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 .
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election of Species 1 (Claims 1-13, 15, 19) in the reply filed on 9/2/2026 is acknowledged. Because applicant did not distinctly and specifically point out the supposed errors in the restriction requirement, the election has been treated as an election without traverse (MPEP § 818.01(a)).
Claims 14, 16-18 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to nonelected species, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election was made without traverse in the reply filed on 9/2/2026.
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Oath/Declaration
A properly executed oath/declaration does not appear to be present in the instant application.
Drawings
The originally filed drawings were received on 8/7/2024. These drawings are acceptable.
Specification
The lengthy specification has not been checked to the extent necessary to determine the presence of all possible minor errors. Applicant’s cooperation is requested in correcting any errors of which applicant may become aware in the specification.
The title of the invention is not descriptive. A new title is required that is clearly indicative of the invention to which the claims are directed.
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)(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.
Claim(s) 1-2, 6-8, 15, 19 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Chen et al. (U.S. Patent Application Publication US 2024/0369837 A1).
Chen et al. discloses an optical system (See for example Abstract; Figures 1-9), comprising a lens component (See for example Figure 4), comprising at least two lenses (See for example 410 and 420/430); the at least two lenses comprising a first surface (See for example 432 in Figure 4), a second surface (See for example 421 in Figure 4), a third surface (See for example 412 in Figure 4) and a fourth surface (See for example 411 in Figure 4) arranged sequentially along a direction of an optical axis (See for example 490 in Figure 4) of the lens component; and the second surface and the third surface having a same surface type parameter (See for example 421 (R=-100.606 in Table 13), 412 (R=-71.975 in Table 13) in Figure 4, where both of these surfaces have similar negative radius of curvatures); a transflective film (See for example 450 in Figure 4), located on a side of the first surface of the lens component away from the second surface of the lens component; a reflective polarization layer (See for example 442 in Figure 4), located between the second surface and the third surface of the lens component; a phase retardation film (See for example 443 in Figure 4), located on a side of the transflective film that faces the second surface; wherein light transmitted through the transflective film and then incident on the lens component is configured to be folded back between the transflective film and the reflective polarization layer, and exit from the reflective polarization layer (See Figure 4); the third surface and the fourth surface are two surfaces of a same lens (See for example 410, 411, 412 in Figure 4); the first surface is a convex surface (See for example 432 in Figure 4), the second surface is a concave surface (See for example 421 in Figure 4), the third surface is a convex surface (See for example 412 in Figure 4), the fourth surface is a concave surface (See for example 411 (R=-275.461 in Table 13) in Figure 4); an absolute value of a curvature radius of the first surface (R=-30.755 in Table 13) and an absolute value of a curvature radius of the second surface (R=-38.654 in Table 13) are both less than an absolute value of a curvature radius of the fourth surface (R=-275.461 in Table 13); a ratio of the curvature radius of the first surface (R=-30.755 in Table 13) to the curvature radius of the second surface (R=-38.654 in Table 13) is 0.5 to 1.25 (In the instant case, -30.755/-38.654=0.796); and an absolute value ratio of a conic constant of the first surface (K=0 in Table 14) to a conic constant of the second surface (K=-2.0573 in Table 14) is no greater than 0.4 (In the instant case, 0/-2.0573=0). Chen et al. further discloses a distance between two intersection points where the first surface and the second surface intersect with the optical axis is a first distance (In the instant case, in Table 13, 2.022+0.1+6.573=8.695), a distance between two intersection points where the third surface and the fourth surface intersect with the optical axis is a second distance (In the instant case, in Table 13, 5.272), the first distance is greater than the second distance (In the instant case, 8.695>5.272); and a ratio of the first distance (In the instant case, in Table 13, 2.022+0.1+6.573=8.695) to a focal length (In the instant case, in Table 13, f=15.74) of the optical system is 0.45 to 0.8 (In the instant case, the ratio is calculated to be 0.552); a ratio of a total track length of the optical system to a focal length of the optical system is 0.8 to 1 (In the instant case, in Table 13, the total track length is 