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 § 112b
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 9, 18, and dependent claims are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Claim 9 recites “further comprising the endoscope, wherein the endoscope …”, but the endoscope is considered to be positively recited in the parent claim 1 by virtue of reciting scope limitations for the endoscope itself. Claim 9 could simply recite “[[further comprising the endoscope]], wherein the endoscope …”.
Claim 18 contains the same issue.
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, 2, 4, 9, 11, 14, 15, 18-20, 24 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kobayashi US20220311911 and further in view of Giap US20150306340.
Kobayashi discloses for claim 1, “A visualization system comprising:
a video processing apparatus (main body 40; fig 1; 0037) including an input circuitry (control components: image processing circuit 400, control circuit 401, and an image control circuit 402; fig 1; 0037) and a noise mitigation logic (control circuit 401 and image control circuit 402), the input circuitry adapted to communicate with an endoscope (fig 1), the endoscope including a communications bus (signal line S10 and S11; 0047, 0054) and an image sensor (imaging device 100; fig 1; 0040)”.
Kobayashi does not disclose “wherein the noise mitigation logic is configured to cease transmission of configuration data to the image sensor via the communication bus in case of a high frequency noise and electrical disturbance on the communication bus”. Giap teaches in the same field of endeavor control signals provided under error conditions (where the detection of high frequency noise causes errors) which may include safety features such as device interrupts and error condition notifications (0088) as ceasing control data. It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate the modification of Giap into the invention of Kobayashi in order to configure the system e.g. as claimed because it allows for deterministic operation based on an error condition.
Kobayashi discloses for claim 2, “The visualization system of claim 1, wherein the configuration data comprises at least one configuration parameter of the image sensor (Giap: device interrupts and error condition notifications 0088), wherein the video processing apparatus is configured to receive images generated by the image sensor and to continue receiving the images while transmission of the configuration data to the image sensor is ceased (main body 40; fig 1; 0037 is by default considered to receive the image data provided by the image sensor unless explicitly configured otherwise)”.
Kobayashi discloses for claim 4, “The visualization system of claim 2, wherein the noise mitigation logic is configured to periodically check for the high frequency noise and electrical disturbance on the communication bus (0047 describes the detection of noise at multiple times)”.
Kobayashi discloses for claim 9, “The visualization system of claim 1, further comprising the endoscope, wherein the endoscope further comprises a working channel (channel C10; fig 1; 0062) and a detector circuit (noise detection circuit 302; 0064), the working channel configured to receive an electrosurgical tool (knife device 60; fig 1; 0062), and the detector circuit configured to detect the high frequency noise and electrical disturbance arising from operation of the electrosurgical tool (0064 describes the detection) and to provide a noise detection signal via the communications bus responsive to detecting a presence of the high frequency noise and electrical disturbance on the communication bus (0065 describes the communication between the detection circuit and the processor)”.
Modified Kobayashi discloses for claim 11, “The visualization system of claim 9, wherein the noise mitigation logic is configured to:
a) determine whether the noise detection signal is received (0061 describes the imaging control circuit operating on the noise detection); and
b) block the communication bus in case the noise detection signal is received (Giap 0088)”.
Kobayashi discloses for claim 14, “The visualization system of claim 9, wherein the detector circuit comprises: a sensor part (part of the noise detection circuit 302; fig 1; 0037 the circuitry with respect to the noise detection circuit which detects the signal) configured to detect the presence of the high frequency noise and electrical disturbance, and a circuit part electrically connected with the sensor part and configured to provide an output signal indicating the presence of the high frequency noise and electrical disturbance (part of the noise detection circuit 302; fig 1; 0037 the circuitry with respect to the noise detection circuit which outputs the detection of noise)”.
Modified Kobayashi discloses for claim 15, “The visualization system of claim 14, wherein the circuit part is configured to set a threshold voltage and to change the state of the output signal when the voltage transmitted from the sensor part exceeds the threshold (0049 describes comparing the electric potential/voltage of the video signal with a predetermined value for deterministic operation)”.
Modified Kobayashi discloses for claim 18, “The visualization system of claim 1, the visualization system further comprising the endoscope, the endoscope including:
a handle or interface comprising a housing, a working channel access port (port of channel C10; fig 1) and a printed circuit board (the platform that the disclosed electronics are mounted on) positioned inside the housing;
an insertion cord extending from the housing and comprising an insertion tube (insertion unit 10; fig 1), a bending section (Giap: discloses endoscopy for bronchoscopy and colonoscopy requiring bending 0041) and a distal tip unit (distal tip of the insertion unit 10; fig 1), wherein the distal tip unit comprises a camera module (imaging device 100; fig 1; 0039) connected with the printed circuit board (the platform that the disclosed electronics are mounted on) and comprising the image sensor (CCD or CMOS; 0039);
a working channel (channel C10; fig 1) extending from the working channel access port to the distal tip unit of the insertion cord; and
a detector circuit (noise detection circuit 302) configured to detect a presence of a high frequency noise and electrical disturbance arising from a use of an electrosurgical tool in the working channel (knife device 60; fig 1; 0062)”.
