CTNF 17/999,407 CTNF 97733 DETAILED ACTION Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status 07-03-aia AIA 15-10-aia The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA. Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114 07-42-04 AIA A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on 03/30/2026 has been entered. Response to Amendment Applicant has submitted the following: Claims 1, 4, 5, 7, 8, and 10-20 are pending examination; Claims 2, 3, 6, and 9 remain cancelled; and Claims 1, and 18-20 are newly amended. Response to Arguments 07-37 AIA Applicant's arguments filed 03/30/2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive. Specifically, applicant, with regards to the rejections under 35 USC 102 of claim 18 and under 35 USC 103 of claims 1, 19, and 20, argues that the prior art does not teach the newly amended limitations of “ a first state that corresponds to a stop state of the ranging device ” and “ a second state that corresponds to a moving state of the ranging device ”. Examiner respectfully disagrees. Previously cited Kerr (US 20190310355 A1) teaches a second state that corresponds to a moving state of the ranging device (Fig. 6, travel sensor 612, travel sensor analyzer 608, travel calculator 604; [0035] lines 6-9, “the travel calculator 604 determines a speed and/or velocity of the vehicle (e.g., the UAV 200) based on a desired amount of scanning to be performed on the area of interest.”). Newly cited Mou (US 20190011927 A1) teaches a first state that corresponds to a stop state of the ranging device ([0043] lines 4-9, “the processor 44 to detect or identify a stationary condition of the vehicle 10 based on the output data from one or more vehicle sensors 40 (e.g., a speed sensor, a positioning sensor, or the like), obtain data captured or generated from imaging and ranging devices 40 while the vehicle 10 is stationary”; [0068] lines 35-39, “the data collection process 600 may detect a stationary condition of the vehicle 10, 400 when the speed or velocity of the vehicle 10, 400 is equal to zero, the acceleration of the vehicle 10, 400 is equal to zero, and the position of the vehicle 10, 400 is stable or unchanged.”). (see detailed action under Claim Rejections under 35 USC 103, below) . Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103 07-20-aia AIA 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. 07-21-aia AIA Claim (s) 1, 4, 10-13, and 18-20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Inoue et al. (JP 2007207216 A, previously cited) in view of Kerr (US 20190310355 A1, previously cited) and Mou (US 20190011927 A1) . Regarding claim 1, Inoue teaches A ranging device ([0003] “As a displacement sensor using a PSD (position detection element), a sensor in which a signal processing unit and a detection unit are separated and independent is known (see Patent Document 2). The detection unit includes a light source for light projection and a PSD for light reception. An analog detection signal is output from the PSD. This analog detection signal is sent to the signal processing unit via the electric cord. The center of the signal processing unit is constituted by a CPU mainly composed of a microprocessor. The CPU calculates the distance based on the analog detection signal sent from the detection unit.”) comprising: a sensor (sensor head 2, position detection element) configured to acquire ranging information ([0166] “This sensor head alternately outputs ranging images and orthographic images. The image data for distance measurement is calculated by the controller C of the sensing system B, and the normal image for specifying the mark position is calculated by the controller B. If the surface of the object is substantially flat, the controller A can specify the three-dimensional coordinates of the mark position.”) ; a field-programmable gate array (FPGA) (FPGA 130) configured to execute a specific processing on the ranging information acquired by the sensor ([0105] “The calculation in the arithmetic processing circuit may be performed while using the FPGA-RAM 170 connected to the FPGA 130 as a working memory. The calculation in the arithmetic processing circuit 133 may be performed in units of a certain amount of data such as an image of one frame, for example, or may be performed continuously by using a line buffer for several scanning lines. It is also possible to perform a pipeline-type operation that sequentially processes the acquired data and outputs the results continuously.”) ; and a memory configured to store data that causes the FPGA to execute the specific processing (FPGA-RAM 170) ; a transmission section (Fig. 4; inter-unit connectors 18a and 18b, I/F connector, paths P1a, P1b, P2) ; a reception section (Fig. 4; inter-unit connectors 18a and 18b, I/F connector, paths P1a, P1b, P2; [0097] “In this embodiment, transmission of data between units is bidirectional, but the transmission direction may be fixed, for example, the right side is dedicated to input and the left side is dedicated to output (or vice versa). If the transmission direction is determined in this way, transmission setting is facilitated when a plurality of sensor controllers are connected.”) ; a processor ([0039] “ all the sensor controllers have a data transmission path connected to the CPU in the inter-unit path, thereby performing data transmission between the CPUs of the directly connected sensor controllers.”) The CPU includes the processor ; and a switching section configured to switch between a first state and a second state ([0024] “At this time, as a circuit programmed in the programmable logic circuit, an arithmetic processing circuit for performing arithmetic processing on sensing data acquired via an inter-unit path or a sensor head path, an inter-unit path, and And a data path switching circuit for selectively connecting any one of the sensor head paths to the arithmetic processing circuit.”) , wherein in the first state, the transmission section is configured to transmit the ranging information to a network (Fig. 4; inter-unit connectors 18a and 18b, I/F connector, paths P1a, P1b, P2; [0105] “The calculation in the arithmetic processing circuit may be performed while using the FPGA-RAM 170 connected to the FPGA 130 as a working memory. The calculation in the arithmetic processing circuit 133 may be performed in units of a certain amount of data such as an image of one frame, for example, or may be performed continuously by using a line buffer for several scanning lines. It is also possible to perform a pipeline-type operation that sequentially processes the acquired data and outputs the results continuously.”) . The connectors and paths are the predetermined network, in that they provide connection between elements for both transmitting and receiving ([0097] “In this embodiment, transmission of data between units is bidirectional, but the transmission direction may be fixed, for example, the right side is dedicated to input and the left side is dedicated to output (or vice versa). If the transmission direction is determined in this way, transmission setting is facilitated when a plurality of sensor controllers are connected.”) , and the reception section is configured to receive first update data to update the FPGA ([0097] “In this embodiment, transmission of data between units is bidirectional, but the transmission direction may be fixed, for example, the right side is dedicated to input and the left side is dedicated to output (or vice versa). If the transmission direction is determined in this way, transmission setting is facilitated when a plurality of sensor controllers are connected.”) , wherein generation of the first update data is based on a first result of a first analysis of the ranging information transmitted to the network ([0103] “The content of the arithmetic processing circuit 133 is designed according to the sensing purpose. When the sensing data is image data, it is configured by combining arithmetic circuit blocks that perform noise removal, edge enhancement, gradation conversion, binarization, average value calculation, peak position extraction, area extraction, centroid position extraction, etc. . Sensing data to be calculated is not limited to image data, but may be multi-value data acquired in time series. For example, the output of a displacement sensor using PSD (Position Sensitive Device) is obtained as an analog signal that changes in time series, but noise removal is performed on data obtained by digitally converting (sampled) this signal at a constant period. You may comprise the arithmetic processing circuit which combined the arithmetic circuit block which performs feature-value extraction.”) , in the second state, the processor is configured to: execute a second analysis of the ranging information (Fig. 14, repetition) ; and generate, based on a