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 .
Examiner’s Statement
The examiner notes a typographical error in the prior rejection, namely that the PGPub number of Haegermarck (US 2015/0185322 A1) was written incorrectly in the rejection of Claim 23. The number was written correctly in the rejection of Claim 1.
Claim Objections
Claim 23 is objected to because of the following informalities: The phrase on lines 15-17 of the claim reading “the first portion extends towards opposite to the collection area of the camera module, and the second portion extends towards to the collecting area of the camera module” is difficult to parse. Based on Figures 1f and 1g, the examiner has interpreted this to mean that the first bending portion points away from a plane containing the camera module and that the second bending portion points back towards the plane containing the camera module, and has examined the claim as such. The examiner suggests clarifying this phrase.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments filed 01/09/2026 have been fully considered.
Regarding the rejection of Claims 1, 9, and 19 under U.S.C. 103, applicant asserts that because the L-shaped laser emitter bracket of Li connects to the rotor of the LiDAR, and not to the camera module as in the instant application, that Li fails to provide the teaching of an L-shaped connection assembly for connecting a camera module and a line laser emitter. This argument is not persuasive, and the rejection of Claims 1, 9, and 19 under U.S.C. 103 is retained. The examiner notes that the only limitation missing from the primary Haegermarck reference is that the bending portion is L-shaped. Haegermarck teaches that the bending portion connects the camera module and the line laser emitter. Thus, the only element of Li that is brought into the rejection is the L-shape of the bracket, as a bending portion connecting the camera module and line laser emitters is already taught.
Applicant’s arguments, see Remarks, pages 7-8, filed 01/09/2026, with respect to the rejection(s) of Claim 23 under U.S.C. 102 have been fully considered and are persuasive. Therefore, the rejection has been withdrawn. However, upon further consideration, a new ground of rejection is made in view of Evans (US 4,954,962).
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 1-4, 9, and 19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Haegermarck (US 2015/0185322 A1) in view of Li (US 2021/0190918 A1).
Regarding Claim 1, Haegermarck discloses a structured light module (Abstract: A robot positioning system having a camera, a processing unit and at least a first line laser), comprising: a camera module (Figure 1, element 12; [0031]: “a light detector 12 such as a CMOS camera”), line laser emitters distributed on two sides of the camera module (Figure 1, elements 13 and 14; [0031]: “two light sources 13, 14 in the form of line lasers”), and a fixing seat (Figure 1, element 11); wherein:
the line laser emitters are configured to emit line laser light outwards ([0031]: “The line lasers 13, 14 are arranged to project vertical laser lines within field of view of the CMOS camera 12.”), the camera module is configured to collect an environmental image illuminated by the line laser light ([0031]: “The CMOS camera 12 will repeatedly record pictures of the space illuminated by the two line lasers 13, 14 such that a representation of the illuminated
space can be created for accurate positioning.”),
the camera module and the line laser emitters are assembled on the fixing seat ([0031]: “a chassis 11 in which a light detector 12 such as a CMOS camera is located as well as two
light sources 13, 14 in the form of line lasers.”),
the fixing seat comprises a main body portion and end portions located on two sides of the main body portion (Figure 1, the fixing seat (11) has a main central portion and two end portions projecting from it);
the camera module is assembled on the main body portion (Figure 1, element 12, the camera is located at the center of the main body portion);
the line laser emitters are assembled on the end portions (Figure 1, elements 13 and 14 are located on the end portions); and
the main body portion and the end portions are connected via a bending portion (The excerpt from Haegermarck Figure A shows a bending portion between the camera (12) and line lasers (13, 14). The bend is apparent between the two red arrows, identified as the bending region.)
Haegermarck does not teach and Li does teach wherein the bending portion is L-shaped (Figure 18; [0254]: “The laser emitter bracket 2011 is L-shaped.”).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate the teaching of Li to use an L-shaped bracket for the bending portion of the invention of Haegermarck. Thorlabs notes that angle adapters are essential building tools for the construction of rigid optomechanical systems, and the selection of a 90 degree or L-shaped bend would yield increased strength and rigidity into the optical system, which is beneficial for keeping optical components at precise distances and orientations from each other. The rigidity and vibrational properties of such a component are readily computed by hand or with software by one of ordinary skill in the art, and the inclusion of such a component would therefore yield a predictable result.
