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 § 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) 1, 5 and 8 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Sakata (JP 2016186566 A).
With respect to claims 1, 5 and 8, Sakata discloses a projector (see fig.1) and method for controlling a light source device comprising: a light source device (see 2 in fig.1); an optical modulation unit (see 4RGB) configured to form an image by modulating emission light of the light source device; and a projection lens (see 6 in fig.1) configured to project the image formed by the optical modulation unit, wherein the light source device comprises (see 62 in fig.6) comprising: a first laser light source unit (see 34a) configured to emit first-color light having a first polarization direction; a second laser light source unit (se 34b) configured to emit first-color light having a second polarization direction different from the first polarization direction (see First Embodiment, 21st para.: The excitation semiconductor laser 34a and the illumination semiconductor laser 34b emit light having different polarization states. In the case of the present embodiment, the excitation semiconductor laser 34a emits P-polarized light with respect to the surface on which light in the PBS described later is incident. The illumination semiconductor laser 34b emits S-polarized light with respect to the surface on which the light in the PBS is incident.); a polarization separation element (17 and see 39th para. : The dichroic mirror 17 has a polarization separation function.) configured to separate the first-color light, which has the first polarization direction, emitted from the first laser light source unit and the first-color light, which has the second polarization direction, emitted from the second laser light source unit into a first light beam and a second light beam (see the operation of 17); a wavelength conversion element (see 63 in fig.6) configured to convert the first light beam separated by the polarization separation element into a third light beam (see BLs and 63); an optical element (see 32) configured to convert the second light beam separated by the polarization separation element into a fourth light beam; and a control unit (see 27; 67th para. from the First Embodiment: Based on the detection result of the sensor unit 30, the light source control device 27 sets the first light source device or the second light source device so that the ratio between the intensity of the blue light BL ′ and the intensity of the yellow fluorescence YL approaches, for example, a reference value) configured to adjust a first drive current value of the first laser light source unit and a second drive current value of the second laser light source unit (see the operation of 27; see 6th para. from the Second Embodiment: “Specifically, the light amount ratio is controlled by controlling the current supplied to the first light source device and / or the current supplied to the second light source device”), wherein the polarization separation element (see 17 in fig.6) is configured to synthesize the third light beam converted by the wavelength conversion element and the fourth light beam converted by the optical element (see the operation in fig.6), and wherein the control unit is configured to adjust the first drive current value of the first laser light source unit and the second drive current value of the second laser light source unit (see the operation of 27; see 6th para. from the Second Embodiment: “Specifically, the light amount ratio is controlled by controlling the current supplied to the first light source device and / or the current supplied to the second light source device”), on the basis of a first measurement result (see the operation of 50) and a second measurement result, wherein the first measurement result is acquired by a first sensor measuring a first light quantity of red light included in white light that is synthesized and emitted by the polarization separation element, and wherein the second measurement result (see the blue light of 49) is acquired by a second sensor measuring a second light quantity of blue light included in the white light.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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 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) 2 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Sakata (JP 2016186566 A)
With respect to claim 2, Sakata discloses the light source device according to claim 1, wherein the control unit is configured to control the first drive current value of the first laser light source unit and to control the second drive current value of the second laser light source unit, in case that an actual light quantity ratio that is a ratio between the first light quantity of the red light measured by the first sensor and the second light quantity of the blue light measured by the second sensor is higher than a target light quantity ratio (5th para. from second amendment: “The light source control device 27 compares the ratio of the current blue light intensity and yellow light intensity detected by the sensor unit 30 with the stored reference value. As a result, if the difference between the current blue light intensity and the yellow light intensity ratio and the reference value exceeds the allowable range, the ratio between the current blue light intensity and the yellow light intensity approaches the reference value.”: 6th para. from Second embodiment: “ Specifically, the light amount ratio is controlled by controlling the current supplied to the first light source device and / or the current supplied to the second light source device. Thereby, the ratio between the light amount of the excitation light BLs incident on the phosphor layer 31 and the light amount of the blue light BLc incident on the scattering layer 32 can be adjusted”; the correct the ratio by controlling current to both the first and second light ); and wherein the control unit is configured to control the first drive current value of the first laser light source unit and to control the second drive current value of the second laser light source unit, in case that the actual light quantity ratio is lower than the target light quantity ratio (6th para. from Second embodiment: “ Specifically, the light amount ratio is controlled by controlling the current supplied to the first light source device and / or the current supplied to the second light source device. Thereby, the ratio between the light amount of the excitation light BLs incident on the phosphor layer 31 and the light amount of the blue light BLc incident on the scattering layer 32 can be adjusted”) but does not explicitly disclose control the light sources so as to decrease the first drive current value of the first laser light source unit and to increase the second drive current value of the second laser light source unit, in case that an actual light quantity ratio that is a ratio between the first light quantity of the red light measured by the first sensor and the second light quantity of the blue light measured by the second sensor is higher than a target light quantity ratio; and wherein the control unit is configured to increase the first drive current value of the first laser light source unit and to decrease the second drive current value of the second laser light source unit, in case that the actual light quantity ratio is lower than the target light quantity ratio.
