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 of 02/09/2026 has been entered and fully considered by the examiner. Claims 1, 4, 6-9, 22-25, and 27 have been amended. Claims 5 and 10-20 have been canceled. Claims 10-20 and 28-31 have been canceled. Claims 32-36 have been added. Claims 1-4, 6-9, 21-27, and 32-36 are currently pending in the application with claims 1 and 27 being independent.
Information Disclosure Statement
Information Disclosure Statement (IDS) submitted on 05/21/2026 has been entered and fully considered by the examiner.
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.
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.
Claims 1-4, 6-8, 22, 27, 32-34 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ergler et al. (U.S. Publication No. 2016/0256129) hereinafter “Ergler” in view of Zhu et al. (CN 112617869) hereinafter “Zhu” and Shirazi et al. (WO 2007/008313) hereinafter “Shirazi”.
Regarding claim 1, Ergler discloses a data transmission system used in a medical device [see abstract of Ergler], wherein the medical device [CT system 1; see FIG. 1] includes a rotating part that rotates during a medical procedure and a stationary part that keeps still during the medical procedure, [see FIGs 4 and 6-7 and [0094]; turning radius of the gantry 6.1 and the stationary part outside that area] the data transmission system includes an emitter and a receiver, the emitter being mounted on the rotating part and the stationary part [transmitter/receiver are located on the stationary part; see [0079]; also [0068]and [0074]-[0077] disclosing emitting antennas in the rotating part] , the receiver being mounted on the stationary part,[ transmitter/receiver are located on the stationary part; see [0079] the emitter is configured to generate a target signal encoding target data based on a current relative position of the emitter with respect to the receiver, [see [0038] of Ergler] and transmit the target signal to the receiver, [see [0060] of Ergler]
Wherein the RF emitter includes a plurality of emitting units, [see FIG. 4, and [0074]; a plurality of radio units 3.3. emitters make up the emitting unit] each emitting unit of the plurality of the emitting units is configured to transmit a target sub-signal of the target signal to the receiver, [each emitter 3.3. emits the data (sub-signal); see [0077]]
the receiver is configured to receive the target signal and extract the target data from the target signal. [see [0070] of Ergler]
Ergler does not expressly disclose that the signal sent and received is in the range of radio frequency (RF). values of one or more parameters of the target sub-signals are different, and the one or more parameters include one or more of a carrier frequency, an encoding mode, a modulation mode, a magnitude, and a phase, the magnitude and the phase are relating to beamforming.
Zhu, directed towards communication between rotating and stationary portions of CT scanner [see abstract of Zhu] further discloses that the signal sent and received is in the range of radio frequency (RF). [see background section of Zhu]
Shirazi, directed towards RF emission of fast and wide-band data transmission [see abstract of Shirazi] further discloses that values of one or more parameters of the target sub-signals are different, and the one or more parameters include one or more of a carrier frequency, an encoding mode, a modulation mode, a magnitude, and a phase, the magnitude and the phase are relating to beamforming. [see page 3. Line 27-page 3, line 5; the sub-carriers each transmit a different frequency (i.e. carrier frequency) which is equally spaced in the frequency bandwidth]
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill level in the art at the time of the filing of the invention to modify the design of Ergler further such that the signal sent and received in in the range of radio frequency (RF) according to the teachings of Zhu in order to provide a safe range of frequency for use in CT environment [see background section of Zhu]. Further, it would have been a simple substitution of one range of frequency with another and would have been obvious to try for an ordinarily skilled in the art (KSR Rationale B)
