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 .
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on 12/16/2025 has been entered.
Response to Amendment
This office action is in response to the communications filed on 12/16/2025, concerning Application No. 17/809,391. The amendments to the claims filed on 12/16/2025 are acknowledged. Presently, claims 1-3 and 5 are pending.
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Claim Objections
Claims 1-3 and 5 are objected to because of the following informalities:
Claim 1, line 2, the limitation “each configured to generate” should be changed to “each of the plurality of the elements configured to generate”;
Claim 1, line 5, the limitation “each corresponding to a respective one” should be changed to “each of the plurality of the acquisition circuits corresponding to a respective one”;
Claim 1, line 8, the limitation “from the reflected wave received by the one of the plurality of the elements” should be changed to “from the reflected wave received by the respective one of the plurality of the elements”;
Claim 1, line 9, the limitation “each corresponding to a respective one” should be changed to “each of the plurality of the multiplication circuits corresponding to a respective one”;
Claim 1, line 15, the limitation “each corresponding to one” should be changed to “each of the plurality of the application circuits corresponding to a respective one”;
Claim 1, line 19, the limitation “a signal obtained by the one of the plurality” should be changed to “a signal obtained by the respective one of the plurality”;
Claim 2, lines 2-3, the limitation “each corresponding to a respective one of the application circuits” should be changed to “each of the plurality of the weight calculation circuits corresponding to a respective one of the plurality of the application circuits”;
Claim 2, line 9, the limitation “signal obtained by the one of the multiplication circuits” should be changed to “signal obtained by the respective one of the plurality of the multiplication circuits”;
Claim 3, line 5, the limitation “a signal output from the one of the elements” should be changed to “a signal output from the respective one of the plurality of the elements”;
Claim 3, lines 10-11, the limitation “signal obtained by the one of the multiplication circuits” should be changed to “signal obtained by the respective one of the plurality of the multiplication circuits”;
Claim 5, line 3, the limitation “each configured to generate” should be changed to “each of the plurality of the elements configured to generate”;
Claim 5, line 5, the limitation “each corresponding to a respective one” should be changed to “each of the plurality of the acquisition functions corresponding to a respective one”;
Claim 5, line 8, the limitation “reflected wave received by the one of the plurality of the elements” should be changed to “reflected wave received by the respective one of the plurality of the elements”;
Claim 5, line 9, the limitation “each corresponding to a respective one” should be changed to “each of the plurality of the multiplication functions corresponding to a respective one”;
Claim 5, line 15, the limitation “each corresponding to one” should be changed to “each of the plurality of the application functions corresponding to a respective one”; and
Claim 5, line 19, the limitation “a signal obtained by the one of the plurality” should be changed to “a signal obtained by the respective one of the plurality”.
Appropriate correction is required.
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 1-3 and 5 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Gilmour (US Patent 4,987,563, of record, hereinafter Gilmour).
Regarding independent claims 1 and 5, Gilmour discloses an ultrasound diagnosis apparatus (see, e.g., Col. 1, lines 6-17, “apparatus on a carrier vehicle repetitively transmits acoustic pulses (pings) to sonify a target area. Energy reflected back from the target area impinges upon multi-element elongated receiver transducer, and beam-forming circuitry creates one or more receiver beams such that the energy reflected from adjacent narrow strips on the target area may be portrayed as a line-by-line picture that is a pattern of highlights and shadows analogous to an optically viewed panorama illuminated by side lighting, with objects outlined in such a way as to permit their identification”, where the permitting of the identification of the objects outlined in the images indicates diagnosis capabilities of the apparatus) and a corresponding non-transitory storage medium storing a program that causes a computer to perform (see, e.g., Col. 6, lines 10-13, “If the implementation of the invention is performed by a digital computer, the signals provided on branches 42 and 43 may be stored and all of the multiplications required, performed in a fraction of a second”), the ultrasound diagnosis apparatus comprising:
