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 § 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 1-9 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Fournier et al. (CN 107637062 B) in view of Dong (CN 216480753 U).
Regarding claims 1 and 9, Fournier et al. discloses an electronic device comprising an image-capture unit and an illuminating device configured to illuminate the field of view of the image-capture unit (Figs. 1A and 1B - camera 102 and an embedded light source 106; paragraph [0031] – some embodiments provide a device, the device comprises a camera module capable of capturing the image of the scene in the camera field, and an adjustable illumination source which is adjusted to provide one or more areas of the camera field of view – some adjustable illumination may include selective diffusion of light directed at one or more areas of the camera field of view, restricted areas, objects, and the like; paragraph [0034] – in some embodiments, the light source module can be embedded in the mobile device, and can provide light to be captured by the camera or video recorder of the mobile device of the scene illumination – for example, Fig. 1A shows a mobile device 100 having a camera 102, a sensor 104, and an embedded light source 106); wherein the illuminating device comprises a light source (Figs. 1A and 1B - camera 102 and an embedded light source 106; Fig. 4B; paragraph [0035] – for example, Fig. 1A shows details of the light source 106 – in the detail view, the light source module 106 includes segments 112, 114, 116, and 118 – the lighting elements 108 and 110 are also shown); and an optical reflector (Fig. 4B), the light source having a main direction of lighting which defines an optical axis, the optical reflector comprising a first segment, wherein the first segment comprising a first wall which extends at least partially around the light source over a first height in the direction of the optical axis (Fig. 4B; paragraph [0049] – the light source module may include a reflector having a reflective surface or a lens having a refractive surface, the reflector or lens directs light emitted from the illumination element of the light source module toward the light diffusion material and ultimately exits the light source module and injects the scene to be illuminated by the light source module – the light source module may include a reflector or lens having different shapes, wherein the different shapes of the reflector or lens are adjusted to produce a light beam for filling the region of interest in the scene – the reflector or lens of the light source module redirects light toward the region of interest – the light source may include a reflector 406 of a square reflector such as light source module 408 in Fig. 4B). However, Fournier et al. fails to disclose the optical reflector comprising two segments, wherein the first segment comprising a first wall which extends at least partially around the light source over a first height in the direction of the optical axis, the first wall being is convergent in the direction of propagation of the light, wherein the second segment comprising a second wall which is reflective and extends in a continuation of the first wall over a second height in the direction of the optical axis so as to reflect light rays coming from the light source, the second wall being is divergent in the direction of propagation of the light.
Referring to the Dong reference, Dong discloses an illuminating device comprising a light source (Figs. 5 and 6); and an optical reflector (Figs. 4-6), the optical reflector (Fig. 6) comprising two segments, wherein the first segment comprising a first wall which extends at least partially around the light source over a first height in the direction of the optical axis, the first wall being is convergent in the direction of propagation of the light (Fig. 6 – first curved surface 4), wherein the second segment comprising a second wall which is reflective and extends in a continuation of the first wall over a second height in the direction of the optical axis so as to reflect light rays coming from the light source, the second wall being is divergent in the direction of propagation of the light (Fig. 6 – second curved surface 5; paragraph [0034] - as shown in Fig. 6, LED light source at 120° luminous angle radiates on the diverging optical piece through the optical piece lines, 120° light output is converted into 240° light output, which achieves the lighting effect of traditional halogen lamps).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to have had an optical reflector to comprise two sections as disclosed by Dong in the device disclosed by Fournier et al. in order to further redirect the light towards a region of interest.
Regarding claim 2, Fournier et al. in view of Dong discloses all of the limitations as previously discussed with respect to claim 1 including that wherein the optical reflector comprises a third segment comprising a reflective third wall which extends over a third height in the direction of the optical axis, in the continuation of the second wall of the second segment (Dong: Figs. 4-6 – third curved surface 6).
Regarding claim 3, Fournier et al. in view of Dong discloses all of the limitations as previously discussed with respect to claims 1 and 2 including that wherein the third wall of the third segment has a third angle of inclination relative to the optical axis that is less than 5° (Dong: Figs. 4-6 – third curved surface 6).
