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 .
Election/Restrictions
Claims 3-11 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b), as being drawn to a nonelected Species B-D, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Applicant timely traversed the restriction (election) requirement in the reply filed on March 20, 2026. The traversal is on the ground(s) that the species have a common general inventive concept and would pose no serious search burden. This is not found persuasive because the restriction is based on lack of unity because even though the inventions of these groups require the technical feature the shared technical feature of the generic claims these are not a special technical feature, as set forth in the rejection below. Therefore, there is no technical relationship left over the prior art among the claimed inventions involving one or more of the same or corresponding special technical features, leaving two or more dependent claims without a single general inventive concept. (Rule 13.2; AI Annex B, Part 1(b)). The requirement is still deemed proper and is therefore made FINAL.
Upon review, the examiner has identified claims 12 and 20 include a portion of the light going directly to a windshield from the inner mirror and are directed to withdrawn Species B drawn to a HUD with a display emitting P light, reflected by a first mirror through a polarization film, a first portion of the P light going directly to a windshield and a second portion of the P light going to a phase delay mirror that reflect the light as S light back to said polarization film that reflects it to said windshield, a seen in figure 6; and/or Species D, drawn to a HUD with a display emitting P light to a first mirror, a first portion of P light reflected by said first mirror gets reflected by a second mirror and goes through a polarization film and goes directly to the windshield, and a second portion of the P light goes through said polarization film to a phase delay mirror that reflect the light as S light back to said polarization film that reflects it to said windshield, a seen in figure 1. Accordingly, claims 3-12 and 20 are considered withdrawn and claims 1-2 and 13-19 are examined below.
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statements (IDS) submitted on March 22, 2024 and November 12, 2025 comply with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statements are being considered by the examiner.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
Claim 2 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
Regarding claim 2 “an outer mirror disposed in front of the 1/4 wavelength phase retarder” particularly “in front” raise clarity issues. It is unclear if in front mean sequentially along the optical path or if it is indicating some (unclaimed) frame of reference (e.g. towards the front of the vehicle). In light of the specification, see figure 7 particularly the conversion from P to S polarization, it is clear the light passes through the l/4 retarder (52) reflects from the outer mirror (54) and passes through the l/4 retarder (52) a second time. For purposes of examination the examiner will interpret the “front” as being established/defined by the position of the outer mirror and the 1/4 wavelength phase retarder.
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 1-2 and 13-19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by You et al. foreign patent document CN107045199A.
Regarding claim 1 You discloses a head-up display (title e.g. figures 2-3) comprising: a housing (implicit that a housing is used to hold elements) having an inner space (e.g. space bounded by elements 10, 20 & 30) therein and configured to be disposed below a windshield of a vehicle (e.g. windshield 50); an imaging device (e.g. display unit 10) accommodated in the inner space and configured to emit a first linearly polarized light in a first direction (e.g. first ray 11 paragraph [0057] “first ray 11 is polarized light” and notes an exemplar of “polarized light in the P-polarization direction”); an inner mirror (e.g. reflector 20) disposed to be spaced apart from the imaging device (e.g. 10) in the inner space (see figures 2-3) and configured to reflect the first linearly polarized light emitted from the imaging device in the first direction (paragraph [0057] “first ray 11 reflected by the mirror 20 is referred to here as the second ray 21”); a polarization film (e.g. polarizing beam splitter 30) configured to transmit the first linearly polarized light reflected from the inner mirror (paragraph [0057] “second ray 21 passes through a polarizing beam splitter 30” see figures 2-3) and reflect a second linearly polarized light in a second direction orthogonal to the first direction (axiomatic e.g. paragraph [0059] “the polarization direction of the second ray 21 can be, for example, orthogonal to the polarization direction of the third ray 31” & paragraph [0061] “the polarizing beam splitter 30 reflects the third ray 31” see figures 2-3); and a phase delay mirror (e.g. combination of 40 & 60) disposed outside the inner space and configured to phase-convert the first linearly polarized light transmitted through the polarization film after being reflected from the inner mirror into the second linearly polarized light so as to emit the second linearly polarized light to the polarization film (paragraph [0059] “The beam combiner 40 is positioned on the transmission path of the second ray 21, and then reflects the second ray 21 after it passes through the wave plate 60. The second ray 21 is reflected by the beam combiner 40 and is represented by the third ray 31. The third ray 31 then passes through the wave plate 60 again, causing the polarization direction of the third ray 31 after passing through the wave plate 60 to be rotated by 90 degrees compared to the polarization direction of the second ray 21 after passing through the polarizing beam splitter 30.” see figures 2-3), wherein the second linearly polarized light phase-converted from the phase delay mirror is reflected to the windshield by the polarization film, and wherein the first linearly polarized light reflected from the inner mirror is transmitted through the polarization film to proceed to the windshield (paragraph [0061] “Next, the third ray 31 is projected toward the polarizing beam splitter 30, and the polarizing beam splitter 30 reflects the third ray 31. Finally, the windshield 50, positioned on the transmission path of the third ray 31 reflected by the polarizing beam splitter 30, reflects the third ray 31 reflected by the polarizing beam splitter 30 to the user's eye 70.” see figures 2-3).
