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 .
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 and 19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kubota (US 2020/0088853 A1) in view of Takahashi (US 2011/0215249 A1).
Regarding Claim 1, Kubota discloses a distance measuring device (Abstract: Distance Measuring Device) comprising:
a light emitting unit (Figure 1, element 100; [0030]: “The emitter 100 intermittently emits laser light L1) configured to emit pulsed signal light (Figure 3, [0038]: “The oscillator 11a of the emitter 100 generates a pulse signal on the basis of control by the controller 16.”);
a light receiving array unit including a plurality of photodetectors ([0052]: “For example, the sensor 18 may be configured by disposing a plurality of photodiodes, avalanche breakdown diodes (ABDs), or the like.”), each of which is configured to output a pulse signal in response to incidence of a photon ([0051]: “The avalanche photodiode used in the Geiger mode is sometimes called SPAD (single-photon avalanche diode)”);
a signal intensity calculation unit configured to calculate a signal intensity that indicates a light intensity of the signal light received by the light receiving array unit ([0080]: “In a second embodiment, a measurement distance is more highly accurately acquired by acquiring a weight coefficient referring to at least one of an intensity value of a measurement signal and an intensity value of environment light. In the following explanation, differences from the first embodiment are explained.”; To calculate the weight value, the device must calculate an intensity of the signal);
a signal time calculation unit configured to calculate a rise time and a fall time of the signal light detected by the light receiving array unit ([0027]: “The time acquisition circuit acquires a rising time in which a measurement signal obtained by converting reflected light of a laser beam from an object into a signal reaches a first threshold and a falling time in which the measurement signal reaches a second threshold after reaching the first threshold.”)
an intensity correction unit configured to correct at least one of the rise time and the fall time calculated by the signal time calculation unit ([0101]: “As explained above, according to this embodiment, the first weight coefficient W1 used for weighting the rising time Tup and the falling time Tdn is acquired with reference to at least one of the intensity value of the measurement signal and the intensity value of the environment light.”; The weighting coefficients are used to correct the rise and fall times based on the signal and environmental light levels) based on the signal intensity calculated by the signal intensity calculation unit ([0084]: “The weight coefficient acquirer 22d acquires the weight coefficients W1 and W2 on the basis of at least one of the first representative value detected by the signal light intensity detector 22b and the second representative value detected by the environment light intensity detector 22c.”); and
a distance calculation unit ([0055]: “the distance measurer 22 measures the distance to the measurement target object 10 on the basis of a time difference between timing based on a first time obtained by weighting the rising time acquired by the time acquirer 21 with a first weight coefficient and a second time obtained by weighting the falling time acquired by the time acquirer 21 with a second weight coefficient and irradiation timing of the laser beam L1”) configured to, in response to the rise time being corrected, calculate an object distance that is a distance to an object that reflected the signal light, based on at least the corrected rise time, and in response to the fall time being corrected, calculate the object distance based on at least the corrected fall time ([0101]: “Consequently, even if the input and output characteristic of the sensor 18 changes according to the intensity value of the measurement signal and the intensity value of the environment light, it is possible to acquire the first weight coefficient W1 corresponding to the input and output characteristic. Even if the intensity value of the measurement signal and the intensity value of the environment light change, it is possible to accurately and stably measure the distance to a target object.”).
Kubota does not teach and Takahashi does teach wherein the rise time is corrected with reference to a correction map ([0013]: “ by correcting a rise-up time of the electric signal when it reaches or exceeds the reference voltage”; [0037]: “The correction data storage unit 220 stores data for correcting the rise-up time of the pulse signal. The data represent relations between width of the pulse signal which represents the time period over which the radiation is incident on the scintillator 102, and amount of correction of the rise-up time, and are given in a form of correction table or correction function.”)
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention of Kubota with the teaching of Takahashi to use a lookup table to correct the rise time based on the signal intensity. Using a correction map to look up a predetermined relationship between two quantities, in this case, a signal intensity and a rise time correction, can streamline processing since the processor is able to simply reference existing data, and does not have to model the physical system in real time, for example.
Regarding Claim 19, which depends from rejected Claim 1, Kubota further discloses a noise intensity calculation unit configured to calculate a noise intensity that indicates a light intensity of light detected by the light receiving array unit while the signal light is not received by the light receiving array unit ([0080]: “a measurement distance is more highly accurately acquired by acquiring a weight coefficient referring to at least one of an intensity value of a measurement signal and an intensity value of environment light.” The environment light is that component which is due only to the ambient light, and not the signal.), wherein the intensity correction unit is further configured to correct at least one of the rise time and the fall time based on the noise intensity calculated by the noise intensity calculation unit ([0101]: “Consequently, even if the input and output characteristic of the sensor 18 changes according to the intensity value of the measurement signal and the intensity value of the environment light, it is possible to acquire the first weight coefficient W1 corresponding to the input and output characteristic. Even if the intensity value of the measurement signal and the intensity value of the environment light change, it is possible to accurately and stably measure the distance to a target object.”).