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill level in the art at the time of the filing of the invention to modify the design of Ergler further such that values of one or more parameters of the target sub-signals are different, and the one or more parameters include one or more of a carrier frequency, an encoding mode, a modulation mode, a magnitude, and a phase, the magnitude and the phase are relating to beamforming according to the teachings of Shirazi in order to provide a fast wideband communication scheme using multiple sub-carriers signals with different parameters [see page 1, line 23-page 2, line 25 of Shirazi]
Regarding claim 2, Ergler further discloses that the target data includes scan data of a subject collected during the medical procedure. [see [0070] of Ergler]
Regarding claim 3, Ergler further discloses that the receiver is further configured to transmit the scan data extracted from the target signal to an image reconstruction component for reconstructing an image of the subject based on the scan data [see FIG. 1 and [0070] of Ergler]
Regarding claim 4, Ergler further discloses and the target signal is generated by performing operations including:
generating an initial signal including a plurality of initial sub-signals [each emitter 3.3 emits the data (i.e. sub-signal); see [0077]] ; and
for each of the plurality of initial sub-signals, generating the corresponding target sub-signal by adjusting the one or more parameters of the initial sub-signal based on the current relative position of the emitter with respect to the receiver;[see [0059]-[0060] of Angler disclosing varying either the frequency of emission of each sub-antenna 3.3. or the timing (i.e. phase) based on the position of each sub-antenna 3.3.] and
generating the target signal based on the plurality of target sub-signals. [see [0059]-[0060] of Angler]
Ergler does not expressly disclose that the signal sent and received is in the range of radio frequency (RF). And that each of the plurality of initial sub-signals corresponding to one target sub-signal of the plurality of target sub-signals
Zhu, directed towards communication between rotating and stationary portions of CT scanner [see abstract of Zhu] further discloses that the signal sent and received is in the range of radio frequency (RF). [see background section of Zhu]
Shirazi further discloses that each of the plurality of initial sub-signals corresponding to one target sub-signal of the plurality of target sub-signals [see page 3. Line 27-page 3, line 5; the sub-carriers each transmit a different frequency which is equally spaced in the frequency bandwidth]
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill level in the art at the time of the filing of the invention to modify the design of Ergler further such that the signal sent and received in in the range of radio frequency (RF) according to the teachings of Zhu in order to provide a safe range of frequency for use in CT environment [see background section of Zhu]. Further, it would have been a simple substitution of one range of frequency with another and would have been obvious to try for an ordinarily skilled in the art (KSR Rationale B)
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill level in the art at the time of the filing of the invention to modify the design of Ergler further such that each of the plurality of initial sub-signals corresponding to one target sub-signal of the plurality of target sub-signals according to the teachings of Shirazi in order to provide a fast wideband communication scheme using multiple sub-carriers signals with different parameters [see page 1, line 23-page 2, line 25 of Shirazi]
Regarding claim 6, Ergler further discloses that wherein the adjusting the one or more parameters of the initial sub-signal based on the current relative position of the emitter with respect to the receiver [see [0059]-[0060] of Angler disclosing varying either the frequency of emission of each sub-antenna 3.3. or the timing (i.e. phase) based on the position of each sub-antenna 3.3.] includes: for each of the one or more parameters of the initial sub-signal, obtaining a relationship between an adjustment coefficient value of the parameter and relative position of the emitter with respect to the receiver; and adjusting the parameter based on the relationship and the current relative position of the emitter with respect to the receiver, the relationship being previously generated. [see [0041] and [0060]; the time slot controller changes the timing of the emission of antenna one after another based on the angular distance between them, the coefficient being the firing time]
Ergler does not expressly disclose that the signal sent and received is in the range of radio frequency (RF).
