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 by the Applicant on 3/31/26 is acknowledged.
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 proir 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.
Claim 1 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Piccionelli (US 20100226617 A1, cited previously) in view of An (KR 930002956 Y1)
Regarding claim 1, Piccionelli teaches a projector ([0080],[0081],[0083],[0086],[0088],[0097] and at least Fig.18) for use with a decorative item with an opening into an internal cavity, having an inside surface and an outside surface, the decorative item comprising of, at least in part, a material composition selected such that, in response to projection of an image or animation onto the inside surface the image or animation is visible on the exterior surface (first 5 lines of [0081]), the projector comprising: a light source (first 5 lines of [0081]); a liquid crystal display (LCD) projector ([0092]), comprising at least one LCD liquid panel; and a memory module storing (see in [0012]-[0025] and [0008]) the images or animations, which are displayed by the LCD projector; wherein the projector is inserted at least in part into the opening and into the internal cavity, such that the projector projects images or animations on an internal wall of the cavity, the images or animations visible from outside of the decorative item (see all drawings of Piccionelli); wherein the a portion of the projector extends out of the cavity of the decorative item (see in [0097]: In some preferred embodiments, projection is accomplished with the use of mirror 84 disposed in neck 56 (FIG. 18)) and functions as a chimney to reduce or release heat generated by the projector from inside the internal cavity (the same structural features results in the same function as claimed, because the projector part is now in the neck portion and not within the hollow globe).
Piccionelli does not teach the projector is configured to be used in different decorative items of different shapes, and wherein different images or animations are selectable for different shapes.
An teaches an ornamental item 12 (at least Fig.1 and 2) attached to the projector 16, wherein An further discloses 1. the projection 16 for fixing the ornament 12 is projected on the upper end of the transparent sphere (10) 2. Also, when not in use, you can see the ornament 12 by inserting the ornament (12) in the projection (16), whenever you get tired of using a different shape ornament 12 to replace the effect of the decoration is high,
it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the invention, to use different elements attached to the projector within the ornamental globe, from the teachings of An, in the device of Piccionelli in order to achieve changing different ornamental displays.
Claims 2-9 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Piccionelli in view of An and further in view of Song (US 12085269 B1, cited previously)
Regarding claim 2, Piccionelli teaches various shapes but does not explicitly teach the decorative item is in the shape of a pumpkin.
However, it is well known in the art to use pumpkin shapes to exhibit seasonal; amusement light shows for entertainment.
Song teaches multiple light sources, circuit boards and electronics that light up alternately in order to achieve amusement light show (see Fig.1-5).
(see in Song: Through the alternating switch of the first light source and/or the second light source, the first shape and the second shape, projected respectively through the first shape hole and the second shape hole onto the same center point of the decorative shell, undergo interactions and variations. This enhances amusement and playfulness.
Also see in Song: 6. The projection-based decorative lamp according to claim 5, further comprising a circuit board, wherein the circuit board is installed on the projection assembly; several LED beads are provided on the circuit board, and the LED beads provide a projection light source for the projection assembly and 7. The projection-based decorative lamp according to claim 6, wherein the circuit board is electrically connected with a wire, and the wire enables a series connection or a parallel connection of a plurality of the projection assemblies).
From the teachings of Song, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the invention, to use a pumpkin shape of Song, in the device of Piccionelli in view of An in order to achieve a seasonal decorative and entertainment device.
Regarding claim 3, Piccionelli in view of An and Song teaches the projector is disposed in a housing and wherein a portion of the housing extends out of the cavity of the decorative item, the portion extending out of the cavity shaped as a pumpkin stem (From the combined structure of Piccionell and Song in Piccionelli in view of An and Song).
Regarding claims 4-9: wherein the decorative item is in the shape of a snowman (for claim 4); wherein the portion extending out of the cavity shaped as a hat (For claim 5); wherein the decorative item is in the shape of a reindeer (for claim 6) wherein the projector is disposed in a housing; wherein a portion extending out of the cavity shaped as antlers (for claim 7) and wherein the decorative item is in the shape of a head (for claim 8) wherein a portion extending out of the cavity shaped as hair or a hat, (for claim 9). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the invention, to use the shapes as claimed, as they are only considered to be obvious modifications of the shapes disclosed in Piccionelli in view of An and Song; and as a change in shape is within the level of skill in the art and as the particular shape claimed by Applicant is nothing more than one of numerous shapes that a person having ordinary skill in the art will find obvious to provide using routine experimentation based on its suitability for the intended use of the invention.
