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
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 09/26/2024 is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
Objection/s to the Specification
The title of the invention, “LIGHT SOURCE CURRENT ADJUSTMENT DEVICE AND METHOD FOR PROJECTION DEVICE,” is not descriptive. A new title is required that is clearly indicative of the invention to which the claims are directed.
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 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.
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 1-3, 5, 7-10, 12, and 14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1)/(a)(2) as being anticipated by Wu (US 20210352251 A1).
Regarding claim 1, Wu teaches a light source current adjustment device (first processing module) of a projection device (10, 20, and 30; Fig. 1-28), coupled to a light source (LD1) of the projection device (10, 20, and 30), wherein the light source current adjustment device (first processing module) comprises a light source driving circuit (DRV1 to LD1), a current monitoring circuit (ISEN1 to R977, R978, R927, and/or R979) and a control circuit (lm1 to DRV), wherein the light source driving circuit (DRV1 to LD1) generates a driving current based on a direct current; the current monitoring circuit (ISEN1 to R977, R978, R927, and/or R979) is coupled between the light source driving circuit (DRV1 to LD1) and the light source (LD1) to monitor the driving current and output a monitoring signal ([0125]); and the control circuit (lm1 to DRV) is coupled to the light source driving circuit (DRV1 to LD1) and the current monitoring circuit (ISEN1 to R977, R978, R927, and/or R979), receives the monitoring signal from the current monitoring circuit (ISEN1 to R977, R978, R927, and/or R979), and controls the light source driving circuit (DRV1 to LD1) to adjust the driving current according to the monitoring signal, the current monitoring circuit (ISEN1 to R977, R978, R927, and/or R979) provides an adjusted driving current from the light source driving circuit (DRV1 to LD1) to the light source (LD1; [0145]).
Regarding claim 2, when a current value corresponding to the monitoring signal is less than a preset current value of the light source (LD1) of the projection device (10, 20, and 30) in a projection mode, the control circuit (lm1 to DRV) controls the light source driving circuit (DRV1 to LD1) to increase the driving current, and when the current value corresponding to the monitoring signal is greater than the preset current value, the control circuit (lm1 to DRV) controls the light source driving circuit (DRV1 to LD1) to reduce the driving current ([0145]).
Regarding claim 3, Wu further teaches the control circuit (lm1 to DRV) adjusts a duty ratio of a pulse width modulation signal provided to the light source driving circuit (DRV1 to LD1), so that the light source driving circuit (DRV1 to LD1) adjusts the driving current according to an adjusted duty ratio of the pulse width modulation signal ([0145]).
Regarding claim 5, Wu further teaches the control circuit (lm1 to DRV) controls the light source driving circuit (DRV1 to LD1) to adjust the driving current when a difference between a current value corresponding to the monitoring signal and a preset current value corresponding to the projection device (10, 20, and 30) in a projection mode exceeds, inherently, a preset range.
Regarding claim 7, Wu further teaches the current monitoring circuit (ISEN1 to R977, R978, R927, and/or R979) disposed on a current path through which the driving current flows between the light source driving circuit (DRV1 to LD1) and the light source (LD1), and the current monitoring circuit (ISEN1 to R977, R978, R927, and/or R979) is an isolation current sensor ([0125]).
Regarding claim 8, Wu teaches a light source (LD1) current adjustment method for a projection device (10, 20, and 30), comprising: providing a current monitoring circuit (ISEN1 to R977, R978, R927, and/or R979) to monitor a driving current generated by a light source driving circuit (DRV1 to LD1) based on a direct current to output a monitoring signal, wherein the driving current is configured to drive a light source (LD1) of the projection device (10, 20, and 30); and controlling the light source driving circuit (DRV1 to LD1) to adjust the driving current according to the monitoring signal, wherein the current monitoring circuit (ISEN1 to R977, R978, R927, and/or R979) provides an adjusted driving current from the light source driving circuit (DRV1 to LD1) to the light source (LD1; [0125], [0145]).
Regarding claim 9, Wu further teaches when a current value corresponding to the monitoring signal is less than a preset current value of the light source (LD1) of the projection device (10, 20, and 30) in a projection mode, controlling the light source driving circuit (DRV1 to LD1) to increase the driving current; and when the current value corresponding to the monitoring signal is greater than the preset current value, controlling the light source driving circuit (DRV1 to LD1) to reduce the driving current ([0145]).
