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 .
Continued Examination under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on 11 August 2026 has been entered.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments, see Page 6, filed 11 August 2026, with respect to claims 1 and 20 have been fully considered and are persuasive. Therefore, the objections to claims 1 and 20 have been withdrawn.
Applicant’s arguments, see Page 6, filed 11 August 2026, with respect to claim 20 have been fully considered and are persuasive. Therefore, the §112 rejection of claim 20 has been withdrawn.
Applicant’s arguments, see Pages 6-8, filed 11 August 2026, with respect to claims 1 and 20 have been fully considered and are persuasive. Therefore, the §103 rejections of claims 1, 3-8, 10, 12, and 16-20 have been withdrawn. However, upon further consideration, a new ground of rejection is made in view of newly-found prior art.
On Page 7, Applicant argues that Wang discloses operation of only a 1D spectrometer. Although Wang does not appear to explicitly disclose a 2D spectrometer, Wang also does not explicitly disclose operation of only a 1D spectrometer. Wang discloses that “[t]he specific structure of the sensor 250 is not limited. For example, a CMOS line sensor or a CCD line sensor can be used” [0055]. However, Wang also discloses that “it is to be understood that the invention is not to be limited to the disclosed embodiments, but on the contrary, is intended to cover various modifications and equivalent arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the invention” [0075].
Wouters et al. (US 2020/0033121), hereinafter Wouters, furthermore, in the same field of endeavor of confocal chromatic measurements, discloses wherein a confocal chromatic measurement system comprising a line light source and a slit-shaped entrance aperture also comprises a 2D spectrometer [0007].
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify Wang’s system with a 2D spectrometer for the purpose of determining both the position of an object under test and the wavelength (Wouters [0007]).
Claim Objections
Claim 1 is objected to because of the following informality: In Line --, the Examiner assumes that “measurement lens, that a directional aperture” should actually be --measurement lens, [[that]] wherein a directional aperture--. Appropriate correction is required.
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.
Claims 1-6, 8, 10, 12, and 16- 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wang et al. (US 2023/0087237), hereinafter Wang, in view of Wouters et al. (US 2020/0033121), hereinafter Wouters, and Desserouer (US 2011/0222061, disclosed in IDS 28 August 2024), hereinafter Desserouer.
Claim 1: Wang discloses a system (200, Fig. 2) for confocal chromatic line distance measurement [0003], comprising:
a line light source (211) (“The light source 211 may be… a line light source” [0048]);
a slit aperture (“light-incident hole 221” [0049]);
a confocal-chromatic measurement lens (“dispersive objective lens group 222” [0049]); and
a spectrometer (240) [0052],
wherein an illumination beam path extends from the light source (211) via the slit aperture (221) and a first half (annular light beam A1, outer half) of the measurement lens (222) to the measurement object (S) (“the light beam from the light source enters the dispersive objective lens group 222 through the light-incident hole 221, and then reaches the measurement surface S” [0057]), and
wherein an imaging beam path extends from the measurement object (S) via a second half (C1, inner half) of the measurement lens (222) to the spectrometer (240) (“the reflected light from the measurement surface S passes through the central part of the dispersive objective lens group 222 along the path of C1, finally, the beam is reflected from the reflecting mirror 224 to the light-outgoing hole 223” [0057]),
a deflection element (224) is arranged in the illumination beam path between the slit aperture (221) and the measurement lens (222) (evident from Fig. 2), wherein a directional aperture (224) ensures that the illumination light only strikes the measurement lens (222) in the first area (the deflection element (224) prevents the illumination beams from being incident on the second half (C1)), wherein one of (1) the deflection element (224) serves as the directional aperture (224) (evident from Fig. 2) and (2) the directional aperture is realized as a component separate from the deflection element, whereby the solid angle ranges into which the light is emitted are defined by the directional aperture (224) (evident from Fig. 2),
wherein the slit aperture (221), the measurement lens (222), and the entrance aperture (223) of the spectrometer (230) lie on a common virtual optical axis (according to BRI, the common virtual optical axis is taken to be a common light path, which is evident from Fig. 2) [0051].
Wang does not explicitly disclose a 2D spectrometer; Wang also does not explicitly disclose operation of only a 1D spectrometer. Wang discloses that “[t]he specific structure of the sensor 250 is not limited. For example, a CMOS line sensor or a CCD line sensor can be used” [0055]. However, Wang also discloses that “it is to be understood that the invention is not to be limited to the disclosed embodiments, but on the contrary, is intended to cover various modifications and equivalent arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the invention” [0075].
Wouters, furthermore, in the same field of endeavor of confocal chromatic measurements, discloses wherein a confocal chromatic measurement system comprising a line light source and a slit-shaped entrance aperture also comprises a 2D spectrometer [0007].
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify Wang’s system with a 2D spectrometer for the purpose of determining both the position of an object under test and the wavelength (Wouters [0007]).
Wang is silent with respect to a Dyson spectrometer.
