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 .
Response to Amendment
The amendment filed 2/3/2026 has been fully considered. The amendments made to claims 1, 13, 19, and 20 have overcome the previous grounds of rejection made under 35 U.S.C. 103, which are now withdrawn. However, in view of the amendment, a new ground for rejection is made under 35 U.S.C. 103. The amendment made to claim 9 has overcome the previous rejection made under 35 U.S.C. 112(b), which is now withdrawn.
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 1, 2, 4, 5, 9, 12-15, 17, and 19-21 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Oeguen (US 20210364610 A1), in view of Guldimann (US 20130234009 A1).
Regarding Claim 1: Oeguen discloses a system (Fig. 2, detector 128) comprising:
a front end optics having an optical axis and configured to focus a plurality of received beams (Fig. 2, measurement head 110 with optical axis 120 and transfer device 114 that focuses light beams 122 onto the end of the receiving fibers 116, [0247]);
a plurality of OCLs, wherein each OCL in the plurality of OCLs comprises a coupling portion that collects a corresponding beam of the plurality of focused received beams (Fig. 2, receiving fibers 116 both have an entrance face 118), wherein the coupling portion of the first OCL in the plurality of OCLs is located at a first distance from the optical axis and the coupling portion of a second OCL in the plurality of OCLs is located at a second distance from the optical axis, wherein the first distance is greater than the second distance (Fig. 2, the bottom optical receiving fiber 116 is offset from the optical axis 120 and the entrance face 118 is also offset from the optical axis 120. The top optical receiving fiber 116 is centered on the optical axis, and the entrance face is also centered on the optical axis 120. The first distance is greater than the second distance because the bottom fiber is offset from the optical axis, while the second fiber has zero offset, making the second distance zero),
a plurality of light detectors (Fig. 2, first optical sensor 142 and second optical sensor 144), wherein each of the plurality of light detectors is configured to:
detect a respective beam of the plurality of focused received beams collected by the coupling portion of a respective OCL in the plurality of OCLs ([0234] the optical sensors generate signals based on the light received from the environment that has been coupled to their respective fibers); and
generate, based on the detected beam, data representative of at least one of (i) a velocity of an object that generated the detected beam or (ii) a distance to the object that generated the detected beam ([0071] this system determines distance of the object and can do so independent of object size or material properties).
However, Oeguen does not expressly teach: wherein the coupling portion of the first OCL is characterized by an outward normal directed towards the optical axis and at least one of: a cut, at a first tilt angle to the optical axis, that is greater than a second tilt angle of the cut of the coupling portion of the second OCL, or a first NA that is greater than a second NA of the coupling portion of the second OCL.
Guldimann teaches an imaging system that has a plurality of OCLs where each of the OCLs has a coupling portion that collects a corresponding beam of the plurality of received beams (Figs. 1, 3, and 4), where the system focuses the received beams at the coupling portion of the OCLs ([0047] “focal plane”), wherein the coupling portion of the first OCL is characterized by an outward normal directed towards the optical axis and at least one of: a cut, at a first tilt angle to the optical axis, that is greater than a second tilt angle of the cut of the coupling portion of the second OCL (Figs. 3 and 4B, and paragraph [0047] fibers farther from the center of the array are cut at steeper angles), or a first NA that is greater than a second NA of the coupling portion of the second OCL.
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the coupling portions of the fibers disclosed by Oeguen, such that the fiber facets are angled towards the optical axis of the array, as taught by Guldimann. When “a curved image field is mapped directly onto a planar focal plane array, the effect of the optical field curvature causes a degradation of the image resolution and image quality of an imaging system” (Guldimann, [0002]). Adopting this design taught by Guldimann would provide a simple, low cost solution for reducing the effects of aberrations (Guldimann, [0005], [0015], [0028]).