Regarding Claim 2, which depends from rejected Claim 1, Haegermarck further discloses wherein, the line laser emitters and the camera module are located at the same height in an installation position (Figure 1 clearly shows that the line lasers (elements 13 and 14) and the light detector (element 12) are disposed at the same height on the structured light module).
Regarding Claim 4, which depends from rejected Claim 3, Haegermarck further discloses wherein:
end surfaces of the end portions are oriented to a reference plane so that center lines of the line laser emitters intersect with a center line of the camera module at a point (Figure 2b shows that the laser lines (elements 22 and 23) intersect at a point directly in front of the camera 12), and the reference plane is a plane perpendicular to an end surface or end surface tangent line of the main body portion ([0039]: “the first line laser 13 and the second line laser 14 are arranged on a respective side of the camera 12 along an axis being perpendicular to an optical axis of the camera. Further, as can be seen in FIGS. 2a and 2b, the line lasers 13, 14 are directed such that their respective laser beams 23, 22 intersect within the field of view of the camera 12. Typically, the intersection coincides with the optical axis of the camera 12”).
Regarding Claim 9, which depends from rejected Claim 1, Haegermarck further discloses wherein:
there are two line laser emitters (Figure 1, elements 13 and 14), and the two line laser emitters are symmetrically distributed on two sides of the camera module (Figures 1, 2a, and 2b show that the line lasers are symmetrical on either side of the camera).
Regarding Claim 19, Haegermarck discloses an autonomous mobile device (Figure 2a, element 20; [0034]: “FIG. 2a illustrates a top view of a robotic vacuum cleaner 20 being arranged with a robot positioning system according to an embodiment of the present invention”), comprising: a device body (Figure 2a, element 20), wherein:
the device body is provided with a main controller (Figure 1, element 15, ‘processor’)
a structured light module including a camera module and line laser emitters distributed on two sides of the camera module (Figure 1, elements 13 and 14 the line laser emitters are on either side of the camera 12; [0034]: “robot positioning system according to an embodiment of the present invention, where the two line lasers 13, 14 each illuminate a space 21 being located in the field of view of the CMOS camera 12 by means of vertical laser lines 22, 23.”) ; and
the main controller controls the line laser emitters to emit line laser outwards ([0043]: “The line lasers 13, 14 are controlled to emit light to create a respective vertical laser line 22, 23,”), controls the camera module to collect an environmental image illuminated by the line laser ([0043]: “The line lasers 13, 14 are controlled to emit light to create a respective vertical laser line 22, 23, while the CMOS camera 12 is operated to repeatedly take pictures.”), and performs functional control on the autonomous mobile device according to the environmental image ([0044]: “The estimated position of the robot is recorded at the time of taking the respective picture by applying dead reckoning. This is a known method where a current position is calculated by using data pertaining to a previously determined position”; [0011]: “Thus, the robot positioning system according to embodiments of the present invention enables provision of accurate and relevant data to navigate past obstacles at close distance.”).
the camera module and the line laser emitters are assembled on the fixing seat ([0031]: “a chassis 11 in which a light detector 12 such as a CMOS camera is located as well as two
light sources 13, 14 in the form of line lasers.”),
the fixing seat comprises a main body portion and end portions located on two sides of the main body portion (Figure 1, the fixing seat (11) has a main central portion and two end portions projecting from it);
the camera module is assembled on the main body portion (Figure 1, element 12, the camera is located at the center of the main body portion);
the line laser emitters are assembled on the end portions (Figure 1, elements 13 and 14 are located on the end portions); and
the main body portion and the end portions are connected via a bending portion (The excerpt from Haegermarck Figure A shows a bending portion between the camera (12) and line lasers (13, 14). The bend is apparent between the two red arrows, identified as the bending region.)
Haegermarck does not teach and Li does teach wherein the bending portion is L-shaped (Figure 18; [0254]: “The laser emitter bracket 2011 is L-shaped.”).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate the teaching of Li to use an L-shaped bracket for the bending portion of the invention of Haegermarck. Thorlabs notes that angle adapters are essential building tools for the construction of rigid optomechanical systems, and the selection of a 90 degree or L-shaped bend would yield increased strength and rigidity into the optical system, which is beneficial for keeping optical components at precise distances and orientations from each other. The rigidity and vibrational properties of such a component are readily computed by hand or with software by one of ordinary skill in the art, and the inclusion of such a component would therefore yield a predictable result.
