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 .
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 03/07/24 was filed. The submission is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
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 following
A first scan path, a second scan path, a first scanned beam, a second scanned beam, 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 § 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.
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 1-2 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a1) as being anticipated by Boccara et. al. (US 2013/0235383 A1).
Regarding claim 1 Boccara teaches (figs. 1-8) an optical system, comprising:
(a) a first optical scanner (615) configured to scan a laser beam in a first scanning path and output a first scanned beam (para. 0115);
(b) a first gradient-index (GRIN) lens (509) configured to translate the first scanned beam therethrough (para. 0098);
(c) a second optical scanner (613) configured to scan the first scanned beam in a second scanning path and output as second scanned beam, wherein the second scanning path is defined having scanning trajectory rotated by 90 degrees relative to the first scanning path (para. 0115);
and (d) a second GRIN lens (520) configured to translate the second scanned beam therethrough and emit a light signal therefrom (para. 0098).
Regarding claim 2 Boccara teaches (figs. 1-8) an optical system, where the first and second GRIN lenses include similar astigmatism wavefront profiles (para. 0092).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 3-9 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.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: The secondary GRIN lens located post second scanning structure utilized as a focusing lens.
Claims 10-20 are allowed.
The following is an examiner’s statement of reasons for allowance: The primary reason for allowance is the inclusion of the second GRIN lens for the purpose of aberration removal caused by the primary GRIN lens.
Any comments considered necessary by applicant must be submitted no later than the payment of the issue fee and, to avoid processing delays, should preferably accompany the issue fee. Such submissions should be clearly labeled “Comments on Statement of Reasons for Allowance.”
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. A similar system utilizing a Grin rod as a focusing unit onto the sample is taught by Smith et. al. (US 2013/0150839 A1).
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ROBERT E TALLMAN whose telephone number is (571)270-3958. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 10 a.m. -6 p.m..
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Ricky Mack can be reached at 571-272-2333. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/Robert E. Tallman/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2872
3. The optical system of claim 1, where the second GRIN lens is configured to focus the emitted light signal onto a specimen sample.
4, The optical system of claim 3, wherein the second GRIN lens is operable to direct a resultant light signal emitted from the specimen sample therethrough the second GRIN lens in a propagation direction within the second GRIN lens opposite to a propagation direction of the second scanned beam within the second GRIN lens.
5. The optical system of claim 4, further comprising a dichroic beam splitter operable to direct the resultant light signal toward a light detector.
6. The optical system of claim 5, further comprising: (a) an aberration plate positioned in front of the first GRIN lens such that the aberration plate is configured provide an aberration operable to decrease the focus intensity of the first scanned beam prior to the first scanned beam propagating through the first GRIN lens; and
(b) an aberration correction plate positioned in front of the second GRIN lens such that the aberration correction plate is configured to undo the aberration provided by the aberration plate prior to the second scanned beam propagating through the second GRIN lens.
7. The optical system of claim 6, wherein the aberration correction plate is configured to increase the focus intensity of the second scanned beam prior to the second scanned beam propagating through the second GRIN lens.
8. The optical system of claim 6, wherein the aberration plate is reflective of light.
9. The optical system of claim 6, wherein the aberration plate is transmissive of light.
10. A method of manipulating a light beam within an optical system, comprising:
(a) propagating an initial light beam through a first gradient-index (GRIN) lens and a first scanner to generate a first modified light beam having a desired aberration relative to the initial light beam;
(b) rotating a scanning path of the first modified light beam using a second scanner to generate a second modified light beam; and
(c) propagating the second modified light beam through a second GRIN lens to cancel the desired aberration and generate a resultant light beam.
11. The method of claim 10, wherein the resultant light beam forms a defocusing waveform profile relative to the initial light beam.
12. The method of claim 10, further comprising:
(a) by propagating the initial light beam through the first GRIN lens, subjecting the initial light beam to a first aberration profile; and
(b) by propagating the second modified light beam through the second GRIN lens, subjecting the second modified light beam to a second aberration profile, wherein the first and second aberration profiles are orthogonal relative to each other.
13. The method of claim 10, wherein the scanning path of the first modified light beam is rotated by 90 degrees via the second scanner.
14. The method of claim 10, further comprising:
(a) decreasing the focus intensity of the initial light beam using an aberration plate prior to the initial light beam propagating through the first GRIN lens; and
(b) increasing the focus intensity of the second modified light beam using an aberration correction plate prior to the second modified light beam propagating through the second GRIN lens.
15. The optical system of claim 10, wherein the second GRIN lens is operable to output a second resultant light beam onto a specimen.
16. A method of imaging a specimen, comprising:
(a) initiating a focused light beam;
(b) scanning the focused light beam to form a first scanned light trajectory;
(c) transmitting the first scanned light trajectory through a first gradient-index (GRIN) lens;
(d) after transmitting the first scanned light trajectory through the first GRIN lens, rotating a scanning trajectory of the first scanned light trajectory by 90 degrees to generate a second scanned light trajectory; and
(e) transmitting the second scanned light trajectory through a second GRIN lens; and
(f) after transmitting the second scanned light trajectory through the second GRIN lens, directing the second scanned light trajectory toward the specimen.
17. The method of claim 16, wherein the first and second GRIN lenses include similar wavefront profiles.
18. The method of claim 16, further comprising: transmitting emitted light signals from the specimen through the second GRIN lens.
19. The method of claim 16, further comprising: prior to translating the focused light beam through the first GRIN lens, decreasing the focus intensity of the focused light beam using an aberration plate.
20. The method of claim 19, further comprising: prior to translating the second scanned light trajectory through the second GRIN lens, increasing the focus intensity of the second scanned light trajectory using an aberration correction plate.