Regarding Claim 2: Oeguen, in view of Guldimann, teaches the system of claim 1. In this combination, Guldimann further teaches wherein the coupling portion of the first OCL comprises an end facet of an optical fiber (Figs. 3 and 4B, fiber facets of waveguides 311 and 411), wherein the end facet makes the first tilt angle with the optical axis, and wherein the first tilt angle is determined in view of the first distance ([0047] – [0048] and Figs. 3 and 4B. The fiber facets are angled such that they match the curvature of the image plane).
Regarding Claim 4: Oeguen, in view of Guldimann, teaches the system of claim 1. In this combination, Guldimann further teaches wherein the coupling portion of the first OCL comprises an end facet of an optical fiber (Figs. 3 and 4B, fiber facets of waveguides 311 and 411), wherein the end facet of the optical fiber has a curved surface ([0047] and Fig. 3, the focal plane adapter has “a two-dimensional-curved front surface of elliptical paraboloid shape” formed by the ends of the fibers).
Regarding Claim 5: Oeguen, in view of Guldimann, teaches the system of claim 1. In this combination, Guldimann further teaches wherein the coupling portion of the first OCL comprises an opening of a waveguide (Fig. 1, opening of waveguides 111), wherein the end facet of the optical fiber has a curved surface ([0035] and Fig. 1, “The first end, i.e., the front side 12, of the hollow waveguide array 110 is curved so that the first ends of the waveguides 111 lie on a curved focal surface).
Regarding Claim 9: Oeguen, in view of Guldimann, teaches the system of claim 1. This combination does not expressly teach wherein the coupling portion of each of the plurality of OCLs located at a focal plane of the front end optics.
Guldimann further teaches that facets of the OCLs are located at the focal plane of the front end optics ([0028] “the focal plane adapter spatially samples the optical field at its best local focus”).
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to further modify the optical system taught by Oeguen and Guldimann, such that the fibers are located at the focal plane of the front end optics, as further taught by Guldimann. This is because Guldimann’s focal plane adapter samples the optical field at its best local focus, “along the curved image plane and without cross-sensitivity, to reduce the typical effect of the non-planar optical field which is a wider image point, or which is a local defocus that may degrade the image resolution on the FPA” (Guldimann, [0028]).
Regarding Claim 12: Oeguen, in view of Guldimann, teaches the system of claim 1. Oeguen further discloses wherein the first OCL comprises at least one of an optical fiber portion, a waveguide portion, or a photonic crystal fiber portion ([0232] and Fig. 2, optical receiving fibers 116 are optical fibers).
Regarding Claim 13: Oeguen discloses a system (Fig. 2, detector 128) comprising:
an optical subsystem having an optical axis (Fig. 2, kit 126 has optical axis 120) configured to:
output, to an outside environment, a plurality of transmitted beams (Fig. 2 illumination fiber 134 directs light beam 136 to the environment and towards object 112; [0232] plurality of illumination sources 130 can have different modulation frequencies for distinguishing light beams);
receive, from the outside environment, a first beam generated upon interaction of a first transmitted beam of the plurality of transmitted beams with a first object in the outside environment (Fig. 2, light 122 reflected off object 112 is received by the measurement head 110); and
focus the received first beam at a coupling portion of a first OCL in a plurality of OCLs (Fig. 2, transfer device 114 that focuses light beams 122 onto the end of the receiving fibers 116, [0247]), wherein the coupling portion of the first OCL in the plurality of OCLs is located at a first distance from the optical axis and the coupling portion of a second OCL in the plurality of OCLs is located at a second distance from the optical axis, wherein the first distance is greater than the second distance (Fig. 2, the bottom optical receiving fiber 116 is offset from the optical axis 120 and the entrance face 118 is also offset from the optical axis 120. The top optical receiving fiber 116 is centered on the optical axis, and the entrance face is also centered on the optical axis 120. The first distance is greater than the second distance because the bottom fiber is offset from the optical axis, while the second fiber has zero offset, making the second distance zero),
a light detection subsystem (Fig. 2, optical sensors 140 with evaluation device 148 and position evaluation device 152) configured to:
obtain, via the first OCL, the first beam (Fig. 2, first optical sensor 142 receives the beam from the first fiber 116 that is offset from the optical axis); and
generate, based on the obtained first beam, a first electronic signal ([0128] the optical sensors comprise photodetectors, and photodetectors generate electrical signals from received light); and one or more circuits operatively coupled with the light detection subsystem and configured to determine, based on the first electronic signal, at least one of a velocity of the first object or a distance to the first object (Fig. 2, evaluation device 148 and position evaluation device 152 which determines the distance to the object 112, which is represented by a longitudinal coordinate and can be embodied as software, [0234]).