Regarding Claim 33, Kubota discloses a distance measuring device (Abstract: Distance Measuring Device) comprising:
a light emitting unit (Figure 1, element 100; [0030]: “The emitter 100 intermittently emits laser light L1) configured to emit pulsed signal light (Figure 3, [0038]: “The oscillator 11a of the emitter 100 generates a pulse signal on the basis of control by the controller 16.”);
a light receiving array unit including a plurality of photodetectors ([0052]: “For example, the sensor 18 may be configured by disposing a plurality of photodiodes, avalanche breakdown diodes (ABDs), or the like.”), each of which is configured to output a pulse signal in response to incidence of a photon ([0051]: “The avalanche photodiode used in the Geiger mode is sometimes called SPAD (single-photon avalanche diode)”);
a signal intensity calculation unit configured to calculate a signal intensity that indicates a light intensity of the signal light received by the light receiving array unit ([0080]: “In a second embodiment, a measurement distance is more highly accurately acquired by acquiring a weight coefficient referring to at least one of an intensity value of a measurement signal and an intensity value of environment light. In the following explanation, differences from the first embodiment are explained.”; To calculate the weight value, the device must calculate an intensity of the signal);
a signal time calculation unit configured to calculate a rise time and a fall time of the signal light detected by the light receiving array unit ([0027]: “The time acquisition circuit acquires a rising time in which a measurement signal obtained by converting reflected light of a laser beam from an object into a signal reaches a first threshold and a falling time in which the measurement signal reaches a second threshold after reaching the first threshold.”)
an intensity correction unit configured to correct at least one of the rise time and the fall time calculated by the signal time calculation unit ([0101]: “As explained above, according to this embodiment, the first weight coefficient W1 used for weighting the rising time Tup and the falling time Tdn is acquired with reference to at least one of the intensity value of the measurement signal and the intensity value of the environment light.”; The weighting coefficients are used to correct the rise and fall times based on the signal and environmental light levels) based on the signal intensity calculated by the signal intensity calculation unit ([0084]: “The weight coefficient acquirer 22d acquires the weight coefficients W1 and W2 on the basis of at least one of the first representative value detected by the signal light intensity detector 22b and the second representative value detected by the environment light intensity detector 22c.”); and
a distance calculation unit ([0055]: “the distance measurer 22 measures the distance to the measurement target object 10 on the basis of a time difference between timing based on a first time obtained by weighting the rising time acquired by the time acquirer 21 with a first weight coefficient and a second time obtained by weighting the falling time acquired by the time acquirer 21 with a second weight coefficient and irradiation timing of the laser beam L1”) configured to, in response to the rise time being corrected, calculate an object distance that is a distance to an object that reflected the signal light, based on at least the corrected rise time, and in response to the fall time being corrected, calculate the object distance based on at least the corrected fall time ([0101]: “Consequently, even if the input and output characteristic of the sensor 18 changes according to the intensity value of the measurement signal and the intensity value of the environment light, it is possible to acquire the first weight coefficient W1 corresponding to the input and output characteristic. Even if the intensity value of the measurement signal and the intensity value of the environment light change, it is possible to accurately and stably measure the distance to a target object.”).
Kubota does not teach and Takahashi does teach wherein the rise or fall time correction occurs according to an equation representing a correspondence relationship between the signal intensity calculated by the signal intensity calculation unit and an amount of correction of the at least one of the rise time and the fall time ([0013]: “ by correcting a rise-up time of the electric signal when it reaches or exceeds the reference voltage”; [0037]: “The correction data storage unit 220 stores data for correcting the rise-up time of the pulse signal. The data represent relations between width of the pulse signal which represents the time period over which the radiation is incident on the scintillator 102, and amount of correction of the rise-up time, and are given in a form of correction table or correction function.”);
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention of Kubota with the teaching of Takahashi to use a function to correct the rise time based on the signal intensity. A function can be used to store a relationship between two quantities, in this case, a signal intensity and a rise time correction, can streamline processing since the processor is able to simply make a direct calculation of the relationship value, and does not have to model the physical system in real time, for example.
