DETAILED ACTION
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 .
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement filed on February 13, 2024, fails to comply with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97, 1.98 and MPEP § 609 because the prior art reference JP 7127548 B2 has not been included with an English translation. Per CFR §1.98(a)(3)(ii), an IDS filed under §1.97 should include a copy of the translation if a written English-language translation of a non-English-language document, or portion thereof, is within the possession, custody, or control of, or is readily available to any individual designated in § 1.56(c). It has been placed in the application file, but the information referred to therein has not been considered as to the merits. Applicant is advised that the date of any re-submission of any item of information contained in this information disclosure statement or the submission of any missing element(s) will be the date of submission for purposes of determining compliance with the requirements based on the time of filing the statement, including all certification requirements for statements under 37 CFR 1.97(e). See MPEP § 609.05(a).
Claim Objections
Claim 5 is objected to because of the following informalities: The recitation of “The LiDAR sensor as set forth in claim 1, wherein…a controller programmed…” should be rephrased to affirmatively recite the controller as a further element of the LiDAR sensor.
Claim 16 is object to because it should end in a period.
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Interpretation
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(f):
(f) Element in Claim for a Combination. – An element in a claim for a combination may be expressed as a means or step for performing a specified function without the recital of structure, material, or acts in support thereof, and such claim shall be construed to cover the corresponding structure, material, or acts described in the specification and equivalents thereof.
The following is a quotation of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph:
An element in a claim for a combination may be expressed as a means or step for performing a specified function without the recital of structure, material, or acts in support thereof, and such claim shall be construed to cover the corresponding structure, material, or acts described in the specification and equivalents thereof.
The claims in this application are given their broadest reasonable interpretation using the plain meaning of the claim language in light of the specification as it would be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art. The broadest reasonable interpretation of a claim element (also commonly referred to as a claim limitation) is limited by the description in the specification when 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, is invoked.
As explained in MPEP § 2181, subsection I, claim limitations that meet the following three-prong test will be interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph:
(A) the claim limitation uses the term “means” or “step” or a term used as a substitute for “means” that is a generic placeholder (also called a nonce term or a non-structural term having no specific structural meaning) for performing the claimed function;
(B) the term “means” or “step” or the generic placeholder is modified by functional language, typically, but not always linked by the transition word “for” (e.g., “means for”) or another linking word or phrase, such as “configured to” or “so that”; and
(C) the term “means” or “step” or the generic placeholder is not modified by sufficient structure, material, or acts for performing the claimed function.
Use of the word “means” (or “step”) in a claim with functional language creates a rebuttable presumption that the claim limitation is to be treated in accordance with 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph. The presumption that the claim limitation is interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, is rebutted when the claim limitation recites sufficient structure, material, or acts to entirely perform the recited function.
Absence of the word “means” (or “step”) in a claim creates a rebuttable presumption that the claim limitation is not to be treated in accordance with 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph. The presumption that the claim limitation is not interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, is rebutted when the claim limitation recites function without reciting sufficient structure, material or acts to entirely perform the recited function.
Claim limitations in this application that use the word “means” (or “step”) are being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, except as otherwise indicated in an Office action. Conversely, claim limitations in this application that do not use the word “means” (or “step”) are not being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, except as otherwise indicated in an Office action. Such claim limitations include the recitation of “means for controlling the temperature of the light emitter and the bandpass filter” in claim 16.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
Claims 14 and 18-19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
Claim 14 recites “wherein the at least one temperature controller abuts the bandpass filter” which is indefinite, because claim 14 depends from claim 1 which already claims that the bandpass filter is “coupled” to the at least one temperature controller. It is unclear what is the patentable distinction between “abutting” and being “coupled” that would cause claim 14 to be narrower than claim 1, since generally speaking coupled objects are naturally abutting one another for all practical purposes, and particularly in light of Applicant’s disclosure which only shows the temperature controller abutting the bandpass filter for the purpose of thermally coupling the two objects together.
Claim 18 recites “The method as set forth in claim 16” which is indefinite for lack of proper antecedent basis. For examination purposes, Examiner is interpreting claim 18 to depend from claim 17 in order to promote compact prosecution. Claim 19 is likewise rejected and interpreted.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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 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.
(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.
Claims 1-9 and 14-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Cordeiro et al. (US 2021/0181547 A1), hereinafter Cordeiro.
