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 .
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on 9 July 2026 has been entered.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments, see Response to Final Office Action mailed 10 April 2026, filed 9 July 2026, with respect to the rejection(s) of claim(s) 1-24 under 35 USC §103 have been fully considered and are persuasive. Therefore, the rejection has been withdrawn. However, upon further consideration, a new ground(s) of rejection is made in view of Ebrahimi et al. (US 2022/0066456 A1).
Applicant’s arguments, see Response to Office Action, filed Response to Final Office Action mailed 10 April 2026, filed 9 July 2026, with respect to Claim Rejections under 35 USC §112 have been fully considered and are persuasive. The Claim Rejections under 35 USC §112 of Claims 3 and 17-19 has been withdrawn.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The text of those sections of Title 35, U.S. Code not included in this action can be found in a prior Office action.
Claim(s) 1-6, 13, and 15-24 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ruth et al. (US 2018/0206957 A1) in view of Ito et al. (US 2019/0282135 A1) and Ebrahimi et al. (US 2022/0066456 A1).
Regarding claims 1, 22, and 24, Ruth discloses a system performing a method via a control device comprising: circuitry configured to acquire light source temperature information regarding a temperature of a light source configured to emit light [Ruth: ¶ [0149]: This “Readiness' or “suitability' detection system verifies directly or indirectly: temperature of the LEDs] with which [objects] are to be irradiated [Ruth: Claim 19: at least one light source… the at least one light source is directly coupled with the light conductor such that the light conductor emits light throughout the dental tray thereby curing the photocurable dental material]; and output a notification of a user preparation state of the light source based on the light source temperature information to a user [Ruth: Claim 19: wherein the integrated circuit of the light engine is capable of detecting at least one parameter of temperature, suitability of mechanical connection, type of tray or charging station suitability of optical connection, battery level, degradation of the light source, or combinations thereof, and wherein if at least one parameter does not meet predetermined requirement then the light engine is capable of notifying a user that such predetermined requirement was not met].
Ruth may not explicitly disclose biological tissues are to be irradiated; and wherein the notification includes an estimated time until the use preparation state is completed.
However, Ito discloses a system performing a method via a control device comprising: circuitry configured to acquire light source temperature information regarding a temperature of a light source configured to emit light [Ito: ¶ [0078]: the temperature of the semiconductor laser element is measured by a temperature sensor, and the amount of current to be supplied to the semiconductor laser element is adjusted based on the measured temperature can be used. The temperature stabilizing mechanism can be independently combined with each of the four laser light sources LD1 to LD4, or laser light sources LD1 to LD4 can be combined with one temperature stabilizing mechanism] with which biological tissues are to be irradiated [Ito: Title; and FIG. 1].
Ito may not explicitly disclose wherein the notification includes an estimated time until the use preparation state is completed.
However, Ebrahimi discloses wherein the notification includes an estimated time until the use preparation state is completed [Ebrahimi: ¶ [1531] displaying, by the application, at least one of: … a battery level; a current cleaning duration; an estimated total cleaning duration required to complete a task; an estimated total battery power required to complete a task; a time of completion of a task].
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to combine the processing of Ruth with the medical application of Ito in order to provide improved situational awareness to a variety of users, as well as the status notification of Ebrahimi in order to provide improved user situational awareness.
Regarding Claim 2, Ruth in view of Ito and Ibrahimi disclose(s) all the limitations of Claim 1, and is/are analyzed as previously discussed with respect to that claim.
Furthermore, Ruth in view of Ito and Ibrahimi discloses wherein the notification includes a notification regarding a state of the light source [Ruth: ¶ [0149]].
Regarding Claim 4, Ruth in view of Ito and Ibrahimi disclose(s) all the limitations of Claim 1, and is/are analyzed as previously discussed with respect to that claim.
Furthermore, Ruth in view of Ito and Ibrahimi discloses wherein the notification includes a notification regarding availability of a function using the light source [Ruth: ¶ [0149]: if the system is to be used].
Regarding Claim 5, Ruth in view of Ito and Ibrahimi disclose(s) all the limitations of Claim 1, and is/are analyzed as previously discussed with respect to that claim.
Furthermore, Ruth in view of Ito and Ibrahimi discloses wherein the notification includes a notification regarding whether or not switching between a plurality of modes having different types of the light to be emitted from the light source is possible [Ito: ¶ [0078]].
