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 .
Priority
Acknowledgment is made of applicant's claim for priority under 35 U.S.C. 119(a)-(d) or (f), 365(a) or (b), or 386(a) based upon an application filed in Korea on 9/04/2023. The claim for priority cannot be based on said application because the subsequent nonprovisional or international application designating the United States was filed more than twelve months thereafter and no petition under 37 CFR 1.55 or request under PCT Rule 26bis.3 to restore the right of priority has been granted.
Applicant may wish to file a petition under 37 CFR 1.55(c) to restore the right of priority if the subsequent application was filed within two months from the expiration of the twelve-month period and the delay was unintentional. A petition to restore the right of priority must include: (1) the priority claim under 35 U.S.C. 119(a)-(d) or (f), 365(a) or (b), or 386(a) in an application data sheet, identifying the foreign application to which priority is claimed, by specifying the application number, country (or intellectual property authority), day, month, and year of its filing (unless previously submitted); (2) the petition fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(m)(3); and (3) a statement that the delay in filing the subsequent application within the twelve-month period was unintentional. The petition to restore the right of priority must be filed in the subsequent application, or in the earliest nonprovisional application claiming benefit under 35 U.S.C. 120, 121, 365(c), or 386(c) to the subsequent application, if such subsequent application is not a nonprovisional application. The Director may require additional information where there is a question whether the delay was unintentional. The petition should be addressed to: Mail Stop Petition, Commissioner for Patents, P.O. Box 1450, Alexandria, Virginia 22313-1450.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
Claim 2 lines 3: “the light source” lacks antecedent basis.
Dependent claims 3-6 are also rejected for inheriting the flaws from the parent claim.
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(s) 1-6 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Peng (US 20090128741) in view of Kim (WO 2022225205)
1. A light leakage prevention apparatus for a vehicle, the apparatus comprising:
a printed circuit board (PCB) 230 comprising two or more light sources (250);
a light leakage prevention member (300) that shields interference between the two or more light sources;
a housing including a space for accommodating the light leakage prevention member (Fig. 1); and
a cover (110) coupled to an upper end of the housing,
wherein the light leakage prevention member comprises a transmission member (light-penetrable wall 310) and a shielding member (reflective layer 350) alternatingly disposed in a direction of light transmission of the two or more light source, and
Peng is silent to wherein the transmission member and the shielding member are manufactured by a double injection molding such that the transmission member and the shielding member have different color or comprise different materials from each other.
Kim discloses “since the transmissive lens 371 and the opaque part 372 are positioned at the same height when observed from the outside, a visual aesthetic sense felt by the user can be secured. In an embodiment, the opaque part 372 may be integrally connected to the outer peripheral surface 371C of the transmission lens 371. For example, the opaque part 372 and the transmissive lens 371 may be integrally formed through double-shot injection molding. However, this is only an example, and the transmissive lens 371 and the opaque part 372 may be separately manufactured and then connected through an assembly method.” Here, the shielding member is interpreted to be the opaque part 372.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective date the invention was made to incorporate the teachings of Kim so that materials of different types or materials having different characteristics can be integrated to each other by double injection molding, thereby providing a cost-effective manufacturing way since at least it eliminates the need of joining two separate parts.
2.1, wherein the transmission member (310) is disposed in front of one of the two or more light sources and configured to transmit and emit light of the light source that is disposed at a rear of at least one of the two or more light sources (transmission member 310 is in front interpreted as being on the left of light source 250 seen in Figs. 5-10), and wherein the shielding member (350) is coupled to the transmission member and configured to shield light from the light source disposed behind the transmission member and a remainder of the two or more light sources (shield member of wall 300 reflects light from light source on the left coming at it, and therefore blocks light originated from the light source 250 on the right penetrating through the transmission member 310 as seen exemplarily in Fig. 5).
3.2, wherein the transmission member and the shielding member have different polarities such that the transmission member and the shielding member form one or more microspaces on surfaces bonded to each other during the double injection molding
(Peng discloses partition wall is disposed on the bottom plate and between each two adjacent lighting areas to fully or partially block/reflect the light emitted from the lighting areas; see abstract;
Peng is silent to microspace;
Kim discloses a microspace as gap 373 such that:
In an embodiment, the opaque part 372 may be connected to form a gap 373 between the transmissive lens 371 and the outer peripheral surface 371C. In other words, an empty space formed along the outer peripheral surface 371C of the transmissive lens 371 may be formed between the opaque portion 372 and the transmissive lens 371. In an embodiment, an air layer may be formed in the gap 373 formed between the opaque portion 372 and the transmissive lens 371. The air layer may have a refractive index of about 1.0 based on a wavelength of about 589 nm. In one embodiment, since the air layer has a lower refractive index than the transmission lens 371, light passing through the outer circumferential surface 371C of the transmission lens 371 to the air layer is totally reflected inside the transmission lens 371 according to the angle of incidence ( total reflection).