However, It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to modify Sakata so that control unit decreases the first drive current value of the first laser light source unit and increases the second drive current value of the second laser light source unit, in case that an actual light quantity ratio that is a ratio between the first light quantity of the red light measured by the first sensor and the second light quantity of the blue light measured by the second sensor is higher than a target light quantity ratio; and wherein the control unit is configured to increase the first drive current value of the first laser light source unit and to decrease the second drive current value of the second laser light source unit, in case that the actual light quantity ratio is lower than the target light quantity ratio, since it would have been obvious to try by choosing from a finite number of identified, predictable solutions (raising both currents, lowering both currents, raising one current and lowering the other and vice versa), with reasonable expectation of success and since it would predictably reduce color balance deterioration. Id. at 903, 7 USPQ2d at 1681.
Claim(s) 6 and 7 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Sakata (JP 2016186566 A) in view of Kataoka (JP 2012063787 A).
With respect to claims 6 and 7, Sakata discloses the projector according to claim 5, further comprising: an illumination optical system (see 3 in fig.1) configured to separate the white light emitted from the light source device into the red light, green light, and the blue light, wherein the optical modulation unit (see 4RGB) comprises: a first optical modulation unit (4R) configured to form a red image; a second optical modulation unit (4G) configured to form a green image; and a third optical modulation unit (4B) configured to form a blue image, wherein the illumination optical system comprises: a first mirror (7a) disposed on a first optical path of the red light emitted to the first optical modulation unit; a second mirror (7b) disposed on a second optical path of the blue light emitted to the third optical modulation unit; but Sakata does not disclose the first sensor disposed on an extension line of the optical path of the red light incident on the first mirror; and the second sensor disposed on an extension line of the optical path of the blue light incident on the second mirror, wherein the first sensor is configured to measure a first light quantity of the red light transmitted through the first mirror without being reflected by the first mirror, and wherein the second sensor is configured to measure a second light quantity of the blue light transmitted through the second mirror without being reflected by the second mirror, wherein the illumination optical system, which is configured to separate the white light emitted from the light source device into the red light, the green light, and the blue light, further comprises: a third sensor configured to measure a third light quantity of the green light included in the white light that is synthesized and emitted by the polarization separation element.
Kataoka discloses a first sensor (120a), a second sensor (120c) and a third sensor (120b) located after the modulator (see 10 in fig.6).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to modify Sakata with the teaching of Kataoka so that the first sensor disposed on an extension line of the optical path of the red light incident on the first mirror; and the second sensor disposed on an extension line of the optical path of the blue light incident on the second mirror, wherein the first sensor is configured to measure a first light quantity of the red light transmitted through the first mirror without being reflected by the first mirror, and wherein the second sensor is configured to measure a second light quantity of the blue light transmitted through the second mirror without being reflected by the second mirror, wherein the illumination optical system, which is configured to separate the white light emitted from the light source device into the red light, the green light, and the blue light, further comprises: a third sensor configured to measure a third light quantity of the green light included in the white light that is synthesized and emitted by the polarization separation element to enhance the accuracy of the correction to the light projector to screen.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 3 and 4 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 claim 3, the prior art of record does not disclose or render obvious the light source device according to claim 2, further comprising: a third laser light source unit configured to emit the first-color light having the first polarization direction, wherein the polarization separation element is configured to separate the first-color light, which has the first polarization direction, emitted from the first laser light source unit and emitted from the third laser light source unit, and the first-color light, which has the second polarization direction, emitted from the second laser light source unit, into the first light beam and the second light beam, and wherein the control unit is configured to: decrease the first drive current value of the first laser light source unit and a third drive current value of the third laser light source unit and to increase the second drive current value of the second laser light source unit, in case that the actual light quantity ratio is higher than the target light quantity ratio; and wherein the control unit is configured to: increase the first drive current value of the first laser light source unit and the third drive current value of the third laser light source unit, and to decrease the second drive current value of the second laser light source unit, in case that the actual light quantity ratio is lower than the target light quantity ratio.
