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 .
Response to Amendment
The amendment filed on 2-23-26 has been entered and fully considered by the examiner.
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, and 16-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Zhang et al. (US 2020/0355929) in view of Li et al. (US 2021/0116995).
Regarding claim 1, Zhang (Fig. 1, 3, and 10) discloses a head-mounted device, comprising:
a head-mounted support structure (120, “head mounted” discussed in [0045]);
a display (122) supported by the head-mounted support structure (eg. 122 is inside 120, as seen in Fig. 1) and configured to display images (“122 may display or facilitate the display of images” discussed in [0047]);
a lens (124) through which the images are viewable from an eye box lens (124, which includes a “lens” as discussed in [0048], also labelled 1040) through which the images are viewable from an eye box (“present to a user media including virtual and/or augmented views” and “two eye box regions” discussed in [0072]);
a substrate (1010) interposed between the lens and the display (the substrate is above the display and below the lens, see “substrate may be mounted in front of display 810” discussed in [0107], and shown below the lens 1040 in Fig. 10); and
a light-emitting diode (1020, with “LEDs” discussed in [0113]) coupled to the substrate (seen in Fig. 10, 1020 is mounted to substrate 1010) configured to emit light through the lens (as seen in Fig. 10, light source 1020 emits light 1050 through lens 1040, called “holographic lenses” in [0112]).
However, while Zhang teaches another embodiment wherein the LEDs may be arranged in a ring-shape (as seen in Fig. 8, see also “light sources (e.g., LEDs) may be positioned at the periphery of the user's field of view (e.g., along the circumference of the viewing optics…” discussed in [0039]), Zhang fails to specifically teach or suggest wherein the substrate is also “ring-shaped” or has “an opening, wherein the lens overlaps the opening in the ring-shaped substrate.”
Li (Fig. 1, 2, and 11) discloses a head-mounted device (eg. a “virtual reality (VR) headset” discussed in [0073]), comprising:
a head-mounted support structure (similar to the headset seen in Fig. 2);
a display (136, corresponding to the “display” shown in Fig. 2) supported by the head-mounted support structure (seen being inserted into the headset in Fig. 2) and configured to display images (“left view” and “right view” images seen in Fig. 2B, see also “lenses divide the screen content into two slightly different 2D images” discussed in [0084]);
a lens (“lenses” seen in Fig. 2) through which the images are viewable from an eye box (“lenses divide the screen content into two slightly different 2D images tailored to the left and right eye. By angling the 2D images, the pair of lenses helps to create a 3D virtual scene perceived by the user” discussed in [0084]);
a ring-shaped substrate (104 includes a substrate called a “ring-shaped (annulus) PCB” in [0099]) having an opening (108), wherein the lens overlaps the opening in the ring-shaped substrate (as seen in Fig. 1, see also “viewing through the view-through region allows the user to see through the lens” discussed in claim 2); and
a light-emitting diode (148, with “148 comprises one or more LEDs” discussed in [0078]) coupled to the ring-shaped substrate (as seen in Fig. 1, see also “photodiodes on one side (reverse side) of the PCB face” discussed in [0099]) and configured to emit light (“148 emits an ultra-temporally-short, directional light beam from a complementary direction onto eye 116” discussed in [0078]).
Additionally, while Fig. 1 shows the substrate 104 on the right side of the lens 124, [0073] discusses how 104 may be mounted in various configurations, eg. “VTET sensor 104 may be attached to a lens 124 of a support structure 128,” and further, [0099] discusses “ring-shaped (annulus) PCB… easily attached to the back of either VR lens (one for each VR lens)” while [0142] discusses “PCB was then attached to the front of the left lens.” Therefore, 104 may be attached to either the front or back of the lens 124, and so when 104 is attached to the left side of 124 (in the view of Fig. 1), the ring-shaped substrate 104 will be interposed between the lens 124 and the display 136.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Zhang so the substrate is ring-shaped and having an opening, wherein the lens overlaps the opening in the ring-shaped substrate as taught by Li because this can “ensure that it does not obstruct user's view” (see [0099]).
