CTNF 19/113,829 CTNF 85199 DETAILED ACTION 07-03-aia AIA 15-10-aia The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA. 07-06 AIA 15-10-15 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 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. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103 07-20-aia AIA 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. 07-23-aia AIA The factual inquiries set forth in Graham v. John Deere Co., 383 U.S. 1,148 USPQ 459 (1966), that are applied 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. 4. Claims 1-11 are rejected under AIA 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Iwane et al. (US Publication 2021/0267446) in view of Sutin et al. (US Publication 2017/0027447). Regarding claim 1, Iwane discloses a light source device comprising: an incident lens on which first light emitted from a first light source is made incident ( Iwane , fig. 1, para’s 0045-0050, incident lens 300 on which first light emitted from “first” light source 100 is made incident ); a multiplexing unit that multiplexes the first light emitted from the incident lens and second light emitted from a second light source and makes multiplexed light incident on a second light guide ( Iwane, fig. 1, para’s 0045-0050, the wide-band light is collimated by the lens 330, reflected by the dichroic mirror 310 and combined with the narrow-band light made incident on “incident” lens 300 and diffuser 400, and is collected “made incident” on a “second” light guide 500 by the lens 320 ). Iwane discloses the first light is emitted from the incident lens as described above , but does not explicitly disclose: a first light guide on which the first light is made incident; a conversion element that diffuses incident light at a predetermined diffusion angle, wherein the conversion element is provided between the incident lens and the first light guide. Sutin discloses: a first light guide on which the first light is made incident ( Sutin, para. 0035, a prism “directional light guide” 208 can optionally be placed between the diffusive element 202 “conversion element” and a subject 210 to change the direction of the light 204 ); a conversion element that diffuses incident light at a predetermined diffusion angle, wherein the conversion element is provided between the incident lens and the first light guide ( Sutin, para. 0035, the diffusive element 202 “conversion element” can be used to diffuse the light 204 at an angle as shown in fig. 2; the diffusive element can be disposed before the light directional guiding prism between and the incident lens on which the light 204 is made incident as disclosed by Iwane above) . It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate Sutin’s features into Iwane’s invention to obtain the invention as specified in the instant claim. The motivation would have been for providing a high-quality medical device by effectively generating desired light illumination from a combination of light sources of different bandwidths. Regarding claim 2, Iwane-Sutin discloses the light source device according to claim 1, further comprising: a first lens, which has a first focal length, for making light emitted from the first light guide incident on the multiplexing unit; and a second lens, which has a second focal length, for making light emitted from the second light source incident on the multiplexing unit, wherein a ratio of a sectional size of the first light guide and the first focal length and a ratio of a size of a light emitting surface of the second light source and the second focal length are substantially equal ( Iwane, fig. 1, para’s 0045-0050, the wide-band light is collimated by the lens 330, reflected by the dichroic mirror 310 and combined with the narrow-band light made incident on lens 300 and 305. Each of the lens has respective focal length as known in the art; Sutin, para. 0035, additionally, the diffusive element 202 can be used alone, or in conjunction with other optical elements within the optical probe 200. It is considered as design option for a ratio of a sectional size of the first light guide and the first focal length and a ratio of a size of a light emitting surface of the second light source and the second focal length being substantially equal ). The motivation to combine the references and obviousness arguments are the same as claim 1. Regarding claim 3, Iwane-Sutin discloses the light source device according to claim 1, wherein at least one of a sectional size of the first light guide and a size of a light emitting surface of the second light source is equal to or smaller than a size of an incident end of the second light guide ( Iwane, fig. 1, para’s 0045-0050, the wide-band light is collimated by the lens 330, reflected by the dichroic mirror 310 and combined with the narrow-band light made incident on lens 300 and 305. Each of the lens has respective focal length as known in the art ; Sutin, para. 0035, a prism “directional light guide” 208 can optionally be placed between the diffusive element 202 “conversion element” and a subject 210 to change the direction of the light 204 ; It is considered as design option wherein at least one of a sectional size of the first light guide and a size of a light emitting surface of the second light source is equal to or smaller than a size of an incident end of the second light guide ). The motivation to combine the references and obviousness arguments are the same as claim 1. Regarding claim 4, Iwane-Sutin discloses the light source device according to claim 1, wherein the first light is narrowband light and the second light is wideband light ( Iwane, fig. 1, para. 0046, the narrow-band light source 100 is constituted by a semiconductor laser and emits narrow-band light. The wide-band light source 200 is constituted by a white LED and emits white wide-band light ). Regarding claim 5, Iwane-Sutin discloses the light source device according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined diffusion angle is an angle at which light emitted from the conversion element is diffused at an incident end of the first light guide without exceeding a sectional size of the first light guide ( Sutin, para. 0035, a prism “directional light