Claims 11 and 18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Haegermarck in view of Li and in view of Hickerson (US 2017/0300061 A1).
Regarding Claim 11, Haegermarck discloses an autonomous mobile device (Figure 2a, element 20; [0034]: “FIG. 2a illustrates a top view of a robotic vacuum cleaner 20 being arranged with a robot positioning system according to an embodiment of the present invention”), comprising:
A device body (Figure 2a, element 20)
a structured light module wherein the structured light module includes a camera module. line laser emitters distributed on two sides of the camera module (Figure 1, elements 13 and 14 the line laser emitters are on either side of the camera 12; [0034]: “robot positioning system according to an embodiment of the present invention, where the two line lasers 13, 14 each illuminate a space 21 being located in the field of view of the CMOS camera 12 by means of vertical laser lines 22, 23.”), and a fixing seat (Figure 1, element 11), wherein,
the camera module and the line laser emitters are assembled on the fixing seat ([0031]: “a chassis 11 in which a light detector 12 such as a CMOS camera is located as well as two
light sources 13, 14 in the form of line lasers.”).;
the fixing seat comprises a main body portion and end portions located on two sides of the main body portion (Figure 1, the fixing seat (11) has a main central portion and two end portions projecting from it);
the camera module is assembled on the main body portion (Figure 1, element 12, the camera is located at the center of the main body portion);
the line laser emitters are assembled on the end portions (Figure 1, elements 13 and 14 are located on the end portions); and
the main body portion and the end portions are connected via a bending portion (The excerpt from Haegermarck Figure A above shows a bending portion between the camera (12) and line lasers (13, 14). The bend is apparent between the two red arrows, identified as the bending region.)
Haegermarck does not teach and Li does teach wherein the bending portion is L-shaped (Figure 18; [0254]: “The laser emitter bracket 2011 is L-shaped.”).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate the teaching of Li to use an L-shaped bracket for the bending portion of the invention of Haegermarck. Thorlabs notes that angle adapters are essential building tools for the construction of rigid optomechanical systems, and the selection of a 90 degree or L-shaped bend would yield increased strength and rigidity into the optical system, which is beneficial for keeping optical components at precise distances and orientations from each other. The rigidity and vibrational properties of such a component are readily computed by hand or with software by one of ordinary skill in the art, and the inclusion of such a component would therefore yield a predictable result.
Haegermarck discloses a main controller which controls the line laser emitters to a emit line laser light outwards ([0043]: “The line lasers 13, 14 are controlled to emit light to create a respective vertical laser line 22, 23,”), controls the camera module to collect an environmental image illuminated by the line laser light ([0012]: “In this particular embodiment, the process unit is arranged to extract, from the recorded picture, image data representing a respective line formed by the vertical laser lines of the first and second line laser being reflected against an object located in the space. Further, the processing unit is arranged to create, from the respective extracted line, a representation of the illuminated space along the projected laser lines of the first and second line laser.”),
and performs functional control on the autonomous mobile device according to the environmental image ([0042]: “From these pictures, image data may be extracted clearly indicating the illuminated particles. In case the robotic vacuum cleaner encounters an area comprising particles, these will light up, and may thus be distinguished from a clean, particle-free floor by using image processing. The robotic vacuum cleaner may thus advantageously be controlled on the basis of this information.”);
Haegermarck does not teach and Hickerson does teach a second control unit which handles some of the above functionality originally managed exclusively by the first control unit.
Haegermarck suggests ([0043]) but does not teach and Hickerson does teach that the device body is provided with a first control unit wherein the first control unit is electrically connected to the line laser emitters ([0030]: “A synchronization circuit 104 receives a synchronization signal from a visual sensor 100 and sequentially pulses a laser 108 on and off. Optionally, the synchronization circuit 104 includes a pseudo-random sequence generator 106.) and the first control unit controls the line laser emitters to emit line laser outwards (Figure 2, elements 205 and 206 are the laser beams, which are emitted outwards or away from the robot body) , a second control unit (The persistence model 110 the pixel detection module 112, the obstacle detection module 114, and the triangulation module 116 form a second control unit) wherein the second control unit is electrically connected to the camera module ([0030]: “of images 102 acquired from the visual sensor 100 is sent to a persistence model module 110, which combines the information from the stream of images 102.”; Thus the camera is electrically connected to the second control unit), and the second control unit controls the camera module to collect an environmental image illuminated by the line laser light, and performs functional control on the autonomous mobile device according to the environmental image ([0030]: “in one embodiment, if the obstacle detection module 114 determines that an illuminated pixel corresponds to a floor surface, then the obstacle detection module determines that the illuminated pixel does not correspond to an obstacle. An optional triangulation module 116 computes the 3-D position of the obstacle point with respect to a reference frame associated with a device, such as a robot, that carries the visual sensor 100.”)
