DETAILED ACTION
1. This Office Action is responsive to claims filed for No. 18/877,845 on December 20, 2024. Please note Claims 1-10 are pending and have been examined.
America Invents Act
2. 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
3. The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on December 20, 2024 was filed. The submission is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
Allowable Subject Matter
4. Claims 2-4, 6 and 8 allowed.
Claim 2 recites “wherein each of the thin film switching elements has a plurality of first thin film switching elements and a plurality of second thin film switching elements” and to expand on this, “wherein each of the second thin film switching elements is disposed in a second region that is adjacent to the first region in a plane view and is not irradiated with the light for image formation.”
This level of detail, namely the plurality and also disposed in the second region, is not taught by the prior art.
5. Claim 5 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.
Claim 5 recites details of the second and third wirings and their positions relative to other elements. This level of detail is not taught by the prior art.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
6. 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.
7. The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
8. Claims 1, 7, 9 and 10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Nagura ( US 2023/0168547 A1 ) in view of Toko ( US 2020/0142263 A1 ).
Nagura teaches in Claim 1:
A liquid crystal element ( Figure 8, [0100] disclose a liquid crystal device ) comprising:
a first substrate and a second substrate disposed with one surface facing each other ( Figure 8, [0112] discloses an electrooptic substrate 100 (read as a first substrate) and counter substrate 180 (read as a second substrate) which face each other, as shown );
a liquid crystal layer disposed between the first substrate and the second substrate ( Figure 8, [0113] discloses liquid crystal molecules 171 between the two substrates );
a plurality of pixel electrodes [including those having different shapes in a plane view], which are provided on the first substrate side using a transparent conductive film ( Figure 8, [0109] disclose a plurality of pixel electrodes 161 which are formed by dividing a transparent conductive material film and forming onto/into the substrate. As for the different shapes, please note the combination below );
a plurality of thin film switching elements provided on the first substrate side, each corresponding to each of the pixel electrodes ( Figure 8, [0128] disclose a plurality of transistors with a gate electrode 124 and semiconductor material layer 121 );
a plurality of first wirings provided on the first substrate side using a transparent conductive film, which connects each of the pixel electrodes and each of the thin film switching elements ( Figure 8, [0101] disclose a wiring layer 130 which connects the pixel electrodes to the transistors. Please note the transparent conductive material film detailed in [0109] which forms/divides into these elements ); and
a counter electrode provided on the second substrate side, which is disposed to overlap each of the pixel electrodes in a plane view ( Figure 8, [0100] disclose a counter electrode 182 provided on counter substrate 180 and is meant to overlap the pixel electrodes, as shown );
wherein each of the pixel electrodes is entirely disposed within a first region to which light for image formation is irradiated ( Figure 8, [0144] discloses a light guide region for the pixel electrodes ), and
wherein each of the thin film switching elements is disposed in a second region that is adjacent to the first region in a plane view and to which the light for image formation is not irradiated ( Figures 3 and 8, [0108] disclose a light shielding region SHA which blocks light (read as not irradiated) and is adjacent to the light guide LG with the light-transmissive material. Figure 15, [0148] discloses more details of the transistor TR being surrounding by light shielding material ); but
Nagura does not explicitly teach the pixels “including those having different shapes in a plane view”.
However, in the same field of endeavor, liquid crystal structure, Toko teaches of pixel electrodes 14 has a rectangular shape, ( Toko, Figure 3, [0034] ). Toko also teaches in [0040] the shape of each pixel region can be a square as well and in general, the shape can be arbitrarily set, such as a mixture of rectangular shapes and squares, rendering this a design choice.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, at the effective filed date of the invention, to implement the shape of the pixels, as taught by Toko, with the motivation that it is a design choice as to the shape, or mixture of shapes, ( Toko, [0040] ).
Nagura teaches in Claim 7:
The liquid crystal element according to claim 1 further comprising a sealing material provided between the first substrate and the second substrate to surround the liquid crystal layer,
wherein the sealing material is disposed to include the first region and the second region. ( Figure 2A and 8, [0084] disclose the liquid crystal material layer 170 is sealed between the substrates 100 and 180 and this is throughout, i.e. including the interpreted first and second regions )
Nagura teaches in Claim 9:
A lighting apparatus comprising: the liquid crystal element according to claim 1;
a light source ( Figure 9, [0116] discloses a light source unit );
a light condensing part that collects light emitted from the light source to form the light for image formation and causes the light for image formation to be incident on the liquid crystal element ( Figure 10, [0116] discloses a light guide which can direct the light (read as collected and irradiating );
a pair of polarizing elements that are disposed opposite each other with the liquid crystal element therebetween ( Figures 8 and 10, [0116] disclose polarizer 150, 950 and 184, at the least, arranged on opposite sides, as shown ); and
a lens that projects the light that has passed through the liquid crystal element. ( Figure 33, [0163] disclose an embodiment with a lens, as part of a camera. The liquid crystal device is embodied as such, using a lens )
Toko teaches in Claim 10:
A vehicle lamp system comprising:
a vehicle lamp configured using the lighting apparatus according to claim 9 ( [0002] discloses an embodiment using a vehicle ),
a sensor that detects a target object present around a vehicle; and a controller that controls operation of the liquid crystal element in accordance with the state of the target object detected by the sensor. ( [0022] discloses the use of a camera for photogating the front of its own vehicle and outputting its image. The decision to and what parts to irradiate are based on what the camera detects (read as a sensor). However, sensor types are well known in the art and Examiner asserts Official Notice to this )
Conclusion
9. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to DENNIS P JOSEPH whose telephone number is (571)270-1459. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday 5:30 - 3:30 EST.
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/DENNIS P JOSEPH/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2621
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