DETAILED ACTION
Claims 6 and 10 are canceled.
Claims 1-5, 7-9, 11-14, 16-19, and 21 are pending.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim(s) 1-21 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
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) 1-5, 7, 17, and 21 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yonekawa (JP 2018087793 A) in view of Zhang (CN 204407023 U).
Regarding Claim 1: Yonekawa discloses a collimator (Fig. 2), comprising:
a shield plate (22) configured to variably shield incident rays projected onto the collimator, the shield plate being provided with a window (holes 32) and having a rotating center about which the shield plate rotates (21a); and
a driving mechanism (Fig. 1, rotation motor 21) configured to drive the shield plate to adjust a shape of a radiating surface of outputting rays penetrating the collimator.
Yonekawa fails to teach the window and the rotating center being located at opposite end portions of the shield plate.
Zhang teaches a radiation shield plate with a rotation point displaced from the center of the shield (Fig. 1, 12; Fig. 3).
It would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art to have modified Yonekawa to incorporate the teachings of Zhang and provide a rotating center located at an edge of the shield plate, opposite, for example, window 32C1 of Yonekawa, Fig. 2. An edge-mounted pivot is a conventional alternative for rotating a plate, as demonstrated by Zhang. Relocating the pivot from the center of the shield to an edge would have been a predictable use of known mechanical elements involving only routine skill in the art, merely substituting one known rotational arrangement for another to obtain predictable results. See MPEP 2144. One would have been motivated to make such a modification on the basis of freeing the central region of the plate from an obstructed radiation path caused by the structural rotation mechanisms.
Regarding Claim 2: Yonekawa in view of Zhang discloses the collimator according to claim 1, wherein the driving mechanism is configured to drive the shield plate such that the outputting rays are able to be emitted through the window (Yonekawa: Fig. 2).
Regarding Claim 3: Yonekawa in view of Zhang discloses the collimator according to claim 2, wherein the window comprises a first sub-window and a second sub-window, the first sub-window and the second sub-window having different shapes (Yonekawa: Fig. 2).
Regarding Claim 4: Yonekawa in view of Zhang discloses the collimator according to claim 3, wherein in at least one direction, the first sub-window and the second sub-window have different sizes (Yonekawa: Fig. 2).
Regarding Claim 5: Yonekawa in view of Zhang discloses the collimator according to claim 1, wherein the driving mechanism is configured to drive the shield plate to move, so as to adjust a shielding area of the shield plate to the incident rays (Yonekawa: Fig. 2).
Regarding Claim 7: Yonekawa in view of Zhang discloses a radioactive source kit, comprising:
the collimator according to claim 1 (as shown above); and
a radioactive source configured to emit the incident rays (Yonekawa: Fig. 1, 14).
Regarding Claim 17: Yonekawa in view of Zhang discloses a detector (300), comprising:
the collimator according to claim 1 (as shown above); and
a detection element opposite the collimator (Yonekawa: Fig. 1, 13), wherein the detection element is configured to receive at least part of the outputting rays (Yonekawa: Fig. 1, beam B).
Regarding Claim 21: Yonekawa in view of Zhang disclose the collimator according to claim 1, wherein the window comprises a first sub-window and a second sub-window having different shapes (Yonekawa: Fig. 2), but both fail to teach one of the first window and the second window has a triangular shape.
However, it would have been an obvious matter of design choice to have one of the first window and the second window have a triangular shape. A change in shape is generally recognized as being within the level of ordinary skill in the art. See MPEP 2144.04. One would have been motivated to make such a design choice on the basis of providing an asymmetric beam shape.
Claim(s) 8, 9, 11, 12, and 16 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yonekawa in view of Zhang, in further view of Lee (KR 100966291 B1).
Regarding Claim 8: Yonekawa in view of Zhang discloses the radioactive source kit according to claim 7, but both fail to teach further comprising:
a protective holder having an accommodating groove, the accommodating groove having a predetermined opening;
wherein the radioactive source is placed in the accommodating groove, the incident rays are emitted from the predetermined opening, and the shield plate is located at the predetermined opening.
However, Lee teaches a radiation source kit comprising:
a protective holder (Fig. 3, 10) having an accommodating groove (Fig. 4, 13), the accommodating groove having a predetermined opening (45);
wherein the radioactive source (30) is placed in the accommodating groove, the incident rays are emitted from the predetermined opening, and the shield plate is located at the predetermined opening (Figs. 3 and 4).
