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 Objections
Claim 12 is objected to because of the following informalities: Claims 12-13 depend on claim 6 which was been cancelled. Claims 21-22 depend from claim 10 which was been cancelled. Claims 37-38 depend from claim 14-15 which was cancelled. Appropriate correction is required.
Drawings
The drawings are objected to under 37 CFR 1.83(a). The drawings must show every feature of the invention specified in the claims. Therefore, the “additional optical diffusing assembly defining at least part of the housing bottom wall of the open-top housing” must be shown or the feature canceled from the claim. No new matter should be entered.
Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. The figure or figure number of an amended drawing should not be labeled as “amended.” If a drawing figure is to be canceled, the appropriate figure must be removed from the replacement sheet, and where necessary, the remaining figures must be renumbered and appropriate changes made to the brief description of the several views of the drawings for consistency. Additional replacement sheets may be necessary to show the renumbering of the remaining figures. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
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 16, 37-38 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 16 recites the limitation "the optical detector" in line 1. Claim 37 recites “the head portion ring”. Claim 38 recites “the inwardly extending projection” and “the head portion ring”. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
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.
Claims 1-2, 5, 7-8, 11-13, 16, 20-22, 29, 81 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Elazar et al. (US 11,278,198).
Elazar shows a dental instrument for illuminating an oral cavity of a patient's mouth with diffused light (Fig. 7), the dental instrument comprising a handle portion comprising an elongated member enabling the dental instrument to be handled (702); and a head portion positioned at one longitudinal end of the elongated member (704), the head portion comprising a reflective layer (710) having a peripheral wall (portion of head surrounding reflective surface 101) and comprising a diffused light guiding channel (706) extending peripherally along the peripheral wall and inwardly thereof (706 seen extending peripherally around inward thereof); an open-top housing comprising a housing bottom wall (744 that is screwed into the sidewall) and a housing sidewall (head surrounding 101) together defining a light source receiving cavity (receives light sources 736); light sources received within the light source receiving cavity and configured to emit light (light sources 736); and an optical diffusing assembly (720) superposed to the light sources (shown above in exploded view of Fig. 7) and provided underneath the diffused light guiding channel (shown below in exploded view of Fig. 7), the optical diffusing assembly being configured to diffuse the light emitted by the light sources and produce the diffused light (light diffuser 726). With respect to claim 2, wherein the light sources are spaced-apart from one another and positioned according to a light source distribution (shown around the edge of 730); and wherein the housing sidewall is substantially cylindrical (Fig. 7-8) and the housing bottom wall has a substantially circular surface area (near 744 in Fig. 7), and the light source distribution is a circumferential light source distribution (at 730 in Fig. 7, with at least some of the light sources being aligned along a circular profile that is concentric with the substantially circular surface area of the open-top housing (as seen at 730 in Fig. 7). With respect to claim 5, wherein the head portion further comprises a printed circuit board comprising the light sources (circuit board 734 with light sources 736 thereon). With respect to claim 7, wherein the optical diffusing assembly is directly superposed to the light sources (shown directly over in Fig. 7) and the diffused light guiding channel of the reflective layer is directly superposed to the optical diffusing assembly such that the light sources and the diffused light guiding channel share a corresponding common transversal axis extending normally relative to the housing bottom wall across the optical diffusing assembly (from center of 740 up through center of 704 in Fig. 7). With respect to claim 8, wherein the reflective layer comprises a transparent layer and a reflective surface positioned underneath the transparent layer, the optical diffusing assembly being positioned closest to the reflective surface (a mirror is a piece of glass/transparent layer with a shiny, metal-covered/reflective back; defined by Cambridge Dictionary; which is in line with the reference at col. 2, lines 1-2, “glass and metal”). With respect to claim 11, wherein the optical diffusing assembly is sized to be contained within an outer periphery defined by the peripheral wall of the reflective layer (housed within the same head as the reflective layer as seen in Fig. 7-8 and therefore sized to be within the outer wall). With respect to claim 12, wherein the diffused light guiding channel coincides with the outer periphery defined by the peripheral wall (col. 10, lines 57-59 discuss the placement of 706 at the perimeter). With respect to claim 13, wherein the diffused light