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 .
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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(s) 1-20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Stelzer (US 6437513 B1) in view of An (CN 1936498 A).
Regarding Claim 1: Stelzer discloses an ion chamber, comprising:
an ion chamber housing (Fig. 1, 2) having a first opening; and
a first ion chamber window assembly including a first ion chamber window (4), the first ion chamber window being formed of at least a first metal (Col. 8, lines 58-59: “The films for the beam inlet window 3 and the beam outlet window 4 are accordingly aluminised…”) and having a first surface exposed through the first opening (Fig. 1).
Stelzer fails to teach a first metal plating arranged at a peripheral edge of the first ion chamber window, and the first metal plating being formed of a second metal, wherein
the first metal is different from the second metal, and
the first ion chamber window assembly is fixed, via the first metal plating, on an inner side of the ion chamber housing at a periphery of the first opening.
An teaches an ion chamber housing (Fig. 3, 2) having a first opening; and
a first ion chamber window assembly including a first ion chamber window (1) and a first metal plating arranged at a peripheral edge of the first ion chamber window (B), the first ion chamber window being formed of at least a first metal and having a first surface exposed through the first opening ([0009]: “The metal window (01) is made of stainless steel, iron, copper, titanium, beryllium or aluminum”), and the first metal plating being formed of a second metal ([0029]: “…the welding between the metal thin window (01) and the ionization chamber tube wall (02) should be carried out using high-temperature solder (such as silver-copper alloy)”), wherein
the first metal is different from the second metal ([0009]: “The metal window (01) is made of stainless steel, iron, copper, titanium, beryllium or aluminum”; [0029]: “…the welding between the metal thin window (01) and the ionization chamber tube wall (02) should be carried out using high-temperature solder (such as silver-copper alloy)”), and
the first ion chamber window assembly is fixed, via the first metal plating, on an inner side of the ion chamber housing at a periphery of the first opening (Fig. 3, B).
It would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art to have modified Stelzer to incorporate the teachings of An and fix the first ion chamber window via a first metal plating. Soldering attachment is a well-known technique for joining metallic components, involving only routine skill in the art. One would be motivated to make this modification on the basis of a simple substitution of one known joining technique for another to obtain predictable results (See MPEP 2143). Further, it would have been obvious for the metal plating to be of a different material from the aluminum window as aluminum is difficult to solder.
Regarding Claim 2: Stelzer in view of An discloses the ion chamber of claim 1, wherein the first metal is aluminum (An: [0009]: “The metal window (01) is made of stainless steel, iron, copper, titanium, beryllium or aluminum”).
Regarding Claim 3: Stelzer in view of An discloses the ion chamber of claim 2, but both fail to explicitly teach wherein the aluminum is 5052 H19 aluminum.
However, it would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art to have modified the combination of Stelzer and An by selecting an appropriate aluminum alloy as a routine matter of substituting one known element for another to obtain predictable results (See MPEP 2143). One would be motivated to make such a modification on the basis of improving tensile strength.
Regarding Claim 4: Stelzer in view of An discloses the ion chamber of claim 2 but both fail to teach wherein the first metal plating is a nickel plating.
However, it would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art to have modified the combination of Stelzer and An by selecting a known soldering material such as nickel over the silver-copper alloy of An ([0029]) as a matter of substituting one known material for another to obtain predictable results (See MPEP 2143). One would have been motivated to do so on the basis of providing improved mechanical strength and resistance to corrosion.
Regarding Claim 5: Stelzer in view of An discloses the ion chamber of claim 1, wherein the first metal plating is formed only at the peripheral edge of the first ion chamber window (An: Fig. 3).
Regarding Claim 6: Stelzer in view of An discloses the ion chamber of claim 5, wherein the first metal plating is outside a beam path through the ion chamber (An: Fig. 3).
Regarding Claim 7: Stelzer in view of An discloses the ion chamber of claim 1, wherein the first metal plating is soldered to the inner side of the ion chamber housing (An: Fig. 3, B).
