DETAILED ACTION
Response to Amendment
Claims 1, 3, 8, and 19-20 are amended.
Claims 1-20 are pending.
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, and 10-20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Gassend (US 2020/0408882) in view of Hicks (US 2019/0280770).
Regarding Claim 1, Gassend teaches a method [Abstract; Fig 3-6; 0026; 0039; 0054] comprising: detecting, by a first detector via an optical component, a background signal corresponding to a surrounding environment [0126-29]; illuminating, by a first light source, a first portion of the optical component with a first light signal that is modulated according to a first modulation frequency, wherein a sensing device is configured to detect objects in the surrounding environment via the optical component [Abstract; Fig 5; 0047; 0054; 0107]; detecting, by the first detector when one or more defects are present in a body of the first portion of the optical component or on a surface of the first portion of the optical component, the first light signal [Fig 5; 0047; 0054; 0107]; and determining, by a computing device, when one or more defects are present in the body of the first portion of the optical component or on the surface of the first portion of the optical component based on the detected background signal and the detected first light signal [Fig 5; 0107; 0127], wherein determining when one or more defects are present in the body of the first portion of the optical component or on the surface of the first portion of the optical component based on the detected background signal and the detected first light signal comprises disambiguating the detected background signal from the detected first light signal based on the first modulation frequency [Fig 5; 0026; 0127-30; 0135-36]. Gassend does not explicitly teach – but Hicks does teach a light signal that is temporally modulated (with a first modulation frequency) [0027; 0042]. It would have been obvious to modify the method of Gassend to specify temporal modulation in detecting the presence of the optical signal at the first frame rate, so it may be easier to distinguish the signal from the background.
Regarding Claim 19, Gassend teaches a system [Abstract; Fig 3-6; 0026; 0039; 0054] comprising: an optical component; a sensing device configured to detect objects in a surrounding environment via the optical component [0126-29]; a first light source configured to illuminate a first portion of the optical component with a first light signal that is modulated according to a first modulation frequency; a first detector configured to: detect, via the optical component, a background signal corresponding to the surrounding environment [Abstract; Fig 5; 0047; 0054; 0107]; and detect, when one or more defects are present in a body of the first portion of the optical component or on a surface of the first portion of the optical component, the first light signal [Fig 5; 0047; 0054; 0107]; and a computing device configured to determine when one or more defects are present in the body of the first portion of the optical component or on the surface of the first portion of the optical component based on the detected background signal and the detected first light signal [Fig 5; 0107; 0127], wherein determining when one or more defects are present in the body of the first portion of the optical component or on the surface of the first portion of the optical component based on the detected background signal and the detected first light signal comprises disambiguating the detected background signal from the detected first light signal based on the first modulation frequency [Fig 5; 0026; 0126-29; 0133-36]. Gassend does not explicitly teach – but Hicks does teach a light signal that is temporally modulated (with a first modulation frequency) [0027; 0042]. It would have been obvious to modify the system of Gassend to specify temporal modulation in detecting the presence of the optical signal at the first frame rate, so it may be easier to distinguish the signal from the background.
Regarding Claim 20, Gassend teaches a computing device[Abstract; Fig 3-6; 0026; 0039; 0054] configured to determine when one or more defects are present in a body of a first portion of an optical component or on a surface of the first portion of the optical component based on a detected background signal and a detected first light signal [Fig 5; 0107; 0127], wherein determining when one or more defects are present in the body of the first portion of the optical component or on the surface of the first portion of the optical component based on the detected background signal and the detected first light signal comprises disambiguating the detected background signal [0126-29] from the detected first light signal based on a first modulation frequency, wherein the detected background signal corresponds to a surrounding environment and was detected by a first detector via the optical component [Abstract; Fig 5; 0047; 0054; 0107], wherein a sensing device is configured to detect objects in the surrounding environment via the optical component, wherein the first portion of the optical component was illuminated by the first light signal by a first light source, wherein the first light signal was modulated according to the first modulation frequency [Fig 5; 0107; 0127], and wherein the first light signal was detected by the first detector when one or more defects were present in the body of the first portion of the optical component or on the surface of the first portion of the optical component [Fig 5; 0026; 0126-29; 0133-36]. Gassend does not explicitly teach – but Hicks does teach a light signal that is temporally modulated (with a first modulation frequency) [0027; 0042]. It would have been obvious to modify the device of Gassend to specify temporal modulation in detecting the presence of the optical signal at the first frame rate, so it may be easier to distinguish the signal from the background.
