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 .
Reopen Prosecution after QucikPath IDS
One or more items of information contained in the IDS submitted along with issue fee paid on July 27, 2026 has necessitated prosecution of the above-identified application to be reopened. The Notice of Allowability, PTOL-37, mailed by the Office on April 27, 2026 is withdrawn.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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 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.
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, 3, 5, 16, 17 and 19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US 20200025880 A1 (PACALA et al.) (hereinafter PACALA) in view of US 20180191404 A1 (Berger et al.) (hereinafter Berger) in further view of US 20190118737 A1 (Li et al.) (hereinafter Li) and in further view of US 6437656 B1 (Guynn et al.) (hereinafter Guynn).
In re claims 1, 16 and 17, PACALA discloses a method ([0064], “According to certain embodiments, methods of assembly of a compact LIDAR system”) and a system for providing a bi-directional data link within a LIDAR assembly (Fig. 2A, [0003], “Light imaging, detection and ranging (LIDAR) systems measure distance to a target by illuminating the target with a pulsed laser light and measuring the reflected pulses with a sensor”) comprising: a stationary portion for attaching to an autonomous vehicle (Fig. 2B: 230, [0077], “a stationary solid state LIDAR system 230”. [0075], “For a stationary architecture, like the solid-state LIDAR system 120 shown in FIG. 1B, one or more solid state LIDAR subsystems (e.g., light transmission module 122 and light sensing module 124) can be mounted to the vehicle 105”) and a second portion rotatable in relation to the stationary portion (Fig. 2A: 200, [0080], “turret circuit board assembly 222 is rotationally coupled to base circuit board assembly 226 through a rotational coupler 224. Rotational coupler 224 enables light ranging device 210 and turret circuit board assembly 222 to rotate a full 360 degrees within a housing 220 of LIDAR system 200... In some embodiments, the base circuit board assembly 226 can be coupled to the housing 220, for example, by way of a mechanical bracket and screws, such that base circuit board assembly 226 is held stationary and does not rotate relative to housing 220”), wherein the second portion includes one or more emitting devices and receiving devices for detecting objects surrounding the autonomous vehicle (Fig. 1A, Fig. 3: 330, 340, [0074], “The scanning LIDAR system 100 shown in FIG. 1A can employ a scanning architecture, where the orientation of the LIDAR light transmission module 102 (e.g., light source for emitting laser pulses) and/or light sensing module 104 (e.g., detector circuitry for detecting reflected pulses to determine distance to an object) can be scanned around one or more fields of view 110 within an external field or scene that is external to the vehicle 105. In the case of the scanning architecture, the emitted light 112 can be scanned over the surrounding environment as shown”. [0019], “...and a light ranging device electrically connected to and coupled to rotate with the second circuit board assembly, the light ranging device configured to transmit light pulses to objects in a surrounding environment, to detect reflected portions of the light pulses that are reflected from the objects in the surrounding environment, and to compute ranging data based on the reflected portion of the light pulses”); a first printed circuit board including a first set of trace antennas located within the stationary portion (Fig. 3: 378, [0019], “a first circuit board assembly disposed within and coupled to the housing in a fixed relationship such that the first circuit board assembly is aligned along a first plane perpendicular to the axis of rotation, the first circuit board assembly including a plurality of first circuit elements (antennas) disposed on a first circuit board”); and a second printed circuit board including a second set of trace antennas located within the second portion ([0019], “the second circuit board assembly including a plurality of second circuit elements (antennas) disposed on a second circuit board and aligned with and configured to function in wireless cooperation with at least one of the first plurality of circuit elements”); and a shaft located at a central axis within the LIDAR assembly ([0013], “In some embodiments, a spinning light ranging system according to the present disclosure can include a light ranging device (e.g., which emits light pulses and detects reflected pulses) that is connected to an upper circuit board assembly that rotates about an axis defined by a shaft. The upper circuit board assembly can cooperate with a lower circuit board assembly, e.g., to provide power, data, and/or encoded positions, via respective circuit elements”. [0019], “According to some embodiments a light ranging system includes a housing; a shaft defining an axis of rotation; a second circuit board assembly spaced apart from the first circuit board assembly within the housing in a second plane parallel to the first plane and rotationally coupled to the shaft such that the second circuit board assembly rotates about the axis of rotation”) connected to the first printed circuit board, wherein the first