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 .
Drawings
The drawings are objected to because in figure 9 element 25 should be labeled as “scanning means”, element 23 as “light emitting means” or “laser(s)”, element 20 as “electronic control means”. Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. The figure or figure number of an amended drawing should not be labeled as “amended.” If a drawing figure is to be canceled, the appropriate figure must be removed from the replacement sheet, and where necessary, the remaining figures must be renumbered and appropriate changes made to the brief description of the several views of the drawings for consistency. Additional replacement sheets may be necessary to show the renumbering of the remaining figures. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
Specification
The abstract of the disclosure is objected to because the word “means” (six instances) is legal phraseology. Correction is required. See MPEP § 608.01(b).
The disclosure is objected to because of the following informalities: The reference to specific claim numbers 1 and 13 on page 3 of the specification. This is not permitted. Please note that claims are subject to amendment, cancellation and renumbering during prosecution.
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Interpretation
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(f):
(f) Element in Claim for a Combination. – An element in a claim for a combination may be expressed as a means or step for performing a specified function without the recital of structure, material, or acts in support thereof, and such claim shall be construed to cover the corresponding structure, material, or acts described in the specification and equivalents thereof.
The following is a quotation of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph:
An element in a claim for a combination may be expressed as a means or step for performing a specified function without the recital of structure, material, or acts in support thereof, and such claim shall be construed to cover the corresponding structure, material, or acts described in the specification and equivalents thereof.
In claim 1 on lines 4 and 5 the phrase “scanning means (25) are moved to deflect the light beam (27) line by line over the marking area” invokes 35 U.S.C. 112(f) by the word “means” followed by the function “are moved to deflect the light beam line by line over the marking area” that does not recite sufficient structure to perform the function. Another such limitation in claim 13 on line 4 is “scanning means (25) for deflecting the light beam (27)” that invokes 35 U.S.C. 112(f) by the word “means” followed by the function “for deflecting the light beam” that does not recite sufficient structure to perform the function. The scanning means (25) may comprise at one or more movable deflection elements such as mirrors or lenses, or one or more optical fibers that are translationally moved or rotated about different axes. The two deflection elements are preferably galvanometer scanning mirrors (see page 5).
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.
Claim(s) 1,2,4-6,10,13 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102 (a)(1) as being anticipated by Hasebe et al. in European Patent No. 657,850 . Hasebe et al. discloses a method for applying a marking within a marking area on an object, in which at least one light beam (laser light) is emitted with light emitting means (laser source, unidentified, see column 5 ,line 1), scanning means (scanning optics) are moved to deflect the light beam line by line over the marking area, while the light emitting means is switched between being activated or deactivated (ON/OFF data) according to the marking to be applied, wherein (see figures 16-18A-B for instance) each start of a line movement of the light beam over the object, the scanning means is moved such that its deflection direction points at a line starting point outside the marking area (see segments 9-10, 11-12,3-5 and 4-6 of figure 16) and the scanning means is accelerated such that its deflection direction is accelerated from the line starting point towards the marking area wherein the light emitting means is deactivated while the deflection direction points somewhere outside the marking area (see Figures 13A-13B, column 3, lines 17-28, figures 14A-B and column 11, lines 31-42). Regarding claim 2, see last sentence of the abstract. Regarding claim 13, Hasebe et al. discloses an apparatus for applying a marking within a marking area on an object, in which at least one light beam (laser light) is emitted with light emitting means (laser source, unidentified, see column 5 ,line 1), scanning means (scanning optics) are moved to deflect the light beam line by line over the marking area, while the light emitting means is switched between being activated or deactivated (ON/OFF data) according to the marking to be applied, wherein (see figures 16-18A-B for instance) each start of a line movement of the light beam over the object, the scanning means is moved such that its deflection direction points at a line starting point outside the marking area (see segments 9-10, 11-12,3-5 and 4-6 of figure 16) and the scanning means is accelerated such that its deflection direction is accelerated from the line starting point towards the marking area wherein the light emitting means is deactivated while the deflection direction points somewhere outside the marking area (see Figures 13A-13B, column 3, lines 17-28, figures 14A-B and column 11, lines 31-42). Regarding claims 4-6, see figures 12-20 and column 11, line 20 to column 14, line 13. Regarding claim 10, see figures 12A-12B and 18A, 18 B.
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 3 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hasebe et al. (850) in view of Tanaka in CN 101355014 A . Tanaka in China Patent No. 101355014 A, published 28 January 2099 teaches rotating a galvanometer mirror at a constant speed to control the speed of the scanning laser beam (e.g see abstract). It would have been obvious to adapt Hasebe et al. in view of Tanaka to provide this to control the speed of the laser beam at a constant speed.
Claim 11 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hasebe et al.(850) in view of Sans I Ravellat et al. in U.S. Patent No. 6,201,210. Hasebe et al. (850) laser marks along a line. Sans I Ravellat et al. teach using multiple lasers (laser diode) to create a mark through multiple dots. It would have been obvious to adapt Hasebe et al. (850) in view of Sans I Ravellat et al. to provide this to more quickly laser mark.
Claim 14 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hasebe et al. (850) in view of Hasebe et al. in European Patent No. 661,867 A2. Hasebe et al. teaches two deflection elements (3a, 3b) that are mirrors that are jointly controlled for line movement. It would have been obvious to adapt Hasebe et al. (850) in view of Hasebe et al. (867) to provide this to control the marking process.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 7,8,9 and 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.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Geoffrey S Evans whose telephone number is (571)272-1174. The examiner can normally be reached 7:00 am to 2:30 pm. M-F.
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/GEOFFREY S EVANS/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3761
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