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 robotic vacuum of Haegermarck with the teaching of Hickerson to have separate control units for interacting with the laser and camera subsystems. Hickerson notes in [0035] that “to effectively build up a persistence model of the environment being scanned, the laser light must be alternately turned off and on in sync with the camera's electronic shutter, and the information as to whether the laser light was on or off for each acquired image frame must be passed to the persistence model.” Hickerson further notes in [0035] that not all cameras come with sync in/sync out signals (e.g., less expensive varieties) but that even those will contain a control pin from which a sync signal can be derived. It is therefore advantageous to maintain a separate synchronization circuit for controlling the laser, as this enables greater compatibility with a wider variety of camera devices.
Regarding Claim 18, which depends from rejected Claim 11, Haegermarck further teaches wherein the autonomous mobile device is a floor sweeping robot or a window cleaning robot ([0010]: “Further advantageous is that the robot positioning system can be used to detect dust and debris in front of a robotic vacuum cleaner on which the positioning system can be arranged.”)
Claims 12, 13, and 17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Haegermarck in view of Li and in view of Hickerson as applied to Claim 11 above, and further in view of Zhang (CN 109587303 A).
Regarding Claim 12, which depends from rejected Claim 11, Haegermarck in view of Li and in view of Hickerson teaches wherein:
the first control unit is further electrically connected to the camera module and the second control unit (Hickerson Figure 1 shows a connection between the camera (100) and the Synchronization circuit (104));
the second control unit performs exposure control on the camera module (Hickerson [0035]: “the laser light must be alternately turned off and on in sync with the camera's electronic shutter, and the information as to whether the laser light was on or off for each acquired image frame must be passed to the persistence model.”; The camera performs exposure control by enabling and disabling its electronic shutter.),
a synchronization signal generated by the camera module at each exposure is output to the first control unit (Hickerson [0030]: “A synchronization circuit 104 receives a synchronization signal from a visual sensor 100 and sequentially pulses a laser 108 on and off.”);
the first control unit controls the line laser emitters to work alternately according to the synchronization signal (Hickerson [0032]: “A synchronization circuit 504 receives a synchronization signal from a visual sensor 500 and alternately pulses the lasers 508 and 509 on and off.”)
Haegermarck in view of Li and in view of Hickerson suggests but does not teach (Hickerson [0032]: “A pixel detection module 512 determines which pixels in the images 502 are illuminated by light from the lasers 508 and 509.”) and Zhang teaches wherein the first control unit outputs a laser source distinguishing signal to the second control unit; the second control unit performs left-right marking on environmental images collected by the camera module at each exposure according to the laser source distinguishing signal ([0052]: “A microprocessor 40 can control multiple different driving circuits in a timesharing manner to drive multiple structured light projectors 22 to project laser patterns. It can also provide clock information for collecting laser patterns to multiple structured light cameras 24 in a time-sharing manner so that the multiple structured light cameras 24 are exposed in a time-sharing manner, and process the laser patterns collected by the multiple structured light cameras 24 in sequence to obtain multiple initial depth images. For example, the microprocessor 40 first processes the laser pattern captured by the structured light camera 24 a to obtain an initial depth image P1 , and then processes the laser pattern captured by the structured light camera 24 b to obtain an initial depth image P2. In the device of Zhang, the microprocessor 40 is performing the role of the synchronization circuit)
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 autonomous vacuum robot of Haegermarck in view of Li and in view of Hickerson with the teaching of Zhang to mark the recorded images based the laser which was operational when the image was recorded. Hickerson notes that images are often processed pairwise, that is, an ‘laser off’ image may be subtracted from a ‘laser on’ image in order to suppress the background (Abstract). In the case of more than one laser, it is therefore essential to keep track of which image corresponds to which laser in order to ensure proper subtraction and data retrieval at the triangulation stage, for example.
