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 .
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Specification
The lengthy specification has not been checked to the extent necessary to determine the presence of all possible minor errors. Applicant’s cooperation is requested in correcting any errors of which applicant may become aware in the specification.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
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, 7-8, and 10-16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Lin et al. (U.S. Patent 9,164,274 B2).
With regards to Claim 1, Lin discloses a wavelength conversion wheel converting incident light into light of a different wavelength [note Figures 1-4], including:
A base plate [e.g., (305)] rotatable around an axis [e.g., (C1)]; and
At least one wavelength conversion element [e.g., (307)] arranged on the base plate and the at least one wavelength conversion element including a wavelength conversion material [e.g., (307a-b)] that is capable of converting incident light to light of a wavelength different from the wavelength of the incident light,
Wherein
The wavelength conversion element includes at least one segment [e.g., Figure 4: (312”, 314”)],
The segment is defined by an inner arc edge [e.g., one half of (312”, 314”)], an outer arc edge [e.g., the other half of (312”, 314”)], and both side edges each connecting two corresponding end potions of the inner arc edge and the outer arc edge [note Figure 4],
The outer arc edge includes a first arcuate section having the same shape and arc length as that for the inner arc edge [note Figure 4 – one of two halves], and
The wavelength conversion element is arranged so that concave sides of the inner arc edges and the outer arc edges face toward the inside of the base plate [note Figure 4 – each concave side faces the inside of the base plate, as broadly interpreted as the center].
With regards to Claim 7, Lin discloses endpoints on the same side of the first arcuate section [e.g., one half of (312”, 314”)] and the inner arc edge [e.g., other half of (312”, 314”)] lie on a line orthogonal to a line connecting both endpoints of the inner arc edge [note Figure 4, as broadly interpreted as relative and arbitrary].
With regards to Claim 8, Lin discloses endpoints on the same side of the first arcuate section [e.g., one half of (312”, 314”)] and the inner arc edge [e.g., one half of (312”, 314”)] lie on the side edge on one side [note Figure 4].
With regards to Claim 10, Lin discloses the at least one wavelength conversion element [e.g., (307)] is arranged in a ring shape around the axis (C1), the ring shape including a missing part [note Figure 2B], and the base plate (305) having an opening at a position corresponding to the missing part of the wavelength conversion element [note Figure 2B].
With regards to Claim 11, Lin discloses the at least one wavelength conversion element [e.g., (307)] is arranged in a ring shape around the axis (C1), the ring shape including a missing part [note Figure 2B], the base plate has a reflective area at a position corresponding to the missing part of the wavelength conversion element [Column 6, Lines 4-6].
With regards to Claim 12, Lin discloses the at least one wavelength conversion element [e.g., (307)] is arranged in a ring shape around the axis (C1), and a part of the ring shape is configured to be a reflective area [Column 6, Lines 4-6].
With regards to Claim 13, Lin discloses the first arcuate section of the at least one wavelength conversion element [e.g., one half of (312”, 314”)] is configured to be arranged along a circumference around the axis (C1).
With regards to Claim 14, Lin discloses at least two wavelength conversion elements [e.g., (307a, 307b) // (312a”, 312b”)] including wavelength conversion materials that are capable of generating light of different wavelengths from each other [note Figure 4].
With regards to Claim 15, Lin discloses a light source device [note Figure 1] including a light source (210) configured to emit incident light; and the wavelength conversion wheel [e.g., (410)].
With regards to Claim 16, Lin discloses a projection-type image display device including the light source device [note Claim 15 above]; a light modulation element (110) configured to modulate incident light base on an image signal; an illumination optical system [note optical elements in Figure 1] configured to direct illumination light emitted from the light source to the light modulation element; and a projection optical system (120) configured to enlarge and project light output from the light modulation element to display an image [note Figure 1].
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 2-6 and 9 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.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: With regards to Dependent Claims 2, the Applicant has sufficiently claimed and defined the wavelength conversion wheel, whereby the prior art fails to teach or suggest the combination of structural and functional limitations claimed therein, specifically to the outer arc edge having an inflection point in the vicinity of the side edge on at least a first side of the segment, between an endpoint of the outer arc edge on the first side and an endpoint of the first arcuate section on the first side, and an end portion of the outer arc edge including the inflection point having a shape different from the shape of the inner arc edge. The prior art to Lin fails to teach the inflection point above.
Subsequent Claims 3-6 and 9 are allowable due to dependence.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure, but is not considered exhaustive: U.S. Patent 11,765,325 B2 to Oberascher that teaches a wavelength conversion wheel with various wavelength conversion elements disposed thereon [note Figures 1-19].
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JASON M HAN whose telephone number is (571)272-2207. The examiner can normally be reached 9AM-5PM EST M-F.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Abdulmajeed Aziz can be reached at 571-270-5046. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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January 24, 2026
/Jason M Han/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2875