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 § 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.
Claims 1-3 and 5-21 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lee et al., US PGPUB 20210389591 hereinafter referenced as Lee in view of Choi et al., US PGPUB 20210003848 hereinafter referenced as Choi.
As to claim 1, Lee discloses an augmented reality (AR) device comprising: a waveguide (waveguide 120, fig. 1);
a support part configured to fix the AR device to a face of a user (e.g., temples 103, fig. 2);
a light receiver provided on the support part (e.g., infrared detectors 685a through 685f, fig. 14);
at least one processor configured to obtain gaze information of the user, based on light reflected from an eyeball of the user and obtained by the light receiver ([0158] The gaze tracking sensor 680, which is a device for tracking a gaze direction of the eyes of the user, may detect an image of pupils of the human or detect a direction or a quantity in which illumination light such as near-infrared light is reflected from the cornea, thereby detecting the gaze direction of the user);
a first polarization plate configured to polarize noise light traveling toward the light receiver ([0145] The polarization plate 432 may pass first polarized light therethrough and block second polarized light).
Lee does not specifically disclose a second polarization plate configured to block the polarized noise light from the first polarization plate from reaching the light receiver, wherein the second polarization plate is provided in front of the light receiver.
However, in the same endeavor, Choi discloses a second polarization plate configured to block the polarized noise light from the first polarization plate from reaching the light receiver, wherein the second polarization plate is provided in front of the light receiver. ([0156] As the polarization converter 150 is controlled to be turned on, light of the real scene is blocked by the second polarizer 159, and the light of the first virtual image layer Virtual1 is incident through the waveguide 140 and the focus tunable lens 160 on the user's eyeball).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to modify the disclosure of Lee to further include Choi’s second polarizer in order to improve the quality of the virtual image.
As to claim 14, Lee discloses a method of tracking a gaze of a user, the method comprising: obtaining gaze information of the user, based on light reflected from an eyeball of the user and obtained by a light receiver ([0158] The gaze tracking sensor 680, which is a device for tracking a gaze direction of the eyes of the user, may detect an image of pupils of the human or detect a direction or a quantity in which illumination light such as near-infrared light is reflected from the cornea, thereby detecting the gaze direction of the user);
linearly polarizing, by a first polarization plate, noise light traveling toward the light receiver ([0145] The polarization plate 432 may pass first polarized light therethrough and block second polarized light).
Lee does not specifically disclose a second polarization plate configured to block the polarized noise light from the first polarization plate from reaching the light receiver, wherein the second polarization plate is provided in front of the light receiver.
However, in the same endeavor, Choi discloses a second polarization plate configured to block the polarized noise light from the first polarization plate from reaching the light receiver, wherein the second polarization plate is provided in front of the light receiver. ([0156] As the polarization converter 150 is controlled to be turned on, light of the real scene is blocked by the second polarizer 159, and the light of the first virtual image layer Virtual1 is incident through the waveguide 140 and the focus tunable lens 160 on the user's eyeball).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to modify the disclosure of Lee to further include Choi’s second polarizer in order to improve the quality of the virtual image.
As to claim 2, the combination of Lee and Choi discloses the AR device of claim 1. The combination further discloses the support part comprises: a temple extending from a frame adjacent to the waveguide and provided on an ear of the user; and a nose support part extending from the frame and provided on a nose of the user, and the light receiver is provided on the temple (Lee, e.g., temple 103, fig. 2).
As to claim 3, the combination of Lee and Choi discloses the AR device of claim 1. The combination further discloses the first polarization plate is provided on the waveguide (Lee, [0146] In an embodiment, the polarization plate 432 may be arranged between the waveguide 120 and the first focus-tunable lens 131).
4. (Canceled)
As to claim 5, the combination of Lee and Choi discloses the AR device of claim 1. The combination further discloses the first polarization plate and the second polarization plate are sequentially placed on a path of the noise light emitted from an external light source toward the light receiver (Choi, e.g., the arrangement of first and second polarizers 158 and 159, fig. 7).
As to claim 6, the combination of Lee and Choi discloses the AR device of claim 1. The combination further discloses the first polarization plate is configured to linearly polarize the noise light in a first direction, and the second polarization plate is configured to linearly polarize the linearly polarized noise light in a second direction perpendicular to the first direction (Lee, [0145] A refractive index of the LC lens may vary with the first polarized light (e.g., the p polarized light) and the second polarized light (e.g., s polarized light) that is orthogonal to the first polarized light due to the nature of double refraction).
As to claim 7, the combination of Lee and Choi discloses the AR device of claim 1. The combination further discloses a light reflector coated on the waveguide (Lee, [0089] The waveguide 120 may be formed as a single layer or multiple layers of a transparent material in which the light may propagate while being internally reflected).
As to claim 8, the combination of Lee and Choi discloses the AR device of claim 1. The combination further discloses a light emitter, wherein the light obtained by the light receiver comprises first signal light emitted from an external light source and reflected from the eyeball of the user, and second signal light emitted from the light emitter and reflected from the eyeball of the user (Lee, [0158] The gaze tracking sensor 680, which is a device for tracking a gaze direction of the eyes of the user, may detect an image of pupils of the human or detect a direction or a quantity in which illumination light such as near-infrared light is reflected from the cornea, thereby detecting the gaze direction of the user).
