DETAILED ACTION
Claims 1-4, 9, 11, 12, 14, 17, and 20 have been amended.
Claims 8 and 18 are canceled.
Claims 1-7, 9-17, 19, and 20 are pending.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 101
35 U.S.C. 101 reads as follows:
Whoever invents or discovers any new and useful process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter, or any new and useful improvement thereof, may obtain a patent therefor, subject to the conditions and requirements of this title.
Claims 1-7, 9-17, and 19-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 101 because the claimed invention is directed to an abstract idea without significantly more. The claim(s) recite(s) "determine one or more measures corresponding to the one or more mechanical properties of the material, based on changes in the emergent beam of THz waves by performing elastic or rigidity analysis algorithms based on changes of optical refractive index and deformation according to the following equations…”. This judicial exception is not integrated into a practical application because the additional elements represent no more than data gathering and instructions to apply the judicial exception. The claim(s) does/do not include additional elements that are sufficient to amount to significantly more than the judicial exception. The additional elements, including an ultrasonic module, detection module, and a processing module are equivalents of merely adding the words “apply it” to the judicial exception and data gathering. Even when considered in combination, these additional elements represent mere instructions to apply an exception and insignificant extra-solution activity, which do not provide an inventive concept. The claim is not eligible. Independent claims 11 and 20 are rejected for the reasons stated above.
Dependent claims 2-7, 9, 10, 12-19 merely add insignificant extra-solution activity, which do not provide an inventive concept, and are rejected for the reasons stated above.
Claim 20 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 101 because the claimed invention is directed to non-statutory subject matter. The claim(s) does/do not fall within at least one of the four categories of patent eligible subject matter because the claim is directed to a computer readable storage medium. As evident from the specification at page 10, lines 22-25 (“The computer readable medium may include storage devices such as magnetic or optical disks, memory chips, or other storage devices suitable for interfacing with a suitable reader/general purpose computer. In such instances, the computer readable storage medium is non-transitory.”), the claim covers both non-transitory tangible media embodiments and transitory propagating signals per se. The claim may be amended to narrow the claim to cover only statutory embodiments to avoid a rejection under 35 U.S.C. 101 by adding the limitation “non-transitory” to the claim.
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, 14-17, and 19-20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Saeki (US 20200077897 A1) in view of Guo (US 20200209154 A1).
Regarding Claim 1: Saeki discloses a system for non-contact measurement (Fig. 1) of one or more mechanical properties of a material, the system comprising:
an ultrasonic module comprising an ultrasonic applicator configured to apply ultrasonic pressure on a target region of the material (Fig. 1, 72; [0046]);
a detection module comprising an electromagnetic wave emitter (2) and an electromagnetic wave detector (12), said electromagnetic wave emitter being configured to emit an incident beam of electromagnetic waves towards the target region of the material, and said electromagnetic wave detector being configured to detect an emergent beam of electromagnetic waves reflected from the target region and/or transmitted through the target region (Fig. 1; [0038]); and
a processing module configured to determine one or more measures corresponding to the one or more mechanical properties of the material, based on changes in the emergent beam of electromagnetic waves (control unit 14; [0040]: The control computation unit 14 then computes tomographic distribution of the viscoelasticity of the object S on the basis of the tomographic image data…”).
Saeki fails to teach:
said electromagnetic wave emitter being configured to emit an incident beam of THz waves, and
performing elastic or rigidity analysis algorithms based on changes of optical refractive index and deformation according to the following equations:
∆
N
=
c
(
∂
1
-
∂
1
'
)
2
π
f
d
=
c
∆
∂
s
2
π
f
d
(hereinafter referred to as eqn 1)
where ΔN represents changes in the optical refractive index measured by a THz time domain spectra,
∂
1
and
∂
1
'
represent phases of emergent THz wave signals before and after the application of ultrasonic pressure,
∆
∂
s
represents phase delay changes caused by stress, f represents frequency of the THz radiation, c represents speed of light in vacuum and d represents an original thickness of the material, and
∆
d
=
d
∙
μ
∙
σ
E
(hereinafter referred to as eqn 2)
where Δd, μ, σ, and E represent change in the thickness of the material under stress, Poisson's ratio, interior tensile stress, and elastic modulus of the material, respectively.
