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 Objections
Claim 6 is objected to because of the following informalities: “to change the lamp the an” in line 1 should be corrected to “to change the lamp to an”.
Claim 10 is objected to because of the following informalities: “when the standby condition” in line 2 is an incomplete phrase.
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
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 10-12 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.
Regarding claim 10, “the standby condition” lacks antecedent basis.
Claims 11-12 are rejected as being dependent on claim 10. Should the Applicant overcome the noted rejection above in claim 10, then the rejections to claims 11-12 will be overcome as well.
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.
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 1-5, 7-8, 10, and 13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Bae (KR 20160139108 A, provided in Applicant’s IDS 1/3/2024, separate translation copy provided and relied upon by Examiner) in view of Park (KR 20160125911 A).
Regarding claim 1, Bae teaches An IPL sterilization device (pg. 1 last par.: The general phototherapy device is used for treatment in various fields such as high intensity laser and IPL (Intense Pulsed Light)) comprising: a lamp configured to output light including a visible light region to sterilize a region including a surface of an object (abstract: an optical module for irradiating light to skin of a treatment target site; pg. 2 par. 2: a visible ray);
and a controller, wherein the controller is configured to:
control the lamp to be driven in an outputable state or an unoutputable state, change the lamp to the unoutputable state when the object satisfies an overheat condition of the object in the outputable state,
and change the lamp to the outputable state when the object unsatifies the object overheat condition of the object after the lamp satisfies the object overheat condition of the object and changes the lamp to the unoutputable state (pg. 4 par. 10: When the temperature of the treatment target site sensed by the temperature sensing unit 160 or the temperature of the optical module 110 rises to a temperature near the risk of burning the skin, the controller 133 controls the LED 113 to be turned off The operation of the module 110 can be adjusted; pg. 4 par. 8: The operation of the optical module 110 is controlled so that the temperature of the treatment target site or the optical module 110 is maintained within the predetermined temperature range; NOTE: in order for the controller to maintain the temperature within a range, it must necessarily turn on the lamp when the temperature falls below a certain point),
but does not teach
a capacitor configured to transmit a voltage charged to the lamp;
wherein the controller is configured to control the capacitor
wherein the outputable state is a state in which the lamp is capable of outputting light by applying
a driving pulse to the lamp by the capacitor, andwherein the unoutputable state is a state in which the lamp is not capable of outputting light because the capacitor does not output a driving voltage to the lamp.
Bae teaches powering its LEDs using an AC power source (pg. 7 par. 2: Further, the light irradiation apparatus 100 of this embodiment can supply power using a rechargeable battery 138a in addition to supply through the AC power source by using the low power LED 113).
Park teaches an LED lighting apparatus (abstract: The present invention relates to an LED lighting apparatus for providing an intuitive maintenance function and a safe lighting function). Park teaches wherein a capacitor is connected between the AC power source and the LEDs in order to convert AC to DC and eliminate AC noise (pg. 4 par. 4: Such an LED drive module includes an electronic device such as a switching transistor, a capacitor and the like which has a shorter lifetime and a lower durability than an LED, and converts the AC supplied from an external power line into a DC suitable for driving the LED; pg. 7 last par.: The filter 42 eliminates the AC noise of the commercial power supply 100 output from the fuse 41. The filter 42 may be implemented with inductors and capacitors for eliminating ac noise. Representative examples of such noise include, but are not limited to EMI (Electro Magnetic Interference)).
It would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the device of Bae to have a capacitor connected between its AC power source and its LEDs, as taught by Park, in order to convert AC power to DC power for powering LEDs and to filter out electronic noise.
Since the capacitor is connected between the power source and the LEDs, any driving pulse sent to the LEDs would also go through the capacitor.
Regarding claim 2, Bae modified by Park teaches the IPL sterilization device of claim 1, as set forth above, and teaches wherein the controller is configured to determine the object overheat condition when the temperature measured by a temperature sensor is higher than a predetermined temperature (pg. 4 par. 10: When the temperature of the treatment target site sensed by the temperature sensing unit 160 or the temperature of the optical module 110 rises to a temperature near the risk of burning the skin, the controller 133 controls the LED 113 to be turned off The operation of the module 110 can be adjusted).
Regarding claim 3, Bae modified by Park teaches the IPL sterilization device of claim 1, as set forth above, and teaches wherein the controller is configured to determine the object overheat condition when the IPL sterilization device does not move during a predetermined period of time (NOTE: the device of Bae can be left unmoving for a predetermined period of time by a user, during which time the controller still measures whether or not the temperature is outside of the desired range).