second result of the second analysis, second update data to update the FPGA (Fig. 14, repetition) , and the memory is further configured to update the data with one of the first update data or the second update data ([0126] “A plurality of circuit data and setting parameters of the FPGA 130 may be prepared, and the circuit data and setting parameters to be loaded into the FPGA 130 may be selected according to the situation. Such a selection can also be performed in response to a change in the state of the detection object 6 or the detection environment. Such a change can be determined by the sensor controller itself based on sensing data, as well as when notified from the outside.”) . Inoue does not teach the ranging device, comprising: a switching section configured to switch between a first state that corresponds to a stop state of the ranging device and a second state that corresponds to a moving state of the ranging device. Kerr teaches an analogous ranging device (Abstract, LIDAR) comprising: a switching section configured to switch ([0041] lines 42-49, “the phrase “in communication,” including variations thereof, encompasses direct communication and/or indirect communication through one or more intermediary components, and does not require direct physical (e.g., wired) communication and/or constant communication, but rather additionally includes selective communication at periodic intervals, scheduled intervals, aperiodic intervals, and/or one-time events.”) between a first state (Fig. 6; [0063] lines 1-6, “The interface circuit 820 of the illustrated example also includes a communication device such as a transmitter, a receiver, a transceiver, a modem, a residential gateway, a wireless access point, and/or a network interface to facilitate exchange of data with external machines (e.g., computing devices of any kind) via a network 826.”) and a second state (Fig. 7, step 709; Fig. 8) that corresponds to a moving state of the ranging device (Fig. 6, travel sensor 612, travel sensor analyzer 608, travel calculator 604; [0034] lines 12-18, “The scanning director 602 of the example includes a travel calculator 604, and a LIDAR sensor data analyzer 607. The LIDAR sensor data analyzer 607 is communicatively coupled to the LIDAR scanner 222 in this example. Further, the example navigation and scanning control system 600 also includes a travel sensor analyzer 608, and a reflector controller 609.”; [0035] lines 6-9, “the travel calculator 604 determines a speed and/or velocity of the vehicle (e.g., the UAV 200) based on a desired amount of scanning to be performed on the area of interest)The analysis of the LIDAR sensor data with the travel sensor analyzer and travel calculator by way of selective communication, is the switching between the first state and the second state that corresponds to a moving state of the ranging device . It would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the ranging device of Inoue to include the switching of state that corresponds to a moving state of the ranging device of Kerr, because it would yield predictable and advantageous results. The inclusion of motion of the device in the ranging analysis would yield predictable results and could advantageously increase the accuracy of the ranging data. Inoue in view of Kerr does not teach the ranging device, comprising: a first state that corresponds to a stop state of the ranging device . Mou teaches an analogous ranging device (Fig. 1, ranging devices 40), comprising: a first state that corresponds to a stop state of the ranging device ([0043] lines 4-9, “the processor 44 to detect or identify a stationary condition of the vehicle 10 based on the output data from one or more vehicle sensors 40 (e.g., a speed sensor, a positioning sensor, or the like), obtain data captured or generated from imaging and ranging devices 40 while the vehicle 10 is stationary”; [0068] lines 35-39, “the data collection process 600 may detect a stationary condition of the vehicle 10, 400 when the speed or velocity of the vehicle 10, 400 is equal to zero, the acceleration of the vehicle 10, 400 is equal to zero, and the position of the vehicle 10, 400 is stable or unchanged.”). It would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the device of Inoue in view of Kerr to include the first (stopped) state of Mou, because it would yield predictable and advantageous results, including determining when the ranging device is in motion (or not) (see Mou: [0057] lines 1-7, “The positioning system 76 processes sensor data along with other data to determine a position (e.g., a local position relative to a map, an exact position relative to lane of a road, vehicle heading, velocity, etc.) of the vehicle 10 relative to the environment. The guidance system 78 processes sensor data along with other data to determine a path for the vehicle 10 to follow.”), thereby advantageously selecting appropriate actions depending upon whether or not the device is in motion. Regarding claim 4, Inoue in view of Kerr and Mou teaches The ranging device according to claim 3, wherein the transmission section is further configured to wirelessly transmit the ranging information to the network, and the reception section is further configured to wirelessly receive the first update data from the network (Inoue: [0023] “When the sensor controller and the sensor head are connected by wireless communication, the sensor head connection unit is a wireless communication transmission / reception unit provided in the sensor controller.”) . Regarding claim 10, Inoue in view of Kerr and Mou teaches The ranging device according to claim 1, wherein the ranging information is ranging data (Inoue: [0166] “This sensor head alternately outputs ranging images and orthographic images. The image data for distance measurement is calculated by the controller C of the sensing system B, and the normal image for specifying the mark position is calculated by the controller B. If the surface of the object is substantially flat, the controller A can specify the three-dimensional coordinates of the mark position.”) , the sensor comprises a light receiving section, the light receiving section comprises a plurality of photoelectric conversion elements (Inoue: [0067] “A light emitting semiconductor laser diode (LD) and a light receiving two-dimensional imaging device (for example, a CCD image sensor, a CMOS image sensor, etc.) are provided in the case 20 of the sensor head 2.”; [0165] “This is a two-dimensional CCD element as an image pickup means for photoelectrically converting an image viewed from the front to generate a video signal corresponding to each image.”) and a signal processing circuit, and the signal processing circuit is configured to read the ranging data from the light receiving section (Inoue: [0024] “At this time, as a circuit programmed in the programmable logic circuit, an arithmetic processing circuit for performing arithmetic processing on sensing data acquired via an inter-unit path or a sensor head path, an inter-unit path, and And a data path switching circuit for selectively connecting any one of the sensor head paths to the arithmetic processing circuit.”) . Regarding claim 11, Inoue in view of Kerr and Mou teaches The ranging device according to claim 1, wherein the specific processing includes at least one of correlated double sampling (CDS), analog-to-digital (AD) conversion, black level processing, phase component calculation, phase data processing, luminance data processing, cycle error correction, temperature correction, distortion correction, parallax correction, correction of a control system that controls the sensor, automatic exposure, automatic focus, flaw correction, noise correction, flying pixel correction, or depth calculation (Inoue: [0081] “The sensor setting signal includes a pixel area to be read by the CMOS two-dimensional image sensor, a shutter speed (charge accumulation time) designation, and an imaging mode in which images are taken continuously at a constant cycle or triggered by a sensor controller.”; [0103] “The content of the arithmetic processing circuit 133 is designed according to the sensing purpose. When the sensing data is image data, it is configured by combining arithmetic circuit blocks that perform noise removal, edge enhancement, gradation conversion, binarization, average value calculation, peak position extraction, area extraction, centroid position extraction, etc.”) . The shutter speed (charge accumulation time) is the automatic exposure. The arithmetic circuit performing noise removal is the noise correction. Regarding claim 12, Inoue in view of Kerr and Mou teaches The ranging device according to claim 1, wherein the data includes circuit data for incorporation of a circuit configuration for the execution of the specific processing in the FPGA, and setting