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 .
Claims 1-7, 9-21 are currently pending and examined below.
Response to amendment
This is a final Office action in response to applicant's remarks/arguments filed on 06/23//2026.
Status of the claims:
Claims 1, 10, 18 have been amended.
Applicant’s arguments, see Remarks pages 1-3, filed 06/23//2026, with respect to the rejections of claims 1-7, 9-21 under 103 have been fully considered and are persuasive regarding that Halbritter and Book do not explicitly disclose that the laser diode bar driver and the laser diode bar are disposed on different substrates. Therefore, the rejection has been withdrawn. However, upon further consideration, a new ground(s) of rejection that was on record is made in view of Lin et al. (US 20200285008 A1) necessitated by the claim amendment.
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 1-5, 7, 9, 18-19, 21 rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Halbritter et al. (US 20180088215 A1, “Halbritter”) in view of Book et al. (US 7006203 B1, “Book”) and Lin et al. (US 20200285008 A1, “Lin”).
Regarding claim 1, Halbritter teaches a LiDAR system (Fig. 1, para 40, The measuring system 1 can have properties and features of a LIDAR system or be a LIDAR system, for example. See also, para 100, Measuring system (1) is a Lidar system), comprising:
a light emitter system (Figs. 4-6, 10b, para 43; light unit 12 or LEDs 100) configured to emit light therefrom (Figs. 1A, 6A, para 60) and comprising (a laser diode) bar (Para 21) formed of a plurality of (laser diodes) (Figs. 4-6, 10b, para 43-44 LEDs 100 has a plurality of lighting units 12);
a single laser diode bar driver configured to supply current to the light emitter system (Fig. 10b, para 76 current control unit 16); and
a wire bridge between the laser diode bar driver and the laser diode bar (See fig. 10b, electrical path between the light emitter system 12 having a laser diode bar and a single laser bar driver 16.),
wherein the light emitter system is configured to generate the light as the current passes through the (laser diode) bar (Figs. 1A, 6A para 60-61), and
wherein the laser diode bar driver comprises a single controller and a single current source (Fig. 10b, para 76, a current control unit 16 including a FET switch 17a as well as a current source 17b).
Halbritter fails to explicitly teach
a laser diode,
wherein the laser diode bar is disposed on an active cooling component, and wherein the laser diode bar driver is remote from the active cooling component, and wherein the laser diode bar and active cooling component are thermally remote from the laser diode bar driver so that the laser diode bar is cooled independently from the laser diode bar driver,
wherein the laser diode bar driver and the laser diode bar are on different substrates.
Halbritter fails to explicitly teach a laser diode. However, Halbriter in para 41 and 100 teaches that the measurement system is a Lidar system and can be integrated into an existing lighting source. Since Lidar is a remote sensing technology that uses laser light to measure distances, it would have been obvious that Halbriter’s lidar system uses laser to do detection.
Halbritter also fails to explicitly teach wherein the laser diode bar is disposed on an active cooling component, and wherein the laser diode bar driver is remote from the active cooling component, wherein the laser diode bar and active cooling component are thermally remote from the laser diode bar driver so that the laser diode bar is cooled independently from the laser diode bar driver.
However, Book (col 5: lines 55-59, col 6: lines 7-11) teaches laser diodes 12 and 14 driven by laser diode drivers 38 and 40, and further teaches that there is physically disposed under the laser diodes 12 and 14 a thermoelectric cooler (TEC) 46, wherein the “TEC 46 … [is] used to keep the laser temperatures within their operating range. Fig. 1 of Book further shows the TEC 46 located under the laser diodes, while the laser diode drivers 38 and 40 are separately located from that cooled laser-diode portion. Thus, Book teaches or at least suggests disposing the light-emitter assembly on an active cooling component while the driver circuitry is separately located so that the light-emitter assembly is cooled independently from the driver.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention to modify Halbritter to provide the emitter assembly on an active cooling component as taught by Book in order to keep the emitter temperature within its operating range and improve thermal management of the light-emitting assembly.