guide” 208 can optionally be placed between the diffusive element 202 “conversion element” and a subject 210 to change the direction of the light 204 ; changing the direction of the light 204 can be used to reduce the size of an optical probe 200 where the transmission or reception of the light 204 is perpendicular to the subject 210. It is considered as design option wherein the predetermined diffusion angle is an angle at which light emitted from the conversion element is diffused at an incident end of the first light guide without exceeding a sectional size of the first light guide ). The motivation to combine the references and obviousness arguments are the same as claim 1. Regarding claim 6, Iwane-Sutin discloses the light source device according to claim 1, further comprising a third lens, which has a third focal length, for making multiplexed light obtained by multiplexing the first light and the second light in the multiplexing unit incident on the second light guide, wherein a distance from the third lens to the second light guide is a distance obtained by giving an offset to the third focal length ( Iwane, fig. 1, Sutin, para. 0035, additionally, the diffusive element 202 can be used alone, or in conjunction with other optical elements, i.e., including a third lens with default focal length, for making multiplexed light obtained by multiplexing the first light and the second light in the multiplexing unit incident on the second light guide within the optical probe 200. It is considered as design option wherein a distance from the third lens to the second light guide is a distance obtained by giving an offset to the third focal length ). The motivation to combine the references and obviousness arguments are the same as claim 1. Regarding claim 7, Iwane-Sutin discloses the light source device according to claim 1, further comprising a second lens, which has a second focal length, for making light emitted from the second light source incident on the multiplexing unit, wherein a distance from the second lens to the second light source is a distance obtained by giving an offset to the second focal length of the second lens ( Iwane, fig. 1, Sutin, para. 0035, additionally, the diffusive element 202 can be used alone, or in conjunction with other optical elements, i.e., including a second lens with default focal length, for making light emitted from the second light source incident on the multiplexing unit. It is considered as design option wherein a distance from the third lens to the second light guide is a distance obtained by giving an offset to the third focal length ). The motivation to combine the references and obviousness arguments are the same as claim 1. Regarding claim 8, Iwane-Sutin discloses the light source device according to claim 1, wherein the light source device is configured to align at least a polarization direction of the first light emitted from the first light source with a polarization direction in the multiplexing unit ( Iwane, para. 0049, the dichroic mirror 310 has a characteristic of transmitting a wavelength component of the narrow-band light and reflecting other wavelength bands. The narrow-band light and the wide-band light can be combined by the dichroic mirror 310. As a combining method, methods such as polarization combining and spatial combining can be used ). Regarding claim 9, Iwane-Sutin discloses the light source device according to claim 1, wherein the conversion element is any one of a diffusion plate, a fly-eye lens, and a micro-lens array ( Iwane, para’s 0062-0065, the conversion element is any one of a diffusion plate and a fly-eye lens ). Regarding claim 10, Iwane-Sutin discloses the light source device according to claim 1, wherein the first light source is a laser diode and the second light source is a light emitting diode (LED) ( Iwane, para. 0046, the narrow-band light source 100 is constituted by a semiconductor laser and emits narrow-band light. The wide-band light source 200 is constituted by a white LED and emits white wide-band light ). Claim 11 is rejected for similar reasons as discussed in claim 1, Iwane-Sutin further discloses: an endoscope system ( Iwane, para. 0050, an endoscope system) ; an imaging device configured to image an imaging range corresponding to an irradiation range irradiated with light emitted from the second light guide; and a display device that displays a captured image captured by the imaging device processor(s), memory, and computer readable media ( Iwane, para’s 0078, 0085, and 0087, the camera head 2020 may be provided with a plurality of imaging elements in order to accommodate stereoscopic viewing (3D display device) or the like. In this case, relay optical systems are provided in plurality inside the lens tube 2010 in order to guide observation light to each of the plurality of imaging elements ). 07-96 AIA 5. The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant’s disclosure. These include: US Publication 2025/0155602 by Wraneschitz US Publication 2022/0137442 by Du et al. Conclusion 6. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to LOI H TRAN whose telephone number is (571)270-5645. The examiner can normally be reached 8:00AM-5:00PM PST FIRST FRIDAY OF BIWEEK OFF. Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice. If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, THAI TRAN can be reached at 571-272-7382. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300. Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. 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If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000. /LOI H TRAN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2484 Application/Control Number: 19/113,829 Page 2 Art Unit: 2484 Application/Control Number: 19/113,829 Page 3 Art Unit: 2484 Application/Control Number: 19/113,829 Page 4 Art Unit: 2484 Application/Control Number: 19/113,829 Page 5 Art Unit: 2484 Application/Control Number: 19/113,829 Page 6 Art Unit: 2484 Application/Control Number: 19/113,829 Page 7 Art Unit: 2484 Application/Control Number: 19/113,829 Page 8 Art Unit: 2484 Application/Control Number: 19/113,829 Page 9 Art Unit: 2484
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