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 .
Benefit
Acknowledgment is made of applicant’s claim for domestic benefit under 35 U.S.C. 365 (c) with PCT/JP2023/019044. Accordingly, the earliest effective filing date of the claimed invention was recognized as 5/23/2025.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 10/29/2025 was considered by the examiner. The Examiner disagrees with the combination in regard to claim 1 in the ISA Written Opinion filed with the Office on 10/29/2025. The reason for disagreement is that the lens (31 and 32 of D1) is already mounted on lens fixing seat 310 and the fluorescent wheel 4 (of D1; analogous to the fluorescent body) is intervening between the lens of D1 and fluorescent fixing stand 410 ( of D1; analogous to the support) as shown in Figs 4-6 of D1.
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 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Aria et al. (US 20210302688 A1; US publication of WO 2020/039783 A, third reference listed on ISR of PCT; “Aria” ).
Aria disclose light source (projector 1; shown in at least Fig 1; described in at least ¶ 0022 as well as below) comprising:
a case (case or outer housing of color synthesis unit 42; Fig 4; ¶¶ 0024 and 0027);
a support (second housing part 432; Fig 4; ¶ 0029) applied to the case toward a specific direction (in the direction from 432 to 42);
a plate (first housing part 431) applied to the case (case of 42) toward the specific direction (Fig 4);
a fluorescent body (phosphor wheel 435, motor substrate436, and wheel motor 437; Fig 4 transposed with Fig 5; ¶¶ 0030-0031) supported on the support (specifically in the internal space of 431 and 432; Fig 4; ¶ 0030), and configured to absorb excitation light and emit fluorescent light;
a lens (condensing lens 433; Fig 5; ¶ 0030) supported on the support (at least indirectly via 431 supported by 432), and configured to pass the excitation light and the fluorescent light (configuration shown in at least Fig 5 and described in at least ¶ 0030); and
a plurality of optical components (plurality of components in adjustment member 500; Fig 6 and 8-12; at least ¶¶ 0034-0036) mounted on the plate (Fig 6 transposed with Figs 9-12).
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 Aria.
With further regard to the case and the support, 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 Aria as at least suggesting wherein the case (case of 42) includes an opening (space below lip of 42 facing 43 shown in Fig 3 of Aria with the Examiner’s annotations below transposed with Fig 4 of Aria also with the Examiners annotations below), and a space extending in the specific direction from the opening (Figs 3 below transposed with Fig 4 below), the support closes the opening, and the plate, the fluorescent body, the lens, and the plurality of optical components (components of 500 between 431 and 42) are housed in the space (Fig 3 below transposed with Fig 4 below).
Figure 3 of Aria with the Examiner's annotations
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480
546
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Figure 4 of Aria with the Examiner's annotations
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402
524
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Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 3-12 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 3:
The closest prior art (Aria) neither discloses nor suggest the combined structure and functionality of the elastic body as set forth in the claim.
Re Claim 4:
The closest prior art (Aria) neither discloses nor suggest the combined structure and functionality of the first mounting surface and the inner surface as set forth in the claim.
Re Claim 5:
The claim contains allowable subject matter due to its dependence on intervening claim 4.
Re Claim 6:
The closest prior art (Aria) neither discloses nor suggest the combined structure and functionality of the first protrusion, the second protrusion, the third protrusion, and the fourth protrusion as set forth in the claim.
Re Claim 7:
The closest prior art (Aria) neither discloses nor suggest the combined structure and functionality of the first pin, the second pin, the first hole, and the second hole as set forth in the claim.
Re Claim 8:
The closest prior art (Aria) neither discloses nor suggest the combined structure and functionality of the directional orientation of the support and the plate as set forth in the claim.
Re Claim 9:
The closest prior art (Aria) neither discloses nor suggest the combined structure and functionality of the holder as set forth in the claim.
Re Claim 10:
The closest prior art (Aria) neither discloses nor suggest the combined structure and functionality of the optical system as set forth in the claim.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record on the PTO-892 but not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
English Machine translations are provided for both of the foreign references in the IDS filed on 10/29/2025 so that the analysis provided in the IDS section above may be more easily understood.
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.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
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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