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 1-6, 10-16 in the reply filed on 6/29/2026 is acknowledged. Claim 7-9 have been withdrawn as being directed towards non-elected Species B.
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 claimed subject matter of “the heat sink comprises of the shaft wall” in Claim 15 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 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 1-6 and 10-16 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.
Claim 1 recites “a common heat transfer element with a first contact surface and a second contact surface; and a heat sink positioned proximally to the distal portion of the shaft” in Lines 9-11, wherein the claim appears to indicate that the common heat transfer element and heat sink are separate structural components, however the specification states that the first and second contact surfaces (127,128) are part of the heat sink (Par. 46-47). Therefore, it’s not clear what structure is required for the common heat transfer element and the heat sink since they appear to be referring to the same component. Appropriate correction is required.
Claim 10 recites “wherein that the heat transfer element” in Line 1, wherein it’s not clear the meaning of the claim limitation “that the” and therefore the claim is indefinite. Appropriate correction is required.
Claim 11 recites the limitation " the discharge region " in Line 2. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Claim 15 recites the limitation “wherein the heat sink comprises of the shaft wall” in Lines 1-2, wherein Claim 1 previously defines “a shaft wall” and “a heat sink” as separate structural elements and Claim 15 is contradicting this by indicating they’re the same structural feature. Appropriate correction is required.
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.
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 1-5, 10-14 and 16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Chen (US Patent Application Publication No. 2022/0142455).
In regard to claim 1, Chen discloses a medical imaging device (1, Fig. 1), comprising a shaft (10) comprising a distal tip, a proximal region, a longitudinal axis extending from the distal tip to the proximal region, an end face, and a shaft wall extending along the longitudinal axis and facing an environment (Figs. 1,4);
a light source (331) for illuminating a viewing area, wherein the light source is accommodated in the distal portion of the shaft (Fig. 4);
an image sensor (312) for recording image light captured from the viewing area, wherein the image sensor is accommodated in the distal portion of the shaft (Fig. 4);
a common heat transfer element (20) with a first contact surface and a second contact surface (via contact points between the LEDs and Image sensor either directly or indirectly, Fig. 4, Par. 27); and
a heat sink (40) positioned proximally to the distal portion of the shaft (Fig. 4);
wherein the light source and the image sensor are respectively thermally connected to the first and second contact surface of the common heat transfer element (Fig. 4, Par. 27), and an operating heat generated by the light source and/or by the image sensor is dissipated toward the proximal region to the heat sink by the common heat transfer element (Fig. 4, Par. 36).
In regard to claim 2, Chen teaches wherein the light source and the image sensor are arranged in a sealed common compartment (50) in the distal portion of the shaft (Figs. 3-4),and
wherein the heat transfer element is arranged at least partially in the common compartment (Fig. 4).
In regard to claim 3, Chen teaches wherein the light source and the image sensor are arranged in a common plane (a common plane can be drawn between one of the LEDs and the image sensor).
In regard to claim 4, Chen teaches wherein a single cover glass is arranged in the end face for distally terminating the common compartment (via cover glass associated with opening (51), Figs. 2,4).
In regard to claim 5, Chen teaches wherein an imaging cover glass (via cover glass associated with opening (51)) and an illuminating cover glass (via cover glass associated with openings (52)) are arranged in the end face and distally terminate the common compartment (Figs. 2,4).
In regard to claim 10, Chen teaches wherein that the heat transfer element has a connection region (211) directed toward the operating heat and a discharge region (24) directed toward the heat sink, where the connection region is tapered relative to a shaft diameter (Fig. 2 shows the tapering of the connection region) and the discharge region (24) is widened relative to the connection region (Figs. 3-4).
In regard to claim 11, Chen teaches wherein the heat transfer element has a depression (24) at the discharge region, the depression extending along the longitudinal axis and receiving at least a portion of the heat sink (Figs. 3-4).
In regard to claim 12, Chen teaches wherein the heat transfer element has a depression at the discharge region (24), the depression extending along the longitudinal axis and receiving at least a portion of the heat sink (Figs. 3-4).
In regard to claim 13, Chen teaches wherein the depression comprises a shared heat transfer surface in thermal contact with the heat sink, and wherein said heat transfer surface includes a surface parallel to the longitudinal axis (Fig. 4).
In regard to claim 14, Chen teaches wherein the depression comprises a shared heat transfer surface in thermal contact with the heat sink, and wherein said heat transfer surface includes a surface parallel to the longitudinal axis (Fig. 4).
In regard to claim 16, Chen teaches wherein the heat sink comprises a heat pipe (40) arranged along the longitudinal axis (Fig. 4).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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 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 6 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Chen (US Patent Application Publication No. 2022/0142455) in view of Kohno (US Patent Application Publication No. 2021/0045620).
In regard to claim 6, Chen teaches wherein the first contact surface and the second contact surface are arranged substantially parallel to each other (Fig. 4), but does not expressly teach wherein the end face and the contact surfaces are arranged inclined from an end plane arranged orthogonal to the longitudinal axis.
Kohno teaches an analogous endoscope in which the tip of the endoscope is configured for oblique-viewing, such that the end face of the shaft is inclined with respect to a longitudinal axis of the shaft. Kohno teaches of the tip provided with an LED (63) and camera (43) and further provided with a heat transmission member (111) having a contact surface (107) that contacts the LED which is inclined with respect to a longitudinal axis of the shaft. Kohno teaches of the contact surface (107) being approximately parallel to an end face of the shaft (Par. 91).
It would’ve been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the effective filing date of the invention to modify the forward viewing tip of Chen to be an oblique viewing tip as taught by Kohno as a matter of design choice to alter the angle at which images are taken within a body cavity. There being no unexpected results in modifying the forward viewing tip of Chen to be an oblique viewing tip as taught by Kohno.
Although, Kohno only teaches of the contact surface for the LED being inclined with respect to the longitudinal axis of the shaft, Chen teaches that the contact surface for the LED and image sensor being parallel to each other and therefore the combined endoscope of Kohno and Chen would result in both contact surfaces being parallel to each other and inclined with respect to the longitudinal axis of the shaft.
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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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Anhtuan Nguyen can be reached at 571-272-4963. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/RYAN N HENDERSON/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3795 July 11, 2026
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