Regarding Claim 10, Gassend also teaches illuminating the first portion of the optical component with the first light signal comprises: coupling the first light signal into the body of the first portion of the optical component; and propagating the first light signal through the body of the first portion of the optical component using total internal reflection [Fig 5; 0126-29; 0133-36].
Regarding Claim 11, Gassend also teaches wherein the first light source is positioned within a focal plane of the sensing device or the first detector is positioned at the focal plane of the sensing device [Fig 5; 0126-29; 0133-36].
Regarding Claim 12, Gassend also teaches an image sensor, and wherein the first detector is at least a portion of the image sensor [Fig 5; 0126-29; 0133-36].
Regarding Claim 13, Gassend also teaches the detected background signal corresponds to one or more background images captured using the image sensor, wherein the detected first light signal corresponds to one or more defect images captured using the image sensor, and wherein disambiguating the detected background signal from the detected first light signal based on the first modulation frequency comprises performing a background subtraction from the one or more defect images using the one or more background images [Fig 5; 0126-29; 0133-36].
Regarding Claim 14, Gassend also teaches wherein the detected background signal corresponds to one or more background images captured using the image sensor, wherein the detected first light signal corresponds to one or more defect images captured using the image sensor, wherein an image stream comprises the one or more background images and the one or more defect images, and wherein disambiguating the detected background signal from the detected first light signal based on the first modulation frequency comprises applying a low-pass filter to the image stream [Fig 5; 0126-29; 0133-36].
Regarding Claim 15, Gassend also teaches wherein the first detector is not a part of the sensing device [Fig 5; 0126-29]
Regarding Claim 16, Gassend also teaches determining a type of defect of at least one of the one or more defects by applying a machine-learned model to the disambiguated detected first light signal [Fig 5; 0107].
Regarding Claim 17, Gassend also teaches wherein the type of defect comprises: a scratch, a crack, a smudge, a deformation, an air bubble, an impurity, a degradation, a discoloration, an imperfect transparency, or a warping within the optical component; or condensation, dirt, dust, mud, leaves, rain, snow, sleet, hail, ice, or insect residue on the optical component [0026].
Regarding Claim 18, Gassend also teaches in response to determining when one or more defects are present in the body of the first portion of the optical component or on the surface of the first portion of the optical component, performing one or more remedial actions [Fig 5; 0126-29; 0133-36].
Claim(s) 2-9 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Gassend (US 2020/0408882) and Hicks (US 2019/0280770), as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Pohlen (WO 2022/067047).
Regarding Claim 2, Gassend also teaches wherein the first light signal is within a first wavelength range [0026; 0135-36], and broadly teaches wherein determining when one or more defects are present further comprises disambiguating the detected background signal from the detected first light signal based on the first wavelength range [0026; 0134-36]. Pohlen teaches determining when one or more defects are present further comprises disambiguating the detected background signal from the detected first light signal based on the first wavelength range [ Fig 6, 7; 0040-42]. It would have been obvious to modify the method of Gassend to include disambiguating a signal based on the first wavelength range as frequency of parallel lines may depend on size and or kind of defects which may need to be identified, thus improving image classification.