However, Guo teaches a terahertz measurement system wherein the electromagnetic wave emitter is configured to emit an incident beam of electromagnetic waves having a frequency falling in a range from 0.1 THz to 10 THz ([0039]: The terahertz transmitter 100 can generate and transmit terahertz waves according to the pump light, and the terahertz waves are electromagnetic waves with a frequency from 0.1 THz to 10 THz…”).
Saeki and Guo are both considered to be analogous to the claimed invention because they are both in the field of non-contact measurement with ultrasonic pressure. Therefore, it would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Saeki to incorporate the teachings of Guo and provide a terahertz emitter. One would be motivated to make such a modification due to the advantages of low energy, high safety, and high penetrability of terahertz waves.
It would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art to have derived Equation 1 by starting from the known wave phase relationship (
∂
=
k
∙
d
, where
k
=
2
π
f
N
c
), determining the corresponding phase shift (
∆
∂
), and solving for ΔN algebraically. This merely involves rearranging a known equation to predictably solve for a desired parameter. One would be motivated to calculate the changes in optical refractive index because refractive index directly affects optical performance and quantifying this change enables optimization and prediction of optical behavior.
Further, equation 2 simply combines Hooke’s Law and Poisson’s ratio to derive a material property (change in thickness of a material). This involves only the combination of prior art elements according to known methods and the application of a known technique to yield predictable results. See MPEP 2143. Therefore, it would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art to have solved for the change in thickness of a material by combining Hooke’s Law with Poisson’s ratio because these are well-known mechanical relationships routinely used together to predict dimensional changes in a material subjected to mechanical stress or strain. One would be motivated to calculate the deformation under applied stress to enable optimization and prediction of optical behavior.
Regarding Claim 2: Saeki in view of Guo discloses the system according to claim 1, wherein the electromagnetic wave emitter and the electromagnetic wave detector are positioned such that the electromagnetic wave detector is capable of detecting the emergent beam of THz waves reflected from the target region (Saeki: Fig. 1, detector 12).
Regarding Claim 3: Saeki discloses the system according to claim 1, wherein the electromagnetic wave emitter and the electromagnetic wave detector are positioned such that the electromagnetic wave detector is capable of detecting the emergent beam of THz waves transmitted through the target region (Guo: Fig. 1, transmitter 100, sample 200, detector 300).
Regarding Claim 4: Saeki in view of Guo discloses the system according to claim 3, wherein the electromagnetic wave emitter is positioned to emit an incident beam of THz waves that is substantially perpendicular to the surface of the material at the target region (Saeki: Fig. 1).
Regarding Claim 5: Saeki in view of Guo discloses the system according to claim 1, wherein the ultrasonic applicator comprises an air-coupled ultrasonic transducer (Saeki: [0027]: (The load is applied to a desired cross-sectional position in the object by the acoustic radiation pressure in a non-contact manner…”).
Regarding Claim 6: Saeki in view of Guo discloses the system according to claim 1, wherein the ultrasonic applicator comprises an array of transducer elements configured to generate directed ultrasonic waves to a 3D spatial location at the target region (Saeki: Figs. 2A, 2B, transducer array 90 of piezoelectric elements 92; [0052]).
Regarding Claim 7: Saeki discloses the system according to claim 1, but Saeki fails to teach wherein the ultrasonic applicator comprises a pulsed laser device configured to emit pulses of electromagnetic waves for applying the ultrasonic pressure at the target region on the surface of the material.
However, Guo teaches a terahertz measurement system wherein the ultrasonic applicator comprises a pulsed laser device configured to emit pulses of electromagnetic waves for applying the ultrasonic pressure at the target region on the surface of the material (Fig. 1, 500; [0022]: … the femtosecond fiber laser 500 is a laser device capable of generating femtosecond lasers, wherein femtosecond, abbreviated as fs, is a unit for measuring the length of time, and femtosecond lasers are lasers with the pulse reaching the femtosecond level.”)