printed circuit board is configured to rotate in relation to the second printed circuit board ([0069], “In some embodiments, the shaft defines the axis of rotation of the system and one or more bearings attached thereto provide for rotational movement of the upper circuit board assembly relative to the lower circuit board assembly”. [0016], “According to some embodiments, a light ranging system includes a shaft having a longitudinal axis; a first circuit board assembly that includes a stator assembly comprising a plurality of stator elements arranged about the shaft on a surface of the first circuit board assembly; a second circuit board assembly rotationally coupled to the shaft and spaced apart from and in an opposing relationship with the first circuit board assembly, wherein the second circuit board assembly includes a rotor assembly comprising a plurality of rotor elements arranged about the shaft on a surface of the second circuit board assembly; a stator driver circuit disposed on either the second or the first circuit board assemblies, thereby imparting an electromagnetic force on the plurality of rotor elements to drive a rotation of the second circuit board assembly about the longitudinal axis of the shaft”) so that the first set of trace antennas and the second set of trace antennas align to provide the bi-directional data link (Fig. 3: 378, 396, [0094], “Rotary actuator 310 can also include an optical communication subsystem that includes a number of optical transmitters (e.g., optical transmitters 378 and 396) and a number of optical receivers (e.g., optical receivers 376 and 398) used for bi-directional contactless data transmission between rotary actuator 315 and light ranging device 320 (or to/from any other device or system that is mechanically connected to upper circuit board assembly 380 of the rotary actuator 315). More specifically...these optical communication components provide an uplink data channel for providing optical signals, including control signals, to light ranging device 320 and also provide a downlink data channel for providing optical signals, including ranging and operational data, from light ranging device 320 to base controller 366, user interface hardware and software 305, and/or the vehicle control unit 310”), and wherein the first set of trace antennas and the second set of the trace antennas are located within an electrically sealed cavity that is configured to enclose one or more cavity currents originating on the shaft and traveling to the first set of trace antennas or the second set of trace antennas.
PACALA does not explicitly disclose the first set of trace antennas and the second set of trace antennas align to provide the bi-directional data link.
Berger discloses the first set of trace antennas and the second set of trace antennas align to provide the bi-directional data link (Fig. 2A, [0040], “In the examples shown in FIGS. 1A-1C and 2A-2C, the interface 120 also includes a second data transmitter 132 coupled to the non-rotating body 102 and configured to transmit data signals, and a second data receiver 134 coupled to the rotating body 104 and configured to receive data signals from the second data transmitter 132 via a wireless coupling”. [0041], “In some examples, the second data transmitter 132 and the second data receiver 134 may be configured to provide bi-directional data transfer. For example, the second data transmitter 132 may be configured to receive data, and the second data receiver 134 may be configured to transmit data, thus reversing functions. In some examples, both the second data transmitter 132 and the second data receiver 134 may be configured to send and receive data. In some examples, the second data transmitter 132 and the second data receiver 134 may be configured to wirelessly transfer data signals via a low-speed wireless link (e.g., a wireless link having a data transfer rate of less than 20 kbps)”. [0042], “In some examples, the first data transmitter 128, the first data receiver 130, the second data transmitter 132, and the second data receiver 134 may be configured to wirelessly transfer data signals via a high-speed wireless link”. [0056], “In some examples, the first data transmitter 128 and the first data receiver 130 are axially aligned with the axis of rotation X of the rotating body 104. In this example configuration, data signals may be transmitted wirelessly from the LIDAR sensors and electronics carried by the rotating body 104 of the sensor assembly 300 to one or more controllers associated with the vehicle. In some examples, the first data transmitter 128 and the first data receiver 130 may be transceivers configured to both transmit data and receive data, such as, for example, transceivers that include photodiodes configured to operate in both transmitting and receiving modes, rendering them bi-directional”).
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of PACALA with Berger to provide design features for a LIDAR system that addresses the complexities of alignment and assembly before individual LIDAR units can be used by a customer. The advantage of doing so is to enable the systems to be manufactured cheaply, achieve high positional accuracy, low power consumption and to have a small enough footprint to be adopted for use in mass-market automobiles, trucks and other autonomous vehicles.