Regarding claim 4, Fournier et al. in view of Dong discloses all of the limitations as previously discussed with respect to claim 1 including that wherein the first wall and the second wall of the optical reflector each comprise at least one pair of two faces (Fournier et al.: Fig. 4B; paragraph [0049] – the light source module may include a reflector having a reflective surface or a lens having a refractive surface, the reflector or lens directs light emitted from the illumination element of the light source module toward the light diffusion material and ultimately exits the light source module and injects the scene to be illuminated by the light source module – the light source module may include a reflector or lens having different shapes, wherein the different shapes of the reflector or lens are adjusted to produce a light beam for filling the region of interest in the scene – the reflector or lens of the light source module redirects light toward the region of interest – the light source may include a reflector 406 of a square reflector such as light source module 408 in Fig. 4B; Dong: Fig. 4).
Regarding claim 5, Fournier et al. in view of Dong discloses all of the limitations as previously discussed with respect to claims 1 and 4 including that wherein the first wall and the second wall each comprise two pairs of two faces positioned such that the two faces of a pair face one another, one on each side of the light source (Fournier et al.: Fig. 4B; paragraph [0049] – the light source module may include a reflector having a reflective surface or a lens having a refractive surface, the reflector or lens directs light emitted from the illumination element of the light source module toward the light diffusion material and ultimately exits the light source module and injects the scene to be illuminated by the light source module – the light source module may include a reflector or lens having different shapes, wherein the different shapes of the reflector or lens are adjusted to produce a light beam for filling the region of interest in the scene – the reflector or lens of the light source module redirects light toward the region of interest – the light source may include a reflector 406 of a square reflector such as light source module 408 in Fig. 4B; Dong: Fig. 4).
Regarding claim 6, Fournier et al. in view of Dong discloses all of the limitations as previously discussed with respect to claims 1 and 4 including that wherein the faces are planar (Fournier et al.: Fig. 4B; paragraph [0049] – the light source module may include a reflector having a reflective surface or a lens having a refractive surface, the reflector or lens directs light emitted from the illumination element of the light source module toward the light diffusion material and ultimately exits the light source module and injects the scene to be illuminated by the light source module – the light source module may include a reflector or lens having different shapes, wherein the different shapes of the reflector or lens are adjusted to produce a light beam for filling the region of interest in the scene – the reflector or lens of the light source module redirects light toward the region of interest – the light source may include a reflector 406 of a square reflector such as light source module 408 in Fig. 4B; Dong: Fig. 4).
Regarding claim 7, Fournier et al. in view of Dong discloses all of the limitations as previously discussed with respect to claim 1 including that wherein the first wall of the first segment of the optical reflector is reflective (Fournier et al.: Fig. 4B; paragraph [0049] – the light source module may include a reflector having a reflective surface or a lens having a refractive surface, the reflector or lens directs light emitted from the illumination element of the light source module toward the light diffusion material and ultimately exits the light source module and injects the scene to be illuminated by the light source module – the light source module may include a reflector or lens having different shapes, wherein the different shapes of the reflector or lens are adjusted to produce a light beam for filling the region of interest in the scene – the reflector or lens of the light source module redirects light toward the region of interest – the light source may include a reflector 406 of a square reflector such as light source module 408 in Fig. 4B; Dong: Figs. 4-6; abstract - the diverging optical element makes the LED light source converge and extend through several curved surfaces before diverging).
Regarding claim 8, Fournier et al. in view of Dong discloses all of the limitations as previously discussed with respect to claim 1 including that wherein the light source is an LED emitting in the infrared, and wherein the walls of the segments are reflective in the infrared (Fournier et al.: Fig. 4B; paragraph [0004] – in some cases the illumination module included in the small device comprises a light source, the light source comprises a lighting element, such as a light emitting diode (LED) or a laser diode; when the lighting element is a laser diode, then the walls of the segments are reflective in the infrared; Dong: Figs. 4-6 – multiple segments).
Conclusion
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/HEATHER R JONES/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2481
June 25, 2026
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