Claims 10- 11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Piccionelli in view of An and further in view of Martini (US 20130322064 A1, cited previously)
Regarding claim 10, Piccionelli in view of An teaches the invention set forth in claim 1 above, but does not teach the portion extending out of the cavity comprises user input buttons.
Martini teaches a circular ornament with light bulbs enclosed within, such that a portion extending out of the cavity comprises user input buttons (Fig.4, [0023] and [0036]) and it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the invention, to use switching buttons in the stem of the pumpkin, in the device of Piccionelli in view of An, from the teachings of Martini, in order to achieve easy switching of the projector or projector’s lighting assembly of Piccionelli in view of An.
Regarding claim 11, Piccionelli in view of An.and Martini teaches the portion extending out of the cavity further comprises a power input, into which a corded power source may be plugged or attached ([0055] in Piccionelli).
Claims 12-13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Piccionelli in view of An and Martini and further in view of Joshua (CN 110152324 A,cited previously)
Regarding claim 12, Piccionelli in view of An.and Martini teaches the invention set forth in claim 10 above, but does not teach the opening on the decorative item is encircled at least in part by a ridge or lip; the housing of the projector comprises a flange; the flange configured to mate with the ridge or lip, thereby holding the projector in the cavity of the decorative item.
Joshua teaches a sound and light globe, and a projection device (see in claim 10 of Joshua below:
10. The device for generating bubbles according to claim 2, further comprising an edge lighting technology and/or remote light source activated and/or has on at least one inner surface of the at least one external surface and/or at least one object and/or the device for projecting at least one image of at least one lens assembly.
Further Joshua teaches the opening on the decorative item is encircled at least in part by a ridge or lip (see arrow in the drawing below); the housing of the projector comprises a flange (see in Drawing below); the flange configured to mate with the ridge or lip, thereby holding the projector in the cavity of the decorative item.
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Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the invention, to use the flange and lip at the entrance of the decorative device in Piccionelli in view of An.and Martini from the teachings of Joshua, in order to tightly fit the exterior accessory of the projection device.
Regarding claim 13, Piccionelli in view of An, Martini and Joshua teaches the decorative item, wherein the housing further comprises at least one speaker (see in Joshua: FIG. 4 is close-up showing a switch, a loudspeaker, a battery box, a battery negative terminal, the sphere and the outer shell/handle).
Claim 15 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Piccionelli
in view of An and further in view of Joshua and Yang
Piccionelli teaches a decorative item, comprising: two or more components that connect or attach to form the decorative item, the two or more components forming an internal cavity (top element and the bottom globe forming two components in Figures 11-14 and 16 of Piccionelli); an opening (top openings) on the decorative item, providing access to the internal cavity,
the housing comprising a lower portion (elements within the globe) that is inserted into the opening and into the cavity, and an upper portion (elements 54,56) that extends out of the cavity of the decorative item;
the lower portion comprising a projector (42, [0080]) such that the projector projects images or animations ([0090]) on an internal wall of the cavity,
the images or animations visible from outside of the decorative item;
the upper portion, comprising: user input buttons (switch in [0102]), comprising at least volume and skip buttons; a power module ([0130]-[0132]), comprising either a battery pack ([0096]) or an input for a corded power source (power wires in Fig.11A and [0080]) ;
a decorative element (display image in [0011]- [0015]), selected to correspond with the design of the decorative item,
the projector ([0024]) comprising a light source (first 5 lines of [0081]), a liquid crystal display (LCD) (LCD) projector ([0092]), and a memory module (see in [0012]-[0025] and [0008]) storing the images or animations displayed by the LCD (also see rejection in claim 1 above).
Piccionelli does not explicitly teach the projector is configured to be used in different decorative items of different shapes, and wherein different images or animations are selectable for different shapes.
