Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
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)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim(s) 1, 7-8, 12, 18-19 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a1) as being anticipated by Steinberg et al US 10,191,156.
Re claims 1, 12, Steinberg shows a method for detecting targets using a light detection and ranging (Abstract lines 1-2) system, comprising: identifying a region of interest as a subset of a field of view (FoV) of the LiDAR system (col 2:5-9); adjusting an emitter of the LiDAR system to apply an enhanced amount of electromagnetic radiation to the region of interest [col 2:10-29]; and using a detector of the LiDAR system to discern at least one target in the region of interest responsive to the enhanced amount of electromagnetic radiation applied to the region of interest (Abstract).
3. The method of claim 1, wherein a light source of the emitter is used to scan the FoV at a first energy density, and wherein a total amount of energy output by the light source is increased so that the emitter continues to scan remaining portions of the FoV outside the region of interest at nominally the first energy density while a greater, second energy density is applied by the light source of the emitter to the region of interest (see Abstract).
4. The method of claim 1, wherein the adjusting step is carried out responsive to range information obtained from a target within the FoV illuminated by the electromagnetic radiation from the emitter (col. 2 49-58).
5. The method of claim 1, wherein the adjusting step is carried out responsive to an input supplied by an external sensor and independently of range information obtained from a target within the FoV illuminated by the electromagnetic radiation from the emitter (col 2:58 to col 3:3, “based on the estimation of noise”).
6. The method of claim 1, wherein the electromagnetic radiation emitted by the emitter is in the form of baseline pulses having a first set of waveform characteristics, the baseline pulses rasterized across the FoV along orthogonal axes, and wherein the region of interest is rasterized along said orthogonal axes using enhanced pulses of electromagnetic radiation from the emitter having a different, second set of waveform characteristics (col 22:33-46).
7. The method of claim 6, wherein the FoV outside the region of interest is rasterized at a first frame rate, and the region of interest is rasterized at a higher, second frame rate (col 4:61 to col 5:12).
8. The method of claim 1, wherein a first number of pulses are transmitted by the emitter over the FoV outside the region of interest per unit area over a selected time period, and wherein a higher second number of pulses are transmitted by the emitter within the region of interest per unit area over the selected time period (col 36:29-53).
9. The method of claim 1, wherein an output system is used to respectively direct a light beam from the emitter over the FoV and the region of interest (see abstract).
10. The method of claim 9, wherein the output system comprises at least a selected one of a rotatable polygon, a solid-state array device, a micromirror device or a galvanometer.
11. The method of claim 1, wherein a controller circuit operates responsive to an activation signal to switch in enhanced irradiation of the region of interest within the FoV (col 132:35-67).
12. An apparatus comprising: an emitter of a LiDAR system configured to emit light pulses at a first resolution over a baseline field of view (FoV); a controller circuit configured to identifying a region of interest as a subset of the FoV and to direct the emitter to apply an enhanced amount of electromagnetic radiation to the region of interest at a higher, second resolution; and a detector configured to discern a first target in the region of interest responsive to the enhanced amount of electromagnetic radiation applied to the region of interest.
Claims 13, 15-20 are similarly rejected as shown above.
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) 2 and 14 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a1) as anticipated by or, in the alternative, under 35 U.S.C. 103 as obvious over Steinberg et al US 10,191,156.
2 and 14., wherein a light source of the emitter is used to scan the FoV at a first energy density, and wherein a total amount of energy output by the light source is not substantially changed as a greater amount of the energy output is directed to the region of interest and a second, lower energy density is provided to remaining portions of the FoV outside the region of interest (see Abstract, Steinberg clearly teaches that the second scanning cycle light allocation is increased in the region of interest which will have higher intensity than the other regions, therefore it the total intensity is just divided between regions one higher than the other which reads on the claimed language). However, if the interpretation of the Steinberg reference is wrong, it would still have been obvious redirect most of the energy to a region of interest while radiating the same amount of energy in total to increase the focus on the wanted regions while still looking at the entire FOV just incase another object or region of interest comes up.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Kapusta et al (US2020/0150228A1) also teaches the inventive concept of at least the independent claims (see Abstract).
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/ISAM A ALSOMIRI/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3645