Yonekawa, Zhang, and Lee are all considered to be analogous to the claimed invention because they are both in the field of radiation. Therefore, it would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the combination of Yonekawa and Zhang to incorporate the teachings of Lee. One would be motivated to make such a modification on the basis of improving radiation safety and stability of the radiation source.
Regarding Claim 9: Yonekawa in view of Zhang, in further view of Lee, discloses the radioactive source kit according to claim 8, wherein:
the shield plate is provided with a window and the window comprises a first sub-window and a second sub-window (Yonekawa: Fig. 2); and
the shield plate covers the predetermined opening (Lee: Fig. 3), the first sub-window and the second sub-window are distributed along a circumferential direction of the shield plate, and the shield plate is configured to be rotatable such that one of the first sub-window and the second sub-window corresponds to the predetermined opening (Yonekawa: Fig. 2).
Regarding Claim 11: Yonekawa in view of Zhang, in further view of Lee, discloses the radioactive source kit according to claim 8, wherein the shield plate is configured to shield the predetermined opening, and the driving mechanism is configured to drive the shield plate to move, so as to adjust a shielding area of the shield plate to the predetermined opening in a direction perpendicular to an optical axis of the radioactive source (Lee: Figs. 3 and 4).
Regarding Claim 12: Yonekawa in view of Zhang, in further view of Lee, discloses the radioactive source kit according to claim 8, further comprising:
an elastic member (Lee: Fig. 3, 23) located in the accommodating groove, wherein one end of the elastic member is fixedly connected to a bottom of the accommodating groove, and another end of the elastic member is close to the predetermined opening (Lee: Fig. 3, 45); and
a baffle (Lee: 41) located at the predetermined opening, wherein at least part of the baffle is located in the accommodating groove and fixedly connected to the protective holder, the baffle has a baffle opening, the baffle opening corresponds to the predetermined opening, and the shield plate is located on a side of the baffle away from the protective holder (Lee: Fig. 3).
Regarding Claim 16: Yonekawa in view of Zhang, in further view of Lee, discloses the radioactive source kit according to claim 8, further comprising:
a housing having an accommodating cavity (Yonekawa: Fig. 1, 11);
wherein the protective holder and the collimator are both located in the accommodating cavity (Yonekawa: Fig. 1, 22 and 15).
Claim(s) 13 and 14 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yonekawa in view of Zhang and Lee, in further view of Gu (CN 114442140 A).
Regarding Claim 13: Yonekawa in view of Zhang, in further view of Lee, discloses the radioactive source kit according to claim 8, but all fail to teach further comprising:
a position detector located on at least one side of the protective holder, wherein the position detector is in communication connection with the driving mechanism, and the position detector is configured to detect a position of the radioactive source kit and generate a detection result based on the position of the radioactive source kit;
wherein the driving mechanism is configured to, based on the detection result of the position detector, drive the shield plate to adjust the shape of the radiating surface of the outputting rays.
Gu teaches a radiation device with a radioactive source kit (Fig. 1), comprising:
a position detector located on at least one side of the protective holder (Fig. 1, 11), wherein the position detector is in communication connection with the driving mechanism (via terminal 16), and the position detector is configured to detect a position of the radioactive source kit and generate a detection result based on the position of the radioactive source kit (Fig. 7, detecting position relative to 17);
wherein the driving mechanism is configured to, based on the detection result of the position detector, drive the shield plate to adjust the shape of the radiating surface of the outputting rays (Figs. 7 and 8a; steps 2 and 3: “step 2, the infrared distance measuring module by measuring, sending the instrument to be calibrated distance to the terminal, the terminal receiving input irradiation field radius L; step 3, the terminal is processed, the signal is transmitted to the single chip, the single chip controls the corresponding motor to rotate, the adjustable collimation module starts to adjust the degree, the storage source shifting scattering cavity module adjusts the gear size by rotating; then starting to calibrate;”).
It would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the combination of Yonekawa, Zhang, and Lee to incorporate the teachings of Gu and provide a position detector on the protective holder. One would be motivated to make such a modification on the basis of simplifying automating the collimation adjustment and preventing the radiation kit from colliding with another object.
Regarding Claim 14: Yonekawa in view of Zhang and Lee, in further view of Gu, discloses the radioactive source kit according to claim 13, but all fail to teach wherein the position detector is one of at least two position detectors, the at least two position detectors being located on two opposite sides of the protective holder respectively.
However, the court has held that mere duplication of parts has no patentable significance unless a new and unexpected result is produced (See MPEP 2144.04). Therefore, it would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the combination of Yonekawa, Zhang, Lee, and Gu and provide an additional position detector. One would be motivated to make such a modification on the basis of improving detection accuracy.