an ultrasound probe (transmitting transducer 35 and transducer array 30 comprised of N transducer elements) including a plurality of elements, each configured to generate a transmission ultrasound wave in response to an applied voltage and to receive a reflected wave from a subject (see, e.g., Fig. 7 with Col. 4, lines 12-24, “FIG. 7 illustrates a functional block diagram of circuitry which may be utilized to accomplish the objectives herein. The apparatus includes the transducer array 30 comprised of N transducer elements, which for the present example is 4. Transmitting means 32 includes a transmitter 33 governed by a timing and control circuit 34 operable to periodically energize transmitting transducer 35 for the projection of acoustic energy toward a target area under investigation. The reflected acoustic energy resulting from the transmission causes each of the transducer elements in array 30 to provide an output signal designated respectively A, B, C and D”);
a plurality of acquisition circuits, each corresponding to a respective one of the plurality of the elements and configured to acquire a reception signal (output signals A, B, C and D) obtained from the reflected wave received by the one of the plurality of the elements (see, e.g., Col. 2, lines 60-68 to Col. 3, lines 1-7, “Increased speed of operation may be accomplished by providing an array of N transducer elements such as illustrated in FIG. 4 where N=4. In response to the impingement of acoustic energy, the transducer elements a, b, c, and d of the array provide respective output signals A, B, C and D, where A, B, C, and D are simplified representations of a complex output signal. The elements may be contained in a housing 18 which in turn is mounted on a carrier vehicle 20 which moves in the direction of travel indicated by arrow 22 over or through a target area under investigation. The array of elements extend along a line and occupy adjacent positions as indicated by position numbers 1 through 4 such that element a occupying position 4 is first in the direction of travel while element d occupying position 1 is last”, and Figs. 7-8 with Col. 4, lines 12-24, “FIG. 7 illustrates a functional block diagram of circuitry which may be utilized to accomplish the objectives herein. The apparatus includes the transducer array 30 comprised of N transducer elements, which for the present example is 4. Transmitting means 32 includes a transmitter 33 governed by a timing and control circuit 34 operable to periodically energize transmitting transducer 35 for the projection of acoustic energy toward a target area under investigation. The reflected acoustic energy resulting from the transmission causes each of the transducer elements in array 30 to provide an output signal designated respectively A, B, C and D”);
a plurality of multiplication circuits (cross-products circuit 40), each corresponding to a respective one of the plurality of the acquisition circuits and configured to multiply a first reception signal (output signals A, B, C and D) output from one of the plurality of the acquisition circuits (30) and a second reception signal (output signals A, B, C and D) output from an other one of the plurality of the acquisition circuits (30) (see, e.g., Fig. 7 with Col. 4, lines 21-48, “The reflected acoustic energy resulting from the transmission causes each of the transducer elements in array 30 to provide an output signal designated respectively A, B, C and D. The output signals are provided to a cross-products circuit 40 by way of two branches 42 and 43…”, and Fig. 8, where the cross-products circuit 40 is shown to be comprised of a plurality of multipliers for multiplying two of the representative output signals illustrated to derive cross-products);
a plurality of application circuits (circuit 50), each corresponding to one of the plurality of the multiplication circuits (40) and configured to apply a weight coefficient that is based on the first and second reception signals (output signals A, B, C and D), to a signal obtained by the one of the plurality of the multiplication circuits (40) (see, e.g., Figs. 7-8 with Col. 4, lines 44-48, “The results of the cross-products operation in circuit 40 are weighted by multiplying by certain coefficients in circuit 50, the results of which are summed in summing circuit 52 which provides the output beam signal on line 53 for display or other purposes”, and Col. 5, lines 35-43, “These coefficients, 6, 4 and 2 in Equation (4), may be derived from the following formula: 2(P-K) (5), where P equals the number of element positions (which are greater than the number of elements) and K represents the particular spacing between elements”, and Col. 5, lines 57-63, “The multiplication circuit 50 contains a plurality of multipliers with the value of a multiplier indicated within the multiplication circles of FIG. 8 and derived in accordance with Equation (5) where P=11. The cross-products signals multiplied by the coefficients are then all summed in summing circuit 52 which provides the output beam signal on line 53”, where the weight coefficients of Gilmour are disclosed as being calculated based on the number of element positions and the particular spacing between elements, which is herein interpreted as types of correlation between the multiplied/cross-products signals of the respective reception signals output from the respective elements, in which the elements have a particular position/spacing/phase difference);
