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 .
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election without traverse of Group I, Species 1a in the reply filed on 12/11/2025 is acknowledged.
Claims 7 and 10-19 withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected group and species, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election was made without traverse in the reply filed on 12/11/2025.
Claim 7 is understood to be withdrawn due to claim 7 reading on a non-elected species with the further election of Species 1a shown in Fig. 10B, since claim 7 includes the limitation of “wherein the VCSELs of the first subset have a hexagonal aperture” which is drawn to Species 1B, shown in Fig. 10A.
Examiner notes that although the species election of species 1a shown in Fig. 10B was not disclosed in the Response to Election/ Restriction dated on 12/11/2025, Applicant elected species 1a shown in Fig. 10B in a phone call on 01/30/2026. See PTO-413 form.
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statements (IDS) submitted on 12/23/2022 and 01/11/2023 were filed after the filing date of the claimed application on 12/07/2022. The submissions are in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statements are being considered by the examiner.
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.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 1-6,8,9 and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Regarding claim 1, lines 10 and 11 of claim 1 read “… a resulting overall illumination projected onto the scene is substantially homogenous diffuse illumination”. Examiner notes that the term “substantially homogenous diffuse illumination” is not clearly defined by the claim or in the specification. Paragraph [0049] of the claimed application discloses a relationship of the term “uniform” to the term “homogenous”, but the term “substantially homogenous diffuse illumination” is not given clear bounds for what the prior art must show in order to meet the limitation of a substantially homogenous diffuse illumination.
For the purposes of examination in the instant application, the term “substantially homogenous diffuse illumination” is understood to mean, a less diffuse light (light with a smaller annular spread) between the gaps of a more diffuse light (light with a larger annular spread) as shown in the prior art rejections of claim 1 below.
Claims 2-6,8,9 and 20 are rejected at least on their dependency to indefinite claim 1.
Appropriate correction is required.
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 (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) 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 1-4 and 9 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) and 102 (a)(2) as being anticipated by Rossi et al. (hereinafter Rossi) (US 20190049097 A1).
Regarding claim 1, Rossi discloses in Fig. 8B,
An apparatus [Fig. 8B] comprising:
a light source [S1 and S2] (Paras. [122,0252]) including a first subset of light emitting elements [S2] (Para. [0250]) and a different second subset of light emitting elements [S1] (Para. [0252]), wherein each of the light emitting elements of the first subset [S2] (Para. [0252]) is operable to produce a respective light beam (Para. [0249]), and each of the light emitting elements of the second subset [S1] (Para. [0252]) is operable to produce a respective light beam that is less diffuse than the light beams produced by the first subset of light emitting elements [Fig. 8B larger emission area S2] (paras. [0029,0061,0079]);
one or more optical elements [2 Fig. 9] (Paras. [0207,0260]) disposed so as to project the light beams produced by the first and second subsets of light emitting elements [light from S1 and S2] (Para. [0250]) onto a scene [Fig. 8B] (Para. [0252]); and
control circuitry [10] (Para. [0253]) operable to control respective durations for which the light emitting elements of the first [S2] and second [S1] subsets are on (Para. [0253]) so that a resulting overall illumination projected onto the scene is substantially homogenous diffuse illumination [S1 between diffuse S2 Fig. 8B] (Paras. [0029,0061,0079,0252].
Regarding claim 2, Rossi as applied to claim 1 above further discloses in Fig. 8B,
wherein the light emitting elements of the first [S2] and second subsets [S1] (Para. [0250]), and the one or more optical elements [2 Fig. 9] (Paras. [0250,0260]), are disposed such that the light beams produced by the second subset [S1] are projected onto the scene [Fig. 8B] so as to at least partially fill gaps in illumination produced by the first subset of light emitting elements [S2] (S1 interposed between diffuse S2 Fig. 8B Para. [0253]).
Regarding claim 3, Rossi as applied to claim 1 above further discloses in Fig. 8B,
wherein the control circuitry [10] (Para. [0253]) is operable to turn on the light emitting elements of the first subset [S2] for a first duration, and to turn on the light emitting elements of the second subset [S1] for a second duration while the light emitting elements of the first subset [S2] are on, wherein the second duration [duration of S1] is shorter than the first duration [duration of S2] (Para. [0253]).
Paragraph [0253] states that the second mode light [S2] can be operated alone, and alternatively the first mode light [S1] can also be operated with the second mode light [S2]. When the second mode light [S2] is operated alone, and then the first mode light [S1] is operated with the second mode light [S2], the second mode light [S2] was turned on first, therefore meaning the first mode light [S1] would be on for a shorter duration than the second mode light [S2].
Regarding claim 4, Rossi as applied to claim 1 above further discloses in Fig. 8B,
wherein each of the first [S2] and second [S1] subsets of light emitting elements (Para. [0249]) is composed of VCSELs (Paras. [0122-0124, 0211]).