Regarding Claim 34, Kubota discloses a distance measuring device (Abstract: Distance Measuring Device) comprising:
a light emitting unit (Figure 1, element 100; [0030]: “The emitter 100 intermittently emits laser light L1) configured to emit pulsed signal light (Figure 3, [0038]: “The oscillator 11a of the emitter 100 generates a pulse signal on the basis of control by the controller 16.”);
a light receiving array unit including a plurality of photodetectors ([0052]: “For example, the sensor 18 may be configured by disposing a plurality of photodiodes, avalanche breakdown diodes (ABDs), or the like.”), each of which is configured to output a pulse signal in response to incidence of a photon ([0051]: “The avalanche photodiode used in the Geiger mode is sometimes called SPAD (single-photon avalanche diode)”);
a signal intensity calculation unit configured to calculate a signal intensity that indicates a light intensity of the signal light received by the light receiving array unit ([0080]: “In a second embodiment, a measurement distance is more highly accurately acquired by acquiring a weight coefficient referring to at least one of an intensity value of a measurement signal and an intensity value of environment light. In the following explanation, differences from the first embodiment are explained.”; To calculate the weight value, the device must calculate an intensity of the signal);
a noise intensity calculation unit configured to calculate a noise intensity that indicates a light intensity of light detected by the light receiving array unit while the signal light is not received by the light receiving array unit ([0080]: “a measurement distance is more highly accurately acquired by acquiring a weight coefficient referring to at least one of an intensity value of a measurement signal and an intensity value of environment light.” The environment light is that component which is due only to the ambient light, and not the signal.),
a signal time calculation unit configured to calculate a rise time and a fall time of the signal light detected by the light receiving array unit ([0027]: “The time acquisition circuit acquires a rising time in which a measurement signal obtained by converting reflected light of a laser beam from an object into a signal reaches a first threshold and a falling time in which the measurement signal reaches a second threshold after reaching the first threshold.”)
and the intensity correction unit is further configured to correct at least one of the rise time and the fall time based on the noise intensity calculated by the noise intensity calculation unit ([0101]: “Consequently, even if the input and output characteristic of the sensor 18 changes according to the intensity value of the measurement signal and the intensity value of the environment light, it is possible to acquire the first weight coefficient W1 corresponding to the input and output characteristic. Even if the intensity value of the measurement signal and the intensity value of the environment light change, it is possible to accurately and stably measure the distance to a target object.”).
a distance calculation unit ([0055]: “the distance measurer 22 measures the distance to the measurement target object 10 on the basis of a time difference between timing based on a first time obtained by weighting the rising time acquired by the time acquirer 21 with a first weight coefficient and a second time obtained by weighting the falling time acquired by the time acquirer 21 with a second weight coefficient and irradiation timing of the laser beam L1”) configured to, in response to the rise time being corrected, calculate an object distance that is a distance to an object that reflected the signal light, based on at least the corrected rise time, and in response to the fall time being corrected, calculate the object distance based on at least the corrected fall time ([0101]: “Consequently, even if the input and output characteristic of the sensor 18 changes according to the intensity value of the measurement signal and the intensity value of the environment light, it is possible to acquire the first weight coefficient W1 corresponding to the input and output characteristic. Even if the intensity value of the measurement signal and the intensity value of the environment light change, it is possible to accurately and stably measure the distance to a target object.”).
Kubota does not teach and Takahashi does teach using an equation to relate the parameters used in a rise time correction ([0013]: “ by correcting a rise-up time of the electric signal when it reaches or exceeds the reference voltage”; [0032]: “Amount of elevation of the reference voltage by the reference voltage modifier unit 130 may typically be given by a linear function with time variable, or may be a quadric or higher-degree function, without limitation.”; [0033]: “As detailed later, the signal processor 20 calculates an incidence time which represents a time when the signal light starts to enter the photo-electric converter unit, by correcting a rise-up time of the electric signal when it reaches or exceeds the reference voltage”; [0037]: “The correction data storage unit 220 stores data for correcting the rise-up time of the pulse signal. The data represent relations between width of the pulse signal which represents the time period over which the radiation is incident on the scintillator 102, and amount of correction of the rise-up time, and are given in a form of correction table or correction function.”);
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention of Kubota with the teaching of Takahashi to use a function to correct the rise time based on the noise intensity. A function can be used to store a relationship between two quantities, in this case, a noise intensity and a rise time correction, can streamline processing since the processor is able to simply make a direct calculation of the relationship value, and does not have to model the physical system in real time, for example.