Regarding Claim 3, Gassend also teaches illuminating, by a second light source, a second portion of the optical component with a second light signal that is modulated according to a second modulation frequency, wherein the second modulation frequency is different from the first modulation frequency, wherein the second light signal is within a second wavelength range, and wherein the second wavelength range does not overlap with the first wavelength range; detecting, by a second light detector when one or more defects are present in a body of the second portion of the optical component or on a surface of the second portion of the optical component, the second light signal [0026; 0134-36]; and broadly teaches determining, by the computing device, when one or more defects are present in the body of the second portion of the optical component or on the surface of the second portion of the optical component based on the detected background signal and the detected second light signal, wherein determining when one or more defects are present in the body of the second portion of the optical component or on the surface of the second portion of the optical component based on the detected background signal and the detected second light signal comprises disambiguating the detected background signal from the detected second light signal based on the second modulation frequency and the second wavelength range [0026; 0134-36]. Pohlen teaches determining, by the computing device, when one or more defects are present in the body of the second portion of the optical component or on the surface of the second portion of the optical component based on the detected background signal and the detected second light signal, wherein determining when one or more defects are present in the body of the second portion of the optical component or on the surface of the second portion of the optical component based on the detected background signal and the detected second light signal comprises disambiguating the detected background signal from the detected second light signal based on the second modulation frequency and the second wavelength range [Fig 6, 7; 0040-42]. It would have been obvious to modify the method of Gassend to include disambiguating a signal based on the first or second wavelength range as frequency of parallel lines may depend on size and or kind of defects which may need to be identified, thus improving image classification. Gassend does not explicitly teach – but Hicks does teach a light signal that is temporally modulated (with a second modulation frequency) [0027; 0042]. It would have been obvious to modify the method of Gassend to specify temporal modulation in detecting the presence of the optical signal at the first frame rate, so it may be easier to distinguish the signal from the background.
Regarding Claim 4, Gassend also teaches wherein the first wavelength range corresponds to a first type of defect and the second wavelength range corresponds to a second type of defect [0026; 0134-36]. Pohlen additionally teaches this limitation in [Fig 6, 7; 0040-42].
Regarding Claim 5, Gassend also teaches wherein the first portion of the optical component and the second portion of the optical component at least partially overlap [0026; 0134-36]. Pohlen additionally teaches this limitation in [Fig 6, 7; 0040-42].
Regarding Claim 6, Gassend also teaches wherein the background signal corresponding to the surrounding environment does not include light within the first wavelength range [0026; 0134-36]. Pohlen additionally teaches this limitation in [Fig 6, 7; 0040-42].
Regarding Claim 7, Gassend also teaches wherein the first portion of the optical component does not occupy an entirety of the optical component [0026; 0134-36]. Pohlen additionally teaches this limitation in [Fig 6, 7; 0040-42].
Regarding Claim 8, Gassend also teaches illuminating, by a second light source, a second portion of the optical component with a second light signal that is modulated according to a second modulation frequency, wherein the second modulation frequency is different from the first modulation frequency, and wherein the second portion of the optical component does not overlap with the first portion of the optical component; detecting, by a second light detector when one or more defects are present in a body of the second portion of the optical component or on a surface of the second portion of the optical component, the second light signal [0026; 0134-36]; and broadly teaches determining, by the computing device, when one or more defects are present in the body of the second portion of the optical component or on the surface of the second portion of the optical component based on the detected background signal and the detected second light signal, wherein determining when one or more defects are present in the body of the second portion of the optical component or on the surface of the second portion of the optical component based on the detected background signal and the detected second light signal comprises disambiguating the detected background signal from the detected second light signal based on the second modulation frequency [0026; 0134-36]. Pohlen teaches determining, by the computing device, when one or more defects are present in the body of the second portion of the optical component or on the surface of the second portion of the optical component based on the detected background signal and the detected second light signal, wherein determining when one or more defects are present in the body of the second portion of the optical component or on the surface of the second portion of the optical component based on the detected background signal and the detected second light signal comprises disambiguating the detected background signal from the detected second light signal based on the second modulation frequency [Fig 6, 7; 0040-42]. It would have been obvious to modify the method of Gassend to include disambiguating a signal based on the first or second wavelength range as frequency of parallel lines may depend on size and or kind of defects which may need to be identified, thus improving image classification. Gassend does not explicitly teach – but Hicks does teach a light signal that is temporally modulated (with a second modulation frequency) [0027; 0042]. It would have been obvious to modify the method of Gassend to specify temporal modulation in detecting the presence of the optical signal at the first frame rate, so it may be easier to distinguish the signal from the background.
Regarding Claim 9, Gassend also teaches wherein the first portion of the optical component and the second portion of the optical component form at least part of a striped pattern or a checkerboard pattern across the optical component [0026; 0134-36]. Pohlen additionally teaches this limitation in [Fig 6, 7; 0040-42].
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claims 1-20 have been considered but are moot because the arguments do not apply to the specific combination of the references being used in the current rejection.
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 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
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