Regarding Claim 6, Ruth in view of Ito and Ibrahimi disclose(s) all the limitations of Claim 1, and is/are analyzed as previously discussed with respect to that claim.
Furthermore, Ruth in view of Ito and Ibrahimi discloses wherein the notification includes a notification regarding availability of the light source [Ito: ¶ [0078]].
Regarding Claim 13, Ruth in view of Ito and Ibrahimi disclose(s) all the limitations of Claim 1, and is/are analyzed as previously discussed with respect to that claim.
Furthermore, Ruth in view of Ito and Ibrahimi discloses wherein the control device circuitry is provided separately from a notification interface configured to make the notification [Ruth: FIG. 38; and FIG. 45; and Ito: FIG. 1].
Regarding Claim 15, Ruth in view of Ito and Ibrahimi disclose(s) all the limitations of Claim 1, and is/are analyzed as previously discussed with respect to that claim.
Furthermore, Ruth in view of Ito and Ibrahimi discloses wherein the light source temperature information includes information as to whether or not the temperature of the light source is within an allowable temperature range [Ruth: ¶ [0149].
Regarding Claim 16, Ruth in view of Ito and Ibrahimi disclose(s) all the limitations of Claim 1, and is/are analyzed as previously discussed with respect to that claim.
Furthermore, Ruth in view of Ito and Ibrahimi discloses wherein the circuitry is configured to control the notification on a basis of a state of the light source evaluated by comparing the light source temperature information acquired with reference data of the light source temperature information [Ruth: ¶ [0149]].
Regarding Claim 17, Ruth in view of Ito and Ibrahimi disclose(s) all the limitations of Claim 1, and is/are analyzed as previously discussed with respect to that claim.
Furthermore, Ruth in view of Ito and Ibrahimi discloses circuitry is configured to control a temperature adjustment circuit that adjusts the temperature of the light source [Ito: ¶ [0068]: Each of the laser light sources LD1 to LD4 used in the present embodiment includes a semiconductor laser element and a temperature stabilizing section configured to control the temperature of the semiconductor laser element].
Regarding Claim 18, Ruth in view of Ito and Ibrahimi disclose(s) all the limitations of Claim 17, and is/are analyzed as previously discussed with respect to that claim.
Furthermore, Ruth in view of Ito and Ibrahimi discloses wherein the circuitry is configured to control the temperature adjustment circuit to individually adjust temperatures of a plurality of light sources included in the light source [Ito: ¶ [0078]].
Regarding Claim 19, Ruth in view of Ito and Ibrahimi disclose(s) all the limitations of Claim 17, and is/are analyzed as previously discussed with respect to that claim.
Furthermore, Ruth in view of Ito and Ibrahimi discloses wherein the circuitry is configured to control the temperature adjustment circuit to collectively adjust temperatures of a plurality of light sources included in the light source [Ito: ¶ [0078]].
Regarding Claim 20, Ruth in view of Ito and Ibrahimi disclose(s) all the limitations of Claim 1, and is/are analyzed as previously discussed with respect to that claim.
Furthermore, Ruth in view of Ito and Ibrahimi discloses wherein the light to be emitted from the light source includes visible light [Ruth: ¶ [0093]: visible light].
Regarding Claim 21, Ruth in view of Ito and Ibrahimi disclose(s) all the limitations of Claim 1, and is/are analyzed as previously discussed with respect to that claim.
Furthermore, Ruth in view of Ito and Ibrahimi discloses wherein the light to be emitted from the light source includes excitation light that excites a specific fluorescent substance [Ito: ¶ [0120]: The externally derived substance may be a drug. The drug may be, but not limited to, a drug that accumulates in a tumor, etc., for example, a fluorescent marker, etc. By administering a fluorescent marker and observing with the illumination light having the wavelength emitted by the fluorescent marker, a lesion such as a tumor can be emphasized].
Regarding Claim 23, Ruth in view of Ito and Ibrahimi disclose(s) all the limitations of Claim 22, and is/are analyzed as previously discussed with respect to that claim.
Furthermore, Ruth in view of Ito and Ibrahimi discloses further comprising: an image sensor configured to acquire an image of the biological tissues [Ito: FIG. 1]; and a display configured to display [Ito: ¶ [0080]: The image processing circuit 156 is configured to perform image processing to convert an image signal obtained by the imaging unit 152 and transmitted by the image signal line 154 into a signal displayable by a display 170].
Claim(s) 7-10 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ruth in view of Ito and Ibrahimi as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Postal (US 2015/0248213 A1).
