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 .
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
Response to Amendment
The following addresses applicant’s remarks/amendments dated 5th March, 2026.
Claims 1, 11 and 12 were amended; Claims 8-10 were cancelled; no new claims were added; therefore, claims 1-6 and 11-20 are pending in current application and are addressed below.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 5th March, 2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive. Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim 1 have been considered but are moot because the arguments do not apply to the specific combination of the references being used in the current rejection.
In response to applicant’s argument that references fail to show certain features of applicant’s invention, it is noted that features upon which applicant relies (i.e., “all the transmitting modules….direction of the rotating axis”) are not recited in the rejected claims. Although the claims are interpreted in light of the specification, limitations from the specification are not read into the claims. See In re Van Geuns, 988 F.2d 1181, 26 USPQ2d 1057 (Fed. Cir. 1993). [[Here, Applicant argues that Slobodyanyuk fails to disclose, teach or suggest the emphasized limitation “all the transmitting modules are arranged …..from the rotating mechanism”.]] However, these claim limitations were not present in the original independent claims and were presented by amendment on 5th March, 2026. Therefore, the issue of whether Pacala, Crawford, Slobodyanyuk, Villeneuve and Venugopalan addresses these limitations are not relevant. These amended claims containing new limitations have been addressed by Lee in the present Office Action.
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) 1-6, 14-15 and 18-19 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Pacala et al. (US 20190179028 A1, hereinafter “Pacala”), modified in view of Crawford et al. (US 20130070239 A1, hereinafter “Crawford”), in view of Lee et al. ( US 20190146504 A1, hereinafter “Lee”).
Regarding claim 1, Pacala teaches a laser radar, comprising at least one transmitting module and at least one receiving module, and the at least one transmitting module corresponding to the at least one receiving module one by one (Pacala; Fig. 1A, Fig. 9A-9B, [0167], light ranging device 900 (can correspond to embodiments described in reference to Figs. 1-6) includes two main modules: a light transmission module (Tx) 910 (102 in Fig. 1A) and light sensing module (Rx) 920 (104 in Fig. 1A) spaced apart from each other within a common housing);
wherein the at least one transmitting module is configured to transmit a laser beam to a target area (Pacala; Fig. 1A, Fig. 9A-9B, [0078], light transmission module 102/910 (light source for emitting laser pulse around one or more FOV 110 [0075])), each receiving module is configured to receive an echo beam of the laser beam emitted by one corresponding transmitting module and reflected by the target area (Pacala; Fig. 1A, Fig. 9A-9B, [0078], light sensing module 104/920 (including detector circuitry for detecting reflected pulses to determine distance to an object)), each transmitting module comprises at least one transmitter, each receiving module comprises at least two receivers, and each transmitter of the at least one transmitting module corresponds to the at least two receivers of one corresponding receiving module (Pacala; Figs. 9-12, [0171], Light ranging device 1000 includes a light transmission Tx 1010 (similar to Tx 910) and light sensing Rx 1040 (similar to Rx 920); Fig. 12A-12B, [0192], photosensor array layer 1200 includes 2D array sensor channels 1210 (each sensor channel 1210 can be formed from a group array of individual SPADs 1212 cooperating together to act as a single pixel [0193])).
in each receiving module, the at least two receivers are arranged in an array to form a receiver array (Pacala; same as above);
the laser beam emitted by the at least one transmitting module forms a light spot in the target area (Pacala; Fig. 1A, Fig. 9A-9B, [0078], light transmission module 102/910 (light source for emitting laser pulse around one or more FOV 110 [0075]) and light sensing module 104/920 (including detector circuitry for detecting reflected pulses to determine distance to an object); this implies laser beam forms a light spot in the target area); and
wherein the laser radar further comprises a rotating mechanism; the at least one transmitting module and the at least one receiving module are fixedly connected to the rotating mechanism; and the rotating mechanism is configured to drive the at least one transmitting module and the at least one receiving module to rotate around a rotating axis of the rotating mechanism (Pacala; Fig. 9A-9B, [0167], light ranging device 900 can correspond to embodiments described above in reference to Figs. 1-6; Figs. 5A-5B, [0115], show a rotating LIDAR system 500 that employs a 360 scanning architecture; [0119]-[0120], rotating LIDAR system 500 includes a light ranging device 510 (includes an optical transmitter 512 and an optical receiver 514 mounted within a housing 515) is mechanically connected in a fixed relationship to a printed circuit board 522 that forms the rotating end of stacked board rotary actuator 520);
Pacala does not teach,
a shape of the receiver array is the same as a shape of the light spot.