Modified Kobayashi discloses for claim 19, “The visualization system of claim 18, wherein the detector circuit comprises: a sensor part (part of the noise detection circuit 302; fig 1; 0037 the circuitry with respect to the noise detection circuit which detects the signal) configured to detect the presence of the high frequency noise and electrical disturbance, and a circuit part electrically connected with the sensor part and configured to provide an output signal indicating the presence of the high frequency noise and electrical disturbance (part of the noise detection circuit 302; fig 1; 0037 the circuitry with respect to the noise detection circuit which outputs the detection of noise)”.
Modified Kobayashi discloses for claim 20, “The endoscope visualization system of claim 19, wherein the sensor part is configured to input a voltage to the circuit part, and the circuit part is configured to output the output signal based on the voltage input to the circuit part from the sensor part (0049 describes comparing the electric potential/voltage of the video signal with a predetermined value for deterministic operation as an output signal to the processor) “.
Modified Kobayashi discloses for claim 24, “The endoscope visualization system of claim 19, wherein the sensor part at least partly surrounds the working channel (noise detection circuit 302 is considered adjacent and therefore partly surrounds the working channel)”.
Claim(s) 6, 22 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kobayashi and Giap as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Maney US4614971.
Kobayashi does not disclose for claim 6, “The visualization system of claim 1, wherein the input circuitry is configured to set a communication line output signal of a communication line of the communication bus, and to compare the communication line output signal with a communication line input signal, of the communication line, received from the endoscope, to determine a presence of the high frequency noise and electrical disturbance on the communication bus”. The disclosure of Kobayashi involves the detection of high frequency noise and electrical disturbance on a communication bus as cited earlier, but simply does so in a different manner, i.e. does not set an output signal to compare with an input signal, e.g. as with a window comparator. Maney teaches in the same field of endeavor, the detection of noise using a window comparator (fig 3; 5:64-6:15) to directly compare a signal line with a reference. It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate the modification of Maney into the invention of Kobayashi in order to configure the system to compare the signal line as an output signal with an input signal because it allows detection of noise sources beyond a simple high frequency detection of the signal line.
Claim(s) 7 and 8 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kobayashi, Giap, and Maney as applied to claim 6 above, and further in view of Lesea US6353341.Kobayashi does not disclose for claim 7, “The visualization system of claim 6, wherein the communication line output signal is an output clock signal of a clock line of the communication bus and the communication line input signal is an input clock signal of the clock line of the communication bus, and the input circuitry is configured to initially set the output clock signal, and to compare the output clock signal with the input clock signal received from the endoscope, to determine the presence of the high frequency noise and electrical disturbance on the communication bus”. Lesea teaches in the same field of endeavor, monitoring a clock signal for interference such as cross-talk, noise, etc. (2:50-67; fig 3). It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate the modification of Lesea into the invention of Kobayashi in order to configure the system e.g. as claimed, i.e. to monitor noise and interference on a clock signal because disruptions in a clock signal can cause errors in sampling of data and may lead to data errors (1:20-38), identification of which can be used for mitigation measures.
Modified Kobayashi discloses for claim 8, “The visualization system of claim 6, wherein the input circuitry is configured to generate a comparison signal (window comparator noise detection signal fig 3; 5:64-6:15) based on a comparison of the communication line output signal and the communication line input signal, and to determine the presence of the high frequency noise and electrical disturbance in case the comparison signal exceeds a predetermined threshold (6:18-20 describes comparison to a reference threshold)”.
Kobayashi does not disclose for claim 22, “The endoscope visualization system of claim 20, wherein the circuit part is integrated in the printed circuit board provided in the housing”. Maney teaches in the same field of endeavor, providing circuit components as part of an integrated circuit (8:48-54). Since Kobayashi fails to disclose the nature of the circuitry substrate, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have used any suitable circuitry substrate known in the art, including the one taught by Maney to achieve the predictable result of providing an electronics platform.
Claim(s) 23 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kobayashi and Giap as applied to claim 20 above, and further in view of Takahashi US20070139521.
Kobayashi does not disclose for claim 23, “The endoscope visualization system of claim 20, wherein the circuit part comprises a window comparator”. Takahashi teaches in the same field of endeavor, providing a window comparator for voltage detection (0069). Since Kobayashi fails to disclose the nature of the voltage detection circuit, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have used any suitable circuit known in the art, including the one taught by Takahashi to achieve the predictable result of providing voltage detection.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 12, 13, 16, 21 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.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. See PTO892.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JAE K WOO whose telephone number is (571)272-0837. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8:30-2:30p, 6p-9p.
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/Jae Woo/Examiner, Art Unit 3795
/ANH TUAN T NGUYEN/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3795
03/02/26