CTNF 18/955,956 CTNF 89602 Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status 07-03-aia AIA 15-10-aia The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA. Claim Objections 07-29-01 AIA Claim s 2-11 are objected to because of the following informalities: the phrase “the coupling rings” should be “the annular coupling rings” . Appropriate correction is required. 07-29-01 AIA Claim s 6-7 and 9-11 are objected to because of the following informalities: the phrase “the ribs” should be “the annular ribs” . Appropriate correction is required. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102 07-06 AIA 15-10-15 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. 07-07-aia AIA 07-07 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 – 07-08-aia AIA (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. 07-15 AIA Claim s 1-2, 5, 8, and 13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102( a)(1 ) as being anticipated by Hedeen (US 6,157,276) . Regarding claim 1, Hedeen teaches a superconducting magnet used in a magnetic resonance imaging apparatus, the superconducting magnet comprising: a superconducting coil made of a wound superconducting wire material [See magnet coils 40. See also rest of reference.] ; and a cylindrical radiation shield including an outer cylinder and an inner cylinder, the outer cylinder and the inner cylinder covering the superconducting coil [See outer wall 13/26/32 and inner wall 14/24/30. See also rest of reference.] , wherein the outer cylinder of the radiation shield is made of a metal [See aluminum or stainless steel. See also rest of reference.] , and at least a part of the inner cylinder of the radiation shield is made of an insulator or a high-resistance material [Fig. 4-5, wherein part of inner wall 14 is made of insulating layer. See also rest of reference.] . Regarding claim 2, Hedeen further teaches wherein the radiation shield further includes annular coupling rings disposed at both ends of the inner cylinder [See end plates 16. See also rest of reference.] , and the inner cylinder is fixed to the outer cylinder or annular side plates that close both ends of the outer cylinder and the inner cylinder, via the coupling rings [See end plates 16. See also rest of reference.] . Regarding claim 5, Hedeen further teaches wherein the coupling rings and the inner cylinder each have, at an end, a stepped shape including a step in a radial direction, and step parts of the coupling rings and step parts of the inner cylinder are fitted to be fixed without a step at joining parts [See Fig. 5, see inner wall 14 and end plate 16. See also rest of reference.] . Regarding claim 8, Hedeen further teaches wherein the coupling rings are made of any of an aluminum alloy, stainless steel, and copper [“Vacuum cylinder 12 and end plates 16 are formed of a ferromagnetic material, such as mild rolled steel plate for shielded magnets or a non-magnetic material such as aluminum or stainless steel for unshielded magnets.” See also rest of reference.] . Regarding claim 13, Hedeen further teaches a magnetic resonance imaging apparatus comprising the superconducting magnet according to claim 1 as a static magnetic field magnet configured to generate a static magnetic field in an imaging space where a subject is placed [See claim 1. See also rest of reference.] . Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103 07-06 AIA 15-10-15 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. 07-20-aia AIA 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. 07-21-aia AIA Claim s 3, 6-7, and 9-10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over previously cited Hedeen, in view of Huang (US 2008/0129297) . Regarding claim 3, Hedeen teaches the limitations of claim 2, which this claim depends from. Hedeen further teaches wherein the coupling rings and the inner cylinder are fixed [See figs. 2-5 and corresponding description. See also rest of reference.] . However, Hedeen is silent in teaching fixed by any of bonding, press fitting, and cooling fitting. Huang, which is also in the field of MRI, teaches fixed by any of bonding, press fitting, and cooling fitting [See bond/bonding. See also rest of reference.] . Huang further teaches wherein the coupling rings and the inner cylinder are fixed by any of bonding, press fitting, and cooling fitting [¶0027. See also rest of reference.] . It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of Hedeen and Huang because both references are in the field of chambers/vessel for magnets of MRI and because Hedeen teaches attaching elements together and Huang teaches bonding is suitable method for attaching elements together [Hedeen - ¶0027. See also rest of reference.] . Regarding claim 6, Hedeen teaches the limitations of claim 2, which this claim depends from. Hedeen is silent in teaching wherein each of the coupling rings has an annular rib at an end, and the ribs and the side plates are fixed by any of bonding, welding, bolt fastening, and rivet fastening. Huang, which is also in the field of MRI, teaches wherein each of the coupling rings has an annular rib at an end [See Fig. 3, see annular flange 76. See also rest of reference.] , and the ribs and the side plates are fixed by any of bonding, welding, bolt fastening, and rivet fastening [Fig. 3, wherein annular flange is welded to metal interface 86. See ¶0025. See also rest of reference which teaches bonding/welding.] . It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of Hedeen and Huang because both references are in the field of chambers/vessel for magnets of MRI and because Hedeen teaches attaching elements together and Huang teaches bonding is suitable method for attaching elements together [Hedeen - ¶0027. See also rest of reference.] . Regarding claim 7, Hedeen teaches the limitations of claim 2, which this claim depends from. Hedeen is silent in teaching wherein each of the coupling rings includes an annular rib at an end, and the ribs and the outer cylinder are fixed by any of bonding, welding, bolt fastening, and rivet fastening. Huang, which is also in the field of MRI, teaches wherein each of the coupling rings includes an annular rib at an end [See Fig. 3, see annular flange 76. See also rest of reference.] , and the ribs and the outer cylinder are fixed by any of bonding, welding, bolt fastening, and rivet fastening [Fig. 3, wherein annular flange is welded to metal interface 86 and welded to outer interface 84. See ¶0025. See also rest of reference