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 .
Examiner Notes
Examiner cites particular columns and line numbers in the references as applied to the claims below for the convenience of the applicant. Although the specified citations are representative of the teachings in the art and are applied to the specific limitations within the individual claim, other passages and figures may apply as well. It is respectfully requested that, in preparing responses, the applicant fully consider the references in entirety as potentially teaching all or part of the claimed invention, as well as the context of the passage as taught by the prior art or disclosed by the examiner.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 03/29/2024 is being considered by the examiner.
Priority
Acknowledgement is made of applicant’s claim for priority based on JP2021-160287 dated 09/30/2021.
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.
(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 and 3-6 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Sato (US 20180292650 A1).
Regarding claim 1, Sato teaches in Figs. 2-4 and 13:
a mirror unit comprising (“a mirror unit 30”; [0025], Fig. 3);
a reflecting mirror (“a concave mirror 31”; [0033]); and
a holder (“a holder 35”; [0033]) which holds the reflecting mirror (31) from a back surface thereof (“the holder 35 has, on a surface (surface facing the back surface of the concave mirror 31) thereof”; [0038]),
the mirror unit (30) rotating about an axis (“the holder 35 can be rotated around the first and second rotary shaft portions 39a and 39b”; [0045]) as the holder is pressed by a slider which moves linearly (“When the movable portion 42b is moved along the screw shaft 42a, rotation force is applied from the movable portion 42b to the holding portion 38, which is in turn applied to the holder 35”; [0045], Fig. 13), and being provided in a head-up display device (“the display device according to the invention is applied to an in-vehicle head-up display device”; [0072]), wherein
the holder (35) comprises:
a part to be pressed (“screw shaft 42a”; [0031]), which is at a position deviated from a center of the reflecting mirror toward a first end of the reflecting mirror in a direction in which the axis extends (see Fig. 13 and Fig. 3), and is pressed by the slider (41) (“The screw shaft 42a axially rotates in accordance with drive of the motor 41”; [0031], Fig. 13);
a first support part (the lattices on the holder 35 are all support parts, therefore one is free to select any of the lattices to be support parts. See the mark up on annotated Figure 1 below which defines the first support part to be the shortest lattice on the right most portion of the back face of the holder), which is at a position corresponding to the part to be pressed (any of the lattices on the holder correspond to the part to be pressed 42a due to the connectedness of 38 and 35), and is fixed to the back surface (see the markup on Figure 1 below which shows that the first support part is integral with the back surface of 35); and
a second support part (the lattices on the holder 35 are all support parts, therefore one is free to select any of the lattices to be support parts. See the mark up on annotated Figure 1 below which defines the second support part to be a lattice on a left portion of the holder), which is located closer to a second end opposite to the first end of the reflecting mirror than the first support part (see Figure 1 below in which the second support part is closer to the fist end of the mirror than the first support part), is larger than the first support part in outer shape (see Figure 1 below in which the second support part is larger than the first support part), and is fixed to the back surface (see annotated Figure 1 below in which the second support part is fixed to the back surface of 35).
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Figure 1: Annotated Fig 4 of Sato
Regarding claim 3, Sato teaches the mirror unit according to claim 1. Sato further teaches in Figs. 2-4 and 13: an outer shape of each of the first support part and the second support part is rectangular (see annotated Figure 1 above in which the lattices of 35 are formed in a rectangular shapes).
Regarding claim 4, Sato teaches the mirror unit according to claim 1. Sato further teaches in Figs. 2-4 and 13: an upper end of the second support part is closer to an upper end of the reflecting mirror than an upper end of the first support part (see annotated Figure 1 above in which an upper end of the second support part is closer to an upper end of the reflecting unit 31 than an upper end of the fist support part).
Regarding claim 5, Sato teaches the mirror unit according to claim 1. Sato further teaches in Figs. 2-4 and 13: of two regions obtained by dividing an outer shape of the second support part along the axis (see annotated Figure 1 which portrays a dividing center line along the axis), when one region close to an upper end (direction opposite of 38) of the reflecting mirror is assumed as a first region, and the other region is assumed as a second region, an area of the first region is greater than an area of the second region (see annotated figure 1 in which when the second supporting part is divided by the center line of the rotating axis, the portion on the upper end (in the direction opposite to item 38) of the center line is greater than that of the portion in the second region).
Regarding claim 6, Sato teaches the mirror unit according to claim 1. Sato further teaches in Figs. 2-4 and 13: a center of gravity of an outer shape of the first support part is at a position which is deviated from the center of the reflecting mirror toward the first end in the direction in which the axis extends (although the center of gravity is not explicitly disclosed, one could readily assume from the markup of Figure 1 above that the center of gravity of the first support part is at a position which is deviated from the center of the mirror towards the direction of the axis 39b); and
a center of gravity of an outer shape of the second support part is at a position which is deviated from the center of the reflecting mirror toward the second end in the direction in which the axis extends (although the center of gravity is not explicitly disclosed, one could readily assume from the markup of Figure 1 above that the center of gravity of the second support part is at a position which is deviated from the center of the mirror towards the direction of the axis 39a).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 2 is 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:
Regarding claim 2, the closest art, Sato, teaches the mirror unit according to claim 1. Sato further teaches in figs 2-5 and 13: the first support part is fixed to the back surface by a first double-sided tape the second support part is fixed to the back surface by a second double-sided tape (“the holder and the concave mirror may be bonded via a double-sided adhesive tape in a state in which the concave mirror is shifted from a desired position with respect to the holder” (Sato, [0004]).
Although Sato does not explicitly teach the use of double sided tape to secure the support parts to the back surface of the lens holder the reference Sato teaches that the method of using double sided tape in HUD configurations is known in the art such that “double-sided adhesive tape may be employed as the adhesive” (Sato, [0070]).
Furthermore, It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to use double sided tape to secure the support parts to the back surface of the lens holder since it has been held to be within the ordinary skill in the art to select a known material on the basis of its suitability for the intended use. Sinclair and Carroll Co. v. Interchemical Corp. 65 USPQ 297 (1945).
However, Sato fails to explicitly teach: the second double-sided tape is formed in a shape of a frame having an opening; and an area of the first double-sided tape is less than or equal to an area of the opening.
Therefore, it would be improper to modify Sato to provide a device in which the second double-sided tape is formed in a shape of a frame having an opening; and an area of the first double-sided tape is less than or equal to an area of the opening. Therefore, the combination of features is considered to be allowable.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure:
US 20130155520 A1: an HUD including a reflective mirror which is inserted and mounted to the lower casing toward a bottom surface of the lower casing while both lateral edges of the reflective mirror are engaged with the guide grooves, to reflect the display light emitted from the indicator and guide the reflected display light to a windshield of a vehicle.
US 20170336632 A1: A mirror holder 30 supporting a concave mirror is equipped with a protruding piece that protrudes from the approximate center of the holder width, which is defined along a rotational axis, and this protruding piece is moved by a position adjustment means. Stress acting on the mirror holder from the protruding piece is uniform in the left and right directions from the center of the mirror holder. Consequently, twisting at the location of the mirror holder is significantly reduced, so the driver is able to view a display object for which distortion has been suppressed, and the display quality of the display object is improved.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to RUBY L KAUFFMAN whose telephone number is (571)272-1738. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Fri 7:30am - 5pm EST.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Thomas Pham can be reached at (571) 272-3689. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/RUBY L KAUFFMAN/Examiner, Art Unit 2872
/THOMAS K PHAM/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2872