An teaches an ornamental item 12 (at least Fig.1 and 2) attached to the projector 16, wherein An further discloses 1. the projection 16 for fixing the ornament 12 is projected on the upper end of the transparent sphere (10) 2. Also, when not in use, you can see the ornament 12 by inserting the ornament (12) in the projection (16), whenever you get tired of using a different shape ornament 12 to replace the effect of the decoration is high,
it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the invention, to use the different elements attached to the projector, from the teachings of An, within the ornamental globe of Piccionelli in order to achieve changing different ornamental displays.
Piccionelli in view of An does not teach: the opening at least partially surrounded by a ridge or lip; a housing comprising a flange that mates with the ridge or lip.
Joshua teaches a sound and light globe, and a projection device (see in claim 10 of Joshua below:
10. The device for generating bubbles according to claim 2, further comprising an edge lighting technology and/or remote light source activated and/or has on at least one inner surface of the at least one external surface and/or at least one object and/or the device for projecting at least one image of at least one lens assembly.
Further Joshua teaches the opening on the decorative item is encircled at least in part by a ridge or lip (see arrow in the rejection of claim 12 drawing above); the housing of the projector comprises a flange (see in Drawing in rejection of claim 12 above); the flange configured to mate with the ridge or lip, thereby holding the projector in the cavity of the decorative item.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the invention, to use the flange and lip at the entrance of the decorative device in Piccionelli in view of An from the teachings of Joshua, in order to tightly fit the exterior accessory of the projection device.
Piccionelli in view of An and Joshua does not teach the upper portion functions as a chimney to reduce or release heat from inside the cavity.
However, it is well known in the art to use an outlet for air to flow in and out, on the upper portion of enclosed illuminating devices.
Yang teaches in [0098] and in [0096]: Configuring the walls of the passages 150 such that they extend in a generally upward direction (i.e. relative to a line that is parallel to the axis of the body) promotes a flow of air through the device by increasing the "chimney effect" and thereby increasing cooling of the lamp. It will be appreciated that in this mode of operation the circular opening 240 acts as an air inlet and the passages 150 act as exhaust ports.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the invention, to use a chimney type of outlet on an upper portion of the illuminated globe, in the device of Piccionelli in view of An and Joshua, from the teachings of Yang, in order to efficiently cool the illuminated display device.
Claim 16 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Sum (US 20160097969 A1, cited previously) and further in view of Piccionelli (US 20100226617 A1, cited previously)
Sum teaches a decorative system (Fig.39 or Fig.1 to 6), comprising; two or more decorative items, each of different shapes, and a projector (271 in Fig.39 or projector 1 in Fig.3 and 6 as shown below, that are examples of many other types of decorative elements 26, 27 ([0120]) or 38 attached to projector 1 , that can be used within the globe):
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Sun does not teach the projector comprising: a light source; a liquid crystal display (LCD); and a memory module storing images or animations displayed by the LCD; the projector configured to be inserted into the opening of any of the decorative items and project images or animations onto an inner surface of the cavity.
Piccionelli teaches a decorative system 14, having: a projector (20 ([0052] and Fig.5) comprising: a light source; a liquid crystal display (LCD); and a memory module storing images or animations displayed by the LCD; the projector configured to be inserted into the opening of any of the decorative items and project images or animations onto an inner surface of the cavity ([0052], [0056],[0080] and [0081], Also see Fig.16 and [0092]).
From the teachings of Piccionelli, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the invention, to use the elements within the ornamental system, in the device of Sum in order to achieve a seasonal decorative and entertainment display device.
Sum in view of Piccionelli does not explicitly teach each of the top and bottom items comprising a cavity and an opening providing access to the cavity. However, the lower item already has an opening in the cavity, and it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the invention, to use a cavity for the head portion in Fig.39, in order to tightly fix it to the bottom portion.
Claim 17 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Piccionelli in view of An and further in view of and Yang (US 20130176723 A1 cited previously)
Regarding claim 17, Piccionelli in view of An teaches the projector disposed in a housing and wherein a portion of the housing extends out of the cavity of the decorative item (at least fig.5 of Piccionelli that has projector and 20 and an element protruding out of the cavity, also see Fig.6-8 and Fig.11-16 of Piccionelli). Although all materials dissipate heat to some extent, Piccionelli in view of An does not teach the portion extending out of the cavity functions as a chimney to reduce or release heat from inside the cavity.
However, it is well known in the art to use an outlet for air to flow in and out, on the upper portion of enclosed illuminating devices.
