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 .
This communication is responsive to the correspondence filled on 10/21/2025.
Claims 1-20 are presented for examination.
IDS Considerations
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 05/14/2026 is/are being considered by the examiner as the submission is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97.
Double Patenting
The nonstatutory double patenting rejection is based on a judicially created doctrine grounded in public policy (a policy reflected in the statute) so as to prevent the unjustified or improper timewise extension of the “right to exclude” granted by a patent and to prevent possible harassment by multiple assignees. A nonstatutory double patenting rejection is appropriate where the claims at issue are not identical, but at least one examined application claim is not patentably distinct from the reference claim(s) because the examined application claim is either anticipated by, or would have been obvious over, the reference claim(s). See, e.g., In re Berg, 140 F.3d 1428, 46 USPQ2d 1226 (Fed. Cir. 1998); In re Goodman, 11 F.3d 1046, 29 USPQ2d 2010 (Fed. Cir. 1993); In re Longi, 759 F.2d 887, 225 USPQ 645 (Fed. Cir. 1985); In re Van Ornum, 686 F.2d 937, 214 USPQ 761 (CCPA 1982); In re Vogel, 422 F.2d 438, 164 USPQ 619 (CCPA 1970); and In re Thorington, 418 F.2d 528, 163 USPQ 644 (CCPA 1969).
A timely filed terminal disclaimer in compliance with 37 CFR 1.321(c) or 1.321(d) may be used to overcome an actual or provisional rejection based on a nonstatutory double patenting ground provided the reference application or patent either is shown to be commonly owned with this application, or claims an invention made as a result of activities undertaken within the scope of a joint research agreement. A terminal disclaimer must be signed in compliance with 37 CFR 1.321(b).
The USPTO internet Web site contains terminal disclaimer forms which may be used. The filing date of the application will determine what form should be used. A web-based eTerminal Disclaimer may be filled out completely online using web-screens. An eTerminal Disclaimer that meets all requirements is auto-processed and approved immediately upon submission.
Claims 1 and 9 are rejected on the ground of nonstatutory obviousness-type double patenting as being unpatentable over claims 1 of US Pat. 12593131.
Even though instant application does not claim “wherein the controlled movement includes an imaging period where a maximum velocity of the image sensor is within a range of at least about 20% to about 1% of the operating velocity and a reset period, the imaging period having a first time length that is greater than the designated exposure time”, however not claiming this does not provide instant application a patentable distinction. Because lack of limitation makes the claim broad obvious variation of US Pat. 12593131.
Other claim limitations have obvious variation of claim language. It would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art that variation of claim language of instant claim and US Pat. 12593131 claim language is obvious, because both of those limitations point to same invention as per applicant specification.
Instant Application 19/364,895
US Pat. 12593131
1. A part inspection imaging system comprising:
an image sensor;
an actuator comprising a mechanical member to transfer movement from a moving target object to the image sensor to cause a controlled movement from an initial position of the image sensor
such that an angular and/or linear velocity of the image sensor at least approximately matches an angular and/or linear velocity of the moving target object;
and a controller communicatively coupled to the image sensor, the controller configured to
activate the image sensor for a designated exposure time to capture one or more images of the moving target object during the controlled movement of the image sensor.
1. A part inspection imaging system comprising:
an image sensor;
an actuator configured to cause a controlled movement of the image sensor relative to a target element, and claim 5. The system of claim 1 wherein the actuator includes at least one of a linear actuator, a voice coil, a torque motor, a crank and rocker, a cam and cam follower, or a four-bar linkage.
OR claim 16. The system of claim 1 further comprising an additional sensor configured to transmit a detection signal to the controller when the additional sensor detects movement within a sensing region of the additional sensor, wherein the controller determines the operating velocity based on the detection signal.
the controlled movement being based on an operating velocity of the target element relative to an initial position of the image sensor;
and a controller communicatively coupled to the image sensor, the controller configured to: identify the operating velocity;
determine an activation time to activate the image sensor for a designated exposure time based on the operating velocity and the controlled movement; and activate the image sensor at the activation time, wherein the controlled movement includes an imaging period where a maximum velocity of the image sensor is within a range of at least about 20% to about 1% of the operating velocity and a reset period, the imaging period having a first time length that is greater than the designated exposure time.
9. Limitations of remaining claims of instant application are obvious over US Pat. 12593131. Remaining dependent claim limitations points to same invention as per applicant disclosure. Please note 35 U.S.C. 101 allows only one patent from one patent application or invention. As such, all dependent claims of instant application are obvious variations of independent claim 1.
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.
Claim(s) 1-20 is/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 applicant regards as the invention.
Claim 1 and 9 scope is not limited by claim language, because following claim language “controlled movement from an initial position of the image sensor such that an angular and/or linear velocity of the image sensor at least approximately matches an angular and/or linear velocity of the moving target object” does not limit a claim to a particular structure. It is unclear the meaning of “at least approximately matches”. The term is not defined by the claim, and one of the ordinary skills in art would not be reasonably appraised of the scope of the invention. So, the term is undefined.