Regarding claim 1, Cordeiro discloses a LiDAR sensor (abstract, regarding a Light Detection And Ranging (LIDAR) apparatus) comprising:
a light emitter (optical source 205; fig. 3) designed to emit light into a field of illumination (as shown in fig. 3), the wavelength of the light emitted by the light emitter being dependent on the temperature of the light emitter (para. [0045], regarding the thermal controller 230 may include calibration information, such as a calibration table, which represents the relationship between the mean light emission wavelength as a function of the temperature values read by the temperature measurement module 235; fig. 3);
a light detector (detector 225; fig. 3) having a field of view overlapping the field of illumination (as shown in fig. 3);
a bandpass filter (optical filter 220; fig. 3) between the light detector and the field of illumination of the light emitter (as shown in fig. 3), the bandpass filter being designed to pass light to the light detector in a wavelength range that is dependent on the temperature of the bandpass filter (para. [0045], regarding the thermal controller 230 may include calibration information, such as a calibration table, which represents the relationship between the optical filter 220 passband and the temperature values read by the temperature measurement module 250); and
at least one temperature controller (temperature control elements 240, 245, as shown in fig. 3; alternatively, thermal coupling member 705, as shown in fig. 7), the light emitter being coupled to at least one of the at least one temperature controller and the bandpass filter being coupled to at least one of the at least one temperature controller (as shown in figs. 3 and 7).
Regarding claim 2, Cordeiro discloses the invention in claim 1, and further discloses wherein the at least one temperature controller (240, 245) is further defined as a first temperature controller coupled to the light emitter to control the temperature of the light emitter (240) and a second temperature controller coupled to the bandpass filter to control the temperature of the bandpass filter independently of the first temperature controller (245).
Regarding claim 3, Cordeiro discloses the invention in claim 2, and further discloses the invention further comprising a first temperature sensor (temperature measurement module 235; fig. 3) coupled to the light emitter (as shown in fig. 3) and a second temperature sensor (temperature measurement module 250; fig. 3) coupled to the bandpass filter (as shown in fig. 3).
Regarding claim 4, Cordeiro discloses the invention in claim 2, and further discloses the invention further comprising a first thermocouple (235) coupled to the light emitter (as shown in fig. 3) to detect the temperature of the light emitter (see again para. [0045]) and a second thermocouple (250) coupled to the bandpass filter (as shown in fig. 3) to detect the temperature of the bandpass filter (see again para. [0045]).
Regarding claim 5, Cordeiro discloses the invention in claim 1, wherein: the at least one temperature controller (240, 245) is further defined as a first temperature controller coupled to the light emitter (240) and a second temperature controller coupled to the bandpass filter (245); and
a controller (thermal controller 230; fig. 3) programmed to independently control the first temperature controller and the second temperature controller (para. [0046], regarding the thermal controller 230 may use the relationship between temperature and light emission wavelength for the optical source 205 and/or the relationship between temperature and the passband for the optical filter 220 to control the temperature of the optical source 205 and/or the optical filter 220 by way of a temperature control element 240 and/or a temperature control element 245, respectively).
Regarding claim 6, Cordeiro discloses the invention in claim 5, wherein the controller is programmed to: control the first temperature controller based on measured temperature of the light emitter (see again para. [0046]); and control the second temperature controller based on measured temperature of the bandpass filter (see again para. [0046]).
Regarding claim 7, Cordeiro discloses the invention in claim 6, and further discloses the invention further comprising a first temperature sensor (temperature measurement module 235; fig. 3) coupled to the light emitter (as shown in fig. 3) and a second temperature sensor (temperature measurement module 250; fig. 3) coupled to the bandpass filter (as shown in fig. 3).
Regarding claim 8, Cordeiro discloses the invention in claim 5, and further discloses wherein the controller is programmed to: receive a temperature measurement of the light emitter and control the temperature of the light emitter based on the measured temperature of the light emitter (see again para. [0046]); and receive a temperature measurement of the bandpass filter and control the temperature of the light bandpass filter based on the measured temperature of the bandpass filter (see again para. [0046]).
Regarding claim 9, Cordeiro discloses the invention in claim 5, and further discloses wherein the controller is programmed to:
monitor the temperature of the light emitter with repeated temperature measurements of the light emitter and adjust the temperature of the light emitter in response to the repeated temperature measurements of the light emitter (see again para. [0046]); and
monitor the temperature of the bandpass filter with repeated temperature measurements of the bandpass filter and adjust the temperature of the bandpass filter in response to the repeated temperature measurements of the bandpass filter (see again para. [0046]).
Regarding claim 14, Cordeiro discloses the invention in claim 1, and further discloses wherein the at least one temperature controller abuts the bandpass filter (as shown in fig. 3; see also related rejection under §112(b) detailed hereinabove).
Regarding claim 15, Cordeiro discloses the invention in claim 1, and further discloses wherein the wavelength range of the bandpass filter is less than 10 nm (para. [0004], regarding at −40° C the filter pass band is 896.35-902.35 nm).
