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 .
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on 04/28/2026 has been entered.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments 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.
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 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.
Claim(s) 1, 2, 6 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lee, Chang Su, and Ho Sik Hwang. "Analysis of autofocusing evaluation functions of intraocular lens." Journal of Institute of Control, Robotics and Systems 23.9 (2017): 758-763 (hereinafter Lee), in view of Carson, Daniel, et al. "Optical bench performance of AcrySof® IQ ReSTOR®, AT LISA® tri, and FineVision® intraocular lenses." Clinical Ophthalmology (2014): 2105-2113 (hereinafter Carson), in view of LeBlanc; R. et al., US 20070146635 A1 (hereinafter LeBlanc), in view of Johansson; G. et al., US8668338B2 (hereinafter Johansson), in view of Alba-Bueno, Francisco, et al. "Patient-perceived and laboratory-measured halos associated with diffractive bifocal and trifocal intraocular lenses." Current eye research 43.1 (2018): 35-42 (hereinafter Bueno), in view of DE 102016209720 A1 (hereinafter Messner), and further in view of US20210042909A1 (hereinafter Kim).
Regarding claim 1, Lee teaches a defocus curve measuring apparatus for a multifocal intraocular lens, comprising: a light source that emits light (p. 2 fig. 1 element FL) that passes through a target image; a first lens that infinitely refracts the light passed through the target image (fig. 1 element L1); a beam splitter (fig. 1 between L1 and AP); an intraocular lens module that refracts the light passed through the beam splitter to determine a focus (fig. 1 element “IOL, intraocular lens”; the focus is directed towards to the IS as shown in fig. 1); a camera that captures an image light reflected by the beam splitter after the light is reflected from a retina and passes through the intraocular lens module (fig. 1 element “PC, pupil camera”).
Lee does not teach a Badal lens, a beam splitter having a polarization function that transmits p-polarized light of the light passed through the first lens and reflects s-polarized light; a liquid lens with variable focus; an artificial cornea; an aperture; a camera that captures an image of the s-polarized light reflected by the beam splitter, a second lens disposed between the beam splitter and the camera; a first linear polarizer, disposed between the target image and the beam splitter, that transmits the p-polarized light; and a second linear polarizer, disposed in front of the camera, that transmits the s-polarized light, wherein the beam splitter, the liquid lens, the artificial cornea, the aperture, and the intraocular lens module are arranged in this order.
Carson, from the same field of endeavor as Lee, teaches a Badal lens (this is shown in fig. 1).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to apply the teaching of Carson to Lee to have a Badal lens in order to allow viewing of visual targets at near, intermediate, and infinite distances without affecting image magnification (p. 3 col 2 para 5 lines 3-5).
Lee, when modified by Carson, does not teach a beam splitter having a polarization function that transmits p-polarized light of the light passed through the first lens and reflects s-polarized light; a liquid lens with variable focus; an artificial cornea; an aperture; a camera that captures an image of the s-polarized light reflected by the beam splitter, a second lens disposed between the beam splitter and the camera; a first linear polarizer, disposed between the target image and the beam splitter, that transmits the p-polarized light; and a second linear polarizer, disposed in front of the camera, that transmits the s-polarized light,wherein the beam splitter, the liquid lens, the artificial cornea, the aperture, and the intraocular lens module are arranged in this order.
LeBlanc, from the same field of endeavor as Lee, discloses a beam splitter having a polarization function that transmits p-polarized light (fig. 6 element 43’ and polarizer 1) of the light passed through the first lens (this is disclosed by Lee as L1) and reflects s-polarized light (fig. 6 “s-polarized beam” reflected by PBS 44’, para [0043] lines 16-20); a camera that captures an image of the s-polarized light reflected by the beam splitter (this is shown in fig. 6 detector 51’), a second lens disposed between the beam splitter and the camera (fig. 6 camera lens 53’).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to apply the teaching of LeBlanc to Lee, when modified by Carson, to have a beam splitter having a polarization function that transmits p-polarized light of the light passed through the first lens and reflects s-polarized light; a camera that captures an image of the s-polarized light reflected by the beam splitter, a second lens disposed between the beam splitter and the camera in order to for the image to have a high signal-to-noise ratio (para [0043] lines 16-20).
