DETAILED ACTION
Notice to Applicant
1. The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
2. Claims 1-13 are pending.
Drawings
3. The drawings are objected to because, where only a single view is used in an application to illustrate the claimed invention, it must not be numbered and the abbreviation "FIG." must not appear (see 37 C.F.R. 1.84(u)(1)) and MPEP § 608.02(V)).
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.
Specification
4. The specification is objected to due to the following informality.
On page 3, it appears that the term “E-filed” in paragraph 21 should be revised to “E-field.”
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
5. 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.
6. Claims 8-10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
Per claim 8, the limitations “the field generator” and “the electric, magnetic and/or electromagnetic control field” lack sufficient antecedent bases. Appropriate correction is required. To note, said limitations are introduced in claim 7, but claim 8 is dependent on claim 6. For the purpose of examination, said limitations in claim 8 are interpreted as implying “a field generator” and “an electric, magnetic and/or electromagnetic control field,” respectively.
Per claim 9, the limitation “the characteristics” lacks sufficient antecedent basis. Appropriate correction is required. For the purpose of examination, said limitation is interpreted as implying “characteristics.”
Per claim 10, the limitation “the controller” lacks sufficient antecedent basis. Appropriate correction is required. To note, said limitation is introduced in claim 6, but claim 10 is dependent on claim 1. For the purpose of examination, said limitation in claim 10 is interpreted as implying “a controller.”
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
7. 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.
8. Claims 1-3, 5-6, and 10-11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Kitching et al. (US 2011/0031969 – hereinafter “Kitching”).
Per claim 1, Kitching teaches a quantum sensor device, comprising:
a portable probe (Figs. 3 and 6; sensor head 100; ¶41 and 53);
a quantum sensor (Fig. 3; vapor cell 51; ¶42) comprising a sensing volume which is configured to interact with an electric, a magnetic and/or an electromagnetic field to be analyzed; wherein the quantum sensor is arranged in the portable probe (A vapor cell 51 is arranged in a sensor head 100 and includes a sensing volume comprising an alkali material 18, such as rubidium, cesium, potassium or sodium. Upon heating of the alkali material 18, an alkali vapor is produced within the vapor cell 51. The alkali vapor is used to detect a magnetic field (¶35, 42-43, and 60)); and
a light source (Fig. 6; laser 141; ¶52) configured to irradiate the sensing volume with a light beam, wherein the sensing volume is optically excited by the light beam (A laser 141 is configured to transmit light through the vapor cell 51 to a photo detector array 145. The wavelength of the laser light may be 795 nm for pumping and probing. The presence of a magnetic field may cause the alkali vapor withing the vapor cell 51 to alter the intensity of light that reaches the photo detector array 145 (¶23, 35, 52, 56, and 60)).
Per claim 2, Kitching teaches the quantum sensor device of claim 1, wherein the sensing volume comprises a number of atoms or components behaving as atoms forming a quantum system (The atoms of the alkali vapor are spin-aligned (¶23)).
Per claim 3, Kitching teaches the quantum sensor device of claim 1, wherein the sensing volume comprises a quantum gas which is stored in gas cell, or wherein the sensing volume comprises a solid material (The vapor cell 51 is configured to store an alkali vapor (¶42)).
Per claim 5, Kitching teaches the quantum sensor device of claim 1, further comprising: an optical line arranged to guide the light beam from the light source to the sensing volume (An optical fiber 134 guides laser light from the laser 141 to the vapor cell 51 (Fig. 6; ¶52)).
Per claim 6, Kitching teaches the quantum sensor device of claim 1, further comprising: a controller configured to control and/or adapt the irradiation of the sensing volume with the light beam and/or to read-out a response of the quantum sensor to the electric, magnetic and/or electromagnetic field to be analyzed (A processor 139 is configured to control the laser 141 and store data gathered from the photo detector array 145 (Fig. 6; ¶52)).
Per claim 10, Kitching teaches the quantum sensor device of claim 1, wherein the controller is arranged in the portable probe or is arranged external to the portable probe (The processor 139 is arranged external to the sensor head 100 (Fig. 6; ¶52)).
Per claim 11, Kitching teaches the quantum sensor device of claim 1, further comprising: a temperature controller configured to adapt the temperature of the sensing volume (The temperature of the alkali vapor may be controlled (¶63)).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
9. 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.
10. Claims 4 and 13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being obvious over Kitching in view of Anderson et al. (US 2022/0196716 – hereinafter “Anderson”).
Per claim 4, Kitching does not explicitly teach the quantum sensor device of claim 1, wherein the portable probe has a pen shaped housing; and wherein the sensing volume is arranged in or at a tip of the pen shaped housing.
In contrast, Anderson teaches a Rydberg field probe 1100 comprising an atomic receiver 100 disposed within a probe tip 1120 of the probe 1100. The atomic receiver 100 includes an atomic vapor cell sensing element (Figs. 11A and 11B; ¶44 and 315-316).
