DETAILED ACTION
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim(s) 1-7, 10, 12-18 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Russell (US 2018/0284231).
Regarding Claim 11, Russell discloses an apparatus [Fig 1; 0021-22; 0027] comprising an adaptive gain adjustment circuit in a light detection and ranging (LiDAR) system that selectively adjusts a gain of an amplifier [0022; 0052; 0063; 0106] used to detect pulses reflected from a target [0037-39] to provide at least two selectable gain modes responsive to a measured time of flight (ToF) of a light beam emitted by the LiDAR system to the target [0132-35; 0144].
Regarding Claim 13, Russell discloses a method [0021-22] comprising selecting an initial gain to be applied to an amplifier that amplifies detected light pulses reflected from a target illuminated by an emitter [Abstract; 0132-35; 0144]; determining a range distance between the emitter and the target [0037-39]; adjusting the initial gain to a second gain based on the determined range distance [0022; 0052; 0063; 0106; 0132-35]; and applying the 2nd gain to the amplifier to subsequently amplify detected light pulses reflected from the target by the emitter [0132-35; 0144].
Regarding Claim 2, Russell also discloses a range detection circuit that determines a distance between the LiDAR system and the target, wherein the adaptive gain adjustment circuit changes the gain of the amplifier from a first range of gain levels to a different second range of gain levels responsive to the determined distance [0022; 0052; 0063; 0106; 0132-35].
Regarding Claims 3 and 14, Russell also discloses comparing the determined range distance to a first range distance threshold, selecting the second gain to a first range of gains responsive to the determined range distance being less than the first range distance threshold, and selecting the second gain to a second range of gains responsive to the determined range distance being greater than the first range distance threshold [0039; 0143-44].
Regarding Claims 4 and 15, Russell also discloses wherein each of the selectable gain modes extends from a minimum to a maximum value along a selected linear slope, wherein a first gain mode has a first set of minimum, maximum and slope values, and wherein a second gain mode has a different set of minimum, maximum and slope values [0134; 0143].
Regarding Claims 5, 16, Russell also discloses wherein the amplifier is characterized as a transimpedance amplifier (TIA) that converts pulses obtained from a photodetector to voltage pulses, and wherein the gain adjustment circuit adjusts a gain applied to said voltage pulses [#510 of Fig 11; 0120-23].
Regarding Claims 6, 17, Russell also discloses wherein multiple pulses are emitted against the target and the ToF is determined as the time for a selected pulse from the multiple pulses to travel to the target, and the time for a reflected pulse from the target associated with the selected pulse to travel from the target to a photodetector [0061-65; 0088; 0091; 0125; 0138-41].
Regarding Claims 7, 18, Russell also discloses wherein the adaptive gain adjustment circuit applies a first gain mode to a first target within a field of view (FoV) of the system at a first detected distance from the system and concurrently applies a different, second gain mode to a second target within the FoV at a second detected distance greater than the first detected distance [0092-95; 0106; 0127-29; 0132-35; 0144].
Regarding Claim 10, Russell also discloses wherein a low gain output is used for targets within a first determined distance from the system and a high gain output is used for targets beyond the first determined distance from the system [0039; 0127-29; 0132-35; 0144].
Regarding Claim 12, Russell also discloses wherein the gain adjustment circuit selects and uses a first gain mode to initiate operation of the system and transitions from the first gain mode to a different, second gain mode responsive to a determination of an intervening distance between the target and the system [0039; 0127-29; 0132-35; 0144].
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
Claim(s) 8 and 19 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Russell (US 2018/0284231), as applied to claims 1 and 13 above, and further in view of Nagatani (US 2016/0087727).
Regarding Claims 8, 19, Russell does not explicitly teach – but Nagatani does teach wherein the gain adjustment circuit uses a Gilbert Cell arrangement comprising a plurality of transistors to adjust the gain of the amplifier [0117]. It would have been obvious to modify the system and method of Russell to include a Gilbert cell arrangement as this configuration would permit fluid adjustment of the gain in accordance with gain control signals.
Claim(s) 8 and 19 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Russell (US 2018/0284231), as applied to claims 1 and 13 above, and further in view of Ranta (US 2018/0262164).
Regarding Claims 9, 20, Russell does not explicitly teach – but Ranta does teach wherein the gain adjustment circuit uses a multiplier integrated circuit device and a differential amplifier to adjust the gain of the amplifier [0020; 0047; 0054; 0063]. It would have been obvious to modify the system and method of Russell to include a multiplier integrated circuit and differential amplifier to generate a controlled output that is a function of the difference between two provided inputs.
Claim(s) 11 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Russell (US 2018/0284231), as applied to claims 1 and 13 above, and further in view of Hicks (US 2020/0018854).
Regarding Claims 11, Russell does not explicitly teach – but Hicks does teach wherein the gain adjustment circuit generates and stores in a memory a plurality of profiles as data structures for different distances of targets, and wherein the gain adjustment circuit retrieves and uses a selected profile from the plurality of profiles responsive to a detected distance between the target and the LiDAR system based on a previously emitted pulse [0104]. It would have been obvious to modify the system of Russell to include storing gain adjustment profiles to adjust one or more operational parameters in view of the data received from the camera, such as detection of an obscurant to allow the lidar system to adjust the gain of the detector or the gain profile as a function of time to better equalize the returns from different ranges.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JAMES R HULKA whose telephone number is (571)270-7553. The examiner can normally be reached M-R: 9am-6pm, F: 10am-2pm.
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JAMES R. HULKA
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 3645
/JAMES R HULKA/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3645