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) 1-4 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Ilmoniemi et al. (US 6256531; hereinafter Ilmoniemi).
Ilmoniemi shows a biomagnetism measurement apparatus (abstract) comprising: a group of magnetic sensors that are disposed outside a body of a subject and configured to measure biomagnetism of the subject; and a processor configured to acquire (column 7, lines 23-27), based on information indicating the content of the measurement, an arrangement pattern of the group of magnetic sensors such that the arrangement pattern corresponds to a content of the measurement to be performed (operator controlled pattern; column 7, lines 5-33).
Ilmoniemi also shows a display unit that displays the arrangement pattern acquired by the arithmetic device (column 7, lines 5-33); wherein the arithmetic device acquires the arrangement pattern based on the information indicating a content of the measurement or clinical information of the subject (column 7, lines 5-33); an input unit that receives the information indicating the content of the measurement from a user (column 7, lines 5-33).
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.
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) 5-7 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ilmoniemi et al. (US 6256531; hereinafter Ilmoniemi) in view of Kawabata et al. (US 2020/0237243; hereinafter Kawabata).
Ilmoniemi shows the invention substantially as described in the 102 rejection above.
Ilmoniemi fails to show a support that holds the magnetic sensor and is mounted on the subject, wherein the information regarding the arrangement pattern is information regarding an attaching method when the magnetic sensor is attached to the support; wherein the information regarding the arrangement pattern includes information regarding a correspondence relationship between a specific magnetic sensor and a specific mounting position on the support; a drive unit that receives the arrangement pattern acquired by the arithmetic device and moves the magnetic sensor.
Kawabata discloses a biomagnetism measuring device. Kawabata teaches a support that holds the magnetic sensor and is mounted on the subject, wherein the information regarding the arrangement pattern is information regarding an attaching method when the magnetic sensor is attached to the support ([0084]-[0086]); wherein the information regarding the arrangement pattern includes information regarding a correspondence relationship between a specific magnetic sensor and a specific mounting position on the support (moved to predetermined positions; [0093]); a drive unit that receives the arrangement pattern acquired by the arithmetic device and moves the magnetic sensor ([0092], [0112]-[0115]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have modified the invention of Ilmoniemi to utilize movable magnetic sensors as taught by Kawabata, as allowing for the magnetic sensors to be movable improves the accuracy of the diagnostic measurement by allowing for adjustment in the horizontal and perpendicular direction and obtaining the diagnostic measurement regardless of the physical constitution of the subject as described by Kawabata ([0115]).
Claim(s) 8 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ilmoniemi et al. (US 6256531; hereinafter Ilmoniemi) in view of Kataoka et al. (US 2020/0281490; hereinafter Kataoka).
Ilmoniemi shows the invention substantially as described in the 102 rejection above.
Ilmoniemi fails to show a storage unit that stores a table in which the information indicating the content of the measurement and the arrangement pattern are associated with each other.
Kataoka discloses a magnetic field measurement apparatus. Kataoka teaches a storage unit that stores a table in which the information indicating the content of the measurement and the arrangement pattern are associated with each other (various types of information including tables may be stored; [0165]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have modified the invention of Ilmoniemi to store information in table as taught by Kataoka, as various types of storage are known including programs, data, tables, and databases, to provide an organized format by which information may be stored in a computer based system ([0165]).
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 7/23/26 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
In response to applicant’s arguments regarding Ilmoniemi, examiner respectfully disagrees. The examiner notes that the claims have been examined under the broadest reasonable interpretation of the claim language, while applicant appears to invoke a more narrow definition of the claim language. The examiner maintains that Ilmoniemi teaches the claim language based on information indicating the content of the measurement, an arrangement pattern of the group of magnetic sensors such that the arrangement pattern corresponds to a content of the measurement to be performed. Ilmoniemi describes that each of the coils is fed with a preset and controlled current so that the generated magnetic field and/or the induced electrical field have an operator-controlled pattern and distribution in the object (column 7, lines 5-33).
In response to applicant's argument that the references fail to show certain features of the invention, it is noted that the features upon which applicant relies (i.e., changing the arrangement pattern of the receiving electrode or physically reconfiguring a hardware arrangement of the pattern of sensors) are not recited in the rejected claim(s). Although the claims are interpreted in light of the specification, limitations from the specification are not read into the claims. See In re Van Geuns, 988 F.2d 1181, 26 USPQ2d 1057 (Fed. Cir. 1993).
The examiner notes that claim 1 for example only requires that the processor is configured to “acquire” the arrangement pattern of the group of magnetic sensors. The examiner would suggest further amending the claim language to recite the desired features.
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.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JONATHAN CWERN whose telephone number is (571)270-1560. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday, 8:00 am - 5:00 pm.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Christopher Koharski can be reached at (571) 272-7230. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/JONATHAN CWERN/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3797
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