Lee, when modified by Carson and LeBlanc, does not teach a liquid lens with variable focus; an artificial cornea; an aperture; a first linear polarizer, disposed between the target image and the beam splitter, that transmits the p-polarized light; and a second linear polarizer, disposed in front of the camera, that transmits the s-polarized light, wherein the beam splitter, the liquid lens, the artificial cornea, the aperture, and the intraocular lens module are arranged in this order.
Johansson, from the same field of endeavor as Lee, teaches a liquid lens with variable focus (col 3 lines 49-53; fig. 3 elements 304 and 305 shows this liquid lens has a variable focus; note that the eye 102 in fig. 1 corresponds to the intraocular lens and artificial cornea).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to apply the teaching of Johansson to Lee, when modified by Carson and LeBlanc, to have a liquid lens with variable focus in order to increase the reliability of the visual field test (col 1 lines 15-20).
Lee, when modified by Carson, LeBlanc, and Johansson, does not teach an artificial cornea; an aperture; a first linear polarizer, disposed between the target image and the beam splitter, that transmits the p-polarized light; and a second linear polarizer, disposed in front of the camera, that transmits the s-polarized light, wherein the beam splitter, the liquid lens, the artificial cornea, the aperture, and the intraocular lens module are arranged in this order.
Bueno, from the same field of endeavor as Lee, teaches an artificial cornea (the artificial cornea is shown in fig. 1).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to apply the teaching of Bueno to Lee, when modified by Carson, LeBlanc, and Johansson, to have teaches an artificial cornea in order to induce a similar amount of spherical aberration in the IOL plane as the average human cornea (p. 4 col 1 last para lines 4-6).
Lee, when modified by Carson, LeBlanc, Johansson, and Bueno, does not teach an aperture; a first linear polarizer, disposed between the target image and the beam splitter, that transmits the p-polarized light; and a second linear polarizer, disposed in front of the camera, that transmits the s-polarized light, wherein the beam splitter, the liquid lens, the artificial cornea, the aperture, and the intraocular lens module are arranged in this order.
Messner, from the same field of endeavor as Lee, teaches an aperture (fig. 1 element 8, p. 3 para 13, this aperture is in front of the intraocular lens).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to apply the teaching of Messner to Lee, when modified by Carson, LeBlanc, Johansson, and Bueno, to have an aperture in order to limit the light beam going through the intraocular lens (p. 2 para 13).
Lee, when modified by Carson, LeBlanc, Johansson, Bueno and Messer, does not teach “a first linear polarizer, disposed between the target image and the beam splitter, that transmits the p-polarized light; and a second linear polarizer, disposed in front of the camera, that transmits the s-polarized light” (note that LeBlanc does not explicitly teach the polarizers are linear), wherein the beam splitter, the liquid lens, the artificial cornea, the aperture, and the intraocular lens module are arranged in this order.
Kim, from the same field of endeavor as Lee, teaches “a first linear polarizer, disposed between the target image and the beam splitter, that transmits the p-polarized light; and a second linear polarizer, disposed in front of the camera, that transmits the s-polarized light” (fig. 2 the first linear polarizer is element 126, the target image corresponds to element 112; the second linear polarizer is element 128 and the camera is the sensor 124; para [0030] lines 1-9).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to apply the teaching of Kim to Lee, when modified by Carson, LeBlanc, Johansson, Bueno and Messer, to have “a first linear polarizer, disposed between the target image and the beam splitter, that transmits the p-polarized light; and a second linear polarizer, disposed in front of the camera, that transmits the s-polarized light” in order to provide contrast indicative of the presence, position and magnitude of waviness or other surface irregularities in the evaluated surface of the sample (para [0030] last sentence).
The limitation wherein the beam splitter, the liquid lens, the artificial cornea, the aperture, and the intraocular lens module are arranged in this order is the combination of Messner, Bueno, and Johnson. The combination of Messner, Bueno, and Johnson teaches the liquid lens, the artificial cornea, the aperture, and the intraocular lens module are arranged in this order and replacing the element IOL of Lee with the combination of Messner, Bueno, and Johnson discloses the limitation wherein the beam splitter, the liquid lens, the artificial cornea, the aperture, and the intraocular lens module are arranged in this order.