However, Oeguen does not expressly teach: wherein the coupling portion of the first OCL is characterized by an outward normal directed towards the optical axis and at least one of: a cut, at a first tilt angle to the optical axis, that is greater than a second tilt angle of the cut of the coupling portion of the second OCL, or a first NA that is greater than a second NA of the coupling portion of the second OCL.
Guldimann teaches an imaging system that has a plurality of OCLs where each of the OCLs has a coupling portion that collects a corresponding beam of the plurality of received beams (Figs. 1, 3, and 4), where the system focuses the received beams at the coupling portion of the OCLs ([0047] “focal plane”), wherein the coupling portion of the first OCL is characterized by an outward normal directed towards the optical axis and at least one of: a cut, at a first tilt angle to the optical axis, that is greater than a second tilt angle of the cut of the coupling portion of the second OCL (Figs. 3 and 4B, and paragraph [0047] fibers farther from the center of the array are cut at steeper angles), or a first NA that is greater than a second NA of the coupling portion of the second OCL.
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the coupling portions of the fibers disclosed by Oeguen, such that the fiber facets are angled towards the optical axis of the array, as taught by Guldimann. When “a curved image field is mapped directly onto a planar focal plane array, the effect of the optical field curvature causes a degradation of the image resolution and image quality of an imaging system” (Guldimann, [0002]). Adopting this design taught by Guldimann would provide a simple, low cost solution for reducing the effects of aberrations (Guldimann, [0005], [0015], [0028]).
Regarding Claim 14: Oeguen, in view of Guldimann, teaches the system of claim 13. Oeguen further discloses the optical subsystem is further configured to: receive, from the outside environment, a second beam generated upon interaction of a second transmitted beam of the plurality of transmitted beams with a second object in the outside environment (Fig. 2, the light beam 122 reflected off the closer object 112 is directed towards the first fiber 116 that is offset from the axis, while the light beam 122 reflected off the farther object 112 is directed towards the second fiber 116 that is centered on the optical axis); and
focus the received second beam at the coupling portion of the second OCL (Fig. 2, transfer device 114 focuses light into the end facet 118 of the optical fiber 116; [0247]);
wherein the light detection subsystem is further configured to:
obtain, via the second OCL, the second beam (Fig. 2, second optical sensor 144 receives light from the second optical fiber 116); and
generate, based on the obtained second beam, a second electronic signal ([0128] the optical sensors comprise photodetectors, and photodetectors generate electrical signals from received light); and wherein the one or more circuits are further configured to determine, based on the second electronic signal, at least one of a velocity of the second object or a distance to the second object (Fig. 2, evaluation device 148 and position evaluation device 152 which determines the distance to the object 112, which is represented by a longitudinal coordinate and can be embodied as software, [0234]).
Regarding Claim 15: Oeguen, in view of Guldimann, teaches the system of claim 13. Guldimann, in this combination, further teaches wherein the coupling portion of the first OCL comprises an end facet of an optical fiber wherein the end facet makes the first tilt angle with the optical axis, and wherein the first tilt angle is determined in view of the first distance (Figs. 3 and 4A and 4B, [0035] “the first ends of the waveguides 111 lie on a curved focal surface”).
