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 .
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 10/11/2024 being considered by the examiner. A copy of initialed form is attached for Applicant’s record.
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.
Claims 1, 4-7, and 11-15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by MARIUS PELOUX ET AL: "Optimization of the optical performance of variable-power and astigmatism Alvarez lenses", APPLIED OPTICS, OPTICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA, WASHINGTON, DC, US, vol. 53, no. 29, 10 October 2014 (2014-10-10), pages 6670-6681, XP001592508, ISSN: 0003-6935, DOI: 10.1364/A0.53.006670)(of record).
Regarding to claim 1, Marius discloses an ophthalmic apparatus (1. Introduction) comprising at least two corrective lenses that are mounted to a support (the frame) for supporting the lenses in front of a user's eyes, thereby defining a viewing direction through each lens; at least one of the lenses being a variable focal length lens (both) comprising front and rear superposed lens elements having cooperating optical surfaces that are shaped such that the focal length of the variable focal length lens is variable according to the relative lateral disposition d of the front and rear lens elements to provide an Alvarez power ΦA (Alvarez doublets), where d = 0 is defined as the relative position of the front and rear lens elements at which the variable focal length lens provides an overall horizontal meridional power Φp corresponding to the intended user's prescription (the POVADs, p.6673, right col.), and
where the front lens element has a fixed prescription power Φf and a rear
lens element has a fixed prescription power Φr , such that:
ΦP = Φf+ Φr + ΦoA
where ΦA is the power provided by the variable focal length lens at d = 0
(definition); and
wherein Φr has the same sign as ΦP and is equal to between about 5% and
about 80% of ΦP. ("half the of the phase function is added to each lens [of
the doublet]", p.6674, left col., 2nd §. This means that Φr= Φf = Φp/2).
Regarding claim 2, Marius discloses the ophthalmic apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the variable focal length lens is configured to provide a prescription power Φp of less than about -3 diopters or more than about +3 diopters (Prescription powers in the range of claim 2 are common for corrective lenses).
Regarding claim 4, Marius discloses the ophthalmic apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the variable focal length lens is configured such that 50<k<500 diopters per millimeter (One of the lens doublets has a k value of about 100 Diopters per meter
(fig.7). In addition, lateral displacements in the range of 2mm to 8mm are disclosed (p.6678, left col., l::,,.X = 4 mm).).
Regarding claim 5, Marius discloses the ophthalmic apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the variable focal length lens is configured to operate across a range of relative lateral displacement of the front and rear lens elements of between about 2 and 8 mm (One of the lens doublets has a k value of about 100 Diopters per meter (fig.7). In addition, lateral displacements in the range of 2mm to 8mm are disclosed (p.6678, left col., l::,,.X = 4 mm).).
.
Regarding claims 6 and 7, Marius discloses the ophthalmic apparatus according to claim 1, wherein Φr has the same sign as Φp and is equal to between about 20% and about 400% of Φp (Marius discloses that the prescription power is shared by both lenses).
Regarding claim 11, Marius discloses the ophthalmic apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the front lens element is fixedly mounted to the support and the rear lens element is movable relative to the front lens element for varying the relative lateral disposition of the lens elements (Spectacles using Alvarez lenses with one fixed lens and one moving lens are known in the art).
Regarding claims 12 and 14, Marius discloses the ophthalmic apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the apparatus is adjustable focal length eyewear (Introduction); wherein the apparatus forms part of a visor or other corrective headwear.
Regarding claim 13, Marius discloses the ophthalmic apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the apparatus is forms part of an AR, VR, or XR headset (Using Alvarez lenses for adjusting the focal length of the optic used in virtual reality headsets is known).
Regarding claim 15, Marius discloses the ophthalmic apparatus according to claim 1, comprising a pair of lens elements suitable for forming the front and rear superposed lens elements of the at least one variable focal length lens.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 3 and 8-10 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) Ophthalmic apparatus according to Ophthalmic apparatus according to wherein the variable focal length lens is configured such that the fixed power of the rear lens element, (r, meets the following criterion:
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where dmax is the maximum relative lateral disposition of the front and rear lens elements, k is the rate of power addition provided by the front and rear lens elements as the lens elements are laterally displaced with respect to one another, pd is the interpupillary distance of the user for whom the apparatus is configured, v is the distance between the center of eyeball rotation and the rear surface of the variable focal length lens, and A is the total prism measured in diopters per meter of the variable focal length lens at d = dmax, wherein the variable focal length lens is configured with prism A in the range of from about -0.66 to about +0.58; (claim 8) wherein the variable focal length lens comprises a varifocal region configured to provide a power change equal to about 0.5 D across at least part of the region.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to TUYEN TRA whose telephone number is (571)272-2343. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 10-6.
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/TUYEN TRA/
Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2872
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