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 statements (IDS) submitted on 10/1/2024 and 1/7/2026 were considered by the examiner.
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election without traverse of invention III (claims 14-20) in the reply filed on 9/1/2026 is acknowledged.
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.
Claims 14-16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Costa et al. (US 9,857,595).
Regarding Claim 14, Costa discloses a head-mounted device, comprising:
a head-mounted housing comprising a chassis with opposing front and rear faces (Fig. 3, cover portion 110 is the front face, Fig. 2, portion of 160 with the apertures 162 and 164 is the rear face), opposing left and right edges (Fig. left and right sides of cover portion 110), and opposing upper and lower edges (Fig. top and bottom sides of cover portion 110) interposed between the left and right edges;
a display cover layer (Fig. 3, cover portion 110 is the front face and covers the electronic device 120 and display 126) on the front face of the chassis;
a forward-facing display configured to emit light through the display cover layer (Fig. 1, display 126, Col. 6, lines 5-12);
left and right optical modules (Fig. 1, lenses 152 (left) and 154(right)) configured to present respective left and right images to left and right eye boxes through openings in the rear face of the chassis (Fig. 2, portion of 160 with the apertures 162 and 164 allow light to be admitted through lenses 152 and 154); and
a cover overlapping the rear face of the chassis, (Fig. 1, a protective sleeve 170 to slidably fit over 160/110).
Regarding Claim 15, Costa discloses a wherein the display cover layer is coupled to the chassis using adhesive (Fig. 2 and Fig. 3, cover portion 110 is affixed to the VR headset 100 via adhesive backed tag, Col. 5, lines 19-27).
Regarding Claim 16, Costa discloses a wherein the cover comprises a cover frame and a cover layer (Fig. 2 and Fig. 3, four sides cover portion 110 is the frame, top portion of 110 is the cover layer).
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.
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.
Claims 17 and 18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Costa et al. (US 9,857,595) in view of Buckley (US 2017/0269733).
Regarding Claim 17, Costa discloses as is set forth above but doesn’t specifically disclose wherein the cover frame and the chassis have mating engagement structures.
However, Buckley, in the same field of endeavor, teaches wherein the cover frame and the chassis have mating engagement structures (Fig. 8F, Paragraphs 0093-0094, tabs 827 engage the complementary slots 829), for the purpose of insuring portions of the housing of a VR system properly align when constructed.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to have the head-mounted device of Costa with the wherein the cover frame and the chassis have mating engagement structures, of Buckley, for the purpose of insuring portions of the housing of a VR system properly align when constructed.
Regarding Claim 18, Costa discloses as is set forth above but doesn’t specifically disclose wherein the cover layer is attached to the cover frame using an attachment mechanism selected from the group consisting of: adhesive and fasteners.
However, Buckley, in the same field of endeavor, teaches wherein the cover layer is attached to the cover frame using an attachment mechanism selected from the group consisting of: adhesive and fasteners (Fig. 9, the panels can be joined using an adhesive, Paragraphs 0083-0085), for the purpose of insuring the panels of a VR system are permanently bonded.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to have the head-mounted device of Costa with the wherein the cover layer is attached to the cover frame using an attachment mechanism selected from the group consisting of: adhesive and fasteners, of Buckley, for the purpose of insuring the panels of a VR system are permanently bonded.
Claims 19 and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Costa et al. (US 9,857,595) in view of Walker (US 9,716,778).
Regarding Claim 19, Costa discloses as is set forth above but doesn’t specifically disclose wherein the cover frame has a first set of openings, the cover layer has a second set of openings, and the second set of openings overlaps the first set of openings.
However, Walker, in the same field of endeavor, teaches wherein the cover frame has a first set of openings, the cover layer has a second set of openings, and the second set of openings overlaps the first set of openings (Fig. 6, Fig. 7, and Fig. 8, Col. 6, lines 36-67, Col. 7l, lines 1-10, multiple aligned pairs of holes 30 in overlapping panels 88 and 80B/80T, for insertion of micro-screws), for the purpose of permanently attaching panels of a display device.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to have the head-mounted device of Costa with the wherein the cover frame has a first set of openings, the cover layer has a second set of openings, and the second set of openings overlaps the first set of openings, of Walker, for the purpose of permanently attaching panels of a display device.
Regarding Claim 20, Costa discloses as is set forth above and further discloses the first and second sets of openings overlap the openings in the rear face of the chassis (Fig. 6, Fig. 7, and Fig. 8, Col. 6, lines 36-67, Col. 7l, lines 1-10, multiple aligned pairs of holes 30 in overlapping panels 88 and 80B/80T, for insertion of micro-screws), for the purpose of permanently attaching panels of a display device.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Khan et al. (US 10,203,489), Khan et al. (US 2018/0039052), Hoellwarth (US 8,957,835), and Hoellwarth (US 2010/0079356) are cited to show similar head-mounted devices but do not disclose the allowable subject matter as detailed above.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to WILLIAM R ALEXANDER whose telephone number is (571)270-7656. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8:30 AM- 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, Pinping Sun can be reached on (571) 270-1284. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/WILLIAM R ALEXANDER/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2872
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