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 & Priority
Acknowledgment is made of applicant’s claim for domestic benefit under 35 U.S.C. 365 (c) with PCT/JP2024/016747 and claim for foreign priority under 35 U.S.C. 119 (a)-(d) with JP 2023-076429. The certified copy has been filed with the Office on 11/06/2025. Accordingly, the earliest effective filing date was recognized as 05/08/2023.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statements (IDS) submitted on 11/06/2025 and 05/15/206 were considered by the examiner.
Claim Objections
Claims 1-15 are objected to because of the informalities, below.
Re Claim 1:
On line 11, “for projecting a light pattern” should be changed to – for projecting [[a]] the respective light pattern – to put the claim in proper form.
Re Claim 2:
On line 11, “for projecting a light pattern” should be changed to – for projecting [[a]] the respective light pattern – to put the claim in proper form.
Re Claim 4-9:
The claims are objected to due to their dependence on base claim 1.
Re Claims 10-15:
The claims are objected to due to their dependence on base claim 2.
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 1-3 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102 (a)(1) as being anticipated by Sugiyama et al. (US 20190322209 A1).
Re Claim 1:
Sugiyama discloses projection device (road sign projector 10; shown in at least Figs 1-6; described in at least ¶¶ 0049-0052 as well as the following and below) configured to be mounted on a vehicle (mounted on car 1; Figs 1A-1B), configured to project a light pattern (pattern of the arrows of the images 31-34) onto a surrounding road surface (Fig 1B; described in at least ¶ 0052), the projection device (10) comprising:
a long-distance side projection unit (lens 24, solid state light sources 44a-44d, light guides 64a-64d, 74) configured to project a predetermined long-distance side light pattern (34) to a relatively long-distance position (34 relative to 1, when compared to 31); and
a short-distance side projection unit (lens 21, solid state light sources 41a-41b, light guides 61a-61b, shade 71) configured to project a predetermined short-distance side light pattern (31) to a relatively short-distance position (31 relative to 1, when compared to at least 34),
wherein the long-distance side projection unit (24, 44a-44d, 64a-64d, 74) and the short-distance side projection unit (21, 41a-41b, 61a-61b, 71) are disposed in a housing (case 11) of the projection device (of 10),
wherein each of the long-distance side projection unit (24, 44a-44d, 64a-64d, 74) and the short-distance side projection unit (21, 41a-41b, 61a-61b, 71) include a projection lens for projecting a light pattern (34 and 31, respectively), and
wherein at least the projection lens (24) of the long-distance side projection unit (24, 44a-44d, 64a-64d, 74) is disposed at a position retracted from the projection lens (21) of the short-distance side projection unit (21, 41a-41b, 61a-61b, 71) in a projection direction (shown in Figs 3-4 and described in ¶ 0088 as projection lens 21 is larger than other projection lenses 22 to 24; therefore, because the 24 and 21 are on the flat plate of projection plate 20, the front of 24 is disposed at a retracted position from the front of 21 in the projection direction).
Re Claim 2:
Sugiyama discloses projection device (road sign projector 10; shown in at least Figs 1-6; described in at least ¶¶ 0049-0052 as well as the following and below) configured to be mounted on a vehicle (mounted on car 1; Figs 1A-1B), configured to project a light pattern (pattern of the arrows of the images 31-34) onto a surrounding road surface (Fig 1B; described in at least ¶ 0052), the projection device (10) comprising:
a long-distance side projection unit (lens 24, solid state light sources 44a-44d, light guides 64a-64d, 74) configured to project a predetermined long-distance side light pattern (34) to a relatively long-distance position (34 relative to 1, when compared to 31); and
a short-distance side projection unit (lens 21, solid state light sources 41a-41b, light guides 61a-61b, shade 71) configured to project a predetermined short-distance side light pattern (31) to a relatively short-distance position (31 relative to 1, when compared to at least 34),
wherein the long-distance side projection unit (24, 44a-44d, 64a-64d, 74) and the short-distance side projection unit (21, 41a-41b, 61a-61b, 71) are disposed in a housing (case 11) of the projection device (of 10),
wherein each of the long-distance side projection unit (24, 44a-44d, 64a-64d, 74) and the short-distance side projection unit (21, 41a-41b, 61a-61b, 71) include a projection lens for projecting a light pattern (34 and 31, respectively), and
wherein the projection lens (24) of the long-distance side projection unit (24, 44a-44d, 64a-64d, 74) has a lens surface area smaller than that of the projection lens of the short-distance side projection unit (smaller lens surface area than 21 of 21, 41a-41b, 61a-61b, 71; shown in Figs 3-4; described as projection lens 21 is larger than other projection lenses 22 to 24).
Re Claim 3:
The claim depends upon claim 2.
Sugiyama further discloses wherein the projection lens (24) of the long-distance side projection unit (24, 44a-44d, 64a-64d, 74) has a configuration in which at least one side portion of a circular lens having a predetermined spherical surface or aspherical surface is cut off (top of 24 is shown cut off in Figs 3-4).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 4-15 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all 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 closes prior art of record (Sugiyama) fails to either disclose or suggest the combined structure and functionality of the primary lens as set forth in the claim.
Re Claims 5-9:
The claims contain allowable subject matter due to their dependence on intervening claim 4.
Re Claim 10:
The closes prior art of record (Sugiyama) fails to either disclose or suggest the combined structure and functionality of the primary lens as set forth in the claim.
Re Claims 11-15:
The claims contain allowable subject matter due to their dependence on intervening claim 10.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Okubo (US 20250003566 A1).
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.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
KEITH G. DELAHOUSSAYE JR.
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 2875
/KEITH G. DELAHOUSSAYE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2875