PACALA and Berger do not explicitly disclose a first printed circuit board including a first set of trace antennas located within the stationary portion and a second printed circuit board including a second set of trace antennas located within the second portion, wherein the first printed circuit board is configured to rotate in relation to the second printed circuit board, wherein the first set of trace antennas and the second set of the trace antennas are located within an electrically sealed cavity that is configured to enclose one or more cavity currents originating on the shaft and traveling to the first set of trace antennas or the second set of trace antennas.
Li discloses a first printed circuit board including a first set of trace antennas located within the stationary portion and a second printed circuit board including a second set of trace antennas located within the second portion (Fig. 4A, [0080], “FIG. 4A illustrates an example microchip 402 having an antenna 404. The antenna 404 may be used by the microchip 402 to communicate signals out of and into the microchip 402. Often, and especially at radio frequencies, the interface to and from a microchip may be inefficient and or difficult to design. Therefore, to improve chip communications, microchips may include antennas that can communicate signals to components external to the microchip”. [0003], “A LIDAR actively estimates distances to environmental features while scanning through a scene to assemble a cloud of point positions indicative of the three-dimensional shape of the environmental scene...It may be desirable to communicate this data, or a variant of this data, to various systems of the vehicle”. [0004], “For example, one or more sensors may be mounted on the roof of the vehicle, such as in a sensor dome. During the operation of the sensor, the sensor may be rotated, such as by way of being mounted on a rotating platform”. [0005], “ The vehicle includes two electrical couplings, coupled by way of a rotary joint. Each electrical coupling also includes a waveguide section configured to propagate electromagnetic signals between the interface waveguide and the rotary joint. Additionally, the rotary joint is configured to allow one electrical coupling to rotate with respect to the other electrical coupling. An axis of rotation of the rotary joint is defined by a center of a portion of the waveguide sections”. [0025], “During the operation of the waveguide system, an electromagnetic signal may be created by a communication chip. The communication chip may include an integrated antenna. This antenna transmits the electromagnetic signal outside of the chip”. [0026], “The second interface waveguide may couple the electromagnetic energy out of the second interface waveguide into an antenna located within another communication chip” (second PCB with trace antennas). [0076], “Each interface waveguide may be coupled to a communication chip having a chip antenna. For example, interface waveguide 306A is coupled to communication chip 308A by way of chip antenna 310A...In some examples, a single communication chip may have multiple antenna”), wherein the first printed circuit board is configured to rotate in relation to the second printed circuit board ([0024], “When the two sections are aligned, the rotation of one waveguide section with respect to the other may be rotation around a central axis of the waveguide”. [0096], At block 706, the method includes coupling the propagation mode across a rotary joint. In some examples the rotary joint may include an air gap. In other examples, the rotary joint may include a physical connection of the waveguides. At block 706, the signal propagating down a first section of a waveguide may cross the rotary joint and propagate down a second section of the waveguide. The rotary joint may allow the first section of the waveguide to rotate around a common axis with respect to the second section of the waveguide”), wherein the first set of trace antennas and the second set of the trace antennas are located within an electrically sealed cavity that is configured to enclose one or more cavity currents originating on the shaft and traveling to the first set of trace antennas or the second set of trace antennas ([0026], “The present system may have high isolation between the input ports of the various interface waveguides”. [0072], “The waveguides that form system 300 may be constructed of a metallic material, a non-metallic material that has been plated with a metallic surface, a dielectric material, a combination of these materials, or other materials that may have electromagnetic properties to contain and allow the propagation of electromagnetic signals”. [0077], “Essentially, the septum’s may form a wall in the circular waveguide between the openings of the interface waveguides” (part of electrical cavity). [0082], “By grounding the grounding portion 456 to the waveguide structure, the two antennas may be sufficiently isolated from each other. When the two antennas are isolated from each other, each antenna might not receive (or receive a small portion of) signals communicated to or from the other respective antenna” (electrically isolating). [0083], “The septum 504 may be constructed of a metallic material, a non-metallic material that has been plated with a metallic surface, a dielectric material, a combination of these materials, or other materials that may have electromagnetic properties to alter electromagnetic signals” (electrical cavity in the form of waveguide to contain the signals or isolate them as needed using the different dielectric materials)).
