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 .
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim(s) 1, 2, 14 and 15 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Yu et al (CN 201611261268).
Regarding claim 1, Yu et al teach A multispectral image sensor comprising, a broadband image sensor (image sensor – abstract) comprising a plurality of pixels (CMOS array) arranged in an array and a spectral filter comprising a plurality of filter elements (elements 1, 2, 1) arranged in an array (see figure 2c), the spectral filter being mounted to the broadband image sensor (CMOS or CCD) such that each of the filter elements is coupled with one or more pixels of the broadband image sensor (see description of figure 4 – filter array distribution form can also combine local repeat units, where each filter unit size and image sensor pixel size the same), each filter element (corresponding to different filtering areas) having a passband (discrete spectrum – that is only letting a certain spectrum pass which requiring the elimination of what is shorter and longer than the intended frequencies) in a receivable wavelength range of the broadband image sensor, wherein each filter element comprises a film (2) having a negative value of permittivity (based on metal surface plasma excimer effect which in the passband of the said filter element, the film comprising a plurality of holes (2c), wherein each hole comprises a dielectric material (air), and wherein the passband of at least two of the filter elements are different (“ each area is composed of M different structural parameters of metal nano-hole array, each metal nano-hole array which is a filter unit, the nano aperture size is D1, D2, ..., DM, the period size is P1, P2, ..., PM, corresponding transmission wavelength is lambda 1, lambda 2, lambda 3 ... lambda M”).
Regarding claim 2, Yu et al teach each filter element is tuned to have a single passband (lambda 1, 2, 3..M) in the receivable wavelength range of the broadband image sensor.
Regarding claim 14, Yu et al teach a camera comprising the multispectral image sensor according to claim 1. That is, Yu et al teach preamble of the claim is not recited in the body of claim 1.
Regarding claim 15, Yu et al teach a method of producing a multispectral image of an object or a scene, the method comprising the steps of:(a) providing a multispectral image sensor according to claim 1;(b) receiving a subject image of the object or scene using the spectral filter (elements 1, 2 and 1), the subject image information comprising a plurality of image portions (CCD or CMOS) and each filter element receiving a corresponding image portion of the subject image; (c) filtering the subject image using the spectral filter to produce a filtered subject image (output of CCD or CMOS), the filtered subject image comprising a plurality of filtered image portions (see description of figure 4 – filter array distribution form can also combine local repeat units, where each filter unit size and image sensor pixel size the same), each filter element filtering the corresponding image portion to produce a corresponding filtered image portion; (d) receiving the filtered subject image using the broadband image sensor, each pixel (associated CCD or CMOS pixesl) receiving the corresponding filtered image portion filtered by the filtered element to which the pixel is coupled; (e) forming a multispectral image of the object or scene comprising the filtered image portions of the filtered subject image; and(f) outputting the multispectral image of the subject.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 3-13 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.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
Regarding claim 3, prior art of record does not teach the passbands of the at least two of the filter elements differ by one or more octaves.
Regarding claim 4, prior art of record does not teach the spectral filter comprises two or more groups of the filter elements, and wherein each of the filter elements within a group have a single passband and wherein the passband of each of the groups of filter elements are different.
Regarding claim 6, prior art of record does not teach each of the filter elements has a polarisation state, and wherein the polarisation state of two or more of the filter elements are different.
Regarding claim 10, prior art of record does not teach each filter element is coupled with a single pixel of the broadband image sensor.
Regarding claim 11, prior art of record does not teach a cross-section of the holes is cross shaped.
Regarding claim 12, prior art of record does not teach the receivable wavelength range of the broadband image sensor is two or more octaves.
Regarding claim 13, prior art of record does not teach the receivable wavelength range of the broadband image sensor excludes atmospheric stopbands.
Conclusion
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/TONY KO/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2878
TK