data that includes a parameter to be set in the circuit configuration (Inoue: [0126] “A plurality of circuit data and setting parameters of the FPGA 130 may be prepared, and the circuit data and setting parameters to be loaded into the FPGA 130 may be selected according to the situation. Such a selection can also be performed in response to a change in the state of the detection object 6 or the detection environment. Such a change can be determined by the sensor controller itself based on sensing data, as well as when notified from the outside.”; [0175] “multistage pipeline processing can be performed by connecting a plurality of sensor controllers. In addition, if the paths between the units on both sides are connected inside a programmable logic circuit when necessary, a through bus line is formed to transmit data without time delay between non-adjacent sensor controllers. It is also possible to do this. As described above, the configuration in which the path between the units is separated across the logic circuit that can be programmed inside the sensor controller brings flexibility to the sensing system.”) . Regarding claim 13, Inoue in view of Keer and Mou teaches The ranging device according to claim 1, wherein the processor is further configured to execute the specific processing in cooperation with the FPGA (Inoue: Fig. 38, CPU 141 and FPGA 130; Fig. 14) . Regarding claim 18, Inoue teaches An electronic device ([0003] “As a displacement sensor using a PSD (position detection element), a sensor in which a signal processing unit and a detection unit are separated and independent is known (see Patent Document 2). The detection unit includes a light source for light projection and a PSD for light reception. An analog detection signal is output from the PSD. This analog detection signal is sent to the signal processing unit via the electric cord. The center of the signal processing unit is constituted by a CPU mainly composed of a microprocessor. The CPU calculates the distance based on the analog detection signal sent from the detection unit.”) comprising: a sensor (sensor head 2, position detection element) configured to acquire ranging information ([0166] “This sensor head alternately outputs ranging images and orthographic images. The image data for distance measurement is calculated by the controller C of the sensing system B, and the normal image for specifying the mark position is calculated by the controller B. If the surface of the object is substantially flat, the controller A can specify the three-dimensional coordinates of the mark position.”) ; a field-programmable gate array (FPGA) (FPGA 130) configured to execute a specific processing on the ranging information acquired by the sensor ([0105] “The calculation in the arithmetic processing circuit may be performed while using the FPGA-RAM 170 connected to the FPGA 130 as a working memory. The calculation in the arithmetic processing circuit 133 may be performed in units of a certain amount of data such as an image of one frame, for example, or may be performed continuously by using a line buffer for several scanning lines. It is also possible to perform a pipeline-type operation that sequentially processes the acquired data and outputs the results continuously.”) ; a memory configured to store data that causes the FPGA to execute the specific processing (FPGA-RAM 170) ; a transmission section (Fig. 4; inter-unit connectors 18a and 18b, I/F connector, paths P1a, P1b, P2) ; a reception section (Fig. 4; inter-unit connectors 18a and 18b, I/F connector, paths P1a, P1b, P2; [0097] “In this embodiment, transmission of data between units is bidirectional, but the transmission direction may be fixed, for example, the right side is dedicated to input and the left side is dedicated to output (or vice versa). If the transmission direction is determined in this way, transmission setting is facilitated when a plurality of sensor controllers are connected.”) ; a processor ([0039] “ all the sensor controllers have a data transmission path connected to the CPU in the inter-unit path, thereby performing data transmission between the CPUs of the directly connected sensor controllers.”) The CPU includes the processor ; and a switching section configured to switch between a first state and a second state ([0024] “At this time, as a circuit programmed in the programmable logic circuit, an arithmetic processing circuit for performing arithmetic processing on sensing data acquired via an inter-unit path or a sensor head path, an inter-unit path, and And a data path switching circuit for selectively connecting any one of the sensor head paths to the arithmetic processing circuit.”) , wherein in the first state, the transmission section is configured to transmit the ranging information to a network (Fig. 4; inter-unit connectors 18a and 18b, I/F connector, paths P1a, P1b, P2; [0105] “The calculation in the arithmetic processing circuit may be performed while using the FPGA-RAM 170 connected to the FPGA 130 as a working memory. The calculation in the arithmetic processing circuit 133 may be performed in units of a certain amount of data such as an image of one frame, for example, or may be performed continuously by using a line buffer for several scanning lines. It is also possible to perform a pipeline-type operation that sequentially processes the acquired data and outputs the results continuously.”) . The connectors and paths are the predetermined network, in that they provide connection between elements for both transmitting and receiving ([0097] “In this embodiment, transmission of data between units is bidirectional, but the transmission direction may be fixed, for example, the right side is dedicated to input and the left side is dedicated to output (or vice versa). If the transmission direction is determined in this way, transmission setting is facilitated when a plurality of sensor controllers are connected.”) , and the reception section is configured to receive first update data to update the FPGA ([0097] “In this embodiment, transmission of data between units is bidirectional, but the transmission direction may be fixed, for example, the right side is dedicated to input and the left side is dedicated to output (or vice versa). If the transmission direction is determined in this way, transmission setting is facilitated when a plurality of sensor controllers are connected.”) , wherein generation of the first update data is based on a first result of a first analysis of the ranging information transmitted to the network ([0103] “The content of the arithmetic processing circuit 133 is designed according to the sensing purpose. When the sensing data is image data, it is configured by combining arithmetic circuit blocks that perform noise removal, edge enhancement, gradation conversion, binarization, average value calculation, peak position extraction, area extraction, centroid position extraction, etc. . Sensing data to be calculated is not limited to image data, but may be multi-value data acquired in time series. For example, the output of a displacement sensor using PSD (Position Sensitive Device) is obtained as an analog signal that changes in time series, but noise removal is performed on data obtained by digitally converting (sampled) this signal at a constant period. You may comprise the arithmetic processing circuit which combined the arithmetic circuit block which performs feature-value extraction.”) , in the second state, the processor is configured to: execute a second analysis of the ranging information (Fig. 14, repetition) ; and generate, based on a second result of the second analysis, second update data to update the FPGA (Fig. 14, repetition) , and the memory is further configured to update the data with one of the first update data or the second update data ([0126] “A plurality of circuit data and setting parameters of the FPGA 130 may be prepared, and the circuit data and setting parameters to be loaded into the FPGA 130 may be selected according to the situation. Such a selection can also be performed in response to a change in the state of the detection object 6 or the detection environment. Such a change can be determined by the sensor controller itself based on sensing data, as well as when notified from the outside.”) . Inoue does not teach the ranging device, comprising: a switching section configured to switch between a first state that corresponds to a stop state of the ranging device and a second state that corresponds to a moving state of the ranging device. Kerr teaches an analogous ranging device (Abstract, LIDAR) comprising: a switching section configured to switch ([0041] lines 42-49, “the phrase “in communication,” including variations thereof, encompasses direct communication and/or indirect communication through one or more intermediary components, and