Regarding Claim 17: Oeguen, in view of Guldimann, teaches the system of claim 13. In this combination, Guldimann further teaches wherein the coupling portion of the first OCL comprises an opening of a waveguide (Fig. 1, opening of waveguides 111), wherein the end facet of the optical fiber has a curved surface ([0035] and Fig. 1, “The first end, i.e., the front side 12, of the hollow waveguide array 110 is curved so that the first ends of the waveguides 111 lie on a curved focal surface).
Regarding Claim 19: Oeguen discloses a method comprising: outputting to an outside environment, a plurality of transmitted beams through front end optics having an optical axis (Fig. 2 illumination fiber 134 directs light beam 136 to the environment and towards objects 112; [0232] plurality of illumination sources 130 can have different modulation frequencies for distinguishing light beams);
receiving, from the outside environment, a first beam generated upon interaction of a first transmitted beam of the plurality of transmitted beams with a first object in the outside environment (Fig. 2, light 122 reflected off object 112 is received by the measurement head 110);
focusing the received first beam at a coupling portion of a first OCL in a plurality of OCLs (Fig. 2, transfer device 114 that focuses light beams 122 onto the end of the receiving fibers 116, [0247]), wherein the coupling portion of the first OCL in the plurality of OCLs is located at a first distance from the optical axis and the coupling portion of a second OCL in the plurality of OCLs is located at a second distance from the optical axis, wherein the first distance is greater than the second distance (Fig. 2, the bottom optical receiving fiber 116 is offset from the optical axis 120 and the entrance face 118 is also offset from the optical axis 120. The top optical receiving fiber 116 is centered on the optical axis, and the entrance face is also centered on the optical axis 120. The first distance is greater than the second distance because the bottom fiber is offset from the optical axis, while the second fiber has zero offset, making the second distance zero),
providing, via the first OCL, the first light beam to a first light detector (Fig. 2, first optical sensor 142 receives the beam from the first fiber 116 that is offset from the optical axis);
generating, using the first light detector and based on the first beam, a first electronic signal ([0128] the optical sensors comprise photodetectors, and photodetectors generate electrical signals from received light); and determining, based on the first electronic signal, at least one of a velocity of the first object or a distance to the first object (Fig. 2, evaluation device 148 and position evaluation device 152 which determines the distance to the object 112, which is represented by a longitudinal coordinate and can be embodied as software, [0234]).
However, Oeguen does not expressly teach: wherein the coupling portion of the first OCL is characterized by an outward normal directed towards the optical axis and at least one of: a cut, at a first tilt angle to the optical axis, that is greater than a second tilt angle of the cut of the coupling portion of the second OCL, or a first NA that is greater than a second NA of the coupling portion of the second OCL.
Guldimann teaches an imaging system that has a plurality of OCLs where each of the OCLs has a coupling portion that collects a corresponding beam of the plurality of received beams (Figs. 1, 3, and 4), where the system focuses the received beams at the coupling portion of the OCLs ([0047] “focal plane”), wherein the coupling portion of the first OCL is characterized by an outward normal directed towards the optical axis and at least one of: a cut, at a first tilt angle to the optical axis, that is greater than a second tilt angle of the cut of the coupling portion of the second OCL (Figs. 3 and 4B, and paragraph [0047] fibers farther from the center of the array are cut at steeper angles), or a first NA that is greater than a second NA of the coupling portion of the second OCL.
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the coupling portions of the fibers disclosed by Oeguen, such that the fiber facets are angled towards the optical axis of the array, as taught by Guldimann. When “a curved image field is mapped directly onto a planar focal plane array, the effect of the optical field curvature causes a degradation of the image resolution and image quality of an imaging system” (Guldimann, [0002]). Adopting this design taught by Guldimann would provide a simple, low cost solution for reducing the effects of aberrations (Guldimann, [0005], [0015], [0028]).
