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 .
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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.
Claim(s) 1, 14, 21 and 25 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Xia et al. (US 2022/0252761).
Regarding claim 1, Xia discloses:
A holographic display comprising:
a first substrate (Xia: Fig 6a; substrate 17 or substrate 18; [0038]-[0040]);
a first lens layer on a surface of the first substrate (Xia: Fig 6a; metalens array 10 includes metalens unit cells 15 and 16; [0038]-[0040]);
a light source layer on another surface of the first substrate (Xia: Fig 6a; laser beam 12 onto, in and through surfaces/layers; [0037]-[0038]);
a second substrate on the first lens layer (Xia: Fig 6a; the other of substrate 17 or substrate 18; [0038]-[0040]);
a light modulation element on a surface of the second substrate (Xia: [0035]; embodiments of the invention contain modifications of the metalens array to take advantage of a spatial light modulator to individually control each focal point dynamically to enable 3D printing of complex, non-periodic geometries; Fig 6a; metalens array 10 includes metalens unit cells 15 and 16; [0038]-[0040]; [0044]; embodiment of the metalens array 10 also pairs each pixel of a spatial light modulator to each individual metalens unit cell 15 in the metalens array 10 so that each focal spot can be turned on and off or modulated in intensity dynamically; Fig 17a-c; [0056]; pairing of each metalens unit cell with a pixel in a spatial light modulator); and
a second lens layer on another surface of the second substrate (Xia: Fig 6a; metalens array 10 includes metalens unit cells 15 and 16; [0038]-[0040]),
wherein each of the first lens layer and the second lens layer comprises a meta- lens (Xia: Fig 6a; metalens array 10 includes metalens unit cells 15 and 16; [0038]-[0040]).
Regarding claim 14, Xia discloses:
A holographic display comprising:
a light source panel comprising a light source layer and a first lens layer on the light source layer (Xia: Fig 6a; laser beam 12 onto, in and through surfaces/layers; [0037]-[0038]; metalens array 10 includes metalens unit cells 15 and 16; [0038]-[0040]); and
a spatial light modulator on the light source panel, the spatial light modulator comprising a second lens layer and a light modulation element on the second lens layer (Xia: [0035]; embodiments of the invention contain modifications of the metalens array to take advantage of a spatial light modulator to individually control each focal point dynamically to enable 3D printing of complex, non-periodic geometries; Fig 6a; metalens array 10 includes metalens unit cells 15 and 16; [0038]-[0040]; [0044]; embodiment of the metalens array 10 also pairs each pixel of a spatial light modulator to each individual metalens unit cell 15 in the metalens array 10 so that each focal spot can be turned on and off or modulated in intensity dynamically; Fig 17a-c; [0056]; pairing of each metalens unit cell with a pixel in a spatial light modulator),
wherein each of the first lens layer and the second lens layer comprises a meta- lens (Xia: Fig 6a; metalens array 10 includes metalens unit cells 15 and 16; [0038]-[0040]).
Regarding claim 21, Xia discloses:
An electronic device comprising:
a holographic device (Xia: [0040]; holographic pattern generation; [0043]; embodiments of the metalens array 10 take advantage of more complex metasurface design (e.g. 3D holography); [0009]) comprising:
a first substrate (Xia: Fig 6a; substrate 17 or substrate 18; [0038]-[0040]);
a first lens layer on one surface of the first substrate (Xia: Fig 6a; metalens array 10 includes metalens unit cells 15 and 16; [0038]-[0040]);
a light source layer on an opposite surface of the first substrate (Xia: Fig 6a; laser beam 12 onto, in and through surfaces/layers; [0037]-[0038]);
a second substrate on the first lens layer (Xia: Fig 6a; the other of substrate 17 or substrate 18; [0038]-[0040]);
a light modulation element on one surface of the second substrate (Xia: [0035]; embodiments of the invention contain modifications of the metalens array to take advantage of a spatial light modulator to individually control each focal point dynamically to enable 3D printing of complex, non-periodic geometries; Fig 6a; metalens array 10 includes metalens unit cells 15 and 16; [0038]-[0040]; [0044]; embodiment of the metalens array 10 also pairs each pixel of a spatial light modulator to each individual metalens unit cell 15 in the metalens array 10 so that each focal spot can be turned on and off or modulated in intensity dynamically; Fig 17a-c; [0056]; pairing of each metalens unit cell with a pixel in a spatial light modulator); and
a second lens layer on an opposite surface of the second substrate (Xia: Fig 6a; metalens array 10 includes metalens unit cells 15 and 16; [0038]-[0040]),
wherein each of the first lens layer and the second lens layer comprises a meta-lens (Xia: Fig 6a; metalens array 10 includes metalens unit cells 15 and 16; [0038]-[0040]).
Regarding claim 25, Xia discloses:
The electronic device of claim 21, wherein
the second lens layer comprises a collimation meta-lens (Xia: [0050]; collimating metalens) , and
the collimation meta-lens is configured to convert incident light into parallel light (Xia: Fig 6a; metalens array 10 includes metalens unit cells 15 and 16; [0038]-[0040]; highly parallel fashion; [0045]-[0046]; [0056]).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 2-13, 15-20, 22-24 and 26 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record, but not relied upon, that is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure is found in the attached Notice of References Cited.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JAMES M PONTIUS whose telephone number is (571)270-7687. The examiner can normally be reached M-Th 8-4.
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, Sath V Perungavoor can be reached at (571)272-7455. 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.
/JAMES M PONTIUS/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2488
Prosecution Insights