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
Information disclosure statement filed 9/02/2026, 11/24/2025, 2/03/2025 have been considered.
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) 1-6, 8-20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by US Patent Application Publication No. US 2022/0382057 A1 to Jiang et al. (hereinafter “Jiang”).
Regarding claim 1, Jiang discloses a device (Fig. 2) comprising a waveguide combiner (EPE1 in Fig. 2) comprising an input coupler (DOE1 in Fig. 2) operable to receive a light an incouple the light into the waveguide combiner; an exit pupil expander (DOE2a in Fig. 2) adjacent to a grating of the input coupler (i.e. “entrance pupil grating unit DOE1”; see paragraph [0031]), the exit pupil expander having a laddered structure (DOE2a) comprising at least one band, the at least one band comprising at least one grating structures (L11-L16), at least one grating structures of the plurality of grating structures has a varying depth, a varying duty cycle, or a varying pitch that is different than a depth, a duty cycle, or pitch than an adjacent grating structure of the plurality of grating structures (paragraph [0041]), and an output coupler (DOE3a in Fig. 1-2) operable to receive the light from the exit pupil expander and transmit the light onto a user field of view.
Regarding claim 2, Jiang discloses a light engine (ENG1 in Fig. 4) disposed above the waveguide combiner with a pupil above the input coupler.
Regarding claim 3, Jiang discloses wherein the plurality of grating structures comprise the varying depth (paragraph [0041]).
Regarding claim 4, Jiang discloses wherein the plurality of grating structures comprise the varying duty cycle (paragraph [0041]).
Regarding claim 5, Jiang discloses wherein the plurality of grating structures comprise the varying pitch (paragraph [0041]).
Regarding claim 6, Jiang discloses wherein the plurality of grating structures include a 1-D structure (paragraph [0041]- 1D grating structure is inherently disclosed by the grating of Jiang).
Regarding claim 8, Jiang discloses wherein the laddered structure is disposed across the exit pupil expander in a diagonal pattern (i.e. the diagonal pattern clearly shown in Fig. 2 as L11- L16).
Regarding claim 9, Jiang discloses wherein the exit pupil expander comprises a first boundary, a second boundary, and a third boundary and wherein at least one of a portion of the first, second, or third boundary is conformal to an edge of the substrate (Fig. 6; paragraph [0078]).
Regarding claim 10, Jiang discloses wherein the waveguide combiner comprises a rounded edge portion (Fig. 6).
Regarding claim 11, Jiang discloses wherein a portion of the exit pupil expander is conformal to the rounded edge portion (Fig. 6).
Regarding claim 12, Jiang discloses wherein the laddered structure has a grating efficiency value (paragraph [0041]).
Regarding claim 13, Jiang discloses a device comprising a substrate (i.e. not explicitly shown but necessarily present as a part of the “display apparatus”- see paragraph [0056]), a light engine disposed above the substrate (ENG1 in Fig. 4), a waveguide combiner in the manner discussed above regarding claim 1 (see above regarding claim 1), and the user FOV disposed adjacent to the waveguide combiner, the user FOV operable to receive the light from the waveguide combiner and display the light (EYE1, EYE2 in Fig. 4).
Regarding claim 14, Jiang discloses wherein the exit pupil expander comprises at least two bands (i.e. Fig. 2 shows 6 bands).
Regarding claim 15, Jiang discloses wherein the laddered structure is disposed across the exit pupil expander in a diagonal orientation (Fig. 2: L11-L16 are clearly diagonal).
Regarding claim 16, Jiang discloses wherein the laddered structure has a grating efficiency value, the grating efficiency value based, at least in part, on at least one of the pitch, the duty cycle, and the depth of the laddered structure (paragraph [0041]).
Regarding claim 17, Jiang discloses a method comprising a method comprising in-coupling a light into a waveguide combiner (i.e. IN1 in Fig. 1; paragraph [0029]), the waveguide combiner including all the components as recited in claim 1 (see above regarding claim 1), an output coupler (DOE3a, DOE3b in Fig. 1), reflecting the light at the exit pupil expander, interacting the light within the exit pupil expander with the plurality of grating structures, and out-coupling the light at the output coupler, the output coupler operable to receive the light from the exit pupil expander and transmit the light onto a user field of view (paragraph [0033]-[0039]).
Regarding claim 18, Jiang discloses interacting the light within the exit pupil expander at a plurality of light interaction points and directing the light away from an edge of the waveguide combiner of the exit pupil expander with the plurality of grating structures (e.g. L11-L16 in Fig. 2; paragraph [0041]).
Regarding claim 19, Jiang discloses wherein a plurality of light beams are directed into the waveguide combiner (IN1 in Fig. 4; paragraph [0056]).
Regarding claim 20, Jiang discloses wherein the laddered structure has a grating efficiency value based, at least in part, on at least one of a pitch, a duty cycle, and a depth of the plurality of grating structures (paragraph [0041]).
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.
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.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claim(s) 7 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Jiang in view of US Patent Application Publication No. US 2020/0166691 A1 to Vartiainen et al. (hereinafter “Vartiainen”).
Jiang discloses a device according to claim 1 as already discussed above. However, it does not explicitly disclose that the plurality of grating structures include a 2-D structure in the manner claimed in the present application. However, such a grating structure is known in the art. For example, Vartiainen discloses a diffractive grating with variable diffraction efficiency for use in a wearable display device (title; paragraphs [0001]-[0002]). Further, Vartiainen discloses such a grating structure comprising a plurality of grating zones that have 2 dimensional structures (abstract; Fig. 2B). One of ordinary skill in the art would readily recognize such grating structures as advantageous and desirable since the net efficiency of a 2D grating is the product of the two orthogonal 1D efficiencies and optimized designs can be achieved with total efficiencies >75% in targeted orders. This improves brightness and reduces the need for high‑power light sources. Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the filing date of the present application to modify the device of Jiang to have a 2-D grating structures in the manner claimed in the present application.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to SUNG H PAK whose telephone number is (571)272-2353. The examiner can normally be reached M-F: 7AM- 5PM.
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/SUNG H PAK/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2874