Regarding Claim 20: Oeguen, in view of Guldimann, teaches the system of claim 19. Oeguen further discloses receiving, from the outside environment, a second beam generated upon interaction of a second transmitted beam of the plurality of transmitted beams with a second object in the outside environment (Fig. 2, the light beam 122 reflected off the closer object 112 is directed towards the first fiber 116 that is offset from the axis, while the light beam 122 reflected off the farther object 112 is directed towards the second fiber 116 that is centered on the optical axis);
focusing the received second beam at the coupling portion of the second OCL (Fig. 2, transfer device 114 focuses light into the end facet 118 of the optical fiber 116; [0247]);
generating, using the second light detector and based on the second beam, a second electronic signal ([0128] the optical sensors comprise photodetectors, and photodetectors generate electrical signals from received light);
determining, based on the second electronic signal, at least one of a velocity of the second object or a distance to the second object (Fig. 2, evaluation device 148 and position evaluation device 152 which determines the distance to the object 112, which is represented by a longitudinal coordinate and can be embodied as software, [0234]).
Regarding Claim 21: Oeguen, in view of Guldimann, teaches the system of claim 19. Oeguen further discloses the coupling portion of the first OCL comprises at least one of an end facet of an optical fiber or an opening of a waveguide (Fig. 2, fiber 116 has entrance face 118).
Claims 3 and 16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Oeguen (US 20210364610 A1), in view of Guldimann (US 20130234009 A1), further in view of Takeuchi (US 20190223706 A1).
Regarding Claim 3: Oeguen, in view of Guldimann, teaches the system of claim 1. Oeguen discloses that the coupling portion of the first OCL comprises an end of an optical fiber (Fig. 2, fiber 116 has entrance face 118). They do not expressly teach wherein the first NA is determined in view of the first distance. However, this combination teaches the limitation of the fiber facets having greater tilt angles the further they are from the optical axis.
Takeuchi teaches an optical fiber arrangement, where fibers having a steeper tilt angle has a larger effective NA, affecting the collection efficiency of these fibers ([0039] – [0042] and equation 1). Takeuchi illustrates this with Figs. 2C and 2E for example, where the fiber in Fig. 2E has a higher tilt angle of 20 degrees, and the fiber in Fig. 2C has a tilt angle of 10 degrees.
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to further modify the fibers in the system taught by Oeguen and Guldimann, to incorporate this teaching of Takeuchi regarding the angle of fibers having an effect on fiber NA. Since the fibers in the system taught by Oeguen and Guldimann have greater tilt angles as distance from optical axis increases, that means the effective NA of fibers farther from the optical axis will be higher. Having a higher or lower NA for controlling the collection efficiency of fibers would be a predictable variation to one ordinarily skilled in the art. See MPEP 2141.III KSR Rationale F.
Regarding Claim 16: Oeguen, in view of Guldimann, teaches the system of claim 13. Oeguen discloses that the coupling portion of the first OCL comprises an end of an optical fiber (Fig. 2, fiber 116 has entrance face 118). They do not expressly teach wherein the first NA is determined in view of the first distance. However, this combination teaches the limitation of the fiber facets having greater tilt angles the further they are from the optical axis.
Takeuchi teaches an optical fiber arrangement, where fibers having a steeper tilt angle has a larger effective NA, affecting the collection efficiency of these fibers ([0039] – [0042] and equation 1). Takeuchi illustrates this with Figs. 2C and 2E for example, where the fiber in Fig. 2E has a higher tilt angle of 20 degrees, and the fiber in Fig. 2C has a tilt angle of 10 degrees.
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to further modify the fibers in the system taught by Oeguen and Guldimann, to incorporate this teaching of Takeuchi regarding the angle of fibers having an effect on fiber NA. Since the fibers in the system taught by Oeguen and Guldimann have greater tilt angles as distance from optical axis increases, that means the effective NA of fibers farther from the optical axis will be higher. Having a higher or lower NA for controlling the collection efficiency of fibers would be a predictable variation to one ordinarily skilled in the art. See MPEP 2141.III KSR Rationale F.
