DETAILED ACTION
Claim 1 has been amended.
Claim 8 has been canceled.
Claims 1-7, 9-12, 14, and 15 are pending.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 03/10/2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
Applicant argues substituting a spherical grating for the planar grating of Cronin (US 2003/0223248 A1) would render the multispectral illuminator inoperable and unsatisfactory for its intended purpose because the angular dispersion in the radiation incident on the grating is matched to the angular dispersion of the grating and that the illuminator relies on the planarity of the reflection grating to achieve this.
However, Examiner argues the curvature does not affect the ability to achieve angular dispersion matching. The curvature of a spherical grating can be approximated as planar over sufficiently small portions. Each local segment will still diffract light according to the standard grating equation (mλ = d(sinθinc + sinθdiff), so the angular dispersion can still be matched locally to the incident beams.
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) 1-7, 9-12, and 14-15 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Cronin (US 20030223248 A1) in view of Nadai (EP 0110201 A2).
Regarding Claim 1: Cronin discloses a light source for generating illumination light for illuminating at least one sample, wherein the light source comprises:
at least one array of light emitters (Fig. 3a, 310), wherein each of the light emitters (312) is configured for emitting at least one light beam along a light beam path, wherein the light beam has a predefined wavelength range ([0078]: “Each diode is selected to emit EM radiation at a particular wavelength band and defines a source for that wavelength band.”), and
at least one reflective optical grating configured for overlaying the light beam paths (330),
at least one transfer element (320);
wherein the transfer element is arranged between the array of light emitters and the optical grating such that the transfer element directs the emitted light beams onto the optical grating and provides the light beams reflected from the optical grating and impinging on the transfer element into at least one measurement channel (380), wherein the measurement channel is configured for receiving at least one sample (Fig. 1, 134; Fig. 3a).
Cronin fails to teach wherein the optical grating comprises at least one spherical grating, wherein the spherical grating is configured for overlaying the light beam paths and for focusing the light beams into the measurement channel.
However, the use of a spherical grating is well known, as shown in Fig. 1 of Nadai. Therefore, it would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art to substitute the spherical grating (Fig. 1, 1) of Nadai for the grating of Cronin (Fig. 3a, 330). One would have been motivated to make such a substitution to provide a single optic that both diffracts and focuses the beam while maintaining local angular dispersion matching.
Regarding Claim 2: Cronin in view of Nadai discloses the light source according to claim 1, wherein the light emitters are configured for emitting light beams of different wavelengths (Cronin: [0078]: “Each diode is selected to emit EM radiation at a particular wavelength band and defines a source for that wavelength band.”).
Regarding Claim 3: Cronin in view of Nadai discloses the light source according to claim 1, wherein the light emitters are configured for emitting light beams of the same wavelength, wherein the light emitters are arranged perpendicular to a dispersion direction for said wavelength of the optical grating (Cronin: Fig. 7c).
Regarding Claim 4: Cronin in view of Nadai discloses the light source according to claim 1, wherein an optical source spectrum of the array of light emitters ranges from near ultraviolet to near infrared (Cronin: [0017]: “The EM radiation provided by the array of light sources may span wavelengths within the range of 400 nm to 1000 nm.”).
Regarding Claim 5: Cronin in view of Nadai discloses the light source according to claim 1, wherein each of the light emitters comprises at least one light-emitting diode (Cronin: [0078]: “…multispectral illuminator 300 includes a source array 310 formed by an array of light emitting diodes (LEDs) 312”).
Regarding Claim 6: Cronin in view of Nadai discloses the light source according to claim 1, wherein the light source is configured for directly directing the light beams to at least one sample container, or wherein the light source comprises at least one optical fiber (Cronin: [0075]: “…the output radiation that emerges from pinhole 262 can be collected by an optical fiber”).
Regarding Claim 7: Cronin in view of Nadai discloses the light source according to claim 1, wherein the light emitters are arranged on a curved plane (Cronin: Fig. 4b).
Regarding Claim 9: Cronin in view of Nadai discloses a photometer for obtaining photometric information, comprising:
at least one light source according to claim 1 (Cronin: Fig. 3a),
at least one measurement channel comprising at least one sample container holder (Cronin: Fig. 1, 134) configured for holding at least one sample container comprising a sample, wherein the measurement channel further comprises at least one detection unit (Cronin: 138) comprising at least one photosensitive element in a beam path of detection light from the sample, wherein the photosensitive element is configured for generating at least one detector signal in response to illumination (Cronin: Figs. 1 and 3a),
at least one processor for evaluating the detector signal, thereby deriving the photometric information on the sample from the detector signal (Cronin: 140).
Regarding Claim 10: Cronin in view of Nadai discloses the photometer according to claim 9, wherein each of the photosensitive elements comprises at least a photosensitive area configured for generating an electrical signal depending on an intensity of incident light (Cronin: [0063]: “Detector 138 independently records light intensity at multiple points along a grid, which may extend along one or two dimensions. Suitable detectors include charge-coupled device (CCD) detectors, complementary metal oxide semiconductors (CMOS) detectors, charge-injection device (CID) detectors, vidicon detectors, reticon detectors, image-intensifier tube detectors, and pixelated photomultiplier tube (PMT) detectors.”).
Regarding Claim 11: Cronin in view of Nadai discloses the photometer according to claim 9 but does not explicitly teach wherein the sample is a sample of a bodily fluid such as blood, plasma, serum, saliva or urine.
However, the material to be worked upon is not part of the system and does not impart patentability to the claims (See MPEP 2115).
Regarding Claim 12: Cronin in view of Nadai discloses a method for chemistry analysis of at least one sample using photometry, wherein the method comprises using at least one photometer according to claim 9 (Cronin: Figs. 1 and 3a), the method comprising the following steps:
generating illumination light and providing it to at least one measurement channel by using the light source , thereby illuminating the sample of the measurement channel (Cronin: Figs. 1 and 3a);
detecting in the measurement channel the detection light from the sample and generating at least one detector signal by using the detection unit (Cronin: Figs. 1 and 3a); and
evaluating the detector signal thereby deriving the photometric information on the sample by using the processor (Cronin: [0063]).
Regarding Claim 14: Cronin in view of Nadai discloses a computer-readable storage medium comprising instructions which, when the instructions are executed by a photometer, cause the photometer to perform the method according to claim 12 (Cronin: 140).
Regarding Claim 15: Cronin in view of Nadai discloses a non-transient computer-readable medium including instructions that, when executed by one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform the method according to claim 12 (Cronin: 140).
Conclusion
THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. 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.
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/MIYA DOWNING/Examiner, Art Unit 2884 2884
/DAVID J MAKIYA/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2884
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