5.272+0.3+0.1+0.1+2.022+0.1+6.573=14.467, and the ratio is calculated to be 0.919); the phase retardation film is located between the reflective polarization layer and the transflective film (See for example 443, 442, 450 in Figure 4), or located on a side of the reflective polarization layer away from the transflective film; a linear polarization film, located on a side of the reflective polarization layer away from the transflective film (See for example 441 in Figure 4); an exit pupil distance of the optical system is 12 millimeters to 20 millimeters (In the instant case, from Table 13, the exit pupil is located 14 mm from the nearest optical surface of the lens system); and a display apparatus (See for example Figure 4), comprising a display screen (See for example 483 in Figure 4) and the above optical system, wherein the optical system is located on a display side of the display screen, and the second surface is located on a side of the first surface away from the display screen (See for example 421, 432, 483 in Figure 4).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 3-5, 9-13 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.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
Claim 3 is allowable over the cited art of record for at least the reason that the cited art of record fails to teach or reasonably suggest an optical system as generally set forth in Claims 1, 3, the system including, in combination with the features recited in Claims 1, 3, a ratio of the curvature radius of the first surface to a focal length of the optical system is -1.5 to -2.5, and the conic constant of the first surface is -10 to 10; a ratio of the curvature radius of the second surface to the focal length and a ratio of a curvature radius of the third surface to the focal length are both -2 to -3, and the conic constant of the second surface and a conic constant of the third surface are both -50 to -30; a ratio of the curvature radius of the fourth surface to the focal length is -4.5 to -6.5, and a conic constant of the fourth surface is 15 to 35.
Claim 4 is allowable over the cited art of record for at least the reason that the cited art of record fails to teach or reasonably suggest an optical system as generally set forth in Claims 1-2, 4, the system including, in combination with the features recited in Claims 1-2, 4, a ratio of the second distance to the focal length of the optical system is 0.12 to 0.25.
Claim 5 is allowable over the cited art of record for at least the reason that the cited art of record fails to teach or reasonably suggest an optical system as generally set forth in Claims 1, 5, the system including, in combination with the features recited in Claims 1, 5, a ratio of an aperture of the lens component to a focal length of the optical system is 2 to 3.
Claim 9 is allowable over the cited art of record for at least the reason that the cited art of record fails to teach or reasonably suggest an optical system as generally set forth in Claims 1-2, 9, the system including, in combination with the features recited in Claims 1-2, 9, the lens component comprises a first lens, a second lens and a third lens arranged sequentially along the direction of the optical axis; the first lens comprises the first surface, the second lens comprises the second surface, the third lens comprises the third surface and the fourth surface; the first lens further comprises a fifth surface opposite to the first surface, the second lens further comprises a sixth surface opposite to the second surface; the fifth surface and the sixth surface have a same surface type parameter, the fifth surface and the sixth surface are both flat surfaces, or an absolute value of a curvature radius in at least one direction of the fifth surface is greater than an absolute value of a curvature radius of other surfaces; the phase retardation film is located on the fifth surface or the sixth surface. Claims 10-13 are dependent on Claim 9, and hence are allowable for at least the same reasons Claim 9 is allowable.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
U.S. Patent Application Publication US 2019/0384045 A1 to Yun et al.- Image display system for displaying an image from a near-eye display to a user’s eyes. The optical system includes a first, second, and third lens.
U.S. Patent Application Publication US 2023/0341697 A1 to Chen et al.- Head mounted optical display system including a first and second lens for displaying an image to a user’s eyes.
U.S. Patent Application Publication US 2024/0264425 A1 to Granger et al.- Head mounted optical display system including a first and second lens for displaying an image to a user’s eyes.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ARNEL C LAVARIAS whose telephone number is (571)272-2315. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 10:30 AM-7 PM.
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ARNEL C. LAVARIAS
Primary Examiner
Group Art Unit 2872
9/18/2026
/ARNEL C LAVARIAS/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2872
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