Saeki and Guo are both considered to be analogous to the claimed invention because they are both in the field of non-contact measurement with ultrasonic pressure. Therefore, it would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Saeki to incorporate the teachings of Guo and provide an ultrasonic applicator comprising a pulsed laser device. One would be motivated to make such a modification on the basis of improving sensitivity and resolution of the measurements.
Regarding Claim 9: The system according to claim 1, wherein the processing module is configured to perform time-domain spectrum measurement based on changes in the emergent beam of THz waves detected by the electromagnetic wave detector (Saeki: [0037]: time domain optical coherence tomography “OCT”).
Regarding Claim 10: The system according to claim 1, wherein the one or more measures corresponding to the one or more mechanical properties of the material comprises a measure of elasticity, rigidity, viscoelasticity and/or rheology (Saeki: [0036]: viscoelasticity).
Regarding Claim 11: Saeki discloses a method of non-contact measurement of one or more mechanical properties of a material, the method comprising,
emitting an incident beam of electromagnetic waves from an electromagnetic wave emitter towards a target region of the material (Fig. 1);
applying or varying an ultrasonic pressure on the target region of the material (Figs. 2a, 2b);
detecting an emergent beam of electromagnetic waves reflected from the target region and/or transmitted through the target region with an electromagnetic wave detector (12); and
determining one or more measures corresponding to the one or more mechanical properties with a processing module, based on changes in the emergent beam of electromagnetic waves (control unit 14; [0040]).
Saeki fails to teach:
said electromagnetic wave emitter being configured to emit an incident beam of THz waves, and
performing elastic or rigidity analysis algorithms based on changes of optical refractive index and deformation according to the following equations:
∆
N
=
c
(
∂
1
-
∂
1
'
)
2
π
f
d
=
c
∆
∂
s
2
π
f
d
(hereinafter referred to as eqn 1)
where ΔN represents changes in the optical refractive index measured by a THz time domain spectra,
∂
1
and
∂
1
'
represent phases of emergent THz wave signals before and after the application of ultrasonic pressure,
∆
∂
s
represents phase delay changes caused by stress, f represents frequency of the THz radiation, c represents speed of light in vacuum and d represents an original thickness of the material, and
∆
d
=
d
∙
μ
∙
σ
E
(hereinafter referred to as eqn 2)
where Δd, μ, σ, and E represent change in the thickness of the material under stress, Poisson's ratio, interior tensile stress, and elastic modulus of the material, respectively.
However, Guo teaches a terahertz measurement system wherein the electromagnetic wave emitter is configured to emit an incident beam of electromagnetic waves having a frequency falling in a range from 0.1 THz to 10 THz ([0039]: The terahertz transmitter 100 can generate and transmit terahertz waves according to the pump light, and the terahertz waves are electromagnetic waves with a frequency from 0.1 THz to 10 THz…”).
Saeki and Guo are both considered to be analogous to the claimed invention because they are both in the field of non-contact measurement with ultrasonic pressure. Therefore, it would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Saeki to incorporate the teachings of Guo and provide a terahertz emitter. One would be motivated to make such a modification due to the advantages of low energy, high safety, and high penetrability of terahertz waves.
It would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art to have derived Equation 1 by starting from the known wave phase relationship (
∂
=
k
∙
d
, where
k
=
2
π
f
N
c
), determining the corresponding phase shift (
∆
∂
), and solving for ΔN algebraically. This merely involves rearranging a known equation to predictably solve for a desired parameter. One would be motivated to calculate the changes in optical refractive index because refractive index directly affects optical performance and quantifying this change enables optimization and prediction of optical behavior.
Further, equation 2 simply combines Hooke’s Law and Poisson’s ratio to derive a material property (change in thickness of a material). This involves only the combination of prior art elements according to known methods and the application of a known technique to yield predictable results. See MPEP 2143. Therefore, it would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art to have solved for the change in thickness of a material by combining Hooke’s Law with Poisson’s ratio because these are well-known mechanical relationships routinely used together to predict dimensional changes in a material subjected to mechanical stress or strain. One would be motivated to calculate the deformation under applied stress to enable optimization and prediction of optical behavior.
