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 .
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)(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, 2, 6 and 8-9 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Lim et al. (2014/0022554).
Regarding claim 1, Lim discloses an optical scanning apparatus (Fig. 5), comprising: a wavelength-swept light generator that generates reference light (570) and measurement light (580) each having a wavelength continuously changing (par. 48, and 94); a spatial phase modulation element (523) including a plurality of grating elements (note par. 49 and 82) reflecting the measurement light, the spatial phase modulation element performing phase modulation for the measurement light by displacing the grating elements (note Fig. 3b); a projection optical system (582, 584, 586) that projects the measurement light linearly extending to an object by shaping the measurement light phase-modulated by the spatial phase modulation element into linear shape; and a light receiver (540) including a plurality of linearly arrayed photodetectors, the light receiver introducing the measurement light reflected by the object to the plurality of photodetectors (note par. 52, 53, 93 and 99), the light receiver introducing the measurement light superimposed on the reference light to the plurality of photodetectors, the plurality of photodetectors detecting the superimposed reference light and measurement light (note par. 98 and 99), and the spatial phase modulation element scanning the measurement light across the object changing an emission direction of the measurement light from the spatial phase modulation element (note the DMD micro-mirrors described in par. 82) by controlling a displacement of each of the plurality of grating elements (par. 95, 97 and 103).
Regarding claim 2, Lim discloses the projection optical system projects the measurement light linearly extending in an extending direction by collimating the measurement light in a viewpoint from the extending direction while spreading the measurement light in the extending direction (note par. 103).
Regarding claim 6, Lim discloses a controller that calculates a positional relationship with an object based on a detection result of the plurality of photodetectors provided in the optical scanning apparatus (note par. 69).
Regarding claim 8, Lim discloses while a wavelength sweep of continuously changing a wavelength is performed, the spatial phase modulation element stops displacements of the plurality of grating elements. That is, the DMD micro-mirrors in Lim inherently do not reflect light to the subject 10 when the light emitter 110 changes one wavelength to another (note par. 94). By stop reflecting light during the wavelength changing transition, different wavelength lights can be easily distinguished from each other.
Regarding claim 9, Lim discloses that the projection optical system widens a reflection angle of the measurement light by the spatial phase modulation element (note par. 103).
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) 3 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lim et al. (2014/0022554) in view of Neal et al. (6,634,750).
Regarding claim 3, Lim does not disclose the light receiver includes a plurality of lenses linearly arrayed to respectively correspond to the plurality of photodetectors, the measurement light reflected by the object is incident on the plurality of lenses, and the lens introduces the incident measurement light to the corresponding photodetector as claimed. However, according to paragraph 99, the detector 540 requires to align or focus the plurality of reflected rays into the corresponding pixel detectors (the pixel scanning and shifting functions are described in par. 97). Neal, from the similar field of endeavor, teaches a plurality of microlenses or lenslet array 134 to focus lights into the corresponding detectors in detector array 136 (note col. 6, lines 1-7). By employing the microlenses 134, the light rays can be properly focused onto the detector array 136 (col. 6, lines 47-52). Thus, knowing that the detector in Lim has the similar arrangement as in Neal, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to include Neal into Lim so that the reflected light rays in Lim could be properly focused and detected by the detector 540.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 4 and 5 are allowed.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 2/12/26 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
Regarding applicant’s argument that Lim fails to disclose or suggest the features of "the spatial phase modulation element scanning the measurement light across the object by changing an emission direction of the measurement light from the spatial phase modulation element by controlling a displacement of each of the plurality of grating elements," as recited amended independent claim 1, the examiner disagrees. As set forth in the rejections above, the DMD micro-mirrors in Lim clearly meet the limitation as claimed. In par. 82 and the corresponding drawing Fig. 3B, Lim shows a plurality of the micro-mirrors are being controlled to reflect lights based on the control pattern. Each of the micro-mirrors is displaced in either the ON or OFF position. This is similar to the grating elements as claimed. Thus, Lim still meets the claimed invention.
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.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MICHAEL LEE whose telephone number 571-272-7349. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday through Thursday from 9:00 am to 6:00 pm.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner's supervisor, John Miller, can be reached on 571-272-7353. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/MICHAEL LEE/ Primary Examiner,
Art Unit 2422