Halbritter in view of Book, teaches wherein the wire bridge is configured to physically separate the laser diode bar driver from the active cooling component and the laser bar (Halbritter fig. 10b, electrical path between the light emitter system 12 having a laser diode bar and a single laser bar driver 16 and Book in fig.1 shows the TEC 46 located under the laser diodes, while the laser diode drivers 38 and 40 are separately located from that cooled laser-diode portion so it obvious that the combination teaches the claim limitation).
Halbritter in view of Book, still fails to explicitly teach wherein the laser diode bar driver and the laser diode bar are on different substrates.
However, Lin teaches laser-diode-driver chips 242-1 and 242-2 mounted and supported on a first supporting structure provided by mounting surface 272-2 of ceramic feedthrough device 270. Lin separately teaches laser arrangements 274, including laser diodes, disposed on laser-diode submounts 280-1 and 280-2 and supported on thermoelectric cooler 241. Thus, Lin teaches mounting the laser-diode driver and the laser diode or laser-diode assembly on physically different substrates or submounts. Lin further teaches wire bonds 238 electrically coupling the LDD chips 242-1 and 242-2 to the laser diodes of laser arrangements 274. See Figs. 4B, 6, and 7; para 35- 36 and 39-46.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to further modify Halbritter, as taught by Lin, to mount the laser-diode emitter assembly on a laser-diode submount associated with an active cooling component and to mount the corresponding laser-diode driver on a separate feedthrough substrate, with wire bonds electrically coupling the driver to the emitter assembly. Lin teaches that this arrangement provides separate and distinct thermal-conduction paths for the laser diodes and the driver circuitry, thereby thermally isolating the driver from the laser diodes and permitting the thermoelectric cooler to cool the laser diodes without also cooling the driver. Lin further teaches that positioning the separately mounted driver and laser diodes in close proximity permits relatively short wire-bond connections, thereby reducing impedance mismatch and signal-propagation effects. Accordingly, the modification would have predictably improved thermal management, reduced the cooling load and power consumption of the active cooler, and maintained signal integrity without changing the basic operation of Halbritter’s light-emitter system. See Lin para 15, [0018], 36, 43, and 45- 46; Figs. 4B, 6, and 7.
Regarding claim 2, Halbritter, as modified in view of Book and Lin, teaches the LiDAR system of claim 1, wherein the plurality of laser diodes is electrically connected to each other in series (Halbritter, Fig. 10b, para 75, the LED lighting units 12 are connected in series).
Regarding claim 3, Halbritter, as modified in view of Book and Lin, teaches the LiDAR system of claim 1, wherein each laser diode comprises a stack of layers (Halbritter, Figs.2-5, para 44-45, 52, layers 106, 121-123) disposed on a semiconductor substrate (Halbritter, Figs.2-5, para 46 substrate 101) formed of an insulative material (Halbritter, para 47, additional layers such as buffer layers, barrier layers and/or protective layers can be arranged perpendicular to the growth direction of the semiconductor layer sequence 102 e.g. around the semiconductor layer sequence 102, i.e. on the side surfaces of the semiconductor layer sequence 102, for example.).
Regarding claim 4, Halbritter, as modified in view of Book and Lin, teaches the LiDAR system of claim 3, wherein the stack of layers comprises a first layer formed of an N-type semiconductor material disposed on the semiconductor substrate, a second layer formed of an intrinsic compound semiconductor material disposed on the first layer, a third layer formed of a P-type semiconductor material disposed on the second layer (Halbritter, para 47).
Regarding claim 5, Halbritter, as modified in view of Book and Lin, teaches the LiDAR system of claim 3, wherein a conductive material (Halbritter, para 48, electric contact 105) is disposed on the stack of layers to electrically connect a first laser diode of the plurality of laser diodes in series with a second laser diode of the plurality of laser diodes (Halbritter, fig. 2, fig.10b in combination with para 48 and para 75 “LED lighting units 12 are connected in series”).
Regarding claim 7, Halbritter, as modified in view of Book and Lin, teaches the LiDAR system of claim 1, wherein the laser diode bar driver is connected to the laser diode bar (Halbritter, Fig. 10b, para 76, The cluster 15 is in each case connected in one strand in series with a current control unit 16).