Claim 18 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kubota in view of Takahashi as applied to Claim 1, and in view of Ueno (US 2020/0132817 A1)
Regarding Claim 18, which depends from rejected Claim 1, Kubota teaches correcting the rise time and the fall time ([0101]: “As explained above, according to this embodiment, the first weight coefficient W1 used for weighting the rising time Tup and the falling time Tdn is acquired with reference to at least one of the intensity value of the measurement signal and the intensity value of the environment light.”; The weighting coefficients are used to correct the rise and fall times based on the signal and environmental light levels).
Kubota does not teach and Takahashi does not teach and Ueno does teach that the distance measuring device contains a temperature detection unit configured to detect a temperature of the light receiving array unit which corrects the signal times ([0101]: “The SPAD temperature detector 48 of the above optical distance measurement apparatus 1D is configured to acquire the temperature of at least one of the SPADs 4 or the ambient temperature of the SPAD 4. The response time corrector 56 and the amount-of-light corrector 57 are configured to calculate the response duration in accordance with the temperature and calculate the correction time by taking the response duration into account.”; [0102]: “Thus, the optical distance measurement apparatus 1D, which acquires the temperature of the SPAD 4 or the ambient temperature of the SPAD 4 and calculates the response duration in accordance with the temperature, allows for improving correction accuracy.”)
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the rise and fall time correction of the distance measurement device of Kubota in view of Takahashi with the teaching of Ueno to correct the response duration according to the measured temperature of the SPAD array. Ueno notes in [0102] that with such a correction the detection timing can be estimated with higher accuracy, and Kubota provides a concrete process by which this correction using the detector temperature can be enacted. A higher accuracy in the detection timing will naturally result in a more accurate distance retrievals.
Claims 9, 25, 27, and 29 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kubota in view of Ueno.
Regarding Claim 9, Kubota discloses a distance measuring device (Abstract: Distance Measuring Device) comprising:
a light emitting unit (Figure 1, element 100; [0030]: “The emitter 100 intermittently emits laser light L1) configured to emit pulsed signal light (Figure 3, [0038]: “The oscillator 11a of the emitter 100 generates a pulse signal on the basis of control by the controller 16.”);
a light receiving array unit including a plurality of photodetectors ([0052]: “For example, the sensor 18 may be configured by disposing a plurality of photodiodes, avalanche breakdown diodes (ABDs), or the like.”), each of which is configured to output a pulse signal in response to incidence of a photon ([0051]: “The avalanche photodiode used in the Geiger mode is sometimes called SPAD (single-photon avalanche diode)”);
a signal time calculation unit configured to calculate a rise time and a fall time of the signal light detected by the light receiving array unit ([0027]: “The time acquisition circuit acquires a rising time in which a measurement signal obtained by converting reflected light of a laser beam from an object into a signal reaches a first threshold and a falling time in which the measurement signal reaches a second threshold after reaching the first threshold.”);
a distance calculation unit ([0055]: “the distance measurer 22 measures the distance to the measurement target object 10 on the basis of a time difference between timing based on a first time obtained by weighting the rising time acquired by the time acquirer 21 with a first weight coefficient and a second time obtained by weighting the falling time acquired by the time acquirer 21 with a second weight coefficient and irradiation timing of the laser beam L1”) configured to, in response to the rise time being corrected, calculate an object distance that is a distance to an object that reflected the signal light, based on at least the corrected rise time, and in response to the fall time being corrected, calculate the object distance based on at least the corrected fall time ([0101]: “Consequently, even if the input and output characteristic of the sensor 18 changes according to the intensity value of the measurement signal and the intensity value of the environment light, it is possible to acquire the first weight coefficient W1 corresponding to the input and output characteristic. Even if the intensity value of the measurement signal and the intensity value of the environment light change, it is possible to accurately and stably measure the distance to a target object.”).
Kubota does not teach and Ueno does teach that the distance measuring device contains a temperature correction unit configured to correct the response calculated by the signal time calculation unit based on the temperature detected by the temperature detection unit; ([0101]: “The SPAD temperature detector 48 of the above optical distance measurement apparatus 1D is configured to acquire the temperature of at least one of the SPADs 4 or the ambient temperature of the SPAD 4. The response time corrector 56 and the amount-of-light corrector 57 are configured to calculate the response duration in accordance with the temperature and calculate the correction time by taking the response duration into account.”; [0102]: “Thus, the optical distance measurement apparatus 1D, which acquires the temperature of the SPAD 4 or the ambient temperature of the SPAD 4 and calculates the response duration in accordance with the temperature, allows for improving correction accuracy.”)