Claim 6 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Oeguen (US 20210364610 A1), in view of Guldimann (US 20130234009 A1), further in view of Bevensee (US 20170243373 A1). Oeguen, in view of Guldimann, teaches the system of claim 1. They do not expressly teach wherein the coupling portion of the first OCL comprises an opening of a tapered waveguide.
However, Bevensee teaches this limitation in Fig. 10, showing a fiber with a taper, and Fig. 22B, showing fiber optic bundles 2250.
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to further modify the optical fibers in the system taught by Oeguen and Guldimann, such that the fibers are tapered, as taught by Bevensee. This can improve light collection efficiency, thereby enhancing sensor performance and system detection capabilities (Bevensee, [0213]).
Claims 7, 8, and 18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Oeguen (US 20210364610 A1), in view of Guldimann (US 20130234009 A1), further in view of Ushiro (US 20050254751 A1).
Regarding Claim 7: Oeguen, in view of Guldimann, teaches the system of claim 1. They do not expressly teach wherein the coupling portion of the first OCL comprises a diffractive optical element configured to direct the corresponding beam of the plurality of received and focused beams towards at least one of a waveguide opening or an end of an optical fiber.
Ushiro teaches this limitation in Fig. 1, with optically diffractive film DF, optical fiber F, and cylindrical collimator C. Furthermore, “if this plurality of beams L1, L2, L3, etc. is shone into the diffractive film DF in the reverse direction, the beams will be united by the diffractive film DF and input into the optical fiber F via the collimator C” (Ushiro, [0050]).
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to further modify the coupling of light into the optical fibers, as taught by Oeguen and Guldimann, by also employing a diffractive film with a collimator as taught by Ushiro. This would be capable of distinguishing between light sources having different colors, which is disclosed by Oeguen in [0049], where they explain that in the embodiment with multiple illumination sources, they may emit light having different color. This would be motivated by the fact that Oeguen, in paragraph [0036] states that the transfer device that partakes in coupling light into the fibers, may comprise at least one diffractive optical element, which is a suggestion in the prior art that would lead one of ordinary skill in the art to make this modification in order to arrive at the claimed invention (MPEP 2141.III KSR Rationale G).
Regarding Claim 8: Oeguen, in view of Guldimann and Ushiro, teaches the system of claim 7. In this current system, Ushiro further teaches wherein the DOE comprises a grating structure having a aspatial orientation that is set in view of a direction from the optical axis to the DOE ([0060] “in a case in which, with the ion beam being diagonally directed onto the DLC layer face, the high refractive-index regions have been formed in the surface of the DLC layer at a slant for example, the incident angle of the optical beam would be adjusted taking the angle of slant into consideration”).
Regarding Claim 18: Oeguen, in view of Guldimann, teaches the sensing system of claim 13. They do not expressly teach wherein the coupling portion of the first OCL comprises a diffractive optical element configured to direct the corresponding beam of the plurality of received and focused beams towards at least one of a waveguide opening or an end of an optical fiber.
Ushiro teaches this limitation in Fig. 1, with optically diffractive film DF, optical fiber F, and cylindrical collimator C. Furthermore, “if this plurality of beams L1, L2, L3, etc. is shone into the diffractive film DF in the reverse direction, the beams will be united by the diffractive film DF and input into the optical fiber F via the collimator C” (Ushiro, [0050]).