does not require direct physical (e.g., wired) communication and/or constant communication, but rather additionally includes selective communication at periodic intervals, scheduled intervals, aperiodic intervals, and/or one-time events.”) between a first state (Fig. 6; [0063] lines 1-6, “The interface circuit 820 of the illustrated example also includes a communication device such as a transmitter, a receiver, a transceiver, a modem, a residential gateway, a wireless access point, and/or a network interface to facilitate exchange of data with external machines (e.g., computing devices of any kind) via a network 826.”) and a second state (Fig. 7, step 709; Fig. 8) that corresponds to a moving state of the ranging device (Fig. 6, travel sensor 612, travel sensor analyzer 608, travel calculator 604; [0034] lines 12-18, “The scanning director 602 of the example includes a travel calculator 604, and a LIDAR sensor data analyzer 607. The LIDAR sensor data analyzer 607 is communicatively coupled to the LIDAR scanner 222 in this example. Further, the example navigation and scanning control system 600 also includes a travel sensor analyzer 608, and a reflector controller 609.”; [0035] lines 6-9, “the travel calculator 604 determines a speed and/or velocity of the vehicle (e.g., the UAV 200) based on a desired amount of scanning to be performed on the area of interest)The analysis of the LIDAR sensor data with the travel sensor analyzer and travel calculator by way of selective communication, is the switching between the first state and the second state that corresponds to a moving state of the ranging device . It would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the ranging device of Inoue to include the switching of state that corresponds to a moving state of the ranging device of Kerr, because it would yield predictable and advantageous results. The inclusion of motion of the device in the ranging analysis would yield predictable results and could advantageously increase the accuracy of the ranging data. Inoue in view of Kerr does not teach the ranging device, comprising: a first state that corresponds to a stop state of the ranging device . Mou teaches an analogous ranging device (Fig. 1, ranging devices 40), comprising: a first state that corresponds to a stop state of the ranging device ([0043] lines 4-9, “the processor 44 to detect or identify a stationary condition of the vehicle 10 based on the output data from one or more vehicle sensors 40 (e.g., a speed sensor, a positioning sensor, or the like), obtain data captured or generated from imaging and ranging devices 40 while the vehicle 10 is stationary”; [0068] lines 35-39, “the data collection process 600 may detect a stationary condition of the vehicle 10, 400 when the speed or velocity of the vehicle 10, 400 is equal to zero, the acceleration of the vehicle 10, 400 is equal to zero, and the position of the vehicle 10, 400 is stable or unchanged.”). It would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the device of Inoue in view of Kerr to include the first (stopped) state of Mou, because it would yield predictable and advantageous results, including determining when the ranging device is in motion (or not) (see Mou: [0057] lines 1-7, “The positioning system 76 processes sensor data along with other data to determine a position (e.g., a local position relative to a map, an exact position relative to lane of a road, vehicle heading, velocity, etc.) of the vehicle 10 relative to the environment. The guidance system 78 processes sensor data along with other data to determine a path for the vehicle 10 to follow.”), thereby advantageously selecting appropriate actions depending upon whether or not the device is in motion. Regarding claim 19, Inoue teaches A sensor system (Fig. 3) , comprising: an electronic device (sensor controller 100) ; and a server connected to the electronic device via a network ([0068] “The external I / F connector 19 is a general term for the USB connector 13, the RS-232C connector 14, and the external connection cord 3 shown in FIG. 1, and a personal computer (PC) or the like is connected via the external I / F connector 19. Connection to a programmable controller (PLC) or the like is made.”) The connection to the “personal computer (PC) or the like” and the “programmable controller (PLC) or the like” by the connector 19 is the server connected via a predetermined network , the electronic device comprises: a processor ([0039] “all the sensor controllers have a data transmission path connected to the CPU in the inter-unit path, thereby performing data transmission between the CPUs of the directly connected sensor controllers.”) The CPU includes the processor ; a sensor (sensor head 2, position detection element) configured to acquire ranging information ([0166] “This sensor head alternately outputs ranging images and orthographic images. The image data for distance measurement is calculated by the controller C of the sensing system B, and the normal image for specifying the mark position is calculated by the controller B. If the surface of the object is substantially flat, the controller A can specify the three-dimensional coordinates of the mark position.”) ; a field-programmable gate array (FPGA) (FPGA 130) configured to execute a specific processing on the ranging information acquired by the sensor ([0105] “The calculation in the arithmetic processing circuit may be performed while using the FPGA-RAM 170 connected to the FPGA 130 as a working memory. The calculation in the arithmetic processing circuit 133 may be performed in units of a certain amount of data such as an image of one frame, for example, or may be performed continuously by using a line buffer for several scanning lines. It is also possible to perform a pipeline-type operation that sequentially processes the acquired data and outputs the results continuously.”) ; and a memory configured to store data that causes the FPGA to execute the specific processing (FPGA-RAM 170) ; a transmission section (Fig. 4; inter-unit connectors 18a and 18b, I/F connector, paths P1a, P1b, P2) ; a reception section (Fig. 4; inter-unit connectors 18a and 18b, I/F connector, paths P1a, P1b, P2; [0097] “In this embodiment, transmission of data between units is bidirectional, but the transmission direction may be fixed, for example, the right side is dedicated to input and the left side is dedicated to output (or vice versa). If the transmission direction is determined in this way, transmission setting is facilitated when a plurality of sensor controllers are connected.”) ; a switching section configured to switch between a first state and a second state ([0024] “At this time, as a circuit programmed in the programmable logic circuit, an arithmetic processing circuit for performing arithmetic processing on sensing data acquired via an inter-unit path or a sensor head path, an inter-unit path, and And a data path switching circuit for selectively connecting any one of the sensor head paths to the arithmetic processing circuit.”) , wherein in the first state, the transmission section is configured to transmit the ranging information to a network (Fig. 4; inter-unit connectors 18a and 18b, I/F connector, paths P1a, P1b, P2; [0105] “The calculation in the arithmetic processing circuit may be performed while using the FPGA-RAM 170 connected to the FPGA 130 as a working memory. The calculation in the arithmetic processing circuit 133 may be performed in units of a certain amount of data such as an image of one frame, for example, or may be performed continuously by using a line buffer for several scanning lines. It is also possible to perform a pipeline-type operation that sequentially processes the acquired data and outputs the results continuously.”) . The connectors and paths are the predetermined network, in that they provide connection between elements for both transmitting and receiving ([0097] “In this embodiment, transmission of data between units is bidirectional, but the transmission direction may be fixed, for example, the right side is dedicated to input and the left side is dedicated to output (or vice versa). If the transmission direction is determined in this way, transmission setting is facilitated when a plurality of sensor controllers are connected.”) , and the reception section is configured to receive first update data to update the FPGA ([0097] “In this embodiment, transmission of data between units is bidirectional, but the transmission direction may be fixed, for example, the right side is dedicated to input and the left side is dedicated to output (or vice versa). If the transmission direction is determined in this way, transmission setting is facilitated when a plurality of sensor controllers are connected.”) , wherein generation of the first update data is based on a