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 3 is objected to because of the following informalities: In regards to claim 3, there is no antecedence for the anisotropical materials and anisotropical structures. 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.
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim(s) 1, 2, 5, 6, 11, & 12 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Brock US 7230717.
With respect to claim 1, Brock teaches a phase detection device comprising:
an optical mask (fig 8, 14) configured to phase-shift object light and reference light having different circular polarizations generated through interferometry (fig 8),
wherein the optical mask comprises:
an optical array (fig 6a, 14) comprising a plurality of optical pixels “pixelated phase mask” (col 10, lines 13-15) (fig 6a, 40) that induce a geometrical phase effect that phase- shifts the object light (fig 6a, T) and the reference light (fig 6a, R) (col 1, lines 53-54) two times a predetermined optical axis rotation angle “0 degrees (550), 45
degrees (556), 90 degrees (552) and 135 degrees (554)” (col 9, lines 50-55); and
a circular polarization beam splitter (fig 8, 58, 64, & 66) “Quarter-wave plates” “beam splitter” (col 10, line 23-27) configured to transmit some circular polarization components (fig 6a, LHC & RHC), among circular polarization components “rotate the test and reference beams T and R” (col 10, line 23-27) that pass through the optical array (fig 6a, 14).
Applicant teaches four optical pixels 710a to 710d that are adjacent to each other horizontally (an x axis direction)
and vertically (a y axis) receive interference light at the same point, the optical pixels 710a to 710d may have optical
axis rotation angles of 0°, 45°, 90°, and 135° (0075), wherein phase shifting of 0°, 90°, 180°, and 270°, that is, two times the optical axis rotation angles, occur in polarization components that are included in the pieces of incident light that pass through the optical pixels 710a to 710d and that each have a phase shifted (retarded) (0076). Examiner submits Brock’s optical pixels inherently produce a geometrical phase effect two times a predetermined optical axis rotation since they respectively comprise optical axis rotation angles 0°, 45°, 90°, and 135°. In relying upon the theory of inherency, the examiner must provide a basis in fact and/or technical reasoning to reasonably support the determination that the allegedly inherent characteristic necessarily flows from the teachings of the applied prior art.
With respect to claim 2 according to claim 1, Brock teaches the phase detection device wherein the interferometry comprises:
a light source (fig 8, 54) configured to provide coherent “light beam…coherence length” light (col 11, lines9-10); and
a light source beam splitter (fig 8, 58) configured to split light into the object light and the reference light.
With respect to claim 5 according to claim 1, Brock teaches the phase detection device further comprising a detection unit (fig 8, 16) configured to detect an interference pattern “detector array 16 that converts the optical intensity sensed at each pixel to an electrical charge” (col 6, lines 24-30) that is formed by the object light and the reference light “phase-delay between the reference and test wavefronts at each pixel” (col 6, lines 24-30) that pass through the circular polarization beam splitter.
With respect to claim 6 according to claim 5, Brock teaches the phase detection device wherein the detection unit obtains a plurality of phase-shifted interference pattern images (fig 14) “display 24 that conveys the result in visible form” (col 6, lines 30-35).
With respect to claim 11, Brock teaches a method of detecting, by a phase detection device, a phase of object light, the method comprising:
a detection process of detecting an interference pattern “interference fringes” (col 10, lines 52-53) of object light (fig 8, T) and reference (fig 8, R) light that pass through an optical mask (fig 8, 14) and that are detected by a detection unit (fig 8,16);
an acquisition process “display 24 that conveys the result in visible form” (col 6, lines 30-35) of obtaining a plurality of interference pattern images (fig 14) by grouping the interference pattern detected in the detection process based on optical axis rotation angles of geometrical phase optical pixels “0 degrees (550), 45 degrees (556), 90 degrees (552) and 135 degrees (554)” (col 9, lines 50-55);
and
a detection process of detecting optical properties “measured intensity at each pixel” (col 13, line 53) of the object light by using the plurality of interference pattern images “the image shown in FIG. 14 was obtained…interferometric system of FIG. 8.” (col 13, lines 46-47) obtained in the acquisition process.
With respect to claim 12 according to claim 11, Brock teaches the method wherein the optical mask comprises:
an optical array (fig 6a, 14) comprising geometrical phase optical pixels “pixelated phase mask” (col 10, lines 13-15) (fig 6a, 40) that phase-shift the object light and the reference light two times a predetermined optical axis rotation angle “0 degrees (550), 45 degrees (556), 90 degrees (552) and 135 degrees (554)” (col 9, lines 50-55); and
a circular polarization beam splitter (fig 8, 58, 64, & 66) “Quarter-wave plates” “beam splitter” (col 10, line 23-27) configured to transmit some circular polarization components (fig 6a, LHC & RHC), among circular polarization components that pass through the optical array (fig 6a,14).
Applicant teaches four optical pixels 710a to 710d that are adjacent to each other horizontally (an x axis direction)
and vertically (a y axis) receive interference light at the same point, the optical pixels 710a to 710d may have optical
axis rotation angles of 0°, 45°, 90°, and 135° (0075), wherein phase shifting of 0°, 90°, 180°, and 270°, that is, two times the optical axis rotation angles, occur in polarization components that are included in the pieces of incident light that pass through the optical pixels 710a to 710d and that each have a phase shifted (retarded) (0076). Examiner submits Brock’s optical pixels inherently produce a geometrical phase effect two times a predetermined optical axis rotation since they respectively comprise optical axis rotation angles 0°, 45°, 90°, and 135°. In relying upon the theory of inherency, the examiner must provide a basis in fact and/or technical reasoning to reasonably support the determination that the allegedly inherent characteristic necessarily flows from the teachings of the applied prior art.
Pertinent Art
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Shiyuan Zhang, “Twisting Structures in Liquid Crystal Polarization Gratings and Lenses”, 27 February 2021, CN 114911084, & CN 114868046,
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 3, 4, & 7-10 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten to include all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims or to include the limitation(s) and any intervening claims into the base claim. The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
As to claim 3, the prior art of record, taken alone or in combination, fails to disclose or render obvious “circular polarization beam splitter, anisotropical materials or anisotropical structures form a spiral structure”, in combination with the rest of the limitations of claim 3.
As to claim 7, the prior art of record, taken alone or in combination, fails to disclose or render obvious “wherein when
receiving light having one polarization, the optical array outputs a polarization component identical with incident
light and an opposite polarization component that is phase retarded two times the optical axis rotation angle”, in combination with the rest of the limitations of claim 7.
In regards to claims 3 & 7, the closest prior art of record Zhang teaches an anisotropical material forming a spiral structure (fig 3), wherein the spiral structure converts right hand polarization to left hand polarization. Examiner notes it would not have been obvious to combine the teaching of Zhang with Brock since Brock does not teach converting right hand circular polarized light to left hand circular polarized light but rather providing a polarized array of linear polarizations.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MAURICE C SMITH whose telephone number is (571)272-2526. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 9am-5pm EST.
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/MAURICE C SMITH/Examiner, Art Unit 2877
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