Zhu, directed towards communication between rotating and stationary portions of CT scanner [see abstract of Zhu] further discloses that the signal sent and received is in the range of radio frequency (RF). [see background section of Zhu]
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill level in the art at the time of the filing of the invention to modify the design of Ergler further such that the signal sent and received in in the range of radio frequency (RF) according to the teachings of Zhu in order to provide a safe range of frequency for use in CT environment [see background section of Zhu]. Further, it would have been a simple substitution of one range of frequency with another and would have been obvious to try for an ordinarily skilled in the art (KSR Rationale B)
Regarding claims 7, 32, and 34, Ergler in view of Zhu discloses all the limitations of claim 6 above. [see rejection of claim 6]
Ergler further discloses that the relationship between the adjustment value of the parameter and the relative positions is determined by: determining an initial relationship between the adjustment coefficient value of the parameter and the relative position; [see [0038] of Ergler] and determining the relationship between the adjustment coefficient value of the parameter and the relative position [see [0059]-[0060] of Angler disclosing varying either the frequency of emission of each sub-antenna or timing based on the position of the sub-antenna]
Zhu further discloses generating a test result of the initial relationship by performing a reference medical procedure. [see page 5, first and second full paragraph disclosing performing a check to see if the initial settings is ok]
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill level in the art at the time of the filing of the invention to modify the design of Ergler such that it includes generating a test result of the initial relationship by performing a reference medical procedure; and determining the relationship between the adjustment coefficient value of the parameter and the relative position by modifying the initial relationship based on the test result according to the teachings of Zhu in order to perform automatic positioning of the emitters and save time and labor [see abstract of Zhu]
Regarding claims 8 and 33, Ergler further discloses wherein the determining an initial relationship between the adjustment coefficient value of the parameter and the relative position [see [0059]-[0060] of Angler disclosing varying either the frequency of emission of each sub-antenna 3.3. or the timing (i.e. phase) based on the position of each sub-antenna 3.3.] includes: determining possible relative positions of the RF emitter with respect to the RF receiver during a rotation period of the rotating part; [see [0060]-[0061] of Ergler] for each of the possible relative positions, estimating an impact of at least one of a Doppler effect or a multipath effect corresponding to the possible relative position, for each of the possible relative positions, [see [0064] of Ergler] and determining an initial adjustment value corresponding to the parameter based on the estimated impact; [see [0040] of Ergler; the initial values are adjusted based on the Doppler effect] and determining the initial relationship between the adjustment coefficient value of the parameter and the relative position based on the initial adjustment value corresponding to each of the possible relative positions. [see [0059]-[0060] and [0064] of Ergler]
Regarding claim 22, Ergler further discloses that the adjustment value of the carrier frequency refers to a value by which the carrier frequency needs to be adjusted to compensate for an impact of the Doppler effect corresponding to the current relative position. [see [0040] and [0064] of Ergler]
Shirazi further discloses that the one or more parameters include the carrier frequency [see page 3. Line 27-page 3, line 5; the sub-carriers each transmit a different frequency (i.e. carrier frequency) which is equally spaced in the frequency bandwidth]
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill level in the art at the time of the filing of the invention to modify the design of Ergler further such that the one or more parameters include the carrier frequency according to the teachings of Shirazi in order to provide a fast wideband communication scheme using multiple sub-carriers signals with different parameters [see page 1, line 23-page 2, line 25 of Shirazi]
Regarding claim 27, Ergler discloses a data transmission method [see abstract of Ergler], implemented by a medical device, [CT system 1; see FIG. 1] wherein the medical device includes a rotating part that rotates during a medical procedure and a stationary part that keeps still during the medical procedure, [see FIGs 4 and 6-7 and [0094]; turning radius of the gantry 6.1 and the stationary part outside that area] the data transmission system includes emitter and a receiver, the emitter is mounted on the rotating part, [ [0074]-[0077] disclosing emitting antennas in the rotating part] the receiver is mounted on the stationary part, ,[ transmitter/receiver are located on the stationary part; see [0079] and the method comprises:
generating, by the emitter, a target signal encoding target data based on a current relative position of the emitter with respect to the receiver; [see [0038] of Ergler] transmitting, by the emitter, the target signal to the receiver; [see [0060] of Ergler] and extracting, by the receiver, the target data from the target signal. [see [0070] of Ergler]
Ergler does not expressly disclose that the signal sent and received is in the range of radio frequency (RF). values of one or more parameters of the target sub-signals are different, and the one or more parameters include one or more of a carrier frequency, an encoding mode, a modulation mode, a magnitude, and a phase, the magnitude and the phase are relating to beamforming.