first result of a first analysis of the ranging information transmitted to the network ([0103] “The content of the arithmetic processing circuit 133 is designed according to the sensing purpose. When the sensing data is image data, it is configured by combining arithmetic circuit blocks that perform noise removal, edge enhancement, gradation conversion, binarization, average value calculation, peak position extraction, area extraction, centroid position extraction, etc. . Sensing data to be calculated is not limited to image data, but may be multi-value data acquired in time series. For example, the output of a displacement sensor using PSD (Position Sensitive Device) is obtained as an analog signal that changes in time series, but noise removal is performed on data obtained by digitally converting (sampled) this signal at a constant period. You may comprise the arithmetic processing circuit which combined the arithmetic circuit block which performs feature-value extraction.”) , in the second state, the processor is configured to: execute a second analysis of the ranging information (Fig. 14, repetition) ; and generate, based on a second result of the second analysis, second update data to update the FPGA (Fig. 14, repetition) , and the memory is further configured to update the data with one of the first update data or the second update data ([0126] “A plurality of circuit data and setting parameters of the FPGA 130 may be prepared, and the circuit data and setting parameters to be loaded into the FPGA 130 may be selected according to the situation. Such a selection can also be performed in response to a change in the state of the detection object 6 or the detection environment. Such a change can be determined by the sensor controller itself based on sensing data, as well as when notified from the outside.”) . Inoue does not teach the sensor system, comprising: a switching section configured to switch between a first state that corresponds to a stop state of the ranging device and a second state that corresponds to a moving state of the ranging device. Kerr teaches an analogous sensor system (Abstract, LIDAR) comprising: a switching section configured to switch ([0041] lines 42-49, “the phrase “in communication,” including variations thereof, encompasses direct communication and/or indirect communication through one or more intermediary components, and does not require direct physical (e.g., wired) communication and/or constant communication, but rather additionally includes selective communication at periodic intervals, scheduled intervals, aperiodic intervals, and/or one-time events.”) between a first state (Fig. 6; [0063] lines 1-6, “The interface circuit 820 of the illustrated example also includes a communication device such as a transmitter, a receiver, a transceiver, a modem, a residential gateway, a wireless access point, and/or a network interface to facilitate exchange of data with external machines (e.g., computing devices of any kind) via a network 826.”) and a second state (Fig. 7, step 709; Fig. 8) that corresponds to a moving state of the ranging device (Fig. 6, travel sensor 612, travel sensor analyzer 608, travel calculator 604; [0034] lines 12-18, “The scanning director 602 of the example includes a travel calculator 604, and a LIDAR sensor data analyzer 607. The LIDAR sensor data analyzer 607 is communicatively coupled to the LIDAR scanner 222 in this example. Further, the example navigation and scanning control system 600 also includes a travel sensor analyzer 608, and a reflector controller 609.”; [0035] lines 6-9, “the travel calculator 604 determines a speed and/or velocity of the vehicle (e.g., the UAV 200) based on a desired amount of scanning to be performed on the area of interest)The analysis of the LIDAR sensor data with the travel sensor analyzer and travel calculator by way of selective communication, is the switching between the first state and the second state that corresponds to a moving state of the ranging device . It would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the ranging device of Inoue to include the switching of state that corresponds to a moving state of the ranging device of Kerr, because it would yield predictable and advantageous results. The inclusion of motion of the device in the ranging analysis would yield predictable results and could advantageously increase the accuracy of the ranging data. Regarding claim 20, Inoue teaches A control method (sensor controller 100) comprising: acquiring, by a sensor (sensor head 2, position detection element) , ranging information ([0166] “This sensor head alternately outputs ranging images and orthographic images. The image data for distance measurement is calculated by the controller C of the sensing system B, and the normal image for specifying the mark position is calculated by the controller B. If the surface of the object is substantially flat, the controller A can specify the three-dimensional coordinates of the mark position.”) ; switching between a first state and a second state ([0024] “At this time, as a circuit programmed in the programmable logic circuit, an arithmetic processing circuit for performing arithmetic processing on sensing data acquired via an inter-unit path or a sensor head path, an inter-unit path, and And a data path switching circuit for selectively connecting any one of the sensor head paths to the arithmetic processing circuit.”) , wherein in the first state, transmitting the ranging information to a network (Fig. 4; inter-unit connectors 18a and 18b, I/F connector, paths P1a, P1b, P2; [0105] “The calculation in the arithmetic processing circuit may be performed while using the FPGA-RAM 170 connected to the FPGA 130 as a working memory. The calculation in the arithmetic processing circuit 133 may be performed in units of a certain amount of data such as an image of one frame, for example, or may be performed continuously by using a line buffer for several scanning lines. It is also possible to perform a pipeline-type operation that sequentially processes the acquired data and outputs the results continuously.”) . The connectors and paths are the predetermined network, in that they provide connection between elements for both transmitting and receiving ([0097] “In this embodiment, transmission of data between units is bidirectional, but the transmission direction may be fixed, for example, the right side is dedicated to input and the left side is dedicated to output (or vice versa). If the transmission direction is determined in this way, transmission setting is facilitated when a plurality of sensor controllers are connected.”) ; and receiving first update data ([0097] “In this embodiment, transmission of data between units is bidirectional, but the transmission direction may be fixed, for example, the right side is dedicated to input and the left side is dedicated to output (or vice versa). If the transmission direction is determined in this way, transmission setting is facilitated when a plurality of sensor controllers are connected.”) to update a field-programmable gate array (FPGA) (FPGA 130) , wherein the first update data is generated based on a first result of a first analysis of the ranging information transmitted to the network ([0103] “The content of the arithmetic processing circuit 133 is designed according to the sensing purpose. When the sensing data is image data, it is configured by combining arithmetic circuit blocks that perform noise removal, edge enhancement, gradation conversion, binarization, average value calculation, peak position extraction, area extraction, centroid position extraction, etc. . Sensing data to be calculated is not limited to image data, but may be multi-value data acquired in time series. For example, the output of a displacement sensor using PSD (Position Sensitive Device) is obtained as an analog signal that changes in time series, but noise removal is performed on data obtained by digitally converting (sampled) this signal at a constant period. You may comprise the arithmetic processing circuit which combined the arithmetic circuit block which performs feature-value extraction.”) ; in the second state, executing a second analysis of the ranging information acquired by the sensor (Fig. 14, repetition) ; and generating, based on a second result of the second analysis, second update data to update the FPGA (Fig. 14, repetition) ; and updating data in a memory with one of the first update data or the second update data predetermined processing on the ranging information or a setting value of the circuit configuration depending on an analysis result of the ranging information ([0126] “A plurality of circuit data and setting parameters of the FPGA 130 may be prepared, and the circuit data and setting parameters to be loaded into the FPGA 130 may be selected