Yang teaches a portion extending out of the cavity functions as a chimney to reduce or release heat from inside the cavity; in [0098] and in [0096]: Configuring the walls of the passages 150 such that they extend in a generally upward direction (i.e. relative to a line that is parallel to the axis of the body) promotes a flow of air through the device by increasing the "chimney effect" and thereby increasing cooling of the lamp. It will be appreciated that in this mode of operation the circular opening 240 acts as an air inlet and the passages 150 act as exhaust ports.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the invention, to use a chimney type of outlet on an upper portion of the illuminated globe, in the device of Piccionelli in view of An, from the teachings of Yang, in order to efficiently cool the illuminated display device.
Response to Arguments
The arguments filed by the Applicant on 3/31/26 is acknowledged, however they are not found to be persuasive.
Applicant has argued (previously responded to the same argument) that:
An LCD projector is different than an LCD screen (page 1 of the Remarks).
The argument is not found to be persuasive because, Applicant’s specification with respect to the LCD discloses: [0053]: or a liquid crystal display (LCD) screen, [0062]: an LCD screen 1320.
Therefore, LCD projector is considered as an LCD display screen from Applicant’s specification, and which is therefore already disclosed in Piccionelli as an LCD display in [0050] and LCD display in [0092].
Arguments regarding the chimney are moot in light of new grounds of rejection for the amended claims 15 and 17.
Further Applicant argues that “Piccionelli also does not teach, disclose, or suggest a projector configured to be used in different decorative items of different shapes and wherein different images or animations are selectable for different shapes”. However, Sum already taught these limitations from previous office action, for the rejection of claim 16, wherein:
Sum teaches a decorative system (Fig.39 or Fig.1 to 6), comprising; two or more decorative items, each of different shapes, and a projector (271 in Fig.39 or projector 1 in Fig.3 and 6 as shown below, that are examples of many other types of decorative elements 26, 27 ([0120]) or 38 attached to projector 1, that can be used within the globe):
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Further even more, for the newly amended claim, prior art An in addition to Sum has been provided in the office action above, which explicitly teaches, to avoid tiredness, wherein An discloses:
An further discloses 1. the projection 16 for fixing the ornament 12 is projected on the upper end of the transparent sphere (10) 2. Also, when not in use, you can see the ornament 12 by inserting the ornament (12) in the projection (16), whenever you get tired of using a different shape ornament 12 to replace the effect of the decoration is high,
Further arguments regarding Zhang (considered to be Yang in the office action) is not found to be persuasive as Yang discloses:
Yang teaches in [0098] and in [0096]: Configuring the walls of the passages 150 such that they extend in a generally upward direction (i.e. relative to a line that is parallel to the axis of the body) promotes a flow of air through the device by increasing the "chimney effect" and thereby increasing cooling of the lamp. It will be appreciated that in this mode of operation the circular opening 240 acts as an air inlet and the passages 150 act as exhaust ports.
Further even more, in enclosed lighting globes/bulbs, use of the vents and chimneys are well known in the art to avoid heat accumulation within the enclosed lighting device. Prior art other than Yang also teach such limitations such as:
[0034] in US 20230092931 A1: That will create a stronger chimney effect. It is more conducive to air circulation and convection heat dissipation.
CN 105864659 B discloses: LED bulb lamp shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the radiator 1 of the upper part 103 and the lower part 104 the height ratio of the vertical direction is 2:1. the lower part of the radiator 1 inside the heat dissipation channel can be of uniform cylindrical passage. effect on the upper part of the radiator 1 inside the heat dissipation channel may be a channel structure with wide top and narrow bottom, to strength the chimney effect, which helps to push air flowing in the radiator 1.
CN 203483871 U discloses: 8. The multifunctional shell projecting toy according to claim 1, wherein the shell (I) is designed as feeding, the position provided with multiple loopholes (11) is roof-shaped shell half of the (I) position, the position of the set projection hole (12) is a feeding shell (I) the chimney hole position.
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Contact Information
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Fatima Farokhrooz whose telephone number is (571)-272-6043. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday- Friday, 9 am - 5 pm. If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the Examiner’s Supervisor, James Greece can be reached on (571) 272-3711.
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/Fatima N Farokhrooz/
Examiner, Art Unit 2875
