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 .
Drawings
The drawings are objected to because of the following:
FIG. 10: jack 1052e (acting on connection plate 1052f) appears to be mis-labeled as element 1052d
The drawings are objected to as failing to comply with 37 CFR 1.84(p)(5) because they do not include the following reference sign(s) mentioned in the description:
Vacuum pump 143
Accelerator high-voltage power supply 1121, 1211
Using both reference characters 1121 and 1211 to designate the accelerator high-voltage power supply also fails to comply with 37 CFR 1.84(p)(4).
Opening 1054
Robotic arm sheath 72b’
Through hole 727b
The drawings are objected to as failing to comply with 37 CFR 1.84(p)(5) because they include the following reference character(s) not mentioned in the description:
FIG. 11: 70a
Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d), or amendment to the specification to add the reference character(s) in the description in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(b) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application.
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.
Specification
The disclosure is objected to because of the following informalities:
Page 25, line 15: “The accelerator 10” should read “The accelerator [[10]]112”.
Page 25, line 28 and page 26, line 1: “The retarder 312” should read “The retarder 1312”.
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Objections
Claim 30 is objected to because of the following informalities:
“the material of the support member may include a neutron shielding material matching with the support member” is unclear. For the purpose of compact prosecution, the Examiner has interpreted “the material of the support member may include a neutron shielding material matching with the support member” to mean “the material of the support member may include a neutron shielding material.
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
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.
Claim 30 is 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 30 recites the limitation "the neutron shielding plate covers the support member" in lines 1-2. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. For the purpose of compact prosecution, the Examiner has interpreted “the neutron shielding plate covers the support member” to mean “a neutron shielding plate covers the support member”.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(d):
(d) REFERENCE IN DEPENDENT FORMS.—Subject to subsection (e), a claim in dependent form shall contain a reference to a claim previously set forth and then specify a further limitation of the subject matter claimed. A claim in dependent form shall be construed to incorporate by reference all the limitations of the claim to which it refers.
The following is a quotation of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, fourth paragraph:
Subject to the following paragraph [i.e., the fifth paragraph of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112], a claim in dependent form shall contain a reference to a claim previously set forth and then specify a further limitation of the subject matter claimed. A claim in dependent form shall be construed to incorporate by reference all the limitations of the claim to which it refers.
Claim 8 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(d) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, 4th paragraph, as being of improper dependent form for failing to further limit the subject matter of the claim upon which it depends, or for failing to include all the limitations of the claim upon which it depends. Claim 6 recites “the shielding device comprises a robotic arm sheath surrounding the arm part”, but claim 8 recites “the shielding device comprises a sliding rail covering member”. Applicant may cancel the claim(s), amend the claim(s) to place the claim(s) in proper dependent form, rewrite the claim(s) in independent form, or present a sufficient showing that the dependent claim(s) complies with the statutory requirements.
Suggested amendment to claim 8: “the shielding device further comprises a sliding rail covering member”.
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.
Claim 1 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Iio (EP Patent No. 2921206 A1), hereinafter Iio.
Regarding claim 1, Iio discloses a neutron capture therapy system (FIG. 3, element 100), characterized in that the neutron capture therapy system comprises a charged particle beam generation part (FIG. 3, element 10a), a beam transmission part (FIG. 3, element 13) and a neutron beam generation part (FIG. 3, element 10), the neutron capture therapy system is entirely accommodated in a building made of concrete (column 4, lines 55-58; column 8, lines 22-26).
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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claims 5-6, 8, 21, and 23-24 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Iio as applied to claim 1 above, in view of Meng (CN Patent No. 107240428 A), hereinafter Meng (English machine translation provided).
Regarding claim 5, Iio as applied to claim 1 discloses the neutron capture therapy system of claim 1.
In addition, Iio discloses a treatment table (FIG. 3, element 80) and a treatment table positioning device (FIG. 4, element 84).
Iio fails to disclose a shielding device of the treatment table positioning device.
However, Meng discloses a shielding device (FIG. 1, element 2) of the treatment table positioning device (FIG. 1, element 1).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have modified Iio to include a shielding device of the treatment table positioning device, based on the teachings of Meng that this prevents radiation from damaging the treatment table positioning device (Meng, page 3, paragraph beginning “Specifically, the strong radiation area…”).
Regarding claim 6, Iio in view of Meng as applied to claim 5 discloses the neutron capture therapy system of claim 5.