Regarding Claim 8: Stelzer in view of An discloses the ion chamber of claim 1, wherein
the ion chamber housing includes a first part having the first opening and a second part having a second opening (Stelzer: Figs. 1 and 2),
the first part and the second part are configured to be fixed to one another to form the ion chamber housing (Stelzer: Fig. 1),
the first opening and the second opening are at opposite ends of the ion chamber (Stelzer: Fig. 1)
the first ion chamber window assembly is fixed to an inner side of the first part of the ion chamber housing (Stelzer: Fig. 2),
the ion chamber includes a second ion chamber window assembly fixed on an inner side of the second part of the ion chamber housing (Stelzer: Fig. 2), and
a second surface of the second ion chamber window assembly is exposed through the second opening (Stelzer: Fig. 2).
Regarding Claim 9: Stelzer in view of An discloses the ion chamber of claim 8, wherein
the second ion chamber window assembly includes a second ion chamber window (Stelzer: Fig. 2, 5) and a second metal plating arranged at a peripheral edge of the second ion chamber window (An: Fig. 3),
the second ion chamber window is formed of at least the first metal (Stelzer: Col. 8, lines 58-59: “The films for the beam inlet window 3 and the beam outlet window 4 are accordingly aluminised…”; An: [0009]: ““The metal window (01) is made of stainless steel, iron, copper, titanium, beryllium or aluminum”),
the second metal plating is formed of the second metal (An: [0029]: “…the welding between the metal thin window (01) and the ionization chamber tube wall (02) should be carried out using high-temperature solder (such as silver-copper alloy)”), and
the second ion chamber window assembly is fixed, via the second metal plating, on the inner side of the second part of the ion chamber housing (An: Fig. 3, B).
Regarding Claim 10: Stelzer in view of An discloses the ion chamber of claim 8, further comprising:
a third ion chamber window assembly arranged within the ion chamber housing between the first ion chamber window assembly and the second ion chamber window assembly (Stelzer: Fig. 5), and
a window support structure fixed to an inner part of the ion chamber housing (Stelzer: Fig. 5, 11), the window support structure configured to support the third ion chamber window assembly.
Regarding Claim 11: Stelzer in view of An discloses the ion chamber of claim 10, wherein
the third ion chamber window assembly includes a third ion chamber window and a third metal plating at a peripheral edge of the third ion chamber window (An: Fig. 3),
the third ion chamber window is formed of at least the first metal (Stelzer: Col. 8, lines 58-59: “The films for the beam inlet window 3 and the beam outlet window 4 are accordingly aluminised…”; An: [0009]: ““The metal window (01) is made of stainless steel, iron, copper, titanium, beryllium or aluminum”), and
the third metal plating is formed of the second metal (An: [0029]: “…the welding between the metal thin window (01) and the ionization chamber tube wall (02) should be carried out using high-temperature solder (such as silver-copper alloy)”).
Regarding Claim 12: Stelzer in view of An discloses the ion chamber of claim 11, wherein the third metal plating is soldered to the window support structure (An: [0029]: “…the welding between the metal thin window (01) and the ionization chamber tube wall (02) should be carried out using high-temperature solder (such as silver-copper alloy)”).
Regarding Claim 13: Stelzer in view of An discloses the ion chamber of claim 10, further comprising:
a first electrode assembly arranged between the first ion chamber window assembly and the third ion chamber window assembly (Stelzer: Fig. 5, 6,9); and
a second electrode assembly arranged between the second ion chamber window assembly and the third ion chamber window assembly (Stelzer: 6, 9), wherein
the third ion chamber window assembly is between the first electrode assembly and the second electrode assembly (Stelzer: Fig. 5).
Regarding Claim 14: Stelzer discloses a radiation apparatus comprising:
a radiation source configured to emit a radiation beam toward a patient (Fig. 1, 1);
a radiation beam adjustment structure configured to adjust one or more characteristics of the radiation beam (Col. 5, lines 44-47: “emergency switch-off of the radiation treatment when the predetermined desired value range is exceeded and readjustment of the intensity when it falls short of the predetermined desired value range”); and
an ion chamber arranged in a path of the radiation beam (Fig. 1), the ion chamber configured to monitor one or more characteristics of the radiation beam, and the ion chamber including
an ion chamber housing (Fig. 1, 2) having a first opening; and
a first ion chamber window assembly including a first ion chamber window (4), the first ion chamber window being formed of at least a first metal (Col. 8, lines 58-59: “The films for the beam inlet window 3 and the beam outlet window 4 are accordingly aluminised…”) and having a first surface exposed through the first opening (Fig. 1).