an composite circuit (summing circuit 52) configured to combine signals based on results obtained by the plurality of the application circuits (50) (see, e.g., Figs. 7-8 with Col. 4, lines 44-48, “The results of the cross-products operation in circuit 40 are weighted by multiplying by certain coefficients in circuit 50, the results of which are summed in summing circuit 52 which provides the output beam signal on line 53”, and Col. 5, lines 57-63, “The multiplication circuit 50 contains a plurality of multipliers with the value of a multiplier indicated within the multiplication circles of FIG. 8 and derived in accordance with Equation (5) where P=11. The cross-products signals multiplied by the coefficients are then all summed in summing circuit 52 which provides the output beam signal on line 53”);
generation circuitry (line 53) configure to generate ultrasound image data based on a signal resulting from the combining of the signals by the composite circuit (see, e.g., Figs. 7-8 with Col. 4, lines 44-48, “The results of the cross-products operation in circuit 40 are weighted by multiplying by certain coefficients in circuit 50, the results of which are summed in summing circuit 52 which provides the output beam signal on line 53 for display or other purposes”, and Col. 5, lines 57-63, “The multiplication circuit 50 contains a plurality of multipliers with the value of a multiplier indicated within the multiplication circles of FIG. 8 and derived in accordance with Equation (5) where P=11. The cross-products signals multiplied by the coefficients are then all summed in summing circuit 52 which provides the output beam signal on line 53”); and
controlling circuitry (line 53) configured to cause an output device to output the ultrasound image data generated by the generation circuitry (see, e.g., Figs. 7-8 with Col. 4, lines 44-48, “The results of the cross-products operation in circuit 40 are weighted by multiplying by certain coefficients in circuit 50, the results of which are summed in summing circuit 52 which provides the output beam signal on line 53 for display or other purposes”).
Regarding claim 2, Gilmour discloses the ultrasound diagnosis apparatus according to claim 1, as set forth above. Gilmour further discloses the ultrasound diagnosis apparatus further comprising a plurality of weight calculation circuits (circuit 50), each corresponding to a respective one of the application circuits and configured to calculate the weight coefficient based on phase information between the first and second reception signals, wherein each of the plurality of the application circuits (circuit 50) applies the weight coefficient calculated by a corresponding one of the plurality of the weight calculation circuits to the signal obtained by the one of the multiplication circuits (cross-products circuit 40) (see, e.g., Figs. 7-8 with Col. 4, lines 39-48, “The delayed or stored signals may be transferred to the cross-product circuit 40 in response to a transfer signal on line 46 […] The results of the cross-products operation in circuit 40 are weighted by multiplying by certain coefficients in circuit 50, the results of which are summed in summing circuit 52 which provides the output beam signal on line 53 for display or other purposes”, and Col. 5, lines 35-43, “These coefficients, 6, 4 and 2 in Equation (4), may be derived from the following formula: 2(P-K) (5), where P equals the number of element positions (which are greater than the number of elements) and K represents the particular spacing between elements”, and Col. 5, lines 57-63, “The multiplication circuit 50 contains a plurality of multipliers with the value of a multiplier indicated within the multiplication circles of FIG. 8 and derived in accordance with Equation (5) where P=11. The cross-products signals multiplied by the coefficients are then all summed in summing circuit 52 which provides the output beam signal on line 53”, where the weight coefficients of Gilmour are disclosed as being calculated based on the number of element positions and the particular spacing between elements, which is herein interpreted as types of correlation between the multiplied/cross-products signals of the respective reception signals output from the respective elements, in which the elements have a particular position/spacing/phase difference).