Regarding claim 2, Lee teaches the defocus curve measuring apparatus of claim 1, wherein the light source and the target image are movably installed (the light source and the target image are installed on an optical test-bench; thus, its position can be adjusted as shown in fig. 2).
Regarding claim 6, Lee teaches the defocus curve measuring apparatus of claim 1, wherein the intraocular lens module and the retina are disposed such that a distance between the intraocular lens module and the retina is adjusted (the intraocular lens module and the retina are installed on an optical test-bench, thus, its position can be adjusted as shown in fig. 2).
Claim(s) 9, 10, 11 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lee in view of Carson, LeBlanc, Johansson, Bueno, Messer, and Kim, as applied to claim(s) 1 above, and in view of Hwang, H., KR102153451B1(hereinafter Hwang).
Regarding claim 9, the modified device of Lee does not teach the defocus curve measuring apparatus of claim 1, wherein the intraocular lens module comprises: a main body having a through hole; an intraocular lens mounted and fixed inside the through hole; a window member made of a transparent material and fixed at upper and lower ends of the through hole such that an inside of the through hole is sealed; a fixing part that fixes a position of the intraocular lens; and an aqueous liquid filled inside the through hole. Regarding claim 10, the modified device of Lee does not teach the defocus curve measuring apparatus of claim 9, the through hole has a circular-section, and a central axis of the intraocular lens is disposed on a central axis of the through hole. Regarding claim 11, the modified device of Lee does not teach the defocus curve measuring apparatus of claim 9, wherein the fixing part comprises an upper fixing adapter and a lower fixing adapter installed on upper and lower parts of the intraocular lens to fix the intraocular lens at a certain height inside the through hole, and an assembling jaw having a reduced diameter at a lower end of the through hole, and the lower fixing adapter, the intraocular lens, and the upper fixing adapter are sequentially stacked over the assembling jaw.
Hwang, from the same field of endeavor as Lee, teaches the defocus curve measuring apparatus of claim 1, wherein the intraocular lens module comprises: “a main body having a through hole” (fig. 6 para [0041]); “an intraocular lens mounted and fixed inside the through hole” (fig. 6 para [0041]); “a window member made of a transparent material and fixed at upper and lower ends of the through hole such that an inside of the through hole is sealed” (fig. 6 para [0042]); “a fixing part that fixes the position of the intraocular lens” (para [0044]); and “an aqueous liquid filled inside the through hole” (para [0047]), “the defocus curve measuring apparatus of claim 9, wherein the through hole has a circular cross-section, and a central axis of the intraocular lens is disposed on a central axis of the through hole” (para [0007-8]), and the defocus curve measuring apparatus of claim 9, “wherein the fixing part comprises an upper fixing adapter and a lower fixing adapter installed on upper and lower parts of the intraocular lens to fix the intraocular lens at a certain height inside the through hole” (para [0009]), and “an assembling jaw having a reduced diameter is formed at a lower end of the through hole” (para [0010]), and “the lower fixing adapter, the intraocular lens, and the upper fixing adapter are sequentially stacked over the assembling jaw” (para [0010]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to apply the teaching of Hwang to the modified device of Lee to have the defocus curve measuring apparatus of claim 1, wherein the intraocular lens module comprises: a main body having a through hole; an intraocular lens mounted and fixed inside the through hole; a window member made of a transparent material and fixed at upper and lower ends of the through hole such that an inside of the through hole is sealed; a fixing part that fixes a position of the intraocular lens; and an aqueous liquid filled inside the through hole, the modified device of Lee does not teach the defocus curve measuring apparatus of claim 9, the through hole has a circular-section, and a central axis of the intraocular lens is disposed on a central axis of the through hole, and the defocus curve measuring apparatus of claim 9, wherein the fixing part comprises an upper fixing adapter and a lower fixing adapter installed on upper and lower parts of the intraocular lens to fix the intraocular lens at a certain height inside the through hole, and an assembling jaw having a reduced diameter at a lower end of the through hole, and the lower fixing adapter, the intraocular lens, and the upper fixing adapter are sequentially stacked over the assembling jaw in order to simulate how patients can see the world and a mobile model eye device using the same (para [0005]).
Conclusion
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/ROBERTO FABIAN JR/Examiner, Art Unit 2877
/Kara E. Geisel/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2877
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