Regarding Claim 7, Ruth in view of Ito and Ibrahimi disclose(s) all the limitations of Claim 1, and is/are analyzed as previously discussed with respect to that claim.
Ruth in view of Ito and Ibrahimi may not explicitly disclose wherein the notification includes a notification by display on a display.
However, Postal discloses wherein the notification includes a notification by display on a display [Postal: Abstract: empowerment and activation of hard function keys to make accessible to the user, an icon or visual notification on a predefined display area previously mapped to that key, enable the icon during a predefined time interval when the user positions briefly a pointer device on the predefined area and activate the function of the hard key to slide the icon in a sense that the hard key would be pressed].
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to combine the process of Ruth in view of Ito and Ibrahimi with the interface of Postal in order to provide improved user situational awareness.
Regarding Claim 8, Ruth in view of Ito, Ibrahimi, and Postal disclose(s) all the limitations of Claim 7, and is/are analyzed as previously discussed with respect to that claim.
Furthermore, Ruth in view of Ito, Ibrahimi, and Postal discloses wherein the notification by display on the display includes a notification to be made by activating or deactivating a software key displayed on the display [Postal: Abstract].
Regarding Claim 9, Ruth in view of Ito, Ibrahimi, and Postal disclose(s) all the limitations of Claim 7, and is/are analyzed as previously discussed with respect to that claim.
Furthermore, Ruth in view of Ito, Ibrahimi, and Postal discloses wherein the notification by display on the display includes a notification to be displayed on the display by a software key displayed on the display being selected [Postal: Abstract].
Regarding Claim 10, Ruth in view of Ito, Ibrahimi, and Postal disclose(s) all the limitations of Claim 7, and is/are analyzed as previously discussed with respect to that claim.
Furthermore, Ruth in view of Ito, Ibrahimi, and Postal discloses wherein the display is a touch panel display [Postal: Abstract; and ¶ [0029]: touch-screen].
Claim(s) 11-12, and 14 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ruth in view of Ito and Ibrahimi as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Boyer et al. (US 2022/0136223 A1).
Regarding Claim 11, Ruth in view of Ito and Ibrahimi disclose(s) all the limitations of Claim 1, and is/are analyzed as previously discussed with respect to that claim.
Ruth in view of Ito and Ibrahimi may not explicitly disclose wherein the notification includes a notification by sound.
However, Boyer discloses wherein the notification includes a notification by sound [Boyer: ¶ [0045]: Examples of temperature notifications include, but are not limited to visual notifications (e.g., one or more light sources, such as light emitting diodes (LEDs)), auditory notifications (e.g., various sounds), olfactory notifications (e.g., various smells, such as an aromatherapy smell), other sensory notifications (e.g., turning on a heater to warm a room), etc.].
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to combine the various notification modes of Boyer with the process of Ruth in view of Ito and Ibrahimi in order to provide improved user situational awareness.
Regarding Claim 12, Ruth in view of Ito and Ibrahimi disclose(s) all the limitations of Claim 1, and is/are analyzed as previously discussed with respect to that claim.
Ruth in view of Ito and Ibrahimi may not explicitly disclose a notification interface configured to make the notification.
However, Boyer discloses disclose a notification interface configured to make the notification [Boyer: ¶ [0077]: n illustrative user interface 202 for setting or customizing temperature preferences as defined by the user application 124 on the user device 104 is shown in FIG. 4].
Regarding Claim 14, Ruth in view of Ito and Ibrahimi disclose(s) all the limitations of Claim 1, and is/are analyzed as previously discussed with respect to that claim.
Ruth in view of Ito and Ibrahimi may not explicitly disclose wherein the light source temperature information includes information regarding the temperature of the light source.
However, Boyer discloses wherein the light source temperature information includes information regarding the temperature of the light source [Boyer: ¶ [0077]].
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 3 is 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.
The following is an examiner’s statement of reasons for allowance: While light information has been found in the estimation of time, the specific characteristic measured over time to determine estimated time until the use preparation state is complete has not been found in the prior art.
Any comments considered necessary by applicant must be submitted no later than the payment of the issue fee and, to avoid processing delays, should preferably accompany the issue fee. Such submissions should be clearly labeled “Comments on Statement of Reasons for Allowance.”
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JONATHAN R MESSMORE whose telephone number is (571)272-2773. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 9-5 EST/EDT.
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/JONATHAN R MESSMORE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2482
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