the at least one transmitting module comprises a plurality of transmitting modules, all the transmitting modules are arranged in a second direction, any two neighbouring transmitting modules are attached to each other, one outermost transmitting module is attached to the rotating mechanism, the remaining transmitting modules are each spaced at a predetermined distance from the rotating mechanism, and the second direction is parallel to an extension direction of the rotating axis.
Crawford teaches, a shape of the receiver array is the same as a shape of the light spot (Crawford; Fig. 5A, 5B, [0306], a segmented multi-element detector 502 having 4 quadrants/segments A, B, C, and D (equivalent to receiver array); Fig. 5A, [0306]-[0307], light spot 506, quadrants detector 502. Clearly shows the shape of the receiver array is the same shape of the light spot; [0249], the detector may be implemented using avalanche photodiode (APD) quadrant detectors or PIN quadrant detectors).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filling date of this invention to modify the laser radar taught by Pacala to include a shape of the receiver array is the same as a shape of the light spot taught by Crawford with a reasonable expectation of success. The reasoning for this is using a quadrant detector to measure the intensity of the reflected laser light at four corners to provide directional information to a target by means of splitting a focused light spot reflected off of a target between four quadrants of a multi-sector photodetector. The distribution of light between the four quadrants of the photodetector provides an indication of how far “off-center” the detector is aimed (Crawford; [0005], [0027], [0055], [0306]). Furthermore, Crawford also disclosed in paragraph [0289], the distance from the tracker to the target, referred to as “range” is generally not necessary to measure, but in some embodiments may also be determined.
However, Pacala modified in view of Crawford, still not teach,
the at least one transmitting module comprises a plurality of transmitting modules, all the transmitting modules are arranged in a second direction, any two neighbouring transmitting modules are attached to each other, one outermost transmitting module is attached to the rotating mechanism, the remaining transmitting modules are each spaced at a predetermined distance from the rotating mechanism, and the second direction is parallel to an extension direction of the rotating axis.
Lee disclosed in Fig. 11, paragraph [0161]-[0163], an obstacle sensing part 140 includes a plurality of light emitters 141-1, 141-2 and 141-3 and a plurality of light receivers 143-1, 143-2 and 143-3 arranged to be parallel with each other on the upper surface of the support plate 145; Further, light emitter 141-1 and light receiver 143-1 will be referred to as first optical module M1; similarly, light emitter 141-2 and light receiver 143-2 will be referred to as second optical module M2; light emitter 142-3 and light receiver 143-3 will be referred to as third optical module M3; [0165]-[0166], the first to third optical modules M1 to M3 may be disposed side by side on the edge of the support plate 145 (equivalent to rotating mechanism) and operates to rotate the support plate 145 (by rotary drive unit 147) clockwise or counterclockwise, to collect information about obstacles O existing in the first to the third direction D1 to D3; [0167], meanwhile, the first to third optical modules M1 to M3 may be vertically stacked on the support plate 145 as shown in Fig. 12. Clearly seen, the optical module M1 to M3 is vertically stacked one by one and fixed connected to the support plate 145 which can be rotated using rotary drive unit 147. The outermost optical module M1 is attached to the support plate 145. The remaining optical module M2 and M3 are each spaced at a predetermined distance from the support plate 145. The stack of the optical module is similarly to Fig. 8, Fig. 9, [0147]-[0150], (Fig. 8, Fig. 9 only includes one light emitter and plurality of light receivers. But as expected the stack of the optical module M1 to M3 in Fig. 11 (each formed by one light emitter and one light receiver) will follow the same way of the stack of light emitter and light receiver in Fig. 8, Fig. 9) in the second direction which is parallel to an extension direction of the rotating axis C (Fig. 9).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filling date of this invention to modify the laser radar taught by Pacala to include a shape of the receiver array is the same as a shape of the light spot taught by Crawford, include vertical stack of plurality of light emitters and light receivers on the rotating mechanism taught by Lee with a reasonable expectation of success. The reasoning for this is vertically stack a plurality of transmitting modules on top of the rotating mechanism one by one, predictably to expand/realize the vertical scanning FOV while rotate the rotating mechanism to expand/realize the horizontal scanning FOV.