Regarding Claim 13, which depends from rejected Claim 12, Haegermarck in view of Li and in view of Hickerson further teaches wherein the structured light module is arranged on a front side of the device body, and the front side is a side to which the device body is oriented during the forward movement of the autonomous mobile device (Haegermarck Figure 3a shows the structured light module components (Camera, 12; Lines lasers, 13 and 14) oriented at the front of the device as it is oriented towards potential obstacles ahead of it, e.g., a threshold (31) and a wall (32). Haegermarck [0046]).
Regarding Claim 17, which depends from rejected Claim 13, Haegermarck further teaches wherein the structured light module is arranged in a middle position, a top position or a bottom position in a height direction of the device body (Figure 6 shows the camera in the middle of the robot body in the height direction. Given the geometry of the Haegermarck structured light module, the whole module must as well be in the middle of the robot body in the height direction).
Claims 5-8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Haegermarck in view Li and in view of Atala (US 2020/0292297 A1).
Regarding Claim 5, which depends from rejected Claim 4, Haegermarck in view of Li does not teach and Atala does teach wherein a middle position of the main body portion is provided with a groove, the camera module is installed in the groove (Figures 4A and 4B exemplify the groove created between elements 402 and 404 when the device is assembled; Figures 6A and 6B show the camera 612 mounted in the resultant groove), the end portions are provided with installation holes, and the line laser emitters are installed in the installation holes (Figure 7D shows the laser pointer 730 mounted within the DOE sealing block 720 within the base portion of the device. Figure 7D shows that the red laser pointer is partially surrounded by the sealing block 720, in other words, that it is mounted in a hole. [0098]: “A red pointer beam source 730 attaches to DOE holder 710 and is held in place by the DOE sealing block 720.”).
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 structured light module of Haegermarck in view of Li with the teachings of Atala, which solve a similar problem in a related field. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been aware of the mounting methods used in Atala (e.g., installing an imager within a groove in a device and installing lasers within a hole) and could have easily applied those mounting methods to the device of Haegermarck to secure its components like the camera and the lasers in the end portions.
Regarding Claim 6, which depends from rejected Claim 4, Haegermarck in view of Li does not teach and Atala does teach a fixing cover (Figure 3, element 310 shows a cover over the body of the device (‘the fixing seat’)) assembled over the fixing seat (Figure 3, elements 311A and 311B are through holes allowing the cover to be affixed to the body via screws); wherein a cavity is formed between the fixing cover and the fixing seat to accommodate connecting lines of the camera module (Assembled and exploded views of the camera modules are provided in Figures 5A and 5B. The connecting ribbon cables of the camera 516 fit within the cavity provided by the body and the cover 310) and the line laser emitters (Figure 7D, element 732; the wiring for the laser point again fits within the body of the device in element 418) with a host controller ([0122]: “Image signals 1452A, 1452B, 1452C from the ribbon cables 516 are processed by the computing module 1430.”; [0122]: “In an embodiment, the computing module 1430 provides a signal 1453 that initiates emission of light from the laser pointer 730.”; [0098]: “Electrical power is provided to the red pointer beam source 730 over the cable 732, which is connected to the FPGA electronics board assembly 938”).
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 device of Haegermarck in view of Li with the teaching of Atala to construct the device with an internal cavity designed to contain enough space for connecting lines connecting component to their controllers. This basic and widely known design principle would be well-known to one of ordinary skill in the art, who would have known to provide internal space for cabling in order to protect the cabling, the user, and to prevent snags as the mobile robot moves about.
Regarding Claim 7, which depends from rejected Claim 4, Haegermarck in view of Li does not teach and Atala does teach wherein, a lens of the camera module is located within an outer edge of the groove (Figure 6B shows camera 612 mounted within the grove provided between the top 404 and bottom 402 plates; Figure 1 shows the lens recessed from the fixing cover surface 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 device of Haegermarck in view of Li with the teaching of Atala to mount the camera completely within the outer edge of the provided groove. It is well-known in the optical arts to install lenses in such a manner that they do not protrude beyond the bounds of their holder, so as to prevent damage during use and handling, and to aid in keeping them clean.
