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 .
Response to Amendment
The amendment filed 05/12/2026 has been entered.
Claim 17 is new.
Claim 10 is cancelled.
Claims 1-2, 5, 7-8, 11-12 and 16 are amended.
Claims 1-9 and 11-17 are pending.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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.
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 1-9 and 11-17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Dow (US 6723050 B2) in view of Ustuner (US 6309356 B1).
Regarding claim 1, Dow teaches an ultrasonic probe having a plurality of array elements[Abstract; #12 in fig 1 is an ultrasonic array ];
a transmitting and receiving control circuit configured to control the ultrasonic probe to transmit ultrasonic waves to a region of interest and receive ultrasonic echoes of the transmitted ultrasonic waves, to obtain channel echo data[Abstract, Fig 1, Col 2; Lines 30-55 has control to transmit and receive ultrasonic waves];
a processor configured to generate an ultrasonic image according to the channel echo data[Abstract, Fig 1, Col 2; Lines 30-55 has control to transmit and receive ultrasonic waves and signal processor #22];
and a display configured to display the ultrasonic image[#40 in Fig 1];
wherein the transmitting and receiving control circuit is configured to[Fig 1 shows the control system]:
control the ultrasonic probe to transmit the ultrasonic waves at a plurality of steering angles to the region of interest, respectively[ Abstract has beam steering in various angles; Claim 19 and Col 1; Lines 10-20 and Col 2 Lines 40-45 has beam steering meaning steering angles]; and
control the ultrasonic probe to receive the ultrasonic echoes of the ultrasonic waves transmitted at the plurality of steering angles, to(intended use no patentable weight) obtain multiple groups of channel echo data that are at the plurality of steering angles, wherein each group of channel echo data is obtained by the ultrasonic echoes of the ultrasonic waves transmitted at one of the plurality of steering angles[Abstract, Fig 1, Col2; Lines 30-55 has receiving of echos. Claim 1 has echos along scanlines angularly arrayed with respect to each other]; and
wherein, the processor is configured to[Fig 1 has processor and beamformer and various other circuits]:
beam-form the multiple groups of channel echo data that are obtained at the plurality of steering angles with ….. to obtain multiple groups of beam-formed data, [Abstract, Fig 1, Col 2; Lines 30-55 has beamforming and combining of echos along receiving scanlines; See also claim 1], wherein the multiple groups of channel echo data that are obtained at the plurality of steering angles comprise at least a first group of channel echo data obtained by the ultrasonic echoes of the ultrasonic waves transmitted at a first steering angle and a second group of channel echo data obtained by the ultrasonic echoes of the ultrasonic waves transmitted at a second steering angle[Abstract, Fig 1, Col 2; Lines 30-55 has beamforming and combining of echos along receiving scanlines; See also claim 1. See also Figs 3, 5 showing various angles],…;
and generate the ultrasonic image based on the multiple groups of beam-formed data[Fig 1 has display of image on display #40]
Dow does not explicitly teach with a same receiving-line grid comprising a plurality of grid points ….. and the first group of channel echo data at the first steering angle and the second group of channel echo data at the second steering angle are respectively beam-formed with the same receiving-line grid
Ustuner teaches multiple groups of channel echo data that are obtained at the plurality of steering angles with a same receiving-line grid receiving-line grid comprising a plurality of grid points [Fig 56, 57 and Col 14 Lines 35-45 has grid with angles for receive scan lines; Claim 2 has different steering angles with receiving based on steering angles. Claim 25 has simultaneous waves with different steering angles meaning received waves contain different steering angles. Abstract has image synthesized by adding component beams for each image point. Col 1, Lines 10-25 has multiple receive events/receive signals per scan line meaning different steering angles]
….. and the first group of channel echo data at the first steering angle and the second group of channel echo data at the second steering angle are respectively beam-formed with the same receiving-line grid[Fig 56, 57 and Col 14 Lines 35-45 has grid with angles for receive scan lines; Claim 2 has different steering angles with receiving based on steering angles. Claim 25 has simultaneous waves with different steering angles meaning received waves contain different steering angles. Abstract has image synthesized by adding component beams for each image point. Col 1, Lines 10-25 has multiple receive events/receive signals per scan line meaning different steering angles]
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the filing date to have modified the image processing of Dow with the scan mode along receive line grids of Ustner in order to image locations along various scan lines.
