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 .
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 1-6, 9, and 11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Suga (2017/0272598) in view of Fukuyama et al. (2017/0102500).
With respect to claims 1, 9, and 11, Suga teaches an atmosphere lamp (501), comprising: at least one auxiliary circuit board (103), the auxiliary circuit board being provided with at least one light source structure (102); and at least one light guide block (101) provided with at least one snapping groove (groove between 201 and 202), the light guide block being snapped (paragraph 28) onto the auxiliary circuit board by the snapping groove (Figs. 5A-5B), and the light guide block being provided with at least one light incident surface (104) disposed opposite to the light source structure (Fig. 5B).
Suga does not explicitly teach at least one main circuit board; at least one auxiliary circuit board mounted on and electrically connected to the main circuit board (claim 1); wherein, a support structure is disposed on the light guide block, and abuts against the main circuit board along a mounting direction of the light guide block (claim 9); 11. The atmosphere lamp according to claim 1, wherein, the auxiliary circuit board has a first end and a second end opposite to each other, the first end of the auxiliary circuit board is connected to the main circuit board and disposed vertically, and the light guide block is snapped onto the auxiliary circuit board from the second end of the auxiliary circuit board through the snapping groove (claim 11).
As for claim 1, Fukuyama also drawn to atmosphere lamps, teaches at least one main circuit board (50 and 62); at least one auxiliary circuit board (91) mounted on and electrically connected to the main circuit board (paragraph 61 and Fig. 10).
As for claim 9, Fukuyama teaches wherein, a support structure (80) is disposed on the light guide block (70), and abuts against the main circuit board along a mounting direction of the light guide block (Fig. 10-12B).
As for claim 11, Fukuyama teaches wherein, the auxiliary circuit board (91) has a first end and a second end opposite to each other (Fig. 10), the first end of the auxiliary circuit board is connected to the main circuit board (50 and 62) and disposed vertically (Fig. 10), and the light guide block is snapped onto the auxiliary circuit board from the second end of the auxiliary circuit board through the snapping groove (Figs. 10-12B).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the present inventio, to use the main circuit board, support structure, and arrangement of Fukuyama in the atmosphere lamp of Suga, in order to provide greater control of the light sources (paragraph 21 of Fukuyama) and to safely and accurately hold elements together (paragraphs 56-60)
As for claim 2, Suga teaches wherein, the light guide block (101) is provided with at least one claw (202) and at least one first bump (201), the first bump and the light incident surface are located on the same side of the light guide block (Fig. 4), and the claw and the first bump are cooperated to form the snapping groove (Figs. 4-6B).
As for claim 3, Suga teaches wherein, a transverse limiting structure (301-303 and portion of 103 between 301-303) is disposed between the light guide block and the auxiliary circuit board (Figs. 6A-6B) to limit a relative movement between the light guide block and the auxiliary circuit board in a length direction of the snapping groove (paragraph 30).
As for claim 4, Suga teaches wherein, the transverse limiting structure (301-303 and portion of 103 between 301-303) comprises a transverse limiting block (portion of 103 between 301-303) and a transverse limiting groove (301-303), the transverse limiting block is disposed on the auxiliary circuit board and matched with the transverse limiting groove (Figs. 6A-6B), and the light guide block comprises a plurality of the claws (202a-c); and the transverse limiting groove is formed between adjacent two of the claws (Figs. 4-6B); or adjacent two of the claws are connected through a connecting plate and the transverse limiting groove is formed in the connecting plate.
As for claim 5, Suga teaches wherein, the light guide block (101) is an asymmetric structure (asymmetric along a cross section through 202b) with respect to a center of the transverse limiting groove (302), and the auxiliary circuit board is an asymmetric structure with respect to the center of the transverse limiting block (Fig. 6B).
As for claim 6. The atmosphere lamp according to claim 2, wherein, a longitudinal limiting structure (301-303 and portion of 103 between 301-303) is disposed between the light guide block and the auxiliary circuit board (Figs. 6A-6B) to limit the auxiliary circuit board from falling out of the snapping groove (paragraph 30).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 7, 8, 10, and 12 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.
With respect to claims 7-8, the prior art does not teach or suggest wherein, the longitudinal limiting structure comprises a longitudinal limiting block and a longitudinal limiting groove, the claw has an inner side surface opposite to the auxiliary circuit board, the longitudinal limiting block is disposed on the inner side surface of the claw, and the longitudinal limiting groove is disposed on the auxiliary circuit board and matched with the longitudinal limiting block; along with the other limiting elements of claims 1, 2, 6, and 7.
As for claim 10, the prior art does not teach or suggest wherein, the support structure comprises a plurality of second bumps disposed symmetrically with respect to the center of gravity of the light guide block; along with the other limiting elements of claims 1, 9, and 10.
As for claim 12, the prior art does not teach or suggest wherein, the atmosphere lamp comprises a plurality of main circuit boards, a plurality of auxiliary circuit boards and a plurality of light guide blocks, the plurality of main circuit boards are connected and conducted through a connector, the plurality of auxiliary circuit boards are mounted on the plurality of main circuit boards in one-to-one correspondence, and the plurality of light guide blocks are mounted on the plurality of auxiliary circuit boards in one-to-one correspondence; along with the other limiting elements of claims 1 and 12.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure:
AH (2016/0245472); see: Figs. 1-4
JU et al. (2016/0147009); see: Figs. 2 and 5
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/WILLIAM J CARTER/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2875 8/22/2026
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