Regarding Claim 12: Saeki in view of Guo discloses the method according to claim 11, wherein the changes in the emergent beam of electromagnetic waves are determined with respect to a reference emergent beam detected at a different time point (Saeki: [0117]: “Upon acquiring a predetermined number of OCT images (S52: Y), the control computation unit 14 then reads two continuous tomographic images I(x,z,t) and I(x,z,t+Δt) with different times which are taken continuously (S54).”).
Regarding Claim 14: Saeki in view of Guo discloses the method according to claim 11, wherein the method comprises,
(i) emitting the incident beam of electromagnetic waves and detecting the emergent beam of electromagnetic waves at a first time point (Saeki: [0117]; Fig. 7, S54, I(x,z,t));
(ii) varying the ultrasonic pressure on the target region of the material (Saeki: [0129]: “In this experiment, the same sample as that illustrated in FIGS. 12A and 12B was used. The amplitude of acoustic radiation pressure caused by ultrasonic waves was changed periodically while scanning in the X direction was performed by the OCT, and the obtained deformation rate was tomographically visualized. In this experiment, the amplitude modulation frequency was 2.4 Hz.);
(iii) emitting the incident beam of electromagnetic waves and detecting the emergent beam of electromagnetic waves at a second time point (Saeki: [0117]; Fig. 7, S54, I(x,z,t+Δt);
(iv) repeating steps (i) to (iii) one or more times (Saeki: Fig. 7); and
(v) determining the one or more measures corresponding to the one or more mechanical properties based on differences in emergent beams at least two different time points (Saeki: [0040]: The control computation unit 14 then computes tomographic distribution of the viscoelasticity of the object S on the basis of the tomographic image data…”).
Regarding Claim 15: Saeki in view of Guo discloses the method according to claim 11, wherein the ultrasonic pressure is applied using an air-coupled ultrasonic transducer over air (Saeki: [0027]: (The load is applied to a desired cross-sectional position in the object by the acoustic radiation pressure in a non-contact manner…”).
Regarding Claim 16: Saeki in view of Guo discloses the method according to claim 11, wherein the ultrasonic pressure is applied using a pulsed laser device over air, by applying pulses of electromagnetic waves having a pulse duration in the order of nanoseconds, picoseconds, or femtoseconds, and optionally wherein the pulses of electromagnetic waves are diffused to cover the target region on the surface of the material (Guo: Fig. 1, 500; [0022]: … the femtosecond fiber laser 500 is a laser device capable of generating femtosecond lasers, wherein femtosecond, abbreviated as fs, is a unit for measuring the length of time, and femtosecond lasers are lasers with the pulse reaching the femtosecond level.”).
Regarding Claim 17: Saeki in view of Guo discloses the method according to claim 11, wherein the incident beam of electromagnetic waves emitted by the electromagnetic wave emitter has a frequency falling in a range from 0.1 THz to 10 THz (Guo: [0039]: The terahertz transmitter 100 can generate and transmit terahertz waves according to the pump light, and the terahertz waves are electromagnetic waves with a frequency from 0.1 THz to 10 THz…”).
Regarding Claim 19: Saeki in view of Guo discloses the method according to claim 11, wherein the material comprises a hydrogel or a soft tissue in an eye of a mammalian subject (Saeki: [0026]: “An “object” may be biological tissue of skin, cartilage, etc., or regenerated tissue (tissue generated from cultured cells) of regenerated skin, regenerated cartilage, etc.”).
Regarding Claim 20: Saeki discloses a computer readable storage medium (14) having stored thereon instructions for instructing a processing unit of a system to execute a method of non-contact measurement of one or more mechanical properties of a material (Fig. 5), the method comprising,
emitting an incident beam of electromagnetic waves from an electromagnetic wave emitter towards a target region of the material (Fig. 1; Fig. 5);
applying or varying an ultrasonic pressure on the target region of the material (Figs. 2A/2B; [0129]: “In this experiment, the same sample as that illustrated in FIGS. 12A and 12B was used. The amplitude of acoustic radiation pressure caused by ultrasonic waves was changed periodically while scanning in the X direction was performed by the OCT, and the obtained deformation rate was tomographically visualized. In this experiment, the amplitude modulation frequency was 2.4 Hz.);
detecting an emergent beam of electromagnetic waves reflected from the target region and/or transmitted through the target region with an electromagnetic wave detector (12); and
determining one or more measures corresponding to the one or more mechanical properties with a processing module, based on changes in the emergent beam of electromagnetic waves (control unit 14; [0040]).