Stelzer fails to teach a first metal plating arranged at a peripheral edge of the first ion chamber window, and the first metal plating being formed of a second metal, wherein
the first metal is different from the second metal, and
the first ion chamber window assembly is fixed, via the first metal plating, on an inner side of the ion chamber housing at a periphery of the first opening.
An teaches an ion chamber housing (Fig. 3, 2) having a first opening; and
a first ion chamber window assembly including a first ion chamber window (1) and a first metal plating arranged at a peripheral edge of the first ion chamber window (B), the first ion chamber window being formed of at least a first metal and having a first surface exposed through the first opening ([0009]: “The metal window (01) is made of stainless steel, iron, copper, titanium, beryllium or aluminum”), and the first metal plating being formed of a second metal ([0029]: “…the welding between the metal thin window (01) and the ionization chamber tube wall (02) should be carried out using high-temperature solder (such as silver-copper alloy)”), wherein
the first metal is different from the second metal ([0009]: “The metal window (01) is made of stainless steel, iron, copper, titanium, beryllium or aluminum”; [0029]: “…the welding between the metal thin window (01) and the ionization chamber tube wall (02) should be carried out using high-temperature solder (such as silver-copper alloy)”), and
the first ion chamber window assembly is fixed, via the first metal plating, on an inner side of the ion chamber housing at a periphery of the first opening (Fig. 3, B).
It would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art to have modified Stelzer to incorporate the teachings of An and fix the first ion chamber window via a first metal plating. Soldering attachment is a well-known technique for joining metallic components, involving only routine skill in the art. One would be motivated to make this modification on the basis of a simple substitution of one known joining technique for another to obtain predictable results (See MPEP 2143). Further, it would have been obvious for the metal plating to be of a different material from the aluminum window as aluminum is difficult to solder.
Regarding Claim 15: Stelzer in view of An discloses the radiation apparatus of claim 14, wherein the first metal is aluminum (An: [0009]: “The metal window (01) is made of stainless steel, iron, copper, titanium, beryllium or aluminum”).
Regarding Claim 16: Stelzer in view of An discloses the radiation apparatus of claim 15, but both fail to explicitly teach wherein the aluminum is 5052 H19 aluminum.
However, it would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art to have modified the combination of Stelzer and An by selecting an appropriate aluminum alloy as a routine matter of substituting one known element for another to obtain predictable results (See MPEP 2143). One would be motivated to make such a modification on the basis of improving tensile strength.
Regarding Claim 17: Stelzer in view of An discloses the radiation apparatus of claim 15, but both fail to teach wherein the first metal plating is a nickel plating.
However, it would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art to have modified the combination of Stelzer and An by selecting a known soldering material such as nickel over the silver-copper alloy of An ([0029]) as a matter of substituting one known material for another to obtain predictable results (See MPEP 2143). One would have been motivated to do so on the basis of providing improved mechanical strength and resistance to corrosion.
Regarding Claim 18: Stelzer in view of An discloses the radiation apparatus of claim 14, wherein the first metal plating is formed only at the peripheral edge of the first ion chamber window (An: Fig. 3).
Regarding Claim 19: Stelzer in view of An discloses the radiation apparatus of claim 14, wherein the first metal plating is soldered to the inner side of the ion chamber housing (An: Fig. 3, B).
Regarding Claim 20: Stelzer in view of An discloses the radiation apparatus of claim 14, wherein
the ion chamber housing includes a first part having the first opening and a second part having a second opening (Stelzer: Figs. 1 and 2),
the first part and the second part are configured to be fixed to one another to form the ion chamber housing (Stelzer: Fig. 1),
the first opening and the second opening are at opposite ends of the ion chamber (Stelzer: Fig. 1),
the first ion chamber window assembly is fixed to an inner side of the first part of the ion chamber housing (Stelzer: Fig. 1), and
the ion chamber includes
a second ion chamber window assembly fixed on an inner side of the second part of the ion chamber housing, wherein a second surface of the second ion chamber window assembly is exposed through the second opening (Stelzer: Fig. 2),
a third ion chamber window assembly arranged within the ion chamber housing between the first ion chamber window assembly and the second ion chamber window assembly (Stelzer: Fig. 5), and
a window support structure fixed to an inner part of the ion chamber housing (Stelzer: Fig. 5, 11), the window support structure configured to support the third ion chamber window assembly.
Conclusion
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/MIYA DOWNING/Examiner, Art Unit 2884
/UZMA ALAM/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2884
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