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of PACALA and Berger with Li to provide design features for a LIDAR system that addresses the complexities of alignment and assembly before individual LIDAR units can be used by a customer. The advantage of doing so is to prevent the degradation of wireless communication quality due to micro-currents generated from the rotating shaft due to antennas installed in the rotating parts.
PACALA, Berger and Li do not explicitly disclose a sealed cavity that is configured to enclose one or more cavity currents originating on the shaft and traveling to the first set of trace antennas or the second set of trace antennas.
Guynn discloses a sealed cavity that is configured to enclose one or more cavity currents originating on the shaft and traveling to the first set of trace antennas or the second set of trace antennas (Fig. 5, Col 6, line 65-Col 7, line 3, “FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of a pair of conductive transmission lines (fashioned as rings) and a pair of conductive probes that are placed within shields on both the stationary frame and a rotating frame, respectively. These shields are designed to prevent electromagnetic interference between signals”. Col 7, lines 11-18, “A rotary coupler 500 includes multiple transmission paths. In this embodiment, shields 520, 522, 524 and 526 are attached to a rotating member (frame) 508. Additionally, shields 521, 523, 525 and 527 are attached to a stationary member (frame) 514. Shields 520, 521, 522 and 523 prevent a signal that is coupled through a conductive probe 502A and a conductor 504A from interfering with a signal that is coupled through an adjacent transmission path” (discloses sealed cavities or shields to prevent interference and maintain signal integrity in the LIDAR system)).
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of PACALA, Berger and Li with Guynn to provide design features for a LIDAR system that addresses the complexities of alignment and assembly before individual LIDAR units can be used by a customer. The advantage of doing so is to enable the systems to be manufactured cheaply, achieve high positional accuracy, low power consumption and to have a small enough footprint to be adopted for use in mass-market automobiles, trucks and other autonomous vehicles.
In re claim 3, the combination discloses the system of claim 1, wherein PACALA discloses wherein the shaft is connected to the second portion, and the shaft rotates when the second portion rotates in relation to the stationary portion ([0016], “According to some embodiments, a light ranging system includes a shaft having a longitudinal axis; a second circuit board assembly rotationally coupled to the shaft and spaced apart from and in an opposing relationship with the first circuit board assembly, wherein the second circuit board assembly includes a rotor assembly comprising a plurality of rotor elements arranged about the shaft on a surface of the second circuit board assembly such that the plurality of rotor elements are aligned with and spaced apart from the plurality of stator elements; a stator driver circuit disposed on either the second or the first circuit board assemblies and configured to provide a drive signal to the plurality of stator elements, thereby imparting an electromagnetic force on the plurality of rotor elements to drive a rotation of the second circuit board assembly about the longitudinal axis of the shaft; and a light ranging device mechanically coupled to the second circuit board assembly such that the light ranging device rotates with the second circuit board assembly”).
In re claim 5, the combination discloses the system of claim 1, wherein PACALA discloses wherein a first bearing is connected to the shaft and a top side of the electrically sealed cavity and a second bearing is connected to the shaft and a bottom side of the electrically sealed cavity, wherein the first bearing and the second bearing permit the shaft and the first printed circuit board to rotate while the electrically sealed cavity and the second printed circuit board remain stationary ([0069], “In some embodiments, the shaft defines the axis of rotation of the system and one or more bearings attached thereto provide for rotational movement of the upper circuit board assembly relative to the lower circuit board assembly”. [0018], “In some embodiments a light ranging system includes a stationary enclosure having an optically transparent window and a base; a hollow shaft disposed within the enclosure; a bearing system coupled to the hollow shaft; a first circuit board assembly disposed within the enclosure and parallel with a first plane perpendicular to the hollow shaft, the first circuit board assembly including a stator assembly comprising a plurality of evenly spaced stator elements arranged annularly about the shaft on a surface of the first circuit board assembly; a second circuit board assembly disposed within the enclosure parallel to the first plane and rotationally coupled to the shaft by the bearing system, wherein the second circuit board assembly includes a rotor assembly comprising a plurality of evenly spaced rotor elements arranged annularly about the shaft on a surface of the second circuit board assembly such that the plurality of rotor elements are aligned with and spaced apart from the plurality of stator elements; a light ranging device coupled to rotate with the second circuit board assembly within the stationary enclosure; and a stator driver circuit disposed on either the second or the first circuit board assemblies and configured to provide a drive signal to the plurality of stator elements, thereby imparting an electromagnetic force on the plurality of rotor elements to drive a rotation of the second circuit board assembly and the light ranging device about the shaft”).
