DETAILED ACTION
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 11/26/2024 and 05/02/2025 was filed and considered by the examiner.
Specification
The lengthy specification has not been checked to the extent necessary to determine the presence of all possible minor errors. Applicant’s cooperation is requested in correcting any errors of which applicant may become aware in the specification.
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.
(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 1-14 and 18-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1)/102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Applicant’s submitted prior art, Hozumi, US 2020/0187415 A1.
Claims 1 is anticipated by figures 1-4, 8-9 and accompanying text which discloses a work machine (job-site tool) comprising:
. a housing 80
. a support structure 30 capable of supporting, inside the housing
. a first light emitting element 41a
. a second light emitting element 43a to emit light in a first direction (e.g., vertical to paper plane)
. a lens 60/70 configured to propagate light from a light emitting element 43a/42a supported inside the housing by the support structure to an outside of the housing (fig 8)
. the work machine being configured to display information by lighting using the lens 60/70, the support structure 30 being capable of supporting the first light emitting element 41a and the second light emitting element 43a at respective positions where a first distance on an imaginary plane orthogonal to the first direction (paper plane) is different from a second distance on the imaginary plane, the first distance being a distance between a reference point (point from each LED) and the first light emitting element, the second distance being a distance between the reference point and the second light emitting element, and the reference point being a point out of points on the imaginary plane where, when light is emitted from the point in the first direction, a portion of the light that propagates to the outside of the housing through the lens has a highest intensity (fig. 8, [0067]).
Re claims 2-4 , wherein the first light emitting element 41a and the second light emitting element 42a are configured so that light emitted from the first light emitting element and light emitted from the second light emitting element are different from each other in at least one of wavelength or intensity (e.g., large size vs small size, different colors, fig 2).
Re claim 5, wherein support structure 30 is capable of supporting the first light emitting element and the second light emitting element on a plane parallel to the imaginary plane (fig 2).
Re claim 6, wherein the support structure 30 is a circuit board that allows mounting of the first light emitting element and the second light emitting element ([0054]).
Re claim 7, wherein the support structure 30 is capable of supporting the first light emitting element at the reference point (fig 2).
Re claim 8, wherein the lens includes a light receiving surface (i) oriented toward an inside of the housing and (ii) configured to receive the light from the light emitting element supported by the support structure, and the support structure is capable of supporting the first light emitting element at a position where light emitted within an angular range from the first light emitting element is received in an entirety of the angular range on the light receiving surface, the angular range being centered on a central axis of the first light emitting element and corresponding to an irradiation angle of the first light emitting element (figs 5, 7-8).
Re claims 9-12, wherein the lens includes a light receiving surface (i) oriented toward an inside of the housing and (ii) configured to receive the light from the light emitting element supported by the support structure, and the support structure is capable of supporting the first light emitting element at a position where light emitted within an angular range from the first light emitting element is received in an entirety of the angular range on the light receiving surface, the angular range being a range up to 60 degrees from a central axis of the first light emitting element ([0062]-[0063], figs 2, 8).
Re claim 13, wherein the lens has an axisymmetric shape, and the reference point is an intersection point of a central axis of the lens and the imaginary plane (figs 5-6).
Re claim 14, wherein the lens includes a surface oriented toward an inside of the housing, a light receiving surface configured to receive the light from the light emitting element supported by the support structure; and as a surface oriented toward the outside of the housing, an output surface configured to output the light from the light emitting element supported by the support structure, and the lens has a shape in which the output surface has an area larger than an area of the light receiving surface (figs 5, 7, 8).
Re claim 18, wherein the first light emitting element is a red LED, and/or the second light emitting element is a green LED ([0055]).
Re claim 19, wherein the first light emitting element is a surface-mount red LED, and the second light emitting element is a surface-mount green LED ([0055]).
Re claim 20, Hozumi also discloses a display device 9 as described above (claim 1).
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 15-17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Applicant’s submitted prior art, Hozumi, US 2020/0187415 A1.
Re claim 15, Hozumi discloses the claimed invention as described above except for the lens has a shape of substantially a truncated cone with a bottom base and a top base with a diameter smaller than a diameter of the bottom base, and the lens is arranged so that the bottom base is oriented toward the outside of the housing and the top base is oriented toward an inside of the housing. One of ordinary skill in the art would be able to merely find a lens with a shape of truncated cone for light focusing purposes. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one skilled in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to employ the Hozumi’s lens having a truncated cone with a bottom base and a top base with a diameter smaller than a diameter of the bottom base, since it was known in optical art for light focusing purposes.
Re claim 16, the modification to Hozumi would also modify the lens has a shape in which an angle of a side surface of the truncated cone with respect to a central axis of the truncated cone is in a range of 33 to 35 degrees as well as claimed.
Re claim 17, although Hozumi does not disclose the first light emitting element and the second light emitting element each have an irradiation angle of 120 degrees, it would have been obvious to one skilled in the optical art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to employ the Hozumi’s LED having an irradiation angle of 120 degrees, since it is known in the art to obtain a wide beam angle over a display device.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to DUNG T NGUYEN whose telephone number is (571)272-2297. The examiner can normally be reached 8:00 - 5:00.
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, Jennifer Carruth can be reached at 571-272-9791. 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.
/DUNG T NGUYEN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2871
Prosecution Insights