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 .
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Information Disclosure Statement
Acknowledgement is made of receipt of Information Disclosure Statement(s) (PTO-1449) filed 6/20/2023 and 8/31/2023. An initialed copy is attached to this Office Action.
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election without traverse of claims 1-12 and 15-22in the reply filed on 2/12/2026 is acknowledged.
Claims 13-14 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected invention, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election was made without traverse in the reply filed on 2/12/2026.
Response to Amendment
This Office action is in response to the communication filed 2/12/2026.
Newly submitted Claims 15-22, filed 2/12/2026, are acknowledged and accepted.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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 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(s) 1-5, 7-12, and 15-22 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Nanbara Takahiro (EP 2564767), hereinafter Takahiro.
Regarding claim 1, Takahiro discloses, in figure 1, an ophthalmic examination apparatus (figure 1 and paragraph 0012 discloses an optical system and a control system; paragraph 0020 and 0023 disclose a fundus photographing apparatus), which comprises an alignment light generator (paragraph 0020 discloses the generation of beams of light by light sources 35a and 35b), wherein the alignment light generator is configured to direct beams of light (35a and 35b, light sources) (figure 1 and paragraphs 0020 and 0044), a cross section of at least one of which is oblong (see figure 4 and paragraph 0044; since alignment targets M1 and M2 on the cornea are oblong, so are the beam cross sections), from separate locations toward an image of an aperture stop (23, diaphragm) of an imaging unit (29, photographing element) of the ophthalmic examination apparatus (paragraph 0015), the image of the aperture stop (23, diaphragm) of the imaging unit (29, photographing element) being in front of the ophthalmic examination apparatus (figure 1 and paragraph 0015), and cause an envelope of the beams of light to converge to and diverge from a waist (paragraph 0020), which is within an alignment range of the ophthalmic examination apparatus (paragraph 0020), an eye (E, eye) being at an examination location with respect to the imaging unit in response to the waist of the envelope being located at least partly inside a pupil of the eye (paragraphs 0014-0015 and 0027), the ophthalmic examination apparatus being configured to have the examination location within the alignment range (figure 1 and paragraph 0020; the area inside the pupil around which the beams from sources 35a and 35b cross correspond to a waist of an envelope of the beams); the imaging unit is configured to receive reflections of the beams of light from a cornea of the eye within the alignment range, the eye being similar to a standard eye within standard tolerances (figure 1, paragraphs 0020 and 0023); and a user interface of the ophthalmic examination apparatus is configured to present, directly or indirectly guidance information on a location of the eye with respect to the examination location based on locations of the reflections of the beams of light on a detecting surface of the imaging unit (figure 4; paragraph 0044).
Regarding claim 2, Takahiro discloses wherein the alignment light generator is configured to direct the beams of light via a beam splitter (33a and 33b, beamsplitter) toward the image of the aperture stop (23, diaphragm) (paragraph 0045).
Regarding claim 3, Takahiro discloses wherein the alignment light generator is configured to direct the beams of light, projections of which are parallel in a first plane, a normal of which is perpendicular to an optical axis of the imaging unit (figure 1 shows the light beams in a parallel and perpendicular direction).
Regarding claim 4, Takahiro discloses wherein the alignment light generator is configured to direct the beams of light symmetrically about the optical axis of the imaging unit and make beams of light to intersect each other at the examination location of the ophthalmic examination apparatus figure 2 shows the light beams intersecting).
Regarding claim 5, Takahiro discloses wherein the imaging unit is configured to cause at least one change of the location of the reflections of the beams of light on the detecting surface (paragraphs 0013 and 0014 disclose total reflection).
Regarding claim 7, Takahiro discloses wherein the processing unit of the ophthalmic examination apparatus comprises one or more processors (50, controller) (paragraph 0023); one or more memories (52, memory) including computer program code (paragraphs 0023 and 0047); and a user interface (paragraph 0044); the one or more memories and the computer program code are configured to, with the one or more processors, cause processing unit at least to feed the guidance information to the user interface for presenting the guidance information (paragraphs 0023, 0044, and 0047).
