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 .
Preliminary Amendment
The amendment submitted 3/11/2025 has been accepted and entered. Claims 1-17 are amended. No claims are cancelled. No new claims are added. Thus, claims 1-17 are examined.
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.
Claim(s) 1-4, 6-17 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ruetten et al (EP 3965536 A1) in view of Shapiro et al (US 4,316,129 A).
Regarding claim 1, Ruetten et al discloses an X-ray tube (100) comprising: a vacuum-containing envelop (105) (paragraph [0041]); a housing (106); a cooling fluid (108) (cooling medium) (paragraph [0041]); and an optical sensor (201) (paragraph [0045]); wherein the vacuum-containing envelope (105) and the housing (106) are separated by a space, and the space is filled by the cooling fluid (108); and wherein the optical sensor (200) (optical monitoring system) is arranged to detect optical arcing radiation (monitoring arcing) (paragraph [0051]) (i.e. detect position B or D to detect optical radiation (paragraph [0051]) generated by arcing between cathode (101) and anode (102) (i.e. generated within vacuum-containing envelope in response to an arcing event) (paragraph [0051]). Ruetten et al is silent with regards to a light guide as claimed. Shapiro et al discloses an x-ray tube control system, comprising: an x-ray generator housing (130); transparent dielectric coolant (i.e. oil) (cooling fluid (132); bifurcated fiber-optic light pipe (140) comprising fiber-optic bundles (136(138) and a common leg (142) extending into the oil-filled housing (130) through a fluid tight seal. The fiber-optic bundle (138) transmits optical light to a photosensitive device (124) positioned externally of the housing (See Fig. 3). Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filling date of the claimed invention, to modify the optical detection arrangement of Breitkreutz et al to incorporate the fiber-optic light guide taught by Shapiro et al to enable transmission of optical radiation from within cooling-fluid-filled x-ray tube housing to a remotely positioned optical sensor, thereby providing flexibility in sensor placement and reducing exposure of the sensor electronics to the internal operating environment of the x-ray tube housing.
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Regarding claim 2, Ruetten et al in view of Shapiro et al discloses wherein the pipe is provided by an optical fiber or a light pipe (bifurcated fiber-optic light pipe (140) comprising fiber-optic bundles (136(138)) (See Fig. 3).
Regarding claim 3, Ruetten et al in view of Shapiro et al discloses wherein the light guide (bifurcated fiber-optic light pipe (140) comprising fiber-optic bundles (136(138)) is configured to provide an optical path for the optical arcing radiation; and wherein the optical path avoids a direct line of sight between the optical sensor and the cooling fluid-filled space (i.e. oil) (cooling fluid (132) (See Fig. 3).
Regarding claim 4, Ruetten et al in view of Shapiro et al discloses wherein the light guide is provided by an optical fiber (bifurcated fiber-optic light pipe (140) comprising fiber-optic bundles (136(138)); and wherein the optical fiber comprises a core having a refractive index; and wherein the refractive index of core of optical fiber is equal to refractive index of cooling fluid (i.e. optical transmission function) (col. 6, lines 53-col. 7, line 6).
Regarding claim 6, Ruetten et al in view of Shapiro et al discloses further comprises an optical collector configured to concentrate optical arcing radiation received from the cooling fluid-filled space onto the optical sensor (paragraphs [0042]-[0043]).
Regarding claim 7, Ruetten et al discloses wherein the optical sensor comprises an x-ray radiation shield (optical sensor (201) located inside the radiation shielding tube housing (106) (col. 12, claim 9).
Regarding claim 8, Ruetten et al discloses wherein the inner surface of the housing comprises a metallic structured metamaterial configured to guide the optical arcing radiation to the optical sensor (paragraph [0028]).
Regarding claim 9, Ruetten et al discloses wherein further comprising a light coupling element configured to couple the optical arcing radiation generated within the vacuum-containing envelope into the cooling fluid-filled space; and the coupling element is provided by a shape of the inner surface of the housing (paragraph [0051]).
Regarding claim 10, Ruetten et al discloses wherein one or more processors (202) (signal processing, data processing system and/or programmable operating system) wherein the one or more processors are configured to receive electrical signals generated by the optical sensor in response to the optical arcing radiation, and to output an indication of a detected arcing event in response to the received electrical signals (paragraph [0045]).
