.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 .
DETAILED ACTION
The applicant’s amendments/remarks dated 03/03/2026 has been received, entered, and fully considered. Claims 1 and 5 are amended. Claims 8-20 remain withdrawn. Claims 1-7 are currently under examination.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
Claim(s) 1, 3, and 5-7 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ramsteiner (US 2021/0096578). in view of Hansson et al. (US 2019/0146064).
Regarding Claim 1, Ramsteiner discloses an indirect time-of-flight camera system(Figs. 2-4: 10a, 10b, 10c, “imaging device”, para. [0032], lines 17-20) for operating in multiple optical channels (Figs. 2-4: 20a, 22a “field of view”, para. [0032], lines 7-10) using active modulated light(para. [0033], lines 23-26), the camera system comprising:
first and second modulatable laser sources (Figs. 2-4; 12a,14a”lumionous elements”; para. [033], lines 4-8 and 20-26) for illuminating a target environment,
a wavelength-selective reflective element designed to reflect light of a first wavelength and to transmit light of a second wavelength (Figs. 2-4: 18a “beam splitting unit”, para. [0042], lines 1-7);
a controller (electronic unit, claim 12) comprising instructions executable to control the camera system wherein actuation of the first modulatable laser source causes the first modulatable laser source to output the light of the first wavelength towards the wavelength-selective reflective element to be reflected off to illuminate the target environment over a first field-of-view (para. [0010], ‘…the beam splitter unit is developed to transmit and reflect in a wavelength-selective manner.’) and, the actuation of the second modulatable laser source causes the second modulatable laser source to output the light of the second wavelength towards the wavelength-selective reflective element to be transmitted through to illuminate the target environment over a second field-of- view, and wherein the first and second field-of-views are overlapping, and wherein one of the first field-of-view and second field-of-view is a more narrow field-of-view operating at a longer distance(para. [0010], ‘…the beam splitter unit is developed to transmit and reflect in a wavelength-selective manner.’); and
a photosensor for receiving light from the wavelength-selective reflective element, wherein the light from the wavelength-selective reflective element comprises back-scattered light from the illuminated target environment (Fig. 2-4: 16 “image acquisition element”, para. [0038], lines 30-35).
Ramsteiner do not explicitly disclose, but Hansson teaches a time-multiplexing indirect time-of-flight camera system where a controller comprising instructions executable to control the camera system to: in a first time period, activate the first modulatable laser source and deactivate the second modulatable laser source, in a second time period, deactivate the first modulatable laser source and activate the second modulatable laser source (para. [0076], “…The activation of each laser light source 904A, 904B, 904C, 904D is controlled by a respective activation power and timing/control circuit 905A, 905B, 905C, 905D. In some exemplary embodiments, activation of laser light sources 904 is controlled in a time-multiplexed fashion such that only a single laser light source 904 in each multi-laser array device 901 is active at a time….”).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the controller/electronic unit of disclosed in Ramsteiner with the time-multiplexing by activating the first modulatable laser and deactivating the second modulatable laser in the first time period and deactivating the first modulatable laser and activating the second modulatable laser in the first time period taught in Hansson with a reasonable expectation of success because it enables the camera system to eliminate channel cross-talk, reduce peak power consumption, and optimize the thermal management of the laser diodes, all while using a single shared sensor.
Regarding Claim 3, modified Ramsteiner discloses an indirect time-of-flight camera system (Ramsteiner, Figs. 2-4: 10a, 10b, 10c, “imaging device”, para. [0032], lines 17-20) wherein the wavelength-selective reflective element comprises one or more of a dichroic mirror or a reflection grating (Ramsteiner, Fig. 3: 18b “beam splitter”, 28b “beam splitter element”; para. [0048], lines 9-30).
Regarding Claim 5, modified Ramsteiner discloses an indirect time-of-flight camera system (Ramsteiner, Figs. 2-4: 10a, 10b, 10c, “imaging device”, para. [0032], lines 17-20) wherein the first modulatable laser source illuminates the target environment over a first field-of view and the second modulatable laser source illuminates the target environment over a second field-of-view different from the first field-of-view (Ramsteiner, Figs. 2-4: 20a, “first field of view”, 22a “second field of view”, para. [0039], lines 6-16).
