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
In response to the Election/Restriction mailed to applicant on 07/10/2025, applicant has made an election of Invention I in the reply filed on 08/20/2025, see Election in page 6. Because applicant did not distinctly and specifically point out the supposed errors in the restriction requirement, the election has been treated as an election without traverse (MPEP § 818.01(a)).
As a result of applicant’s election, claims 1-12 and 19-20 are examined in the present office action, and claims 13-18 have been withdrawn from further consideration as being directed to a non-elected Invention.
Applicant should note that the non-elected claims 13-18 will be rejoined if the linking claim 1 is later found as an allowable claim.
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Drawings
The drawings contain five sheets of figures 1-7 were received on 04/13/2023. These drawings are objected by the examiner for the following reasons.
The drawings are objected to because the use of references “31” and “32” for the top/upper facesheet in figs. 3-7 is not consistent. In particular, applicant has used the reference “31” for the top/upper facesheet in each of figs. 3 and 5; however, in each of figs. 4 and 6-7, the top/upper facesheet is numbered as “32”.
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.
The drawings are objected to as failing to comply with 37 CFR 1.84(p)(5) because they do not include the reference “26” as mentioned in page 14 (line 8) of the description.
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. 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.
Specification
The lengthy specification has not been checked to the extent necessary to determine the presence of all possible minor errors. Applicant’s cooperation is requested in correcting any errors of which applicant may become aware in the specification.
The disclosure is objected to because it has used same reference “28” for different elements, i.e., an edge profile, see page 14 on line 9 and a housing panel, see page 15 on line 4. Should the reference “28” in page 15 (line 4) be changed to --23--? See same page 9 on line 9, for example. Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Objections
Claims 10 and 20 are objected to because of the following informalities. Appropriate correction is required.
a) In claim 10: what does applicant mean by “the permanently elastic of viscous material” (lines 3-4)? Should the term “of” be changed to --or--? See the terms “a permanently elastic or viscous material” recited in the claim on line 3; and
b) In claim 20: what does applicant mean by “STED microscope” and “MINFLUX microscope”, see the claim on line 2. It is suggested that applicant needs provide a definition or an explanation of each terms “STED” and “MINFLUX”?
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
11. 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.
12. Claims 1-12 and 19-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for the following reasons:
a) Claim 1 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for the following reasons:
a1) the claim is indefinite by the feature thereof “a plurality of beam guiding … in a defined spatial arrangement” (lines 3-4). What does applicant mean by “defined spatial arrangement”?
For the purpose of examination, the so-called “defined spatial arrangement” is understood as an arrangement (of elements) in a particular space.
a2) the feature thereof “the environment” (line 9) lacks a proper antecedent basis. Should the term “the” in the mentioned feature be changed to --an--?
b) The remaining claims are dependent upon the rejected base claim and thus inherit the deficiencies thereof.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
13. 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.
14. 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.
15. Claims 1, 3, 11 and 19-20, as best as understood, are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Uhl (US Patent No. 7,936,502, submitted by applicant).
Uhl discloses a localization microscope such as an upright microscope or an inverted microscope, or a laser scanning device, see column 4, lines 51-67.
a) Regarding present claims 1, 11 and 20, the localization microscope as descried in columns 4-6 and shown in figs. 1 and 3 comprises the following features:
a1) a carrier support (40);
a2) an optical assembly (30) comprises a plurality of beam guiding and shaping optical elements (11, 12, 31, 32, …) mounted on a surface of the support (40), see columns 4-6 and figs. 1 and 3, in particular, column 6 lines 33-35. It is noted that the optical elements are mounted on the surface of the support (40) in a defined/particular spatial arrangement, see figs. 3; and
a3) a housing (5) covering the optical elements wherein the housing (5) comprises a housing panel (5) in the form of a sandwich construction made of two metal plates (41) and a honeycomb-like interior layer, see column 4, lines 58-64, wherein the housing (5) has a deformation-resistant and vibration-damping manner which prevents airborne sound and air flows that occur in an environment of the microscope from extending the optical elements to vibrations.
b) Regarding present claim 3, the optical elements are mounted on a surface of the support (40) and not any one being mounted to the housing (5), see column 6, lines 23+ and figs. 3.
c) Regarding present claim 19, the optical elements include at least lenses, mirrors, …, see column 6 lines 23-27.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
16. 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.
17. Claim 2, as best as understood, is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Uhl in view of Watanabe et al (US Patent No. 6,097,538).
It is noted that while Uhl discloses a localization microscope having a support (40) supporting an optical assembly (30) and a housing (5) having deformation-resistant and vibration-damping manner; however, Uhl does not clearly disclose that support (40) is arranged in a spatially fixed way to a microscope body having a sample holder.
However, a localization microscope such as an upright microscope having a carrier support for supporting a plurality of optical elements wherein the carrier support is arranged in a spatially fixed way to a microscope body having a sample holder is known to one skill in the art as can be seen in the upright microscope provided by Watanabe et al. In particular, Watanabe et al discloses an upright microscope (1) which microscope comprises a carrier support (9) for supporting optical elements (11) wherein the carrier support (9) is arranged in a spatially fixed way to a microscope body (2) having a holder (3, 5) holding a sample (S), see columns 3-4 and fig. 1. Thus, it would have been obvious to one skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to utilize the upright microscope provided by Uhl in an upright microscope having a microscope body connected to a carrier support wherein the microscope body comprises a sample holder as suggested by Watanabe et al for the purpose of examining sample(s) located in the sample holder connected to the microscope.