Claim(s) 15 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yonekawa in view of Zhang, Lee, and Gu, in further view of Hartman (US 20200164414 A1).
Regarding Claim 15: Yonekawa in view of Zhang and Lee, in further view of Gu, discloses the radioactive source kit according to claim 13, but all fail to teach wherein the position detector is a fiber optic position detector.
However, position detecting by both infrared and fiber optics are known in the art as shown by Hartman ([0060]: “the mobile base (3) can, but need not necessarily, include one or more navigation sensors (62)(“NS”) to sense the position of the mobile panel maintenance unit (2) in spatial relation to a panel (6)… including as illustrative examples: lidar sensor, image sensor (camera), infrared sensor (infrared camera), accelerometer, capacitive or capacitive displacement sensors, doppler effect sensor, eddy current sensors, inductive sensors, magnetic, photoelectric sensors, reflectivity sensors, laser-range finder sensors, infrared sensors, charge coupled sensors, radar sensors, sonar, ultrasonic sensors, fiber optics sensor, hall effect sensors, touch switch, or combinations thereof.”)
Therefore, it would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the combination of Yonekawa, Zhang, Lee, and Gu to substitute the infrared position detector of Gu (abstract) for a fiber optic position detector. One would have been motivated to make such a modification on the basis of providing higher accuracy and enabling more flexible sensing geometries.
Claim(s) 18 and 19 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ma (CN 115015039 A) in view of Yonekawa and Lee .
Regarding Claim 18: Ma discloses a surface density gauge, comprising:
a radioactive source kit comprising a radioactive source configured to emit rays to be projected onto a target object (transmitter in Figure 1 reproduced and machine translated below);
a detector configured to detect information about rays penetrating the target object (Fig. 1: receiving end);
a surface density calculation unit configured to calculate a surface density of the target object based on the information about the rays penetrating the target object that are detected by the detector (Fig. 3, reproduced and translated below).
Ma fails to teach:
a collimator disposed in the radioactive source kit or the detector, and comprising:
a shield plate configured to variably shield the rays emitted by the radioactive source, the shield plate being provided with a window and having a rotating center about which the shield plate rotates, the window and the rotating center being located at opposite end portions of the shield plate; and
a driving mechanism configured to drive the shield plate to adjust a shape of a radiating surface of rays penetrating the collimator.
However, Yonekawa discloses a collimator (Fig. 2), comprising:
a shield plate (Fig. 2) configured to variably shield the rays emitted by the radioactive source, the shield plate being provided with a window (32) and having a rotating center (21a) about which the shield plate rotates; and
a driving mechanism configured to drive the shield plate to adjust a shape of a radiating surface of rays penetrating the collimator (Fig. 1, 21).
It would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art to have modified Ma to incocrporate the teachings of Yonekawa and provide a collimator disposed in the source kit. One would have been motivated to make such a modification on the basis of controlling beam direction and divergence and improving spatial resolution.
Yonekawa fails to teach: the window and the rotating center being located at opposite end portions of the shield plate.
Zhang teaches a radiation shield plate with a rotation point displaced from the center of the shield (Fig. 1, 12; Fig. 3).
It would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art to have modified the combination of Ma and Yonekawa to incorporate the teachings of Zhang and provide a rotating center located at an edge of the shield plate, opposite, for example, window 32C1 of Yonekawa, Fig. 2. An edge-mounted pivot is a conventional alternative for rotating a plate, as demonstrated by Zhang. Relocating the pivot from the center of the shield to an edge would have been a predictable use of known mechanical elements involving only routine skill in the art, merely substituting one known rotational arrangement for another to obtain predictable results. See MPEP 2144. One would have been motivated to make such a modification on the basis of freeing the central region of the plate from an obstructed radiation path caused by the structural rotation mechanisms.
Regarding Claim 19: Ma in view of Yonekawa and Zhang discloses a weight detection apparatus, comprising:
the surface density gauge according to claim 18 (as shown above), configured to detect surface density information of an electrode plate (Ma: Fig. 1, pole piece), wherein a detection element of the detector and the radioactive source are configured to be disposed correspondingly on two opposite sides of the electrode plate (Ma: fig. 1); and
a detection unit in communication connection with the surface density gauge and configured to calculate a weight of a slurry on the electrode plate based on the surface density information of the electrode plate calculated by the surface density gauge (Ma: [0009]: “The surface density measuring instrument based on the radioactive source is the main device for measuring the weight of the battery pole piece…”).
Conclusion
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/MIYA DOWNING/Examiner, Art Unit 2884
/DAVID J MAKIYA/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2884
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