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 .
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
Election/Restrictions
Claims 7-9 withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected invention, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election was made without traverse in the reply filed on 4/20/2026.
Claim Objections
Claim 2 objected to because of the following informalities:
Claim 2 recites “protruding part” and “protruding upward” or “protruding downward”. It is unclear if the structure protrudes out from/into the surface or if it continues perpendicular with respect to the circuit. The Examiner reviewed the disclosure and figures and it remains unclear.
Claim 2 recites “a fourth circuit line spaced apart from the third circuit line by a predetermined distance, formed at an upper portion of the third circuit line”. It is unclear how the circuit line can be spaced apart from the third circuit line while also “formed at an upper portion”. It is unclear what the structural relationship is set forth.
Appropriate correction is required.
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.
Claim 1 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Krijn (U.S. 10,172,295) in view of Wells (U.S. 2013/0294065).
Regarding claim 1 Krijn teaches a lighting device for plant growth (horticulture light), comprising:
a substrate (see col. 17 lines 24-26) extending in a predetermined length;
a plurality of first LEDs (C1 LEDs, red, see col. 18 lines 23-32) mounted on the substrate, installed in a line (see annotated figure 7f below) to be spaced apart from each other by a predetermined distance along a longitudinal direction of the substrate (see fig. 7f), and serially connected to each other to be simultaneously turned on/off (see col. 18 lines 23-34, all red controlled together);
a plurality of second LEDs (c2, yellow) disposed between the first LEDs on a line on which the first LEDs are arranged, and serially connected to each other to be simultaneously turned on/off (see col. 18 lines 23-34); and
a plurality of third LEDs (c3, blue ) disposed to be located between the first LED and the second LED (c3 located between c1 and c2) on the line where the first LEDs are arranged, and serially connected to each other to be simultaneously turned on/off (see col. 18 lines 23-34);
wherein the plurality of the first LEDs, the second LEDs, and the third LEDs that are continuously disposed adjacent to each other form one unit lighting unit, the unit lighting unit is continuously disposed on the substrate (single row, see annotated figure 7f), and
the first LED, the second LED, and the third LED each output light of different wavelength bands (see col. 18).
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Krijn does not specifically teach that the first, second and third LEDs are each arranged in series to be simultaneously turned on/off.
Wells teaches that that the first, second and third LEDs are each arranged in series (see fig. 7a, LED sub array 120 arranged in series, see p. 0075) to be simultaneously turned on/off (single drive circuit and control for all LEDs in sub array, see fig. 6a).
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was filed to have arranged all of the colors of Krijn to be in series and controlled together as taught by Wells to provide simple input for chromatic adjustment in a uniform manner, see p. 0074, 0079 of Wells.
Claim 2 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Krijn in view of Wells, further in view of KR 101200035B1, included on IDS, hereinafter referred to as ‘035.
Regarding claim 2, Wells teaches further comprising a first circuit part, a second circuit part, and a third circuit part (LED drive circuits, 104, 141, 142) for supplying power to the first LED, the second LED, and the third LED, respectively,
wherein the first circuit part includes a first circuit line extending along the longitudinal direction of the substrate at an upper end of the substrate, and
a second circuit line spaced apart from the first circuit line by a predetermined distance, formed below the first circuit line, and having first protruding connection parts protruding downward by a predetermined length and disposed spaced apart along the longitudinal direction of the substrate,
the second circuit part includes a third circuit line extending along the longitudinal direction of the substrate at a lower end of the substrate, and
a fourth circuit line spaced apart from the third circuit line by a predetermined distance, formed at an upper portion of the third circuit line, and
having second protruding connection parts protruding upward by a predetermined length so as not to overlap the second circuit line and disposed spaced apart along the longitudinal direction of the substrate, and
the third circuit part is located between the first circuit part and the second circuit part and includes a fifth circuit line and a sixth circuit line extending so as not to overlap the second circuit line and the fourth circuit line,
wherein the first LED is located at the first protruding connection part, the second LED is located at the second protruding connection part, and the third LED is located on an extension line extending along the sixth circuit line, and
the first LED, the second LED, and the third LED are disposed in a line along a virtual extension line extending along the longitudinal direction of the substrate (see Krijn fig. 7).
‘035 teaches a first circuit part, second circuit part, and third circuit part for supplying power to the first led, the second led, and the third led respectively (first instances of LED 12)
wherein the first circuit part includes a first circuit line extending along the longitudinal direction of the substrate at an upper end of the substrate, and
a second circuit line spaced apart from the first circuit line by a predetermined distance, and having first protruding connection parts extending by a predetermined length and disposed spaced apart along the longitudinal direction of the substrate,
the second circuit part includes a third circuit line extending along the longitudinal direction of the substrate at a lower end of the substrate, and
a fourth circuit line spaced apart from the third circuit line by a predetermined distance, formed at an upper portion of the third circuit line, and
having second protruding connection parts extending by a predetermined length so as not to overlap the second circuit line and disposed spaced apart along the longitudinal direction of the substrate, and
the third circuit part is located between the first circuit part and the second circuit part and includes a fifth circuit line and a sixth circuit line extending so as not to overlap the second circuit line and the fourth circuit line,
wherein the first LED is located at the first protruding connection part, the second LED is located at the second protruding connection part, and the third LED is located on an extension line extending along the sixth circuit line, and
the first LED, the second LED, and the third LED are disposed in a line along a virtual extension line extending along the longitudinal direction of the substrate (see annotated fig. 7 below).
