DETAILED ACTION
This is the first office action on the merits. Claims 1-19 are currently pending.
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 .
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 12/20/2022 is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
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.
Claims 1-19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hörsch et al., US 20180275310 A1 (“Hörsch”) in view of Merettig et al., DE 19962701 A1 (“Merettig”).
Regarding claim 1, Hörsch discloses an optoelectronic sensor in accordance with the triangulation principle for the detection of an object in a monitored zone, the optoelectronic sensor comprising: a light transmitter for transmitting light into the monitored zone (Fig. 1, light transmitter 12, Paragraph [0038]), a light receiver having a plurality of light reception elements arranged to form a row for the generation of a respective received signal from a received light spot that the light remitted at the object generates on the light receiver (Fig. 1, light receiver 26, Paragraph [0038]-[0039]), wherein the light transmitter and the light receiver form a triangulation arrangement (Fig. 1, light transmitter 12, light receiver 26, Paragraph [0039]), and a control and evaluation unit that is configured to determine the incidence location of the received light spot on the light receiver and to determine distance information therefrom (Fig. 1, evaluation unit 30, switching signal unit 32, light distribution measurement unit 36, Paragraph [0040]), wherein the control and evaluation unit has a plurality of processing channels in which respective received signals from a group of light reception elements are combined (Fig. 4, multiplex unit 48, processing channels 50.sub.1 . . . 50.sub.n, 50.sub.m, Paragraph [0044]-[0046]), wherein at least three processing channels are provided (Fig. 4, processing channels 50.sub.1 . . . 50.sub.n, 50.sub.m, Paragraph [0048]),
Hörsch does not teach: namely a central channel on whose associated group of light reception elements the center of the received light spot is incident, a right flanking channel on whose associated group of light reception elements a right portion of the received light spot is incident, and a left flanking channel on whose associated group of light reception elements a left portion of the received light spot is incident.
However, Merettig teaches a method to ensure that a light spot on a photodiode array extends over at least three photodiode cells (Figs. 1a-b, Spot, photodiode cells Zn-1, Zn, Z-n+1, Gaussian distribution of light spot, Paragraph [0007], [0031]).
It would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Hörsch’s processing channels by distributing the processing channels that detect the light spot across three photodiode cells, which is disclosed by Merettig. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order to “[allow] a photodiode array to be configured very quickly and very cost-effectively”, as suggested by Merettig (Paragraph [0007]).
Regarding claim 2, Hörsch, as modified in view of Merettig, discloses the optoelectronic sensor in accordance with claim 1, wherein the received signals of the processing channels are merged in an analog manner (Hörsch, Fig. 4, processing channels 50.sub.1 . . . 50.sub.n, 50.sub.m, Paragraph [0046]).
Regarding claim 3, Hörsch, as modified in view of Merettig, discloses the optoelectronic sensor in accordance with claim 1, wherein the central channel has the highest resolution (Hörsch, Fig. 4, processing channels 50.sub.m, Paragraph [0050]: additional processing channel used for center light reception element 28 between near and far zone processing channels; See also Paragraph [0048]).
Regarding claim 4, Hörsch, as modified in view of Merettig, discloses the optoelectronic sensor in accordance with claim 3, wherein the group of light reception elements associated with the central channel only has a single light reception element (Merettig, Figs. 1a-b, Spot, photodiode cell Zn, Paragraph [0031]).
It would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Hörsch’s processing channels by distributing the processing channels that detect the light spot across three photodiode cells, which is disclosed by Merettig. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order to “[allow] a photodiode array to be configured very quickly and very cost-effectively”, as suggested by Merettig (Paragraph [0007]).
Regarding claim 5, Hörsch, as modified in view of Merettig, discloses the optoelectronic sensor in accordance with claim 1, wherein the light reception elements associated with the central channel and the flanking channels completely cover the received light spot (Merettig, Figs. 1a-b, Spot, right flanking: photodiode cells Zn-2, Zn-1, central: photodiode cell Zn, left flanking: photodiode cells Z-n+1, Gaussian distribution of light spot, Paragraph [0031]).
It would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Hörsch’s processing channels by distributing the processing channels that detect the light spot across three photodiode cells, which is disclosed by Merettig. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order to “[allow] a photodiode array to be configured very quickly and very cost-effectively”, as suggested by Merettig (Paragraph [0007]).