Regarding Claim 6, modified Ramsteiner discloses an indirect time-of-flight camera system (Ramsteiner, Figs. 2-4: 10a, 10b, 10c, “imaging device”, para. [0032], lines 17-20) wherein the first and second field-of- views at least partially overlap (Ramsteiner, para. [0036], lines 34-35).
Regarding Claim 7, Ramsteiner discloses an indirect time-of-flight camera system (Ramsteiner, Figs. 2-4: 10a, 10b, 10c, “imaging device”, para. [0032], lines 17-20) wherein the first wavelength is in the near infrared wavelength band (Ramsteiner, para. [0033], lines 8-11).
Claim(s) 2 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over modified Ramsteiner (US 2021/0096578).
Regarding Claim 2, modified Ramsteiner discloses an indirect time-of-flight camera system (Figs. 2-4: 10a, 10b, 10c, “imaging device”, para. [0032], lines 17-20) with a modulated first and second modulated laser sources(Figs. 2-4; 12a,14a”lumionous elements”; para. [033], lines 4-8 and 20-26) and a wavelength-selective reflective element (Figs. 2-4: 18a “beam splitting unit”, para. [0042], lines 1-7) wherein Ramsteiner also suggests the imaging of more than two different fields of views 20a, 22a (‘…imaging device 10a may particularly include a plurality of beam splitter units 18a, which are aligned especially transversely relative to one another for the imaging of more than two different fields of view 20a, 22a onto image acquisition element 16a.”, para. [0037]) that can also be generated by an extra laser source rather than using beam splitters. Ramsteiner do not explicitly disclose, but Hansson teaches a time-multiplexing indirect time-of-flight camera system where a controller comprising instructions executable to control the camera system to: in a first time period, activate the first modulatable laser source and deactivate the second modulatable laser source, in a second time period, deactivate the first modulatable laser source and activate the second modulatable laser source (para. [0076], “…The activation of each laser light source 904A, 904B, 904C, 904D is controlled by a respective activation power and timing/control circuit 905A, 905B, 905C, 905D. In some exemplary embodiments, activation of laser light sources 904 is controlled in a time-multiplexed fashion such that only a single laser light source 904 in each multi-laser array device 901 is active at a time….”).
Modified Ramsteiner discloses the claimed invention except for a modulated third laser source and a second wavelength-selective reflective element. It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention was made to add and control a modulated third laser source in a third time period with a second wavelength-selective reflective element working on the same principle for the imaging of more than two different fields of views, since it has been held that mere duplication of the essential working parts of a device involves only routine skill in the art. St. Regis Paper Co. v. Bemis Co., 193 USPQ 8.
Claim(s) 4 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over modified Ramsteiner (US 2021/0096578) in view of Gaalema et al. (US 2020/0182968).
Regarding Claim 4, modified Ramsteiner do not explicitly disclose, but Gaalema teaches a lidar camera system comprising a mirror (115/302, Fig. 3) for redirecting a light towards reflective element (301, Fig. 3).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the camera system of modified Ramsteiner with the mirror taught in the Gaalema reference with a reasonable expectation of success in order to provide redirection or change of direction of the light of second wavelength.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim(s) 1 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Donnovan et al. (2017/0307736) discloses a multi-wavelength LIDAR system includes a first laser source that generates a first optical beam having a first wavelength and a second laser source that generates a second optical beam having a second wavelength. An optical element projects the first optical beam to form a first beam profile at a target plane and projects the second optical beam to form a second beam profile at the target plane. An optical receiver generates a first wavelength signal corresponding to the received reflected portion of the first beam profile and generates a second wavelength signal corresponding to the reflected portion of the second beam profile at the target plane. A controller generates a measurement point cloud from the first and second wavelength signals, wherein an angular resolution of the measurement point cloud depends on a relative position of the first and second beam profiles at the target plane.
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
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Assres H. Woldemaryam
Primary Examiner (Aeronautics and Astronautics)
Art Unit 3642
/ASSRES H WOLDEMARYAM/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3642
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