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 .
DETAILED ACTION
The applicant’s amendments/remarks filed on 07/16/2025 has been received, entered, and fully considered. Claim 1, 10, 12, 14, and 22 is amended. Claims 6-7, 11, and 21 are cancelled. Claims 1-5, 8-10, 12-20, and 22 are pending and are under examination.
Claim Objections
Claim 12 objected to because of the following informalities: claim 12 seem to depend from a cancelled claim 11. For the purpose of examination, the examiner assumed claim 12 actually depend from independent claim 1. Appropriate correction is required.
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.
Claim(s) 1, 3-5, 8-10, 12-14, 16-20, and 22 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ohtomo et al. (US 2002/0092978) (see previous PTO-892).
Regarding Claim 1, Ohtomo discloses a rotating laser apparatus (Fig. 1, Fig. 3, Fig. 14), comprising:
a laser emitting module (151, Fig. 1) configured to emit a first laser and a second laser (b1, b2, Fig. 1);
a rotating module (105, Fig. 4) configured to make the first laser and the second laser respectively rotate around a first rotation axis to form a first laser surface (b1) and a second laser surface (b2) that do not overlap with each other (Fig. 1), wherein the first laser surface and the second laser surface are circular plane surfaces having the same first rotation axis (axis of the rotating 105, Fig. 4), and the first laser surface (b1, Fig. 2) and the second laser surface (b2, Fig. 2)form a target included angle (δ, Fig. 2);
a base (base of 151, Fig. 1) connected to the laser emitting module(151, Fig. 1) and the rotating module(105, Fig. 4) and configured to support the laser emitting module and the rotating module (Fig. 1); and
a laser detector (154, light sensor, fig. 1) being a first distance away from the laser emitting module (Fig. 1) and configured to: receive the first laser (b1, Fig. 1, para. [0055]) and the second laser (b2, Fig. 1, para. [0055]).
Ohtomo lacks to explicitly disclose the use of a well know sine, cosine, and tan angles relationship of right triangle between two intersecting planes to determine the distance between the two points on the plane (see illustration below).
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Ohtomo discloses the base rotating laser apparatus (Fig. 1) upon which the claimed mathematical relationship between the distance and angle can be applied (Fig. 3).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to apply the above known mathematical relationship between angles and distances to the known rotating laser apparatus of Ohtomo that is ready for improvement to determine a second distance between positions irradiated on the laser detector by the first laser and the second laser, wherein the first distance between the laser emitting module and the laser detector is determined based on the second distance and the target included angle and the results would have been predictable to one of ordinary skill in the art.
Regarding Claim 3, Ohtomo discloses a laser apparatus wherein the first laser and the second laser have different wavelengths (para. [0065], where 3 laser beams are emitted from a light projector with varying wavelengths).
Regarding Claim 4, Ohtomo discloses a laser apparatus wherein the first laser is visible light and the second laser is invisible light. (para. [0065], where 3 laser beams are emitted from a light projector with varying wavelengths (color) Laser beam wavelengths range from the ultraviolet (UV) to the infrared (IR) regions of the electromagnetic spectrum, with visible light spanning approximately 400 to 700 nanometers (nm), i.e. includes visible and invisible lights).
Regarding Claim 5, Ohtomo discloses a rotating laser apparatus (Fig. 1) wherein the laser emitting module (151, Fig. 1) comprises a laser emitter (light emitter, Claim 1) and an optical device (148, Fig. 3) configured to adjust a direction of a laser generated by the laser emitter, wherein the optical device is configured to adjust the laser generated by the laser emitter to produce the first laser and the second laser (Fig. 5).
Regarding Claim 8, Ohtomo discloses a rotating laser apparatus (Fig. 1-Fig. 3) wherein only one of the first laser surface and the second laser surface is perpendicular to the first rotation axis. (Fig. 2.
Regarding Claim 9, Ohtomo discloses a rotating laser apparatus (Fig. 1-Fig. 3) wherein the first laser surface and the second laser surface are symmetrical about a plane perpendicular to the first rotation axis(Fig. 2).
Regarding Claim 10, Ohtomo discloses a rotating laser apparatus (Fig. 1, Fig. 3) wherein the first rotation axis is a rotation axis on a vertical direction (Fig. 1-Fig. 3).
Regarding Claim 12, Ohtomo discloses a rotating laser apparatus (Fig. 1) comprising: a processing module (277, Fig. 31) configured to determine operational measurements. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the processing module of Ohtomo to determine the above known mathematical relationship between angles and distances to determine the first distance between the laser emitting module and the laser detector based on the second distance and the target included angle and the results would have been predictable to one of ordinary skill in the art.
Regarding Claim 13, Ohtomo discloses a rotating laser apparatus (Fig. 1) wherein the processing module is fixedly connected to the base or the laser detector (a light sensor controller, Fig. 31).
