Fig. 8, 12 is a clear area surrounding 14), and allows the light beam entering from the object-side surface to exit from the eyeball-side surface, enter into the wearer's pupil, and converge on the retina ([0073], “The refraction area 12 has a refractive power P1 based on the prescription of the eye of the person for which the lens element is adapted.”), wherein an entire area between the outer edge of the spectacle lens and the functional area is the outer clear area (as shown in Fig. 1, the area between 14 and 10 is the outer clear area which is the entire area between the functional area 14 and an edge of the lens 10),
the retinal non-convergence area is intensively provided within the functional area of an entire spectacle lens (as shown in Fig. 8, the optical elements are intensively provided in the functional area 14).
Guillot does not specifically disclose wherein the functional area is provided at a position where the light beam enters into a defocus-sensitive area on a wearer's retina, in a range of rotation angles of any one of 10 to 20 degrees, the outer clear area is provided at a position where the light beam enters in a range of rotation angles exceeding the above one value.
However Liang, in the same field of endeavor because both teach a spectacle lens, teaches wherein the functional area (Figs. 4E, 5A, and 7A, element 46, 52b, and 73a respectively) is provided at a position where the light beam enters into a defocus-sensitive area on a wearer's retina, in a range of rotation angles of any one of 10 to 20 degrees ([0099], “Depending on the preference of the lens design, .phi.1 can be zero for a biasing to far vision or can be a positive number like 1 D for a biased vision at intermediate distance. .phi.2 is desired to be in the range from 1 Diopter or 4 Diopters depending on individual preference”, [claim 12], “a middle optical section having an outer diameter of 2.5 mm to 5 mm” for a diopter range of 1 to 4 and a diameter of 2.5 to 5 mm, the rotation angle would be in the range of 10 to 20 degrees), the outer clear area is provided at a position where the light beam enters in a range of rotation angles exceeding the above one value (as shown in Figs. 7C-7E, the outer area is provided at angles beyond the middle optical section).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the instant invention to have the spectacle lens of Guillot with the wherein the functional area is provided at a position where the light beam enters into a defocus-sensitive area on a wearer's retina, in a range of rotation angles of any one of 10 to 20 degrees, the outer clear area is provided at a position where the light beam enters in a range of rotation angles exceeding the above one value as taught by Liang for the purpose of reducing sensitivity to displacement ([0097]).
Regarding claim 3, modified Guillot discloses as is set forth in claim 1 rejection above and Guillot further discloses wherein in planar view, an area of the retinal non-convergence area provided within the functional area (14) relative to an area of the retinal non-convergence area in the entire spectacle lens, is 80% or more (as shown in Figs. 1 and 8, the optical elements in the functional area 14 are located only in the functional area and thus has a relative area of more than 80%).
Regarding claim 4, modified Guillot discloses as is set forth in claim 1 rejection above and Guillot further discloses wherein in planar view, an area of the retinal non-convergence area provided within the functional area (examiner interprets this to be a single ring of 14 in Fig. 8) relative to an area of an entire spectacle lens, is 20% or less (as shown in Fig. 8, a single ring of 14 is less than 20% coverage of the entire refractive lens 12).
Regarding claim 5, modified Guillot discloses as is set forth in claim 1 rejection above and Guillot further discloses wherein in the functional area, 30% or more of the light beam entering into the wearer's pupil is not allowed to converge on the retina ([0181], “having optical elements configured so that along at least one section of the lens the mean sphere and/or mean cylinder of optical elements increases from a point of said section towards the peripheral part of said section allows increasing the defocus of the light rays in front the retina in case of myopia”, as disclosed in [0181] and as shown in Figs. 1 and 8, since the entire region of 14 is covered by the optical elements, more than 30% of light does not converge on the retina).
Regarding claim 6, modified Guillot discloses as is set forth in claim 2 rejection above but does not specifically disclose wherein in planar view, the functional area falls within a circle centered on an eye point and having a diameter that is any one value of 15.00 to 25.00 mm.
However Liang, in the same field of endeavor because both teach a spectacle lens, teaches wherein in planar view, the functional area (Figs. 4E, 5A, and 7A, element 46, 52b, and 73a respectively) falls within a circle centered on an eye point and having a diameter that is any one value of 15.00 to 25.00 mm ([claim 12], “a middle optical section having an outer diameter of 2.5 mm to 5 mm”, a functional area having a diameter of 5mm falls within a circle having a diameter of 15mm to 25mm).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the instant invention to have the spectacle lens of Guillot in view of Liang with the wherein in planar view, the functional area falls within a circle centered on an eye point and having a diameter that is any one value of 15.00 to 25.00 mm as taught by Liang for the purpose of reducing sensitivity to displacement ([0097]).
