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
Applicant’s election without traverse of Invention I, Species A, readable on claims 1-7 in the reply filed on 4/1/2026 is acknowledged.
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 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Murayama (US Patent Application Publication No. 2014/0194686).
In regard to claim 1, Murayama discloses an endoscope camera controller (13, Fig. 1), comprising:
a processor (CPU) and memory (85) coupled to the processor, the memory comprising instructions (Par. 56), which when executed by the processor cause the endoscope camera controller to:
receive an indication of a pulse start control signal and one or more laser pulse characteristics, the pulse start control signal to define an initiation of lasing by a lasing console and the one or more laser pulse characteristics to define the lasing (Par. 13,74,75);
determine an integration timing period of a camera sensor of an endoscope based on the pulse start control signal and the one or more laser pulse characteristics (Par. 13,74,75); and
generate an integration control signal, the integration control signal to cause the camera sensor to accumulate charge during integration timing period (Par. 13,74,75).
In regard to claim 2, Murayama teaches the instructions when executed by the processor further cause the endoscope camera controller to send the integration control signal to shutter gating circuitry of the endoscope, the shutter gating circuitry to control a shutter of the endoscope camera (Par. 91).
In regard to claim 3, Murayama teaches wherein the one or more laser pulse characteristics define a frequency of pulses to be generated by the lasing console (Par. 13,74,75).
In regard to claim 4, Murayama teaches wherein the one or more laser pulse characteristics define a pulse width of the pulses (Par. 70).
In regard to claim 5, Murayama teaches the instructions when executed by the processor further cause the endoscope camera controller to: determine a maximum duration of integration of the camera sensor based on a frame rate of the camera; and determine the integration timing period as the difference of the maximum duration of integration of the camera and the pulse width (Par. 13, 74,75).
In regard to claim 6, Murayama teaches wherein the camera is a global shutter style camera or a rolling shutter style camera (Par. 91).
In regard to claim 7, Murayama teaches wherein the lasing console comprises a Thulium fiber laser source or a Holmium laser source (the lasing console is capable of being a Thulium fiber laser source or a Homium laser source since the lasing console is not a required structural component of the invention).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to RYAN N HENDERSON whose telephone number is (571)270-1430. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 6am-5pm (PST).
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/RYAN N HENDERSON/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3795 July 25, 2026
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