DETAILED ACTION
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 8 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. Claim 8 discloses that the light exit surface comprises a (single) sawtooth structure, but subsequently requires “a distance between tips of adjacent sawtooth structures (plural structures)”. It is unclear how many, i.e., one or multiple, sawtooth structures are in fact present on the light exit surface; or whether applicant intended to claim a single sawtooth structure having multiple tips, and the distance refers to a distance between adjacent tips.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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, 4, 7, 9, 10 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over CN 214900942 U patent publication in view of KR 20090120858 A patent publication.
Regarding claim 1, the ‘942 publication discloses an electronic device, comprising: a housing (including a shell 3 and a front shell 11); a circuit board (main board 2); an infrared generator (IR emitter 5); and a light guide member (light guide column 6), wherein: the housing is provided with a light-transmitting hole (through hole 44) and an accommodating cavity (hollow space between the shells 3, 11 as illustrated in Fig. 2) for accommodating the circuit board (2), the infrared generator (5), and the light guide member (6); the infrared generator is mounted on the circuit board (Fig. 2); and the light guide member (6) comprises a light incident surface (directly facing the infrared generator 5) and a light exit surface (light guide surface 61), the light guide member is at least partially arranged in the light-transmitting hole (Fig. 2), the light incident surface and the light exit surface are arranged in a staggered manner (staggered both vertically and horizontally as shown in Fig. 2), the light incident surface is arranged corresponding to the infrared generator (vertically aligned, Fig. 2), and wherein infrared light emitted by the infrared generator emits outward through the light guide member (output at the light guide surface 61).
The ’942 publication does not specify whether the light incident surface is an aspherical curved surface, The ‘858 publication also discloses a transmission device comprising an IR LED (10, Fig. 1-3_), a housing (R, Fig. 5), a light guide (20) at least partially disposed in a transmitting hole of the housing (Fig. 5), wherein the light guide (20) is in the form of an aspherical lens (Fig. 3), coupled to a distal end of the infrared LED (10) and, through the infrared diffusion gradient is recessed inward from the front end to be emitted from the infrared LED reflection, diffraction, refraction via the aspheric lens and to be released in an extended angle. It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify the light guide member (6) in the invention disclosed in the ‘942 publication, by using the aspherical curve surface as shown and suggested by the ‘858 publication to receive the transmission from the IR emitter, as the prior art inventions share a common technical feature of emitting IR radiation, and for the same reason stated above.
Regarding claim 4, the ‘942 publication further discloses that a first included angle between a target line and a reference line is less than 10 degrees, the target line is a line connecting a central light exit point of the light exit surface and a central point of the infrared generator, and the reference line is perpendicular to a plane where the light exit surface is located (as illustrated in Fig. 2, the exiting light rays, two of which are illustrated, are substantially perpendicular to the light guide surface 61 and therefore substantially parallel to the reference line as claimed).
Regarding claim 7, the ’942 publication further teaches a central light incident point of the light incident surface is located on a first side of an optical axis corresponding to the light exit surface (IR light is incident directly at the center of the light guide 6 on a top/upper side of an optical axis corresponding to the exit surface 61, Fig. 2) but does not specify a sawtooth structure for the exit surface. The ‘858 publication discloses a light exit surface a sawtooth structure (cross-section shown in Fig. 6), and a tip of the sawtooth structure faces the first side (narrow end of the “tooth” points toward the light incident side). The aspherical shape is formed on the outer peripheral edge of the inclined cut portion at the distal end in order to increase the area of IR radiation, and the inclined cut is that the infrared rays emitted from the point depression is formed in a round shape to ensure that the diffusion release, and it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to incorporate the same sawtooth profile as suggested in the ‘858 publication for the same reasons.
Claim(s) 9, 10 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over the ‘942 and ‘858 publications as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of CN 208505474 U patent publication. The ‘942 and ‘858 publications suggest the electronic device comprising the IR emitter and the light guide or lens but do not further teach using one or more sealing members. The ‘474 publication teaches an electronic device comprising a housing (shell 1), an infrared ray emitting module (3), a hole (7) with a lens fitted there in, and a sealing ring function to protect and fix the lens while also preventing dust from entering the shell (1). It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify the invention disclosed in the ‘942 publication by using a sealing ring or a plurality of sealing rings around the light guide or lens, depending on the length or shape of the light guide or lens based on the size of the sealing ring compared to the size/length of the through hole (44), for the same sealing and protective purpose as detailed above.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 2, 3 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. Prior art of record fails to further teach or suggest an aspherical, curved light incident surface that further comprises a first curved surface and a second curved surface that are connected to each other, and a curvature radius of the first curved surface is greater than a curvature radius of the second curved surface, when considered in view of the rest of the limitations of the claimed invention.
Claim 5 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. Prior art of record fails to further teach or suggest a light guide member further comprises a reflective surface annularly arranged around the light incident surface, a second included angle between a first line and a second line is less than twice the first included angle, the first line is a line connecting a central light incident point of the light incident surface and a first endpoint of the reflective surface, the second line is a line connecting the central light incident point of the light incident surface and a second endpoint of the reflective surface, the first endpoint is arranged on a side of the reflective surface close to the infrared generator, and the second endpoint is arranged on a side of the reflective surface away from the infrared generator, when considered in view of the rest of the limitations of the claimed invention.
Claim 6 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. Prior art of record fails to further teach or suggest the light exit surface first and second sawtooth surfaces, an area of the first sawtooth surface is greater than an area of the second sawtooth surface, and a third included angle between the first sawtooth surface and the plane where the light exit surface is located is less than twice the first included angle, when considered in view of the rest of the limitations of the claimed invention.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. US20180376080 discloses an IR emitter device.
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/CHARLIE Y PENG/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2874
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