DETAILED ACTION
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Claims 1-4, 15-18 and 20 are currently pending.
Claim(s) 1-4, 15-18 and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to the claim(s) have been considered but are moot in view of the new grounds of rejection presented below.
Attention is brought to paragraph 25 of the reference to High, which further discloses that a bellows (31) may be utilized “to control the amount/intensity of light passing between the image capture device (20) and the lens (30, the lens (30) and the illuminator (40), and/or the image capture device (20) and the illuminator (40)” (par. 25). This recitation suggests that the location of the bellows within the optical path of the system, is variable based upon a desired intensity modulation.
High also explicitly discloses that the imaging system (10) and image capture device (20) may be under computer control, and the computer may be utilized “to control the various moving components” (par. 46). Further, High explicitly discloses “the imaging process may be fully automatic” (par. 47).
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.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claim(s) 1, 4, 15-16, 18 and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US Publication 2013/0329212 to High, in view of US Publication 2011/0228063 to Smith et al. and in further view of US Publication 2014/0191107 to Lee et al.
In regards to claims 1, 4, 15-16, 18 and 20, High discloses and shows in Figures 1-6C, a system and method of aligning a gemstone with a digital camera, the method comprising:
by a computer (104) with a processor and memory (102), in communication with a digital camera (20), a bellows (31) (applicant’s adjustable aperture) mounted on the digital camera, a light source (40), and at least one rotation motor (67a, 66, 64a) to adjust pitch and roll of a stage (par. 25, 37-39, 42, 45-51, 54-55; wherein a gemstone stage is controlled based on an automated alignment and positioning algorithm to ensure optimal alignment of a gemstone for real-time, continuous imaging of a gemstone),
sending instruction to a light source to generate a source beam of light that is directed toward a surface of the gemstone (par. 27, 46-47);
determining if the gemstone on the stage is aligned with the digital camera, by analyzing a captured digital image of the gemstone taken by the digital camera (par. 45-50),
if the gemstone is not aligned, by the computer, aligning the gemstone with the camera by:
receive a beam of reflected light reflected from the surface of the gemstone and capturing, by the digital camera, an initial image of the gemstone (par. 45-50; wherein a camera receives real-time, continuous images of a gemstone);
determining a location and a tilt of the gemstone based on the initial image (par. 45-50; wherein an initial position may be oriented perpendicular to the gemstone stage such that the gemstone’s table is in view of the imaging device);
sending instruction to the motor to rotate the stage on at least one of the pitch and roll axis to align the tilt of the gemstone with the digital camera so that a table of the gemstone is nearly perpendicular to the digital camera and the table and a table reflection is visible in a field of view of the camera (par. 45-50; wherein the pitch, yaw, roll and focal position of the gemstone are controlled by various scanning motors to obtain continuous images of the gemstone at any angle and/or focal position); and
capturing, by the digital camera, an image of the gemstone that includes the table reflection (par. 22, 45-50);
[claims 4 and 18] further comprising: reducing the adjustable aperture to confine the beam of reflected light to a smaller portion of the field of view of the digital camera and capturing a second image of the gemstone (par. 25; wherein a bellows is adjustable to control the amount and/or intensity of light passing to the image capture device, wherein the bellows is understood to control the beam waist of the light passing therethrough and therefore controls the resulting beam spot on the image capture device; par. 47; wherein the image device may capture multiple images “under varied lighting conditions, magnifications and/or any other conditions the user specifies”);
determining a fine adjustment for the tilt of the gemstone based on the second image (par. 45-51; wherein the pitch, yaw, roll and focal position of the gemstone are controlled by various scanning motors to obtain continuous images of the gemstone at any angle and/or focal position); and
sending instruction to the motor to rotate the stage on at least one of the pitch or roll axis to align the tilt of the gemstone with the digital camera based on the fine adjustment (par. 45-51; wherein the pitch, yaw, roll and focal position of the gemstone are controlled by various scanning motors to obtain continuous images of the gemstone at any angle and/or focal position);
[claim 20] wherein the light source includes one or more Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs) arranged to illuminate the stage, wherein the LEDs are configured to emit white light (par. 27).
High differs from the limitations in that it is silent to the method and apparatus wherein the light source is disposed offset from the digital camera and directs the beam of light to a beam splitter to partially reflect the source beam of light toward the surface of the gemstone.