In addition, Iio discloses that the treatment table positioning device comprises a robotic arm configured to support and position the treatment table (column 11, lines 53-54) and comprising at least one arm part (FIG. 5, arm parts 84b, 84c).
In addition, Meng discloses that the shielding device comprises a robotic arm sheath (FIG. 1, element 2) surrounding the arm part (FIG. 1, element 1).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have modified Iio in view of Meng to include that the shielding device comprises a robotic arm sheath surrounding the arm part, based on the additional teachings of Meng that this prevents radiation from damaging the arm part (Meng, page 3, paragraph beginning “Specifically, the strong radiation area…”).
Regarding claim 8, Iio in view of Meng as applied to claim 6 discloses the neutron capture therapy system of claim 6.
In addition, Iio discloses that the treatment table positioning device further comprises a linear shaft (FIG. 5, element 60), the robotic arm (FIG. 5, element 84) is arranged between the linear shaft (FIG. 5, element 60) and the treatment table (FIG. 5, table top portion 83 of treatment table 80), the linear shaft comprises a sliding rail (FIG. 6, element 62) fixed to the building (column 17, lines 44-53: the sliding rail 62 is fixed within recessed groove portion 61 in the floor F of the building) and a support seat (FIG. 5, element 82) connected to the robotic arm (FIG. 5: support seat 82 is connected to robotic arm 84 through base 81), the support seat drives the treatment table and the robotic arm to slide along the sliding rail together (column 12, paragraph 0055), and the shielding device comprises a sliding rail covering member (column 13, lines 31-33, belt BT).
Regarding claim 21, Iio in view of Meng as applied to claim 5 discloses the neutron capture therapy system of claim 5.
In addition, Iio discloses that the treatment table positioning device includes a linear shaft (FIG. 5, element 60) and a robotic arm (FIG. 5, element 84) arranged between the linear shaft (FIG. 5, element 60) and the treatment table (FIG. 5, table top portion 83 of treatment table 80) to support and position the treatment table (column 11, lines 53-54), and the linear shaft includes a sliding rail (FIG. 6, element 62) fixed to the building (column 17, lines 44-53: the sliding rail 62 is fixed within recessed groove portion 61 in the floor F of the building) and a support seat (FIG. 5, element 82) connected to the robotic arm (FIG. 5: support seat 82 is connected to robotic arm 84 through base 81); the support seat drives the treatment table and the robotic arm to slide along the sliding rail together (column 12, paragraph 0055), and the shielding device includes a sliding rail covering member (column 13, lines 31-33, belt BT).
Regarding claim 23, Iio in view of Meng as applied to claim 21 discloses the neutron capture therapy system of claim 21.
In addition, Iio discloses that the neutron capture therapy system also includes an irradiation chamber (FIG. 3, element 30A), an irradiated body (FIG. 4, patient S) is subjected to irradiation treatment by the neutron beam (FIG. 4, neutron beam N) in the irradiation chamber (column 4, lines 44-46), and the sliding rail is fixed on a fixing surface of the irradiation chamber (column 17, lines 30-53: the sliding rail 62 is fixed within recessed groove portion 61 in the floor F of the irradiation chamber).
Regarding claim 24, Iio in view of Meng as applied to claim 23 discloses the neutron capture therapy system of claim 23.
In addition, Iio discloses that the sliding rail covering member moves together with the support seat and covers an exposed part of the sliding rail (column 18, paragraph 0087).
Claim 7 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Iio in view of Meng as applied to claim 6 above, and further in view of Pinault et al. (U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2019/0167212 A1), hereinafter Pinault.
Regarding claim 7, Iio in view of Meng as applied to claim 6 discloses the neutron capture therapy system of claim 6.
Iio in view of Meng fails to disclose that the robotic arm sheath is provided with an anti-collision protection mechanism.
However, Pinault discloses that the robotic arm sheath is provided with an anti-collision protection mechanism (paragraph 0041).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have modified Iio in view of Meng to include that the robotic arm sheath is provided with an anti-collision protection mechanism, based on the teachings of Pinault that this minimizes interference between system components during treatment (Pinault, paragraph 0003).
Claims 22 and 26 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Iio in view of Meng as respectively applied to claims 21 and 24 above, and further in view of Liu (U.S. Patent No. 10,744,345 B2), hereinafter Liu.
Regarding claim 22, Iio in view of Meng as applied to claim 21 discloses the neutron capture therapy system of claim 21.
Iio in view of Meng fails to disclose that the material of the sliding rail covering member includes a neutron shielding material.