which teaches bonding/welding. ]. It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of Hedeen and Huang because both references are in the field of chambers/vessel for magnets of MRI and because Hedeen teaches attaching elements together and Huang teaches bonding is suitable method for attaching elements together [Hedeen - ¶0027. See also rest of reference.] . Regarding claim 9, Hedeen and Huang teach the limitations of claim 6, which this claim depends from. Hedeen is silent in teaching wherein the coupling rings and the ribs are made of fiber reinforced plastics. Huang further teaches wherein the coupling rings and the ribs are made of fiber reinforced plastics [¶0026. See also rest of reference.] . It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of Hedeen and Huang because both references are in the field of chambers/vessel for magnets of MRI and because Hedeen teaches attaching elements together and Huang teaches bonding is suitable method for attaching elements together [Hedeen - ¶0027. See also rest of reference.] . Regarding claim 10, Hedeen and Huang teach the limitations of claim 7, which this claim depends from. Hedeen is silent in teaching wherein the coupling rings and the ribs are made of fiber reinforced plastics. Huang further teaches wherein the coupling rings and the ribs are made of fiber reinforced plastics [¶0026. See also rest of reference.] . It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of Hedeen and Huang because both references are in the field of chambers/vessel for magnets of MRI and because Hedeen teaches attaching elements together and Huang teaches bonding is suitable method for attaching elements together [Hedeen - ¶0027. See also rest of reference.] . 07-21-aia AIA Claim 4 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over previously cited Hedeen, in view of Yukio (JP 2000188215 A) . Regarding claim 4, Hedeen teaches the limitations of claim 2, which this claim depends from. Hedeen further teaches wherein the coupling rings and the side plates are fixed [See Fig. 2 and Fig. 5. See also rest of reference.] . However, Hedeen is silent in teaching fixed by any of bonding, welding, bolt fastening, and rivet fastening. Yukio, which is also in the field of radiation shields, teaches fixed by any of bonding, welding, bolt fastening, and rivet fastening [See Figs. 2-3, see bolt 21/32 and components 11 through 14. See also rest of reference.] and teaches wherein the coupling rings and the side plates are fixed by any of bonding, welding, bolt fastening, and rivet fastening [See Figs. 2-3, see bolt 21/32 and components 11 through 14. See also rest of reference.] . It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of Hedeen and Yukio because both references are in the field of radiation shields for magnets and because Yukio teaches it is known in the art to use bolts to fasten elements of the radiation shield [Yukio – see bolt 21/32] . 07-21-aia AIA Claim 11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over previously cited Hedeen, in view of previously cited Huang, and in further view of Nagahama (WO 2010/107080. English translation provided by Espacenet and attached to this office action.) . Regarding claim 11, Hedeen teaches the limitations of claim 9, which this claim depends from. Huang further teaches the rib of each of the coupling rings [See Fig. 3, see annular flange 76. See also rest of reference.] . However, Hedeen and Huang are silent in teaching wherein a plurality of strip-like metal sheets is bonded to a surface of the rib, to extend in a radial direction of the rib. Nagahama, which is also in the field of superconducting magnets, teaches wherein a plurality of strip-like metal sheets is bonded to a surface of the rib, to extend in a radial direction of the rib [See Fig. 2 and Fig. 5B, see plate members. See also rest of reference.] . It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of Hedeen and Huang with the teachings of Nagahama because all references are in the field of superconducting magnetics and because Nagahama teaches it is known in the art to include plate members on the flanges/ribs [Nagahama – Page 12-13. See also rest of reference.] . 07-21-aia AIA Claim 12 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over previously cited Hedeen, in view of Yukio (JP 2000188215 A) . Regarding claim 12, Hedeen teaches the limitations of claim 2, which this claim depends from. Hedeen is silent in teaching wherein a plurality of strip-like metal sheets is bonded to a portion of the inner cylinder made of the insulator or the high-resistance material, in parallel to an axis direction of the inner cylinder. Yukio, which is also in the field of superconducting magnets, teaches wherein a plurality of strip-like metal sheets is bonded to a portion of the inner cylinder made of the insulator or the high-resistance material, in parallel to an axis direction of the inner cylinder [Figs. 1-5 and ¶0020-0027. See also rest of reference.] . It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of Hedeen and Yukio teaches it is known in the art to use metal members to reduce the eddy currents [Yukio - Figs. 1-5 and ¶0018-0027. See also rest of reference.] . Conclusion 07-96 AIA The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. US 2020/0355769 teaches a radiation shield that is partially made of carbon fiber reinforced plastic to reduce eddy currents . Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to RISHI R PATEL whose telephone number is (571)272-4385. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Thurs 7 a.m. - 5 p.m.. 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, Eman Alkafawi can be reached at 571-272-4448. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300. Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000. /RISHI R PATEL/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2858 Application/Control Number: 18/955,956 Page 2 Art Unit: 2858 Application/Control Number: 18/955,956 Page 5 Art Unit: 2858 Application/Control Number: 18/955,956 Page 6 Art Unit: 2858 Application/Control Number: 18/955,956 Page 7 Art Unit: 2858 Application/Control Number: 18/955,956 Page 8 Art Unit: 2858 Application/Control Number: 18/955,956 Page 9 Art Unit: 2858 Application/Control Number: 18/955,956 Page 10 Art Unit: 2858 Application/Control Number: 18/955,956 Page 11 Art Unit: 2858 Application/Control Number: 18/955,956 Page 12 Art Unit: 2858
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