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 .
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 1 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Tezuka et al (US 2018/0328580 A1).
Regarding claim 1, Tezuka discloses an optical device (Fig. 1) for preventing dew condensation (para 50 “preventing dew condensation and fogging on the cover lens 3 of the vehicle lamp 1“) comprising:
a housing (para 26 “case 2”) having a first permeable portion (para 28 “opening 2a”) capable of communicating between an interior (para 26 “internal space S1”) and an exterior (para 26 “external space S2”) of the housing (2);
a transparent glass (para 26 “cover lens 3”) having an inner surface, the transparent glass
coupled to the housing with the inner surface facing the interior of the housing (see Fig. 1); and
a lens structure (para 30 “projection lens 6”) accommodated in the housing, a chamber (S1) formed between the lens structure (3), the housing (2) and the inner surface of the transparent glass;
wherein an airflow path (para 39 “Note that the humidity-conditioning member 12 allows a gas such as unabsorbed water vapor and air to flow therethrough”; para 33 “gas such as air and water vapor to pass through the ventilation filter 11”) is formed between the chamber (S1) and the exterior of the housing (S2), and the airflow path is adjustable to control (para 27 “unit 10… controls the humidity of the internal space S1”) whether an airflow is capable of entering and exiting the chamber and the exterior of the housing through the first permeable portion (para 39 “ the relative humidity at which the humidity-conditioning member 12 absorbs water vapor and the relative humidity at which the humidity-conditioning member 12 releases water vapor vary depending on a surrounding temperature, a kind of the humidity-conditioning member 12, an amount of water vapor adsorbed by the humidity-conditioning member 12 and the like. In the explanation of the present embodiment, the environment where the humidity-conditioning member 12 absorbs water vapor corresponds to the “environment where a surrounding relative humidity is high”, and the environment where the humidity-conditioning member 12 releases water vapor corresponds to the “environment where a surrounding relative humidity is low”).
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.
Claims 10 and 16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Tezuka et al (US 2018/0328580 A1) in view of Fu et al (US 11,774,829 B1).
Regarding claim 10, Tezuka discloses the claimed invention as set forth above except for the optical device for preventing dew condensation according to claim 1, further comprising a cover member movably disposed on the housing to selectively close or expose the first permeable portion; wherein the airflow path is adjusted to be closed in response to the cover member closing the first permeable portion; the airflow path is adjusted to be open in response to the cover member exposing the first permeable portion.
Fu discloses a cover member (Figs. 1-3 and column 3, line 15 “opening/closing piece 4”) movably disposed on the housing to selectively close or expose the first permeable portion (12); wherein the airflow path is adjusted to be closed in response to the cover member closing the first permeable portion; the airflow path is adjusted to be open in response to the cover member exposing the first permeable portion (column 3, lines 16-36 “The opening/closing piece 4 has a first position and a second position, when being at the first position, the opening/closing piece 4 closes the first opening 12, and the accommodating chamber 1 is a sealing space; and when being at the second position, the opening/closing piece 4 opens the first opening 12, and the first opening 12 is configured to discharge moist airflow. The opening/closing piece 4 may be configured to a valve arranged at the first opening 12 or a board capable of completely covering the first opening 12 or other structures capable of arbitrarily sealing the first opening 12. The opening/closing piece 4 can be controlled by active control or passive control by monitoring humidity as will be described later. The active control mode, that is, a user may actively control the opening/closing piece 4, for example, under some scenes, the light-permeable piece 200 has produced visible mist, at the moment, the user may open the opening/closing piece 4 through buttons or a built-in APP, so as to enable the moist airflow in the accommodating chamber 1 to be discharged outside, and mist on the light-permeable piece 200 is gradually eliminated”).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time of invention before the effective filing date to further comprise a cover member as taught by Fu (Figs. 1-3 and column 3, line 15 “opening/closing piece 4”) that is movably disposed on the housing to selectively close or expose the first permeable portion (12); wherein the airflow path is adjusted to be closed in response to the cover member closing the first permeable portion; the airflow path is adjusted to be open in response to the cover member exposing the first permeable portion for the purpose of controlling the airflow based on the needed basis and also trying to preserve filter of Tezuka.