Regarding claim 16, Zhang (Fig. 1, 3, and 10) discloses a head-mounted device, comprising:
a head-mounted support structure (120, “head mounted” discussed in [0045]);
an optical module (including 122 and 124) supported by the head-mounted support structure (shown as part of 120 in Fig. 1), wherein the optical module comprises a display (122) configured to display images (“122 may display or facilitate the display of images” discussed in [0047]) and a lens (124, which includes a “lens” as discussed in [0048], also labelled 1040) through which the images are viewable from an eye box (“present to a user media including virtual and/or augmented views” and “two eye box regions” discussed in [0072]);
a circuit (inside 1010, see “a circuit 914 within substrate 910” discussed in [0109] and “substrate 1010… may be similar to substrate 910” discussed in [0113]) interposed between the display and the lens (the circuit inside the substrate is above the display and below the lens, see “substrate may be mounted in front of display 810” discussed in [0107], and shown below the lens 1040 in Fig. 10); and
a gaze tracking light-emitting diode (1020, with “LEDs” discussed in [0113]) configured to emit light through the lens (as seen in Fig. 10, light source 1020 emits light 1050 through lens 1040, called “holographic lenses” in [0112]) and mounted to the circuit (seen in Fig. 10, 1020 is mounted to circuit 1010).
However, Zhang fails to teach or suggest wherein the circuit is specifically a “printed” circuit or has an “opening through which light from the display passes.”
Li (Fig. 1, 2, and 11) discloses a head-mounted device (eg. a “virtual reality (VR) headset” discussed in [0073]), comprising:
a head-mounted support structure (similar to the headset seen in Fig. 2);
an optical module (seen in Fig. 1, including 136, 124, 128, etc.) supported by the head-mounted support structure (seen in Fig. 2, the display and lenses are supported by the headset), wherein the optical module comprises a display (136, corresponding to the “display” shown in Fig. 2) configured to display images (“left view” and “right view” images seen in Fig. 2B, see also “lenses divide the screen content into two slightly different 2D images” discussed in [0084]) and a lens (“lenses” seen in Fig. 2) through which the images are viewable from an eye box (“lenses divide the screen content into two slightly different 2D images tailored to the left and right eye. By angling the 2D images, the pair of lenses helps to create a 3D virtual scene perceived by the user” discussed in [0084]);
a printed circuit (104, which includes a “PCB” as discussed in [0099]) having an opening (108) through which light from the display passes (also passing through the lens as seen in Fig. 1, see also “lenses divide the screen content into two slightly different 2D images” discussed in [0084] and “viewing through the view-through region allows the user to see through the lens” discussed in claim 2); and
a gaze tracking light-emitting diode (148, with “148 that emit the light that reflects from eye 116 and is used to effect the eye tracking” and “148 comprises one or more LEDs” discussed in [0078]) configured to emit light (“148 emits an ultra-temporally-short, directional light beam from a complementary direction onto eye 116” discussed in [0078]) and mounted to the printed circuit (as seen in Fig. 1, see also “photodiodes on one side (reverse side) of the PCB face” discussed in [0099]).
Additionally, while Fig. 1 shows the printed circuit 104 on the right side of the lens 124, [0073] discusses how 104 may be mounted in various configurations, eg. “VTET sensor 104 may be attached to a lens 124 of a support structure 128,” and further, [0099] discusses “ring-shaped (annulus) PCB… easily attached to the back of either VR lens (one for each VR lens)” while [0142] discusses “PCB was then attached to the front of the left lens.” Therefore, 104 may be attached to either the front or back of the lens 124, and so when 104 is attached to the left side of 124 (in the view of Fig. 1), the printed circuit 104 will be interposed between the display 136 and the lens 124.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Zhang so the circuit is a printed circuit and having an opening as taught by Li because this can “ensure that it does not obstruct user's view” (see [0099]).
Regarding claim 2, Zhang and Li disclose a head-mounted device as discussed above, and Zhang further discloses wherein the light-emitting diode comprises a gaze tracking light-emitting diode (1020 is part of the “eye-tracking system 130,” discussed in [0055]) and the light comprises eye illumination (“each light source 1020 may be provided with a respective HOE that directs light from light source 1020 to an illumination field 1060, such as a user's eye” as discussed in [0114]).