Regarding claim 10, Wu further teaches adjusting a duty ratio of a pulse width modulation signal provided to the light source driving circuit (DRV1 to LD1), so that the light source driving circuit (DRV1 to LD1) adjusts the driving current according to an adjusted duty ratio of the pulse width modulation signal ([0145]).
Regarding claim 12, Wu further teaches controlling the light source driving circuit (DRV1 to LD1) to adjust the driving current when a difference between a current value corresponding to the monitoring signal and a preset current value corresponding to the projection device (10, 20, and 30) in a projection mode exceeds, inherently, a preset range.
Regarding claim 14, Wu further teaches the current monitoring circuit (ISEN1 to R977, R978, R927, and/or R979) disposed on a current path through which the driving current flows between the light source driving circuit (DRV1 to LD1) and the light source (LD1), and the current monitoring circuit (ISEN1 to R977, R978, R927, and/or R979) is an isolation current sensor ([0125]).
Claim Rejections - AIA 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 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 of this title, 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 4 and 11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wu.
Regarding claims 4 and 11, Wu does not explicitly teach the control circuit (lm1 to DRV) further stores the adjusted duty ratio of the pulse width modulation signal as a preset duty ratio.
Choosing the appropriate preset duty ratio is a matter of design choice; hence it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skills in the art at the time of the invention to have the adjusted duty ratio of the pulse width modulation signal stored as a preset duty ratio.
Claims 4 and 11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wu in view of Lan (US 20060291511 A1).
Regarding claims 6 and 13, Wu does not explicitly teach the control circuit (lm1 to DRV) comprises a lookup table, the lookup table comprises a plurality of preset monitoring signal values and a plurality of lookup current values corresponding thereto, the control circuit (lm1 to DRV) finds a lookup current value corresponding to the monitoring signal according to the lookup table and uses the lookup current value as the current value corresponding to the monitoring signal, compares the preset current value corresponding to the projection device (10, 20, and 30) in the projection mode with the lookup current value, and controls the light source driving circuit (DRV1 to LD1) to adjust the driving current according to a comparison result.
Lan teaches reading a lookup table, wherein the lookup table comprises a plurality of preset monitoring signal values and a plurality of lookup current values corresponding thereto; and finding a lookup current value corresponding to the monitoring signal according to the lookup table and using the lookup current value as the current value corresponding to the monitoring signal, comparing the preset current value corresponding to the lighting device (10, 20, and 30) in the lighting mode with the lookup current value, and controlling the light source driving circuit to adjust the driving current according to a comparison result ([0007]-[0008], [0018]-[0019], [0022]).
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skills in the art at the time of the invention to combine Wu with Lan; because it allows taking account effects of temperature on the driving of the laser/s to improve performance of the laser/s.
Conclusion
The prior art references cited in PTO-892 are made of record and considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Patent documents, US 20200264501 A1, US 20190239300 A1, US 20190104602 A1, US 20130021580 A1, US 20100201281 A1, US 20090115974 A1, and US 20070164687 A1, disclose light source driving circuit with current monitoring.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to BAO-LUAN Q LE whose telephone number is (571)270-5362. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday-Friday; 9:00AM-5:00PM.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Minh-Toan Ton can be reached on (571) 272 230303. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of an application may be obtained from the Patent Application Information Retrieval (PAIR) system. Status information for published applications may be obtained from either Private PAIR or Public PAIR. Status information for unpublished applications is available through Private PAIR only. For more information about the PAIR system, see http://pair-direct.uspto.gov. Should you have questions on access to the Private PAIR system, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative or access to the automated information system, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
Any response to this action should be mailed to:
Commissioner for Patents
P.O. Box 1450
Alexandria, Virginia 22313-1450
Or faxed to:
(571) 273-8300, (for formal communications intended for entry)
Or:
(571) 273-7490, (for informal or draft communications, please label “PROPOSED” or “DRAFT”)
Hand-delivered responses should be brought to:
Customer Service Window
Randolph Building
401 Dulany Street
Alexandria, VA 22314
/BAO-LUAN Q LE/
Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2882
Prosecution Insights