Zhu, directed towards communication between rotating and stationary portions of CT scanner [see abstract of Zhu] further discloses that the signal sent and received is in the range of radio frequency (RF). [see background section of Zhu]
Shirazi, directed towards RF emission of fast and wide-band data transmission [see abstract of Shirazi] further discloses that values of one or more parameters of the target sub-signals are different, and the one or more parameters include one or more of a carrier frequency, an encoding mode, a modulation mode, a magnitude, and a phase, the magnitude and the phase are relating to beamforming. [see page 3. Line 27-page 3, line 5; the sub-carriers each transmit a different frequency (i.e. carrier frequency) which is equally spaced in the frequency bandwidth]
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill level in the art at the time of the filing of the invention to modify the design of Ergler further such that the signal sent and received in in the range of radio frequency (RF) according to the teachings of Zhu in order to provide a safe range of frequency for use in CT environment [see background section of Zhu]. Further, it would have been a simple substitution of one range of frequency with another and would have been obvious to try for an ordinarily skilled in the art (KSR Rationale B)
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill level in the art at the time of the filing of the invention to modify the design of Ergler further such that values of one or more parameters of the target sub-signals are different, and the one or more parameters include one or more of a carrier frequency, an encoding mode, a modulation mode, a magnitude, and a phase, the magnitude and the phase are relating to beamforming according to the teachings of Shirazi in order to provide a fast wideband communication scheme using multiple sub-carriers signals with different parameters [see page 1, line 23-page 2, line 25 of Shirazi]
Claim 23 and 35-36 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ergler et al. (U.S. Publication No. 2016/0256129) hereinafter “Ergler” in view of Zhu et al. (CN 112617869) hereinafter “Zhu” as applied to claim 1,6, and 27 above and further in view of Gordon et al. (U.S. Patent No. 5,577,026) hereinafter “Gordon”.
Regarding claim 23 and 35 and 36 , Ergler in view of Zhu discloses all the limitations of claim 6 above [see rejection of claim 6]
Ergler in view of Zhu does not expressly disclose that the one or more parameters include an encoding mode and a modulation mode, the adjustment value of the encoding mode refers to a value by which the encoding mode needs to be adjusted to compensate for an impact of the multipath effect corresponding to the current relative position, and the adjustment value of the modulation mode refers to a value by which the modulation mode needs to be adjusted to compensate for the impact of the multipath effect corresponding to the current relative position.
Gordon, directed towards data transfer between rotating and stationary parts of a CT gantry [see abstract of Gordon] further discloses that the one or more parameters include an encoding mode [see column 4, lines 34-55 disclosing encoding the signal] and a modulation mode,[see column 9, lines 7-20 disclosing phase modulation and spectrum modulation of the sent signal] the encoding mode needs to be adjusted to compensate for an impact of the multipath effect corresponding to the current relative position, and the modulation mode needs to be adjusted to compensate for the impact of the multipath effect corresponding to the current relative position.[see column 6, lines 63-column 7, line34 of Gordon]
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill level in the art at the time of the filing of the invention to modify the design of Ergler as modified by Zhu further such that the one or more parameters include an encoding mode and a modulation mode, the adjustment value of the encoding mode refers to a value by which the encoding mode needs to be adjusted to compensate for an impact of the multipath effect corresponding to the current relative position, and the adjustment value of the modulation mode refers to a value by which the modulation mode needs to be adjusted to compensate for the impact of the multipath effect corresponding to the current relative position according to the teachings of Gordon in order to reduce cross-talk and increase the accuracy of data transferred [see abstract of Gordon]
Claim 21 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ergler et al. (U.S. Publication No. 2016/0256129) hereinafter “Ergler” in view of Zhu et al. (CN 112617869) hereinafter “Zhu” as applied to claim 1 above and further in view of Wang et al. (CN 105656825) hereinafter “Wang”.