Regarding claim 2, Pacala teaches the laser radar recited in claim 1,
the laser radar further comprises a data processing module; the data processing module is electrically connected to the sampling unit, and is configured to process the sampling signal to generate point cloud data (Pacala; [0114], the range data collected from the scanning system, e.g., can then be further processed into one or more depth images or 3D point clouds and can be further processed into map tiles for use in 3D mapping and navigation applications).
Pacala does not teach,
wherein the at least two receivers each comprise a photoelectric conversion unit, an amplification unit, and a sampling unit;
the amplification unit is electrically connected to the photoelectric conversion unit and the sampling unit;
the photoelectric conversion unit is configured to convert the received echo beam into an electric signal; the amplification unit is configured to amplify the electric signal; the sampling unit is configured to sample the electric signal amplified by the amplification unit to generate a sampling signal; and
Crawford teaches,
wherein the at least two receivers each comprise a photoelectric conversion unit, an amplification unit, and a sampling unit (Crawford; Fig. 4, [0232], illustrates exemplary electronics for the target tracking receiver (SPOTTER) 210. Generally, a hermetic shielded package houses the quadrant detector (ABCD) (avalanche photodiode (APD) or PIN photodiode [0249]) and associated electronics (low noise amplifier [0233]; post amplifiers [0255]; summing amplifier [0256]; A-D converters, programmable gate array [0258], circuit detailed in [0254]-[0259]));
the amplification unit is electrically connected to the photoelectric conversion unit and the sampling unit (Crawford; Fig. 4, [0233], each quadrant of the photodetector feeds a low noise amplifier), sampling (Crawford; Fig. 4, [0258], the laser detect is sent to the programmable gate array that triggers simultaneous sampling of four A-D converters));
the photoelectric conversion unit is configured to convert the received echo beam into an electric signal (Crawford; Fig. 4-5, [0391], the quadrant photodetector (502, with A, B, C, D quadrant receivers) PIN or APD convert the light photons into electrical current); the amplification unit is configured to amplify the electric signal (Crawford; [0254], low noise transimpedance amplifiers are used to convert the photocurrents into a voltage pulse. [0255], the post amplifiers are optimized for large signal swings and provide a second gain-switched stage to give a total of four overlapping gain stages); the sampling unit is configured to sample the electric signal amplified by the amplification unit to generate a sampling signal (Crawford; Fig. 4, [0258], the laser detect is sent to the programmable gate array that triggers simultaneous sampling of four A-D converters));
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filling date of this invention to modify the laser radar taught by Pacala to include a shape of the receiver array is the same as a shape of the light spot and wherein the at least two receivers each comprise a photoelectric conversion unit, an amplification unit, and a sampling unit taught by Crawford, include vertical stack of plurality of light emitters and light receivers on the rotating mechanism taught by Lee with a reasonable expectation of success. The reasoning for this is to using analog electronics including preamplifier/post amplifier, peak detection, peak sample-and-hold, A-D measurement to process the reflected signal detected by the detector for further usage (Crawford; Fig. 4, [0232]-[0237], [0253]-[0258]).
Regarding claim 3, Pacala teaches the laser radar recited in claim 2, wherein the photoelectric conversion unit comprises an avalanche photodiode (Pacala; [0100], light sensing module 330 can include a sensor array and a receiver (Rx) optical system. Sensor array 332 can be SPADs or APD).
Regarding claim 4, Pacala teaches the laser radar recited in claim 2.
Pacala does not teach, wherein the amplification unit comprises a trans-impedance amplifier and a secondary amplifier; the trans-impedance amplifier is electrically connected to the photoelectric conversion unit and the secondary amplifier; and the secondary amplifier is electrically connected to the sampling unit.