Regarding claim 2 You discloses the head-up display according to claim 1, as set forth above. You further discloses wherein the phase delay mirror (e.g. combination of 40 & 60) comprises: a 1/4 wavelength phase retarder (e.g. wave plate 60 paragraph [0058] “wave plate 60 can be a quarter wave plate”) disposed outside the inner space and facing the polarization film (see figures 2-3); and an outer mirror (e.g. beam combiner 40 paragraph [0060] “wave plate 60”) disposed in front of the 1/4 wavelength phase retarder (e.g. see figures 2-3).
Regarding claim 13 You discloses the head-up display according to claim 1, as set forth above. You further discloses wherein the imaging device (e.g. 10) is disposed to be spaced apart from the polarization film (e.g. 30) in a vertical direction below the polarization film (see figures 2-3).
Regarding claim 14 You discloses the head-up display according to claim 1, as set forth above. You further discloses wherein the inner mirror (e.g. 20) is disposed to be spaced apart from the polarization film (e.g. 30) in a vertical direction below the polarization film (see figures 2-3).
Regarding claim 15 You discloses the head-up display according to claim 1, as set forth above. You further discloses wherein the phase delay mirror (e.g. combination of 40 & 60) is disposed above the polarization film (see figures 2-3).
Regarding claim 16 You discloses the head-up display according to claim 1, as set forth above. You further discloses wherein the polarization film (e.g. 30) is configured to cover the inner space (see figures 2-3).
Regarding claim 17 You discloses the head-up display according to claim 1, as set forth above. You further discloses wherein a blind loop (e.g. light-blocking surface 42) on which the phase delay mirror (e.g. combination of 40 & 60) is disposed is provided at an upper portion of the housing (see figures 2-3).
Regarding claim 18 You discloses the head-up display according to claim 1, as set forth above. You further discloses wherein the phase delay mirror (e.g. light-blocking surface 42) is disposed between the housing and the windshield (see figures 2-3).
Regarding claim 19 You discloses a head-up display (title e.g. figures 2-3) comprising: a housing (implicit that a housing is used to hold elements) having an inner space (e.g. space bounded by elements 10, 20 & 30) and disposed adjacent to a windshield of a vehicle (e.g. 50); an imaging device (e.g. 10) in the inner space and configured to emit a first linearly polarized light in a first direction (e.g. 11); an inner mirror (e.g. 20) in the inner space and spaced apart from the imaging device (see figures 2-3), and configured to reflect the first linearly polarized light (e.g. 21); and a phase delay mirror (e.g. combination of 40 & 60) disposed between the windshield and the housing (see figures 2-3), and configured to phase-convert the first linearly polarized light reflected from the inner mirror (e.g. 21) into a second linearly polarized light (e.g. 31).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Matsushita US Patent Application Publication 2016/0334622, of record; in regards to a similar device, see figure 1.
Takahashi US Patent Application Publication 2019/0255946, of record; in regards to a similar device, see figure 1.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to George G King whose telephone number is (303)297-4273. The examiner can normally be reached 9-5.
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/George G. King/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2872 March 30, 2026