In an embodiment, based on the cross section of FIG. 4 , the gap 373 may be formed to have a constant width along the optical axis L. In one embodiment, the gap 373 may be formed to have a width sufficient to sufficiently generate total reflection through the air layer. For example, the gap 373 may be formed to have a width three times or more than a wavelength of light (eg, visible light of about 589 nm). In addition, the gap may be formed to have a width of at least a tool tolerance (eg, about 100 μm, 0.1T) generated during the manufacturing process.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective date the invention was made to incorporate the teachings of Kim to provide a total reflection through the air layer between the members).
4.3, wherein the transmission member (i.e. Kim’s transmission lens 371) reflects the light of the light source disposed at the rear of the at least one of the two or more light sources to a reflection surface formed from the one or more microspaces (Kim, Fig. 4-5, “since the air layer has a lower refractive index than the transmission lens 371, light passing through the outer circumferential surface 371C of the transmission lens 371 to the air layer is totally reflected inside the transmission lens 371 according to the angle of incidence ( total reflection)”)
5.2, wherein the transmission member (310) comprises a polar molecule selected from the group consisting of polycarbonate (PC), polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA), and polyamide (PA) (Peng, par. 35).
6.2, wherein the shielding member comprises a nonpolar molecule selected from the group consisting of polyethylene (PE), and polyamide (PP) (Peng discloses shield member 350 can be organic or inorganic material, par. 38; although silent to which material is organic or inorganic; it is well known in the art that polymeric materials including PPMA, PC, PS, and methyl acrylate used for making the transmission member 310 are organic material; it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective date the invention was made to extend Peng’s teaching by making the shield member opaque using organic material similar to the transmission member).
Claim(s) 7-12 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Peng (US 20090128741)/ Kim (WO 2022225205) further in view of Karsch (US 20200376953)
Re claim 7.1, Peng is silent to wherein the light leakage prevention member is heat treated after the double injection molding.
Karsch discloses that it is well known to remove unwanted or excess injection molding material by separation, cutting (for example by laser or water jet), punching, sawing or milling (par. 26)
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective date the invention was made to incorporate the teachings of Karsch to remove unwanted material formed in the double injection molding by known method including separation, cutting, punching, sawing in order to generate the microspace. It would have also been obvious that such process would require heat by thermodynamics law to melt the molding.
Peng discloses
8. A method for manufacturing a light leakage prevention apparatus for a vehicle, the method comprising:
double injection molding a product to form a light leakage prevention member comprising a transmission member (light-penetrable wall 310) and a shielding member (reflective layer 350) alternatingly disposed in a direction of light transmission of two or more light source in a printed circuit board (PCB) (230)
(Peng is silent to wherein the transmission member and the shielding member are manufactured by a double injection molding;
Kim discloses “since the transmissive lens 371 and the opaque part 372 are positioned at the same height when observed from the outside, a visual aesthetic sense felt by the user can be secured. In an embodiment, the opaque part 372 may be integrally connected to the outer peripheral surface 371C of the transmission lens 371. For example, the opaque part 372 and the transmissive lens 371 may be integrally formed through double-shot injection molding. However, this is only an example, and the transmissive lens 371 and the opaque part 372 may be separately manufactured and then connected through an assembly method.” Here, the shielding member is interpreted to be the opaque part 372.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective date the invention was made to incorporate the teachings of Kim so that materials of different types or materials having different characteristics can be integrated to each other by double injection molding, thereby providing a cost-effective manufacturing way since at least it eliminates the need of joining two separate parts);
heat-treating the light leakage prevention member
(Peng is silent to wherein the light leakage prevention member is heat treated after the double injection molding;
Karsch discloses that it is well known to remove unwanted or excess injection molding material by separation, cutting (for example by laser or water jet), punching, sawing or milling (par. 26);
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective date the invention was made to incorporate the teachings of Karsch to remove unwanted material formed in the double injection molding by known method including separation, cutting, punching, sawing in order to generate the microspace. It would have also been obvious that such process would require heat by thermodynamics law to melt the molding);
coupling the light leakage prevention member into a receiving space of a housing
(Peng, Fig. 2: leakage prevention member 300 is received in the housing of device 100); and
coupling a cover (110) to an upper end of the housing (Peng, Fig. 2),
wherein the transmission member and the shielding member have different color or comprise different materials from each other by the double injection molding
(Peng, par. 35: transmission member 310 can be made from MMA, PC, PS, MS, or organic or inorganic light-penetrable material or mixtures thereof; light reflective layer 350 can include magnesium oxide compounds, titanium oxide compounds, and other reflective organic or inorganic material; thus the members can chosen to be different from each other; Kim also discloses the transmission member 371 can be an epoxy, resin, or PMMA which is inherently known as an organic polymer; and opaque part 372 can be a resin or other material).
Re claims 9-12, see discussion regarding claims above.
Conclusion
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/THIEN T MAI/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2876