Crawford teaches,
wherein the amplification unit comprises a trans-impedance amplifier and a secondary amplifier (Crawford; [0254], low noise transimpedance amplifiers; [0255], post amplifiers; [0256], summing amplifier); the trans-impedance amplifier is electrically connected to the photoelectric conversion unit and the secondary amplifier (Crawford; Fig. 4, [0254], low noise transimpedance amplifiers are used to convert the photocurrents into a voltage pulse; [0255], the post amplifiers are optimized for large signal swings and provide a second gain-switched stage to give a total of four overlapping gain stages; [0256], the four channel are combined in a summing amplifier; This implies the transimpedance amplifier is connected to the photoelectric conversion unit and then connected to following/secondary amplifiers); and the secondary amplifier is electrically connected to the sampling unit (Crawford; [0255], the post-amplifiers are optimized for large signal swings and provide a second gain-switched stage to give a total of four overlapping gain stages; [0256], the four channel are combined in a summing amplifier; [0148], the laser detect is then sent to the programmable gate array that triggers simultaneous sampling of four A-D converters; This implies the secondary amplifier is electrically connected to the sampling unit).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filling date of this invention to modify the laser radar taught by Pacala to include a shape of the receiver array is the same as a shape of the light spot; wherein the at least two receivers each comprise a photoelectric conversion unit, an amplification unit, and a sampling unit; wherein the amplification unit comprises a trans- Page 2 of 10 impedance amplifier and a secondary amplifier; the trans-impedance amplifier is electrically connected to the photoelectric conversion unit and the secondary amplifier; and the secondary amplifier is electrically connected to the sampling unit taught by Crawford, include vertical stack of plurality of light emitters and light receivers on the rotating mechanism taught by Lee with a reasonable expectation of success. The reasoning for this is to using analog electronics including preamplifier/post amplifier, peak detection, peak sample-and-hold, A-D measurement to process the reflected signal detected by the detector for further usage (Crawford; Fig. 4, [0232]-[0237], [0253]-[0258]).
Regarding claim 5, Pacala teaches the laser radar recited in claim 2, the photoelectric conversion unit comprises an single photon avalanche diode or a PIN photodiode (Pacala; [0100], light sensing module 330 can include a sensor array and a receiver (Rx) optical system. Sensor array 332 can be SPADs or APD; Crawford; [0249], the detector may be implemented using avalanche photodiode (APD) quadrant detectors).
Pacala does not teach, wherein the sampling unit comprises an analog-to-digital converter.
Crawford teaches, wherein the sampling unit comprises an analog-to-digital converter (Crawford; Fig. 4A, [0258], the laser detector is sent to the programmable gate array that triggers simultaneous sampling of four A-D converters. Each converter measures the close-to-peak value of the laser pulse in its channel and output a digital word representing this value, then sent to the programmable gate array), and
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filling date of this invention to modify the laser radar taught by Pacala to include a shape of the receiver array is the same as a shape of the light spot; wherein the at least two receivers each comprise a photoelectric conversion unit, an amplification unit, and a sampling unit; wherein the sampling unit comprises an analog-to-digital converter taught by Crawford, include vertical stack of plurality of light emitters and light receivers on the rotating mechanism taught by Lee with a reasonable expectation of success. The reasoning for this is the laser detector is sent to the programmable gate array that triggers simultaneous sampling of four A-D converters. Each converter measures the close-to-peak value of the laser pulse in its channel and output a digital word representing this value, then sent to the programmable gate array for further processing (Crawford; [0258]).
Regarding claim 6, Pacala teaches the laser radar recited in claim 2, wherein the at least two receivers each comprise a filter circuit configured to filter the electric signal (Pacala; [0026], and optical receiver comprising a bulk receiver lens system, a lens housing and a plurality of micro-optic receiver channels, each micro-optic channel including an aperture coincident with a focal plane of the bulk receiver optic, a collimating lens behind the aperture, an optical filter behind the collimating lens and a photosensor responsive to include photons passed through the aperture into the collimating lens and through the filter; [0176], [0178], the Rx-side includes a narrow band optical filter layer 1028 which can be chosen to correspond with the center wavelength of the emitters and the width of the pass band can be wide enough to accommodate any variation in the output wavelength across the emitter array).