Regarding claim 16, Tezuka discloses an optical device (Fig. 1) for preventing dew condensation (para 50 “preventing dew condensation and fogging on the cover lens 3 of the vehicle lamp 1“) comprising:
a housing (para 26 “case 2”) having a first permeable portion (para 28 “opening 2a”) capable of communicating between an interior (para 26 “internal space S1”) and an exterior (para 26 “external space S2”) of the housing (2);
a transparent glass (para 26 “cover lens 3”) having an inner surface, the transparent glass
coupled to the housing with the inner surface facing the interior of the housing (see Fig. 1); and
a lens structure (para 30 “projection lens 6”) accommodated in the housing, a chamber (S1) formed between the lens structure (3), the housing (2) and the inner surface of the transparent glass;
wherein an airflow path (para 39 “Note that the humidity-conditioning member 12 allows a gas such as unabsorbed water vapor and air to flow therethrough”; para 33 “gas such as air and water vapor to pass through the ventilation filter 11”) is formed between the chamber (S1) and the exterior of the housing (S2), and the airflow path is adjustable to control (para 27 “unit 10… controls the humidity of the internal space S1”) whether an airflow is capable of entering and exiting the chamber and the exterior of the housing through the first permeable portion (para 39 “ the relative humidity at which the humidity-conditioning member 12 absorbs water vapor and the relative humidity at which the humidity-conditioning member 12 releases water vapor vary depending on a surrounding temperature, a kind of the humidity-conditioning member 12, an amount of water vapor adsorbed by the humidity-conditioning member 12 and the like. In the explanation of the present embodiment, the environment where the humidity-conditioning member 12 absorbs water vapor corresponds to the “environment where a surrounding relative humidity is high”, and the environment where the humidity-conditioning member 12 releases water vapor corresponds to the “environment where a surrounding relative humidity is low”).
Tezuka fails to further disclose a cover member movably disposed on the housing to selectively close or expose the first permeable portion; wherein the airflow path is adjusted to be closed in response to the cover member closing the first permeable portion; the airflow path is adjusted to be open in response to the cover member exposing the first permeable portion.
Fu discloses a cover member (Figs. 1-3 and column 3, line 15 “opening/closing piece 4”) movably disposed on the housing to selectively close or expose the first permeable portion (12); wherein the airflow path is adjusted to be closed in response to the cover member closing the first permeable portion; the airflow path is adjusted to be open in response to the cover member exposing the first permeable portion (column 3, lines 16-36 “The opening/closing piece 4 has a first position and a second position, when being at the first position, the opening/closing piece 4 closes the first opening 12, and the accommodating chamber 1 is a sealing space; and when being at the second position, the opening/closing piece 4 opens the first opening 12, and the first opening 12 is configured to discharge moist airflow. The opening/closing piece 4 may be configured to a valve arranged at the first opening 12 or a board capable of completely covering the first opening 12 or other structures capable of arbitrarily sealing the first opening 12. The opening/closing piece 4 can be controlled by active control or passive control by monitoring humidity as will be described later. The active control mode, that is, a user may actively control the opening/closing piece 4, for example, under some scenes, the light-permeable piece 200 has produced visible mist, at the moment, the user may open the opening/closing piece 4 through buttons or a built-in APP, so as to enable the moist airflow in the accommodating chamber 1 to be discharged outside, and mist on the light-permeable piece 200 is gradually eliminated”).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time of invention before the effective filing date to further comprise a cover member as taught by Fu (Figs. 1-3 and column 3, line 15 “opening/closing piece 4”) that is movably disposed on the housing to selectively close or expose the first permeable portion (12); wherein the airflow path is adjusted to be closed in response to the cover member closing the first permeable portion; the airflow path is adjusted to be open in response to the cover member exposing the first permeable portion for the purpose of controlling the airflow based on the needed basis and also trying to preserve filter of Tezuka.