Regarding claim 21, Ergler in view of Zhu discloses all the limitations of claim 1 above [see rejection of claim 1]
Ergler in view of Zhu does not expressly disclose that the current relative position of the RF emitter with respect to the RF receiver is determined based on a current relative motion speed and a current relative motion direction of the RF emitter with respect to the RF receiver, and the current relative motion speed and the current relative motion direction of the RF emitter with respect to the RF receiver are acquired via one or more position measurement devices
Wang, directed towards correcting for doppler frequency shift [see abstract of Wang] further discloses that the current relative position of the RF emitter with respect to the RF receiver is determined based on a current relative motion speed and a current relative motion direction of the RF emitter with respect to the RF receiver [see page 2, section 6 disclosing acquiring position and direction of moving objects and correcting Doppler shift based on those information], and the current relative motion speed and the current relative motion direction of the RF emitter with respect to the RF receiver are acquired via one or more position measurement devices [see [age 3, last 4 paragraph of the page]
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill level in the art at the time of the filing of the invention to modify the design of Ergler further such that the current relative position of the RF emitter with respect to the RF receiver is determined based on a current relative motion speed and a current relative motion direction of the RF emitter with respect to the RF receiver, and the current relative motion speed and the current relative motion direction of the RF emitter with respect to the RF receiver are acquired via one or more position measurement devices according to the teachings of Wang in order to correct for the Doppler frequency shift between two high speed data transfer systems [see page 3, section under “Contents of the invention”]
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim(s) 1 and 27 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 24-26 were previously indicated as allowable if they include all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims and a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter and comparison with relevant prior art were provided.
Claim 9 is considered to allowable if it includes all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims. A statement of reasons for indication of allowable subject matter and comparison with relevant prior art is provided below:
Regarding claim 9, the prior art fails to anticipate and/or render obvious either solely or in combination, among other features of the claim: “determining an evaluation result corresponding to the reference installation position by simulating a data transmission process between the virtual RF emitter and the virtual RF receiver mounted on the reference installation position, more parameters of a simulated RF signal received by the virtual RF receiver mounted on the reference installation position; wherein the evaluation result corresponding to the reference installation position is determined by analyzing one or more parameters of the simulated RF signal received by the virtual RF receiver mounted on the reference installation position and determining, based on the evaluation results of the plurality of reference installation positions, the installation location of the RF receiver on the stationary part.”
Ergler et al. (U.S. Publication No. 2016/0256129) hereinafter Ergler: Ergler is considered the closest prior art to the claim and discloses many features of the claim including a CT device including a stationary part and a rotating part and a communication system between the stationary and rotating part which uses an emitter and receiver to transmit imaging data between the two sections wherein the emitter includes a plurality of emitting units. However, Ergler does not disclose simulation of the gantry such that wherein the evaluation result corresponding to the reference installation position is determined by analyzing one or more parameters of the simulated RF signal received by the virtual RF receiver mounted on the reference installation position and determining, based on the evaluation results of the plurality of reference installation positions, the installation location of the RF receiver on the stationary part.”
Zhu et al. (CN 112617869) hereinafter “Zhu”: Zhu, also directed towards communication between the rotating and stationary parts of the CT system discloses that the signals sent and received are RF signals in the radio frequency range. Zhu also fails to disclsoe simulation of the gantry such that wherein the evaluation result corresponding to the reference installation position is determined by analyzing one or more parameters of the simulated RF signal received by the virtual RF receiver mounted on the reference installation position and determining, based on the evaluation results of the plurality of reference installation positions, the installation location of the RF receiver on the stationary part.”
Cao et al. (“a stationary source and rotating detector CT architecture for higher temporal resolution and lower radiation dose”. 2014) herein after “Cao: Cao directed towards designing a CT gantry discloses simulating of the gantry using a 3D model which including simulation of installation positions, data transmission between the RF emitter and receiver based on the emission of RF signals. Cao disclose the simulation of the gantry but fails to disclose that the evaluation result corresponding to the reference installation position is determined by analyzing one or more parameters of the simulated RF signal received by the virtual RF receiver mounted on the reference installation position and determining, based on the evaluation results of the plurality of reference installation positions, the installation location of the RF receiver on the stationary part.”
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 MARJAN - SABOKTAKIN whose telephone number is (303)297-4278. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9 am-5pm CT.
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/MARJAN SABOKTAKIN/Examiner, Art Unit 3797
/MICHAEL J CAREY/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3795
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