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was filed to have arranged the LED subarray as taught by Krijn and Wells on a circuit as taught by ‘035 to provide a proper and individual control of the LEDs without overlap or risk of short circuiting and in a manner that is adjustable, i.e. can be cut to size as needed without risk of injury, see ‘035, background of invention.
‘035 does not teach a second circuit line formed below the first circuit line, the first protruding connection parts protruding downward, the second protruding connection parts protruding upward.
Regarding the arrangement of the circuitry of Wells, Krijn, and ‘035, claims regarding the positioning of the structure are unpatentable if such rearrangement would not have modified the operation of the device (In re Japikse, 181 F.2d 1019, 86 USPQ 70 (CCPA 1950)) or if the rearrangement of parts would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art at the time that the invention was made. (Ex parte Chicago Rawhide Mfg. Co., 223 USPQ 351, 353 (Bd. Pat. App. & Inter. 1984)).
The Examiner finds that the arrangement of the circuitry as disclosed is an obvious arrangement well established in the art. The specific manner of routing traces on a pcb or circuit lines is immaterial to the operation of the invention and well established in the light of circuits. Whether the second light is formed below or above the first circuit line does not affect the operation of the device.
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Claim 3-6 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Krijn in view of Wells and ‘035, further in view of Rhodes (U.S. 12,295,302, effectively filed 7/10/2017).
Regarding claim 3, Krijn teaches that some of the first LEDs (C1 red) included in the unit lighting unit output light of a preset first wavelength band (red) and the remainder of the first LEDs output infrared light, the second LED included in the unit lighting unit outputs light of a preset second wavelength band (c2 yellow), and some of the third LEDs included in the unit lighting unit output light of a third wavelength band different from the first to the second wavelength bands (c3 blue) and the remainder of the third LEDs output ultraviolet light.
Krijn does not teach that the first LEDs have a remained of LEDs that output infrared light and that the third LEDs have a remainder that output ultraviolet light.
Rhodes teaches that the first LEDs have a remained of LEDs that output infrared light (see fig. 3, 6 IR LEDs) and that the third LEDs have a remainder that output ultraviolet light (see fig. 3, 14 UV LEDs).
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was filed to have used IR and UV LEDs as taught by Rhodes and Wells in the structure of Krijn as IR and UV light is established in the art to be important for driving physiological activity of plants, see p. 0161 of Wells.
The Examiner further notes that it would be obvious to have the IR LEDs incorporated into the first LED string and the UV LEDs incorporated into the third LED strings as an engineering choice depending on the desired output spectrum of the light, see p. 0161-0162 of Wells.
Regarding claim 4, Krijn, Wells, and Rhodes does not specifically teach that the unit lighting unit emits central wavelengths of 380 nm, 450 nm, and 660 nm in the first wavelength band, emits central wavelengths of 450 nm, 660 nm, and 780 nm and a central wavelength band of 730 nm to 740 nm in the second wavelength band, and emits a central wavelength of 550 nm in the third wavelength band.
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art at the time that the invention was made to have optimized the wavelength bands of the light sources. “Where the general conditions of a claim are disclosed in the prior art, it is not inventive to discover the optimum or workable ranges by routine experimentation.” In re Aller, 220 F. 2d 454, 456.
It is well settled that a prima facie case of obviousness may be rebutted "where the results of optimizing a variable, which was known to be result effective, [are] unexpectedly good." In re Antonie, 559 F.2d at 620, 195 USPQ at 8-9 “However, even though applicant's modification results in great improvement and utility over the prior art, it may still not be patentable if the modification was within the capabilities of one skilled in the art.” Aller 456.
Wells specifically teaches a variety of absorption and emission spectrums of different photosynthetic structures, see figures 3a-4i, see figures 9a-9g. Although Krijn teaches a separation of the LEDs into primarily red, blue, and yellow, Krijn contemplates various combinations of white LEDs or combinations of different emission spectrums depending on the absorption spectrums of light, see col. 20 lines 34-62. The Examiner finds that using the optimum emission spectrums is well established in the art for different photosynthetic structures.
Regarding claim 5, Rhodes teaches that the unit lighting unit includes the first LEDs outputting infrared light in a smaller number than that of the first LEDs outputting light of the first wavelength band (see fig. 3, 6 IR LEDs, less than red), and includes the third LEDs outputting ultraviolet light in a smaller number than that of the third LEDs outputting light of the third wavelength band (14 UV LEDs, compared to 16 blue LEDs).
Regarding claim 6, ‘035 teaches that the substrate is provided with a cutting line between the unit lighting units adjacent to each other to independently use the unit lighting unit by cutting along the cutting line (perforated line 26).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MATTHEW J PEERCE whose telephone number is (571)272-6570. The examiner can normally be reached 8-4pm EST.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, James Greece can be reached on (571) 272-3711. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/Matthew J. Peerce/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2875
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