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 .
Remark
This Office Action is in response to applicant’s amendment filed on July 27, 2026, which has been entered into the file.
By this amendment, the applicant has amended claim 1.
Claims 1-13 remain pending in this application.
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) 1-13 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over the Chinese Patent Publication by Li et al (CN 213423605U).
Claim 1 has been amended to necessitate the new grounds of rejection.
Li et al teaches, with regard to claim 1, a head-mounted electronic device, (please see Figure 1, paragraph [0002]), that is comprised of a housing (10, Figure 1) in which a controller is provided, (please see paragraph [0008]), and an interpupillary distance detection sensor serves as the obtaining unit for obtaining human eye positions, the obtaining unit being provided with the electronic device, and the obtaining unit is connected to the controller, (please see paragraph [0010]). Li et al teaches that the electronic device further comprises a left display unit includes a left lens in a left lens barrel (40) and a support (30) and a right display unit includes a right lens in a right lens barrel (40’) and a support (30). The lens being fixed to the supporting member. Li et al teaches that the electronic device also comprises a driving apparatus or a drive component connected to the controller for driving the left and right display units with the left and right lens barrels, respectively, to move relative to or away from each other based on the interpupillary distance detected and fed back by the interpupillary distance detection sensor, (please see paragraph [0010]). The drive component comprises a motor that serves as the driving member and two transmission assemblies (70, please see Figures 2 and 3), that serves as the two moving members, (please see paragraph [0052]). The moving of the two moving members and therefore the display units is according to the interpupillary distance detector information obtained by the interpupillary distance detection sensor.
This reference has met all the limitations of the claim. It however does not teach explicitly that the interpupillary distance detection sensor serves or the obtaining unit is provided in the housing. But it is either implicitly included or obvious modification to one skilled in the art to make the sensor be provided in the housing for the benefit of making the electronic device with compact structure.
Claim 1 has been amended to include the phrase “the drive member cooperating with the two moving members to drive the two moving members to move away from or towards each other”.
Li et al teaches the drive assembly includes the motor and the transmission assembly transmits the drive force of the motor which is controlled by the controller to the left lens barrel and the right lens barrel (40 and 40’) so as to realize the move relative (or towards) to each other or in opposite direction (or away, please see paragraph [0052]). This means the driving assembly or driving apparatus implicitly includes two moving members that are either move away from or towards each other, (please see Figure 5 as indicated below).
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With regard to claim 2, this reference does not teach explicitly that the interpupillary distance detection sensor or the obtaining unit is a camera. However, a camera is a common position detecting sensor known in the art, to use an art well-known camera for detecting the interpupillary distance would have been an obvious modification by one skilled in the art to achieve the interpupillary distance detection.
With regard to claim 3, it is either implicitly true or obvious modification by one skilled in the art to make the moving member and the supporting member be detachably mated.
With regard to claim 4, Li et al teaches that each of the display unit (40 or 40’) that each is comprised of a barrel (40) and a screen (20, Figures 3 and 4). Each of the lenses is provided on the barrel the barrel is fixed on the supporting member. This reference does not teach explicitly that the screen is provided between each of the barrels and the corresponding supporting member, however such modification is considered to be obvious matters of design choice for making the screen be properly mounted in the electronic device.
With regard to claim 5, Li et al teaches to include limiting member serves as the limiting apparatus cooperating with the moving member and the housing to limit a moving range of the moving member, (please see paragraph [0060]).
With regard to claim 6, Li et al teaches that the driving member is a driving motor (please see paragraph [0052]). Li et al teaches that the driving apparatus further comprises a lead screw (71’, Figures 2, 3, 5) wherein the motor is cooperated with the lead screen to drive the lead screw to rotate. The lead screw may comprise double-helical external threads and the moving members cooperate with the threads of the lead screw respectively. Li et al teaches to include limiting member serves as the limiting apparatus cooperating with the moving member and the housing to limit a moving range of the moving member, (please see paragraph [0060]).
With regard to claim 7, it is implicitly true or obviously modified by one skilled in the art to provide a fixing member fixed to the housing wherein the driving member being fixed to the fixing member for the benefit of actually placing the cited components being placed within the housing.
With regard to claims 8 and 9, Li et al teaches that the electronic device comprises a guide shaft (80, Figures 2-5) that may be fixed to the fixing member. The guide shaft passes through a mating hole (71, Figure 5) and the mating hole movably cooperates with the guide shaft. It is within general level skilled in the art to make the mating hole be provided by the supporting member (30). With regard to claim 9, Li et al teaches to include limiting member for guide shaft structure, (please see paragraph [0059]). It would then have been obvious to one skilled in the art to modify the guide shaft to provide limiting member or bypass channel for the benefit of defining a moving range of the moving member.
With regard to claims 10 and 11, Li et al also teaches to include short guide shaft (d1 and d2, Figure 1) that may be provided with the fixing member wherein a limiting member comprises a sliding protraction provide on the supporting member and the sliding protrusion movably cooperates with an inner wall of the moving channel. With regard to claim 11, it is either implicitly true or obvious modification by one skilled in the art to provide a buckle member for hooking the moving channel to the fixing member.
With regard to claim 12, it is implicitly true that the rotating axis of the driving motor must coincide with a rotation axis of the lead screw in order for the moving apparatus to operate properly.
With regard to claim 13, it is implicitly true or obvious to one skilled in the art to modify the driving apparatus comprises reducer connected to the driving motor and lead screw for the benefit of properly engaging the driving motor to the lead screw.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed on July 27, 2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive. The newly amended claim has been fully considered and they are rejected for the reasons set forth above.
Applicant’s arguments are mainly concerning the newly amended claim that have been fully addressed in the reasons for rejection set forth above.
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 AUDREY Y CHANG whose telephone number is (571)272-2309. The examiner can normally be reached M-TH 9:00AM-4:30PM.
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AUDREY Y. CHANG
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 2872
/AUDREY Y CHANG/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2872
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