Other dependent claims are also rejected because of the deficiencies of their respective parent claims.
Allowable subject matter under 35 USC § 102/103
10. Claims are not rejected under 35 USC § 102/103 because of following reasons: Newman (U.S. Pub. No. 20170011503 A1) is the closest prior art.
Regarding to claim 1 and 9:
1. Newman teach a part inspection imaging system comprising: (Newman [0051] FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing the side view of thermal camera 222 at locations down wind of tower 6 for inspection of the low pressure side of the blade 11) an image sensor; (Newman [0074] Digital thermal and photography images are formed by focusing electromagnetic energy with a lens onto a flat sensor comprised of energy sensitive elements or pixels positioned in generally a rectangular array for example 600 horizontal by 420 vertical. As with any image of an object, the image scale, measured in pixels per unit distance on the surface of the object, changes continuously over the field of view as the angle θ between the camera lens and the position of each imaged point on the target changes)
an actuator comprising image sensor to cause a controlled movement from an initial position of the image sensor (Newman FIG. 8, FIG. 9 and [0059-0060])
and a controller communicatively coupled to the image sensor, the controller configured to activate the image sensor (Newman claim 1. A method of remotely inspecting blades of a wind turbine in situ, the method comprising: positioning a thermal imaging camera on a ground surface on at least one side of a tower of the wind turbine at a location approximately mid-span of the blades; capturing at least one image of at least a portion of each wind turbine blade with the thermal imaging camera as each blade passes through a field of view of the thermal imaging camera while the wind turbine is rotating and undergoing cyclic load due to gravity and variations in wind loads and when the blade has substantially reached thermal equilibrium with ambient air after sunset in order to produce thermal imaging data; and analyzing the thermal imaging data to identify atypical thermal patterns due to thermoelastic heating and/or frictional heating within or around defects within the blades.) for a designated exposure time to capture one or more images of the moving target object during the controlled movement of the image sensor. (Newman claim 7. The method of claim 6, wherein the capturing at least one image of at least a portion of each wind turbine blade includes capturing a sequence of images of each wind turbine blade. Newman [0059] FIG. 8 The blade appears to hang in space giving the thermal camera time to generate higher resolution images of the moving blade. The adjustments consist of amplitude of the ramp voltage 260, which will compensate for the speed of blade rotation, the duration of the ramp function 262, and the time 264, between each start of the ramp function. The output of function generator 244 is amplified in amplifier 242 which then drives the linear motor actuator 238. The motion of mirror 241 can de-rotate short sequences of images produced by thermal camera 222. By selecting the repetition rate 262, the user can select to image all the blades by starting the tracking motion every τ/3 seconds, where τ=the period of rotation of the turbine in seconds, or by selecting a repetition rate oft, the images of the same blade 14, will be presented and de-rotated. A spring can be used to provide a restoring force to bring the mirror back to its start position, ready for the next blade pass. Only one or more video frames need to be tracked to substantially improve blurring of the thermal camera image due to blade rotation. The frequency of motion of the de-rotating mirror 241, can be calculated in the following example. Assume a turbine operating@15 rpm, a thermal camera 222 with a 30 frames per second frame rate, and it is desired to de-rotate 4 video frames. The period, τ, of the turbine is the time required to make 1 revolution, in this case 60 seconds/15 rpm=4 seconds. In this time, the thermal camera 222 (operating at 30 frames/second) captures (4 seconds×30 frames/second)=120 frames. The 4 frames we wish to de-rotate are captured over a time of (4 frames/30 frames/sec.)=0.133 seconds.)
Newman [0046-0047] teach linear actuator, but prior art do not teach physical contact [mechanical member to transfer] as per following claim limitation: a mechanical member to transfer movement from a moving target object to the image sensor to cause a controlled movement from an initial position of the image sensor such that an angular and/or linear velocity of the image sensor at least approximately matches an angular and/or linear velocity of the moving target object;
Above claim limitations are interpreted based on Fig. 6, Fig. 10-11, PGPUB paragraph 55 and 61-63.
Dependent claims are not rejected because of dependency.
Closely related prior art
Examiner notes teaching of U.S. Pub. No. 20060033908 A1 is/are pertinent to the independent claim(s), because this prior art discuss Rotary Borescopic
technology. However, this prior art is not used because cited prior art is closest to the inventive concept.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to NASIM N NIRJHAR whose telephone number is (571) 272-3792. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday - Friday, 8 am to 5 pm ET.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, William F Kraig can be reached on (571) 272-8660. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is (571) 273-8300.
Information regarding the status of an application may be obtained from the Patent Application Information Retrieval (PAIR) system. Status information for published applications may be obtained from either Private PAIR or Public PAIR. Status information for unpublished applications is available through Private PAIR only. For more information about the PAIR system, see http://pair-direct.uspto.gov. Should you have questions on access to the Private PAIR system, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative or access to the automated information system, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/NASIM N NIRJHAR/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2896
