DETAILED ACTION
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 .
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 01/16/226 was filed after the mailing date of the Non-Final Rejection on 10/01/2025. The submission is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
Response to Amendment
The amendment, filed 12/10/2025 has been accepted and entered. Claims 1 and 6 have been amended. No claims have been added. No claims have been canceled. Claims 1-7 are pending.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments, see pgs. 4-6, filed 12/10/2025, with respect to the rejection(s) of claim(s) 1-7 under 35 U.S.C. § 103 as being unpatentable over Sakumura et al. (US 2017/0371044) hereinafter known as Sakumura, and further in view of Loeliger et al. (US 2014/0191136) hereinafter known as Loeliger, have been fully considered and are not persuasive.
The Applicant argues and amends claim 1 to recite;
A radiation detector detecting radiation in continuous exposure, comprising:
a sensor for generating a pulse in response to a particle of radiation being detected,
a plurality of counters provided for counting the pulses,
a setting holding circuit for holding a setting of an off-time for turning off any of the plurality of counters in all pixels, and
a control circuit for switching the counter performing counting the pulses after a lapse of the off-time for all of the plurality of counters in all the pixels with respect to a trigger signal.
The Applicant refers to [0036] and [0084] within Applicant’s published Specification (US 2024/0280714) for support.
Respectfully, the amendments are not persuasive. Applicant’s claim 1 do not establish “pixels” and the plurality of counters being specifically contained within and/or connected to all the pixels.
The 35 U.S.C. § 103 rejection stands.
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.
Claim 1 is 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 1 recites the limitation "…in all pixels…" and “… in all the pixels…”in clause 2 and 3. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Claim 6 recites the limitation "…in all pixels…" in clause 1. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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.
Claim(s) 1-7 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Sakumura et al. (US 2017/0371044) hereinafter known as Sakumura , and further in view of Loeliger et al. (US 2014/0191136) hereinafter known as Loeliger.
With regards to claim 1 and 6, Sakumura discloses a radiation detector detecting radiation in continuous exposure and method of using the same (FIG. 1; Abstract; “…a radiation detector capable of detecting radiation without occurrence of dead time while maintaining an exposure state in which radiation enters continuously, …”), comprising:
a sensor for generating a pulse in response to a particle of radiation being detected ([0033]; FIG. 1; “The sensor 110 generates pulses when radiation particles are detected.”),
a plurality of counters provided for counting the pulses ([0033]; a first counter 140a and a second counter 140b) in all pixels (see Response to Arguments and 112b rejection above), and
a control circuit 160 for switching the counter performing counting the pulses after a lapse of the off-time with respect to a trigger signal ([0042]; “Upon reception of a trigger signal from the external apparatus 200, the control circuit 160 switches a counter to count pulses among the plurality of counters 140a, 140b (step S3).”).
Sakumura teaches of a control circuit 160 that switches a counter to count pulses, from a plurality of counters, when receiving a synchronization signal from an external apparatus 200. This results in the detection of radiation without the occurrence of dead time and allows for maintain an exposure state where the radiation enters the sensor continuously. The advantages this provides are shortened measuring times is shortened, allowance of accelerated measurements, and the reduction of statistical error [0037][0038]. Also, [0042] further teaches “Upon reception of a trigger signal from the external apparatus 200, the control circuit 160 switches a counter to count pulses among the plurality of counters 140a, 140b (step S3). This makes it possible to detect radiation without occurrence of dead time while maintaining the exposure state where radiation enters continuously.” [0042].
Sakumura do not specifically disclose a setting holding circuit for holding a setting of an off-time for turning off all of the plurality of counters.