Regarding claim 4, Bae modified by Park teaches the IPL sterilization device of claim 1, as set forth above, and teaches wherein the controller is configured to determine the object overheat condition when a driving pulse is output a predetermined number of times (NOTE: when the user first turns on the device for illumination, the controller would start detecting an overheat condition) while a sensing value output by one of a motion sensor, an illuminance sensor, or a contact sensor is within a certain range (pg. 7 par. 9: In this process, the control unit 133 can determine whether the optical module 110 is in contact with the skin by using information about the color sensed by the color sensing unit 120; NOTE: a user can activate the device and thus start the overheat detection only when the device is in contact with skin, which satisfies a predetermined range of values for the contact sensor).
Regarding claim 5, Bae modified by Park teaches the IPL sterilization device of claim 1, as set forth above, and teaches wherein the controller is configured to determine the object overheat condition when a variation in a sensing value detected by one of a motion sensor, an illuminance sensor (pg. 7 par. 9: In this process, the control unit 133 can determine whether the optical module 110 is in contact with the skin by using information about the color sensed by the color sensing unit 120; NOTE: a user can activate the device and thus start the overheat detection, then put the device in contact with skin, which would result in a variation of the sensing value of the illuminance sensor, and thus the controller would be determining the overheat condition while the variation occurs), or a touch sensor is within a predetermined range during a predetermined period of time (pg. 4 par. 2: The operation of the optical module 110 may be controlled in such a manner as to stop the operation of the optical module 110 upon completion of the treatment time by the light irradiation of the optical module 110).
Regarding claim 7, Bae modified by Park teaches the IPL sterilization device of claim 1, as set forth above, and teaches further comprising an illuminance sensor configured to measure the illuminance of the object (pg. 3 par. 7: the color sensing unit 120 may include a color sensor),
wherein the controller is configured to: determine the object overheat condition (pg. 4 par. 8: The temperature sensing unit 160 is provided to sense the temperature of the treatment target site or the optical module 110. The temperature sensing unit 160 senses the temperature of the treatment target site or the optical module 110 and transmits information about the temperature to the control unit 133. The control unit 133 controls the temperature sensing unit 160 The operation of the optical module 110 is controlled so that the temperature of the treatment target site or the optical module 110 is maintained within the predetermined temperature range.) when the sensing value measured by the illuminance sensor is maintained for a first period of time with a first value, and determine the object overheat condition of the object when the sensing value measured by the illuminance sensor is maintained for a second period of time with a second value,
wherein the first value is a larger value than the second value, and the first period is longer than the second period (NOTE: the controller is configured to determine the object overheat condition whenever the device is operating, and thus it is also configured to determine the overheat condition when the device is used during different times on different skin colors, including a first period of time with a first sensor value and a second, longer period of time with a second value smaller than the first value).
Regarding claim 8, Bae modified by Park teaches the IPL sterilization device of claim 7, as set forth above, and teaches wherein the illuminance sensor is configured to measure a color or an illuminance of the object in a section where the lamp emits (pg. 3 par. 7: The color sensing unit 120 senses the color of the area irradiated with the light from the LED 113).
Regarding claim 10, Bae modified by Park teaches the IPL sterilization device of claim 7, as set forth above, and teaches wherein the controller is configured to control the lamp to be driven in a standby state when the standby condition, wherein the standby condition is a condition that has a temperature lower than a temperature of the object overheat condition (NOTE: since Bae teaches wherein the lights can be turned off when the overheat condition is met, the state of the device when the temperature is still lower than the overheat temperature and the lights are still turned on is interpreted to be the standby condition).
Regarding claim 13, Bae modified by Park teaches the IPL sterilization device of claim 7, as set forth above, and teaches further comprising a light shielding structure for blocking light output from the lamp from being incident on the illuminance sensor (Fig. 5: space/structure between color sensing unit 120 and LED 113; since the two components are on the same plane, light from the LED’s 113 cannot be directly incident on color sensing unit 120, as light rays emitted from LED’s 113will at most be parallel with the surface of light sensing unit 120).
Claim 6 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Bae modified by Park in view of Jeon (KR 100669181 B1).
Regarding claim 6, Bae modified by Park teaches the IPL sterilization device of claim 1, as set forth above, but does not teach wherein the controller is configured to change the lamp the an outputable state when a predetermined period of time has elapsed while the object overheat condition is not satisfied after changing to the unoutputable state.
Bae teaches maintaining the temperature within a predetermined range but does not teach whether or not there is a time delay after the lights have been shut off.