Regarding claim 3, Zhang and Li disclose a head-mounted device as discussed above, and Zhang further discloses wherein the light comprises eye illumination (“each light source 1020 may be provided with a respective HOE that directs light from light source 1020 to an illumination field 1060, such as a user's eye” as discussed in [0114]) and wherein the head-mounted device further comprises a camera (similar to 830, called a “camera” in [0107]) configured to gather at least one of biometric information (this limitation is not being examined due to the alternative language “at least one of”) or gaze tracking information based on the eye illumination (“reflected light may then be received by camera(s) 830 to form images that may indicate certain characteristics of light source(s) 820 and the eyes of the user” including “an eye's position, including the orientation and location of the eye” as discussed in [0107], see also “allow multiple glints to be generated to improve the eye-tracking accuracy” discussed in [0114]).
Regarding claim 4, Zhang and Li disclose a head-mounted device as discussed above, and Zhang further discloses wherein the light-emitting diode is part of an array of light-emitting diodes (“array of light sources 1020” discussed in [0113]) that emits the light through the lens (as seen in Fig. 10, each of the LEDs 1020 emits light 1050 through lens 1040).
Regarding claim 5, Zhang and Li disclose a head-mounted device as discussed above, and Li further discloses wherein an array of light-emitting diodes (the ring shaped array of LEDs 148 seen in Fig. 1) is located on the ring-shaped substrate (the plurality of LEDs 148 seen in Fig. 1, see also “photodiodes on one side (reverse side) of the PCB” and “photodiodes on the other side (obverse side) of the PCB” both discussed in [0099]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to combine Zhang and Li for the same reasons as discussed above.
Regarding claim 6, Zhang and Li disclose a head-mounted device as discussed above, and Li further discloses wherein the ring-shaped substrate comprises a printed circuit substrate (“ring-shaped printed circuit board (PCB)” discussed in [0087]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to combine Zhang and Li for the same reasons as discussed above.
Regarding claim 17, Zhang and Li disclose a head-mounted device as discussed above, and Zhang further discloses wherein the optical module comprises pixels (“122 may include pixels” discussed in [0047]) and wherein the gaze tracking light-emitting diode is interposed between the pixels (the pixels are part of 1010, see [0108] which discusses how “substrate 910 may be a part of the waveguide display” and [0113] which discusses how “substrate 1010… may be similar to substrate 910”) and the lens (as seen in Fig. 10, lens 1042 is on top of the light sources and metal traces while the display 1010 is on the bottom, “1042 may be formed on top of light sources 1020” discussed in [0113]).
Regarding claim 18, Zhang and Li disclose a head-mounted device as discussed above, and Zhang further discloses wherein the gaze tracking light-emitting diode is part of an array of light-emitting diodes (“array of light sources 1020” discussed in [0113]).
Regarding claim 19, Zhang and Li disclose a head-mounted device as discussed above, and Li further discloses wherein the printed circuit comprises a ring-shaped substrate (“ring-shaped printed circuit board (PCB)” discussed in [0087]) and wherein the array of light-emitting diodes (the ring shaped array of LEDs 148 seen in Fig. 1) is mounted to the ring-shaped substrate (the plurality of LEDs 148 seen in Fig. 1, see also “photodiodes on one side (reverse side) of the PCB” and “photodiodes on the other side (obverse side) of the PCB” both discussed in [0099]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to combine Zhang and Li for the same reasons as discussed above.
Regarding claim 20, Zhang and Li disclose a head-mounted device as discussed above, and the combination further discloses wherein the printed circuit substrate (substrate 1010 of Zhang, while Li teaches the substrate is a “printed circuit board” as discussed in [0087]) has metal traces (eg. the “metal-loaded conductive adhesives” discussed in [0109] and the “wires” 916, as taught by Zhang) that convey signal to the array of light-emitting diodes (“electrodes of light sources 920 may be electrically connected to a circuit 914” discussed in [0109] of Zhang, while Li teaches that the photodiodes include “supporting circuitry” in [0074]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to combine Zhang and Li for the same reasons as discussed above.
Claims 7 and 8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Zhang and Li as applied to claim 5 above, and further in view of Laporte (US 20072013/0147347).
