DETAILED ACTION
Election/Restrictions
Claims 2-4 and 12-14 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected embodiments groups 1-3 and 5-7, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election was made without traverse in the reply filed on 08/26/2026.
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.
Claim(s) 1, 5-7, 10 and 15 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Hsu (United States Patent Publication 7, 878, 656 B2).
With respect to claims 1, Hsu (United States Patent Publication 7, 878, 656 B2) discloses an illumination light emitter (see comprised by fig.1, 141, 12, 13, 113, and 111) configured to perform polarization control on a polarization direction of light emitted as illumination light into a first polarization direction (see S light in fig.1) and a second polarization direction different from the first polarization direction (see P light in fig.2), and configured to emit light having the first polarization direction and light having the second polarization direction at different timing from each other and in different directions from each other (see S in fig.1 and the relative position of S with respect to P in fig.2); a phase modulation unit (see LCOS 143 in fig.2) including a first region configured to perform phase modulation on the light having the first polarization direction from the illumination light emitter (wherein the polarization of S light changed to P light), and a second region (see LCOS 142 in fig.2) configured to perform phase modulation on the light having the second polarization direction from the illumination light emitter (see wherein the polarization of P light is changed to S light); and a synchronization control unit (see the controller of 13 in fig.2) that causes timing at which the light having the first polarization direction and the light having the second polarization direction are emitted from the illumination light emitter (see fig.3) to be synchronized with timing of phase modulation in the first region and the second region of the phase modulation unit (see the left eye and right eye polarization in fig.1 which correspond which corresponds to the modulation of 142 and 143).
With respect to claim 5, Hsu discloses the optical phase modulation system according to claim 1, wherein the illumination light emitter includes a polarization rotation device (13 in figs.1 and 2) that performs polarization control on the polarization direction of light into the first polarization direction and the second polarization direction (see S and P light transmitted to 141 in fig.2), and an optical path branching device that causes an optical path to be branched into an optical path of the light having the first polarization direction and an optical path of the light having the second polarization direction (see the operation of 141), and the synchronization control unit causes timing at which the polarization control is performed by the polarization rotation device to be synchronized with timing of phase modulation in the first region and the second region of the phase modulation unit (see the left eye and right eye polarization in fig.1 which correspond which corresponds to the modulation of 142 and 143).
With respect to claim 6, Hsu discloses the optical phase modulation system according to claim 5, wherein the polarization rotation device comprises a device configured to electrically rotate the polarization direction of light (see the operation of 13 wherein it is a liquid crystal panel: col.3, lines 30-35: “The transmission-type light modulator 13 can be a liquid crystal panel and is positioned to receive the first polarized light component form the first PBS 12.”).
With respect to claim 7, Hsu discloses the optical phase modulation system according to claim 6, wherein the polarization rotation device comprises a liquid crystal device (see the operation of 13 wherein it is a liquid crystal panel: col.3, lines 30-35: “The transmission-type light modulator 13 can be a liquid crystal panel and is positioned to receive the first polarized light component form the first PBS 12.”).
With respect to claim 10, Hsu discloses the optical phase modulation system according to claim 5, wherein the optical path branching device comprises a polarization beam splitter (see the beam splitter of 141 in fig.2).
With respect to claim 15, Hsu (United States Patent Publication 7, 878, 656 B2) discloses an illumination light emitter (see comprised by fig.1, 141, 12, 13, 113, and 111) configured to perform polarization control on a polarization direction of light emitted as illumination light into a first polarization direction (see S light in fig.1) and a second polarization direction different from the first polarization direction (see P light in fig.2), and configured to emit light having the first polarization direction and light having the second polarization direction at different timing from each other and in different directions from each other (see S in fig.1 and the relative position of S with respect to P in fig.2); a phase modulation unit (see LCOS 143 in fig.2) including a first region configured to perform phase modulation on the light having the first polarization direction from the illumination light emitter (wherein the polarization of S light changed to P light), and a second region (see LCOS 142 in fig.2) configured to perform phase modulation on the light having the second polarization direction from the illumination light emitter (see wherein the polarization of P light is changed to S light); and a synchronization control unit (see the controller of 13 in fig.2) that causes timing at which the polarization control is performed by the illumination light emitter (see fig.3) to be synchronized with timing of phase modulation in the first region and the second region of the phase modulation unit (see the left eye and right eye polarization in fig.1 which correspond which corresponds to the modulation of 142 and 143).
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.
Claim(s) 8 and 9 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hsu (United States Patent Publication 7, 878, 656 B2) in view of Hruska (United States Patent Application Publication 2011/0032483 A1).
With respect to claims 8 and 9, Hsu discloses the optical phase modulation system according to claim 5 but does not explicitly disclose wherein the polarization rotation device comprises a device configured to mechanically rotate the polarization direction of light, wherein the polarization rotation device comprises a rotary wave plate including a mechanical rotation mechanism.
Hruska discloses wherein the polarization rotation device comprises a device configured to mechanically rotate the polarization direction of light (see the operation of 267), wherein the polarization rotation device comprises a rotary wave plate including a mechanical rotation mechanism (see the rotation of retarders 261 and 262).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to modify Hsu with the teaching of Hruska so that the polarization rotation device comprises a device configured to mechanically rotate the polarization direction of light, wherein the polarization rotation device comprises a rotary wave plate including a mechanical rotation mechanism to improve image clarity, dynamic range, improve transition times and transmission characteristics.
Claim(s) 11 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hsu (United States Patent Publication 7, 878, 656 B2) in view of Lin (United States Patent Application Publication 20170322418 A1).
With respect to claim 11, Hsu discloses the optical phase modulation system according to claim 5, Hsu teaches using a beam splitter as the optical path branching device (fig.2, 141) but does not disclose wherein the optical path branching device comprises a polarization spectroscopy device.
However, Lin discloses teaches the optical path branching device comprises a polarization spectroscopy device (i.e. an art recognized equivalence between a metasurface and a polarizing beam splitter [0036]: the optically transmissive substrate and the metasurface form a polarizing beam splitter.).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to modify Hsu with the teaching of Lin so that the optical path branching device comprises a polarization spectroscopy device to enhance the flexibility of optical device. Furthermore, because these two optical path branching devices were art-recognized equivalents before the effective filing date of the claimed invention as shown by Lin above, one of ordinary skill in the art would have found it obvious to substitute a polarization spectroscopy device for a polarization beam splitter to enhance the flexibility of optical design.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JERRY L. BROOKS whose telephone number is (571)270-5711. The examiner can normally be reached on M-F 9:00-4:00 PM.
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, Toan Ton can be reached on 5712722303. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of an application may be obtained from the Patent Application Information Retrieval (PAIR) system. Status information for published applications may be obtained from either Private PAIR or Public PAIR. Status information for unpublished applications is available through Private PAIR only. For more information about the PAIR system, see http://pair-direct.uspto.gov. Should you have questions on access to the Private PAIR system, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative or access to the automated information system, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/JERRY L BROOKS/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2882
Prosecution Insights