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
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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claim(s) 1-3 and 5-15 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Marsden et al. (US 20220229195)(“Mardsen”), and further in view of Joshi et al. (US 2013/0279648)(“Joshi”).
With regards to claim 1, Marsden discloses a radiation scanning system (Abstract) that utilizes a radiation detector (FIG. 2A; [0039]; 200), comprising:
at least one detector unit ([0043]; FIG. 2A; detector modules 240); and
a temperature regulating unit ([0060]; temperature control system; controller) including a fluid providing unit ([0064]; “…a chiller including, …. pipes through which cooling water flows to control a temperature of the arc portion 206 with water cooling…”)([0052]; “… fans 290 (FIG. 2D, FIG. 2E, FIG. 2F) configured to provide air to the cavity 255 to facilitate heat transfer from the fins 252.”), a heat exchanger ([0052]; one or more heat exchangers 245) and at least one fluid channel ([0064]; “…may include a structure …including channels configured to flow water therethrough. A temperature of the structure…may be controlled based on one or both of the temperature of a fluid (e.g., water) flowing through the channel, a flow rate of the fluid, a surface area of the channel, and a volume of the channel.”; “…the cavity 255 is replaced with a solid material including one or more channels therein.”)([0052]; fins 22), the fluid providing unit configured to provide a fluid [0064]; pipes that provide cooling water)([0060]; “… one or more fans 290 for directing air through the volume and across the fins 252…”), the heat exchanger configured to regulate a temperature of the fluid ([0064]; “…the heat exchanger 245 may include a cooling structure including a chiller or a water cooler.”)([0052]; “…the heat exchangers comprise fins 252 (e.g., cooling fins) configured to exchange thermal energy with an ambient environment by passing fluid (e.g., air) across (e.g., adjacent to) the fins 252.”) to a pre-defined temperature or a pre-defined temperature range ([0055]; “…the heater elements 260 may be configured to maintain the temperature of the arc portion 206 at a substantially uniform temperature …. the heater elements 260 are configured to maintain a temperature of …. the detector modules 240 at a temperature above room temperature (e.g., above about 20° C., above about 25° C.”), and the at least one fluid channel defining an area for the provided temperature-regulated fluid to flow through the at least one fluid channel ([0052]; one or more heat exchangers 245 and 252 that provides cooling of the detector modules 240) ([0064]; cavity 255 with one or more channels), wherein
the detector unit (detector modules 240) and the temperature regulating unit (see above)(fins 252 and FIG. 2D), are positioned in a defined arrangement relative to one another [0055] [0059] [0064] and are moveable relative to an examination object [0032][0033] to be mapped via X-ray transirradiation [0033][0037][0038]; radiation source(s) 114), and
the at least one fluid channel (heat exchanger 245, fins 252, cavity 255) is arranged such that heat is transferrable between the detector unit and the fluid [0052][0064].
Marden teaches of utilizing an ionizing x-ray source [0033]. The reference further teaches of detector elements and detector modules can be configured to indirectly convert (e.g., using a scintillator array and photodetectors) detected radiation into analog signals and can be configured to directly convert detected radiation into analog signals [0035]. Further, the reference teaches that the detector modules 240 may comprise of cadmium zinc telluride (CZT) or another direct conversion material [0051] (CZT is commonly utilized in computed tomography to detect C-rays.). Finally, Marsden discloses the scanning system 100 using a radiation detector that has a number of detector units 320 [0072].
Marsden do not specifically disclose a detector unit/module that is configured to detect X-ray radiation incident upon an X-ray sensitive surface of the detector unit.
In the same field of endeavor, Joshi discloses a liquid cooled thermal control system for a computed tomography (CT) detector (Abstract). Joshi teaches that CT detectors utilize a scintillator that convert x-rays to light waves which are detected by a plurality of photodiodes positioned behind the scintillator [0002]. The reference discloses a CT imaging system 500 that includes a plurality of the detectors 502 that generate an electrical signal that represents the intensity of the impinging x-ray beam that has passed through the patient [0068].
