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 .
This Office action is responsive to preliminary amendments filed on 06/28/2024. Presently, Claims 1-10 remain pending.
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Drawings
The drawings are objected to under 37 CFR 1.83(a). The drawings must show every feature of the invention specified in the claims. Therefore, the subjectmatter of Claim 1 (“a light source module having a first light guide”); Claim 4 (i.e., “the first light guide is coupled to the second light guide through the light source interface”) must be shown or the feature(s) canceled from the claim(s). No new matter should be entered.
Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. The figure or figure number of an amended drawing should not be labeled as “amended.” If a drawing figure is to be canceled, the appropriate figure must be removed from the replacement sheet, and where necessary, the remaining figures must be renumbered and appropriate changes made to the brief description of the several views of the drawings for consistency. Additional replacement sheets may be necessary to show the renumbering of the remaining figures. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
Claim Objections
Claim 8 is objected to because of the following informalities:
With regard to Claim 8, “GUI” should be changed to --graphical user interface (GUI)--.
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of 35 U.S.C. 112(a):
(a) IN GENERAL.—The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor or joint inventor of carrying out the invention.
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112:
The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor of carrying out his invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 8-10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), first paragraph, as failing to comply with the written description requirement. The claim(s) contains subject matter which was not described in the specification in such a way as to reasonably convey to one skilled in the relevant art that the inventor or a joint inventor, or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the inventor(s), at the time the application was filed, had possession of the claimed invention.
With regard to Claim 8, the original Specification does not describe with adequate detail what the claimed “combination arrangement rule” is or comprises. More specifically, it is unclear how the combination arrangement rule relates to the second control signal, and the third mapping relationship. Clarification is required.
Claims 9 and 10 are also rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) because they inherit the deficiencies of Claim 8.
Claims 6-8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
With regard to Claim 6, it is unclear what Applicant means by “mapping relationship between the first button and the first control signal”. Applicant fails to provide any definition as to what the claimed mapping relationship is, includes, or constitutes. Furthermore, a “mapping relationship” between a button or switch and a control signal is not a known term of art. Clarification is required. As best understood, a “mapping relationship” refers to a delay.
With regard to Claim 7, the limitation “wherein the second control signal is used to control the light source module to emit the first illumination beam or the second illumination beam to switch between the white-light mode and the fluorescence mode” is unclear as it contradicts the limitations of Claim 1, wherein it is claimed that “the first control signal is allowed for controlling the light source module to emit the first illumination beam or the second illumination beam to switch between the white-light mode and the fluorescence mode”. It is therefore unclear whether it is the first control signal, the second control signal, or both that controls the white-light and fluorescence modes. Clarification is required.
With regard to Claim 8, the claim attempts to claim “a third mapping relationship” without having previously claimed a first or a second mapping relationship. It is therefore unclear how many mapping relationships the Applicant is attempting to claim. For present purposes of examination, “a third mapping relationship” will be considered to be “a first mapping relationship”. Furthermore, it is unclear what Applicant means by “an upper layer of the video data”. Clarification is required.
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, 2, 6, and 7 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Utsui et al. (JP 2002-102142) in view of .
With regard to Claim 1, Utsui et al. discloses in Fig. 8, a fluorescence endoscope system comprising:
a light source module (530) configured to guide illumination beams (white illumination beams and blue illumination beams) emitted by the light source module, wherein the illumination beams comprise a first illumination beam (white illumination beams) corresponding to a white-light mode (“Specifically, a plurality of white LEDs…may be arranged. In this case, in the normal observation mode, only the white LEDs emit light to output white light in the visible light region as normal illumination light.”) and a second illumination beam (blue illumination beams) corresponding to a fluorescence mode (“Specifically, a plurality of…blue LDs may be arranged…in the fluorescence observation mode, only the blue LD emits light, so that light in the blue spectral region is output as excitation light.”);
a camera module (20, 550, 560, 570, 580) having an endoscope (20) and an operation portion (560) which are coupled to each other, wherein the endoscope is configured to propagate the illumination beams guided by the first light guide and reflected beams formed after the illumination beams are irradiated to an object (S), and the operation portion is configured to receive the reflected beams and convert the reflected beams into video data;
a main control module (560, 538) having a control unit (538) and an image processing unit (562, 564), wherein the control unit is configured to control the light source module to emit the first illumination beam or the second illumination beam, and the image processing unit is configured to process the video data frame by frame; and