Jeon teaches a laundry machine (abstract: A method for sterilizing and storing the laundry in a drum washing machine is provided to store the laundry sanitarily, and to improve health of a user by sterilizing clothes in a drum before washing). Jeon teaches wherein the lights are turned back on only after a predetermined period of time has elapsed while the temperature is lower than a predetermined temperature (pg. 4 par. 2-4: On the other hand, it is determined whether the above-described duration is elapsed (S124), when the duration has elapsed, the heater 70 and the ultraviolet lamp 30 is turned off (S126), the drum is sensed through the temperature sensing unit 50 It is determined whether the temperature is equal to or lower than the set temperature, for example, 40 ° C. (S128). At this time, when the temperature inside the drum is below the set temperature, the blower fan 80 and the motor 40 are turned off (S130) so that the drum is not stirred. In this way, when the drum is not stirred and the blower fan 80 and the motor 40 stop, it is determined whether a preset waiting time has elapsed (S132), and the waiting time is, for example, 60 minutes. When the waiting time elapses, the laundry is sterilized (S134) by turning on the ultraviolet lamp 30 for a predetermined set time, for example, 30 seconds). This step would ensure that the temperature has sufficiently fallen enough so that reactivating the light would not immediately cause overheating again, and also make the maintenance of the temperature range more efficient. If the lights were turned back on shortly after the temperature was below the overheating temperature, then the lights would have to be constantly turned on and off.
It would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the controller of Bae modified by Park to wait a predetermined period of time after the temperature falls below the high end of its desired temperature range before turning on the lights again, as taught by Jeon, in order to ensure that the temperature has sufficiently fallen enough so that reactivating the light would not immediately cause overheating again, and also make the maintenance of the temperature range more efficient.
Claims 11-12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Bae modified by Park in view of Park (KR 20190012838 A, hereinafter referred to as ‘838).
Regarding claim 11, Bae modified by Park teaches the IPL sterilization device of claim 10, as set forth above, but does not teach wherein the controller is configured to control a pulse having a different pulse width from the driving pulse to be applied to the lamp from the capacitor when the lamp is in the standby condition.
Bae already teaches modulating the intensity of its light (pg. 4 par. 4: The operation of the optical module 110 is controlled so that the intensity of the light irradiated to the treatment target region is controlled) but does not teach a structure for doing so.
‘838 teaches a washing machine (abstract: The present invention relates to a washing machine) utilizing UV light (pg. 8 par. 6: Specifically, the light source 401 includes a light source 401, a UV light emitting device 421 for emitting ultraviolet light). ‘838 teaches wherein the width of the driving pulse is adjusted in order to control the illuminance of the light (pg. 8 par. 8: Conventional analog type illumination has a limitation in precisely controlling the illuminance, but the light emitting element can precisely control the illuminance of the light emitting element by adjusting the amount of current applied and the width of the driving pulse). This provides a way to implement the control of light intensity as taught by Bae.
It would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the light circuit of Bae modified by Park to adjust the width of the light pulse from the capacitor (since the driving light pulse has to come from the capacitor in order to be DC so that the width can be modulated), as taught by ‘838, in order to control the light intensity according to the treatment target.
Regarding claim 12, Bae modified by Park and ‘838 teaches the IPL sterilization device of claim 11, as set forth above, but does not teach wherein the pulse width applied to the lamp in the standby condition is smaller than the driving pulse applied to the lamp in the outputable state.
However, a mere change in proportion, even if it leads to better results, holds no patentable significance:
MPEP 2144.05.II.A: Smith v. Nichols, 88 U.S. 112, 118-19 (1874) (a change in form, proportions, or degree "will not sustain a patent"); In re Williams, 36 F.2d 436, 438 (CCPA 1929) ("It is a settled principle of law that a mere carrying forward of an original patented conception involving only change of form, proportions, or degree, or the substitution of equivalents doing the same thing as the original invention, by substantially the same means, is not such an invention as will sustain a patent, even though the changes of the kind may produce better results than prior inventions."
especially if it can be shown that the change in proportions can be done by one of ordinary skill in the art through routine optimization of a known result-effective variable (MPEP 2144.05.II.B: the presence of a known result-effective variable would be one, but not the only, motivation for a person of ordinary skill in the art to experiment to reach another workable product or process).
In this case, it is known that modulating the pulse width would either decrease or increase the intensity of the irradiated light. Thus, if a lower intensity was needed, then the driving pulse can be adjusted to have a smaller width than the driving pulse.
It would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the device of bae modified by Park and ‘838 to modulate the width of its driving pulse to be smaller before the pulse is applied to the lamp, with the reasonable expectation that the light intensity would be lowered to a desired value that is appropriate for a certain sterilization target.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 9 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.
Regarding claim 9, Bae modified by Park teaches the IPL sterilization device of claim 7, as set forth above, but does not teach wherein the illuminance sensor is configured to measure a color or illuminance of the object in a section other than the section where the lamp emits.
Bae specifically teaches the opposite (pg. 3 par. 7: The color sensing unit 120 senses the color of the area irradiated with the light from the LED 113) and there would be no obvious reason to measure a color in an area that is not intended to be treated with the UV light.
Conclusion
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/C.C./Examiner, Art Unit 1796
/KEVIN JOYNER/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1799