Desserouer, however, in the same field of endeavor of imaging spectrometry, discloses a system (Fig. 1) comprising a spectrometer,
characterized in that the spectrometer is a Dyson spectrometer [0037] having a slit-shaped entrance aperture (inherent to Dyson spectrometer).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify Wang’s spectrometer to be a Dyson spectrometer for the purpose of creating an imaging system comprising a compact spectrometer with a high numerical aperture (Desserouer [0014]).
Claim 3: Wang further discloses wherein the measurement lens (222) has exactly one optical lens (evident from Fig. 2: “The dispersive objective lens group 222 is at least one lens involved in the spectral confocal sensor and configured to generate axial chromatic aberration” [0050]).
Claim 4: Wang further discloses wherein a single confocal-chromatic measurement lens (222) is arranged (evident from Fig. 2: “The dispersive objective lens group 222 is at least one lens involved in the spectral confocal sensor and configured to generate axial chromatic aberration” [0050]).
Claim 5: Wang further discloses wherein the optical axis (vertical in the plane of the page) of the measurement lens (222) coincides with the distance axis of the system (evident from Fig. 2) [0049].
Claim 6: Wang further discloses wherein the line light source (211) emits a continuous white light line (“the light source portion 210 is configured to emit a broad-spectrum light beam” [0047]; “the light source 211 is configured to emit continuous visible light beams” [0048]).
Claim 8: Wang further discloses wherein the line light source (211) is arranged on the entrance side in the focal point of the measurement lens (222) (evident from Fig. 6, which is an alternate embodiment of the system of Fig. 2).
Claim 10: Wang further discloses wherein the deflection element (224) is designed as a mirror or as a beam splitter (“a reflecting mirror 224” [0049]).
Claim 12: Wang further discloses wherein a converter optic (241) is arranged [0053], wherein
the converter optic (241) is arranged in the imaging beam path between the measurement lens (222) and the spectrometer (230) (evident from Fig. 2) or in the illumination beam path between the light source and the measurement lens, and wherein
the converter optic (241) has at least one optical lens, the at least one optical lens being arranged concentrically to the measurement lens in a basic optical model and/or lying with the measurement lens (222) on the common virtual optical axis (evident from Fig. 6, which is an alternate embodiment of the system of Fig. 2).
Claim 16: wherein the spectrometer (230) has an optical lens (241), in particular a Dyson lens (evident from modification of claim 1 above), a, in particular concave, line grid (inherent: “a CMOS line sensor or a CCD line sensor can be used” [0055]), and an area detector (250) [0053].
Claim 17: Wang further discloses wherein the line grid is provided with a blaze structure and/or has equidistant, parallel structures (inherent to a CMOS/CCD line sensor for spectral decomposition of the received signal).
Claim 18: Wang is silent with respect to the width of the entrance aperture.
However, Applicant has provided no criticality for the recited width, aside from disclosing that “an ideal spectral resolution is achieved in relation to the pixel resolution of the area detector” (Spec. [0032]); in another words, the system is optimized. “Determining where in a disclosed set of percentage ranges the optimum combination of percentages lies is prima facie obvious.” In re Peterson, 315 F.3d 1325, 1330, 65 USPQ2d 1379, 1382-83 (Fed. Cir. 2003); see also In re Geisler, 116 F.3d 1465, 1470, 43 USPQ2d 1362, 1365 (Fed. Cir. 1997) (“[I]t is not inventive to discover the optimum or workable ranges by routine experimentation.” In re Aller, 220 F.2d 454, 456, 105 USPQ 233, 235 (CCPA 1995)).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify Wang’s entrance aperture to have a desired width, such as no greater than 20 μm, for the purpose of allowing light to have the desired resolution for accurate analysis of the measurement light without creating artefacts.
Claim 19: Wang does not explicitly disclose wherein the illumination beam path and the imaging beam path between the measurement lens and the measurement object each extend at an angle in the range from 45[Symbol font/0xB0] to 90° relative to one another.
However, from the annotated figure below, it is evident that this angle is in the range from 0 to 90[Symbol font/0xB0]. Furthermore, Applicant has provided no criticality for this angle range, aside from disclosing that “This has the advantage that the greatest possible spatial resolution is achieved” (Spec. [0033]); in another words, the system is optimized. “Determining where in a disclosed set of percentage ranges the optimum combination of percentages lies is prima facie obvious.” In re Peterson, 315 F.3d 1325, 1330, 65 USPQ2d 1379, 1382-83 (Fed. Cir. 2003); see also In re Geisler, 116 F.3d 1465, 1470, 43 USPQ2d 1362, 1365 (Fed. Cir. 1997) (“[I]t is not inventive to discover the optimum or workable ranges by routine experimentation.” In re Aller, 220 F.2d 454, 456, 105 USPQ 233, 235 (CCPA 1995)).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify the size and/or placement of Wang’s system components so that the illumination beam path and the imaging beam path extend in the desired angle range, such as from 45[Symbol font/0xB0] to 90[Symbol font/0xB0], for the purpose of allowing light to have the desired resolution for accurate analysis of the measurement light without creating artefacts.