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Regarding Claim 8, which depends from rejected Claim 4, Haegermarck in view of Li does not teach and Atala does teach wherein the end surface of the main body portion is an inwardly recessed curved surface (The end surface here is reasonably taken to the be top surface of the structured light module. The extract from Atala Figure 10 at left shows the inward curvature of the top surface of the sensor, best exemplified by the change in angle near the head of arrow 10. This inward curvature is maintained all the way across the sensor of Atala, including the area corresponding to the ‘end surface of the main body’ in the instant application.)
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 device of Haegermarck in view of Li with the teaching of Atala to have an inwardly curved surface. The substitution of an inwardly curved surface at the end surface of the main body for the apparently flat surface of Haegermarck in view of Li would have yielded predictable results to one of ordinary skill in the art. Since the components in question primarily make up the housing of the camera and laser emitters, changing the shape of the housing would have obvious consequences to a skilled worker in terms of how the components fit, are positioned relative to one another, or are mounted, for example.
Claim 10 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Haegermarck in view of Li and in view of Karlsson (US 7,689,321).
Regarding Claim 10, which depends from rejected Claim 1, Haegermarck in view of Li does not teach and Karlsson does teach wherein the camera module is an infrared camera module (Column 6, Lines 38-40).
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 autonomous vacuum robot of Haegermarck in view of Li with the teach if Karlsson to equip a mobile robot with an infrared imager. Infrared imagers are exceedingly well known in general and in the arts related to autonomous mobile robots. In the case of mobile robots designed for in-home use, infrared light sources and sensors provide adequate navigational data for the devices, while at the same time remaining invisible to the human eye which reduces their visual footprint for the end user.
Claims 14-16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Haegermarck in view of Li and in view of Hickerson and further in view of Zhang as applied to Claim 13 above, and further in view of Ebrahimi Afrouzi (US 11,069,082).
Regarding Claim 14, which depends from rejected Claim 13, Haegermarck in view of Li and in view of Hickerson and further in view of Zhang does not teach and Ebrahimi Afrouzi does teach wherein, a striking plate is further installed on the front side of the device body (Figure 2A, element 103; Column 14, Line 13: “a bumper 103”), the striking plate is located outside the structured light module (Figure 2B shows the structured light module mounted inside the bumper or striking plate), and windows are provided in a region on the striking plate corresponding to the structured light module so as to expose the camera module and the line laser emitters in the structured light module (Figure 2A, elements 101; Column 14, Lines 9-12: “FIG. 2A illustrates an example of a robot including sensor windows 100 behind which sensors are positioned, sensors 101 (e.g., camera, laser emitter, TOF sensor, IR sensors, range finders, LIDAR, depth cameras, etc.)).
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 device of Haegermarck in view of Li in view of Hickerson and further in view of Zhang with the teaching of Ebrahimi Afrouzi to place a striking plate or bumper on the front of the cleaning robot and to place windows directly in front of sensors and light emitters on the device. These elements are well-known within the art, and a skilled worker would find it obvious to place a striking plate on the front of the cleaning robot so that it might better discover obstacles as it moves and to place windows in front of its sensors and emitters to protect them from environmental contamination from dust or other contaminants.
Regarding Claim 15, which depends from rejected Claim 14, Haegermarck in view of Li in view of Hickerson and further in view of Zhang does not teach and Ebrahimi Afrouzi does teach wherein windows are provided respectively in positions on the striking plate corresponding to the camera module and the line laser emitters (Figure 2A, elements 101; Column 14, Lines 9-12: “FIG. 2A illustrates an example of a robot including sensor windows 100 behind which sensors are positioned, sensors 101 (e.g., camera, laser emitter, TOF sensor, IR sensors, range finders, LIDAR, depth cameras, etc.)).
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 device of Haegermarck in view of Li and in view of Hickerson and further in view of Zhang with the teaching of Ebrahimi Afrouzi to place windows directly in front of sensors and light emitters on the device. These elements are well-known within the art, and a skilled worker would find it obvious to place windows in front of its sensors and emitters to protect them from environmental contamination from dust or other contaminants.
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Regarding Claim 16, which depends from rejected Claim 14, Haegermarck in view of Li and in view of Hickerson and further in view of Zhang does not teach and Ebrahimi Afrouzi does teach wherein, the structured light module is installed on an inside wall of the striking plate (Figure 2B, copied here with the sensor and emitter module called out. The module is clearly installed just inside the bumper wall.)
