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 .
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments, filed 07/11/2026, with respect to the non-final office action have been fully considered and are persuasive. Therefore, the rejections have been withdrawn. However, upon further consideration of the claim amendments which serve to further detail the claimed invention, a new ground(s) of rejection is made in view of Matsudaira (US 2020/0001394) and Yao (US 2019/0072672). The Examiner appreciates Applicant’s attempt to advance prosecution, but the newly cited prior art is considered to fulfill the metes and bounds of the claim amendments as presented.
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) 1, 3-6, 8, 10-13, 15, 17-20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ferreira (US 2020/0284883) in view of Yao (US 2019/0072672) and further in view of Matsudaira (US 2020/0001394).
1, 8, 15 mutatis mutandis: Ferreira teaches a light detection and ranging (LIDAR) system, comprising: a plurality of waveguides to receive a return signal at different angles from a scanning mirror [1667-68, 1684 teach a waveguide arrangement in which each of a plurality of waveguides are associated with, and guide return light to, a respective director or a plurality of detectors; 1526 teaches an optical device including a scanning mirror directing return beams to the detectors by means of waveguides; 0420 teaches angle sensitive detectors]; a plurality of optical detectors to receive the return signal via the plurality of waveguides [1667-68, 1684 teach a waveguide arrangement in which each of a plurality of waveguides are associated with, and guide return light to, a respective director or a plurality of detectors; 1526 teaches an optical device including a scanning mirror directing return beams to the detectors by means of waveguides; 0420 teaches angle sensitive detectors]; and a signal processing system, operatively coupled to the plurality of optical detectors, to: process a signal generated from each optical detector of the plurality of optical detectors [0420 teaches angle sensitive detectors; 2573 teaches that distance and velocity determinations are made as a result of the system arrangement as described in the above citations] based on corresponding positions of each of the plurality of waveguides [at least 1667-1673 teach various waveguide implementations and functions, including waveguide directional transmission and waveguide coupling, which implicitly include waveguide position(s); it is known in the art of lidar systems that waveguide position is crucial for ensuring accuracy of measurements, e.g. correctly aligning waveguides to ensure that transmitting light is (such as from a scanning mirror) is directed to an appropriate or desired location in a environment.] and a speed of the scanning mirror [at least 0412 teach scanning mirrors rotated at high frequency between at least two positions, each mirror individually adjustable in its angle and can have at least two stable positions; wherein scanning mirror speed is known in the art of lidar systems to affect the speed at which LIDAR systems capture data, such as a fast scanning mirror capturing more data in less time which aids in obtaining data in real time.]; and combine the processed signal from the plurality of optical detectors into a combined signal, wherein the combined signal is used to determine range and velocity information associated with a target [at least 0421, 0443, 0717, 0724 teach combining received signal information to yield range and velocity determination; 0957, 0726 teach that detectors are connected in parallel and that signals are summed and filtered].
Ferreira explicitly lacks but Yao teaches processing a signal based on information about corresponding positions of each of the plurality of waveguides [0044, wherein a signal mixer is operatable to mix an electrical signal and a detector electrical signal to produce beat signals representing position information of reflections inside the optical fiber].
Ferreira explicitly lacks but Matsudaira teaches processing a signal based on information about a speed of a scanning mirror [0020, wherein a pulse coder output (mirror axis) includes current positional information from the pulse-coder (position-speed detector) provided in the motor of the drive axis of each mirror of a galvano scanner.].
Regarding claim 8, Ferreira teaches an array of photodetectors [5851].
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the embodiments disclosed in Ferreira with a reasonable expectation of success because the disclosure presents them as being usable together.
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the lidar system disclosed in Ferreira with the optical fiber positional information consideration of Yao with a reasonable expectation of success because considering position information of an optical fiber carrying reflected light from an environment aids in determining the location or position of an object within the environment, such as for determining distance to the object.
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the lidar system disclosed in Ferreira with the scanning mirror speed information consideration of Matsudaira with a reasonable expectation of success because considering speed information of a scanning mirror aids in determining the current position of the scanning mirror with respect to its environment, such as for purposes of measuring the position of another system component or object within the environment.
3, 10, 17 mutatis mutandis: Ferreira teaches an amplifier associated with each of the plurality of optical detectors to amplify the signal generated by each of the plurality of optical detectors [at least 0725 teaches amplification of signals post detection; 0732 teaches one or more amplifiers]; and a filtering component associated with each of the plurality of optical detectors to filter frequencies outside a range of frequencies associated with a corresponding optical detector and a corresponding waveguide [0957, 0726 teach that detectors are connected in parallel and that signals are summed and filtered].
4, 11 mutatis mutandis: Ferreira teaches a band-pass filter corresponding to first frequencies associated with a position of the corresponding optical detector and the corresponding waveguide [at least 0565, high pass filter].
5, 12, 19 mutatis mutandis: Ferreira teaches an analog to digital converter associated with each of the plurality of optical detectors [fig. 19A-C and 0515 teach analog to digital converters 1932, 1934, 1936, 1938, 1940], wherein the analog to digital converter is to convert a band of frequencies corresponding to the signal and associated with a position of a corresponding optical detector and a corresponding waveguide from an analog to a digital signal [0515, 1571].
6, 13, 20 mutatis mutandis: Ferreira teaches combine a first signal generated from a plurality of subsets of the plurality of optical detectors into a plurality of intermediate combined signals; process the plurality of intermediate combined signals; and combine the plurality of intermediate combined signals into the combined signal [at least: 0717 teaches sensor pixels in groups and measuring their combined time-resolved sensor signal; 0724 teaches sensor output signals may be combined with each other; 0837 teaches sensor pixel signals may be combined].
18: Ferreira teaches the LIDAR system is a frequency modulated continuous wave (FMCW) LIDAR system [1666 teaches a frequency modulated continuous wave (at end of parag)].
Claim(s) 2, 7, 9, 14, 16 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ferreira in view of Yao (US 2019/0072672), further in view of Matsudaira (US 2020/0001394) and further in view of Rezk (2020/0124711).
2, 9, 16 mutatis mutandis: Ferreira explicitly lacks, but Rezk teaches a local oscillator signal is combined with the return signal at the plurality of optical detectors to produce a beat frequency used to calculate the range and velocity information of the target [0049].
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the lidar system disclosed in Ferreira with the beat frequency and local oscillator disclosed in Rezk with a reasonable expectation of success because target receivers measure the optical signal that carries information about the range and velocity of a target in the form of a beat frequency, and because a local oscillator signal allows for the creation of a mixed signal to produce accurate measurement results.
7, 14 mutatis mutandis: Ferreira explicitly lacks, but Rezk teaches a local oscillator signal is distributed across the plurality of optical detectors, wherein a power level of the local oscillator signal provided to each of the plurality of optical detectors is associated with a position of a corresponding waveguide [0006, 0049 teach distributing an LO signal across multiple detectors. A person of ordinary skill in the art would find obvious that the power level of the LO signal at each detector would be a function of waveguide position, as waveguides positioned further away from an LO source point are likely to receive less power than waveguides positioned nearer to the LO source point. Additionally, waveguides positioned at an angle offset from the LO source point are likely to receive less power than waveguides positioned square to the LO source point.].
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the lidar system disclosed in Ferreira with local oscillator power level consideration disclosed in Rezk with a reasonable expectation of success in order to mitigate the hampering effect of decentered return light at a fiber tip, for instance.
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
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SAMANTHA K. NICKERSON
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 3645
/SAMANTHA K NICKERSON/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3645
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