Regarding claim 7, Dow teaches transmitting, via an ultrasonic probe, ultrasonic waves at a plurality of steering angles to a region of interest, respectively [Fig 1 has ultrasonic probe; Abstract has beam steering in various angles; Claim 19 and Col 1; Lines 10-20 and Col 2 Lines 40-45 has beam steering meaning steering angles];
receiving, via the ultrasonic probe, ultrasonic echoes of the ultrasonic waves transmitted at the plurality of steering angles, to obtain multiple groups of channel echo data that are at the plurality of steering angles, wherein each group of channel echo data is obtained by the ultrasonic echoes of the ultrasonic waves transmitted at one of the plurality of steering angles; [Abstract, Fig 1, Col 2; Lines 30-55 has receiving of echos. Claim 1 has echos along scanlines angularly arrayed with respect to each other]
beam-forming the multiple groups of channel echo data that are obtained at the plurality of steering angles with ….. to obtain multiple groups of beam-formed data, [Abstract, Fig 1, Col 2; Lines 30-55 has beamforming and combining of echos along receiving scanlines; See also claim 1], wherein the multiple groups of channel echo data that are obtained at the plurality of steering angles comprise at least a first group of channel echo data obtained by the ultrasonic echoes of the ultrasonic waves transmitted at a first steering angle and a second group of channel echo data obtained by the ultrasonic echoes of the ultrasonic waves transmitted at a second steering angle[Abstract, Fig 1, Col 2; Lines 30-55 has beamforming and combining of echos along receiving scanlines; See also claim 1. See also Figs 3, 5 showing various angles],…;
and generating the ultrasonic image based on the multiple groups of beam-formed data[Fig 1 has display of image on display #40]
Dow does not explicitly teach with a same receiving-line grid comprising a plurality of grid points ….. and the first group of channel echo data at the first steering angle and the second group of channel echo data at the second steering angle are respectively beam-formed with the same receiving-line grid
Ustuner teaches multiple groups of channel echo data that are obtained at the plurality of steering angles with a same receiving-line grid receiving-line grid comprising a plurality of grid points [Fig 56, 57 and Col 14 Lines 35-45 has grid with angles for receive scan lines; Claim 2 has different steering angles with receiving based on steering angles. Claim 25 has simultaneous waves with different steering angles meaning received waves contain different steering angles. Abstract has image synthesized by adding component beams for each image point. Col 1, Lines 10-25 has multiple receive events/receive signals per scan line meaning different steering angles]
….. and the first group of channel echo data at the first steering angle and the second group of channel echo data at the second steering angle are respectively beam-formed with the same receiving-line grid[Fig 56, 57 and Col 14 Lines 35-45 has grid with angles for receive scan lines; Claim 2 has different steering angles with receiving based on steering angles. Claim 25 has simultaneous waves with different steering angles meaning received waves contain different steering angles. Abstract has image synthesized by adding component beams for each image point. Col 1, Lines 10-25 has multiple receive events/receive signals per scan line meaning different steering angles]
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the filing date to have modified the image processing of Dow with the scan mode along receive line grids of Ustner in order to image locations along various scan lines, beam-forming the multiple groups of channel echo data with a same receiving-line grid.