However, Smith teaches and shows in Figure 6, a gemstone viewing apparatus wherein an additional LED (630) and a beam splitter (632) are provided on a perpendicular optical path to provide a diffuse optical beam to the center of a gemstone (par. 89-90).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the effective filing date of the invention, to modify High to include the off-axis diffuse light source discussed above for the advantage of obtaining optimal alignment and inspection of a gemstone, with a reasonable expectation of success.
As discussed above, the reference to High further discloses that a bellows (31) may be utilized “to control the amount/intensity of light passing between the image capture device (20) and the lens (30, the lens (30) and the illuminator (40), and/or the image capture device (20) and the illuminator (40)” (par. 25). This recitation suggests that the location of the bellows within the optical path of the system, is variable based upon a desired intensity modulation.
High also explicitly discloses that the imaging system (10) and image capture device (20) may be under computer control, and the computer may be utilized “to control the various moving components” (par. 46). Further, High explicitly discloses “the imaging process may be fully automatic” (par. 47).
High and Smith differ from the limitations in that they are silent to the method and apparatus further comprising: a motorized adjustable aperture mounted on the digital camera, wherein the system automatically reduces the adjustable aperture from an initial width to a reduced width to confine the beam of reflected light to a smaller portion of the field of view of the digital camera.
However, Lee teaches and shows in Figures 1-13, an automated adjustable iris (1000) that includes an aperture calculator (2000) and aperture driving controller (3000), to provide an optical system with continuous control of the size of an imaging aperture to vary a light transmission intensity (par. 5-9, 12, 64).
As discussed above, High discloses the location of the bellows as being variable, and the system may be fully automated.
Further, it has been held that a mere rearranging of parts of an invention involves only routine skill in the art. In re Japikse, 181 F.2d 1019, 86 USPQ 70 (CCPA 1950). In the instant case, the positioning of the aperture on the detector would not adversely modify the operation of the device.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the effective filing date of the invention, to modify High and Smith to include the automated adjustable aperture discussed above for the advantage of obtaining continuous control of a light intensity, with a reasonable expectation of success.
Claim(s) 2-3 and 17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over High and Smith, in view of Lee, and in further view of US Publication 2014/0063485 to Palmieri et al.
In regards to claims 2-3, and 17, High and Smith differ from the limitations in that they are silent to the apparatus and method further comprising:
[claims 2 and 17] further comprising performing a surface polishing and blemish analysis for the gemstone based on the image of the gemstone that includes the table reflection;
[claim 3] wherein the determining the tilt of the gemstone based on the initial image comprises: generating a distribution of saturated pixels or pixels determined to be above a threshold; determining a center pixel for an area of saturated pixels in the distribution that corresponds to a partial table reflection of the gemstone; determining a pixel shift equal to a number of pixels between the center pixel of the area of saturated pixels and a center of the field of view of the digital camera; and converting the pixel shift to a number of degrees of tilt.
However, Palmieri teaches and shows in Figures 1-35, a system and method to evaluating the quality of a gemstone, wherein:
[claims 2 and 17] further comprising performing a surface polishing and blemish analysis for the gemstone based on the image of the gemstone that includes the table reflection (par. 205-210, 231-234; wherein various gemstone quality metrics are determined and analyzed, including scintillation, dispersion and brilliance);
[claim 3] wherein the determining the tilt of the gemstone based on the initial image comprises:
generating a distribution of saturated pixels or pixels determined to be above a threshold (par. 142-143, 184-186, 231-236; wherein reflection hotspots are detected and analyzed to determine the optimal alignment of the gemstone);
determining a center pixel for an area of saturated pixels in the distribution that corresponds to a partial table reflection of the gemstone (par. 142-143, 184-186, 231-236; wherein reflection hotspots are detected and analyzed to determine the optimal alignment of the gemstone);
determining a pixel shift equal to a number of pixels between the center pixel of the area of saturated pixels and a center of the field of view of the digital camera (par. 142-143, 184-186, 231-236; wherein a difference in current positioning and desired positioning of hotspots is determined); and
converting the pixel shift to a number of degrees of tilt (par. 142-143, 184-186, 231-236; wherein gimbal motors are actuated to shift the hotspots to desired image positions).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the effective filing date of the invention, to modify High to include the gemstone analysis and the hotspot-based alignment discussed above for the advantage of obtaining optimal alignment and inspection of a gemstone, with a reasonable expectation of success.
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JONATHAN M HANSEN whose telephone number is (571)270-1736. The examiner can normally be reached Monday to Friday, 8am to 4pm.
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JONATHAN M. HANSEN
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 2877
/JONATHAN M HANSEN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2877