Regarding claim 14, Pacala teaches the laser radar recited in claim 1, further comprising a controller, the controller electrically connected to the at least one transmitting module and configured to control the at least one transmitting module to transmit the laser beam in a fixed transmitting cycle (Pacala; Figs. 9A-9B, [0066], the base controller of the LIDAR system that can control various emission parameters of the light transmission module can be mounted on a board of the base circuit board assembly of the rotary actuator. Communication between the base controller and the light ranging module and vice versa can be enabled by way of an optical uplink channel and an optical downlink channel where the electrical and optical components that support the optical uplink/downlink channels are also integrated onto one or more circuit boards of the rotary actuator; [0168], both Rx module 920 and Tx module 910 are backed by circuit boards 926 and 916 that include additional supporting circuitry for the light ranging device; [0169], the FPGA can be located on one or more boards of the upper board assembly of the rotary actuator includes the rotor half of brushless motor, the receive side of a rotary transformer power link, the receive side of a rotary optical uplink and the transmit side of a rotary optical downlink (referred as turret assembly of the LIDAR system). The turret assembly can spin at a frequency of 1Hz to 30Hz taking range measurement at fixed angular intervals).
Regarding claim 15, Pacala teaches the laser radar recited in claim 1, further comprising a transmitting lens and a receiving lens; the transmitting lens positioned on a propagation path of the laser beam and configured to collimate and transmit the laser beam to the target area (Pacala; Fig. 10, [0170]-[0171], light ranging device 1000 includes a light transmission (Tx) module 1010 and a light sensing (Rx) module 1040 which both can include fewer, more or different optical components; [0175], Tx-side bulk imaging optics module 1030 with each collimated bundle of rays exiting the Tx-side bulk imaging optics module 1030 at a different angle); and the receiving lens positioned on a propagation path of the echo beam and configured to collimate and transmit the echo beam to the at least one receiving module (Pacala; [0176], the focused light then is captured by the micro-lenses of the Rx-side micro-optics lens layer 1054 and directed to a sensor array 1052 in a collimated fashion).
Regarding claim 18, Pacala teaches the laser radar recited in claim 1.
Pacala does not teach, wherein each receiving module comprises four receivers, the four receivers are configured to receive the laser beam transmitted by one corresponding transmitting module simultaneously, such that four signals are generated by the four receivers and are processed independently.
Crawford teaches, wherein each receiving module comprises four receivers, the four receivers are configured to receive the laser beam transmitted by one corresponding transmitting module simultaneously, such that four signals are generated by the four receivers and are processed independently (Crawford; Fig. 5A, 5B, [0306], a segmented multi-element detector 502 having 4 quadrants/segments A, B, C and D (equivalent to receiver array); Fig. 4, [0233], each quadrant of the photodetector feeds a low noise amplifier; [0234], a post amplifier may also have switched gain to provide maximum amplification for weak signals and less gain for strong signals, interlaced with the preamplifier gain to provide four gain ranges; [0237] Summing the signals from each of the four channels creates a sum channel. Each quadrant channel and the sum channel have a separate noise detector to measure the noise independently; this implies four signals generated by the four receivers are processed independently).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filling date of this invention to modify the laser radar taught by Pacala to include a shape of the receiver array is the same as a shape of the light spot; wherein each receiving module comprises four receivers, the four receivers are configured to receive the laser beam transmitted by one corresponding transmitting module simultaneously, such that four signals are generated by the four receivers and are processed independently taught by Crawford, include vertical stack of plurality of light emitters and light receivers on the rotating mechanism taught by Lee with a reasonable expectation of success. The reasoning for is using a quadrant detector to measure the intensity of the reflected laser light at four corners to provide directional information to a target by means of splitting a focused light spot reflected off of a target between four quadrants of a multi-sector photodetector. The distribution of light between the four quadrants of the photodetector provides an indication of how far “off-center” the detector is aimed (Crawford; [0005], [0027], [0055], [0306]). Therefore, individually processed the generated signal for each receiver is expected (Crawford; [0233]-[0237]).
Regarding claim 19, Pacala as modified above teaches the laser radar as recited in claim 18.
Pacala does not teach, wherein the four receivers form a circular receiver array.
