DETAILED ACTION
Notice of 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 foreign priority under 35 U.S.C. 119 (a)-(d). The certified copy has been filed with the Office on 02/05/2026. Accordingly, the earliest effective filing date was recognized as 01/10/2025.
Claim Objections
Claims 1-11 are objected to because of the informalities, below.
Re Claim 1:
On line 1, “lampcomprising” should be changed to – lamp comprising – in order to put the claim in proper form.
Re Claims 2-11:
The claims are objected to due to their dependence on base claim 1.
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 and 10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Okubo (JP 2022161893 A; English Machine Translation provided).
Re Claim 1:
Okubo discloses a vehicle lamp (vehicle lamp 10; shown in at least Figs 1-3 and described below) comprising:
a light source (light sources 11) configured to emit light (shown in Fig 1; represented in Figs 2-3 as projection optical axis Lp); and
an outer lens (condenser lens 23) disposed forward of the light source (forward of 11) in a propagation direction (Lp) of the light emitted from the light source (shown in Figs 2-3),
wherein the outer lens (23) is configured to transmit the light emitted from the light source (Figs 2-3 transposed with Fig 1), and has a thickness that varies in a vertical direction (Y-axis; shown in Fig 2; described at least on PDF Page 18 in ¶ 0011, four lines above ¶ 0012 as the vertical direction when the optical axis is aligned with the horizontal plane is defined as the up-down direction (Y in the drawings)).
Re Claim 10:
Okubo further discloses wherein the light source comprises a surface light emitter (shown in Fig 1) configured to emit light along a predetermined height (the height shown in Figs 2-3 transposed with Fig 1; the examiner notes that the predetermined height varies from the top of 12 down to the surface of the road surface 2).
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.
Claims 2-3 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Okubo.
Re Claim 2:
Okubo further discloses wherein the thickness of the outer lens increases or decreases along a height direction of the outer lens when the outer lens is oriented vertically (along the Y-axis, shown in Figs 2-3).
With further regard to thickness, drawings must be evaluated for what they reasonably disclose and suggest to one of ordinary skill in the art. In re Aslanian, 590 F.2d 911, 200 USPQ 500 (CCPA 1979); see also MPEP § 2125. Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention (“PHOSITA”) to recognize Okubo as at least suggesting the thickness of the outer lens increases or decreases in a stepwise manner along a height direction due to the configuration shown in Figs 2-3.
Re Claim 3:
Okubo further discloses wherein a light transmittance reduction portion (light shielding plate 44) configured to reduce light transmittance (configuration shown in Figs 2-3 and described in ¶¶ 0042-0043 on PDF pages 45-46 as at least block light transmittance and prevent crosstalk) is provided in a boundary region where the thickness of the outer lens varies (shown in Figs 2-3 and described as the space in ¶ 0043).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 4-9 and 11 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.
Below is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter.
Re Claim 4:
The closest prior art of record (Okubo) fails to any one of disclose or suggest the combined structure the combined structure and functionality of the blocking member as set forth in the clam.
Re Claim 5:
The closest prior art of record (Okubo) fails to any one of disclose or suggest the combined structure the combined structure and functionality of the protruding member and the blocking member as set forth in the claim.
Re Claim 6:
The claim contains allowable subject matter due to their dependence on intervening claim 5.
Re Claims 7-8:
The claims contain allowable subject matter due to their dependence on intervening claim 4.
Re Claim 9:
The closest prior art of record (Okubo) fails to any one of disclose or suggest the combined structure the combined structure and functionality of the outer lens as set forth in the clam.
Re Claim 11:
The closest prior art of record (Okubo) fails to any one of disclose or suggest the combined structure the combined structure and functionality of the indirect reflective surface as set forth in the clam.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Okubo (US 20250277570 A1) and Tani et al. (US 20260098623 A1) disclose a vehicle lamp comprising an outer lens that varies in a thickness direction.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to KEITH G DELAHOUSSAYE whose telephone number is (469)295-9088. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday: 9:00 am-5:00 pm CST.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, James Greece can be reached at (571) 272-3711. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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KEITH G. DELAHOUSSAYE JR.
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 2875
/KEITH G. DELAHOUSSAYE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2875
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