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 .
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statements (IDS) submitted on are 7/29/2025, 11/04/2025, and 8/19/2026 are in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
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.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 1-14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Claim 1 recites in part “the thickness and position of the film satisfy: x=-2x 10-7y6+8x 10-9y5- 1x10-4y4-2x10-6y3-0.0315y2-1x10-11y+4.2165, wherein x is the absolute thickness of the film, and y is a distance from the center to the edge.” The recitation lacks a unit of measurement which renders the claim indefinite. Dependent claims do not clarify and are likewise rejected. Dependent claims do not clarify and are likewise rejected.
The term “high-uniformity and high-transmittance” in independent claims 1 and 5 are a relative term which renders the claim indefinite. The term “high-uniformity and high-transmittance” is not defined by the claim, the specification does not provide a standard for ascertaining the requisite degree, and one of ordinary skill in the art would not be reasonably apprised of the scope of the invention. Dependent claims do not clarify and are likewise rejected.
The term “a low-light-level night vision device” in claim 14 is a relative term which renders the claim indefinite. The term “low-light-level” is not defined by the claim, the specification does not provide a standard for ascertaining the requisite degree, and one of ordinary skill in the art would not be reasonably apprised of the scope of the invention.
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.
Claims 5-6 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over China Building Material Academy (CN 115469395), of record, hereinafter CBMA, in view of Nuvitek (KR 100566694), - of record, hereinafter Nuvitek.
Regarding claim 5 CBMA discloses a method for preparing a fiber image inverter with high-uniformity and high- transmittance (paragraphs 0002-0110), comprising the following steps: preparing a torsional structure of the image inverter (paragraphs 0002-0110).
CBMA does not disclose preparing a homogenizing film on a surface of the image inverter
Nuvitek discloses preparing a homogenizing film on a surface of the image inverter (page 2, line 8 – page 8, line 34).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the method for preparing a fiber image inverter disclosed by CBMA in accordance with the teaching of Nuvitek regarding preparing a homogenizing film on a surface of the image inverter in order to improve viewing angle and brightness uniformity.
Claim 6 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over CBMA in view of Nuvitek as applied to claim 5 above, and further in view of Hodelin (US 2019/0129162), hereinafter Hodelin.
Regarding claim 6 CBMA as modified does not explicitly disclose the method for preparing a fiber image inverter with the high-uniformity and the high-transmittance according to claim 5, wherein preparing the torsional structure of the image inverter comprises the following step: preparing a biquadratic function type image inverter or a bicubic function type image inverter respectively according to an optical fiber track in a torsional region of the image inverter.
Hodelin discloses the method for preparing a fiber image inverter with the high-uniformity and the high-transmittance according to claim 5, wherein preparing the torsional structure of the image inverter comprises the following step: preparing a biquadratic function type image inverter or a bicubic function type image inverter (e.g., paragraph 0057) respectively according to an optical fiber track in a torsional region of the image inverter.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the method for preparing a fiber image inverter disclosed by CBMA as modified by Nuvitek in accordance with the teaching of Hodelin regarding wherein preparing the torsional structure of the image inverter comprises the following step: preparing a biquadratic function type image inverter or a bicubic function type image inverter respectively according to an optical fiber track in a torsional region of the image inverter in order to reduce computational time (Hodelin, paragraph 0057).
Conclusion
The Examiner has pointed out particular references contained in the prior art of record within the body of this action for the convenience of the Applicant. Although the specified citations are representative of the teachings in the art and are applied to the specific limitations within the individual claim, other passages and figures may apply.
Applicant, in preparing the response, should consider fully the entire reference aspotentially teaching all or part of the claimed invention, as well as the context of thepassage as taught by the prior art or disclosed by the Examiner.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to DAVID E LOTTER whose telephone number is (571)270-7422. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 10am-6pm.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Dameon Levi can be reached at 571-272-2105. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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DAVID E. LOTTER
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 2845
/DAVID E LOTTER/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2845