Regarding claim 9, Halbritter, as modified in view of Book and Lin, teaches the LiDAR system of claim 1, wherein operations of the plurality of laser diodes are automatically synchronized in time (Halbritter, para 60-61).
Claims 18-19 are method claims corresponding to system claims 1 and 9. They are rejected for the same reasons.
Regarding claim 21, Halbritter, as modified in view of Book and Lin, fails to explicitly teach the LiDAR system of claim 1, wherein the single current source is 20-50 Amperes.
Halbritter in para 75 teaches “the LED lighting units 12 are connected in series as shown in FIG. 10b, since a current to be switched per cluster 15 can be kept low in this way”. Halbritter in para 27 and 77 also teaches that a current in the strand can be between 0.2 A and 5 A.
One of ordinary skill in the art would know that setting the current source between 20-50 Amperes is a design choice and expected resulted such as reduce peak current values and power consumptions.
Claim 6 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Halbritter in view of Book, Lin and Kudryashov et al. (US 20200099197 A1).
Regarding claim 6, Halbritter, as modified in view of Book and Lin, fails to explicitly teach but Kudryashov teaches the LiDAR system of claim 5, wherein the conductive material connects a P-type semiconductor material of the first laser diode to an N-type semiconductor material of the second laser diode (Para 74 and also the VSCELs are connected in series. As shown in fig. 2B trace 210 electrically connects top contact of laser 204-2 (first laser) to the bottom contact of laser 204-1 (second laser). See also, fig. 1, trace 124 connects top contact of laser 114-2 to bottom contact 114-1).
Halbritter in para 75 teaches the LED lighting units 12 are connected in series (as shown in FIG. 10b). Since the lights are connected in series, it would have been obvious that the P-type semiconductor material of the first laser diode to the N-type semiconductor material of the second laser diode to allow the current to pass from one laser to another.
However, Kudryashov in para 74 teaches the conductive material connects the P-type semiconductor material of the first laser diode to the N-type semiconductor material of the second laser diode.
One of ordinary skill in the art would know that in a connection in series a P-type semiconductor material is connected to a N-type semiconductor material or vice versa and the way (order) the lights are connected is just a design choice.
Claims 10-14, 16-17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Halbritter in view of Zhu et al. (US 10983197 B1) and Book and Lin.
Regarding claim 10, Halbritter teaches a system, comprising:
a LiDAR system configured to generate LiDAR data sets (Figs. 1A, 6A and 9, para 40-41. See also, para 18), the LiDAR system (Fig. 1, para 40, The measuring system 1 can have properties and features of a LIDAR system or be a LIDAR system, for example.) comprising:
a single laser diode bar driver (Fig. 10b, para 76 current control unit 16) configured to supply current to a light emitter system;
the light emitter system (Figs. 4-6, 10b, para 43; light unit 12 or LEDs 100) comprising (a laser diode) bar formed of a plurality of laser diodes (Figs. 4-6, 10b, para 43-44 LEDs 100 has a plurality of lighting units 12),
wherein the light emitter system is configured to generate light when the current passes through the (laser diode) bar (Figs. 1A, 6A para 60-61);
a wire bridge between the laser diode bar driver and the laser diode bar (See fig. 10b, electrical path between the light emitter system 12 having a laser diode bar ad a single laser bar driver 16.), and
a computing device (Para 40 evaluation unit),
wherein the laser diode bar driver comprises a single controller and a single current source (Fig. 10b, para 76, a current control unit 16 including a FET switch 17a as well as a current source 17b).
Halbritter fails to explicitly teach
a laser diode,
a computing device configured to issue a command that causes a vehicle to perform operations based on the LiDAR data sets,
wherein the laser diode bar is disposed on an active cooling component, and wherein the laser diode bar driver is remote from the active cooling component, and wherein the laser diode bar and active cooling component are thermally remote from the laser diode bar driver so that the laser diode bar is cooled independently from the laser diode bar driver,
wherein the laser diode bar driver and the laser diode bar are on different substrates.
Halbritter fails to explicitly teach a laser diode. However, Halbriter in para 41 and 100 teaches that the measurement system is a Lidar system and can be integrated into an existing lighting source. Since Lidar is a remote sensing technology that uses laser light to measure distances, it would have been obvious that Halbriter’s lidar system uses laser to do detection.