In re claim 19, the combination discloses the system of claim 17, wherein Li discloses wherein the first printed circuit board and the second printed circuit board are located within an electrically sealed cavity that is configured to enclose one or more cavity currents originating on the shaft from the first set of trace antennas and the second set of trace antennas ([0026], “The present system may have high isolation between the input ports of the various interface waveguides”. [0072], “The waveguides that form system 300 may be constructed of a metallic material, a non-metallic material that has been plated with a metallic surface, a dielectric material, a combination of these materials, or other materials that may have electromagnetic properties to contain and allow the propagation of electromagnetic signals”. [0077], “Essentially, the septum’s may form a wall in the circular waveguide between the openings of the interface waveguides” (part of electrical cavity). [0082], “By grounding the grounding portion 456 to the waveguide structure, the two antennas may be sufficiently isolated from each other. When the two antennas are isolated from each other, each antenna might not receive (or receive a small portion of) signals communicated to or from the other respective antenna” (electrically isolating). [0083], “The septum 504 may be constructed of a metallic material, a non-metallic material that has been plated with a metallic surface, a dielectric material, a combination of these materials, or other materials that may have electromagnetic properties to alter electromagnetic signals” (electrical cavity in the form of waveguide to contain the signals or isolate them as needed using the different dielectric materials)).
Claims 6, 7, 9, 11 and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US 20200025880 A1 (PACALA et al.) (hereinafter PACALA) in view of US 20180191404 A1 (Berger et al.) (hereinafter Berger) in view of US 20190118737 A1 (Li et al.) (hereinafter Li) in view of US 6437656 B1 (Guynn et al.) (hereinafter Guynn) and in further view of US 20190158150 A1 (Kirby et al.) (hereinafter Kirby).
In re claim 6, the combination discloses the system of claim 5, but does not explicitly disclose wherein a non-contacting ground circuit is configured to shunt the one or more cavity currents from the first bearing and the second bearing.
Kirby discloses wherein a non-contacting ground circuit is configured to shunt the one or more cavity currents from the first bearing and the second bearing ([0039], “At the receiver 203, receiver resistance includes two resistors 214A, 214B that are also provided with a reference voltage Vref2. The reference voltage may be ground, or any suitable reference. The output of a differential receiver 216 is provided to coupling resistors 218A, 218B and coupling capacitors 220A, 220B. The received signal, indicated by R+ and R−, may be across a termination resistor 222”).
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of PACALA, Berger, Li and Guynn with Kirby to provide design features for a LIDAR system that addresses the complexities of alignment and assembly desirable to transmit an electrical signal across a rotating interface. The advantage of doing so is to enable the systems to be manufactured cheaply and achieve high positional accuracy, low power consumption and to have a small enough footprint to be adopted for use in mass-market automobiles, trucks and other autonomous vehicles.
In re claim 7, the combination discloses the system of claim 6, wherein Kirby discloses wherein the non-contacting ground circuit comprises a plurality of resistive elements constructed in a parallel arrangement ([0031], “The bands 106A, 106B, 108A, 108B, and receiver resistance 114, then, are positioned in parallel to the differential transmission line. In this way, a relatively high receiver resistance 114 may be selected without deleterious transmission line effects causing excessive reflection of the transmitted signal 112”. [0038], “In the example of FIG. 2, the transmit signal, indicated by T+ and T− is provided to coupling resistors 202A, 202B and coupling capacitors 204A, 204B. A transmitter termination resistance including resistors 205A, 205B is also shown, with a reference voltage Vref1 provided there between. For example, each resistor 205A, 205B may be about half of the total transmitter termination resistance”).
In re claim 9, the combination discloses the system of claim 6, wherein Kirby discloses wherein the non-contacting ground circuit is connected to both the second portion and the stationary portion ([0048], “The second channel 305 may also include a transmitter termination resistance 322 and a receiver circuit 324 including a receiver resistance and differential amplifier, as described herein. In some examples, bands 302, 304, 314, 316 are mounted on a first common housing while bands 306, 308, 318, 320 are mounted on a second common housing”).