according to the situation. Such a selection can also be performed in response to a change in the state of the detection object 6 or the detection environment. Such a change can be determined by the sensor controller itself based on sensing data, as well as when notified from the outside.”) . Inoue does not teach the ranging device, comprising: a switching section configured to switch between a first state that corresponds to a stop state of the ranging device and a second state that corresponds to a moving state of the ranging device. Kerr teaches an analogous ranging device (Abstract, LIDAR) comprising: a switching section configured to switch ([0041] lines 42-49, “the phrase “in communication,” including variations thereof, encompasses direct communication and/or indirect communication through one or more intermediary components, and does not require direct physical (e.g., wired) communication and/or constant communication, but rather additionally includes selective communication at periodic intervals, scheduled intervals, aperiodic intervals, and/or one-time events.”) between a first state (Fig. 6; [0063] lines 1-6, “The interface circuit 820 of the illustrated example also includes a communication device such as a transmitter, a receiver, a transceiver, a modem, a residential gateway, a wireless access point, and/or a network interface to facilitate exchange of data with external machines (e.g., computing devices of any kind) via a network 826.”) and a second state (Fig. 7, step 709; Fig. 8) that corresponds to a moving state of the ranging device (Fig. 6, travel sensor 612, travel sensor analyzer 608, travel calculator 604; [0034] lines 12-18, “The scanning director 602 of the example includes a travel calculator 604, and a LIDAR sensor data analyzer 607. The LIDAR sensor data analyzer 607 is communicatively coupled to the LIDAR scanner 222 in this example. Further, the example navigation and scanning control system 600 also includes a travel sensor analyzer 608, and a reflector controller 609.”; [0035] lines 6-9, “the travel calculator 604 determines a speed and/or velocity of the vehicle (e.g., the UAV 200) based on a desired amount of scanning to be performed on the area of interest)The analysis of the LIDAR sensor data with the travel sensor analyzer and travel calculator by way of selective communication, is the switching between the first state and the second state that corresponds to a moving state of the ranging device . It would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the sensor system of Inoue to include the switching of state that corresponds to a moving state of the ranging device of Kerr, because it would yield predictable and advantageous results. The inclusion of motion of the device in the ranging analysis would yield predictable results and could advantageously increase the accuracy of the ranging data. Inoue in view of Kerr does not teach the sensor system, comprising: a first state that corresponds to a stop state of the ranging device . Mou teaches an analogous sensor system (Fig. 1, ranging devices 40), comprising: a first state that corresponds to a stop state of the ranging device ([0043] lines 4-9, “the processor 44 to detect or identify a stationary condition of the vehicle 10 based on the output data from one or more vehicle sensors 40 (e.g., a speed sensor, a positioning sensor, or the like), obtain data captured or generated from imaging and ranging devices 40 while the vehicle 10 is stationary”; [0068] lines 35-39, “the data collection process 600 may detect a stationary condition of the vehicle 10, 400 when the speed or velocity of the vehicle 10, 400 is equal to zero, the acceleration of the vehicle 10, 400 is equal to zero, and the position of the vehicle 10, 400 is stable or unchanged.”). It would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the system of Inoue in view of Kerr to include the first (stopped) state of Mou, because it would yield predictable and advantageous results, including determining when the ranging device is in motion (or not) (see Mou: [0057] lines 1-7, “The positioning system 76 processes sensor data along with other data to determine a position (e.g., a local position relative to a map, an exact position relative to lane of a road, vehicle heading, velocity, etc.) of the vehicle 10 relative to the environment. The guidance system 78 processes sensor data along with other data to determine a path for the vehicle 10 to follow.”), thereby advantageously selecting appropriate actions depending upon whether or not the device is in motion . 07-22-aia AIA Claim (s) 5 and 7-8 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Inoue in view of Kerr and Mou as applied to claim s 4 and 1, respectfully , above, and further in view of Ferreira et al. (US 20200284883 A1, previously cited) . Regarding claim 5, Inoue in view of Kerr and Mou teaches The ranging device according to claim 4. Inoue in view of Kerr and Mou does not teach the device , further comprising: an encryption section is further configured to encrypt the ranging information; and a decryption section is further configured to decrypt the first update data. Ferreira teaches an analogous ranging device (Abstract: LIDAR Sensor System), further comprising: an encryption section is further configured to encrypt the ranging information; and a decryption section is further configured to decrypt the first update data ([2456] “Sensor System 20, and the processes of controlling the light emitted by the at least one LIDAR Sensor System by providing encrypted or non-encrypted light control data to the hardware interface of the LIDAR Sensor System 10 and/or sensing the sensors and/or controlling the actuators of the LIDAR Sensor System via the LIDAR Sensor Management System 90.”; [0059] “The method for LIDAR Sensor Management System can be configured to initiate data encryption, data decryption and data communication protocols.”) . It would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the device of Inoue in view of Kerr and Mou to include the encryption and decryption of Ferreira because such processes in the communication of data is well known in the art and yields predictable results, such as following specific communication protocols. Regarding claim 7, Inoue in view of Kerr and Mou teaches The ranging device according to claim 1. Inoue in view of Kerr and Mou does not teach the device, further comprising an analysis circuit configured to analyze the ranging information based on a machine learning process, wherein the machine learning process is based on at least one of a deep neural network (DNN) or a convolutional neural network (CNN), and the processor is further configured to analyze the ranging information based on a result of the machine learning process. Ferreira teaches an analogous ranging device (Abstract: LIDAR Sensor System), further comprising an analysis circuit configured to analyze the ranging information ([4665] The ranging system may include a peak detection system. The peak detection system may be configured to receive the output (also referred to as cross-correlation output) of the correlation receiver (e.g., a signal is including one or more peaks representing the cross-correlation between the content of the registers). The peak detection system may be configured to determine (e.g., calculate) the time lag based on one or more identified peaks in the cross-correlation. The determined lag (illustratively, between the emitted signal and the received signal) may represent the ToF. The peak detection system may be configured to provide a confidence measure or a validity signal for the current output (e.g., based on the height of the detected peak, or based on the height of the detected peak with respect to other peaks, or based on the height of the detected peak with respect to previous results, or based on a combination of these approaches). A peak detection system may be an example of one or more processors, or it may include one or more processors.) based on a machine learning process, wherein the machine learning process is based on at least one of a deep neural network (DNN) or a convolutional neural network (CNN) ([0011] “It is expected that autonomous driving systems will including more and more elements of artificial intelligence, machine and self-learning, as well as Deep Neural Networks (DNN) for certain tasks, e.g. visual image recognition, and other Neural Processor Units (NFU) methods for more complex tasks, like judgment of a traffic situation and generation of derived vehicle control functions, and the like. Data calculation, handling, storing and retrieving may require a large amount of processing power and hence electrical power.”) , and the processor ([4445] lines 1-4, “The ranging system 14500 may include one or more processors 14514. The one or more processors 