Halbritter also fails to explicitly teach a computing device configured to issue a command that causes a vehicle to perform operations based on the LiDAR data sets (Col 27: line 63 to col 28: line 7. See also, col 27: lines 47-62).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify Halbritter, in view of Zhu, to have a computer device that allows to control the vehicle. Doing so will improve driving safety.
Halbritter, in view of Zhu, fails to explicitly teach wherein the laser diode bar is disposed on an active cooling component, and wherein the laser diode bar driver is remote from the active cooling component, and wherein the laser diode bar and active cooling component are thermally remote from the laser diode bar driver so that the laser diode bar is cooled independently from the laser diode bar driver.
However, Book (col 5: lines 55-59, col 6: lines 7-11) teaches laser diodes 12 and 14 driven by laser diode drivers 38 and 40, and further teaches that there is physically disposed under the laser diodes 12 and 14 a thermoelectric cooler (TEC) 46, wherein the “TEC 46 … [is] used to keep the laser temperatures within their operating range. Fig. 1 of Book further shows the TEC 46 located under the laser diodes, while the laser diode drivers 38 and 40 are separately located from that cooled laser-diode portion. Thus, Book teaches or at least suggests disposing the light-emitter assembly on an active cooling component while the driver circuitry is separately located so that the light-emitter assembly is cooled independently from the driver.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention to modify Halbritter to provide the emitter assembly on an active cooling component as taught by Book in order to keep the emitter temperature within its operating range and improve thermal management of the light-emitting assembly.
Halbritter in view of Zhu and Book, teaches wherein the wire bridge is configured to physically separate the laser diode bar driver from the active cooling component (Halbritter fig. 10b, electrical path between the light emitter system 12 having a laser diode bar and a single laser bar driver 16 and Book in fig.1 shows the TEC 46 located under the laser diodes, while the laser diode drivers 38 and 40 are separately located from that cooled laser-diode portion so it obvious that the combination teaches the claim limitation).
Halbritter in view of Zhu and Book, still fails to explicitly teach wherein the laser diode bar driver and the laser diode bar are on different substrates.
However, Lin teaches laser-diode-driver chips 242-1 and 242-2 mounted and supported on a first supporting structure provided by mounting surface 272-2 of ceramic feedthrough device 270. Lin separately teaches laser arrangements 274, including laser diodes, disposed on laser-diode submounts 280-1 and 280-2 and supported on thermoelectric cooler 241. Thus, Lin teaches mounting the laser-diode driver and the laser diode or laser-diode assembly on physically different substrates or submounts. Lin further teaches wire bonds 238 electrically coupling the LDD chips 242-1 and 242-2 to the laser diodes of laser arrangements 274. See Figs. 4B, 6, and 7; para 35- 36 and 39-46.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to further modify Halbritter, as taught by Lin, to mount the laser-diode emitter assembly on a laser-diode submount associated with an active cooling component and to mount the corresponding laser-diode driver on a separate feedthrough substrate, with wire bonds electrically coupling the driver to the emitter assembly. Lin teaches that this arrangement provides separate and distinct thermal-conduction paths for the laser diodes and the driver circuitry, thereby thermally isolating the driver from the laser diodes and permitting the thermoelectric cooler to cool the laser diodes without also cooling the driver. Lin further teaches that positioning the separately mounted driver and laser diodes in close proximity permits relatively short wire-bond connections, thereby reducing impedance mismatch and signal-propagation effects. Accordingly, the modification would have predictably improved thermal management, reduced the cooling load and power consumption of the active cooler, and maintained signal integrity without changing the basic operation of Halbritter’s light-emitter system. See Lin para 15, [0018], 36, 43, and 45- 46; Figs. 4B, 6, and 7.
Regarding claim 11, Halbritter, as modified in view of Zhu, Book and Lin, teaches the system of claim 10, wherein the plurality of laser diodes is connected to each other in series (Halbritter, Fig. 10b, para 75, the LED lighting units 12 are connected in series).
