DETAILED ACTIONAcknowledgment is made of applicant’s amendment filed 2/23/26.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 .
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.
4. Claims 1 - 6 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by
Wang et al. (2021/0010976, hereinafter Wang - See IDS dated 5/3/24).
Regarding claim 1, Wang discloses an apparatus comprising an ergodic relay
100 (PATER imaging system), an acoustic delay line (waveguide) configured to
temporally separate one or more initial photoacoustic signals and one or more
reflected photoacoustic signals; an acoustic cavity (right angle prism) 126 coupled to
the acoustic delay line; and an integrated single-element ultrasonic transducer
fabricated onto a surface of the acoustic cavity (See Figs. 1 and 15, See Pg. 3, Paras.
0057, 0058 and 0060 and Pg. 5, Paras. 0069, 0072 and 0075).
Regarding claim 2, the acoustic delay line is an optical rod or an acoustic
waveguide (See Pg. 3, Para. 0057).
Regarding claim 3, the acoustic cavity is a right-angle prism 126 (See Fig. 15).
Regarding claim 4, the integrated single-element ultrasonic transducer is
fabricated onto the surface along a hypotenuse side of the right-angle prism (See Pg.
3, Paras. 0057 and 0058 and Pg. 5, Para. 0072).
Regarding claim 5, the integrated single-element ultrasonic transducer is
fabricated in a region of the outer surface of the acoustic cavity that is clear from
interference from an illumination beam (See Pg. 3, Paras. 0057 and 0058 and Pg. 5,
Para. 0075).
Regarding claim 6, the acoustic delay line is a silica rod or waveguide and the
acoustic cavity is a glass prism fused to the silica rod (See Pg. 3, Para. 0057 and PG. 6,
Para. 0078).
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. 6. 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.
7. Claims 7 and 30 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over
Wang in view of Zheng et al. (“Broadband gradient impedance matching using an
acoustic metamaterial for ultrasonic transducers”, hereinafter Zheng - See IDS dated
5/3/24).
Regarding claim 7, Wang discloses an apparatus comprising an ergodic relay
100 (PATER imaging system), an acoustic delay line (waveguide) configured to
temporally separate one or more initial photoacoustic signals and one or more
reflected photoacoustic signals; an acoustic cavity (right angle prism) 126 coupled to
the acoustic delay line; and an integrated single-element ultrasonic transducer
fabricated onto a surface of the acoustic cavity (See Figs. 1 and 15, See Pg. 3, Paras.
0057, 0058 and 0060 and Pg. 5, Paras. 0069, 0072 and 0075).
Wang fails to disclose one or more acoustic impedance-matching layers located
on a distal end of the acoustic delay line.
However, Zheng discloses an apparatus comprising acoustic impedance-
matching layers that are coupled to a piezoelectric material unit of ultrasonic
transducers and imaging units (See Pg. 2, Paras. 2 and 3 and Pg. 5, Para. “Transducer
equipped with acoustic metamaterial matching layer”).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before
the effective filing date of the claimed invention was made to modify Wang according
to the teachings of Zheng for the purpose of, advantageously providing an improved
device since this type of device enables the ability to provide a high transmission
window for through acoustic waves over a broad frequency range (See Pg. 6, Para.
“Discussion”).
Regarding claim 30, Wang fails to disclose that at least one of the one or more
acoustic impedance-matching layers is (1) a quarter-wavelength impedance-matching
layer, (ii) a cascaded impedance-matching layer, or (iii) a gradient impedance-matching
layer.
However, in Zheng, the one or more acoustic impedance-matching layers is a
gradient impedance-matching layer (See Pg. 2, Para. “Results”, Pg. 3, Para. “Gradient
impedance”, Pg. 5, Para. “Transducer equipped with acoustic metamaterial matching
layer” and Pg. 8, Para. “Transducer fabrication, transducer simulation and
experimental setup”).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before
the effective filing date of the claimed invention was made to modify Wang according
to the teachings of Zheng for the purpose of, advantageously providing an improved
device since this type of device enables the ability to provide a high transmission
window for through acoustic waves over a broad frequency range (See Pg. 6, Para.
“Discussion”).
Allowable Subject Matter
8. Claims 31 - 36 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.
9. The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject
matter: The primary reasons for indicating allowable subject matter is that the prior
art does not anticipate or make obvious the provisions of “the integrated single-
element ultrasonic transducer comprises a stack of layers, comprising: a first gold
electrode layer; a second gold electrode layer; and a piezoelectric crystal disposed
between the first gold electrode layer and the second gold electrode layer” (referring
to claim 31), “the stack of layers further comprises a third gold electrode layer; and a
matching layer between the third gold electrode layer and the second gold electrode
layer” (referring to claim 32), “the third gold electrode layer is in contact with an end
of the acoustic delay line” (referring to claim 33), “the stack of layers further
comprises a conductive layer between the first gold electrode layer and the
piezoelectric crystal” (referring to claim 34), “the piezoelectric crystal is a lead
magnesium niobate-lead titanate crystal and/or the piezoelectric crystal has a
thickness of at least 40 pm” (referring to claim 35) and “the first gold electrode layer
is disposed on the surface of the acoustic cavity” (referring to claim 36) in
combination with the other limitations presented in claim 1.
10. Claims 21 - 26 are allowed.
11. The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject
matter: The primary reasons for indicating allowable subject matter is that the prior
art does not anticipate or make obvious the provisions of “depositing a first electrode
and a second electrode onto opposite sides of a piezoelectric crystal to form an
acoustic stack; dicing acoustic stack into a piezoelectric element; depositing a third
electrode on an outer surface of a prism fused to an optical rod; and affixing the
piezoelectric element to the third electrode on the prism”, as well as, “depositing a
layer of conductive paste on the acoustic stack to form a backing layer, wherein the
piezoelectric element is affixed to the third electrode on the prism using the backing
layer” (referring to claim 22), “affixing one or more wires to the piezoelectric
element” (referring to claim 23), “depositing a protective layer on the piezoelectric
element” (referring to claim 24), “depositing one or more acoustic impedance-
matching layers on a distal end of the prism” (referring to claim 25) and “the
piezoelectric element is affixed to the third electrode in a region of the prism that is
clear from interference from an illumination beam” (referring to claim 26) incombination with the other limitations presented in claim 21. Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments, on Pg. 8, Paras. 5 and 6 and Pg. 9, Paras. 1 and 2, filed
2/23/26 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive. In response to applicant’s arguments that the references do not disclose an acoustic delay line configured to temporarily separate one or more initial photoacoustic signals and one or more reflected photoacoustic signals and an acoustic delay line that is coupled to an element that can separate initial and reflected photoacoustic signals, it is the Examiner’s position that Wang discloses a system 100 that includes an ergodic relay 126, the relay receiving a plurality of PA signals 204 (initial signals) from a plurality of corresponding positions with a field of view 216 of an object 132, and that delivers each signal after a signature delay to one or more transducer devices coupled to the ergodic relay, the relay internally reflects the PA signals that enter the relay and the system 100 obtains the received and reflected PA signals and separates and analyzes the signals (See Pg. 4, Para. 0067, Pg. 5, Para. 0068, Pg. 6, Para. 0075, Pg 7, Para. 0091 and Pg. 8, Para. 0096), thus the reference still stands.
Conclusion
THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. 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.14. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from
the examiner should be directed to OCTAVIA HOLLINGTON whose telephone number is (571)272-2176. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 9am-5pm.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, John Breene can be reached at 5712724107. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/OCTAVIA HOLLINGTON/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2855 5/27/26
Prosecution Insights