Claim 11 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Tezuka et al (US 2018/0328580 A1) in view of Iwasaki (US 2008/0024883 A1).
Tezuka discloses the claimed invention as set forth above except further comprising a seal disposed between the housing and the lens structure to provide a hermetic connection; wherein the chamber is formed between the lens structure, the housing, the inner surface of the transparent glass and the seal.
Iwasaki discloses a seal disposed between the housing and the lens structure to provide a hermetic connection (para 79 “optical path portion K1 is hermetically sealed by the enclosing portion 34 that is formed of a non-permeable material, even if the temperature of air in the housing 12 rises, the enclosing portion 34 prevents the heated air from entering the optical path portion K1. Therefore, it is possible to reliably prevent dew condensation from being caused by the temperature difference between the heated air and the rear end face of the lens 14 or the surface of the cover plate 1610”); thereby in combination the chamber is formed between the lens structure, the housing, the inner surface of the transparent glass and the seal.
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time of invention before the effective filing date to add the hermetically seal disposed between the housing and the lens structure for the purpose of prevent dew condensation (see para 79).
Claim 17 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Tezuka et al (US 2018/0328580 A1) in view of Fu et al (US 11,774,829 B1) as applied to claim above, and further in view of Iwasaki (US 2008/0024883 A1).
Tezuka discloses an optical device (Fig. 1) for preventing dew condensation (para 50 “preventing dew condensation and fogging on the cover lens 3 of the vehicle lamp 1“) comprising:
a housing (para 26 “case 2”) having a first permeable portion (para 28 “opening 2a”) capable of communicating between an interior (para 26 “internal space S1”) and an exterior (para 26 “external space S2”) of the housing (2);
a transparent glass (para 26 “cover lens 3”) having an inner surface, the transparent glass coupled to the housing with the inner surface facing the interior of the housing (see Fig. 1); and
a lens structure (para 30 “projection lens 6”) accommodated in the housing, a chamber (S1) formed between the lens structure (3), the housing (2) and the inner surface of the transparent glass; wherein an airflow path (para 39 “Note that the humidity-conditioning member 12 allows a gas such as unabsorbed water vapor and air to flow therethrough”; para 33 “gas such as air and water vapor to pass through the ventilation filter 11”) is formed between the chamber (S1) and the exterior of the housing (S2), and the airflow path is adjustable to control (para 27 “unit 10… controls the humidity of the internal space S1”) whether an airflow is capable of entering and exiting the chamber and the exterior of the housing through the first permeable portion (para 39 “ the relative humidity at which the humidity-conditioning member 12 absorbs water vapor and the relative humidity at which the humidity-conditioning member 12 releases water vapor vary depending on a surrounding temperature, a kind of the humidity-conditioning member 12, an amount of water vapor adsorbed by the humidity-conditioning member 12 and the like. In the explanation of the present embodiment, the environment where the humidity-conditioning member 12 absorbs water vapor corresponds to the “environment where a surrounding relative humidity is high”, and the environment where the humidity-conditioning member 12 releases water vapor corresponds to the “environment where a surrounding relative humidity is low”).
Tezuka fails to further disclose a cover member movably disposed on the housing to selectively close or expose the first permeable portion; wherein the airflow path is adjusted to be closed in response to the cover member closing the first permeable portion; the airflow path is adjusted to be open in response to the cover member exposing the first permeable portion.