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to further modify the coupling of light into the optical fibers, as taught by Oeguen and Guldimann, by also employing a diffractive film with a collimator as taught by Ushiro. This would be capable of distinguishing between light sources having different colors, which is disclosed by Oeguen in [0049], where they explain that in the embodiment with multiple illumination sources, they may emit light having different color. This would be motivated by the fact that Oeguen, in paragraph [0036] states that the transfer device that partakes in coupling light into the fibers, may comprise at least one diffractive optical element, which is a suggestion in the prior art that would lead one of ordinary skill in the art to make this modification in order to arrive at the claimed invention (MPEP 2141.III KSR Rationale G).
Claims 10 and 11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Oeguen (US 20210364610 A1), in view of Guldimann (US 20130234009 A1), further in view of Wood (US 11366203 B1).
Regarding Claim 10: Oeguen, in view of Guldimann, teaches the system of claim 1. They do not teach wherein each of the plurality of light detectors is further configured to receive a local oscillator copy of a beam transmitted to an environment that comprises the object, and wherein to generated the data, a respective light detector is to determine a difference between a phase of the local oscillator copy and a phase of the detected beam.
However, Wood teaches each of the plurality of light detectors is further configured to receive a local oscillator copy of a beam transmitted to an environment that comprises the object (Fig. 12 LO1-4 and Rx1-4 which correspond to paths 30b; Col. 11 lines 26-27, “The sensor 44 is configured to detect returning electromagnetic radiation coherently mixed with a local oscillator”), and wherein to generated the data, a respective light detector is to determine a difference between a phase of the local oscillator copy and a phase of the detected beam (Col. 11 lines 26-33 "The sensor 44 is configured to detect returning electromagnetic radiation coherently mixed with a local oscillator. An output signal is generated by the sensor 44 due to the returning beam 36 received by the multiple receive paths 30b. The output signal may include subsignals, with each of the subsignals depending on the returning beam received by a particular receive path 30 of the plurality of optical paths 30"). Wood also teaches a system having a plurality of OCLs with a plurality of detectors (Fig. 14, receive path 30, specifically return paths 30b, and optical aperture 22).
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the system taught by Oeguen and Guldimann, with the system taught by Wood, such that the system taught by Oeguen and Guldimann is capable of generating data through measuring a phase difference between a local oscillator copy and a detected beam as taught by Wood. This combination would be beneficial because “the circuitry 46 may determine a distance to a target via the returning beam 36 based on the subsignals. Each of the plurality of receive paths 30 may be associated with a distance range and the determined distance may depend on a mathematical combination of the subsignals and the distance range of the associated receive paths that the subsignals correspond with” (Wood, Col. 13 lines 31-38). Furthermore, the coupling portions in the systems taught by Oeguen and Guldimann are beneficial because they ensure that the optical paths of the first and second measurement fibers and the illumination fiber are optically separated by mechanical means in order to avoid internal reflections (Oeguen, [0245]).
Regarding Claim 11: Oeguen, in view of Guldimann, teaches the system of claim 1. They do not teach wherein the plurality of OCLs are located on a photonic integrated circuit.
However, Wood teaches this limitation with Fig. 14 and in Col. 11 line 65 to Col. 12 line 3: “While there are numerous ways to configure the four interferometers necessary for the coherent detection of FIG. 14, the scheme shown is an example that is amenable to fabrication via a Photonic Integrated Circuit (PIC) as it may only use couplers and no circulators.”
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to further modify the system taught by Oeguen and Guldimann such that the OCLs are integrated on a photonic integrated circuit, as taught by Wood. This would be a predictable variation in the system’s architecture and “Known work in one field of endeavor may prompt variations of it for use in either the same field or a different one based on design incentives or other market forces if the variations are predictable to one of ordinary skill in the art” (See MPEP 2141.III KSR Rationale F).
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new grounds 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 ISABELLE LIN BOEGHOLM whose telephone number is (571)270-0570. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Thursday 7:30am-5pm, Fridays 8am-12pm.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Yuqing Xiao can be reached at (571) 270-3603. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/ISABELLE LIN BOEGHOLM/ Examiner, Art Unit 3645
/YUQING XIAO/ Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3645
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