However, Liu discloses that the material of the sliding rail covering member (FIGs. 9, 10: element 70 (comprising portions 71, 72) covers sliding rail 611 (contained within element 61) with respect to the irradiation area 50 on the inside of the arc) includes a neutron shielding material (paragraph 0078).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have modified Iio in view of Meng to include that the material of the sliding rail covering member includes a neutron shielding material, based on the teachings of Liu that this provides improved shielding during irradiation therapy (Liu, paragraph 0078).
Regarding claim 26, Iio in view of Meng as applied to claim 24 discloses the neutron capture therapy system of claim 24.
Iio in view of Meng fails to disclose that the sliding rail covering member includes a first part and a second part, and each of the first part and the second part includes flat plates connected in sequence.
However, Liu discloses that the sliding rail covering member (FIGs. 9, 10: element 70 (comprising portions 71, 72) covers sliding rail 611 (contained within element 61) with respect to the irradiation area 50 on the inside of the arc) includes a first part and a second part (FIG. 13, elements 71, 72 to the left and right of element 10), and each of the first part and the second part includes plates connected in sequence (paragraph 0081).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have modified Iio in view of Meng to include that the sliding rail covering member includes a first part and a second part, and each of the first part and the second part includes plates connected in sequence, based on the teachings of Liu that this enables flexibility in terms of movement while still maintaining proper protection (Liu, paragraph 0080).
Liu discloses that the plates connected in sequence are arc-shaped, not flat plates (Liu, paragraph 0083). However, Liu discloses that the plates are arc-shaped because the sliding rail 611 is arc-shaped, and the sliding rail 611 may take other shapes (Liu, paragraph 0065). Liu further discloses that the arc shape may be formed by connecting multiple sections of straight lines (Liu, paragraph 0089). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have modified the teachings of Liu to include that the first and second parts of the sliding rail covering member include flat plates connected in sequence, because such a modification would amount to nothing more than a change in shape (see In re Dailey, 357 F.2d 669, 149 USPQ 47 (CCPA 1966)).
Claim 25 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Iio in view of Meng as applied to claim 24 above, and further in view of Chen et al. (CN Patent No. 109659061 B), hereinafter Chen (English machine translation provided).
Regarding claim 25, Iio in view of Meng as applied to claim 24 discloses the neutron capture therapy system of claim 24.
Iio in view of Meng fails to disclose that the fixing surface is provided with a neutron shielding plate, and the sliding rail covering member is arranged between the support seat and the neutron shielding plate.
However, Chen discloses that the fixing surface (FIG. 1, bottom surface of housing 1) is provided with a neutron shielding plate (page 3, last paragraph: housing 1 has a neutron shielding function; therefore, the floor of housing 1 is considered to be a neutron shielding plate), and the sliding rail (FIG. 1, element 2) covering member (FIG. 1, element 7) is arranged between the support seat (FIG. 1, element 6) and the neutron shielding plate (FIG. 1, bottom wall of housing 1).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have modified Iio in view of Meng to include that the fixing surface is provided with a neutron shielding plate, and the sliding rail covering member is arranged between the support seat and the neutron shielding plate, based on the teachings of Chen that this maintains flexibility of movement while ensuring the neutron irradiation is properly shielded (Chen, page 4, paragraph labeled (3)).
Claims 27-28 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Iio in view of Meng and Liu as applied to claim 26 above, and further in view of Yang et al. (CN Patent No. 105682335 B), hereinafter Yang (English machine translation provided).
Regarding claim 27, Iio in view of Meng and Liu as applied to claim 26 discloses the neutron capture therapy system of claim 26.
Iio in view of Meng and Liu fails to disclose that the flat plates are slidably or pivotally connected in sequence.
However, Yang discloses that the flat plates are slidably or pivotally connected in sequence (page 5, paragraph 2, “controllable sliding plate 11”).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have modified Iio in view of Meng and Liu to include that the flat plates are slidably or pivotally connected in sequence, based on the teachings of Yang that this advantageously enables the plates to be adjusted according to different system requirements (Yang, page 5, paragraph 2).
Regarding claim 28, Iio in view of Meng, Liu, and Yang as applied to claim 27 discloses the neutron capture therapy system of claim 27.
