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) 1-4 and 6-12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Mackey (US PGPUB 20090086064).
[Claim 1]
An image sensor, comprising: a plurality of pixel units, wherein each of the plurality of pixel units comprises:
a photosensitive layer (fig. 2, photodiode array 220) located on a lower layer of the plurality of pixel units and configured to collect an optical signal and convert the optical signal into an electrical signal (Paragraph 15, basic principle of a photodiode); and
a light-filtering layer (231a-e) located on an upper layer of the plurality of pixel units (fig. 2, Paragraph 28), wherein the light-filtering layer comprises:
a light-filtering region (231a-e); and
a storage region (238a-c), wherein the light-filtering region comprises a light-transmitting material (231a-231e) and at least partially overlaps with a projection of the photosensitive layer in an optical-axis direction (see fig. 2), and the storage region comprises a non-light-transmitting material and is configured to store a charged particle with a color, the charged particle is configured to move between the storage region and the light-filtering region (Paragraph 33, In brief, when a fluid is placed into a channel which has a surface bearing charged functional groups, e.g., hydroxyl groups in etched glass channels or glass microcapillaries, those groups can ionize. In the case of hydroxyl functional groups, this ionization, e.g., at neutral pH, results in the release of protons from the surface and into the fluid, creating a concentration of protons at near the fluid/surface interface, or a positively charged sheath surrounding the bulk fluid in the channel. Application of a voltage gradient across the length of the channel, will cause the proton sheath to move in the direction of the voltage drop, i.e., toward the negative electrode. Accordingly, fluid solutions 238a-c, 239a-c may flow through or bypass specific intersection points in the grid without fluid intermix), and
the light-filtering region is configured to cause light with the same color as the charged particle in the light-filtering region to penetrate the light-filtering region and enter the photosensitive layer on the lower layer (Paragraph 28, Microlens 261a-e focus light into microfluidic color filter array 230 and photodiode array 220, such that light is filtered through fluid channels 231a-e, thereby filtering colors that corresponds to the pigment of fluid solution 238a-c).
[Claim 2]
The image sensor according to claim 1, further comprising: a drive unit (fig. 2, micropumps 235a-c) configured to drive the charged particle to be moved between the storage region and the light-filtering region (Paragraph 30, To accommodate faster color switching, fluid flow rate through fluid channels 231a-e, 232a-e maybe controlled by micropumps 235a-c, 237a-c. Example micropumps may include the use of a pneumatic manifold such as miniature flexible diaphragms. In an embodiment, micropumps 235a-c may include piezoelectric vibrator elements mounted upon the interior or exterior surface of microfluidic color filter color filter array 230 whereby vibration of micropumps 235a-c actuates fluid flow through channels 232a-e).
[Claim 3]
The image sensor according to claim 2, wherein the drive unit comprises: a first control electrode (e.g. negative electrode) arranged in the storage region (Paragraph 32); and a second control electrode (positive electrode) arranged in the light-filtering region, wherein the first control electrode is configured to drive the charged particle to be moved from the storage region to the light-filtering region, and the second control electrode is configured to drive the charged particle to be moved from the light-filtering region to the storage region (Paragraph 32, As illustrated in FIG. 4, fluid channels 251a-e, 252a-e are operably coupled to each other at intersection points such that fluid solutions 238a-c, 239a-c may be directed over specific photodiodes 221a-e. Simple electrokinetic fluid flow across intersection points could be accomplished by applying voltage gradients across specific points along the length of channels 251a-e, 252a-e, thereby altering the diffusive property of fluid solutions 238a-c, 239a-c. As used herein, "electrokinetic fluid flow" include systems which transport and direct materials within an interconnected channel and/or chamber containing structure, through the application of electrical fields to the materials, thereby causing material movement through and among the channel and/or chambers, i.e., cations will move toward the negative electrode, while anions will move toward the positive electrode).
