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 .
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 08/03/2023 and 08/07/2024. The submission is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
Claim Objections
Claim 2 is objected to because of the following informalities: the phrase “a received light intensity” in line 3 should be amended –the received light intensity--. Appropriate correction is required.
Claim 2 is objected to because of the following informalities: the phrase “a predetermined threshold value” in line 9 should be amended to read –at a predetermined threshold value--. Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 5-7 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Claim 5 recite the limitation “at least the light receiving elements” this limitation is not defined by the claims, which renders the claims indefinite. One with ordinary skill in the art would not be able to know if it is only one light receiving element as claimed in claim 1, or multiple light receiving elements as claimed in claim 5. The scope of the claim remains indeterminate because of the claimed “at least the light receiving elements”.
Claim 6 recite the limitation “arranged on all four sides” this limitation is not defined by the claims, which renders the claims indefinite. One with ordinary skill in the art would not be able to know the light receiving elements are arranged on all four sides of which structural elements. The scope of the claim remains indeterminate because of the claimed “arranged on all four sides”.
Claim 7 recite the limitation “at least the light emitting elements” this limitation is not defined by the claims, which renders the claims indefinite. One with ordinary skill in the art would not be able to know if it is only one light emitting element as claimed in claim 1, or multiple light emitting elements as claimed in claim 7. The scope of the claim remains indeterminate because of the claimed “at least the light emitting elements”.
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, 4, 8 and 9 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Tetsuo et al (JP 2011-179986, (NEC AVIO INFRARED TECHNOLOGIES Co Ltd) foreign reference in IDS mailed on 08/03/2023) (Examiner notes that paragraphs cited in the office action are from the machine translated version of the reference).
As to claims 1 and 9, Tetsuo teaches a temperature measuring device (thermometer 101, par.12-17, fig.1 and 9) and method, comprising: a temperature sensor (thermopile sensor unit 110, par.15-17, fig.1) that measures a temperature of a measurement object in a non-contact manner with the measurement object (non-contact thermometer that measures body temperature from a forehead of a subject in a non-contact manner, abstract, par.12-17, fig.1 and 9);
a light emitting element that emits light toward the measurement object (two red LED light emitting elements that illuminates the forehead of a subject, first light emitting opening 115a in which the first red LED unit 114a is embedded and a second light emitting opening 115b in which the second red LED unit 114b is embedded, par.14-15, fig.1 and 9);
a light receiving element that receives reflected light of the light emitted from the light emitting element (light receiving elements, the light receiving opening 109 and photodiode 108 that receives light reflected from the forehead of the subject, par.14-15, fig.1 and 9); and
a deviation detecting unit (light focus determination unit, par.38-46) that detects a relative positional deviation between the measurement object and the temperature sensor based on a received light intensity by the light receiving element (light focus determination unit determines the positional relationship between the subject and the thermometer 101, when the subject 901 is positioned at the normal position P902, the light-emitting points of the first red LED unit 115a and the second red LED unit 115b coincide with the center of the forehead of the subject 901 at one point, is called “in focus state” where thermometer 101 starts measuring body temperature, but when the subject 901 is located at the position P904, the light-emitting point of the first red LED unit 115a is located on the left side of the forehead of the subject 901, and the light emitting point of the second red LED unit 115b is located on the right side of the forehead of the subject 901, which are away from each other, thermometer 101 does not measure body temperature and the subject has to change position until the two light points coincide with the center of the forehead of the subject, par.38-47, fig.1 and 9).
As to claim 4, Tetsuo teaches a temperature measuring device, wherein the light emitting element and the light receiving element are attached to the temperature sensor (light emitting and receiving elements are attached to the same top plate where temperature sensor 110 is attached to, so inherently the light emitting element, light receiving element and temperature sensor are attached to each other, as best seen in fig.1-2).
As to claim 8, Tetsuo teaches a temperature measuring device, wherein the light emitting element performs light emission intermittently or in a mode in which a strength of a light emission intensity is changed (light changes brightness/intensity to determine presence of the forehead of the subject, par.43-47).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 2 and 3 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.
Claims 5-7 would be allowable if rewritten to overcome the rejection(s) under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), 2nd paragraph, set forth in this Office action and to include 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 MAY A ABOUELELA whose telephone number is (571)270-7917. The examiner can normally be reached 8-5.
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/MAY A ABOUELELA/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3791