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 .
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election without traverse of Group I (claims 1-7) in the reply filed on 11/26/2025 is acknowledged. Claims 8-10 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected invention, there being no allowable generic or linking claim.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement filed 5/25/2023 fails to comply with 37 CFR 1.98(a)(2), which requires a legible copy of each cited foreign patent document; each non-patent literature publication or that portion which caused it to be listed; and all other information or that portion which caused it to be listed. It has been placed in the application file, but the information referred to therein has not been considered.
Drawings
The drawings are objected to under 37 CFR 1.83(a). The drawings must show every feature of the invention specified in the claims. Therefore, the “hair-removal body”, specifically a hair-removal body having all of the claimed elements ON this body. must be shown or the feature(s) canceled from the claim(s). No new matter should be entered.
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.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of 35 U.S.C. 112(a):
(a) IN GENERAL.—The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor or joint inventor of carrying out the invention.
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112:
The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor of carrying out his invention.
Claims 1-7 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), first paragraph, as failing to comply with the written description requirement. The claim(s) contains subject matter which was not described in the specification in such a way as to reasonably convey to one skilled in the relevant art that the inventor or a joint inventor, or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the inventor(s), at the time the application was filed, had possession of the claimed invention.
[Claim 1] The claimed “hair-removal body”, specifically a hair-removal body having all of the claimed/recited elements disposed ON this body, is not sufficiently detailed in the specification. As made clear in the drawing objection, such a body is not shown in the figures. If this body is referring to a seemingly inherent/implicit housing that holds all of the claimed elements (which, again, not shown in the drawings), this is not made clear in the specification, as these elements would be within/inside the housing, not “on” as claimed. Therefore, the specification lacks the sufficient explanation/details as to WHAT this hair-removal body actually is and HOW the claimed elements are disposed ON it.
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 1-7 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 1] The hair-removal body on which the other claimed elements (laser, optical waveguide, heat dissipation unit, cooling unit and controller) are disposed, is indefinite. As discussed above in relation to the drawing objection and written description rejection, it is unclear exactly what structure this refers to and more specifically how the recited elements are disposed ON such a body. For examination purposes, this is interpreted as a housing that contains/holds all of these elements, such that the elements are disposed in/inside/within the hair-removal body, not “on”, as recited in the claims.
The limitation “wherein the laser (1), the optical waveguide (2), the heat dissipation unit, the cooling unit, and the controller are disposed on the hair-removal body, wherein the laser (1) comprises a substrate (11) and a plurality of laser chips (12),wherein the plurality of laser chips (12) is disposed on the substrate (11), and emits a laser beam” is indefinite. Specifically, a plurality of laser chips will inherently and necessarily emit a plurality of laser beams, i.e. one beam for each chip. Therefore, the laser emits a plurality of beams (plural), not “a laser beam” (singular) as claimed. For examination purposes, the examiner will interpret this claim language as require a plurality of laser beams, one beam for each chip.
[Claim 5] The term “beams” lacks antecedent basis. As pointed out above, in relation to claim 1, the claim language only requires a single beam, not multiple.
Claim Interpretation
In terms of “the optical waveguide… configured for shaping the laser beam” recited in claim 1. The examiner contends that any/every material shapes light due to refraction. It is emphasized that applicant’s optical waveguide is a block of sapphire (2). Therefore, any similar sapphire block/window will inherently/necessarily “shape” the laser beam.
Regarding claim 5, it is noted that “and/or” is being interpreted as “or”, therefore only one of the listed limitations is required, as they are listed in the alternative. Furthermore, the limitation “wherein beams… have the same or different wavelengths” is inherently met by every device/reference that teaches a plurality of chips, as these are the only two options, i.e. same or different wavelengths. Therefore, even if the art is silent to whether or not the beams are the same or different wavelengths, the claim language is inherently met as there are no other options.
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.
Claims 1-5 and 7 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over WO 2021/003950 to Pan (or in the alternative to US 2022/0192745 to Pan)* in view of US 2017/0340386 to Li et al.
*For clarity, the WO 2021/003950 reference qualifies as prior art under 102(a)(1) as it was published before the effective filing date of the current application. On the other hand, US 2022/0192745 (which is a CON of the WO reference) qualifies as prior art under 102(a)(2), as it was filed before the effective filing date of the current application. Both are being used in the current rejection, however for citation purposes, only the US reference will be used, as it’s published in English.
[Claims 1 and 5] Pan discloses a handheld home laser hair removal device (portable depilation instrument 100; Figs. 1-2), comprising: a hair-removal body (shell 1, including upper shell 101 and lower shell 102; Figs. 1-2), a light source (emitter 222; Fig. 7), an optical waveguide (cold compress portion 221; Fig. 7), a heat dissipation unit (heat dissipation mechanism 21, including fan 211 and heat conductive component 212; Figs. 4-6), a cooling unit (refrigeration element 223; Figs. 7 and 11), and a controller (circuit apparatus 3; Fig. 2), wherein the light source, the optical waveguide, the heat dissipation unit, the cooling unit, and the controller are disposed
wherein the optical waveguide (cold compress portion 221) is disposed in an optical path of the laser beam, and is configured for shaping the laser beam, and a treatment window (distal-most end of cold compress portion 221; seen in Fig. 1) is formed on an end surface of the optical waveguide (Pars 0037, 0039 and Par 0056-59 which discloses that the cold compress portion is made of sapphire, i.e. the same material applicant’s optical waveguide is made of, and is used to transmit light from the light source 222 to the skin of the user. As discussed above, in the claim interpretation section, a sapphire block is inherently capable of shaping/refracting light; see MPEP 2114),
wherein the heat dissipation unit (21) comprises a radiator (heat dissipation fin 2114; Fig. 5), which dissipates heat (Pars 0050-51),
wherein the cooling unit cools the optical waveguide (Pars 0056 and 0058),
wherein the controller (circuit apparatus 3) is electrically connected to the light source (222), the heat dissipation unit (21), and the cooling unit (223), respectively (“The depilation apparatus 2, the circuit apparatus 3, and the power supply apparatus 4 are all sequentially electrically connected” Par 0041 and “Both the emitter 222 and the refrigeration element 223 are electrically connected to the circuit apparatus 3” Par 0056. Regarding the heat dissipation unit 21 being connected to the controller, i.e. circuit board 3, the examiner contends that because the heat dissipation unit 21 is part of the depilation apparatus 2, and the depilation apparatus is electrically connected to the 6
controller/circuit, then so is the heat dissipation unit; see Par 0047 and Fig. 4 which make it clear that the heat dissipation unit 21 is part of the depilation apparatus 2. Furthermore, the examiner contends that in order to operate/function all of these elements must inherently/necessarily be electrically connected to the controller).
