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 § 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.
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim(s) 1, 15 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102a1 as being anticipated by Kondou et al. (U.S. Patent 6,445,452).
Regarding claims 1, 15, Kondou et al. disclose (Figs.) an inspection apparatus that inspects an object (T, P, S), at least partially including a non-transparent region (H2 or I), allowing transmission of at least any one of visible light or near-infrared light, the apparatus comprising: a light source unit (5) that emits the visible light and/or the near-infrared light transmittable through the object; a first imaging unit (2) that is disposed in a side opposite to the light source unit with the object interposed between the first imaging unit and the light source unit and that images transmitted light transmitted through the object; and an inspection unit (7 and inherent processor) that inspects the object based on an image captured by the first imaging unit.
Claim(s) 1, 4 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102a1 as being anticipated by Jones et al. (U.S. PGPUB 2008/0204733).
Regarding claims 1, 4, Jones et al. disclose (Figs.) an inspection apparatus that inspects an object (6a-6c), at least partially including a non-transparent region (a bone), allowing transmission of at least any one of visible light or near-infrared light, the apparatus comprising: a light source unit (8) that emits the visible light and/or the near-infrared light transmittable through the object; a first imaging unit (10) that is disposed in a side opposite to the light source unit with the object interposed between the first imaging unit and the light source unit and that images transmitted light transmitted through the object; and an inspection unit (inherent processor to carry out method of Fig. 10) that inspects the object based on an image captured by the first imaging unit. Jones et al. also disclose a light blocking member (20) as claimed.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 2, 3, 5-14, 16-20 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.
Conclusion
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/THANH LUU/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2878
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