Regarding claim 16, Dow discloses A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium comprising a program, which when executed by a processor, causes the processor to[Fig 1 has processor]:
beam-form the multiple groups of channel echo data that are obtained at the plurality of steering angles with ….. to obtain multiple groups of beam-formed data, [Abstract, Fig 1, Col 2; Lines 30-55 has beamforming and combining of echos along receiving scanlines; See also claim 1], wherein the multiple groups of channel echo data that are obtained at the plurality of steering angles comprise at least a first group of channel echo data obtained by the ultrasonic echoes of the ultrasonic waves transmitted at a first steering angle and a second group of channel echo data obtained by the ultrasonic echoes of the ultrasonic waves transmitted at a second steering angle[Abstract, Fig 1, Col 2; Lines 30-55 has beamforming and combining of echos along receiving scanlines; See also claim 1. See also Figs 3, 5 showing various angles],…and each group of channel echo data is obtained by the ultrasonic echoes of the ultrasonic waves transmitted at one of the plurality of steering angles[Abstract, Fig 1, Col 2; Lines 30-55 has beamforming and combining of echos along receiving scanlines; See also claim 1],
and generate an ultrasonic image based on the multiple group of beam-formed data[Fig 1 has display of image on display #40]and generating the ultrasonic image based on the multiple groups of beam-formed data[Fig 1 has display of image on display #40]
Dow does not explicitly teach with a same receiving-line grid comprising a plurality of grid points ….. and the first group of channel echo data at the first steering angle and the second group of channel echo data at the second steering angle are respectively beam-formed with the same receiving-line grid
Ustuner teaches multiple groups of channel echo data that are obtained at the plurality of steering angles with a same receiving-line grid receiving-line grid comprising a plurality of grid points [Fig 56, 57 and Col 14 Lines 35-45 has grid with angles for receive scan lines; Claim 2 has different steering angles with receiving based on steering angles. Claim 25 has simultaneous waves with different steering angles meaning received waves contain different steering angles. Abstract has image synthesized by adding component beams for each image point. Col 1, Lines 10-25 has multiple receive events/receive signals per scan line meaning different steering angles]
….. and the first group of channel echo data at the first steering angle and the second group of channel echo data at the second steering angle are respectively beam-formed with the same receiving-line grid[Fig 56, 57 and Col 14 Lines 35-45 has grid with angles for receive scan lines; Claim 2 has different steering angles with receiving based on steering angles. Claim 25 has simultaneous waves with different steering angles meaning received waves contain different steering angles. Abstract has image synthesized by adding component beams for each image point. Col 1, Lines 10-25 has multiple receive events/receive signals per scan line meaning different steering angles]
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the filing date to have modified the image processing of Dow with the scan mode along receive line grids of Ustner in order to image locations along various scan lines, beam-forming the multiple groups of channel echo data with a same receiving-line grid.
Regarding claim 2, Dow, as modified, teaches wherein, for one grid point of the same receiving-line grid for one steering angle, the processor is configured to: determine a receiving aperture based on a physical spatial position of the one grid point and the one steering angle[Col 2; Lines 30-55 has beamforming along certain scanlines and each scanline has steering meaning selection based on angle];
and beam-form, based on the determined receiving aperture, a group of channel echo data obtained by the ultrasonic echoes of the ultrasonic waves transmitted at the one steering angle[Col 2; Lines 30-55 has beamforming along certain scanlines and each scanline has steering meaning beamforming based on angle; Claim 1 also has echo signals based along angularly arrayed scanline].
Regarding claim 3, Dow, as modified, teaches wherein the processor determining the receiving aperture based on the physical spatial position of the one grid point and the one steering angle comprises: determining an intersection point of a straight line passing through the physical spatial position of the one grid point and forming an angle equal to the one steering angle with respect to a normal of the ultrasonic probe with the ultrasonic probe[Figs 6,7,8,9 deal with lines and intersections and angles based on the view; Col 3; Lines 25-30 and Col 5, Lines 25-35 for intersections See also Claim 13 concerning intersections];
and determining the receiving aperture based on the intersection point. [Figs 6,7,8,9 deal with lines and intersections and angles based on the view; Col 3; Lines 25-30 and Col 5, Lines 25- 35 for intersections See also Claim 13 concerning intersections].
Regarding claims 4 and 13, Dow, as modified, teaches wherein the processor is further configured to perform a spatial compounding on the multiple groups of beam-formed data obtained by the beam-forming with the same receiving-line grid. [Abstract, Fig 1, Col 2; Lines 30-55 has beamforming and combining of echos along receiving scanlines meaning it is a spatial compounding of data with the same receiving line grid; See also claim 1].
Regarding claims 5 and 12, Dow, as modified, teaches wherein the same receiving-line grid is a receiving-line grid corresponding to a steering angle being 0. [Fig 5, Col 3 lines 40-55 has various angles meaning if only one slice say #64 is considered the steering angle is zero].
Regarding claim 6, Dow, as modified, teaches wherein, the processor generating the ultrasonic image based on the multiple groups of beam-formed data comprises: performing digital scan conversion on the beam-formed data to obtain ultrasonic image pixel data for display[Claim 5 has rendering pixels for the display by volume renderer meaning image pixel data is made from the scan to display the image];
and the display is configured to display the ultrasonic image pixel data. [Fig 1 had display #40 to show the image].