Regarding claim 7, Zhang and Li disclose a head-mounted device as discussed above, however fail to teach or suggest a stiffener that overlaps the ring-shaped substrate.
Laporte (Fig. 1 and 2) discloses an array of light-emitting diodes (30), a substrate (20) on which the array of light-emitting diodes is formed (as seen in Fig. 2), and a stiffener (70, called a “rigid layer” in [0042]) that overlaps the substrate (70 overlaps 20, as seen in Fig. 1).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Zhang and Li to include a stiffener that overlaps the ring-shaped substrate as taught by Laporte because this provides additional support to the substrate so that it maintains its shape.
Regarding claim 8, Zhang, Li, and Laporte disclose a head-mounted device as discussed above, and Laporte further discloses wherein the stiffener (70) has openings (72) through which the light from the array of light-emitting diodes passes (eg. as seen in Fig. 7, the openings align with the placement of the LEDs).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to combine Zhang, Li, and Laporte for the same reasons as discussed above.
Claims 9 and 10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Zhang and Li as applied to claim 4 above, and further in view of Northcott et al. (US 2007/0216798).
Regarding claim 9, Zhang and Li disclose a head-mounted device as discussed above, however fail to teach or suggest wherein the array of light-emitting diodes includes a first set of light-emitting diodes that operate at a first wavelength and a second set of light-emitting diodes that operate at a second wavelength that is longer than the first wavelength.
Northcott (Fig. 2) discloses a device, comprising:
a lens (221); and
a light-emitting diode (eg. 210) configured to emit light through the lens (“Light produced by light source 210… propagates through lens system 221” discussed in [0040]);
wherein the light-emitting diode is part of an array of light-emitting diodes (including both 221 and 248) that emits the light through the lens (248 also emits light that passes through lens 221 to reach camera 250, via a reflection off the user’s eye, see “248 (i.e., the iris imaging light sources) provide off-axis illumination of the irises 134 for camera 250” discussed in [0041]);
wherein the array of light-emitting diodes includes a first set of light-emitting diodes (248, with “248 are also preferably LEDs” discussed in [0053]) that operate at a first wavelength (“Iris imaging standards currently specify wavelengths around the 850 nm range” as discussed in [0053]) and a second set of light-emitting diodes (210, called an “LED” in [0053]) that operate at a second wavelength (“the WFS illuminating wavelength (used by the wavefront sensor 227) is also selected to be different from the illumination used to image the irises by camera 250” discussed in [0054]) that is longer than the first wavelength (“LEDs having wavelengths… greater than approximately 890 nm for invisible operation” discussed in [0053], with 890 nm being longer than 850 nm).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Zhang and Li so the array of light-emitting diodes includes a first set of light-emitting diodes that operate at a first wavelength and a second set of light-emitting diodes that operate at a second wavelength that is longer than the first wavelength as taught by Northcott because this allows for “wavelength filtering based on the wavelength of the light source can be used to further identify and separate the glint image from the rest of the iris image” (see [0067]).
Regarding claim 10, Zhang, Li, and Northcott disclose a head-mounted device as discussed above, and Northcott further discloses wherein the first set of light-emitting diodes provides iris-illuminating light to the eye box (“light sources 248 (i.e., the iris imaging light sources) provide off-axis illumination of the irises 134” discussed in [0041]) and the second set of light-emitting diodes (210) provides light that creates eye glints (“light source 210, 212 produces a glint reflection from the eye” discussed in [0067]) captured by a camera (227).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to combine Zhang, Li, and Northcott for the same reasons as discussed above.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 11-15 are allowed.