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the rise and fall time correction of the distance measurement device of Kubota with the teaching of Ueno to correct the response time according to the measured temperature of the SPAD array. Ueno notes in [0102] that with such a correction the detection timing can be estimated with higher accuracy, and Kubota provides a concrete process by which this correction using the detector temperature can be enacted. A higher accuracy in the detection timing will naturally result in a more accurate distance retrievals.
Kubota does not teach and Ueno does teach wherein the temperature correction unit uses a correction map based on the temperature ([0099]: “The amount-of-light corrector 57 of a calculator 50D has a function to identify the response duration corresponding to the SPAD temperature detector 48 using an already prepared relational expression or map for identifying a relationship between the SPAD temperature detector 48 and the response duration and calculate the correction time from the above map shown in FIG. 13.”)
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the rise or fall time correction of Kubota with the teaching of Ueno to use a correction map to calculate the correction time based on the SPAD temperature. Using a correction map to look up a predetermined relationship between two quantities, in this case, a temperature and a correction time, can streamline processing since the processor is able to simply reference existing data, and does not have to model the physical system in real time, for example.
Regarding Claim 25, which depends from Claim 9, Kubota teaches a signal intensity calculation unit configured to calculate a signal intensity that indicates a light intensity of the signal light received by the light receiving array unit ([0080]: “In a second embodiment, a measurement distance is more highly accurately acquired by acquiring a weight coefficient referring to at least one of an intensity value of a measurement signal and an intensity value of environment light. In the following explanation, differences from the first embodiment are explained.”; To calculate the weight value, the device must calculate an intensity of the signal);
Regarding Claim 27, which depends from rejected Claim 9, Kubota further teaches a noise intensity calculation unit configured to calculate a noise intensity that indicates a light intensity of light detected by the light receiving array unit while the signal light is not received by the light receiving array unit ([0080]: “a measurement distance is more highly accurately acquired by acquiring a weight coefficient referring to at least one of an intensity value of a measurement signal and an intensity value of environment light.” The environment light is that component which is due only to the ambient light, and not the signal.), wherein the intensity correction unit is further configured to correct at least one of the rise time and the fall time based on the noise intensity calculated by the noise intensity calculation unit ([0101]: “Consequently, even if the input and output characteristic of the sensor 18 changes according to the intensity value of the measurement signal and the intensity value of the environment light, it is possible to acquire the first weight coefficient W1 corresponding to the input and output characteristic. Even if the intensity value of the measurement signal and the intensity value of the environment light change, it is possible to accurately and stably measure the distance to a target object.”).
Regarding Claim 29, which depends from rejected Claim 9, Kubota teaches a signal intensity calculation unit configured to calculate a signal intensity that indicates a light intensity of the signal light received by the light receiving array unit ([0080]: “In a second embodiment, a measurement distance is more highly accurately acquired by acquiring a weight coefficient referring to at least one of an intensity value of a measurement signal and an intensity value of environment light. In the following explanation, differences from the first embodiment are explained.”; To calculate the weight value, the device must calculate an intensity of the signal);
a noise intensity calculation unit configured to calculate a noise intensity that indicates a light intensity of light detected by the light receiving array unit while the signal light is not received by the light receiving array unit ([0080]: “a measurement distance is more highly accurately acquired by acquiring a weight coefficient referring to at least one of an intensity value of a measurement signal and an intensity value of environment light.” The environment light is that component which is due only to the ambient light, and not the signal.),
and that the rise time and fall time are corrected based on the signal intensity calculated by the signal intensity calculation unit and the noise intensity calculated by the noise intensity calculation unit ([0101]: “Consequently, even if the input and output characteristic of the sensor 18 changes according to the intensity value of the measurement signal and the intensity value of the environment light, it is possible to acquire the first weight coefficient W1 corresponding to the input and output characteristic. Even if the intensity value of the measurement signal and the intensity value of the environment light change, it is possible to accurately and stably measure the distance to a target object.”).
Kubota does not teach and Ueno does teach wherein the temperature correction unit is further configured to correct the response time of the plurality of photodetectors based on the signal intensity calculated by the signal intensity calculation unit and the noise intensity calculated by the noise intensity calculation unit ([0083]: “The amount-of-light corrector 57 of the optical distance measurement apparatus 1B according to the second embodiment calculates an offset value Loff of the level value in addition to the maximum value Lmax of the level value as shown in FIGS. 9 and 10.”; In Ueno the light amount correcting unit calculates both the signal intensity (Lmax) and the ambient or ‘noise’ intensity.; [0099]: “The SPAD temperature detector 48 is configured as a known temperature sensor for detecting a temperature of each of the SPADs 4 or an ambient temperature of each of the SPADs 4. The amount-of-light corrector 57 of a calculator 50D has a function to identify the response duration corresponding to the SPAD temperature detector 48 using an already prepared relational expression or map for identifying a relationship between the SPAD temperature detector 48 and the response duration and calculate the correction time from the above map shown in FIG. 13.” Thus Ueno teaches correcting the time with the measured temperature based on both the signal intensity and the noise intensity.)