In re claim 11, the combination discloses the system of claim 1, but does not explicitly disclose wherein the first set of trace antennas and the second set of trace antennas are configured to align to provide a peak-to-peak frequency that is less than 6dB.
Kirby discloses wherein the first set of trace antennas and the second set of trace antennas are configured to align to provide a peak-to-peak frequency that is less than 6dB ([0015], “ A low cutoff frequency describes the low frequency range of the passband and a high cutoff frequency describes the high frequency range of the passband. In some examples, the low and high cutoff frequencies are considered to be the frequencies at which the transmitted signal is attenuated by 3 dB or to about half-power. Frequency content lower than the low cutoff frequency is attenuated at more than about 3 dB while frequency content higher than the low cutoff frequency is attenuated at less than about 3 dB”).
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of PACALA, Berger, Li and Guynn with Kirby to provide design features for a LIDAR system that addresses the complexities of alignment and assembly desirable to transmit an electrical signal across a rotating interface. The advantage of doing so is to enable the systems to be manufactured cheaply, achieve high positional accuracy, low power consumption and to have a small enough footprint to be adopted for use in mass-market automobiles, trucks and other autonomous vehicles.
In re claim 20, the combination discloses the system of claim 19, wherein PACALA discloses wherein a first bearing is connected to the shaft and a top side of the electrically sealed cavity and a second bearing is connected to the shaft and a bottom side of the electrically sealed cavity, wherein the first bearing and the second bearing permit the shaft and the first printed circuit board to rotate while the electrically sealed cavity and the second printed circuit board remain stationary ([0069], “In some embodiments, the shaft defines the axis of rotation of the system and one or more bearings attached thereto provide for rotational movement of the upper circuit board assembly relative to the lower circuit board assembly”. [0018], “In some embodiments a light ranging system includes a stationary enclosure having an optically transparent window and a base; a hollow shaft disposed within the enclosure; a bearing system coupled to the hollow shaft; a first circuit board assembly disposed within the enclosure and parallel with a first plane perpendicular to the hollow shaft, the first circuit board assembly including a stator assembly comprising a plurality of evenly spaced stator elements arranged annularly about the shaft on a surface of the first circuit board assembly; a second circuit board assembly disposed within the enclosure parallel to the first plane and rotationally coupled to the shaft by the bearing system, wherein the second circuit board assembly includes a rotor assembly comprising a plurality of evenly spaced rotor elements arranged annularly about the shaft on a surface of the second circuit board assembly such that the plurality of rotor elements are aligned with and spaced apart from the plurality of stator elements; a light ranging device coupled to rotate with the second circuit board assembly within the stationary enclosure; and a stator driver circuit disposed on either the second or the first circuit board assemblies and configured to provide a drive signal to the plurality of stator elements, thereby imparting an electromagnetic force on the plurality of rotor elements to drive a rotation of the second circuit board assembly and the light ranging device about the shaft”), but does not explicitly disclose wherein a non- contacting ground circuit is configured to shunt the one or more cavity currents from the first bearing and the second bearing.
Kirby discloses wherein a non-contacting ground circuit is configured to shunt the one or more cavity currents from the first bearing and the second bearing ([0039], “At the receiver 203, receiver resistance includes two resistors 214A, 214B that are also provided with a reference voltage Vref2. The reference voltage may be ground, or any suitable reference. The output of a differential receiver 216 is provided to coupling resistors 218A, 218B and coupling capacitors 220A, 220B. The received signal, indicated by R+ and R−, may be across a termination resistor 222”).
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of PACALA, Berger, Li and Guynn with Kirby to provide design features for a LIDAR system that addresses the complexities of alignment and assembly desirable to transmit an electrical signal across a rotating interface. The advantage of doing so is to enable the systems to be manufactured cheaply, achieve high positional accuracy, low power consumption and to have a small enough footprint to be adopted for use in mass-market automobiles, trucks and other autonomous vehicles.
Claim 8 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US 20200025880 A1 (PACALA et al.) (hereinafter PACALA) in view of US 20180191404 A1 (Berger et al.) (hereinafter Berger) in view of US 20190118737 A1 (Li et al.) (hereinafter Li) in view of US 6437656 B1 (Guynn et al.) (hereinafter Guynn) in view of US 20190158150 A1 (Kirby et al.) (hereinafter Kirby) and in further view of EP 1537428 B1 (HOBELSBERGER et al.) (hereinafter HOBELSBERGER).
