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 .
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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.
Claim(s) 17 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Han et al. (CN108020509A).
Regarding claim 17, Han discloses Device for observing and for acquiring images of biological samples comprising:
a supporting element (10) configured for housing a support for biological samples;
at least a first camera (5) oriented toward the supporting element and configured for framing at least a portion of the supporting element and/or, in use, at least a predefined portion of the support when housed on the supporting element, from a first point of observation, wherein said predefined portion of the support comprises, in use, a biological sample;
at least a first optical radiation source (1) configured for irradiating at least said predefined portion of the support from a first irradiation direction, in such a way that, in use, at least a predefined portion of the biological sample is irradiated through the optical radiation of the first optical radiation source;
an actuator (7), optionally a motor, configured for rotating the supporting element and of the support housed therein in use, around a rotation axis, preferably centered on the supporting element and/or on the support, and/or for rotating at least said first camera with respect to said supporting element and said support housed therein;
the device being configured for activating at least the first camera and the actuator to generate, preferably during the rotational actuation of the supporting element and of the support, and/or of the first camera carried out by the actuator;
at least a first plurality or first set of N images of N predefined portions of the support, wherein each image of the first plurality or first set of N images is acquired in correspondence of at least a predetermined, optionally fixed, angular detection position and a respective and proper angle of rotation of the supporting element and of the support with respect to a starting angular position (see translated text in paragraph bridging in between page 7 and page 8);
said device being configured for generating at least a first intermediate image obtained by juxtaposing at least part of the N images of the first set of N images; the first set of N images comprising N linear images (the stepping motor 6 drives the camera 5 move, the biological sample 8 and changing the distance of the telecentric imaging system 4 so as to change the initial position of depth of field, once per drive, until the relatively static after, capturing a piece, finally to obtain the pictures of multiple different focus on the same angle, is 5 in this example, and using the Laplacian pyramid algorithm to long depth of field picture same angle different focal image fusion, page 3, third paragraph of the translated text).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1, 3-9, 11-16, and 18-20 are allowed.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 1/14/26 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
Regarding applicant’s argument that Han does not teach or suggest the generation of an intermediate image obtained by juxtaposing at least part of the N images of the first set of linear images, the examiner disagrees. As set forth in the rejection above, the intermediate image in Han is obtained by fusing images captured of an object 8 at different focuses or depths while the angle is fixed. The fused image with different depths meets the juxtaposing limitation as claimed because each of the images with different depths is juxtaposing next to each other. Thus, Han still meets the claimed invention and the rejection is maintained.
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MICHAEL LEE whose telephone number 571-272-7349. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday through Thursday from 9:00 am to 6:00 pm.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner's supervisor, John Miller, can be reached on 571-272-7353. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/MICHAEL LEE/ Primary Examiner,
Art Unit 2422