Regarding claim 12, Halbritter, as modified in view of Zhu, Book and Lin, teaches the system of claim 10, wherein each laser diode comprises a stack of layers (Halbritter, Figs.2-5, para 44-45, 52, layers 106, 121-123) disposed on a semiconductor substrate formed of an insulative material (Halbritter, para 47, additional layers such as buffer layers, barrier layers and/or protective layers can be arranged perpendicular to the growth direction of the semiconductor layer sequence 102 e.g. around the semiconductor layer sequence 102, i.e. on the side surfaces of the semiconductor layer sequence 102, for example.).
Regarding claim 13, Halbritter, as modified in view of Zhu, Book and Lin, teaches the system of claim 12, wherein the stack of layers comprises a first layer formed of an N-type semiconductor material disposed on the semiconductor substrate, a second layer formed of an intrinsic compound semiconductor material disposed on the first layer, a third layer formed of a P-type semiconductor material disposed on the second layer (Halbritter, para 47).
Regarding claim 14, Halbritter, as modified in view of Zhu, Book and Lin, teaches the system of claim 10, wherein a conductive material para 48, electric contact 105) is disposed on a stack of layers to electrically connect a first laser diode of the plurality of laser diodes in series with a second laser diode of the plurality of laser diodes (Halbritter, fig. 2, fig.10b in combination with para 48 and para 75 “LED lighting units 12 are connected in series”).
Regarding claim 16, Halbritter, as modified in view of Zhu, Book and Lin, teaches the teaches the system of claim 10, wherein the driver circuit is connected to the laser diode bar (Halbritter, Fig. 10b, para 76, The cluster 15 is in each case connected in one strand in series with a current control unit 16).
Regarding claim 17, Halbritter, as modified in view of Zhu, Book and Lin, teaches the teaches the system of claim 10, wherein operations of the plurality of laser diodes are automatically synchronized in time (Halbritter, para 60-61).
Claim 15 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Halbritter in view of Zhu, Book, Lin and Kudryashov et al. (US 20200099197 A1).
Regarding claim 15, Halbritter, as modified in view of Zhu, Book and Lin, fails to explicitly teach but Kudryashov, teaches the system of claim 14, wherein the conductive material connects a P-type semiconductor material of the first laser diode to a N-type semiconductor material of the second laser diode (Kudryashov, Para 74 and also the VSCELs are connected in series. As shown in fig. 2B trace 210 electrically connects top contact of laser 204-2 (first laser) to the bottom contact of laser 204-1 (second laser). See also, fig. 1, trace 124 connects top contact of laser 114-2 to bottom contact 114-1).
Halbritter in para 75 teaches the LED lighting units 12 are connected in series (as shown in FIG. 10b). Since the lights are connected in series, it would have been obvious that the P-type semiconductor material of the first laser diode to the N-type semiconductor material of the second laser diode to allow the current to pass from one laser than another.
However, Kudryashov in para 74 teaches the conductive material connects the P-type semiconductor material of the first laser diode to the N-type semiconductor material of the second laser diode.
One of ordinary skill in the art would know that in a connection in series a P-type semiconductor material is connected to a N-type semiconductor material or vice versa and the way (order) the lights are connected is just a design choice.
Claim 20 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Halbritter in view of Book, Lin and Stigwall et al. (US 20170123053 A1).
Regarding claim 20, Halbritter, as modified in view of Book and Lin, fails to explicitly teach the method according to claim 18, wherein the light beam has a beam divergence less than or equal to one degree in a first direction and a beam divergence greater than or equal to ten degrees in a second different direction.
However, Stigwall in para 47 and 107 teaches a beam divergence in first direction is different than a beam divergence in a second direction. In our case the second direction Stigwall will be our first direction and first direction in Stigwall will be our second so the beam is the first direction will be smaller the second.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify Halbritter, in view of Stigwall to have a beam divergence in first direction different than the one in second direction. The degree of the beam divergence is a design choice and expected results such as better resolution in area of interest.
Conclusion
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 extension fee 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 date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JEMPSON NOEL whose telephone number is (571) 272-3376. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday-Friday 8:00-5:00.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Yuqing Xiao can be reached on (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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/JEMPSON NOEL/Examiner, Art Unit 3645
/YUQING XIAO/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3645
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