Crawford teaches, wherein the four receivers form a circular receiver array (Crawford; Fig. 5A, 5B, [0306], a segmented multi-element detector 502 having 4 quadrants/segments A, B, C and D; the shape of the quadrants detector 502 is a circular receiver array).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filling date of this invention to modify the laser radar taught by Pacala to include a shape of the receiver array is the same as a shape of the light spot; wherein each receiving module comprises four receivers, the four receivers are configured to receive the laser beam transmitted by one corresponding transmitting module simultaneously, such that four signals are generated by the four receivers and are processed independently; wherein the four receivers form a circular receiver array taught by Crawford, include vertical stack of plurality of light emitters and light receivers on the rotating mechanism taught by Lee with a reasonable expectation of success. The reasoning for is using a quadrant detector to measure the intensity of the reflected laser light at four corners to provide directional information to a target by means of splitting a focused light spot reflected off of a target between four quadrants of a multi-sector photodetector. The distribution of light between the four quadrants of the photodetector provides an indication of how far “off-center” the detector is aimed (Crawford; [0005], [0027], [0055], [0306]).
Claim(s) 11-12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Pacala, modified in view of Crawford, in view of Lee, in view of Slobodyanyuk et al. (US 20180059221 A1, hereinafter “Slobodyanyuk”).
Regarding claim 11, Pacala as modified above teaches the laser radar as recited in claim 10.
Pacala does not teach, wherein the beam divergence angle of the laser beam emitted by the at least one transmitting module is greater than or equal to a resolution of the laser radar in the second direction.
Slobodyanyuk teaches, wherein the beam divergence angle of the laser beam emitted by the at least one transmitting module is greater than or equal to a resolution of the laser radar in the second direction (Slobodyanyuk; Fig. 2, [0034], laser 1 to laser n were arranged in vertical direction (parallel to the rotating axis) and chosen the beam width and the tilting angle in a way so as to allow overlapping between adjacent beams such that there are no gaps in the vertical coverage).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filling date of this invention to modify the laser radar taught by Pacala to include a shape of the receiver array is the same as a shape of the light spot taught by Crawford, include vertical stack of plurality of light emitters and light receivers on the rotating mechanism taught by Lee, and include wherein the laser radar comprises a plurality of transmitting modules arranged in a second direction, and the second direction is parallel to an extension direction of the rotating axis and wherein the beam divergence angle of the laser beam emitted by the at least one transmitting module is greater than or equal to a resolution of the laser radar in the second direction taught by Slobodyanyuk with a reasonable expectation of success. The reasoning for introducing wherein the beam divergence angle of the laser beam emitted by the at least one transmitting module is greater than or equal to a resolution of the laser radar in the second direction in a way so as to allow overlapping between adjacent beams such that there are no gaps in the vertical coverage and use multiple sets of lasers/detectors with a 2D scanning mechanism such that the overall system can scan in a plurality of different planes to achieve a 3-D scanning of the environment (Slobodyanyuk; [0032], [0034]).
Regarding claim 12, Pacala as modified above teaches the laser radar as recited in claim 10.
Pacala does not teach, wherein the laser beam emitted by each transmitting module covers a scanning range, and scanning ranges of two neighboring transmitting modules are different and overlapping with each other.
Slobodyanyuk teaches, wherein the laser beam emitted by each transmitting module covers a scanning range, and scanning ranges of two neighboring transmitting modules are different and overlapping with each other (Slobodyanyuk; Fig. 2, [0034], laser 1 to laser n were arrange in vertical direction (parallel to the rotating axis) and chosen the beam width and the tilting angle in a way so as to allow overlapping between adjacent beams (each beams has different scanning range 230, 232, 124, 236 and 238) such that there are no gaps in the vertical coverage).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filling date of this invention to modify the laser radar taught by Pacala to include a shape of the receiver array is the same as a shape of the light spot taught by Crawford, include vertical stack of plurality of light emitters and light receivers on the rotating mechanism taught by Lee and include wherein the laser radar comprises a plurality of transmitting modules arranged in a second direction, and the second direction is parallel to an extension direction of the rotating axis and wherein the laser beam emitted by each transmitting module covers a scanning range, and scanning ranges of two neighboring transmitting modules are different and overlapping with each other taught by Slobodyanyuk with a reasonable expectation of success. The reasoning for introducing wherein the laser beam emitted by each transmitting module covers a scanning range, and scanning ranges of two neighboring transmitting modules are different and overlapping with each other in a way so as to allow overlapping between adjacent beams such that there are no gaps in the vertical coverage and use multiple sets of lasers/detectors (each beams has different scanning range 230, 232, 124, 236 and 238) with a 2D scanning mechanism such that the overall system can scan in a plurality of different planes to achieve a 3-D scanning of the environment (Slobodyanyuk; [0032], [0034]).