Regarding claim 3, Gilmour discloses the ultrasound diagnosis apparatus according to claim 1, as set forth above. Gilmour further discloses wherein each of the plurality of the acquisition circuits acquires the reception signal (output signals A, B, C and D) by performing a delay process on a signal output from the one of the elements (N transducer elements) (see, e.g., Col. 4, lines 17-39, “Transmitting means 32 includes a transmitter 33 governed by a timing and control circuit 34 operable to periodically energize transmitting transducer 35 for the projection of acoustic energy toward a target area under investigation. The reflected acoustic energy resulting from the transmission causes each of the transducer elements in array 30 to provide an output signal designated respectively A, B, C and D. The output signals are provided to a cross-products circuit 40 by way of two branches 42 and 43. Branch 42 includes a delay or storage means 44 such that the four output signals which are delayed represent those signals resulting from a transmission at time t.sub.1 (or t.sub.i). […] Delay 44 may be analog in nature or, if the functions are provided by a digital computer, delay 44 would be a storage, in which case analog-to-digital circuitry would be provided for converting the transducer element output signals to digital form”); and
wherein each of the plurality of the application circuits (circuit 50) applies the weight coefficient based on a phase difference between the first and second reception signals to the signal obtained by the one of the multiplication circuits (cross-products circuit 40) (see, e.g., Figs. 7-8 with Col. 4, lines 44-48, “The results of the cross-products operation in circuit 40 are weighted by multiplying by certain coefficients in circuit 50, the results of which are summed in summing circuit 52 which provides the output beam signal on line 53 for display or other purposes”, and Col. 5, lines 35-43, “These coefficients, 6, 4 and 2 in Equation (4), may be derived from the following formula: 2(P-K) (5), where P equals the number of element positions (which are greater than the number of elements) and K represents the particular spacing between elements”, and Col. 5, lines 57-63, “The multiplication circuit 50 contains a plurality of multipliers with the value of a multiplier indicated within the multiplication circles of FIG. 8 and derived in accordance with Equation (5) where P=11. The cross-products signals multiplied by the coefficients are then all summed in summing circuit 52 which provides the output beam signal on line 53”, where the weight coefficients of Gilmour are disclosed as being calculated based on the number of element positions and the particular spacing between elements, which is herein interpreted as types of correlation between the multiplied/cross-products signals of the respective reception signals output from the respective elements, in which the elements have a particular position/spacing/phase difference).
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments, see Remarks filed 12/16/2025, have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
Regarding Gilmour (US Patent 4,987,563), Applicant argues that “the '563 patent fails to disclose at least a plurality of application circuits, each corresponding to one of the plurality of the multiplication circuits and configured to apply a weight coefficient that is based on the first and second reception signals, to a signal obtained by the one of the plurality of multiplication circuits, as recited in amended Claim 1” (see page 8 of Remarks filed 12/16/2025).
Examiner respectfully disagrees and emphasizes that Gilmour does disclose each and every limitation in the amended independent claims 1 and 5, as set forth above. Examiner emphasizes that Gilmour discloses a plurality of application circuits (circuit 50), each corresponding to one of the plurality of the multiplication circuits (40) and configured to apply a weight coefficient that is based on the first and second reception signals (output signals A, B, C and D), to a signal obtained by the one of the plurality of the multiplication circuits (40) (see, e.g., Figs. 7-8 with Col. 4, lines 44-48, “The results of the cross-products operation in circuit 40 are weighted by multiplying by certain coefficients in circuit 50, the results of which are summed in summing circuit 52 which provides the output beam signal on line 53 for display or other purposes”, and Col. 5, lines 35-43, “These coefficients, 6, 4 and 2 in Equation (4), may be derived from the following formula: 2(P-K) (5), where P equals the number of element positions (which are greater than the number of elements) and K represents the particular spacing between elements”, and Col. 5, lines 57-63, “The multiplication circuit 50 contains a plurality of multipliers with the value of a multiplier indicated within the multiplication circles of FIG. 8 and derived in accordance with Equation (5) where P=11. The cross-products signals multiplied by the coefficients are then all summed in summing circuit 52 which provides the output beam signal on line 53”, where the weight coefficients of Gilmour are disclosed as being calculated based on the number of element positions and the particular spacing between elements, which is herein interpreted as types of correlation between the multiplied/cross-products signals of the respective reception signals output from the respective elements, in which the elements have a particular position/spacing/phase difference).
Therefore, the examiner respectfully emphasizes that Gilmour does disclose each and every limitation in the amended independent claims 1 and 5, as set forth above.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure: Freeman et al. (US 2005/0068221 A1); Miller (US 2005/0004464 A1); Nakamura et al. (US Patent No. 5,807,259 A); and Pridham et al. (US Patent No. 4,170,766 A).
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/T.D./Examiner, Art Unit 3798
/PASCAL M BUI PHO/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3798