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 device of Kitching such that the portable probe has a pen shaped housing wherein the sensing volume is arranged in or at a tip of the pen shaped housing. One of ordinary skill would make such a modification for the purpose of providing a portable field probe (Anderson; ¶315).
Per claim 13, Kitching does not explicitly teach the quantum sensor device of claim 1, further comprising: a user interface configured to output information on the electric, magnetic and/or electromagnetic field to be analyzed which is determined by the quantum sensor device based on the interaction of the quantum sensor with the field.
In contrast, Anderson teaches a Rydberg field probe 1100 comprising an atomic receiver 100 disposed within a probe tip 1120 of the probe 1100. The atomic receiver 100 includes an atomic vapor cell sensing element. A software user interface 1160 provides real-time RF field measurement and uncertainty readout from the Rydberg field probe 1100 (Figs. 11A, 11B, and 18; ¶44, 315-316, and 378).
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 device of Kitching such that it further comprises a user interface configured to output information on the electric, magnetic and/or electromagnetic field to be analyzed which is determined by the quantum sensor device based on the interaction of the quantum sensor with the field. One of ordinary skill would make such a modification for the purpose of providing a real-time measurement and uncertainty readout (Anderson; ¶378).
11. Claims 7-9 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being obvious over Kitching in view of Salit et al. (US 2014/0375313 – hereinafter “Salit”).
Per claim 7, Kitching does not explicitly teach the quantum sensor device of claim 1, further comprising: at least one field generator configured to generate an electric, a magnetic and/or an electromagnetic control field within the sensing volume.
In contrast, Salit teaches a single-beam radio-frequency atomic magnetometer 101 comprising a vacuum package 102 containing a laser 110, a photodetector 150, and a vapor chamber 130, wherein the vapor chamber 130 is in an optical path of laser light between the laser 110 and photodetector 150. A set of DC coils 140 is configured to provide a DC magnetic field that is adjustable to tune a resonant frequency of the atoms in the vapor chamber 130 (Fig. 1B; ¶11 and 17).
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 device of Kitching such that it further comprises at least one field generator configured to generate an electric, a magnetic and/or an electromagnetic control field within the sensing volume. One of ordinary skill would make such a modification for the purpose of tuning the resonant frequency of atoms in a vapor chamber (Salit; ¶17).
Per claim 8, Kitching does not explicitly teach the quantum sensor device of claim 6, wherein the controller is further configured to control the field generator to generate and/or adapt the electric, magnetic and/or electromagnetic control field in order to adapt a parameter of the quantum sensor.
In contrast, Salit teaches a single-beam radio-frequency atomic magnetometer 101 comprising a vacuum package 102 containing a laser 110, a photodetector 150, and a vapor chamber 130, wherein the vapor chamber 130 is in an optical path of laser light between the laser 110 and photodetector 150. A set of DC coils 140 is configured to provide a DC magnetic field that is adjustable to tune a resonant frequency of the atoms in the vapor chamber 130 (Fig. 1B; ¶11 and 17).
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 device of Kitching such that the controller is further configured to control the field generator to generate and/or adapt the electric, magnetic and/or electromagnetic control field in order to adapt a parameter of the quantum sensor. One of ordinary skill would make such a modification for the purpose of tuning the resonant frequency of atoms in a vapor chamber by adjusting the strength of an applied DC magnetic field (Salit; ¶17).
Per claim 9, Kitching in view of Salit teaches the quantum sensor device of claim 7, wherein the field generator is calibrated to the characteristics of the quantum sensor (In the device of Kitching in view of Salit, the DC magnetic field is adjusted to tune the resonant frequency of the atoms in the vapor chamber (Salit; ¶17)).
12. Claim 12 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being obvious over Kitching in view of Garber et al. (US 2020/0348370 – hereinafter “Garber”).
Per claim 12, Kitching does not explicitly teach the quantum sensor device of claim 1, further comprising: a positional sensor configured to detect a position and/or orientation of the portable probe and/or of the quantum sensor arranged in the portable probe.
In contrast, Garber teaches a magnetic field measurement system 500 comprising magnetometers 106 disposed in wearable sensor units 102 wherein the magnetometers 106 may be nitrogen vacancy (NV) diamond sensors and optically pumped magnetometers (OPMs) and the wearable sensor units 102 may include position and orientations sensors (Fig. 5; ¶49, 52, and 72-75).
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 device of Kitching such that it further comprises a positional sensor configured to detect a position and/or orientation of the portable probe and/or of the quantum sensor arranged in the portable probe. One of ordinary skill would make such a modification for the purpose of determining spatial information of a magnetometer in a magnetic field measurement system (Garber; ¶49).
Conclusion
13. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JAS A. SANGHERA whose telephone number is (571)272-4787. The examiner can normally be reached M-Th, alt. Fri, 8-5 EST.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, WALTER LINDSAY can be reached at (571) 272-1674. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/JAS A SANGHERA/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2852
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