14514 may be configured to demodulate (e.g., to decode or to interpret) the received signal.”) is further configured to analyze the ranging information based on a result of the machine learning process ( [3757] lines 1-7, “ the one or more processors may be configured to implement different types of data processing (e.g., including artificial intelligence methods and/or machine learning methods). The one or more processors may be configured to process data to provide a scene understanding (e.g., an analysis of an environment surrounding the vehicle).”) . It would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the device of Inoue in view of Kerr and Mou to include the machine learning Ferreira because the use of said machine learning yields predictable and advantageous results, including increasing the accuracy of analyzing the ranging information. Regarding claim 8, Inoue in view of Kerr and Mou teaches The ranging device according to claim 1, wherein the FPGA comprises an analysis circuit configured to analyze the ranging information ([0105] “The calculation in the arithmetic processing circuit may be performed while using the FPGA-RAM 170 connected to the FPGA 130 as a working memory.”) Inoue in view of Kerr and Mou does not teach the device , an analysis configured to analyze the ranging information based on a machine learning process using at least one of a deep neural network (DNN) or a convolutional neural network (CNN), and the processor is further configured to analyze the ranging information based on a result of the machine learning process. Ferreira teaches an analogous ranging device (Abstract: LIDAR Sensor System), comprising an analysis configured to analyze the ranging information ([4665] The ranging system may include a peak detection system. The peak detection system may be configured to receive the output (also referred to as cross-correlation output) of the correlation receiver (e.g., a signal is including one or more peaks representing the cross-correlation between the content of the registers). The peak detection system may be configured to determine (e.g., calculate) the time lag based on one or more identified peaks in the cross-correlation. The determined lag (illustratively, between the emitted signal and the received signal) may represent the ToF. The peak detection system may be configured to provide a confidence measure or a validity signal for the current output (e.g., based on the height of the detected peak, or based on the height of the detected peak with respect to other peaks, or based on the height of the detected peak with respect to previous results, or based on a combination of these approaches). A peak detection system may be an example of one or more processors, or it may include one or more processors.) based on a machine learning process using at least one of a deep neural network (DNN) or a convolutional neural network (CNN) ([0011] “It is expected that autonomous driving systems will including more and more elements of artificial intelligence, machine and self-learning, as well as Deep Neural Networks (DNN) for certain tasks, e.g. visual image recognition, and other Neural Processor Units (NFU) methods for more complex tasks, like judgment of a traffic situation and generation of derived vehicle control functions, and the like. Data calculation, handling, storing and retrieving may require a large amount of processing power and hence electrical power.”) , and the processor is further configured to analyze the ranging information based on a result of the machine learning process. ( [3757] lines 1-7, “ the one or more processors may be configured to implement different types of data processing (e.g., including artificial intelligence methods and/or machine learning methods). The one or more processors may be configured to process data to provide a scene understanding (e.g., an analysis of an environment surrounding the vehicle).”). It would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the device of Inoue in view of Kerr and Mou to include the machine learning Ferreira because the use of said machine learning yields predictable and advantageous results, including increasing the accuracy of analyzing the ranging information . 07-22-aia AIA Claim (s) 14-17 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Inoue in view of Kerr and Mou as applied to claim s 1 and 13 above, and further in view of Amagasaki et al. (M. Amagasaki, Y. Takeuchi, Q. Zhao, M. Iida, M. Kuga and T. Sueyoshi, "Architecture exploration of 3D FPGA to minimize internal layer connection," 2015 IFIP/IEEE International Conference on Very Large Scale Integration (VLSI-SoC) , Daejeon, Korea (South), 2015, pp. 110-115, doi: 10.1109/VLSI-SoC.2015.7314401., previously cited) . Regarding claim 14, Inoue in view of Kerr and Mou teaches The ranging device according to claim 1, further comprising: a first chip that comprises the sensor (Inoue: Fig. 5, sensor head circuit 200) ; a second chip that comprises the FPGA (Inoue: Fig. 4 FPGA 130) ; and a third chip that includes the memory (Inoue: Fig. 4 FPGA-RAM 170) , Inoue in view of Kerr and Mou does not teach the device, wherein the device has a stack structure in which the first, the second chip, and the third chip are stacked. Amagasaki teaches an analogous chip structure, wherein the device has a stack structure in which the first, the second chip, and the third chip are stacked. (p. 100 “Existing FPGAs [5] [6] have a structure in which logic circuits and configuration memory bits are placed on different layers.”; p. 115 “we proposed a functionally distributed type and a spatially distributed type of 3D FPGA architecture to allow simple die stacking. According to the evaluation results, the functionally distributed type is more effective when limiting designs to two layers, but the spatially distributed architecture with more than two layers is a better choice when performance is prioritized.”) . It would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the device of Inoue in view of Kerr and Mou to include the stack structure of Amagasaki because the stacking structure for FPGAs is well known in the art, and yield predictable and advantageous results (Amagasaki: p. 110 “With the scaling down of device dimensions on semiconductor wafers, the speeds of integrated circuits have been improved greatly. However, as process shrinking has proceeded into scales much smaller than micrometers, the problems of circuit delay and power leakage have become critical. This is especially true for field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), where the routing resources account for the majority of chip area and circuit delay performance. Employing three-dimensional (3D) integration technologies to vertically stack several silicon dies is considered as one way to solve this problem.”). The stack structure of the chips would advantageously increase the density of the circuits while limiting the dimensional size. Regarding claim 15, Inoue in view of Kerr and Mou teaches The ranging device according to claim 1, further comprising: a first chip that comprises the sensor (Inoue: Fig. 5, sensor head circuit 200) ; and a second chip that comprises the FPGA and the memory (Inoue: Fig. 4 FPGA 130 and FPGA-RAM 170) , Inoue in view of Kerr and Mou does not teach the device, wherein the device has a stack structure in which the first chip and the second chip are stacked. Amagasaki teaches an analogous chip structure, wherein the device has a stack structure in which the first chip and the second chip are stacked. (p. 100 “Existing FPGAs [5] [6] have a structure in which logic circuits and configuration memory bits are placed on different layers.”; p. 115 “we proposed a functionally distributed type and a spatially distributed type of 3D FPGA architecture to allow simple die stacking. According to the evaluation results, the functionally distributed type is more effective when limiting designs to two layers, but the spatially distributed architecture with more than two layers is a better choice when performance is prioritized.”) . It would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the device of Inoue in view of Kerr and Mou to include the stack structure of Amagasaki because the stacking structure for FPGAs is well known in the art, and yield predictable and advantageous results (Amagasaki: p. 110 “With the scaling down of device dimensions on semiconductor wafers, the speeds of integrated circuits have been improved greatly. However, as process shrinking has proceeded into scales much smaller than micrometers, the problems of circuit delay and power leakage have become critical. This is especially true for field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), where the routing resources account for the majority of chip area and circuit delay performance. Employing