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the rise time and fall time correction of the distance measurement device of Kubota with the teaching of Ueno to incorporate SPAD temperature measurement and correction into the response time calculation. Ueno notes in [102] that with such a correction the detection timing can be estimated with higher accuracy, which would directly result in more accurate distance retrievals of the distance measuring device.
Claims 20 and 21 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kubota in view of Takahashi and in view of Ueno as applied to Claim 19 above, and further in view of Pacala (US 2022/0291387 A1).
Regarding Claim 20, Kubota in view of Takahashi in view of Ueno does not teach and Pacala does teach a histogram generation unit configured to generate, according to a plurality of the pulse signals output from the light receiving array unit ([0051]: “the sensor array 236 of the Rx module 230 is fabricated as part of a monolithic device on a single substrate (using, e.g., CMOS technology) that includes both an array of photon detectors and an ASIC 231 for signal processing the raw histograms from the individual photon detectors ( or groups of detectors) in the array.”), a histogram that indicates time variations in light intensity of light detected by the light receiving array unit ([0051]: “or each photon detector or grouping of photon detectors, memory 234 ( e.g., SRAM) of the ASIC 231 can accumulate counts of detected photons over successive time bins, and these time bins taken together can be used to recreate a time series of the reflected light pulse (i.e., a count of photons vs. time”), the histogram starting from an emission timing of the signal light emitted by the light emitting unit (Figure 3, element 315; [0089]: “As described above, start time 615 can correspond to a start time for the pulse train.” The text from paragraph [0089] refers back to element 315.), wherein the noise intensity calculation unit is configured to calculate the noise intensity based on the histogram generated by the histogram generation unit ([0090]: “The counters at the early time bins are relatively low and correspond to background noise 630. At some point, a reflected pulse 620 is detected. The corresponding counters are much larger, and may be above a threshold that discriminate between background and a detected pulse.” The threshold value can be used to exclude bins without enough counts (e.g., para [0099]) showing that it is calculated and can be compared to other values.).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the distance measurement device of Kubota in view of Takahashi and in view of Ueno with the teaching of Pacala to generate a histogram from the calculated noise intensities. Histogram generation can be a useful tool for LiDAR systems. Pacala notes in [0090] that the background noise intensity can be used to indicate a “threshold that discriminate[s] between background and a detected pulse.” This feature allows for better retrievals of distance by the device.
Regarding Claim 21, which depends from rejected Claim 3, Kubota in view of Takahashi and in view of Ueno does not teach and Pacala does teach a histogram generation unit configured to generate, according to a plurality of the pulse signals output from the light receiving array unit ([0051]: “the sensor array 236 of the Rx module 230 is fabricated as part of a monolithic device on a single substrate (using, e.g., CMOS technology) that includes both an array of photon detectors and an ASIC 231 for signal processing the raw histograms from the individual photon detectors ( or groups of detectors) in the array.”), a histogram that indicates time variations in light intensity of light detected by the light receiving array unit ([0051]: “or each photon detector or grouping of photon detectors, memory 234 ( e.g., SRAM) of the ASIC 231 can accumulate counts of detected photons over successive time bins, and these time bins taken together can be used to recreate a time series of the reflected light pulse (i.e., a count of photons vs. time”), the histogram starting from an emission timing of the signal light emitted by the light emitting unit (Figure 3, element 315; [0089]: “As described above, start time 615 can correspond to a start time for the pulse train.” The text from paragraph [0089] refers back to element 315.), wherein the signal intensity calculation unit is configured to calculate the signal intensity based on the histogram generated by the histogram generation unit, and the noise intensity calculation unit is configured to calculate the noise intensity based on the histogram generated by the histogram generation unit ([0102]: “To determine a lidar image, a match filter can be applied to each histogram to determine a depth value. The depth value (and potentially peak/signal value and noise value) can be assigned to a particular pixel in a rectilinear 2D array of the lidar image.” Here, the histogram is used to calculate the peak value and the noise value as well.)
