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 .
This Office Action is in response to the Applicant’s amendment submitted on December 19, 2025. In virtue of this amendment:
Claims 11-12 are newly added; and thus,
Claims 1-12 are now pending in the instant application.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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, 3-4, 6-8 and 10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Takahashi et al. (US 2021/0368603 of record).
With respect to claim 1, Takahashi discloses in figure 23 a luminous device for an automotive vehicle (paragraph 0172, e.g., “an automotive lamp) comprising a controller (CONTROLLER) connected to a control input (CI, e.g., a control input) of a converter circuit (802, e.g., a buck converter), the controller configured to deliver to a control signal (CS1, e.g., a control signal) which is representative of a voltage drop (VFB1-BFBN, e.g., voltage drops of LEDs 702_1 to 702_N) at terminals (T1, TN, e.g., terminals) of at least one of an electric current sources (804_1, 804_N, e.g., current sources); the converter circuit, connected to a pixelated light source (702, e.g., pixels or LEDs) in order to supply the pixelated light source with electricity (see figure 23); the pixelated light source intended to be controlled by the controller thru the converter circuit (see figure 23), the pixelated light source including a plurality of light emitting semiconductor elements (702_1, 702N, e.g., LEDs) and a plurality of the electric current sources (804_1, 804_N, e.g., current sources) each electric current source being associated with one of the light emitting semiconductor elements (see figure 23).
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With respect to claim 3, Takahashi discloses that wherein the controller includes a measuring means (figure 23 shows the comparators COMP1-COMPN for measuring the voltage drops thereof).
With respect to claim 4, Takahashi discloses that wherein the measuring means includes an analog-to-digital converter element (COMP1-COMPN) configured to measure a voltage drop at the terminals of at least one of the electric current sources (see figure 23).
With respect to claim 6, Takahashi discloses that wherein the controller includes a circuit (COMP1-COMPN) configured to generate the control signal which is representative of the voltage drop at the terminals of at least one of the electric current sources on the basis of the quantities measured by the measuring means (see figure 23).
With respect to claim 7, Takahashi discloses that wherein the controller is connected to the converter circuit by means of a data bus (Vbus) of the automotive vehicle (see figure 23).
With respect to claim 8, Takahashi discloses that wherein the controller is configured to sequentially deliver a control signal which is representative of a voltage drop at the terminals of various electric current sources (see figure 23).
With respect to claim 10, Takahashi discloses that wherein the pixelated light source includes a monolithic pixel array, each pixel corresponding to a light emitting semiconductor element (see figure 23).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 11-12 are allowed.
Claims 2 and 5 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 (claim 9 is also objected as being dependent on claim 2).
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
Prior art of record fails to disclose or fairly suggest the following limitations:
A luminous device for an automotive vehicle comprising: … “wherein the converter circuit is configured to deliver, on the basis of the control signal, the control signal being a voltage (Vout), a value of which is such that, after voltage drops due to the connections between the converter circuit and the pixelated light source have been subtracted, and after a forward voltage (Vf) of the at least one light-emitting semiconductor element associated with the at least one electric current source involved in the controller has been subtracted, the voltage drop at the terminals thereof lies in a predetermined range of values”, in combination with the remaining claimed limitations as claimed in independent claim 11.
A luminous device for an automotive vehicle comprising … “wherein the controller includes a measuring means, with the measuring means includes an analog-to-digital converter element configured to measure the voltage (Vled) delivered to the pixelated light source, and at least one temperature sensor associated with the plurality of light-emitting semiconductor elements, as well as a memory element including data which establishes a relationship between a temperature and a current which are measured, on the one hand, and a forward voltage (Vf), on the other hand”, in combination with the remaining claimed limitations in independent claim 12.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 12/19/2025 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
Applicant argued that the reference of Takahashi fails to disclose or suggest at least independent claim 1 such as the claimed controller must be configured to deliver a control signal which is representative of a voltage drop at the terminals of at least one of the electric current sources.
Examiner respectfully disagrees as following reasons:
A: Figure 23 shows the control signal CS1 of the CONTROLLER based on the voltage drops VFB1-BFBN of the LEDs 702_1-702_N at the terminals T1-TN of the current sources 804_1-804_N.
B: Claim 1 is rejected based on the claimed limitations which is being anticipated or disclosed by Takahashi et al. thereof.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Prior art Kesterson et al. – US 8,791,647
Prior art Nakayama et al. – US 2018/0254379
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.
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/TUNG X LE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2845 March 15, 2026