Regarding claim 9, Rossi as applied to claim 1 above further discloses in Fig. 8B,
wherein the control circuitry [10] (Paras. [0208,0253]) is operable to turn on the second subset of light emitting elements [S1] in a second mode of operation to project a structured light pattern [light 5 from S1 see Figs. 1 and 2] (Paras. [0206]) onto the scene [Fig. 8B.
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 for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claims 5 and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Rossi in view of Ahmed (US 20190107389 A1)
Regarding claim 5, Rossi discloses the device outlined in the rejection of claim 4 above and further discloses in Fig. 8B,
wherein the VCSELs (Paras. [0122-0124, 211]) of the first subset [S2 Fig. 8B] have a first aperture (Paras. [0161,0177,0217]), and the VCSELs (Paras. [0122-0124, 211]) of the second subset [S1 Fig. 8B] have a second aperture (Paras. [0161,0177,0217]),
Rossi fails to disclose,
wherein the first aperture is larger than the second aperture.
Ahmed discloses in Fig. 4,
a first subset of VCSELs [402] with a first aperture width [d1] differing from a second aperture width [d2] of a second subset of VCSELs [404] (Para. [0037,0041])
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to implement the differing aperture widths between respective subsets of VCSELs as shown in Ahmed with the VCSEL subsets of Rossi for the purpose of producing different speckle patterns and for mode selection. (Para. [0058])
Regarding claim 20, Rossi discloses the device outlined in the rejection of claim 2 above and further discloses in Fig. 8B,
wherein the control circuitry [10] (Para. [0253]) is operable to turn on the light emitting elements of the first subset [S2] for a first duration, and to turn on the light emitting elements of the second subset [S1] for a second duration while the light emitting elements of the first subset [S2] are on, wherein the second duration [duration of S1] is shorter than the first duration [duration of S2] (Para. [0253]),
each of the first [S2] and second [S1] subsets of light emitting elements (Para. [0249]) is composed of VCSELs (Paras. [0122-0124, 0211])
the VCSELs (Paras. [0122-0124, 211]) of the first subset [S2] have a first aperture (Paras. [0161,0177,0217]), and the VCSELs (Paras. [0122-0124, 211]) of the second subset [S1] have a second aperture (Paras. [0161,0177,0217]),
Paragraph [0253] states that the second mode light [S2] can be operated alone, and alternatively the first mode light [S1] can also be operated with the second mode light [S2]. When the second mode light [S2] is operated alone, and then the first mode light [S1] is operated with the second mode light [S2], the second mode light [S2] was turned on first, therefore meaning the first mode light [S1] would be on for a shorter duration than the second mode light [S2].
Rossi fails to disclose,
the first aperture is larger than the second aperture.
Ahmed discloses in Fig. 4,
a first subset of VCSELs [402] with a first aperture width [d1] differing from a second aperture width [d2] of a second subset of VCSELs [404] (Para. [0037,0041])
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to implement the differing aperture widths between respective subsets of VCSELs as shown in Ahmed with the VCSEL subsets of Rossi for the purpose of producing different speckle patterns and for mode selection. (Para. [0058])
Claims 6 and 8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Rossi in view of Boytard et al. (hereinafter Boytard) (US 20200064521 A1)
Regarding claim 6, Rossi discloses the device outlined in the rejection of claim 4 above but fails to disclose,
wherein the VCSELs of the first subset have a rectangular aperture.
Boytard discloses in Fig. 1B,
a first subset of light sources [108] (Para. [0035]) with rectangular aperture shapes (Para. [0036])
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to implement the rectangular aperture shape of the light sources of Boytard into the light source apertures of Rossi of the purpose of changing the intensity profiles of the respective light sources. (Boytard Para. [0035])
Regarding claim 8, Rossi discloses the device outlined in the rejection of claim 4 above but fails to disclose,
wherein the VCSELs of the first subset have an aperture shaped differently from a shape of an aperture of the VCSELs of the second subset.
Boytard discloses in Fig. 1B,
a first subset of light sources [106] (Para. [0036])with a differing aperture shape than a second subset of light sources [108] (Para. [0036])
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to implement the differing aperture shapes as shown in Boytard with the aperture shapes of Rossi for the purpose of specifically influencing the intensity profiles of each respective subset of light sources. (Boytard Para. [0035,0036])
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Examiner particularly notes (WO 2020222704 A1) which discloses the use of a light emitting array with a smaller annular spread intervening the gaps of a second light emitting array with a larger annular spread. See PTO-892 form.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to HUNTER J NELSON whose telephone number is (571)270-5318. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Fri. 8:30am-5:00 ET.
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/H.J.N./Examiner, Art Unit 2828 /TOD T VAN ROY/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2828