Regarding Claim 14, Ohtomo discloses laser ranging method (Fig. 1, Fig. 3, Fig. 14), comprising:
generating, by a laser emitting module(151, Fig. 1), a first laser and a second laser(b1, b2, Fig. 1);
rotating the first laser and the second laser around a first rotation axis respectively to form a first laser surface and a second laser surface that do not overlap with each other (via 105, Fig. 4), wherein the first laser surface(b1) and the second laser surface(b2/b3) are circular plane surfaces having the same first rotation axis (axis of the rotating 105, Fig. 4), and the first laser surface (b1, Fig. 2) and the second laser surface (b2/b3, Fig. 2) form a target included angle (δ, Fig. 2);
receiving, by a laser detector (154, light sensor, fig. 1) that is a first distance away from the laser emitting module, the first laser and the second laser (Fig. 1, Fig. 2).
Ohtomo lacks to explicitly disclose the use of a well know sine, cosine, and tan angles relationship of right triangle between two intersecting planes to determine the distance between the two points on the plane (see illustration above).
Ohtomo discloses the base laser ranging method (Fig. 1) upon which the claimed mathematical relationship between the distance and angle can be applied.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to apply the above known mathematical relationship between angles and distances to the known laser ranging method of Ohtomo that is ready for improvement to determine a second distance between positions irradiated on the laser detector by the first laser and the second laser, wherein the first distance between the laser emitting module and the laser detector is determined based on the second distance and the target included angle and the results would have been predictable to one of ordinary skill in the art.
Regarding Claim 16, Ohtomo discloses laser ranging method (Fig. 1, Fig. 3) wherein the first laser and the second laser have different wavelengths (para. [0065], where 3 laser beams are emitted from a light projector with varying wavelengths).
Regarding Claim 17, Ohtomo discloses laser ranging method (Fig. 1, Fig. 3) wherein the first laser is visible light and the second laser is invisible light (para. [0065], where 3 laser beams are emitted from a light projector with varying wavelengths (color) Laser beam wavelengths range from the ultraviolet (UV) to the infrared (IR) regions of the electromagnetic spectrum, with visible light spanning approximately 400 to 700 nanometers (nm), i.e. includes visible and invisible lights).
Regarding Claim 18, Ohtomo discloses laser ranging method (Fig. 1, Fig. 3) wherein generating the first laser and the second laser further comprises: generating, by a laser emitter included in the laser emitting module (151, Fig. 1), a laser; and
adjusting, by an optical device(148, Fig. 3) included in the laser emitting module, the generated laser to produce the first laser and the second laser(Fig. 5).
Regarding Claim 19, Ohtomo discloses laser ranging method (Fig. 1, Fig. 3) wherein only one of the first laser surface and the second laser surface is perpendicular to the first rotation axis(Fig. 2).
Regarding Claim 20, Ohtomo discloses laser ranging method (Fig. 1- Fig. 3) wherein the first laser surface and the second laser surface are symmetrical about a plane perpendicular to the first rotation axis(Fig. 2).
Regarding Claim 22, Ohtomo discloses laser ranging method (Fig. 1, Fig. 3) wherein the first rotation axis is a rotation axis on a vertical direction (Fig. 1-Fig. 3).
Claim(s) 2 and 15 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ohtomo et al. (US 2002/0092978) in view of Ball (US 2013/0088872) .
Regarding Claim 2, Ohtomo do not explicitly discloses the laser emitting module comprises a first laser emitter configured to generate the first laser and a second laser emitter configured to generate the second laser, but Ball teaches a rotating laser apparatus (para. [0007], Fig. 1, Fig. 11, para. [0085]) wherein the laser emitting module comprises a first laser emitter configured to generate the first laser and a second laser emitter configured to generate the second laser. (para. [0027] first and second lasers and para. [0074]: two or more lasers held within a rotating house). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the laser emitting module of Ohtomo with the distinct first and second laser emitters as taught in the Ball reference in order to individually control the emission of the lasers.
Regarding Claim 15, Ohtomo do not explicitly discloses, but Ball teaches a laser ranging method (para. [0028]) wherein generating the first laser and the second laser further comprises: generating, by a first laser emitter included in the laser emitting module, the first laser (, para. [0027] first and second lasers and para. [0074]: two or more lasers held within a rotating house); and generating, by a second laser emitter included in the laser emitting module, the second laser (para. [0027] first and second lasers and para. [0074]: two or more lasers held within a rotating house).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the laser emitting module of Ohtomo with the distinct first and second laser emitters as taught in the Ball reference in order to individually control the emission of the lasers.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim(s) 07/16/2025 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. (see attached PTO-892).
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ASSRES H WOLDEMARYAM whose telephone number is (571)272-6607. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 8AM-5PM.
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Assres H. Woldemaryam
Primary Examiner (Aeronautics and Astronautics)
Art Unit 3642
/ASSRES H WOLDEMARYAM/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3642