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 device of Haegermarck in view of Li and in view of Hickerson and further in view of Zhang with the teaching of Ebrahimi Afrouzi to install the structured light module containing the laser emitters and the camera on the inside of the bumper or striking plate. The use of bumpers to aid in obstacle detection is well-known in the art, and a skilled worker would be aware of the utility of putting the structured light module containing the laser emitters and the camera just inside the bumper and placing windows in front of the relevant elements to allow visibility to their surroundings. It is advantageous that sensor and emitter elements on home vacuum robots are placed roughly in the middle of their height and not on the top in order to give the robot a lower profile and minimize collisions with home furnishings.
Claims 20 and 21 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Haegermarck in view of Li and in view of Zhang.
Regarding Claim 20, which depends from rejected Claim 19, Haegermarck in view of Li does not teach and Zhang does teach wherein, the main controller ([0052]: “In another embodiment, as shown in FIG. 8 , the number of the microprocessor 40 may also be one.”) is specifically configured to: perform exposure control on the camera module, and acquire a synchronization signal generated by the camera module at each exposure ([0052]: “It can also provide clock information for collecting laser patterns to multiple structured light cameras 24 in a time-sharing manner so that the multiple structured light cameras 24 are exposed in a time-sharing manner”;); and control, according to the synchronization signal, the line laser emitters to work alternately (Time-sharing, in the parlance of Zhang, means alternately; the clock signal provides synchronization), and perform left-right marking on environmental images collected by the camera module at each exposure [0052]: “the microprocessor 40 first processes the laser pattern captured by the structured light camera 24 a to obtain an initial depth image P1 , and then processes the laser pattern captured by the structured light camera 24 b to obtain an initial depth image P2 (as shown in the upper portion of FIG. 9 ).”; [0056]: “the application processor 50 stitches the initial depth image P1 and the initial depth image P2 into a 360-degree panoramic depth image P12 according to the field of view”; To properly stitch together the images, the processor must keep track of which image is associated with each projector – in the case of Haegermarck this would be left-right.)
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 autonomous vacuum robot of Haegermarck in view of Li with the teaching of Zhang to mark the recorded images based on whether the left laser or the right laser which was operational when the image was recorded. Zhang notes in [0029] that “two structured light components 20 can realize the acquisition of a panoramic depth image” and that the large field-of-view of the panoramic images “is beneficial to saving the manufacturing cost of the electronic device 100, and reducing the size and power consumption of the electronic device 100.”
Regarding Claim 21, which depends from rejected Claim 20, Haegermarck teaches wherein the structured light module is arranged on a front side of the device body, and the front side is a side to which the device body is oriented during the forward movement of the autonomous mobile device (Figure 3a shows the structured light module components (Camera, 12; Lines lasers, 13 and 14) oriented at the front of the device as it is oriented towards potential obstacles ahead of it, e.g., a threshold (31) and a wall (32). [0046]).
Claim 22 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Haegermarck in view of Li and in view of Zhang as applied to Claim 21, and further in view of Ebrahimi Afrouzi.
Regarding Claim 22, Haegermarck in view of Li and in view of Zhang does not teach and Ebrahimi Afrouzi does teach wherein, a striking plate is further installed on the front side of the device body (Figure 2A, element 103; Column 14, Line 13: “a bumper 103”), the striking plate is located outside the structured light module (Figure 2B shows the structured light module mounted inside the bumper or striking plate), and windows are provided in a region on the striking plate corresponding to the structured light module so as to expose the camera module and the line laser emitters in the structured light module (Figure 2A, elements 101; Column 14, Lines 9-12: “FIG. 2A illustrates an example of a robot including sensor windows 100 behind which sensors are positioned, sensors 101 (e.g., camera, laser emitter, TOF sensor, IR sensors, range finders, LIDAR, depth cameras, etc.)).
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 device of Haegermarck in view of Li and in view of Zhang with the teaching of Ebrahimi Afrouzi to place a striking plate or bumper on the front of the cleaning robot and to place windows directly in front of sensors and light emitters on the device. These elements are well-known within the art, and a skilled worker would find it obvious to place a striking plate on the front of the cleaning robot so that it might better discover obstacles as it moves and to place windows in front of its sensors and emitters to protect them from environmental contamination from dust or other contaminants.