Regarding claim 11, Ruetten et al discloses wherein one or more processors are configured to apply a correction to the detected electrical signals for compensating for the effect of ageing on at least one of: the optical sensor, an optical fiber coupling the optical sensor to the cooling fluid-filled space, the cooling fluid, and an optical transmission of the vacuum-containing envelope (ageing on predetermined emission patterns) (paragraph [0020]).
Regarding claim 12, Ruetten et al discloses wherein the optical sensor is configured to generate electrical signals corresponding to optical arcing radiation detected within each of a plurality of different optical wavelength intervals; and wherein the one or more processors are configured to perform based on an analysis of the electrical signals corresponding to optical arcing radiation detected within a plurality of the optical wavelength intervals: determine a temperature of the anode target (paragraph [0020]).
Regarding claim 13, Ruetten et al discloses wherein the one or more processors are further configured transmit the indication of the detected arcing event to a remote processing device (remote computing device) via a data communication network for triggering a service work order request to verify the X-ray tube, or to perform a maintenance operation on the X-ray tube (paragraphs [0005], [0009]).
Regarding claim 14, Ruetten et al discloses wherein the X-ray tube (100) further comprises a second optical sensor (201)(203) arranged to detect optical arcing radiation passing tangentially around the vacuum-containing envelope through the cooling fluid-filled space, and from a different location to the optical sensor (201); and wherein the one or more processors (210) are further configured to receive electrical signals generated by the second optical sensor (203) in response to the optical arcing radiation, and to output the indication of the detected arcing event based on the electrical signals generated by the second optical sensor (paragraph [0052]).
Regarding claim 15, Ruetten et al discloses wherein the one or more processors (200) are further configured to determine an origin of the arcing event within the vacuum-containing envelope (105), based on the electrical signals generated by the optical sensor and the electrical signals generated by the second optical sensor (paragraph [0005] and col. 11, claim 1).
Regarding claim 16, Ruetten et al discloses wherein the X-ray tube further comprises an optical emitter (102) (See Fig. 1); and wherein the optical emitter is optically coupled to at least one of: an interior of the vacuum-containing envelope , and the cooling fluid-filled space (See Fig. 1 and paragraph [0041]); and wherein the optical sensor (201) is configured to generate electrical signals in response to a detection of optical radiation emitted by the optical emitter (paragraph [0043]); and wherein the one or more processors (202) are configured to perform at least one of the following based on the electrical signals generated by the optical sensor in response to the detection of optical radiation emitted by the optical emitter (col. 11, claim 1).
Regarding claim 17, Ruetten et al discloses wherein the X-ray tube further comprises an optical emitter (102) (See Fig. 1); and wherein the optical emitter is optically coupled to at least one of: an interior of the vacuum-containing envelope , and the cooling fluid-filled space (See Fig. 1 and paragraph [0041]); and wherein the optical sensor (201) is configured to generate electrical signals in response to a detection of optical radiation emitted by the optical emitter (paragraph [0043]); and wherein the one or more processors (202) are configured to perform at least one of the following based on the electrical signals generated by the optical sensor in response to the detection of optical radiation emitted by the optical emitter (col. 11, claim 1). It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to comprise a second optical emitter, since it has been held that the mere duplication of the essential working parts of a device involves only routine skill in the art. In re Harza, 274 F.2d 669, 124 USPQ 378 (CCPA 1960).
Claim(s) 5 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ruetten et al (EP 3965536 A1) in view of Shapiro et al (US 4,316,129 A), as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Pietig et al (US 2011/0188536 A1).
Regarding claim 5, Ruetten et al in view of Shapiro et al discloses wherein an optical window (76) is formed from a lead-free glass window (col. 4, lines 10-13). Ruetten et al in view of Shapiro et al are silent with regards to the optical window formed from a glass comprising lead. Pietig et al discloses an x-ray tube (100); an optical window (160) located on the x-ray tube wall (140); sensor elements (150) receiving optical radiation through the window; lead glass included in window (160) to absorb stray x-rays (paragraph [0016]). Thus, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Ruetten et al of an X-ray tube imaging system and Shapiro et al of an x-ray tube control system with Pietig et al of x-ray tube comprising a lead glass window as described supra. A person of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to do this to enable protecting the optical sensor from radiation-induced erroneous signals or damage.
Conclusion
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/F.P.B./Examiner, Art Unit 2884
/UZMA ALAM/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2884