The following is an examiner’s statement of reasons for allowance:
Regarding claim 11, Zhang (Fig. 1, 3, 9, and 10) discloses a head-mounted device, comprising:
a head-mounted support structure (120, “head mounted” discussed in [0045]);
an array of pixels (122, with “122 may include pixels” discussed in [0047]) supported by the head-mounted support structure (eg. 122 is inside 120, as seen in Fig. 1);
a lens (124, which includes a “lens” as discussed in [0048], also labelled 1040 in Fig. 10, see “holographic lenses” discussed in [0112]);
a circuit having metal traces (the “metal” connecting between 1020 and 1010 in Fig. 10, similar to 920 and 910 in Fig. 9, see “920 may be die-bonded to substrate 910 using metal-loaded conductive adhesives” discussed in [0109], see also “wires” 916 discussed in [0109]) interposed between the array of pixels (the pixels are part of 1010, see [0108] which discusses how “substrate 910 may be a part of the waveguide display” and [0113] which discusses how “substrate 1010… may be similar to substrate 910”) and the lens (as seen in Fig. 10, lens 1042 is on top of the light sources and metal traces while the display 1010 is on the bottom, “1042 may be formed on top of light sources 1020” discussed in [0113]); and
a gaze tracking light source (1020) interposed between the array of pixels and the lens (as discussed above, and as seen in Fig. 10, the lens 1042 is on top of the light sources while the display 1010 is on the bottom, “1042 may be formed on top of light sources 1020” discussed in [0113]) coupled to the metal traces (the “metal” couples to the light sources to connect them to the substrate 910 similarly to as discussed in [0109]).
However, Zhang fails to teach or suggest a lens barrel, the lens in the lens barrel, or wherein the circuit is “a printed circuit that extends through an opening in the lens barrel.”
Price et al. (US 2020/0285050) discloses (Fig. 1, 2, and 7) a head-mounted device, comprising:
a head-mounted support structure (100);
an array of pixels (from 205, “individual pixels of a virtual image” discussed in [0040]);
a lens barrel (715);
a lens (720) in the lens barrel (seen in Fig. 7, 720 is inside the lens barrel 715);
a printed circuit (705); and
a gaze tracking light source (725, see also “eye tracking and iris detection can now be performed by emitting IR laser light” discussed in [0032]).
However, Price fails to teach or suggest wherein the traces of the printed circuit board are “interposed between the array of pixels and the lens” (seen better in Fig. 4A, the PCB corresponds to the IR device 410, holding the IR emitter, with 425 corresponding to the “lens,” and then 435 corresponding to the “pixels” providing and image, and the PCB is on the left end instead of between the lens and pixels), wherein the printed circuit extends through an opening in the lens barrel (as seen in Fig. 7, the PCB is merely on the bottom of the lens barrel), or wherein the gaze tracking light source is “interposed between the array of pixels and the lens and coupled to the metal traces” (similarly to as discussed above, the gaze tracking light source corresponds to the IR light emitter 410/725, and is on the left end of the optical system in Fig. 4A).
Song et al. (US 2022/0229298) discloses (Fig. 2 and 6) a head-mounted device, comprising:
a head-mounted support structure (200);
an array of pixels (corresponding to the pixels of the image from 160, while not specifically discussing pixels, see “display module 160 may visually provide information to the outside (e.g., a user) of the electronic device” discussed in [0039]);
a lens barrel (346);
a lens (346-1) in the lens barrel (seen in Fig. 6C);
a printed circuit (341) having traces interposed between the array of pixels and the lens, wherein the printed circuit extends through an opening in the lens barrel; and
a gaze tracking light source (an “IR LED” used to project an “illumination point,” see “movement of the user's pupil 501 may be tracked through the relative distance between the pupil 501 and the illumination point 502 projected onto the user's eye from the illumination part” discussed in [0096]).
However, Song still fails to teach or suggest a printed circuit that extends through an opening in the lens barrel.
McGee et al. (US 2018/0164878) discloses (Fig. 1 and 3) a head-mounted device, comprising a head-mounted support structure (10), a lens barrel (35), and a printed circuit board (33).
Therefore, each of the currently cited references of record fails to teach or suggest wherein “a printed circuit extends through an opening in the lens barrel” when combined with each of the other claim limitations.
Claims 12-15 are dependent upon claim 11, and so are allowable for the same reasons as discussed above.
Any comments considered necessary by applicant must be submitted no later than the payment of the issue fee and, to avoid processing delays, should preferably accompany the issue fee. Such submissions should be clearly labeled “Comments on Statement of Reasons for Allowance.”
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claims 1 and 16 have been considered but are moot in view of the new grounds of rejection.
In view of the amendments, the reference of Li has been added for new grounds of rejection.
Conclusion
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/JONATHAN M BLANCHA/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2623