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the distance measurement device of Kubota in view of Takahashi and in view of Ueno with the teaching of Pacala to generate a histogram from the calculated noise and signal intensities. Histogram generation can be a useful tool for LiDAR systems. Pacala notes in [0090] that the signal intensity and background noise intensity can be used to indicate a “threshold that discriminate[s] between background and a detected pulse.” This feature allows for better retrievals of distance by the device.
Claim 22 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kubota in view of Takahashi as applied to Claim 1 above, and further in view of Pacala.
Regarding Claim 22, which depends from rejected Claim 1, Kubota in view of Takahashi does not teach and Pacala does teach a histogram generation unit configured to generate, according to a plurality of the pulse signals output from the light receiving array unit ([0051]: “the sensor array 236 of the Rx module 230 is fabricated as part of a monolithic device on a single substrate (using, e.g., CMOS technology) that includes both an array of photon detectors and an ASIC 231 for signal processing the raw histograms from the individual photon detectors ( or groups of detectors) in the array.”), a histogram that indicates time variations in light intensity of light detected by the light receiving array unit ([0051]: “or each photon detector or grouping of photon detectors, memory 234 ( e.g., SRAM) of the ASIC 231 can accumulate counts of detected photons over successive time bins, and these time bins taken together can be used to recreate a time series of the reflected light pulse (i.e., a count of photons vs. time”), the histogram starting from an emission timing of the signal light emitted by the light emitting unit (Figure 3, element 315; [0089]: “As described above, start time 615 can correspond to a start time for the pulse train.” The text from paragraph [0089] refers back to element 315.), wherein the signal intensity calculation unit is configured to calculate the signal intensity based on the histogram generated by the histogram generation unit ([0102]: “To determine a lidar image, a match filter can be applied to each histogram to determine a depth value. The depth value (and potentially peak/signal value and noise value) can be assigned to a particular pixel in a rectilinear 2D array of the lidar image.” Here, the histogram is used to calculate the peak value.).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the distance measurement device of Kubota in view of Takahashi with the teaching of Pacala to generate a histogram from the calculated signal intensities. Histogram generation can be a useful tool for LiDAR systems. Pacala notes in [0090] that the signal intensity can be used to indicate a “threshold that discriminate[s] between background and a detected pulse.” This feature allows for better retrievals of distance by the device.
Claim 26 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kubota in view of Ueno as applied to Claim 25 above, and further in view of Pacala.
Regarding Claim 26, which depends from rejected Claim 25, Kubota in view of Ueno does not teach and Pacala does teach a histogram generation unit configured to generate, according to a plurality of the pulse signals output from the light receiving array unit ([0051]: “the sensor array 236 of the Rx module 230 is fabricated as part of a monolithic device on a single substrate (using, e.g., CMOS technology) that includes both an array of photon detectors and an ASIC 231 for signal processing the raw histograms from the individual photon detectors ( or groups of detectors) in the array.”), a histogram that indicates time variations in light intensity of light detected by the light receiving array unit ([0051]: “or each photon detector or grouping of photon detectors, memory 234 ( e.g., SRAM) of the ASIC 231 can accumulate counts of detected photons over successive time bins, and these time bins taken together can be used to recreate a time series of the reflected light pulse (i.e., a count of photons vs. time”), the histogram starting from an emission timing of the signal light emitted by the light emitting unit (Figure 3, element 315; [0089]: “As described above, start time 615 can correspond to a start time for the pulse train.” The text from paragraph [0089] refers back to element 315.), wherein the signal intensity calculation unit is configured to calculate the signal intensity based on the histogram generated by the histogram generation unit ([0102]: “To determine a lidar image, a match filter can be applied to each histogram to determine a depth value. The depth value (and potentially peak/signal value and noise value) can be assigned to a particular pixel in a rectilinear 2D array of the lidar image.” Here, the histogram is used to calculate the peak value.).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the distance measurement device of Kubota in view of Ueno with the teaching of Pacala to generate a histogram from the calculated signal intensities. Histogram generation can be a useful tool for LiDAR systems. Pacala notes in [0090] that the signal intensity can be indicate a “threshold that discriminate[s] between background and a detected pulse.” This feature allows for better retrievals of distance by the device.
Claim 28 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kubota in view of Ueno as applied to Claim 27 above, and further in view of Pacala.