Regarding claim 7, modified Guillot discloses as is set forth in claim 1 rejection above and Guillot further discloses wherein in planar view, the central clear area has a size that includes a circle centered on the eye point and having a diameter that is any one value of 4.00 to 13.00 mm, and has a size that falls within a circle with a diameter of other one value within the above range ([0088], “the central zone 16 comprises a framing reference point … has a diameter greater than or equal to 4 mm”, [0211], “optical elements on the circle of diameter 10 mm and centered on the optical center”, this would mean the central region has a diameter between 4mm and 10mm).
Regarding claim 8, modified Guillot discloses as is set forth in claim 1 rejection above but does not specifically disclose wherein in planar view, the functional area falls within a circle centered on the eve point and having a diameter of 20.12mm.
However Liang, in the same field of endeavor because both teach a spectacle lens, teaches wherein in planar view, the functional area (Figs. 4E, 5A, and 7A, element 46, 52b, and 73a respectively) falls within a circle centered on an eye point and having a diameter of 20.12mm ([claim 12], “a middle optical section having an outer diameter of 2.5 mm to 5 mm”, a functional area having a diameter of 5mm falls within a circle having a diameter of 20.12mm).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the instant invention to have the spectacle lens of Guillot in view of Liang with the wherein in planar view, the functional area falls within a circle centered on the eve point and having a diameter of 20.12mm as taught by Liang for the purpose of reducing sensitivity to displacement ([0097]).
Regarding claim 9, modified Guillot discloses as is set forth in claim 2 rejection above and Guillot further discloses wherein in planar view, an area of the retinal non-convergence area provided within the functional area (14) relative to an area of the retinal non-convergence area in the entire spectacle lens, is 80% or more (as shown in Figs. 1 and 8, the optical elements in the functional area 14 are located only in the functional area and thus has a relative area of more than 80%).
Regarding claim 10, modified Guillot discloses as is set forth in claim 2 rejection above and Guillot further discloses wherein in planar view, an area of the retinal non-convergence area provided within the functional area (examiner interprets this to be a single ring of 14 in Fig. 8) relative to an area of an entire spectacle lens, is 20% or less (as shown in Fig. 8, a single ring of 14 is less than 20% coverage of the entire refractive lens 12).
Regarding claim 11, modified Guillot discloses as is set forth in claim 3 rejection above and Guillot further discloses wherein in planar view, an area of the retinal non-convergence area provided within the functional area (examiner interprets this to be a single ring of 14 in Fig. 8) relative to an area of an entire spectacle lens, is 20% or less (as shown in Fig. 8, a single ring of 14 is less than 20% coverage of the entire refractive lens 12).
Regarding claim 12, modified Guillot discloses as is set forth in claim 2 rejection above and Guillot further discloses wherein in the functional area, 30% or more of the light beam entering into the wearer's pupil is not allowed to converge on the retina ([0181], “having optical elements configured so that along at least one section of the lens the mean sphere and/or mean cylinder of optical elements increases from a point of said section towards the peripheral part of said section allows increasing the defocus of the light rays in front the retina in case of myopia”, as disclosed in [0181] and as shown in Figs. 1 and 8, since the entire region of 14 is covered by the optical elements, more than 30% of light does not converge on the retina).
Regarding claim 13, modified Guillot discloses as is set forth in claim 9 rejection above but does not specifically disclose wherein in planar view, the functional area falls within a circle centered on an eye point and having a diameter that is any one value of 15.00 to 25.00 mm.
However Liang, in the same field of endeavor because both teach a spectacle lens, teaches wherein in planar view, the functional area (Figs. 4E, 5A, and 7A, element 46, 52b, and 73a respectively) falls within a circle centered on an eye point and having a diameter that is any one value of 15.00 to 25.00 mm ([claim 12], “a middle optical section having an outer diameter of 2.5 mm to 5 mm”, a functional area having a diameter of 5mm falls within a circle having a diameter of 15mm to 25mm).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the instant invention to have the spectacle lens of Guillot in view of Liang with the wherein in planar view, the functional area falls within a circle centered on an eye point and having a diameter that is any one value of 15.00 to 25.00 mm as taught by Liang for the purpose of reducing sensitivity to displacement ([0097]).