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annotated Fig. 2 of Wang
Claim 20: Wang discloses a method for confocal-chromatic line distance measurement [0003], using a system (200, Fig. 2) having:
a line light source (211) (“The light source 211 may be… a line light source” [0048]),
a slit aperture (“light-incident hole 221” [0049]),
a confocal-chromatic measurement lens (“dispersive objective lens group 222” [0049]), and
a spectrometer (240) [0052],
wherein an illumination beam path extends from the light source (211) via the slit aperture (221) and a first half (annular light beam A1, outer half) of the measurement lens (222) to a measurement object (S) (“the light beam from the light source enters the dispersive objective lens group 222 through the light-incident hole 221, and then reaches the measurement surface S” [0057]), and
wherein an imaging beam path extends from the measurement object (S) via a second half (C1, inner half) of the measurement lens (222) to the spectrometer (230) (“the reflected light from the measurement surface S passes through the central part of the dispersive objective lens group 222 along the path of C1, finally, the beam is reflected from the reflecting mirror 224 to the light-outgoing hole 223” [0057]),
characterized in
that a deflection element (224) is arranged in the illumination beam path between the slit aperture (221) and the measurement lens (222) (evident from Fig. 2), and in the imaging beam path between the measurement lens (222) and the spectrometer (230) (evident from Fig. 2), and
that a directional aperture (224) ensures that the illumination light only strikes the measurement lens (222) in the first half (the deflection element (224) prevents the illumination beams from being incident on the second half (C1)), wherein one of (1) the deflection element (224) serves as the directional aperture (224) (evident from Fig. 2) and (2) the directional aperture is realized as a component separate from the deflection element, whereby the solid angle ranges into which the light is emitted are defined by the directional aperture (224) (evident from Fig. 2).
Wang does not explicitly disclose a 2D spectrometer; Wang also does not explicitly disclose operation of only a 1D spectrometer. Wang discloses that “[t]he specific structure of the sensor 250 is not limited. For example, a CMOS line sensor or a CCD line sensor can be used” [0055]. However, Wang also discloses that “it is to be understood that the invention is not to be limited to the disclosed embodiments, but on the contrary, is intended to cover various modifications and equivalent arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the invention” [0075].
Wouters, furthermore, in the same field of endeavor of confocal chromatic measurements, discloses wherein a confocal chromatic measurement system comprising a line light source and a slit-shaped entrance aperture also comprises a 2D spectrometer [0007].
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify Wang’s system with a 2D spectrometer for the purpose of determining both the position of an object under test and the wavelength (Wouters [0007]).
Wang is silent with respect to a Dyson spectrometer.
Desserouer, however, in the same field of endeavor of imaging spectrometry, discloses a system (Fig. 1) comprising a spectrometer,
characterized in that the spectrometer is a Dyson spectrometer [0037] having a slit-shaped entrance aperture (inherent to Dyson spectrometer).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify Wang’s spectrometer to be a Dyson spectrometer for the purpose of creating an imaging system comprising a compact spectrometer with a high numerical aperture (Desserouer [0014]).
Wang further discloses wherein the method including the steps of:
directing illumination light from the line light source (211) (“The light source 211 may be… a line light source” [0048]) via the slit aperture (“light-incident hole 221” [0049]) and the first half (annular light beam A1) of the confocal-chromatic measurement lens (“dispersive objective lens group 222” [0049]) as a color-coded illumination plane (evident since 222 is “configured to generate axial chromatic aberration” [0050]) onto the measurement object (S) (“the light beam from the light source enters the dispersive objective lens group 222 through the light-incident hole 221, and then reaches the measurement surface S” [0057]),
guiding spectrally coded measuring light from the measurement object (S) via the second half (C1) of the measurement lens (222) to the 2D spectrometer (230) (“the reflected light from the measurement surface S passes through the central part of the dispersive objective lens group 222 along the path of C1, finally, the beam is reflected from the reflecting mirror 224 to the light-outgoing hole 223” [0057]), and
performing a spectrometric analysis of the measuring light to determine a distance (“The spectral confocal measurement system… obtain[s] axial distance information of the surface of the object to be measured” [0003]),
wherein the slit aperture (221), the measurement lens (222), and the slit-shaped entrance aperture (223) lie on a common virtual optical axis (according to BRI, the common virtual optical axis is taken to be a common light path, which is evident from Fig. 2) [0051].
Claim 7 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wang, in view of Desserouer as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Li et al. (US 2016/0377412), hereinafter Li.
Claim 7: Wang is silent with respect to the line light source emitting two or more illumination lines, or two or more line light sources each emitting at least one illumination line.
Li, however, in the same field of endeavor of optical dimensional measurement, discloses a system comprising a line light source emitting two or more illumination lines (“a plurality of source lines… of the illumination light” [0014]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify Wang’s line light source to emit a plurality of illumination lines for the purpose of more accurately determining the distance by increasing the signal-to-noise ratio.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the Examiner should be directed to HINA F AYUB whose telephone number is (571)270-3171. The Examiner can normally be reached on 9am-5pm ET Mon-Fri.
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If attempts to reach the Examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the Examiner’s supervisor, Tarifur Chowdhury can be reached on 571-272-2287. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/Hina F Ayub/
Primary Patent Examiner
Art Unit 2877
Prosecution Insights