In addition, Liu discloses that the sliding rail covering member (FIG. 13, elements 71, 72) is supported by a support member of the sliding rail covering member (paragraph 0080, support member 60), and one end, close to the support seat along a sliding direction of the support seat (FIG. 13, element 10), of each of the first part and the second part is fixedly connected to the support seat, and the other end of each of the first part and the second part is fixedly connected to the support member (paragraph 0080).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have modified Iio in view of Meng, Liu, and Yang to include that the sliding rail covering member is supported by a support member of the sliding rail covering member, and one end, close to the support seat along a sliding direction of the support seat, of each of the first part and the second part is fixedly connected to the support seat, and the other end of each of the first part and the second part is fixedly connected to the support member, based on the additional teachings of Liu that this enables flexibility in terms of movement while still maintaining proper protection (Liu, paragraph 0080).
Claim 29 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Iio in view of Meng, Liu, and Yang as applied to claim 28 above, and further in view of Yamagata et al. (U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2015/0117584 A1), hereinafter Yamagata.
Regarding claim 29, Iio in view of Meng, Liu, and Yang as applied to claim 28 discloses the neutron capture therapy system of claim 28.
Iio in view of Meng, Liu, and Yang fails to disclose that the material of the support member is a material of which a product after subjecting to neutron irradiation does not have radioactivity or has low radioactivity, or a radioactive isotope generated after subjecting to neutron irradiation has a short half-life period.
However, Yamagata discloses that the material of the support member is a material of which a product after subjecting to neutron irradiation does not have radioactivity or has low radioactivity, or a radioactive isotope generated after subjecting to neutron irradiation has a short half-life period (paragraph 0039).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have modified Iio in view of Meng, Liu, and Yang to include that the material of the support member is a material of which a product after subjecting to neutron irradiation does not have radioactivity or has low radioactivity, or a radioactive isotope generated after subjecting to neutron irradiation has a short half-life period, based on the teachings of Yamagata that this prolongs the life of the neutron source while making it safe and easy to handle (Yamagata, paragraph 0039).
Claim 30 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Iio in view of Meng, Liu, and Yang as applied to claim 28 above, and further in view of Yamagata and Chen.
Regarding claim 30, Iio in view of Meng, Liu, and Yang as applied to claim 28 discloses the neutron capture therapy system of claim 28.
Iio in view of Meng, Liu, and Yang fails to disclose that the neutron shielding plate covers the support member, and the material of the support member may include a neutron shielding material matching with the support member.
However, Yamagata discloses that the material of the support member may include a neutron shielding material matching with the support member (paragraph 0039).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have modified Iio in view of Meng, Liu, and Yang to include that the material of the support member may include a neutron shielding material matching with the support member, based on the teachings of Yamagata that this prolongs the life of the neutron source while making it safe and easy to handle (Yamagata, paragraph 0039).
Iio in view of Meng, Liu, Yang, and Yamagata fails to disclose that the neutron shielding plate covers the support member.
However, Chen discloses that the neutron shielding plate (page 3, last paragraph: housing 1 has a neutron shielding function; therefore, the ceiling of housing 1 is considered to be a neutron shielding plate) covers the support member (FIG. 1: the ceiling of housing 1 covers support member 8).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have modified Iio in view of Meng, Liu, Yang, and Yamagata to include that the neutron shielding plate covers the support member, based on the teachings of Chen that this maintains flexibility of movement while ensuring the neutron irradiation is properly shielded (Chen, page 4, paragraph labeled (3)).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Liu (WO Patent No. 2019047697 A1), hereinafter Liu (‘697) (English machine translation provided), teaches a neutron capture therapy system, characterized in that the neutron capture therapy system comprises a charged particle beam generation part, a beam transmission part, and a neutron beam generation part, the neutron capture therapy system is entirely accommodated in a building made of concrete.
Buck et al. (U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2015/0327818 A1), hereinafter Buck, teaches a neutron therapy system comprising a treatment table and a treatment table positioning device comprising a robotic arm configured to support and position the treatment table and comprising at least one arm part.
Saracen et al. (U.S. Patent No. 8,160,205 B2), hereinafter Saracen, teaches an irradiation therapy system comprising a treatment table and a treatment table positioning device comprising a robotic arm configured to support and position the treatment table and comprising at least one arm part, wherein the robotic arm is provided with an anti-collision protection mechanism, and the treatment table positioning device further comprises a linear shaft, wherein the linear shaft comprises a sliding rail fixed to the building and a support seat connected to the robotic arm, and the support seat drives the treatment table and the robotic arm to slide along the sliding rail together.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ALINA R KALISZEWSKI whose telephone number is (703)756-5581. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday 8:00am - 5:00pm EST.
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/A.K./Examiner, Art Unit 2881
/ROBERT H KIM/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2881