In view of Joshi, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill within the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the radiation scanning system, of Marsden, with an X-ray detector that has an X-ray sensitive surface to detect an X-ray beam generated by the X-ray source. Utilizing a directly converting X-ray detector or an indirectly converting (using a scintillator) X-ray detector is commonly done within the art of computer tomography or any X-ray detection field. It would have been obvious to modify the system of Marsden with the same.
With regards to claim 2, Marsden, in view of Joshi, do not specifically disclose the X-ray detector of claim 1, wherein the detector unit is configured for photon-counting detection of the X-ray radiation incident upon the X-ray sensitive surface of the detector unit. However, Marsden [0003] teaches “A magnitude of attenuation by an object in an examination region is inversely related to an amount or rate of electrical charge generated by a detector element. Based upon the number of radiation photons detected by respective detector cells …, images can be reconstructed that are indicative of the density, z-effective (also referred to as the effective atomic number), shape, and/or other properties of the object and/or aspects thereof.” Further, Marsden teaches that the radiation detector includes a detector array configured to observe (e.g., measure,…) radiation photon impingent on said array [0030]. Also, Marsden teaches that an image or images can be generated based upon the variations in the number of radiation photons that are detected by the radiation detector 116 [0034]. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill within the art to utilize a photon-counting detector to count the X-ray photons impingent on the surface of the detector. The motivation is to count the X-ray photons for the reconstruction of an image. Photon-counting X-ray detectors are commonly utilized in computed tomography for image reconstruction.
With regards to claim 3, Marsden, in view of Joshi, disclose the X-ray detector of claim 1, wherein the temperature regulating unit includes a heating element (Marsden; [0055]; one or more heater elements 260) configured to heat the detector unit to a further pre-defined temperature (Marsden; [0055]).
With regards to claim 5, Marsden, in view of Joshi, disclose the X-ray detector of claim 1, wherein the fluid comprises a gas mixture (Marsden; [0052]; air)(Joshi; [0024]; cooling fluid (e.g. gas)),
the fluid providing unit is configured to provide the fluid from a first environment to the heat exchanger (Marsden; [0052])(Joshi; [0026][0029]),
the temperature regulating unit is configured to discharge the fluid, after an exchange of the heat with the detector unit, from the at least one fluid channel into a second environment (Joshi; [0030]).
With regards to claim 6, Marsden, in view of Joshi, disclose the X-ray detector of claim 1, wherein the fluid providing unit is configured to provide the fluid, after an exchange of the heat with the detector unit, from the at least one fluid channel repeatedly to the heat exchanger. (Marsden; [0052][0054][0074])
With regards to claim 7, Marsden, in view of Joshi, disclose the X-ray detector of claim 1, wherein the fluid providing unit comprises at least one of a pump (Joshi; [0025]) or a blower (Marsden; [0052]; fan), and the at least one of the pump or the blower is configured to provide the fluid at a pre-defined pressure (Joshi; [0025]).
With regards to claim 8, Marsden, in view of Joshi, disclose the X-ray detector of claim 1, wherein
the detector unit comprises a plurality of detector modules (Marsden; [0035])
the temperature regulating unit comprises at least one fluid channel (Marsden; FIG. 2A; [0052][0064; cavity 255) to each of the plurality of detector modules (Marsden; 240),
the fluid channels are able to have the fluid flow through the fluid channels (Marsden; [0064]), and
the fluid channels are arranged such that the heat is transferable between the detector modules and the fluid (Marsden; [0052][0064]).
With regards to claim 9, Marsden, in view of Joshi, disclose the X-ray detector of claim 8, wherein the fluid providing unit comprises a subsidiary fluid providing unit (Marsden; [0052][0059][0060]; FIG. 2D; fins 252) to each of the detector modules (Marsden; 240), each subsidiary fluid providing unit is configured to provide the temperature-regulated fluid to the respective fluid channel (Marsden; [0064]).