guiding channel is provided at a distance from the outer periphery defined by the peripheral wall, thereby defining a gap therebetween (seen in Fig. 7 with 706 inward). With respect to claim 16, wherein the optical detector is configured to (see 112 above; this appears to be a claim that may have been meant to be cancelled, or a claim from which it depended was cancelled incorrectly): detect at least one of an illuminance and a colour temperature; compare at least one of: a detected illuminance with a target illuminance, and a detected colour temperature with a target colour temperature; and adjust a light output of the light sources based on the at least one comparison (in either case, col. 11, lines 10-37 discuss the sensor 732 and its detection of color and intensity, and the adjustment of the light sources 736). With respect to claim 20, wherein the optical diffusing assembly defines an additional layer receiving surface configured to receive an additional layer thereon (lens protector layer 722 could be considered an additional layer). With respect to claim 21, wherein the additional layer is a heating layer (lens protector 722 is an opaque construct made of material that can handle heating/temperatures during autoclave; col. 11, line 51). With respect to claim 22, wherein the additional layer has a reduced ability to transmit light emitted by the light sources compared to a remainder of the optical diffusing assembly (col. 11, line 51 “opaque”). With respect to claim 29, wherein the optical diffusing assembly has a half-power angle ranging between about 1° and about 55° (col. 11, line 42 discusses the softening of light and example materials that would fall within this range).
Apparatus claim 81 is rejected similarly to the above as it is directed to the same limitations.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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.
Claims 35, 37-38 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Elazar in view of Ohmes (US 6,254,386).
Elazar discloses the device as previously described above, but fails to show with respect to claim 35, wherein the head portion further comprises a head portion ring engageable with the open-top housing; with respect to claim 37, wherein the head portion ring comprises an inwardly extending projection defining a reflective layer engaging surface for engaging with the peripheral wall of the reflective layer; with respect to claim 38, wherein the reflective layer is shaped as a frustoconical reflective layer defining an outwardly extending slope configured to abut the reflective layer engaging surface of the inwardly extending projection of the head portion ring.
Ohmes similarly teaches a dental mirror wherein the head portion further comprises a head portion ring (lip 20) engageable with the open-top housing (engaged at the top thereof); wherein the head portion ring comprises an inwardly extending projection defining a reflective layer engaging surface for engaging with the peripheral wall of the reflective layer (lip 20 as seen in Fig. 3); with respect to claim 38, wherein the reflective layer is shaped as a frustoconical reflective layer defining an outwardly extending slope configured to abut the reflective layer engaging surface of the inwardly extending projection of the head portion ring (mirror 22 frustoconical at the engagement portion with 20 in Fig. 3). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Elazar’s mirror by having the lip and beveled edge as taught by Ohmes in order to provide known means for securing a mirror in a housing in the dental art.
Claims 42, 45, 48 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Elazar in view of Hong (US 10,426,329).
Elazar discloses the device as previously described above, but fails to show a second optical diffuser assembly pointed opposite to the first.
Hong similarly teaches a dental mirror wherein the rear side of the head includes lights in the opposite direction (col. 3, lines 20-33). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Elazar’s dental mirror to have its lighting structure (components of Fig. 7) on both sides of the head as taught by Hong in order to provide additional viewing angles and light. This duplication of parts on both sides of the mirror will result in, with respect to claim 42, the head portion further comprises an additional optical diffuser assembly, the additional optical diffuser assembly comprising: additional light sources oriented opposite to the light sources; and an additional optical diffusing assembly defining at least part of the housing bottom wall of the open-top housing and with respect to claim 45, wherein the housing bottom wall defines a reflective layer receiving cavity, and the head portion further comprises a bottom reflective layer received in the reflective layer receiving cavity.
Apparatus claim 48 is rejected similarly to the above as it is directed to the same limitations.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MATTHEW NELSON whose telephone number is (571)270-5898. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday-Friday 7:30am-5:00pm EDT.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, please contact the examiner’s supervisor, Eric Rosen, at (571) 270-7855. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/MATTHEW M NELSON/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3772
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