Saeki fails to teach:
said electromagnetic wave emitter being configured to emit an incident beam of THz waves, and
performing elastic or rigidity analysis algorithms based on changes of optical refractive index and deformation according to the following equations:
∆
N
=
c
(
∂
1
-
∂
1
'
)
2
π
f
d
=
c
∆
∂
s
2
π
f
d
(hereinafter referred to as eqn 1)
where ΔN represents changes in the optical refractive index measured by a THz time domain spectra,
∂
1
and
∂
1
'
represent phases of emergent THz wave signals before and after the application of ultrasonic pressure,
∆
∂
s
represents phase delay changes caused by stress, f represents frequency of the THz radiation, c represents speed of light in vacuum and d represents an original thickness of the material, and
∆
d
=
d
∙
μ
∙
σ
E
(hereinafter referred to as eqn 2)
where Δd, μ, σ, and E represent change in the thickness of the material under stress, Poisson's ratio, interior tensile stress, and elastic modulus of the material, respectively.
However, Guo teaches a terahertz measurement system wherein the electromagnetic wave emitter is configured to emit an incident beam of electromagnetic waves having a frequency falling in a range from 0.1 THz to 10 THz ([0039]: The terahertz transmitter 100 can generate and transmit terahertz waves according to the pump light, and the terahertz waves are electromagnetic waves with a frequency from 0.1 THz to 10 THz…”).
Saeki and Guo are both considered to be analogous to the claimed invention because they are both in the field of non-contact measurement with ultrasonic pressure. Therefore, it would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Saeki to incorporate the teachings of Guo and provide a terahertz emitter. One would be motivated to make such a modification due to the advantages of low energy, high safety, and high penetrability of terahertz waves.
It would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art to have derived Equation 1 by starting from the known wave phase relationship (
∂
=
k
∙
d
, where
k
=
2
π
f
N
c
), determining the corresponding phase shift (
∆
∂
), and solving for ΔN algebraically. This merely involves rearranging a known equation to predictably solve for a desired parameter. One would be motivated to calculate the changes in optical refractive index because refractive index directly affects optical performance and quantifying this change enables optimization and prediction of optical behavior.
Further, equation 2 simply combines Hooke’s Law and Poisson’s ratio to derive a material property (change in thickness of a material). This involves only the combination of prior art elements according to known methods and the application of a known technique to yield predictable results. See MPEP 2143. Therefore, it would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art to have solved for the change in thickness of a material by combining Hooke’s Law with Poisson’s ratio because these are well-known mechanical relationships routinely used together to predict dimensional changes in a material subjected to mechanical stress or strain. One would be motivated to calculate the deformation under applied stress to enable optimization and prediction of optical behavior.
Claim(s) 13 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Saeki in view of Guo, in further view Byrnes (US 20190082964 A1).
Regarding Claim 13: Saeki in view of Guo discloses the method according to claim 11, but both fail to teach wherein the ultrasonic pressure applied at the target region on the surface of the material is substantially constant without amplitude modulations.
However, Byrnes discloses a non-contact measurement system wherein the ultrasonic pressure applied at the target region on the surface of the material is substantially constant without amplitude modulations ([0019]: A different continuous-wave ultrasound frequency is applied to each individual ultrasound transducer 303.”).
Saeki, Guo, and Byrnes are all considered to be analogous to the claimed invention because they are all in the field of non-contact measurement with ultrasonic pressure. Therefore, it would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the combination of Saeki and Guo to incorporate the teachings of Byrnes and apply constant ultrasonic pressure. One would be motivated to make such a modification on the basis of lower peak power operation and enabling continuous measurement with a simplified system design.
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 MIYA DOWNING whose telephone number is (703)756-1840. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday 8:00 AM - 5:00 PM ET.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, David Makiya can be reached at (571) 272-2273. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/MIYA DOWNING/Examiner, Art Unit 2884
/DAVID J MAKIYA/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2884
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