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 .
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after allowance or after an Office action under Ex Parte Quayle, 25 USPQ 74, 453 O.G. 213 (Comm'r Pat. 1935). Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, prosecution in this application has been reopened pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on 8/20/26 has been entered.
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(s) 21 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102 as being by Osterhout, US-20180143451
In regards to claim 21, Osterhout discloses an arm of a head-mountable display (Fig. 3A-C, 310 side arm), comprising: an enclosure (Fig. 4A-B, 304 temple section) comprising an internal volume (Fig. 4A-B, 410 battery compartment); a frame (Fig. 4A-B, internal structure of 410 battery compartment) positioned inside the internal volume (Fig. 4A-B, 410 battery compartment), the frame comprising a chassis (Fig. 4A-B, internal structure of 410 battery compartment that holds the battery and electrical components, i.e. PCB, that connects to the battery as shown in Fig. 4A-B); and a printed circuit board (PCB) mounted to the chassis (Fig. 4A-B, electrical components, i.e. PCB, that connects to the battery).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1-20 are allowed.
The following is an examiner’s statement of reasons for allowance:
Applicant’s arguments, see pages 6-11, filed 4/28/26, with respect to claims 1-20 have been fully considered and are persuasive.
In regards to claim 1, the prior art of record fails to disclose, teach or fairly suggest to one of ordinary skill in the art, in conjunction with all the other claimed limitations: an arm of a head-mountable display and specifically including “an enclosure comprising a first surface, and a second surface opposing the first surface, the enclosure defining a tip of the arm and an internal volume; a frame positioned inside the internal volume, the frame comprising a chassis and a hinge connection; and a printed circuit board (PCB) mounted to the chassis.”
In regards to claim 9, the prior art of record fails to disclose, teach or fairly suggest to one of ordinary skill in the art, in conjunction with all the other claimed limitations: a head-mountable device and specifically including “an arm connected to the display, the arm comprising: an arm housing comprising a uni-body enclosure, the uni-body enclosure defining a tip of the arm and an internal volume; a frame positioned inside the arm housing at a joint and cantilevered from the joint within the arm housing, the frame comprising a chassis and a hinge connection; and a printed circuit board (PCB) mounted to the chassis.”
In regards to claim 16, the prior art of record fails to disclose, teach or fairly suggest to one of ordinary skill in the art, in conjunction with all the other claimed limitations: an arm subassembly of an augmented reality (AR) glasses arm and specifically including “a frame comprising a chassis defining an opening in a central region of the chassis, the chassis comprising: a deformable portion; a rigid portion; and a hinge integrated with the rigid portion, the hinge defining a cable pathway; a printed circuit board (PCB) disposed within the opening; and a cable bundle extending from the PCB and through the cable pathway; wherein the frame is configured to be positioned inside an internal volume defined by an enclosure comprising a first surface and a second surface opposite the first surface, the enclosure defining a tip of the AR glasses arm and the internal volume.”
Claim 22 is 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:
In regards to claim 22, the prior art of record fails to disclose, teach or fairly suggest to one of ordinary skill in the art, in conjunction with all the other claimed limitations: n arm of a head-mountable display and specifically including “the frame comprises a multi-material frame positioned within the internal volume, the multi-material frame comprising a hinge region and an end opposite the hinge region; and further comprising a flexible circuit extending from the hinge region of the multi-material frame and beyond the multi-material frame in a longitudinal direction.”
Any comments considered necessary by applicant must be submitted no later than the payment of the issue fee and, to avoid processing delays, should preferably accompany the issue fee. Such submissions should be clearly labeled “Comments on Statement of Reasons for Allowance.”
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to CORY A ALMEIDA whose telephone number is (571)270-3143. The examiner can normally be reached M-Th 9AM-730PM.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Nitin (Kumar) Patel can be reached at (571) 272-7677. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/CORY A ALMEIDA/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2628 8/21/26
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