Regarding claim 8, Takahiro discloses wherein the alignment light generator is configured to direct at least two of the beams of light in a non-symmetrical manner (figure 2), and the processing unit (50, controller) of the ophthalmic examination apparatus is configured to compute a position of the eye three-dimensionally with respect to the examination location and a curvature of the cornea of the eye (paragraphs 0044 and 0045).
Regarding claim 9, Takahiro discloses wherein the processing unit of the ophthalmic examination apparatus is configured to compute a distance of the eye from the examination location in a direction parallel to the optical axis of the imaging unit (paragraph 0028).
Regarding claim 10, Takahiro discloses wherein the alignment light generator is configured to output the beams of light that are in an infrared region (paragraphs 0013 and 0014).
Regarding claim 11, Takahiro discloses wherein the ophthalmic examination apparatus is a fundus camera (paragraph 0010).
Regarding claim 12, Takahiro discloses wherein the ophthalmic examination apparatus is configured to capture a still image or a video of the eye with the imaging unit (paragraph 0043), and/or the ophthalmic examination apparatus comprises an examination unit, which is configured to capture a still image or a video of the eye.
Regarding claim 16, Takahiro discloses wherein the cross section of at least one of the beams is substantially circular, elliptical, rectangular, or square (see figure 4 and paragraph 0044; since alignment targets M1 and M2 on the cornea are oblong, so are the beam cross sections; the oblong shape is elliptical).
Regarding claim 17, Takahiro discloses wherein the alignment light generator comprises at least one initial lens (22, auxiliary lens) and at least one objective lens (21, objective lens) configured to collimate the beams and cause the envelope of the beams to converge to and diverge from the waist (paragraph 0020).
Regarding claim 18, Takahiro discloses wherein the near-infrared wavelength band is from about 750 nm to about 970 nm (paragraphs 0017 and 0019).
Regarding claim 19, Takahiro discloses wherein the alignment light generator comprises at least one light source selected from the group consisting of light-emitting diodes, organic light-emitting diodes, incandescent sources, and lasers, optionally with a band-pass filter (paragraph 0022 discloses lasers).
Regarding claim 20, Takahiro discloses wherein the alignment light generator is configured to generate two sets of beams, a first set configured for a coarse alignment range and a second set configured for a fine alignment range (figure 1 paragraphs 0045 and 0047).
Regarding claim 21, Takahiro discloses wherein the cross section of at least one of the beams is oblong such that a dimension in a first direction is larger than in a second direction, thereby increasing the alignment range (see figure 4 and paragraph 0044; since alignment targets M1 and M2 on the cornea are oblong, so are the beam cross sections; the oblong shape is elliptical).
Regarding claim 22, Takahiro discloses further comprising a camera configured to capture video of the iris of the eye during alignment to provide additional alignment information (paragraphs 0043 and 0045-0046).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 6 and 15 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 prior art taken either singularly or in combination fails to anticipate or fairly suggest the limitations of the independent claim(s), in such a manner that a rejection under 35 U.S.C. 102 or 103 would be proper. The prior art fails to teach a combination of all the claimed features as presented in claim(s) 6 and 15, wherein the claimed invention comprises, in claim 6, wherein the imaging unit is configured to cause the at least one change of the locations of the reflections of the beams of light on the detecting surface in response to the movement of the eye between opposite limits of the alignment range in a direction parallel to the optical axis of the imaging unit; in claim 15, wherein a cross-sectional area of at least one of the beams at or adjacent to a waist is in a range from about 1 mm² to about 8 mm², as claimed.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to BRANDI N THOMAS whose telephone number is (571)272-2341. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday 7:30 - 3:30.
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/BRANDI N THOMAS/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2872
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