Pan discloses an intense pulsed light tube for the light source (Par 0059), and therefore fails to explicitly teach a laser, as claimed. However, in the same field of endeavor, Li teaches a similar laser hair removal device (Par 0002; Figs. 2-4) including a laser source (VCSEL array 4) comprising a substrate (package substrate 3) and a plurality of laser chips (“multiple VCSEL chips”; at least Pars 0030, 0035 and 0041-42), wherein the plurality of laser chips is disposed on the substrate (Figs. 2-4; Par 0035), and emits laser beams (3 arrows in Fig. 2 extending from the VCSEL array 4 and exiting the device at the optical window 6; see also Par 0042), the laser beam is perpendicular to the substrate (Par 0029; Fig. 2. Furthermore, Par 0003 of applicant’s specification makes it clear that this is an inherent feature/property of VCSEL sources). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to substitute the IPL tube light source taught by Pan for the VCSEL array taught Li as a simple substitution of one known light source for another to obtain predictable results, i.e. perform laser hair removal and/or other laser dermatological treatments with a portable, hand-held device.
[Claim 2] Pan discloses a semiconductor cooling sheet (refrigeration element 223, Figs. 7 and 11) and a heat transmitter (heat conductive element 2113),wherein a cooling surface (refrigeration surface 2232; Fig. 13) of the semiconductor cooling sheet abuts the optical waveguide (Figs. 7, 11 and 13; Pars 0056 and 0064-66), and a heating surface (heating surface 2231; Fig. 13) of the semiconductor cooling sheet abuts the heat transmitter (Fig 11; Pars 0064-66), wherein the heat transmitter (2113) is connected to the heat dissipation unit (Figs. 5 and 11; Par 0064)
[Claim 3] Pan discloses an optical waveguide holder (see zoomed-in portion of Fig. 8, below. While the holder is not an element that is specifically labelled or discussed in the specification, it’s clear from the drawings that such a holder exists; see element surrounding cold compress portion 221 with screws, a cavity/opening and a bottom lip where the optical waveguide is held), wherein the optical waveguide holder is provided with a fixing slot (cavity/opening; see zoomed-in Fig. 8, below), the optical waveguide (221) is disposed in the fixing slot (as can be seen in the figure, the optical waveguide is disposed within the cavity formed between the two sides with the screws), a first surface (top) of the optical waveguide is exposed by the fixing slot, and the cooling surface (refrigeration surface 2232) of the semiconductor cooling sheet (223) abuts the first surface (top; as shown in Figs. 7, 8, 10, 11 and 12) of the optical waveguide (Par 0065)
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[Claim 4] Pan discloses an optical waveguide cover plate (heat conductive component 212; Figs. 6, 8 and 10-13), wherein the optical waveguide cover plate (212), along with the optical waveguide holder (holder with screws, as discussed in claim 3, above), fixes the optical waveguide (221), and the optical waveguide cover plate (212) covers the first surface (top) of the optical waveguide (Figs. 10 and 13), wherein the optical waveguide cover plate (212) is provided with a through hole (vents 2121, 2122 and 2124), exposing the heating surface of the semiconductor cooling sheet (Figs. 10-12; Pars 0063-66)
[Claim 7] Pan is discussed above, but fails to explicitly teach the radiator abutting the substrate/light source. However, Li discloses a radiator (heat sink 2) abutting the substrate (3) of light source (4); see Par 0030 and Figs. 2-3. Therefore, it would have been obvious to modify Pan and Li so that the radiator/heat sink abuts the substrate of the light source to remove heat from the light source and provide an additional cooling effect to the light source (in addition to the cooling unit, i.e. refrigeration element 223 of Pan and semiconductor chilling plates 7 of Li), as taught by Li.
Claim 6 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Pan and Li as applied to claim 4 above, and further in view of US 2020/0360714 to Shterzer.
Pan and Li are discussed above, but fail to explicitly teach a function indicator board comprising a plurality of light markers with different colors. However, in the same field of endeavor Shterzer discloses a laser dermatological handpiece (Figs. 1 and 9A; Par 0003) that includes a function indicator board (status indication lights 908, which inherently include a circuit board) comprising a plurality of light markers with different colors (Pars 0186-188). Therefore, it would have been obvious to modify the device taught by Pan and Li to include the function indicator board taught by Shterzer as a known way to provide different color indicators to a user of the dermatological laser treatment to inform them of the status/functionality of the device.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. US 2022/0346871 to Duan discloses a similar laser hair-removal device with an optical waveguide, heat dissipation unit and cooling unit (Fig 12).
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Lynsey C Eiseman whose telephone number is (571)270-7035. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Thursday and alternating Fridays 7 to 4 EST.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, David Hamaoui can be reached at 571-270-5625. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/LYNSEY C Eiseman/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3796