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
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, 2, and 8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Santori et al. (2015/0355403) in view of Thompson et al. (2014/0043856).
With respect to claims 1, 2, and 8, Santori teaches a light generating system (100) comprising a lighting arrangement (Fig. 2) of a triangular light guide panel (110) and a light source arrangement (120), wherein: the triangular light guide panel (110) comprises a first triangular face (top face of 110) and a second triangular face (bottom face of 110), wherein the triangular light guide panel (10) further comprises a first side face (first side facing 120), a second side face (second side facing 120), and a third side face (third side facing 120), bridging a distance between the first triangular face and the second triangular face (Fig. 2), wherein the first side face has a first length (Fig. 2); the light source arrangement (120) comprises a plurality of light sources (paragraph 27) configured in an array (Figs. 2-3) aligned with the first side face (Fig. 2), wherein the light sources are configured to provide light source light (104) having a luminous flux (Fig. 2), wherein the light sources comprise solid state light sources (paragraph 27); the triangular light guide panel (110) comprises light outcoupling elements (130), wherein the light outcoupling elements are arranged in the triangular light guide panel (Figs. 1B and 2), and/or on the first triangular face (Figs. 1B and 2), and/or on the second triangular face; and wherein the light outcoupling elements (130) are configured to facilitate light outcoupling from the triangular light guide panel (paragraph 29); the light source arrangement (120) and the triangular light guide panel (110) are configured such that in a first operational mode of the light generating system (a) at least part of the light source light (104) enters the triangular light guide panel (110) via the first side face (first side facing 120) to provide incoupled light source light (104), wherein the triangular light guide panel (110) is configured to guide the incoupled light source light via total internal reflection (paragraph 22), and (b) at least part of the incoupled light source light (104) is coupled out from the triangular light guide panel (110) via the first triangular face (Figs. 1B and 2); and in the first operational mode, the light source light (104) incident on the first side face has a luminous flux gradient along at least 20% of the first length (Fig. 2).
Santori does not explicitly teach a density of the light outcoupling elements increases with increasing normal distance (ND) from the first side face (claim 1); wherein the density of the light outcoupling elements varies in a cross-section parallel to the first side face (claim 2); wherein the density of the light outcoupling elements varies via one or more of (i) a size of the light outcoupling elements and (ii) a number of the light outcoupling elements; and wherein the light outcoupling elements are arranged on the second triangular face, wherein the at least part of the incoupled light source light is coupled out from the triangular light guide panel via the light outcoupling elements and the first triangular face (claim 8).
As for claim 1, Thompson also drawn to light generating systems, teaches a density of the light outcoupling elements (1413) increases with increasing normal distance (ND) from the first side face (1412c1; see: paragraph 126 and Fig. 11 for example of density).
As for claim 2, Thompson teaches wherein the density of the light outcoupling elements (1413) varies in a cross-section parallel to the first side face (paragraph 126 and Fig. 14; and see: Fig. 11 for example of density).
As for claim 8, Thompson teaches wherein the density of the light outcoupling elements (1413) varies via one or more of (i) a size of the light outcoupling elements (see: paragraph 126 and Fig. 11 for example of density) and (ii) a number of the light outcoupling elements (see: paragraph 126 and Fig. 11 for example of density); and wherein the light outcoupling elements are arranged on the second triangular face (see: Fig. 1 as example), wherein the at least part of the incoupled light source light is coupled out from the triangular light guide panel via the light outcoupling elements and the first triangular face (Fig. 14 and see Fig. 1 as example).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the present invention, to use the arrangements of the light outcoupling elements of Thompson in the light generating system of Santori, in order to provide desired modes of light outputs (paragraph 126 of Thompson).
Claims 10 and 11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Santori and Thompson, as is applied to claim 1 above, further in view of Van Herpen et al. (WO-2014/033602-A2).
With respect to claims 10 and 11, Santori and Thompson teach all of the claimed elements, as is discussed above, except for explicitly teaching wherein the triangular light guide panel has a right angle between the first side face and the second side face, and wherein the second side face has a second length, wherein 0.98 < L1/L2 < 1.02 (claim 10); wherein a light source pitch (p) in the array varies along the first length, to provide the luminous flux gradient (claim 11).
As for claim 10, Van Herpen also drawn to light generating systems, teaches wherein the triangular light guide panel (2) has a right angle between the first side face and the second side face, and wherein the second side face has a second length, wherein 0.98 < L1/L2 < 1.02 (Fig. 1a).
As for claim 11, Van Herpen teaches wherein a light source pitch (p) in the array varies along the first length, to provide the luminous flux gradient (Fig. 1a).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the present invention to use the shape of the light guide panel and the luminous flux gradient of Van Herpen in the light generating system of Santori, in order to provide more uniform light (page 1, lines 25-28 of Van Herpen).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 3-7, 9, and 12-15 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.
With respect to claims 3-5, the prior art does not teach or suggest wherein the light generating system comprises a side face reflector, wherein the side face reflector is arranged downstream of the third side face, and wherein the side face reflector is configured to reflect light source light, wherein an angle between the first side face and the third side face is selected from the range of < 90°, and wherein the density of the light outcoupling elements decreases in a direction parallel to the first side face with decreasing distance to the third side face; along with the other limiting elements of claims 1-3.
As for claims 6-7, the prior art does not teach or suggest wherein the triangular light guide panel has a varying width (W) perpendicular to the first side face, wherein along the first length the lighting arrangement is sectioned into a plurality of sections, wherein: the plurality of sections include a first section and a second section; the triangular light guide panel has a first average width (W1) in the first section and a second average width (W2) in the second section, wherein W1 > W2; and in the operational mode the light sources are configured to provide light source light having a first luminous flux (F1) to the first section and light source light having a second luminous flux (F2) to the second section, wherein F1> F2; along with the other limiting elements of claims 1 and 6.
As for claim 9, the prior art does not teach or suggest wherein along the first length (L1) the luminous flux varies according to a unimodal distribution, wherein the first side face shares a corner with the third side face, and wherein the unimodal distribution is skewed towards the corner; along with the other limiting elements of claims 1 and 9.
As for claims 12-15, the prior art does not teach or suggest, wherein the light generating system comprises a plurality of lighting arrangements comprising a first lighting arrangement and a second lighting arrangement, wherein a first hinge arrangement is arranged at the third side face of the first lighting arrangement, and wherein a second hinge arrangement is arranged at the third side face of the second lighting arrangement, wherein the first hinge arrangement is functionally coupled to the second hinge arrangement; along with the other limiting elements of claims 1 and 12.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure:
Creasman et al. (2022/0026620); see: Fig. 2
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/WILLIAM J CARTER/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2875 6/11/2026
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