In the same field of endeavor, Loeliger discloses photon counting imaging with improved high-rate counting performance which includes the step of applying an instant retrigger capability with adjustable dead time in cells of the detector array (Abstract). Loeliger teaches of the pulse pile-up problem which can lead to counting loss [0006][0007]. Loeliger remedies the pulse pile-up problem “…by counting for each signal pulse the number of dead time intervals of a predetermined width that corresponds to the width of the signal pulse at the discriminator output by starting a dead time interval sequence whenever the amplified signal is initially exceeding the threshold level, and counting the number of directly succeeding dead time intervals as long as the amplified signal is exceeding the threshold level.” [0009]. The reference discloses a dead time generation circuit having adjustable dead time ([0037]; FIG. 9; see also [0009])(The Examiner views “dead time” as “off-time”.). Further, the reference further teaches “Whenever counting is triggered by the amplified signal in the pixel, … a short pulse in the count signal is generated by the digital part of the pixel in order to increase the counter value by one. This pulse is also fed to the switch S1 at the input of the … dead time generation circuit via the terminal "start" to enable the start of a dead time interval. The pulse closes the switch S1 for a short time and discharges the internal node 901 of this circuit to the negative supply voltage 904 and therefore activates the output 903 of the circuit. After termination of the short pulse, the switch S1 closes and the capacitor C1 at the internal node 901 is being recharged by the adjustable current source I1. As soon as the voltage at the internal node 901 exceeds the threshold voltage of the comparator A1, the output 903 of the circuit is again deactivated and with this step, the dead time interval is terminated. The delay pulse signal Vdeadgenout at the output 903 of this circuit is used in the digital part of the pixel to re-enable the counting process and thus to retrigger counting ... The dead time has a predetermined width that can be adjusted by the voltage Vdel which controls the current source I1… As an alternative, other adjustable circuit elements like an adjustable threshold voltage of the comparator or an adjustable capacitor can be used to adjust the dead time…. Furthermore, a series of delay circuit elements or a delay line can be used to generate the dead time. In this case, the width of the dead time can be adjusted by tapping the series or the delay line at variable positions.” [0037]. Also, the reference teaches that the dead time is adjustable with respect to circuit parameter settings, counting resolution, and signal evaluation accuracy. Furthermore, the width of the dead time can be set shorter than, comparable to or longer than the nominal single photon pulse [0028]. Finally, the advantages of utilizing the dead time generation circuit are instant retrigger capability which leads to improved high-rate counting performance and improved count rate correction [0010].
In view of Loeliger, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill within the art before the effective filing date of them claimed invention to modify the radiation detector of Sakumura with dead time generation circuitry capable of setting and holding dead-time intervals and perform a retrigger operation that retriggers counting in the counters. The motivation is to utilize count rate correction/compensation (which corrects errors associated with exposure time) using the dead time generation circuitry and retriggers the counters once said correction/compensation is performed.
With regards to claim 2, Sakumura, in view of Loeliger, discloses the radiation detector according to claim 1, wherein the off-time is a time constant. (Loeliger; [0032])
With regards to claim 3, Sakumura, in view of Loeliger, discloses the radiation detector according to claim 1, wherein the number of detected photons relative to the number of incident photons is plotted on a theoretical curve determined based on the radiation source. (Loeliger; [0032]; FIG. 7)
With regards to claim 4, Sakumura, in view of Loeliger, discloses the radiation detector according to claim 1, wherein the radiation detector is a one-dimensional or two-dimensional detector. (Loeliger; [0032]; array)
With regards to claim 5, Sakumura, in view of Loeliger, discloses a radiation measuring apparatus capable of measuring radiation in continuous exposure (Sakumura; Abstract), comprising:
a radiation source for continuously irradiating radiation (Sakumura; FIG. 5; X-ray source 310),
a sample holder for holding a sample (Sakumura; FIG. 5; sample table 320), and
the radiation detector according to claim 1.
With regards to claim 7, Sakumura, in view of Loeliger, discloses the radiation measuring apparatus of claim 5, wherein the off-time is a time constant. (Loeliger; [0032])
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). 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.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to HUGH H MAUPIN whose telephone number is (571)270-1495. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 7:30 - 5:00 pm.
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/HUGH MAUPIN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2884