Regarding claim 14, modified Guillot discloses as is set forth in claim 2 rejection above and Guillot further discloses wherein in planar view, the central clear area has a size that includes a circle centered on the eye point and having a diameter that is any one value of 4.00 to 13.00 mm, and has a size that falls within a circle with a diameter of other one value within the above range ([0088], “the central zone 16 comprises a framing reference point … has a diameter greater than or equal to 4 mm”, [0211], “optical elements on the circle of diameter 10 mm and centered on the optical center”, this would mean the central region has a diameter between 4mm and 10mm).
Regarding claim 15, modified Guillot discloses as is set forth in claim 2 rejection above but does not specifically disclose wherein in planar view, the functional area falls within a circle centered on the eve point and having a diameter of 20.12mm.
However Liang, in the same field of endeavor because both teach a spectacle lens, teaches wherein in planar view, the functional area (Figs. 4E, 5A, and 7A, element 46, 52b, and 73a respectively) falls within a circle centered on an eye point and having a diameter of 20.12mm ([claim 12], “a middle optical section having an outer diameter of 2.5 mm to 5 mm”, a functional area having a diameter of 5mm falls within a circle having a diameter of 20.12mm).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the instant invention to have the spectacle lens of Guillot in view of Liang with the wherein in planar view, the functional area falls within a circle centered on the eve point and having a diameter of 20.12mm as taught by Liang for the purpose of reducing sensitivity to displacement ([0097]).
Regarding claim 17, modified Guillot discloses as is set forth in claim 3 rejection above and Guillot further discloses wherein in the functional area, 30% or more of the light beam entering into the wearer's pupil is not allowed to converge on the retina ([0181], “having optical elements configured so that along at least one section of the lens the mean sphere and/or mean cylinder of optical elements increases from a point of said section towards the peripheral part of said section allows increasing the defocus of the light rays in front the retina in case of myopia”, as disclosed in [0181] and as shown in Figs. 1 and 8, since the entire region of 14 is covered by the optical elements, more than 30% of light does not converge on the retina).
Regarding claim 18, modified Guillot discloses as is set forth in claim 10 rejection above but does not specifically disclose wherein in planar view, the functional area falls within a circle centered on an eye point and having a diameter that is any one value of 15.00 to 25.00 mm.
However Liang, in the same field of endeavor because both teach a spectacle lens, teaches wherein in planar view, the functional area (Figs. 4E, 5A, and 7A, element 46, 52b, and 73a respectively) falls within a circle centered on an eye point and having a diameter that is any one value of 15.00 to 25.00 mm ([claim 12], “a middle optical section having an outer diameter of 2.5 mm to 5 mm”, a functional area having a diameter of 5mm falls within a circle having a diameter of 15mm to 25mm).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the instant invention to have the spectacle lens of Guillot in view of Liang with the wherein in planar view, the functional area falls within a circle centered on an eye point and having a diameter that is any one value of 15.00 to 25.00 mm as taught by Liang for the purpose of reducing sensitivity to displacement ([0097]).
Regarding claim 19, modified Guillot discloses as is set forth in claim 3 rejection above and Guillot further discloses wherein in planar view, the central clear area has a size that includes a circle centered on the eye point and having a diameter that is any one value of 4.00 to 13.00 mm, and has a size that falls within a circle with a diameter of other one value within the above range ([0088], “the central zone 16 comprises a framing reference point … has a diameter greater than or equal to 4 mm”, [0211], “optical elements on the circle of diameter 10 mm and centered on the optical center”, this would mean the central region has a diameter between 4mm and 10mm).
Regarding claim 20, modified Guillot discloses as is set forth in claim 3 rejection above but does not specifically disclose wherein in planar view, the functional area falls within a circle centered on the eve point and having a diameter of 20.12mm.
However Liang, in the same field of endeavor because both teach a spectacle lens, teaches wherein in planar view, the functional area (Figs. 4E, 5A, and 7A, element 46, 52b, and 73a respectively) falls within a circle centered on an eye point and having a diameter of 20.12mm ([claim 12], “a middle optical section having an outer diameter of 2.5 mm to 5 mm”, a functional area having a diameter of 5mm falls within a circle having a diameter of 20.12mm).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the instant invention to have the spectacle lens of Guillot in view of Liang with the wherein in planar view, the functional area falls within a circle centered on the eve point and having a diameter of 20.12mm as taught by Liang for the purpose of reducing sensitivity to displacement ([0097]).
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MATTHEW Y LEE whose telephone number is (571)272-3526. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday 8:00 am - 5:00 pm.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Pinping Sun can be reached at (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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/MATTHEW Y LEE/Examiner, Art Unit 2872 26 June 2026
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