With regards to claim 10, Marsden, in view of Joshi, disclose the X-ray detector of claim 9,
wherein the X-ray detector further comprises a sensor configured to capture at least one of a current temperature of the detector unit (Marsden; [0058]; “The radiation detector 200 may include one or more temperature sensors 262 for providing an indication of a temperature of one or more portions of radiation detector 200.”), and
the heat exchanger is configured to regulate the temperature of the fluid based on the at least one of the current temperature (Marsden; [0060]), the provided fluid quantity or wherein the fluid providing unit is configured to adjust a provided fluid quantity per unit time based on the current temperature (Marsden; [0060]).
With regards to claim 11, Marsden, in view of Joshi, disclose the X-ray detector of claim 10, wherein the subsidiary fluid providing units are configured to adjust a respectively provided fluid quantity per unit time based on the current temperature at least one of individually or in a coordinated manner. (Marsden; [0060])
With regards to claim 12, Marsden, in view of Joshi, disclose the X-ray detector of claim 1, wherein the heat exchanger is configured to regulate the temperature of the fluid to a temperature between 18° C and 30° C. (Marsden; [0055])
With regards to claim 13, Marsden, in view of Joshi, discloses an X-ray device comprising:
an X-ray source (Marsden; 114, see the rejection of claim 1); and
the X-ray detector (see the rejection of claim 1) of claim 1, wherein the X-ray source is configured to emit X-ray radiation for transilluminating an examination object arranged between the X-ray source and the X-ray detector (see the rejection of claim 1).
With regards to claim 14, Marsden, in view of Joshi, discloses the X-ray device as claimed in claim 13, wherein the X-ray source and the X-ray detector are mounted in a defined arrangement that is rotatable about a common rotation axis. (Marsden; FIG. 1; 100)(Joshi; FIG. 13; 500)
With regards to claim 15, Marsden, in view of Joshi, discloses a method for temperature regulating a detector unit of the X-ray detector (Marsden; [0074])(Joshi; Abstract) of claim 1, comprising:
providing the fluid via the fluid providing unit to flow through the at least one fluid channel, wherein the heat is transferred between the detector unit and the fluid (see the rejection of claim 1);
capturing at least one of a current temperature of the at least one of the fluid or the detector unit, or a currently provided fluid quantity, via a sensor (see the rejection of claim 10); and
at least one of
controlling the heat exchanger based on the at least one of the captured current temperature or the captured current fluid quantity such that the fluid is temperature-regulated to the pre-defined temperature or the pre-defined temperature range (Marsden; [0055]), or
controlling the fluid providing unit based on the captured current temperature such that a provided fluid quantity per unit time is adjusted (Marsden; [0060]).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 4, 16-19 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
With regards to claim 4, Marsden, in view of Joshi, do not disclose the X-ray detector of claim 1, wherein the fluid comprises a gas mixture, and the temperature regulating unit includes a dehumidifier configured to adjust a water content in the fluid before the fluid flows through the at least one fluid channel, such that a dew point temperature of the fluid lies below a current temperature of the fluid.
With regards to claim 16, Marsden, in view of Joshi, do not disclose a method of claim 15, wherein
the fluid comprises a gas mixture,
a water content in the fluid is adjusted via a dehumidifier before it flows through the at least one fluid channel such that a dew point temperature of the fluid lies below the current temperature of the fluid.
With regards to claim 17, Marsden, in view of Joshi, do not disclose the X-ray detector of claim 3, wherein
the fluid comprises a gas mixture, and
the temperature regulating unit includes a dehumidifier configured to adjust a water content in the fluid before the fluid flows through the at least one fluid channel, such that a dew point temperature of the fluid lies below a current temperature of the fluid.
Claims 18-19 are objected due to being dependent on objected base claim 17.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
McBroom et al. (US 2017/0059720)
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to HUGH H MAUPIN whose telephone number is (571)270-1495. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 7:30 - 5:00 pm.
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/HUGH MAUPIN/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2884
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