a display module (570) configured to play the video data processed by the image processing unit, wherein the operation portion comprises a hand-held main body and a first button (532, 553) arranged on the hand-held main body, the operation portion is configured to generate a first control signal after the first button is triggered, the operation portion transmits the first control signal to the image processing unit, and the first control signal is capable of controlling the light source module to emit the first illumination beam or the second illumination beam to switch between the white-light mode and the fluorescence mode (“…, when the switching lever 553 is pulled to the left and the movable part 551 is moved to the left, the first camera unit 552 is opposed to the eyepiece part 14. And the changeover switch 532 is off. At this time, the mode setting signal becomes LOW level, and the normal observation mode is set. Then, based on the mode setting signal, the lamp lighting circuit 538 generates normal illumination light from the light emitting element 534, and the selector 572 outputs the video signal output from the normal imaging processing unit 562…On the other hand, when the switching lever 553 is pushed rightward to slide the movable portion 551, the movable portion 551 is locked in contact with the switch 532. At this time, the second camera unit 554 is opposed to the eyepiece unit 14, and the optical filter 540 provided integrally with the second camera unit 554 and transmitting only the autofluorescence component is provided by the second camera unit 554 and the eyepiece unit 14. It is arranged between and. When the changeover switch 532 is pressed by the movable portion 551 to be turned on, the mode setting signal becomes HIGH level and the fluorescence observation mode is set. Then, based on the mode setting signal, the lamp lighting circuit 538 generates excitation light from the light emitting element 534, and the selector 572 converts the video signal output from the fluorescent image processing unit 564 into the image recording device 580 and the monitor device 570…As a result, an auto-fluorescent image is observed on the monitor screen 574”).
Utsui et al. however lacks a clear disclosure of the light source module having a first light guide configured to guide illumination beams.
In a separate embodiment, however, Utsui et al. discloses in Fig. 6 a system comprising, among other features, a first light guide (335) configured to guide illumination beams.
Selecting a desired known optics in order to provide greater control over the modulation of one or more light beams would have been known to one of ordinary skill in the art.
Before the effective filing date of the present application, it would have been obvious to modify the embodiment illustrated in Fig. 8 of Utsui et al. by incorporating a first light guide, as taught by the embodiment illustrated in Fig. 6 of Utsui et al., in order to provide image results of highest quality.
With regard to Claim 2, Utsui et al. discloses the system set forth above, wherein the first illumination beam contains only a wide-spectrum white visible light having a wavelength of 400 nm (“When the three LED chips emit light simultaneously, a uniform visible light region (wavelength 400 nm) is obtained”), but lacks a clear disclosure of the second illumination beam being formed by mixing a white visible light and a narrow-band infrared ray (IR) excitation light having a wavelength of 750 nm to 810 nm.
Selecting a desired wavelength for the excitation light in order to observe a desired type of sample would have been known to a person of ordinary skill in the art.
Before the effective date of the present application, it would have been obvious to modify Utsui et al. by providing a second illumination beam, as claimed, in order to provide more accurate imaging results.
With regard to Claim 6, Utsui et al. discloses the system set forth above, wherein the operation portion is preset with a first mapping relationship between the first button (553, 532) and the first control signal, the first control signal is generated based on the first mapping relationship after the first button is triggered (one of ordinary skill in the art would recognize that there is an inherent delay between the time when a user triggers the first button and when a first control signal is generated/transmitted), and the first control signal is used to control the image processing unit (562, 564) to perform corresponding actions, wherein the first mapping relationship comprises a first mapping relationship a corresponding to the white-light mode and a first mapping relationship b corresponding to the white-light mode and the fluorescence mode respectively.
With regard to Claim 7, Utsui et al. discloses the system set forth above, but lacks a clear disclosure of the main control module comprising a panel assembly and a second button arranged on the panel assembly, the panel assembly is configured to generate a second control signal after the second button is triggered, and the panel assembly transmits the second control signal to the control unit, wherein the second control signal is used to control the light source module to emit the first illumination beam or the second illumination beam to switch between the white-light mode and the fluorescence mode.
In another embodiment, Utsui et al. discloses in Fig. 7 a system comprising, among other features, a panel assembly (470) and a second button (472a, 472b) arranged on the panel assembly, the panel assembly is configured to generate a second control signal after the second button is triggered, and the panel assembly transmits the second control signal to the control unit, wherein the second control signal is used to control the light source module to emit the first illumination beam or the second illumination beam to switch between the white-light mode and the fluorescence mode (“The color image or the auto-fluorescent image is selectively displayed on the monitor screen 474 based on the video signal of the color image or the auto-fluorescent image obtained from. The monitor device 470 includes two selection switches 472a and 472b for selecting an image to be displayed on the monitor screen 474. When [47]2a is pressed, it is electrically connected to the normal image processing unit 462 to display a color image, and receives a video signal corresponding to the color image. When the selection switch 472b is pressed, it is electrically connected to the fluorescence image processing unit 464 to display the autofluorescence image, and receives a video signal corresponding to the autofluorescence image”).