As to claim 9, the combination of Lee and Choi discloses the AR device of claim 8. The combination further discloses the light emitter is provided on the waveguide (Lee, e.g., infrared radiator 681, fig. 14).
As to claim 10, the combination of Lee and Choi discloses the AR device of claim 8. The combination further discloses the support part comprises a temple extending from a frame adjacent to the waveguide and configured to be provided on the ear of the user, and the light emitter is placed on the temple (Lee, e.g., temples 103, fig. 2).
As to claim 11, the combination of Lee and Choi discloses the AR device of claim 1. The combination further discloses a quarter-wave plate configured to circularly polarize the noise light, wherein the first polarization plate is configured to linearly polarize the circularly polarized noise light in a first direction, and wherein the second polarization plate is configured to block the linearly polarized noise light from the first polarization plate (Lee, [0019] The first lens part may further include a polarization plate provided on an incident surface of the fixed refractive lens or an emission surface of the fixed refractive lens).
As to claim 12, the combination of Lee and Choi discloses the AR device of claim 11. The combination further discloses the quarter-wave plate, the first polarization plate, and the second polarization plate are sequentially provided on a path of the noise light emitted from an external light source toward the light receiver (Lee, [0068] In the disclosure, a refractive power may be a force that changes a direction of light or an optical path by a curved surface of the lens).
As to claim 13, the combination of Lee and Choi discloses the AR device of claim 11. The combination further discloses the quarter-wave plate is provided on the waveguide (Lee, [0146] In an embodiment, the polarization plate 432 may be arranged between the waveguide 120 and the first focus-tunable lens 131).
As to claim 15, the combination of Lee and Choi discloses the method of claim 14. The combination further discloses the first polarization plate and the second polarization plate are sequentially provided on a path of the noise light emitted from an external light source toward the light receiver (Lee, [0068] In the disclosure, a refractive power may be a force that changes a direction of light or an optical path by a curved surface of the lens).
As to claim 16, the combination of Lee and Choi discloses the method of claim 14. The combination further discloses linearly polarizing, by the first polarization plate, the noise light in a first direction, and linearly polarizing, by the second polarization plate, the linearly polarized noise light in a second direction perpendicular to the first direction (Lee, [0145] A refractive index of the LC lens may vary with the first polarized light (e.g., the p polarized light) and the second polarized light (e.g., s polarized light) that is orthogonal to the first polarized light due to the nature of double refraction).
As to claim 17, the combination of Lee and Choi discloses the method of claim 14. The combination further discloses the light obtained via the light receiver comprises first signal light emitted from an external light source and reflected from the eyeball of the user, and second signal light emitted from a light emitter and reflected from the eyeball of the user (Lee, [0158] The gaze tracking sensor 680, which is a device for tracking a gaze direction of the eyes of the user, may detect an image of pupils of the human or detect a direction or a quantity in which illumination light such as near-infrared light is reflected from the cornea, thereby detecting the gaze direction of the user).
As to claim 18, the combination of Lee and Choi discloses the method of claim 14. The combination further discloses circularly polarizing, by a quarter-wave plate, the noise light, linearly polarizing, by the first polarization plate, the circularly polarized noise light in a first direction, and linearly polarizing, by the second polarization plate, the linearly polarized noise light in a second direction perpendicular to the first direction (Lee, [0145] A refractive index of the LC lens may vary with the first polarized light (e.g., the p polarized light) and the second polarized light (e.g., s polarized light) that is orthogonal to the first polarized light due to the nature of double refraction).
As to claim 19, the combination of Lee and Choi discloses the method of claim 18. The combination further discloses the noise light is blocked by the quarter- wave plate, the first polarization plate, and the second polarization plate that are sequentially provided on a path of the noise light emitted from an external light source toward the light receiver (Lee, [0068] In the disclosure, a refractive power may be a force that changes a direction of light or an optical path by a curved surface of the lens).
As to claim 20, the combination of Lee and Choi discloses a computer-readable recording medium having recorded thereon a program for performing, on a computer, the method of claim 14 (Lee, [0209] The computer-readable storage medium may be provided in the form of a non-transitory storage medium).
As to claim 21, the combination of Lee and Choi discloses the AR device of claim 1. The combination further discloses the second polarization plate is provided at a location separated from the waveguide (Choi, [0105] the second polarizer 159 and the focus tunable lens 160 may contact or may be spaced apart by a predetermined interval from the third area 143 of a rear surface of the waveguide 140).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Sinay et al., US PGPUB 20230341695 discloses a head mounted display system can include a camera, at least one waveguide, at least one coupling optical element that is configured such that light is coupled into said waveguide and guided therein, and at least one out-coupling element. The at least one out-coupling element can be configured to couple light that is guided within said waveguide out of said waveguide and direct said light to said camera. The at least one coupling element may comprise a diffractive optical element having optical power.
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/SAHLU OKEBATO/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2625
6/13/2026
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