Fu discloses a cover member (Figs. 1-3 and column 3, line 15 “opening/closing piece 4”) movably disposed on the housing to selectively close or expose the first permeable portion (12); wherein the airflow path is adjusted to be closed in response to the cover member closing the first permeable portion; the airflow path is adjusted to be open in response to the cover member exposing the first permeable portion (column 3, lines 16-36 “The opening/closing piece 4 has a first position and a second position, when being at the first position, the opening/closing piece 4 closes the first opening 12, and the accommodating chamber 1 is a sealing space; and when being at the second position, the opening/closing piece 4 opens the first opening 12, and the first opening 12 is configured to discharge moist airflow. The opening/closing piece 4 may be configured to a valve arranged at the first opening 12 or a board capable of completely covering the first opening 12 or other structures capable of arbitrarily sealing the first opening 12. The opening/closing piece 4 can be controlled by active control or passive control by monitoring humidity as will be described later. The active control mode, that is, a user may actively control the opening/closing piece 4, for example, under some scenes, the light-permeable piece 200 has produced visible mist, at the moment, the user may open the opening/closing piece 4 through buttons or a built-in APP, so as to enable the moist airflow in the accommodating chamber 1 to be discharged outside, and mist on the light-permeable piece 200 is gradually eliminated”).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time of invention before the effective filing date to further comprise a cover member as taught by Fu (Figs. 1-3 and column 3, line 15 “opening/closing piece 4”) that is movably disposed on the housing to selectively close or expose the first permeable portion (12); wherein the airflow path is adjusted to be closed in response to the cover member closing the first permeable portion; the airflow path is adjusted to be open in response to the cover member exposing the first permeable portion for the purpose of controlling the airflow based on the needed basis and also trying to preserve filter of Tezuka.
Tezuka in view of Fu discloses the claimed invention as set forth above except for further comprising a seal disposed between the housing and the lens structure to provide a hermetic connection; wherein the chamber is formed between the lens structure, the housing, the inner surface of the transparent glass and the seal.
Iwasaki discloses a seal disposed between the housing and the lens structure to provide a hermetic connection (para 79 “optical path portion K1 is hermetically sealed by the enclosing portion 34 that is formed of a non-permeable material, even if the temperature of air in the housing 12 rises, the enclosing portion 34 prevents the heated air from entering the optical path portion K1. Therefore, it is possible to reliably prevent dew condensation from being caused by the temperature difference between the heated air and the rear end face of the lens 14 or the surface of the cover plate 1610”); thereby in combination the chamber is formed between the lens structure, the housing, the inner surface of the transparent glass and the seal.
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time of invention before the effective filing date to add the hermetically seal disposed between the housing and the lens structure for the purpose of prevent dew condensation (see para 79).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 2-9 and 12-15 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.
Claims 18-20 are allowed.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
Regarding claims 2-9, claims are allowable at least for the reason that the prior art does not teach or reasonably suggest wherein the lens structure has a second permeable portion communicated to the chamber, and the airflow path is adjusted to be open in response to the first permeable portion corresponding to the second permeable portion and first permeable portion communicated to the interior and the exterior of the housing, so that the airflow passes through the first permeable portion and the second permeable portion to enter and exit the chamber and the exterior of the housing as set forth in the claimed combination;
Regarding claims 12-15, claims are allowable at least for the reason that the prior art does not teach or reasonably suggest the optical device for preventing dew condensation further comprising a sensor disposed on the housing and facing the transparent glass; wherein the lens structure comprises a movable ring and a drive mechanism connected to the movable ring to move the movable ring along an optical axis of the lens structure; the drive mechanism moves the movable ring along the optical axis in
response to a condensation condition detected by the sensor so that a second permeable portion is formed between the movable ring and the seal, and the second permeable portion corresponds to the first permeable portion so that the airflow path is adjusted to be open to allow the airflow to enter and exit the chamber and the exterior of the housing through the second permeable portion and the first permeable portion as set forth in the claimed combination; and
Regarding claims 18-20, claims are allowable at least for the reason that the prior art does not teach or reasonably suggest a sensor disposed on the housing and facing the transparent glass and the drive mechanism moves the movable ring along the optical axis in response to a condensation condition detected by the sensor so that the movable ring is spaced apart from the seal by a gap, the gap corresponds to the opening so that an airflow path into and out of the chamber and the exterior of
the housing is formed through the gap and the opening as set forth in the claimed combination.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to EUNCHA P CHERRY whose telephone number is (571)272-2310. The examiner can normally be reached M to F 7am to 3:30pm.
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7/2/2026
/EUNCHA P CHERRY/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2872
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