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 .
Specification
The title of the invention is not descriptive. The current title is highly vague and provides little informative value for a person of ordinary skill in the art whether the document warrants further review. A new title is required that is clearly indicative of the invention to which the claims are directed. MPEP 606.01 guides that a descriptive title may result in slightly longer title, but the loss in brevity of title will be more than offset by the gain in its informative value in indexing, classifying, searching, etc.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
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.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 1-7 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Claim 1 recites the following positional relationship:
the wave plate is disposed, with respect to the target object, closer to a first position where the light source is disposed and closer to a second position where the light reception element is disposed,
the polarization selection optical element is disposed, with respect to the wave plate, closer to the second position than the first position.
The first clause appears to be sufficiently clear and is taken as 1) the distance between the wave plate and the light source is less than the distance between the target object to the light source, and 2) the distance between the wave plate and the light reception element is less than the distance between the target object and the light reception element.
The second clause, however, is unclear. Because the “with respect to the wave plate” is enclosed with parenthesis, it appears that the clause is stating the polarization selection optical element is closer to the second position than it is to the first position. If so, then it is unclear what effect the “with respect to the wave plate” has.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102 or 35 USC § 103
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.
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) 1-7 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as anticipated by Katsuki et al (JP 2017018977 submitted in IDS. See attached Google translation) or, in the alternative, under 35 U.S.C. 103 as obvious over Official notice.
Katsuki shows the following:
1. An illumination light reception device comprising:
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a wave plate having one or more first regions for producing a phase difference of a half wavelength and one or more second regions having no polarization changing function (Para. [0013]: “The disc-shaped λ / 2 wavelength plate-containing member 60 includes a λ / 2 wavelength plate portion 61 composed of a λ / 2 wavelength plate, and a light transmitting portion 62 formed at the center.”);
a polarization selection optical element that selectively extracts and outputs a polarization component in a specific direction (Para. [0012]: “polarizing mirror 30 (polarizing beam splitter)”);
a light reception element that receives light on a predetermined light reception surface (Para. [0012]: “camera unit 70” receives light on lenses and sensor surfaces);
a light source that emits light (Para. [0012]: “a light source 20 (not shown)”);
an illumination optical system that illuminates a predetermined target object by using light emitted from the light source as illumination light (Para. [0012]: “objective lens 45” or “lens 41”); and
an imaging optical system that forms an optical image of the target object on the light reception surface of the light reception element (Para. [0012]: “objective lens 45” or camera 70 would have a lens that images onto the sensor array, e.g. CCD), wherein
in the wave plate, the one or more first regions and the one or more second regions are formed to be concentric with each other and such that at least one first boundary in the one or more first regions is shared with a corresponding second boundary in the one or more second regions (See Fig. 1b; Para. [0013]: “The disc-shaped λ / 2 wavelength plate-containing member 60 includes a λ / 2 wavelength plate portion 61 composed of a λ / 2 wavelength plate, and a light transmitting portion 62 formed at the center.”),
the wave plate is disposed, with respect to the target object, closer to a first position where the light source is disposed and closer to a second position where the light reception element is disposed (See Fig. 1a which shows wave plate 60 is closer to the light source than the target is and also closer to the camera 70 than the target is),
the polarization selection optical element is disposed, with respect to the wave plate, closer to the second position than the first position (as interpreted by the examiner, see Fig. 1 which shows polarizing beam splitter 30 is adjacent to the camera and the light source is outside the figure) , and
a first optical axis of the illumination optical system and a second optical axis of the imaging optical system are coaxial with each other (See Fig. 1 where the camera 70 and the objective lens 45 have their optical axis along the vertical dotted line.
In the alternative, Katsuki does not explicitly camera 70 has a lens. Official notice is taken that it was well known to use lenses in a camera. Before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious to use lenses in the camera of Katsuki in order to image the incoming light onto the sensor of the camera.
2. The illumination light reception device according to claim 1, wherein the imaging optical system has a magnification of 0.5 times or less (Katsuki does not show the magnification of any of the lenses. Official notice is taken that it was well known to use demagnification lenses in order to increase the field of view. Before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious to use a demagnification lens including 0.5x and less in order to increase the field of view to a size as desired.
3. The illumination light reception device according to claim 1, wherein
the imaging optical system includes a first optical system (lens 45) disposed closer to a fourth position where the target object is disposed than a third position where the wave plate (wave plate 60) is disposed, and
the first optical system includes one or more lenses formed in a curvature radius of an air interface such that an image of reflected light at the air interface that is a boundary with air is formed at a position shifted from an image forming position of the imaging optical system (this would be inherent with the convex lens with the surface being spatially offset from the center of the lens and the lens surface is not disclosed as having any form of antireflective coating).
4. The illumination light reception device according to claim 3, wherein the air interface of the first optical system is two in number (as interpreted by the examiner, the lens has two surfaces).
5. The illumination light reception device according to claim 3, wherein
the imaging optical system includes a second optical system disposed closer to the second position than the third position (see discussion of lenses, i.e. each lens is an optical system in claim 1 and one would be closer to the sensor than the other), and
the imaging optical system forms the optical image of the target object on the light reception surface of the light reception element by the first and second optical systems (this is the function of lenses of a camera).
6. The illumination light reception device according to claim 3, wherein
the imaging optical system includes a second optical system disposed closer to the second position than the third position (see discussion of lenses, i.e. each lens is an optical system in claim 1 and one would be closer to the sensor than the other), and
the second optical system is a variable magnification optical system that varies a focal length or any one of a plurality of image forming optical systems having different focal lengths prepared in advance (Official notice is taken that it was well known to use variable focal lenses in a camera. Before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious to lenses that can vary the focal length in order to image at different distances to the target).
7. The illumination light reception device according to claim 2, wherein
the imaging optical system includes a first optical system (lens 45) disposed closer to a fourth position where the target object is disposed than a third position where the wave plate (wave plate 60) is disposed, and
the first optical system includes one or more lenses formed in a curvature radius of an air interface such that an image of reflected light at the air interface that is a boundary with air is formed at a position shifted from an image forming position of the imaging optical system (this would be inherent with the convex lens with the surface being spatially offset from the center of the lens and the lens surface is not disclosed as having any form of antireflective coating).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Lilienfeld (US 4,320,975) shows a passive smoke plume opacity monitor that measures polarization of light having a light source, detector, lenses, polarizers, and an annular half-wave plate 46.
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Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Hwa Andrew S Lee whose telephone number is (571)272-2419. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Fri 9am-5:30pm.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Michelle Iacoletti can be reached at (571) 270-5789. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/Hwa Andrew Lee/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2877