Before the effective filing date of the present application, it would have been obvious to modify Utsui et al. by utilizing the panel assembly taught by the embodiment illustrated in Fig. 7 of Utsui et al. in order to provide a more user-friendly system.
Claims 3-5 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Utsui et al. (JP 2002-102142) in view of Tsuyuki et al. (US 5,876,327).
With regard to Claim 3, Utsui et al. discloses the system set forth above, but lacks a clear disclosure of the camera module comprising an optical adapter configure to focus the reflected beams, and the endoscope is coupled to the operation portion through the optical adapter.
In an analogous endoscopic field of endeavor, Tsuyuki et al. discloses in Fig. 9 a system comprising, among other features, a camera module (42) comprising an optical adapter (46) configured to focus beams, and the endoscope (41) is coupled to the operation portion (i.e., processor processing images from imager (48) through the optical adapter.
Before the effective filing date of the present application, it would have been obvious to modify Utsui et al. by utilizing the adapter taught by Tsuyuki et al. in order to provide image results of higher quality.
With regard to Claim 4, Utsui et al. discloses system set forth above, wherein the endoscope (20) comprises an objective lens (26), a light guide structure (herein considered to be the structure of the endoscope), an eyepiece (29), a light source interface (interface between light source module (530) and endoscope (20)), and a second light guide (22), wherein the second light guide is arranged along an axial direction of the endoscope, the first light guide is coupled to the second light guide through the light source interface, the second light guide guides the illumination beams to irradiate the object (S), the illumination beams encounter the object and change a propagation direction to form the reflected beams, and the reflected beams pass through the objective lens, the light guide structure and the eyepiece and enter into the optical adapter (one of ordinary skill in the art would recognize that the combination of Utsui et al. and Tsuyuki et al. would result in the reflected beams entering into the optical adapter since the adapter connects the endoscope with the camera module).
With regard to Claim 5, Utsui et al. discloses the system set forth above, wherein the hand-held main body has a front end surface and a cavity (herein considered to be the cavity wherein imagers (552, 554) are located), the front end surface is provided with an optical filter (540) and an image sensor (herein considered to be the sensor of imagers (552, 554)) are arranged inside of the cavity, the optical filter, and the image sensor is configured to receive the reflected beams and convert the reflected beams to the video data.
Utsui et al. however lacks a clear disclosure of a beam-splitting prism configured to split the reflected beams passing through the optical filter, which is configured to cut off the reflected beams with a wavelength greater than or equal to 750 nm and less than or equal to 810 nm, the sensor configured to receive the reflected beams split by the beam-splitting prism, the optical adapter focusing the reflected beams on the optical filter.
In an analogous endoscopic field of endeavor, Tsuyuki et al. discloses in Fig. 9 a system comprising, among other features, an optical adapter (46) that, when configured into the endoscope of Utsui et al., would focus the reflected beams on an optical filter (49).
Before the effective filing date of the present application, it would have been obvious to modify Utsui et al. by utilizing the optical adapter taught by Tsuyuki et al. in order to provide image results of higher quality.
Utsui et al., as modified by Tsuyuki et al., further lacks a clear disclosure of a beam-splitting prism configured to split the reflected beams passing through the optical filter.
In an analogous endoscopic field of endeavor, Tsuyuki et al. in Fig. 10 discloses a beam-splitting prism (58) configured to split the reflected beams passing through the optical filter (as explained above).
Before the effective filing date of the present application, it would have been obvious to modify Utsui et al. and Tsuyuki et al. by incorporating the beam-splitting prism taught by the embodiment illustrated in Fig. 10 of Tsuyuki et al. in order to provide greater control over the modulation of the reflected beams.
Utsui et al. and Tsuyuki et al. lack a clear disclosure of the claimed wavelength range of the optical filter.
However, selecting an optical wavelength range to filter out or in would have been known to one of ordinary skill in the art.
Before the effective filing date of the present application, it would have been obvious to modify Utsui et al. and Tsuyuki et al. by selecting the claimed wavelength ranges for the optical filter in order to provide image outputs of greater quality.
Conclusion
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/PASCAL M BUI PHO/ Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3798
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