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 Objections
Claim 2 is objected to because of the following informalities:
In claim 2, line 5, “the other end” lacks antecedent basis. For purposes of examination, “the other end” is interpreted as “another end of the thermoelectric generator”.
In claim 2, “the air” lacks antecedent basis.
Appropriate correction is required.
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.
Claims 1, 18, and 19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Horng et al. (7,575,346).
With respect to claim 1, Horng teaches a light adjustment device (Fig. 3), comprising: a mounting component (12), internally forming a mounting cavity (Figs. 2-3), the mounting component being provided with a plurality of heat dissipation holes (123 and portion at 121) communicating with the mounting cavity (Fig. 2); a lens barrel (11 and 111), comprising a barrel body (11) and a lens (111), with one end of the barrel body (112) located inside the mounting cavity (Fig. 3) and the other end located outside the mounting cavity (Fig. 3), and the lens (111) being disposed within the barrel (Fig. 3); and a heat dissipation component (4), disposed at one of the heat dissipation holes (Figs. 2-3), the heat dissipation component comprising a motor and fan blades connected to the motor (Fig. 2; *note that the blades are shown in Fig. 2 and it is well known in the art for a fan to include a motor), to discharge heat from the mounting cavity and the lens barrel to the exterior through flowing air (Abstract).
As for claim 18, Horng is reasonably interpreted to teach photography light, comprising a light source assembly and a light adjustment device according to claim 1 (Abstract; *note that lamps are known to be used for photography and further any indoor space can reasonably be interpreted as used for photography with the ubiquitous nature of phone cameras).
As for claim 19, Horng teaches a photography system, comprising a photography device and the photography light according to claim 17 (Abstract; *note that lamps are known to be used for photography and further any indoor space can reasonably be interpreted as used for photography with the ubiquitous nature of phone cameras).
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 2 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Horng in view of Suski (5,419,780).
With respect to claim 2, Horng teaches all of the claimed elements, as is discussed above, as well as teaching wherein the light adjustment device further comprises a heat sink (2), disposed on the mounting component (Figs. 2-3); one end of the heat sink is in contact with the air inside the mounting cavity (air at top of heat sink 2 at item 3), and another end of the heat sink is in contact with the air outside the mounting cavity (air from heat dissipation holes 123).
Horng does not explicitly teach wherein the heat sink is a thermoelectric generator, electrically connected to the motor; one end of the thermoelectric generator is in contact with the air warmed by the device, and the other end is in contact with the air not warmed by the device, so as to generate a temperature difference between the two ends of the thermoelectric generator and convert thermal energy into electrical energy (claim 2).
As for claim 2, Suski also drawn to cooling semiconductor devices (*note that LED 3 of Horng is a semiconductor), wherein a heat sink (50 and 60) is a thermoelectric generator (column 4, lines 51-column 5, line 44), electrically connected to the motor (column 5, lines 63-column 6, lines 12); one end (52) of the thermoelectric generator (50 and 60) is in contact with the air warmed by the device (12 and 14), and another end (54) of the thermoelectric generator (50 and 60) is in contact with the air not warmed by the device (Fig. 4), so as to generate a temperature difference between the two ends of the thermoelectric generator and convert thermal energy into electrical energy (column 4, lines 51-column 5, line 44).
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 thermoelectric generator of Suski in the device of Horng, in order to recover wasted heat energy for performing a useful task, such as providing needed cooling without consuming limited battery resources (column 1, lines 8-13 of Suski).
Claim 12 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Horng in view of Huang et al. (2012/0206046).
With respect to claim 12, Horng teaches all of the claimed elements, as is discussed above, except for explicitly teaching wherein the light adjustment device further comprises a thermal insulation layer disposed on an inner circumferential surface of the barrel body for reducing the temperature of the barrel body (claim 12).
As for claim 12, Huang also drawn to light adjustment devices, teaches wherein the light adjustment device further comprises a thermal insulation layer (paragraph 28) disposed on an inner circumferential surface of the barrel body (14) for reducing the temperature of the barrel body (paragraph 28).
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 thermal insulation of Huang in the barrel body of Horng, in order to keep the lens cooler to avoid damage.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 3-11 and 13-17 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 3-11 and 13-17, the prior art does not teach or suggest wherein the mounting component is provided with a first mounting hole, the first mounting hole is arranged at one end of the mounting component away from the lens and communicates with the mounting cavity, and the thermoelectric generator is arranged at the first mounting hole; along with the other limiting elements of claims 1-3.
Conclusion
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/WILLIAM J CARTER/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2875 1/6/2026