Claim 23 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Haegermarck (US 2015/0185322 A1) in view of Evans (US 4,954,962).
Regarding Claim 23, Haegermarck discloses an autonomous mobile device ([0002]), comprising: a device body ([0034]: “FIG. 2a illustrates a top view of a robotic vacuum cleaner 20” which shows the body of the device), wherein:
the device body is provided with a main controller ([0032]: “a processing unit 15 embodied in the form of one or more microprocessors arranged to execute a respective computer program 16 downloaded to a suitable storage medium”) and a structured light module (Abstract: A robot positioning system having a camera, a processing unit and at least a first line laser), the structured light module comprising a camera module, (Figure 1, element 12; [0031]: “a light detector 12 such as a CMOS camera”), line laser emitters distributed on two sides of the camera module (Figure 1, elements 13 and 14; [0031]: “two light sources 13, 14 in the form of line lasers”), and a fixing seat (Figure 1, element 11), wherein
the main controller controls the line laser emitters to a emit line laser light outwards ([0043]: “The line lasers 13, 14 are controlled to emit light to create a respective vertical laser line 22, 23,”), controls the camera module to collect an environmental image illuminated by the line laser light ([0012]: “In this particular embodiment, the process unit is arranged to extract, from the recorded picture, image data representing a respective line formed by the vertical laser lines of the first and second line laser being reflected against an object located in the space. Further, the processing unit is arranged to create, from the respective extracted line, a representation of the illuminated space along the projected laser lines of the first and second line laser.”),
and performs functional control on the autonomous mobile device according to the environmental image ([0042]: “From these pictures, image data may be extracted clearly indicating the illuminated particles. In case the robotic vacuum cleaner encounters an area comprising particles, these will light up, and may thus be distinguished from a clean, particle-free floor by using image processing. The robotic vacuum cleaner may thus advantageously be controlled on the basis of this information.”);
the camera module and the line laser emitters are assembled on the fixing seat ([0031]: “a chassis 11 in which a light detector 12 such as a CMOS camera is located as well as two
light sources 13, 14 in the form of line lasers.”).;
the fixing seat comprises a main body portion and end portions located on two sides of the main body portion (Figure 1, the fixing seat (11) has a main central portion and two end portions projecting from it);
the camera module is assembled on the main body portion (Figure 1, element 12, the camera is located at the center of the main body portion);
the line laser emitters are assembled on the end portions (Figure 1, elements 13 and 14 are located on the end portions); and
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the main body portion and the end portions are connected via a bending portion (The excerpt from Haegermarck Figure A at left shows a bending portion between the camera (12) and line lasers (13, 14). The bend is apparent between the two red arrows, identified as the bending region.)
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Haegermarck suggests but does not explicitly teach and Evans does teach that the bending portion comprises a first portion and a second portion (Figure 1a, reproduced below, shows that the bending portion between the camera and the upper beam projector has a first portion (labeled 1) and a second portion (labeled 2); the main body portion, the first portion, and the second portion are connected consequently (Figure 1a shows that the main body portion containing camera 12 is first connected to the first bending portion, which is itself then connected to the second bending portion); the first portion extends towards opposite to a collecting area of the camera module (Figure 1a shows that the first bending portion extends away from the red line, which marks the plane of the camera), and the second portion extends towards to the collecting area of the camera module (Figure 1a shows that the second bending portion extends towards the red line, which marks the plane of the camera); and the first portion and the second portion make the end portions being deflected towards the camera module (Figure 1a shows that the that the laser output of upper beam projector 14 intersects the field of view of camera 12, and is oriented obliquely towards it. That is, the end portion containing the laser is deflected towards the camera module).
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 device of Haegermarck with the teaching of Evans to have first and second bending portions which ultimately deflect the laser at each end portion with respect to the camera. Thorlabs notes that angle adapters connecting components are essential building tools for the construction of rigid optomechanical systems, and yield increased strength and rigidity into the optical system, which is beneficial for keeping optical components at precise distances and orientations from each other. The rigidity and vibrational properties of such a component are readily computed by hand or with software by one of ordinary skill in the art, and the inclusion of such a component would therefore yield a predictable result.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to BENJAMIN WADE CLOUSER whose telephone number is (571)272-0378. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 7:30 - 5:00.
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/B.W.C./ Examiner, Art Unit 3645
/ISAM A ALSOMIRI/ Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3645