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 .
Preliminary amendments
The preliminary amendment filed 11/05/2024 has been entered.
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers submitted under 35 U.S.C. 119(a)-(d), which papers have been placed of record in the file.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 11/05/2024 is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement has been considered by the examiner.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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(s) 1-3, 5-13, and 15 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Koizumi et al. (US 2015/0277027).
Regarding claim 1, Koizumi discloses a luminous device for a vehicle, the luminous device (1, Fig. 2) comprising:
- at least one luminous module (5, Fig. 2) configured to generate primary light rays forming a light beam,
- an exit outer lens (6, Fig. 2),
- a decoupling relief structure (20, Fig. 2 shows the decoupling relief structure),
- an intermediate screen (20, Fig. 2) including the decoupling relief structure, the intermediate screen being arranged between the at least one luminous module exit outer lens, and having a first face (rear side of 20, Fig. 2) facing the at least one luminous module and a second face (21, Fig. 2) facing the exit outer lens,
-the decoupling relief structure being arranged on the first face of the intermediate screen, the intermediate screen having a non-constant thickness (specifically it moves from thicker to thinner and back to thicker but also has the decoupling relief structures which alter that overall shape) such that the primary light rays of the light beam exit from the second face of the intermediate screen in a direction identical or parallel to a direction in which they entered through the first face of the intermediate screen.
Regarding claim 2, Koizumi discloses the second face of the intermediate screen includes locally different surface orientations (Fig. 2).
Regarding claim 3, Koizumi discloses the exit outer lens is a neutral outer lens (Fig. 2).
Regarding claim 5, Koizumi discloses the thickness of the intermediate screen varies gradually (Paragraph 0033).
Regarding claim 6, Koizumi discloses the thickness of the intermediate screen decreases toward a side intended to be closest to a fender of the automotive vehicle (Fig. 2, specifically there is a place on 20 which decreases in size moving towards a side where the fender would be).
Regarding claim 7, Koizumi discloses the at least one luminous module includes at least one primary light source (5, Fig. 2) configured to generate the primary light rays.
Regarding claim 8, Koizumi discloses secondary light sources (4, Fig. 2) configured to generate secondary light rays, the secondary light sources being arranged such that the secondary light rays
Regarding claim 9, Koizumi discloses the primary light source and/or the secondary light sources are semiconductor light sources (Fig. 2, Paragraph 0024).
Regarding claim 10, Koizumi discloses the decoupling relief structure which are:
- micro-cones (Fig. 2).
Regarding claim 11, Koizumi discloses one luminous module is configured to perform a primary optical function which function or a signaling function, and the intermediate screen is configured to perform a secondary optical function which is a signaling function (Paragraph 0024 specifically the signaling function is the fact that it’s on or off).
Regarding claim 12, Koizumi discloses the at least one luminous module is configured to perform a primary optical function which is a lighting function (Paragraph 0024).
Regarding claim 13, Koizumi discloses the lighting module is a lighting module generating at least one of the beams selected from: a high beam (specifically when all the light is on its acting as a high beam, paragraph 0024) or an adaptive beam (the light is adaptive by being able to turn on a off the light sources, Paragraph 0024).
Regarding claim 15, Koizumi discloses .
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) 4 and 14 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Koizumi et al. (US 2015/0277027) in view of Buisson (US 2013/0003397).
Regarding claim 4, Koizumi teaches the thickness of the intermediate screen varies between 2.1 and 3.5 millimeters (when viewed in Fig. 2, however the specification fails to explicitly teach this range).
Koizumi fails to explicitly teach the thickness of the intermediate screen varies between 2.1 and 3.5 millimeters.
Buisson teaches the thickness of the intermediate screen (3, Fig. 1) varies between 2.1 and 3.5 millimeters (Paragraph 0017).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the earliest effective filing date to included having the intermediate screen of Koizumi having a thickness which varies between 2.1mm and 3.5mm as taught by Buisson, in order to teach a specific range for the thickness which would have otherwise been common for a given lighting device.
Regarding claim 14, Koizumi fails to teach the luminous device is a headlamp.
Buisson teaches the luminous device is a headlamp (Fig. 3C, Fig. 0031).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the earliest effective filing date to included having modified the luminous deivce of Koizumi to be a headlamp as taught by Buisson, in order to provided a lighting device that functions as a headlamp.
Relevant Prior Art
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Johnson et al. (US 11187396) teaches a light source, intermediate screen with multiple different thicknesses and a normal exit surface. Gasquet (US 7278768) teaches a headlight with primary light source and secondary light source and intermediate screen with different thicknesses.
Conclusion
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/ERIC T EIDE/ Examiner, Art Unit 2875
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