Regarding claim 6, Hörsch, as modified in view of Merettig, discloses the optoelectronic sensor in accordance with claim 5, wherein the light reception elements associated with the central channel and the flanking channels completely cover exactly the received light spot (Merettig, Figs. 1a-b, Spot, right flanking: photodiode cells Zn-2, Zn-1, central: photodiode cell Zn, left flanking: photodiode cells Z-n+1, Gaussian distribution of light spot, Paragraph [0031]).
It would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Hörsch’s processing channels by distributing the processing channels that detect the light spot across three photodiode cells, which is disclosed by Merettig. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order to “[allow] a photodiode array to be configured very quickly and very cost-effectively”, as suggested by Merettig (Paragraph [0007]).
Regarding claim 7, Hörsch, as modified in view of Merettig, discloses the optoelectronic sensor in accordance with claim 1.
Hörsch, as modified in view of Merettig, does not teach: wherein the control and evaluation unit is configured to align the central channel and the flanking channels on the received light spot in that a level of the left flanking channel and of the right flanking channel is compared and, in the case of a difference going beyond a tolerance threshold, the central channel and the flanking channels are displaced in the direction of the smaller level.
However, Merettig teaches a method to determine the location of a light spot on a photodiode array. The method involves assigning a negative factor to all photodiodes left of the expected center of the light spot, assigning a 0 to the center of the expected light spot, and assigning a positive factor to all photodiodes right of the expected center of the light spot. All of the factors are summed, and if the sum is equal to zero, then the light spot is centered on the expected photodiode. If the sum is not equal to zero, then the light spot is shifted from the expected photodiode. (Fig. 1 a-d, Paragraph [0015]-[0019], [0034]-[0036]).
It would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Hörsch’s evaluation unit by implementing the method of determining the center of the light spot, which is disclosed by Merettig. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order to “[allow] a photodiode array to be configured very quickly and very cost-effectively”, as suggested by Merettig (Paragraph [0007]).
Regarding claim 8, Hörsch, as modified in view of Merettig, discloses the optoelectronic sensor in accordance with claim 7, wherein the control and evaluation unit is configured to displace a constant number of light reception elements (Merettig, Fig. 1 a-d, Paragraph [0015]-[0019], [0035]).
It would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Hörsch’s evaluation unit by implementing the method of determining the center of the light spot, which is disclosed by Merettig. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order to “[allow] a photodiode array to be configured very quickly and very cost-effectively”, as suggested by Merettig (Paragraph [0007]).
Regarding claim 9, Hörsch, as modified in view of Merettig, discloses the optoelectronic sensor in accordance with claim 7, wherein the control and evaluation unit is configured to displace a number of light reception elements that depends on the ratio or the difference of the level of the left flanking channel with respect to the right flank passage (Merettig, Fig. 1 a-d, Paragraph [0015]-[0019], [0034]-[0036]: centered on light spot when sum=0).
It would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Hörsch’s evaluation unit by implementing the method of determining the center of the light spot, which is disclosed by Merettig. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order to “[allow] a photodiode array to be configured very quickly and very cost-effectively”, as suggested by Merettig (Paragraph [0007]).
Regarding claim 10, Hörsch, as modified in view of Merettig, discloses the optoelectronic sensor in accordance with claim 7, wherein the control and evaluation unit is configured to iterate the alignment (Merettig, Fig. 1 a-d, Paragraph [0015]-[0019], [0034]-[0036]).
It would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Hörsch’s evaluation unit by implementing the method of determining the center of the light spot, which is disclosed by Merettig. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order to “[allow] a photodiode array to be configured very quickly and very cost-effectively”, as suggested by Merettig (Paragraph [0007]).
Regarding claim 11, Hörsch, as modified in view of Merettig, discloses the optoelectronic sensor in accordance with claim 1, wherein at least one further processing channel is provided, namely a background channel on whose associated group of light reception elements the received light spot is not incident (Hörsch, Fig. 4, processing channels 50.sub.1 for near zone, 50.sub.2 for far zone, Paragraph [0048], See also: Paragraph [0028], [0055], [0059]: far zone processing channel is the background processing channel).
Regarding claim 12, Hörsch, as modified in view of Merettig, discloses the optoelectronic sensor in accordance with claim 11, wherein at least one respective background channel is provided for a near zone and a far zone of the light receiver (Hörsch, Fig. 4, processing channels 50.sub.1 for near zone, 50.sub.2 for far zone, Paragraph [0048]).
