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 .
Response to Arguments
The examiner has considered Applicant’s remarks regarding the interpretation of the claim limitations under 35 U.S.C. 112(f). Applicant has amended the claims to replace “unit” with “element” throughout the claims. The examiner agrees that the amended claim language, including “light entrance,” “light extraction unit,” “first light detection element,” “second light detection element,” and “first temperature detection element,” connotes sufficient structure to a person of ordinary skill in the art and therefore the 112f interpretation is no longer maintained.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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 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 1, 4, 10 – 11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Takigawa et al (US 2020/0387131 A1 – hereafter “Takigawa”) in view of Gruler (US 8,269,966 – hereafter “Gruler”).
As per claim 1, Takigawa teaches the following:
A thermal radiation light detection device comprising:
a housing (machining head body container 200) including a plurality of wall portions (see para [0069], FIGS. 2);
a light entrance (termination surface 41, quartz block 25) attached to a wall portion among the plurality of wall portions and configured to cause thermal radiation light to enter the housing (see para [0069], FIGS. 2);
a light extraction including a beam splitter disposed inside housing and configured to extract light of a first wavelength and light of a second wavelength from the thermal radiation light, the second wavelength being different from the first wavelength (see para [0070], [0088], [0091]; FIGS. 2, 4, and 5, wavelength selective mirror 24 and dichloric mirror 26 disposed inside machining head body container 200, configured to reflect light of the wavelength of laser beam 12 as the first wavelength and transmit light of a second wavelength including near-infrared radiant light 123);
a first light detection element attached to a wall portion among the plurality of wall portions and configured to detect the light of the first wavelength (see para [0071] – [0072]; FIG. 2, first image capturing device 13 attached inside machining head 2 with pixels having sensitivity to the wavelength of laser beam 12 as the first wavelength);
a second light detection element attached to a wall portion among the plurality of wall portions and configured to detect the light of the second wavelength, the second light detection element being separate and distinct from the first light detection element (see para [0081], [0082], [0086]; FIG. 3, second image capturing device 14 disposed inside machining head body container 200, separate and distinct from first image capturing device 13, with pixels having sensitivity to light of a wavelength other than that of laser beam 12, configured to detect radiant light 123 as the second wavelength);
and a first temperature detection element attached to a wall portion among the plurality of wall portions (see [0080], [0083]; FIG. 3, second image capturing device 14 disposed on inner wall 202 of machining head body container 200 configured to detect temperature rise of the laser beam introduction side inner wall.
However, Takigawa does not explicitly teach that the wall portion to which the first temperature detection element is attached being different from the wall portion to which the first light detection element is attached.
Gruler, however, teaches a housing with multiple wall portions enclosing both light detection units and temperature sensing units (see col. 13, lines 1 – 12), and explicitly describes placing the temperature sensor at a different location from the light detection units within the housing to enhance measurement accuracy, minimize thermal interference, and accommodate structural integration of multiple sensing units (see col. 21 lines 44-53; col.18 lines 19-31).
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to modify Takigawa in view of Gruler by attaching the temperature detection element to a different wall portion than the light detection element, as Gruler teaches that physically separating the temperature sensor from the light detection units within a multi-wall housing reduces measurement error and avoids thermal interference.
Regarding claim 4, the claim recites “The thermal radiation light detection device according to claim 1, further comprising: a second temperature detection unit element attached to a wall portion among the plurality of wall portions, the wall portion to which the second temperature detection unit element is attached being different from the wall portion to which the second light detection unit element is attached.”
Takigawa fails to teach a second temperature detection element attached to a wall portion different from the wall portion to which the second light detection element is attached.
Gruler, however teaches placing temperature sensors at different locations from light detection units within a multi-wall housing to enhance measurement accuracy, minimize thermal interference, and accommodate structural integration od multiple sensing units (see col. 13, lines 1 – 12; col. 21, lines 44 – 53; col. 18, lines 19 – 31).
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to modify Takigawa in view of Gruler by attaching a second temperature detection element to a different wall portion than the second light detection element in order to reduce measurement error, avoid thermal interference and improve overall detection reliability.
As per claim 10, Takigawa teaches the following:
The thermal radiation light detection device according to claim 1, further comprising:
a processor configured to obtain a temperature of a region having emitted the thermal radiation light, based on a signal output from the first light detection element and a signal output from the second light detection element (see para [0073], [0083]; image processing circuit 35 and image determination circuit 36 configured to process signals from first image capturing device 13 and second image capturing device 14 to determine temperature and abnormality of the region),
wherein the processor corrects at least the signal output from the first light detection element, based on a signal output from the first temperature detection element (see para [0083], [0097]; image processing circuit 35 converts the radiant light image into temperature distribution data and corrects the signal output based on detected temperature values).
As per claim 11, Takigawa teaches the following:
A laser processing device comprising: the thermal radiation light detection device according to claim 1;
a laser light source configured to emit laser light (see para [0065], [0066]; laser oscillator 32 of laser device 3 configured to output laser beam 12 to workpiece 5);
and a laser processing head and an optical fiber configured to guide thermal radiation light emitted from a region on a workpiece irradiated with the laser light, to the thermal radiation light detection device (see para [0067], [0069]; optical fiber 4 configured to propogate laser beam 12 from laser oscillator 31 to machining head 2, and termination surface 41 of optical fiber 4 connected to machining head body container 200 configured to guide thermal radiation light from workpiece 5 irradiated with laser beam 12 into the thermal radiation light detection device).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 2 – 3 and 5 – 9 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.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Manuel Castellon whose telephone number is (571)272-4575. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday 8:00 am - 4:00 pm.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, John Breene can be reached at 571-272-4107. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/MANUEL SALVADOR CASTELLON JR/Examiner, Art Unit 2855
/JOHN E BREENE/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2855
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