Regarding Claim 28, which depends from rejected Claim 27, Kubota in view of Ueno does not teach and Pacala does teach a histogram generation unit configured to generate, according to a plurality of the pulse signals output from the light receiving array unit ([0051]: “the sensor array 236 of the Rx module 230 is fabricated as part of a monolithic device on a single substrate (using, e.g., CMOS technology) that includes both an array of photon detectors and an ASIC 231 for signal processing the raw histograms from the individual photon detectors ( or groups of detectors) in the array.”), a histogram that indicates time variations in light intensity of light detected by the light receiving array unit ([0051]: “or each photon detector or grouping of photon detectors, memory 234 ( e.g., SRAM) of the ASIC 231 can accumulate counts of detected photons over successive time bins, and these time bins taken together can be used to recreate a time series of the reflected light pulse (i.e., a count of photons vs. time”), the histogram starting from an emission timing of the signal light emitted by the light emitting unit (Figure 3, element 315; [0089]: “As described above, start time 615 can correspond to a start time for the pulse train.” The text from paragraph [0089] refers back to element 315.), wherein the noise intensity calculation unit is configured to calculate the noise intensity based on the histogram generated by the histogram generation unit ([0090]: “The counters at the early time bins are relatively low and correspond to background noise 630. At some point, a reflected pulse 620 is detected. The corresponding counters are much larger, and may be above a threshold that discriminate between background and a detected pulse.” The threshold value can be used to exclude bins without enough counts (e.g., para [0099]) showing that it is calculated and can be compared to other values.).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the distance measurement device of Kubota in view of Ueno with the teaching of Pacala to generate a histogram from the calculated noise intensities. Histogram generation can be a useful tool for LiDAR systems. Pacala notes in [0090] that the background noise intensity can be used to indicate a “threshold that discriminate[s] between background and a detected pulse.”
Claim 30 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kubota in view of Ueno as applied to Claim 29 above, and further in view of Pacala.
Regarding Claim 30, which depends from rejected Claim 29, Kubota in view of Ueno does not teach and Pacala does teach a histogram generation unit configured to generate, according to a plurality of the pulse signals output from the light receiving array unit ([0051]: “the sensor array 236 of the Rx module 230 is fabricated as part of a monolithic device on a single substrate (using, e.g., CMOS technology) that includes both an array of photon detectors and an ASIC 231 for signal processing the raw histograms from the individual photon detectors ( or groups of detectors) in the array.”), a histogram that indicates time variations in light intensity of light detected by the light receiving array unit ([0051]: “or each photon detector or grouping of photon detectors, memory 234 ( e.g., SRAM) of the ASIC 231 can accumulate counts of detected photons over successive time bins, and these time bins taken together can be used to recreate a time series of the reflected light pulse (i.e., a count of photons vs. time”), the histogram starting from an emission timing of the signal light emitted by the light emitting unit (Figure 3, element 315; [0089]: “As described above, start time 615 can correspond to a start time for the pulse train.” The text from paragraph [0089] refers back to element 315.), wherein the signal intensity calculation unit is configured to calculate the signal intensity based on the histogram generated by the histogram generation unit, and the noise intensity calculation unit is configured to calculate the noise intensity based on the histogram generated by the histogram generation unit ([0102]: “To determine a lidar image, a match filter can be applied to each histogram to determine a depth value. The depth value (and potentially peak/signal value and noise value) can be assigned to a particular pixel in a rectilinear 2D array of the lidar image.” Here, the histogram is used to calculate the peak value and the noise value as well.).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the distance measurement device of Kubota in view of Ueno with the teaching of Pacala to generate a histogram from the calculated noise and signal intensities. Histogram generation can be a useful tool for LiDAR systems. Pacala notes in [0090] that the signal intensity and background noise intensity can be used to indicate a “threshold that discriminate[s] between background and a detected pulse.” This feature allows for better retrievals of distance by the device.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 2-8 and 10-17 are allowed due to their dependence from allowed independent Claims 7 and 16.
Claims 23, 24, 31, and 32 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Each of these claims recites limitations that are conditionally dependent on the observed pulse width, that is, the distance measurement device corrects both the rise time and fall item by one method if the pulse width is less than a certain value, and only the rise time if the pulse width is greater than a certain value. Such a limitation is not found in the prior art.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Sakazume (US 20220146647 A1) discloses a time-of-flight device with a SPAD array which is used to generate a time-series histogram of detection frequency. This can be used to detect signal peaks against ambient or background light.
Hinderling (US 20180356502 A1) discloses a distance measuring device capable of range walk correction based on the rising and falling edges of a received pulse.
Campbell (US 20180284247 A1) discloses a LiDAR system which uses the rising and falling edges of a received pulse to perform a range walk correction.
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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/B.W.C./ Examiner, Art Unit 3645
/ISAM A ALSOMIRI/ Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3645