Regarding claim 16, Cordeiro discloses the invention in claim 1, and further discloses wherein the at least one temperature controller is further defined as a means for controlling the temperature of the light emitter and the bandpass filter (see again para. [0046])
Regarding claim 17, Cordeiro discloses a method of operating a LiDAR sensor (abstract, regarding a Light Detection And Ranging (LIDAR) apparatus), the method comprising:
emitting light from a light emitter (205) into a field of illumination (as shown in fig. 3);
with a light detector (225), detecting light from the field of illumination (as shown in fig. 3) through a bandpass filter (220);
controlling (via 230) the temperature of the bandpass filter (via 245) to pass light in a wavelength range (see again para. [0046]); and
controlling (via 230) the temperature of the light emitter (via 240) to emit light having a wavelength in the wavelength range of the bandpass filter (see again para. [0046]).
Regarding claim 18, Cordeiro discloses the invention in claim 17, and further discloses the invention further comprising:
receiving a temperature measurement of the light emitter and controlling the temperature of the light emitter based on the measured temperature of the light emitter (see again para. [0046]); and
receiving a temperature measurement of the bandpass filter and controlling the temperature of the light bandpass filter based on the measured temperature of the bandpass filter (see again para. [0046]).
Regarding claim 19, Cordeiro discloses the invention in claim 17, and further discloses the invention further comprising:
monitoring the temperature of the light emitter with repeated temperature measurements of the light emitter and adjusting the temperature of the light emitter in response to the repeated temperature measurements of the light emitter (see again para. [0046]); and
monitoring the temperature of the bandpass filter with repeated temperature measurements of the bandpass filter and adjusting the temperature of the bandpass filter in response to the repeated temperature measurements of the bandpass filter (see again para. [0046]).
Regarding claim 20, Cordeiro discloses the invention in claim 18, and further discloses wherein the repeated temperature measurements of the light emitter are periodic and the repeated measurements of the light emitter are periodic (see again paras. [0045-0046]; Examiner notes that all temperature measurements are necessarily periodic in order to ensure operability of the sensor of Cordeiro).
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.
The factual inquiries set forth in Graham v. John Deere Co., 383 U.S. 1, 148 USPQ 459 (1966), that are applied for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
a) Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
b) Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
c) Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
d) Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claim 10-13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Cordeiro et al. (US 2021/0181547 A1), hereinafter Cordeiro.
Regarding claim 10, Cordeiro discloses the invention in claim 1, but does not appear to specifically disclose wherein the at least one temperature controller is further defined as a first thermo-electric temperature controller coupled to the light emitter and a second thermo-electric temperature controller coupled to the bandpass filter.
However, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to configure the invention such that the first and second temperature controllers are thermo-electric controllers, since the equivalence of thermos-electric controllers and generic temperature controllers for their use in the temperature control art and the selection of any known equivalents to thermo-electric controllers would be within the level of ordinary skill in the art.
Regarding claim 11, Cordeiro discloses the invention in claim 1, and further discloses wherein the at least one temperature controller (705) is a heater element (para. [0049], regarding when the temperature control elements 240 and 245 are implemented as a heater element, the heater element may be configured to provide generally uniform heating across one or more surfaces of the optical source 205 and/or optical filter 220) coupled to both the light emitter and the bandpass filter (as shown in fig. 7).
Cordeiro does not appear to specifically disclose wherein the heater element is a heat pipe.
However, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to configure the invention such that the at least one temperature controller is a heat pipe, since the equivalence of heat pipes and generic heater elements for their use in the temperature control art and the selection of any known equivalents to heat pipes would be within the level of ordinary skill in the art.
Regarding claim 12, Cordeiro as modified discloses the invention in claim 11, and further discloses wherein the heat pipe abuts the light emitter and the bandpass filter (see again para. [0049]).
Cordeiro does not appear to specifically disclose wherein the light emitter includes a cover glass.
However, Cordeiro teaches wherein optical filter 220 includes lens 215, with the heater element abutting the barrel of the lens (see para. [0049]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the invention of Cordeiro such that the light emitter includes a cover glass, since glass/lenses are well-known and conventionally used for both emitting and receiving light in a particular configuration.
Regarding claim 13, Cordeiro discloses the invention in claim 1, and further discloses wherein the at least one temperature controller abuts the light emitter (see again para. [0049]).
Cordeiro does not appear to specifically disclose wherein light emitter includes a cover glass.
However, Cordeiro teaches wherein optical filter 220 includes lens 215, with the heater element abutting the barrel of the lens (see para. [0049]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the invention of Cordeiro such that the light emitter includes a cover glass, since glass/lenses are well-known and conventionally used for both emitting and receiving light in a particular configuration.
Conclusion
The cited references made of record in the contemporaneously filed PTO-892 form and not relied upon in the instant office action are considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure, and may have one or more of the elements in Applicant’s disclosure and at least claim 1.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to BRADY W FRAZIER whose telephone number is (469)295-9263. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 9:00am-5:00pm CT.
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/BRADY W FRAZIER/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3647