In re claim 8, the combination discloses the system of claim 7, but does not explicitly disclose wherein a net parallel impedance of the plurality of resistive elements between a static ground and a rotating ground is less than 8 ohms and greater than 2 ohms.
HOBELSBERGER discloses wherein a net parallel impedance of the plurality of resistive elements between a static ground and a rotating ground is less than 8 ohms and greater than 2 ohms (Page 5, lines 5-7, “The shaft 2 is mounted on at least two shaft bearings 3. The oil films present in the bearings 3 isolate the shaft 2 from the bearings 3 in contact with the earth. However, this insulation frequently collapses at voltage peaks on the shaft 2, which can lead to problems with electrical erosion”. Page 5, lines 17-19, “The shaft voltages, usually and hereinafter referred to as Us, and wave currents, usually as Is, represent in principle a risk to various components of the generator and can lead to damage to the generator”. Page 5, lines 22-26, “For this purpose, on one side of the generator 4, a low-resistance grounding 5, e.g., a so-called DE module (Driving End Module) connected to the shaft 2, which essentially ensures a secure grounding of the shaft 2 to the earth 8. On the other side of the generator 4, a so-called RC module 6 (R for resistance, C for capacity), which is connected to an analysis unit 7, on the one hand connected to the shaft 2 and on the other hand placed on earth 9”. Page 5, lines 28-35, “The DE module 5 is formed with low resistance to the earth 8 by first a low-resistance resistor 12 is connected between the contact device 10 and ground 8. Typically, the resistor 12 has a value R in the range of 1 to 50 ohms. Thus, the DE module 5 initially ensures a low-impedance grounding of the shaft 2. In order to prevent any unwanted, applied to the shaft 2 high currents can flow off directly to the ground 8, is in series with the resistor 12, a fuse 14 parallel to a second, high-resistance resistor 13 is arranged. This ensures that there is no low-resistance connection to the earth 8 in the event of an unwanted current peak on the shaft 2, since the current is then limited by the resistor 13” (Since the current is limited by low resistance, ensures undesirable current surge on the shaft)).
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of PACALA, Berger, Li, Guynn and Kirby with HOBELSBERGER to provide design features for a LIDAR system that addresses the complexities of alignment and reliability in transmitting signals across rotating interface through shafts. The advantage of doing so is to enable the systems to be manufactured cheaply, achieve high positional accuracy, low power consumption and to have a small enough footprint to be adopted for use in mass-market automobiles, trucks and other autonomous vehicles.
Claims 10 and 18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US 20200025880 A1 (PACALA et al.) (hereinafter PACALA) in view of US 20180191404 A1 (Berger et al.) (hereinafter Berger) in view of US 20190118737 A1 (Li et al.) (hereinafter Li) in view of US 6437656 B1 (Guynn et al.) (hereinafter Guynn) and in further view of US 20210313699 A1 (Muesse et al.) (hereinafter Muesse).
In re claims 10 and 18, the combination discloses the system of claim 1 and the system of claim 17, but does not explicitly disclose wherein the first set of trace antennas and the second set of trace antennas align to provide a horizontally polarized quarter wave monopole array to provide the bi-directional data link.
Muesse discloses wherein the first set of trace antennas and the second set of trace antennas align to provide a horizontally polarized quarter wave monopole array to provide the bi-directional data link (Fig. 1, [0002], “Wireless communication using radios can be used for communications on land, in the air, at sea, or on opposite sides of the world. Communication from point to point on the ground is commonly accomplished with antenna such as monopole or dipoles. A dipole, for example, has two elements approximately a quarter wave in length, arranged in a shared axial alignment configuration with a small gap between the two elements. Each element of the dipole can be fed with a current 180 degrees out of phase from the other element. A monopole has one element approximately a quarter wave in length, and operates in conjunction with a ground plane, which mimics the missing second element”).
