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 .
Election/Restrictions
In response to the Election/Restriction mailed to applicant on 03/25/2026, applicant’s made an election without traverse of Invention I in the reply filed on 05/08/2026.
As a result of applicant’s election, claims 1-7 and 11 are examined in the present office action, and claims 8-10 have been withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to nonelected Inventions.
Applicant should note that the non-elected claims 8-10 will be rejoined if the linking claim 1 is later found as an allowable claim.
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Drawings
The drawings contain seven sheets of figures 1a-1b, 2-3, 4a-4b, 5a-5b, 6 and 7a-7b were received on 06/11/2024. These drawings are objected by the examiner for the following reasons.
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 feature of “at least one processor” as recited in claim 1 on line 5 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.
Figures 1a and 1b should be designated by a legend such as --Prior Art-- because only that which is old is illustrated. See present specification in paragraphs [5], [57] and [59]. See MPEP § 608.02(g). Corrected drawings in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. The replacement sheet(s) should be labeled “Replacement Sheet” in the page header (as per 37 CFR 1.84(c)) so as not to obstruct any portion of the drawing figures. 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.
The drawings are objected to because the use of term “L” to show the distance between light sources as shown in figures 4b, 5b and 6 is improper, see specification in paragraph [70]. Applicant should note that there is at least one light source between two light sources wherein the distance between the two light sources is named as L as shown in each of the mentioned figures 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.
Specification
The lengthy specification has not been checked to the extent necessary to determine the presence of all possible minor errors. Applicant’s cooperation is requested in correcting any errors of which applicant may become aware in the specification.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
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 2, 4, and 6-7 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.
a) Claim 2 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite by the feature thereof “the at least one processor … light source” (lines 1-2).
The mentioned feature makes the claim indefinite because it is unclear about the relationship(s) between a specimen (which an image thereof is acquired by the at least one processor) and the “vessel stage” recited in its base claim 1 on line 4. In other words, it is unclear which element/component/apparatus of the optical device supports/contains the specimen which an image is acquired by the at least one processor.
b) Claim 4 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite by the feature thereof “the lattice shape includes at least one of … a square lattice” (lines 1-2). It is unclear about the lattice shape having oblique shape, rectangular shape, rhombic shape, hexagonal shape and square shape as recited in the mentioned feature. Applicant should note that the terms “at least one” recited in the claim on line 1 is understood as a combination or a sum of all shapes.
c) Claim 6 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, for the following reasons:
c1) The feature thereof “a position inside a well” (lines 3-4) makes the claim indefinite. Which element/component/apparatus having the so-called “a position inside a well” does applicant implies here? and
c2) The claim is indefinite by the feature thereof “wherein in a case … the closes light sources” (lines 1-4).
The mentioned feature makes the claim indefinite because it is unclear about the relationship(s) between “a well” and the “vessel stage” recited in its base claim 1 on line 4. In other words, it is unclear which element/component/apparatus of the optical device supports/contains the well.
d) Claim 7 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, for the similar reasons as set forth in element c) above.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
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.
Claims 1-7 and 11, as best as understood, are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Chan (US Patent No. 10,983,325).
Chan discloses a trans-illumination imaging system.
a) Regarding present claim 1, the system as described in columns 6-11 and shown in figs. 8 and 12 comprises the following features:
a1) an objective lens (86);
a2) a light source array unit (92) having a plurality of brightfield light sources (94, 96, 98);
a3) a vessel stage (132) supporting a plurality of wells (54) which vessel stage is positioned between the objective lens and the light source array unit; and
a4) at least one processor (142) wherein the at least one processor is operated to select and turn ON a first brightfield light source (96) among the plurality of light sources (94, 96, 98) corresponding to a position of the objective lens (86) and turn OFF the brightfield light sources (94, 98) other than the first brightfield light source (96), see columns 7-8 and 10-11 and fig. 12;
b) Regarding present claim 2, the at least one processor is configured to acquire at least an image of specimen(s) located inside the well(s), see column 7.
c) Regarding present claims 3-4, the plurality of light sources (94, 96, 98) are arranged in a rectangular lattice shape, see column 8 (lines 61-64).
d) Regarding present claims 5-7, the light source (96) which is selected by the at least one processor is positioned closest to the objective lens (86), see figs. 4-8 and 12.
e) Regarding present claim 11, the method steps are implicitly met by the structure of the imaging device as described in columns 6-11, see also columns 9-11 and fig. 11.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
The US Patent No. 8,902,419 is cited as of interest in that it discloses an optical system having an illumination system, an objective lens, a detecting system and a control unit wherein the illumination system comprises an array of light emitting elements and the control unit is operated to select and turn on one of the light emitting elements located closest to the objective lens among the plurality of light-emitting elements and turn off the remaining of the light-emitting elements, see columns 5-7 and figs. 1A-1D.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to THONG Q NGUYEN whose telephone number is (571)272-2316. The examiner can normally be reached M - Th: 6:00 ~ 17:00.
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, STEPHONE B. ALLEN can be reached at (571) 272-2434. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/THONG Q NGUYEN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2872
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