Claim(s) 13 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Pacala, modified in view of Crawford, in view of Lee, in view of Slobodyanyuk, in view of Schnitzer et al. (US 20210181315 A1, hereinafter “Schnitzer”).
Regarding claim 13, Pacala as modified above teaches the laser radar as recited in claim 12, wherein each transmitting module is configured to emit the laser beam in a fixed transmitting cycle (Pacala; Fig. 9A-9B, [0169], the FPGA can be located on one or more boards of the upper board assembly of the rotary actuator includes the rotor half of a brushless motor, the receive side of a rotary transformer power link, the receive side of a rotary optical uplink, and the transmit side of a rotary optical downlink (referred to turret assembly of the LIDAR system). In certain embodiments, the turret assembly can spin at a frequency of 1 Hz to 30 Hz, taking range measurements at fixed angular intervals. This implies the transmitting module configures to emit the laser beam in a fixed transmitting cycle);
Pacala does not teach, a rotation angle of the rotating mechanism in one fixing transmitting cycle is Ө3, and a beam divergence angle of the laser beam emitted by each transmitting module along a first direction is Ө4, where Ө3 is less than or equal to Ө4; and the first direction is perpendicular to an extension direction of the rotating axis.
Schnitzer teaches, a rotation angle of the rotating mechanism in one fixing transmitting cycle is Ө3, and a beam divergence angle of the laser beam emitted by each transmitting module along a first direction is Ө4, where Ө3 is less than or equal to Ө4 (Schnitzer; Fig. 1, [0028], line 26, for the multipluse LIDAR system, the refresh rate of the single laser pulses and scanning movement 123 are in each case coordinated with one another in such a way that an area that is detected by transmission laser beam 210, and thus the sampling points situated in the particular area are sampled by multiple single laser pulses in direct succession during a scanning pass (Fig. 2, overlapping of the scanning area 310 indicates that rotation angle Ө3 is less than a beam divergence angle Ө4); Fig. 6, [0035], light spots 231 overlap from pulse to pulse during a scan); and the first direction is perpendicular to an extension direction of the rotating axis (Schnitzer; Fig. 1, [0024], rotating sensor head 10 carries out a rotating scanning movement 122 rotational axis 102 extending in parallel to z axis and light transmission in the direction of y axis).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filling date of this invention to modify the laser radar taught by Pacala to include a shape of the receiver array is the same as a shape of the light spot taught by Crawford, include vertical stack of plurality of light emitters and light receivers on the rotating mechanism taught by Lee, include wherein the laser radar comprises a plurality of transmitting modules arranged in a second direction, and the second direction is parallel to an extension direction of the rotating axis, wherein the laser beam emitted by each transmitting module covers a scanning range, and scanning ranges of two neighboring transmitting modules are different and overlapping with each other and wherein the laser beam emitted by each transmitting module covers a scanning range, and scanning ranges of two neighboring transmitting modules are different and overlapping with each other taught by Slobodyanyuk and further include a rotation angle of the rotating mechanism in one fixing transmitting cycle is Ө3, and a beam divergence angle of the laser beam emitted by each transmitting module along a first direction is Ө4, where Ө3 is less than or equal to Ө4; and the first direction is perpendicular to an extension direction of the rotating axis taught by Schnitzer with a reasonable expectation of success. The reasoning for introducing a rotation angle of the rotating mechanism in one fixing transmitting cycle is Ө3, and a beam divergence angle of the laser beam emitted by each transmitting module along a first direction is Ө4, where Ө3 is less than or equal to Ө4; and the first direction is perpendicular to an extension direction of the rotating axis is to include a scanning device for generating a scanning movement of the transmission laser beam (where a plurality of transmitting modules arranged in a vertical direction (recited in claim 10-12)) in a scanning direction for successive sampling of the entire observation area (each sampling points is overlapping to each other without any gap in between) along multiple sampling points and situated in succession in the scanning direction (Schnitzer; [0004], [0024]).
Claim(s) 16-17 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Pacala, modified in view of Crawford, in view of Lee, in view of Villeneuve et al. (US 20170155225 A1, hereinafter “Villeneuve”).
Regarding claim 16, Pacala teaches a laser radar recited in claim 1.