Regarding claim 8, Dow, as modified, teaches wherein beam-forming the multiple groups of channel echo data that are at a the plurality of steering angles with receiving-line grid comprising a plurality of grid points comprises: for one grid point of the receiving-line grid for one steering angle: determining a receiving aperture based on a physical spatial position of the one grid point and the one steering angle[Col 2; Lines 30-55 has beamforming along certain scanlines and each scanline has steering meaning selection based on angle];
and beam-forming, based on the determined receiving aperture, a group of channel echo data obtained by the ultrasonic echoes of the ultrasonic waves transmitted at the one steering angle. [Col 2; Lines 30-55 has beamforming along certain scanlines and each scanline has steering meaning beamforming based on angle; Claim 1 also has echo signals based along angularly arrayed scanline].
Regarding claim 9, Dow, as modified, teaches wherein determining the receiving aperture based on the physical spatial position of the one grid point and the one steering angle comprises: determining an intersection point of a straight line passing through the physical spatial position of the one grid point and forming an angle equal to the one steering angle with respect to a normal of the ultrasonic probe with the ultrasonic probe[Figs 6,7,8,9 deal with lines and intersections and angles based on the view; Col 3; Lines 25-30 and Col 5, Lines 25-35 for intersections See also Claim 13 concerning intersections];
and determining the receiving aperture based on the intersection point. [Figs 6,7,8,9 deal with lines and intersections and angles based on the view; Col 3; Lines 25-30 and Col 5, Lines 25- 35 for intersections See also Claim 13 concerning intersections].
Regarding claim 11, Dow, as modified, teaches the same receiving-line grid is a receiving line grid under a Cartesian coordinate system when a scan mode is a linear array scan mode[Claim 18 has linear array and cartesian coordinate system and converting between them];
or the same receiving-line grid is a receiving-line grid under a polar coordinate system when a scan mode is a convex array scan mode or a sector scan mode. [Claim 11 has conversion from sector scan; Title, Abstract, Claim 4 have polar coordinate system].
Regarding claim 14, Dow, as modified, teaches wherein performing the spatial compounding on the multiple groups of beam-formed data obtained by the beam-forming with the same receiving-line grid comprises: for one grid point of the same receiving-line grid, performing the spatial compounding on the multiple groups of beam-formed data by averaging, weighted averaging, taking a maximum value or taking a median value. [Abstract, Fig 1, Col 2; Lines 30-55 has beamforming and combining of echos along receiving scanlines meaning it is a spatial compounding of data with the same receiving line grid; See also claim 1; See Col 3 Lines 35 -40, Col 4, Lines 25-35 and Claim 3 for averaging].
Regarding claim 15, Dow, as modified, teaches wherein generating the ultrasonic image based on the multiple groups of beam-formed data comprises: performing a digital scan conversion on the beam-formed data to obtain ultrasonic image pixel data for display. [Claim 5 has rendering pixels for the display by volume renderer meaning image pixel data is made from the scan to display the image].
Regarding claim 17, Dow, as modified, teaches wherein the same receiving-line grid is determined according to a scan mode.[Claim 18 has linear array and cartesian coordinate system meaning it is a scan mode Claim 11 has conversion from sector scan; Title, Abstract, Claim 4 have polar coordinate system],
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 05/12/2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
In response to applicant's arguments against the references individually, one cannot show nonobviousness by attacking references individually where the rejections are based on combinations of references. See In re Keller, 642 F.2d 413, 208 USPQ 871 (CCPA 1981); In re Merck & Co., 800 F.2d 1091, 231 USPQ 375 (Fed. Cir. 1986).
Applicant is reading he prior art overly narrowly. The prior art has multiple steering angles and multiple echo data and a person of ordinary skill in the art would be aware that sound can be sent at various steering angles and scanlines. Such a basic premise is further shown by the fact that the prior art is over 20 years old and thus reads on the claim by having echo data at various angles and receiving line grids.
Moreover it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skills in the art, at the time of invention to have echo data at various angles with either different or the same receiving line grids, since it has been held that the general conditions of a claim are disclosed in the prior art, discovering the optimum or workable ranges involves only routine skill in the art. In re Aller, 105 USPQ 233.).
Applicant's remaining arguments amount to a general allegation that the claims define a patentable invention without specifically pointing out how the language of the claims patentably distinguishes them from the references. Rejections are maintained – and no allowable subject matter can be identified at this time.
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 VIKAS NMN ATMAKURI whose telephone number is (571)272-5080. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 7:30am-5:30pm.
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/VIKAS ATMAKURI/Examiner, Art Unit 3645
/HELAL A ALGAHAIM/SPE , Art Unit 3645
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