three-dimensional (3D) integration technologies to vertically stack several silicon dies is considered as one way to solve this problem.”). The stack structure of the chips would advantageously increase the density of the circuits while limiting the dimensional size. Regarding claim 16, Inoue in view of Kerr and Mou teaches The ranging device according to claim 13, further comprising: a first chip comprising the sensor (Inoue: Fig. 5, sensor head circuit 200) ; and a second chip comprising the FPGA, the memory, and the processor (Inoue: Fig. 4 FPGA 130, FPGA-RAM 170, and CPU 140, respectfully) , Inoue in view of Kerr and Mou does not teach the device, wherein the ranging device has a stack structure in which the first to second chips are stacked. Amagasaki teaches an analogous chip structure, wherein the device has a stack structure in which the first to second chips are stacked (p. 100 “Existing FPGAs [5] [6] have a structure in which logic circuits and configuration memory bits are placed on different layers.”; p. 115 “we proposed a functionally distributed type and a spatially distributed type of 3D FPGA architecture to allow simple die stacking. According to the evaluation results, the functionally distributed type is more effective when limiting designs to two layers, but the spatially distributed architecture with more than two layers is a better choice when performance is prioritized.”) . It would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the device of Inoue in view of Kerr and Mou to include the stack structure of Amagasaki because the stacking structure for FPGAs is well known in the art, and yield predictable and advantageous results (Amagasaki: p. 110 “With the scaling down of device dimensions on semiconductor wafers, the speeds of integrated circuits have been improved greatly. However, as process shrinking has proceeded into scales much smaller than micrometers, the problems of circuit delay and power leakage have become critical. This is especially true for field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), where the routing resources account for the majority of chip area and circuit delay performance. Employing three-dimensional (3D) integration technologies to vertically stack several silicon dies is considered as one way to solve this problem.”). The stack structure of the chips would advantageously increase the density of the circuits while limiting the dimensional size. Regarding claim 17, Inoue in view of Kerr, Mou, and Amagasaki teaches The ranging device according to claim 14, wherein the ranging information is depth data (Inoue: Fig. 3, [0083] “When the distance from the sensor head to the target object changes, the image of the slit light on the two-dimensional image sensor 240 moves in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the slit light. The horizontal scanning direction of the two-dimensional image sensor 240 is aligned with the moving direction of the slit light image. The peak position of the light intensity on the horizontal scanning line of the two-dimensional image sensor 240 represents the distance to the target object. Since slit light is used, the distribution of distances in the longitudinal direction of the slit light can be measured all at once.”; [0166] “This sensor head alternately outputs ranging images and orthographic images. The image data for distance measurement is calculated by the controller C of the sensing system B, and the normal image for specifying the mark position is calculated by the controller B. If the surface of the object is substantially flat, the controller A can specify the three-dimensional coordinates of the mark position.”). One of ordinary skill in the art would recognize that determining three-dimensional coordinates, including the distance from the sensor head, is depth data , the sensor comprises a light receiving section comprising a plurality of photoelectric conversion elements (Inoue: [0067] “A light emitting semiconductor laser diode (LD) and a light receiving two-dimensional imaging device (for example, a CCD image sensor, a CMOS image sensor, etc.) are provided in the case 20 of the sensor head 2.”; [0165] “This is a two-dimensional CCD element as an image pickup means for photoelectrically converting an image viewed from the front to generate a video signal corresponding to each image.”) and a signal processing circuit that reads image data from the light receiving section (Inoue: [0024] “At this time, as a circuit programmed in the programmable logic circuit, an arithmetic processing circuit for performing arithmetic processing on sensing data acquired via an inter-unit path or a sensor head path, an inter-unit path, and And a data path switching circuit for selectively connecting any one of the sensor head paths to the arithmetic processing circuit.”) , and the first chip comprises a fifth chip (Inoue: image sensor drive circuit 250) comprising the light receiving section (Inoue: [0082] “a CMOS type is used for the two-dimensional image sensor 240. Note that a CCD type may be used as the two-dimensional image sensor 240”) and a sixth chip comprising the signal processing circuit (Inoue: [0085] The image sensor drive circuit 250 generates DATA_IN (digital video signal), HD (horizontal synchronization signal), and VD (vertical synchronization signal) based on the output obtained from the two-dimensional image sensor 240. These three signals are subjected to parallel / serial conversion via the parallel / serial conversion circuit 270 and then sent to the sensor controller 1 as video signals.) . The parallel/serial conversion circuit is the signal processing circuit. Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to BRIAN GEISS whose telephone number is (571)270-1248. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday 7:30 am - 4:30 pm. Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice. If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Catherine Rastovski can be reached at (571) 270-0349. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300. Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000. /B.B.G./Examiner, Art Unit 2857 /Catherine T. Rastovski/Supervisory Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2857 Application/Control Number: 17/999,407 Page 2 Art Unit: 2857 Application/Control Number: 17/999,407 Page 3 Art Unit: 2857 Application/Control Number: 17/999,407 Page 4 Art Unit: 2857 Application/Control Number: 17/999,407 Page 5 Art Unit: 2857 Application/Control Number: 17/999,407 Page 6 Art Unit: 2857 Application/Control Number: 17/999,407 Page 7 Art Unit: 2857 Application/Control Number: 17/999,407 Page 8 Art Unit: 2857 Application/Control Number: 17/999,407 Page 9 Art Unit: 2857 Application/Control Number: 17/999,407 Page 10 Art Unit: 2857 Application/Control Number: 17/999,407 Page 11 Art Unit: 2857 Application/Control Number: 17/999,407 Page 12 Art Unit: 2857 Application/Control Number: 17/999,407 Page 13 Art Unit: 2857 Application/Control Number: 17/999,407 Page 14 Art Unit: 2857 Application/Control Number: 17/999,407 Page 15 Art Unit: 2857 Application/Control Number: 17/999,407 Page 16 Art Unit: 2857 Application/Control Number: 17/999,407 Page 17 Art Unit: 2857 Application/Control Number: 17/999,407 Page 18 Art Unit: 2857 Application/Control Number: 17/999,407 Page 19 Art Unit: 2857 Application/Control Number: 17/999,407 Page 20 Art Unit: 2857 Application/Control Number: 17/999,407 Page 21 Art Unit: 2857 Application/Control Number: 17/999,407 Page 22 Art Unit: 2857 Application/Control Number: 17/999,407 Page 23 Art Unit: 2857 Application/Control Number: 17/999,407 Page 24 Art Unit: 2857 Application/Control Number: 17/999,407 Page 25 Art Unit: 2857 Application/Control Number: 17/999,407 Page 26 Art Unit: 2857 Application/Control Number: 17/999,407 Page 27 Art Unit: 2857 Application/Control Number: 17/999,407 Page 28 Art Unit: 2857 Application/Control Number: 17/999,407 Page 29 Art Unit: 2857 Application/Control Number: 17/999,407 Page 30 Art Unit: 2857 Application/Control Number: 17/999,407 Page 31 Art Unit: 2857 Application/Control Number: 17/999,407 Page 32 Art Unit: 2857 Application/Control Number: 17/999,407 Page 33 Art Unit: 2857 Application/Control Number: 17/999,407 Page 34 Art Unit: 2857 Application/Control Number: 17/999,407 Page 35 Art Unit: 2857 Application/Control Number: 17/999,407 Page 36 Art Unit: 2857 Application/Control Number: 17/999,407 Page 37 Art Unit: 2857 Application/Control Number: 17/999,407 Page 38 Art Unit: 2857 Application/Control Number: 17/999,407 Page 39 Art Unit: 2857 Application/Control Number: 17/999,407 Page 40 Art Unit: 2857 Application/Control Number: 17/999,407 Page 41 Art Unit: 2857 Application/Control Number: 17/999,407 Page 42 Art Unit: 2857 Application/Control Number: 17/999,407 Page 43 Art Unit: 2857
Prosecution Insights