18. Claims 4-5 and 8, as best as understood, are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Uhl in view of Netravali et al (US Publication No. 2011/0052881).
While Uhl discloses a localization microscope having a support (40) supporting an optical assembly (30) and a housing (5) having deformation-resistant and vibration-damping manner wherein the housing is formed as a sandwich construction made of two metal plates (41) and a honeycomb-like interior layer, see column 4, lines 58-64; however, Uhl does not disclose the thickness of the interior layer and the plate(s).
However, a high-strength, light-weight support in the form of a sandwich construction made of two plates and a honeycomb-like interior layer wherein each plate has a thickness and the interior layer has a thickness in the range as claimed is known to one skill in the art as can be seen in the high-strength, light-weight support provided by Netravali et al. In paragraph [0099] and shown in fig. 6, Netravali et al discloses a high-strength, light-weight support in the form of a sandwich having two plates (511, 513) and a honeycomb-like interior layer (500) wherein the interior layer has a thickness of more than 1.8 mm, see paragraph [0016] and the plurality of the honeycombs of the interior layer makes up almost the body of the interior layer which meets the features recited in present claim 4 and each plates (511, 513) has a thickness less than one centimeter, see paragraph [0023], and at least one of the plate is closed, see fig. 6. which meets the feature recited in present claim 5.
Regarding present claim 8, making at least one surface of the plates as a laser-proof surface to protect high level radiation is known to one skill in the art.
Thus, it would have been obvious to one skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to use/adjust the thicknesses of the skin/plate(s) and the interior layer at any suitable dimension(s) including the dimensions as provided by Netravali et al which are inside the claimed range to meet a particular application.
19. Claims 6-7, as best as understood, are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Uhl in view of Fisher (US Publication No. 2020/0096721).
While Uhl discloses a localization microscope having a support (40) supporting an optical assembly (30) and a housing (5) having deformation-resistant and vibration-damping manner wherein the housing is formed as a sandwich construction made of two metal plates (41) and a honeycomb-like interior layer, see column 4, lines 58-64; however, Uhl does not disclose that an inner one of the two plates having the optical elements has a plurality of sound entrance holes. However, an optical breadboard comprises two plates and an interior layer wherein one of the plate having a plurality of clearance apertures is disclosed in the art as can be seen in the optical breadboard provided by Fisher. In particular, Fisher discloses an optical breadboard (10) comprises two plates (11, 13) and an interior layer (30) wherein the plate (11) comprises a plurality of clearance apertures (12), see paragraphs [0031]-[0032] and figs. 1-2. Thus, it would have been obvious to one skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the housing having two plates and an interior layer provided by Uhl by making/providing a plurality of clearance apertures on at least one plate of the housing as suggested by Fisher for the purpose of providing passage for airflows among the components constituted the housing.
Regarding the feature related to the dimension of the clearance holes and the cover range of the holes with respect to the area of the plate as recited in present claim 7, such feature would have been obvious to one skill in the art to select/adjust the dimension of the aperture and the cover range of the holes with respect to the area of the plate for the purpose of obtain/meet a particular application in design. Applicant should note that it was decided in the Courts that a discovery an optimum value or workable range involves only routine skill in the art. In re Aller, 105 USPQ 233; In re Boesch, 617 F. 2d 272, 205 USPQ 215 (CCPA 1980); In re Wertheim, supra; Titanium Metals Corporation of America V. Banner, supra.
20. Claims 9-10 and 12, as best as understood, are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Uhl in view of Lin et al (UA Patent No. 8,292,214).
While Uhl discloses a localization microscope having a support (40) supporting an optical assembly (30) and a housing (5) having deformation-resistant and vibration-damping manner wherein the housing is formed as a sandwich construction made of two metal plates (41) and a honeycomb-like interior layer, see column 4, lines 58-64; however, Uhl does not disclose that the honeycomb-like interior layer is made by one of frame-resistant/frame-retardant material(s) as recited in present claim 9, the plates are bonded to the interior layer by an elastic material as recited in present claim 10, and the interior layer comprises a layer of viscous polymeric matrix with embedded particles as recited in present claim 12.
The use of a vibration damping element in the form of a sandwich constituted by an interior layer/core between two plates wherein the plates are bonded to the interior layer/core by an elastic material and the interior layer/core is made by one of frame-resistant/frame-retardant material(s) is known to one skill in the art as can be seen in the vibration damping element provided by Lin et al.
In particular, Lin et al discloses a vibration damping element (20) in the form of a sandwich constituted by an interior layer/core (26) between two plates (22, 24) wherein the plates (22, 24) are made by metal material and bonded to the interior layer/core (26) by an elastic material, see columns 3-4, and the interior layer/core is a honeycomb core with their cavities are filled with damping foam or individual damping particles having frame-resistant/frame-retardant manner, see columns 3-4 and figs. 1, 5 and 7, for example. It is noted that the nonmetallic materials for particles can be viscoelastic or rubber like materials, see column 4 on lines 17-20. Thus, it would have been obvious to one skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the housing having two plates and an interior layer in the form of a honeycomb layer provided by Uhl by providing/filling the plurality of cavities of the honeycomb layer with foam particles and adhering the interior layer with the plates via an elastic layer as suggested by Lin et al for the purpose of preventing the vibrations to the optical elements supported by the housing and increasing the stability of the housing.
Conclusion
21. The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
22. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to THONG Q NGUYEN whose telephone number is (571)272-2316. The examiner can normally be reached M - Th: 6:00 ~ 17:00.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, STEPHONE B. ALLEN can be reached at (571) 272-2434. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/THONG Q NGUYEN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2872