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of PACALA, Berger, Li and Guynn with Muesse to provide design features for a LIDAR system to transmit and receive strong signal strength of electromagnetic waves across a rotating interface through antennas and addresses the complexities of alignment and assembly desirable by customers. The advantage of doing so is to enable the systems to be manufactured cheaply, achieve high positional accuracy, low power consumption and to have a small enough footprint to be adopted for use in mass-market automobiles, trucks and other autonomous vehicles.
Claims 12-15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US 20200025880 A1 (PACALA et al.) (hereinafter PACALA) in view of US 20180191404 A1 (Berger et al.) (hereinafter Berger) in view of US 20190118737 A1 (Li et al.) (hereinafter Li) in view of US 6437656 B1 (Guynn et al.) (hereinafter Guynn) and in further view of WO 2022176896 A1 (AOKI et al.) (hereinafter AOKI).
In re claims 12 and 14, the combination discloses the system of claim 1, but does not explicitly disclose further comprising: an upload/download comparator electrically connected to the first/second printed circuit board, wherein the upload/download comparator is configured to receive upload/download data transmitted to the first/second set of trace antennas from the second/first set of trace antennas; an upload/download mixer circuit to mix the upload/download data using a local oscillator frequency driver; an upload/download amplifier circuit to amplify the upload/download data; and an upload/download diplexer circuit to filter the upload/download data using a low/high pass filter.
AOKI discloses an upload/download comparator electrically connected to the first/second printed circuit board, wherein the upload/download comparator is configured to receive upload/download data transmitted to the first/second set of trace antennas from the second/first set of trace antennas; an upload/download mixer circuit to mix the upload/download data using a local oscillator frequency driver; an upload/download amplifier circuit to amplify the upload/download data; and an upload/download diplexer circuit to filter the upload/download data using a low/high pass filter (Page 2, lines 1-14, “Lidar is a sensing technology that uses laser light and is suitable for observing gas molecules and fine particles (aerosols) in the atmosphere. The differential absorption lidar (DIAL) device is equipped with two lasers, and irradiates laser light of two wavelengths with different light absorption amounts by gas molecules to be observed. Measures the concentration of molecules. Lasers can drift and fluctuate in the wavelength of the light they irradiate due to changes in the surrounding environment and deterioration over time. Therefore, a technology for continuous control is required”. Page 11, lines 27-43, “10 DIAL device, 14 optical isolator 15, 16 optical demultiplexer 17 optical switch 18 optical demultiplexer 19 mirror 20 wavelength controller 21, 22 optical demultiplexer 23, 24 optical multiplexer 29 mirror 3 wavelength stabilizer 31 local oscillator 32 shifter phase detector 33 optical modulator 34 gas cell 35 photodetector 36 frequency mixer 37 low frequency filter 38 proportional product derivative (PID) controller 4 sideband wave generator (sideband wave generating means), local oscillator 42 amplifier 43 optical modulator 51, 52 photodetector 6 wavelength corrector (wavelength corrector), local oscillator 62, frequency divider 63 phase comparator 64 loop filter 65 proportional integral derivative (PID) controller 7 pulse laser amplifier 8 telescope (transmitting and receiving optical system)” (discloses the optical and electrical components in the LIDAR system in alignment with claim 1)).
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of PACALA, Berger, Li and Guynn with AOKI to provide design features for a LIDAR system to transmit and receive strong signal strength of electromagnetic waves across a rotating interface through antennas and addresses the complexities of alignment and assembly desirable by customers. The advantage of doing so is to enable the systems to be manufactured cheaply, achieve high positional accuracy, low power consumption and to have a small enough footprint to be adopted for use in mass-market automobiles, trucks and other autonomous vehicles.
In re claims 13 and 15, the combination discloses the system of claim 12 and 14, wherein AOKI discloses wherein the local oscillator frequency driver operates approximately at a frequency of 4 GHz (Page 10, lines 32-43, “For example, when f.sub.mod =. sub.13.1392 GHz, fo1=|ν1−(ν0+2f.sub.mod) |=3.447 GHz and fo2=|ν2− (. sub.ν0 −f.sub.mod) |= 3.447 GHz. Therefore, for the photodetectors 51 and 52, general ones having a detection frequency of about 5 GHz, for example, can be applied. Note that the offset frequencies f. sub. o 1 and f.sub. o 2 may be set to different values...”).
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/SWATI JAIN/Examiner, Art Unit 2649
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