Regarding claim 13, Hörsch, as modified in view of Merettig, discloses the optoelectronic sensor in accordance with claim 1.
Hörsch, as modified in view of Merettig, does not teach: wherein the control and evaluation unit is configured for a new division of the processing channels in which groups of light reception elements are first associated with a respective processing channel over a region of the light receiver independently of the knowledge of the position of the received light spot on the light receiver.
However, Merettig teaches a method to determine the location of a light spot on a photodiode array. The method involves assigning a negative factor to all photodiodes left of the expected center of the light spot, assigning a 0 to the center of the expected light spot, and assigning a positive factor to all photodiodes right of the expected center of the light spot. All of the factors are summed, and if the sum is equal to zero, then the light spot is centered on the expected photodiode. If the sum is not equal to zero, then the light spot is shifted from the expected photodiode. (Fig. 1 a-d, Paragraph [0015]-[0019], [0034]-[0036]). The factors are assigned independent of a light spot before the method repeats to determine if the light spot is located left or right of the assigned center (Paragraph [0012], [0014]-[0015]).
It would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Hörsch’s evaluation unit by implementing the method of determining the center of the light spot, which is disclosed by Merettig. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order to “[allow] a photodiode array to be configured very quickly and very cost-effectively”, as suggested by Merettig (Paragraph [0007]).
Regarding claim 14, Hörsch, as modified in view of Merettig, discloses the optoelectronic sensor in accordance with claim 13, wherein the control and evaluation unit is configured to carry out a position determination of the received light spot by means of the newly divided distribution channels and thus at least to initialize the central channel and the flanking channels (Merettig, Fig. 1 a-d, Paragraph [0015]-[0019], [0034]-[0036]).
It would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Hörsch’s evaluation unit by implementing the method of determining the center of the light spot, which is disclosed by Merettig. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order to “[allow] a photodiode array to be configured very quickly and very cost-effectively”, as suggested by Merettig (Paragraph [0007]).
Regarding claim 15, Hörsch, as modified in view of Merettig, discloses the optoelectronic sensor in accordance with claim 14, wherein at least one further processing channel is provided, namely a background channel on whose associated group of light reception elements the received light spot is not incident (Hörsch, Fig. 4, processing channel 50.sub.2 for far zone, Paragraph [0048]) and wherein the control and evaluation unit is configured to compare the levels in the central channel and the flanking channels, on the one hand, and the levels in the at least one background channel, on the other hand, to determine whether the received light spot has migrated into the background channel (Merettig, Fig. 1 a-d, Paragraph [0015]-[0019], [0034]-[0036]).
It would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Hörsch’s evaluation unit by implementing the method of determining the center of the light spot, which is disclosed by Merettig. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order to “[allow] a photodiode array to be configured very quickly and very cost-effectively”, as suggested by Merettig (Paragraph [0007]).
Regarding claim 16, Hörsch, as modified in view of Merettig, discloses the optoelectronic sensor in accordance with claim 15, wherein the control and evaluation unit is further configured to carry out a new division of the processing channels (Merettig, Fig. 1 a-d, Paragraph [0015]-[0019], [0034]-[0036]).
It would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Hörsch’s evaluation unit by implementing the method of determining the center of the light spot, which is disclosed by Merettig. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order to “[allow] a photodiode array to be configured very quickly and very cost-effectively”, as suggested by Merettig (Paragraph [0007]).
Regarding claim 17, Hörsch, as modified in view of Merettig, discloses the optoelectronic sensor in accordance with claim 1, wherein the control and evaluation unit is configured for interference filtering in at least one processing channel (Hörsch, Paragraph [0046]: processing channels can include digital filter).
Regarding claim 18, Hörsch, as modified in view of Merettig, discloses the optoelectronic sensor in accordance with claim 17, wherein a suitable time for a signal recording is determined using an observation of the interference environment (Hörsch, Paragraph [0046]-[0048]; See also Paragraph [0064]).
Claim 19 is a method claim corresponding to apparatus claim 1 and is rejected for the same reasons.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Waslowski, US 20190242998 A1 discloses a triangulation proximity sensor that has several multiplexers that group receiving elements.
Muller, US 20010019112 A1 discloses an opto-electric sensor that uses photodetector taps distributed along the length of the photodetector to determine the location of the light spot along the receiver.
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/RACHEL NGUYEN/Examiner, Art Unit 3645
/YUQING XIAO/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3645