[Claim 4]
The image sensor according to claim 3, wherein the storage region comprises: a first storage sub-region configured to store a red charged particle; a second storage sub-region configured to store a green charged particle; and a third storage sub-region configured to store a blue charged particle, wherein the first storage sub-region, the second storage sub-region, and the third storage sub- region are distributed on a peripheral side of the light-filtering region (Paragraph 38, Accordingly, a microfluidic color filter array is provided, according to embodiments of the invention, to provide dynamic filtering by the optical properties of fluid solution supplied to the array. An advantage that may be afforded by this technology is the liberation of dual green pixels of traditional static color filter arrays. In traditional color filter arrays, color pixels come in sets of four, but color decomposition uses a basis of three color (usually red, green, and blue). The "redundant" color is usually green. Thus, in embodiments of the invention, each pixel may filter a different color based on where the pigment is at any given moment in the microfluidic color filter array).
[Claim 6]
The image sensor according to claim 1, wherein an area of the light-filtering region is greater than an area of the storage region (figs. 2-4).
[Claim 7]
The image sensor according to claim 4, wherein the first storage sub-region, the second storage sub-region, the third storage sub-region, and the light-filtering region have a same volume, and correspondingly accommodate charged particles with a same quantity and size separately (Paragraph 21, figs. 2-4).
[Claim 8]
The image sensor according to claim 1, wherein the photosensitive layer comprises: a
photosensitive element (220) and a conversion circuit (part of photoelectric array) , wherein
the photosensitive element is located below the light-filtering region, and is configured to
collect the optical signal penetrating the light-filtering region (see fig. 2, Paragraph 16);
the conversion circuit is connected to the photosensitive element, and is configured to
convert the optical signal collected by the photosensitive element into the corresponding
electrical signal (Paragraph 14, Although the invention is described in terms of a microfluidic color filter array for a CMOS image sensor, it is contemplated that it may be used with other types of photoelectric image sensors (e.g., CCD) or in other applications employing photoelectric devices, for example, as a color filter for an array of emissive devices. Basic principle of a photodiode); and
an area of the photosensitive element is greater than or equal to the area of the light-
filtering region (As seen in fig. 2, the areas are equal).
[Claim 9]
This claim is similar to claim 1 except for a camera. Mackey discloses a camera since it has an image sensor which is the essential feature of a camera since it takes light as an input and converts to electrical signals or imaging signals (Paragraphs 15 and 28, fig. 2).
[Claim 10]
The camera module according to claim 9, further comprising a circuit board, wherein the image sensor is electrically connected to the circuit board (Paragraph 15, The photodiode array 220 includes a plurality of photodiodes (e.g. 221a-e) arranged in an orthogonal pattern on a common planar support such as a semiconductor wafer substrate); and a lens, wherein the lens is arranged on a side of the image sensor away from the circuit board (Paragraph 28, As further illustrated in FIG. 2, color imager 200 may also include a lens supporting layer 260 disposed over microfluidic color filter array 230. The lens supporting layer 260 has a plurality of microlens 261a-e arranged thereon in a pattern that corresponds to the photodiode pattern on photodiode array 220. Microlens 261a-e focus light into microfluidic color filter array 230 and photodiode array 220, such that light is filtered through fluid channels 231a-e, thereby filtering colors that corresponds to the pigment of fluid solution 238a-c).
[Claim 11]
An electronic device, comprising the camera module according to claim 9 (See claims 1 and 9).
[Claim 12]
This is a method claim corresponding to apparatus claims 1-4 and are analyzed and rejected based upon apparatus claims 1-4.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 5 is 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. The prior art fails to teach or suggest “wherein the first control electrode comprises: a first electrode and a second electrode arranged in the first storage sub-region; a third electrode and a fourth electrode arranged in the second storage sub-region; and a seventh electrode and an eighth electrode arranged in the third storage sub-region, wherein the second control electrode comprises: a fifth electrode and a sixth electrode arranged in the light-filtering region, wherein the first electrode, the second electrode, the third electrode, the fourth electrode, the fifth electrode, the sixth electrode, the seventh electrode, and the eighth electrode are respectively arranged on peripheral sides of corresponding regions that are not adjacent to other regions; and the first electrode is opposite to the fourth electrode, the second electrode is opposite to the seventh electrode, the third electrode is opposite to the sixth electrode, the fifth electrode is opposite to the eighth electrode, and two opposite electrodes have different polarities when powered on”.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to YOGESH K AGGARWAL whose telephone number is (571)272-7360. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday 9:30-6.
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/YOGESH K AGGARWAL/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2637
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