Pacala does not teach, wherein the laser beam emitted by the at least one transmitting module has a wavelength of 1550 nm and is configured to form a circular light spot; or the at laser beam emitted by the least one transmitting module has a wavelength of 905 nm and is configured to form a long light spot
Villeneuve teaches, wherein the laser beam emitted by the at least one transmitting module has a wavelength of 1550 nm and is configured to form a circular light spot; or, the at laser beam emitted by the least one transmitting module has a wavelength of 905 nm and is configured to form a long light spot (Villeneuve; [0054], line 10, light source 110 may include a pulse laser diode with wavelength of approximately 1400-1600 nm; [0055], line 11, output beam 125 may have a substantially circular cross section with a beam divergence characterized by a single divergence value).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filling date of this invention to modify the laser radar taught by Pacala to include a shape of the receiver array is the same as a shape of the light spot taught by Crawford, include vertical stack of plurality of light emitters and light receivers on the rotating mechanism taught by Lee, include wherein the laser beam emitted by the at least one transmitting module has a wavelength of 1550 nm and is configured to form a circular light spot; or, the at laser beam emitted by the least one transmitting module has a wavelength of 905 nm and is configured to form a long light spot taught by Villeneuve with a reasonable expectation of success. The reasoning for this is to use the wavelength of light source in an near-infrared range like 1550 nm which is known as eye safety range and used for LIDAR system. Furthermore, the emitting light spot in a shape of circular light spot has a beam divergence characterized by a single divergence value (refer to an angular measure of an increase in beam size as output beam travels away from lidar system) (Villeneuve; [0054]-[0055]).
Regarding claim 17, Pacala teaches the laser radar recited in claim 1.
Pacala does not teach, wherein the laser beam emitted by the at least one transmitting module is configured to form a circular, square, rectangular, or oval light spot in the target area.
Villeneuve teaches, wherein the laser beam emitted by the at least one transmitting module is configured to form a circular, square, rectangular, or oval light spot in the target area (Pacala; Fig. 1, [0055], line 9, output beam 125 may have a substantially circular cross section with a beam divergence characterized by a single divergence value; line 15, output beam 125 may be an astigmatic beam or may have a substantially elliptical cross section and may be characterized by two divergence values).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filling date of this invention to modify the laser radar taught by Pacala to include a shape of the receiver array is the same as a shape of the light spot taught by Crawford, include vertical stack of plurality of light emitters and light receivers on the rotating mechanism taught by Lee, include wherein the laser beam emitted by the at least one transmitting module is configured to form a circular, square, rectangular, or oval light spot in the target area taught by Villeneuve with a reasonable expectation of success. The reasoning for this is to that the emitting light spot in a shape of circular light spot has a beam divergence characterized by a single divergence value (refer to an angular measure of an increase in beam size as output beam travels away from lidar system) or the output beam may be an astigmatic beam or may have a substantially elliptical cross section and may be characterized by two divergence values (Villeneuve; [0055]).
Claim(s) 20 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Pacala, modified in view of Crawford, in view of Lee, in view of Venugopalan Nair Jalakumari et al. (US 20180115364 A1, hereinafter “Venugopalan”).
Regarding claim 20, Pacala teaches the laser radar as recited in claim 1.
Pacala does not teach, wherein each receiving module comprises eight receivers, and the eight receivers form a rectangular receiver array.
Venugopalan teaches, wherein each receiving module comprises eight receivers, and the eight receivers form a rectangular receiver array (Venugopalan; Fig. 4, [0057], line 8, receiver array 405 shows an array of sub-arrays arranged with four columns and two rows of sub-arrays).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filling date of this invention to modify the laser radar taught by Pacala to include a shape of the receiver array is the same as a shape of the light spot taught by Crawford, include vertical stack of plurality of light emitters and light receivers on the rotating mechanism taught by Lee, include wherein each receiving module comprises eight receivers, and the eight receivers form a rectangular receiver array taught by Venugopalan with a reasonable expectation of success. The reasoning for introducing wherein each receiving module comprises eight receivers, and the eight receivers form a rectangular receiver array is to shape and arrange of the transmitter and receiver arrays so they match each other such that the transmitter array is designed a good alignment between a transmitter and receiver (Venugopalan; [0057], [0058]).
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 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.
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/CHIA-LING CHEN/Examiner, Art Unit 3645
/YUQING XIAO/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3645
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