With respect to claim 4, the prior art of record does not disclose or render obvious the light source device according to claim 2, further comprising: a third laser light source unit configured to emit the first-color light having the first polarization direction; and a fourth laser light source unit configured to emit second-color light, which has the second polarization direction, different from the first-color light; wherein the polarization separation element is configured to separate the first-color light, which has the first polarization direction, emitted from the first laser light source unit and the third laser light source unit, the first-color light, which has the second polarization direction, emitted from the second laser light source unit, and the second-color light, which has the second polarization direction, emitted from the fourth laser light source unit, into the first light beam and the second light beam, and wherein the control unit is configured to: decrease the first drive current values of the first laser light source unit and the third drive current values of the third laser light source unit, and to increase the second drive current value of the second laser light source unit, in case that the actual light quantity ratio is higher than the target light quantity ratio; and wherein the control unit is configured to: increase the first drive current value of the first laser light source unit and the third drive current value of the third laser light source unit, and to decrease the second drive current value of the second laser light source unit, in case that the actual light quantity ratio is lower than the target light quantity ratio.
The closest prior art of record, Sakata, discloses a projector (see fig.1) and method for controlling a light source device comprising: a light source device (see 2 in fig.1); an optical modulation unit (see 4RGB) configured to form an image by modulating emission light of the light source device; and a projection lens (see 6 in fig.1) configured to project the image formed by the optical modulation unit, wherein the light source device comprises (see 62 in fig.6) comprising: a first laser light source unit (see 34a) configured to emit first-color light having a first polarization direction; a second laser light source unit (se 34b) configured to emit first-color light having a second polarization direction different from the first polarization direction (see First Embodiment, 21st para.: The excitation semiconductor laser 34a and the illumination semiconductor laser 34b emit light having different polarization states. In the case of the present embodiment, the excitation semiconductor laser 34a emits P-polarized light with respect to the surface on which light in the PBS described later is incident. The illumination semiconductor laser 34b emits S-polarized light with respect to the surface on which the light in the PBS is incident.); a polarization separation element (17 and see 39th para. : The dichroic mirror 17 has a polarization separation function.) configured to separate the first-color light, which has the first polarization direction, emitted from the first laser light source unit and the first-color light, which has the second polarization direction, emitted from the second laser light source unit into a first light beam and a second light beam (see the operation of 17); a wavelength conversion element (see 63 in fig.6) configured to convert the first light beam separated by the polarization separation element into a third light beam (see BLs and 63); an optical element (see 32) configured to convert the second light beam separated by the polarization separation element into a fourth light beam; and a control unit (see 27; 67th para. from the First Embodiment: Based on the detection result of the sensor unit 30, the light source control device 27 sets the first light source device or the second light source device so that the ratio between the intensity of the blue light BL ′ and the intensity of the yellow fluorescence YL approaches, for example, a reference value) configured to adjust a first drive current value of the first laser light source unit and a second drive current value of the second laser light source unit (see the operation of 27; see 6th para. from the Second Embodiment: “Specifically, the light amount ratio is controlled by controlling the current supplied to the first light source device and / or the current supplied to the second light source device”), wherein the polarization separation element (see 17 in fig.6) is configured to synthesize the third light beam converted by the wavelength conversion element and the fourth light beam converted by the optical element (see the operation in fig.6), and wherein the control unit is configured to adjust the first drive current value of the first laser light source unit and the second drive current value of the second laser light source unit (see the operation of 27; see 6th para. from the Second Embodiment: “Specifically, the light amount ratio is controlled by controlling the current supplied to the first light source device and / or the current supplied to the second light source device”), on the basis of a first measurement result (see the operation of 50) and a second measurement result, wherein the first measurement result is acquired by a first sensor measuring a first light quantity of red light included in white light that is synthesized and emitted by the polarization separation element, and wherein the second measurement result (see the blue light of 49) is acquired by a second sensor measuring a second light quantity of blue light included in the white light but does not disclose the limitations of claims 3 and 4.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JERRY L. BROOKS whose telephone number is (571)270-5711. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9:00-4:00 PM.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Toan Ton can be reached at 5712722303. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/JERRY L BROOKS/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2882
Prosecution Insights