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 .
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim(s) 07/15/2026 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.
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 and claims bellow are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as anticipated by or, in the alternative, under 35 U.S.C. 103 as obvious over D0 DE 10309586 B4 in view of D1 EP 3489714 A1.
Regarding claim 1 D0 teaches
(Currently amended) A surveying instrument comprising:
a distance measuring light projecting module(101 fig. 1) configured to project a distance measuring light to an object, (figl 1)
a distance measuring light receiving module(107) having a photodetector configured to receive a reflected distance measuring light from said object(107 is ccd camera), and
an arithmetic control module(130) configured to perform calculations to identify the shape,
wherein said distance measuring light projecting module has a light emitter(101) and a pinhole plate(103) disposed in a projection optical path(fig. 1) of the distance measuring light emitted from said light emitter at a position between said light emitter and a location from which said distance measuring light exits said distance measuring light projecting module, (fig 1 )
said pinhole plate being insertable or removable with respect to an optical axis of said distance measuring light, (page 19 insertable and removable light wave shaping plate)
a pinhole having a predetermined diameter configured to diffract the distance measuring light passing though the pinhole with a diffraction effect is formed in said pinhole plate(page 2), and a light amount and a spread angle of said distance measuring light exiting said distance measuring light projecting module are changeable based on the insertion or removal of said pinhole plate.(implicit page 2 and page 4)
But does not explicitly teach
an arithmetic control module configured to control said distance measuring light projecting module and calculate a distance to said object based on a light reception result of said reflected distance measuring light with respect to said photodetector,
D1 teaches
A surveying instrument comprising:
a distance measuring light projecting module(1) configured to project a distance measuring light to an object(8),
a distance measuring light receiving module(10) having a photodetector configured to receive a reflected distance measuring light from said object,(page 7) and
an arithmetic control module configured to control said distance measuring light projecting module and calculate a distance to said object based on a light reception result of said reflected distance measuring light with respect to said photodetector, (inherent distance measuring device)
wherein said distance measuring light projecting module has a pinhole plate(13)
It will be obvious to one of ordinary skills in the art to modify teachings taught by D0 with teachings by D1 in order to perform also distance calculation and control emission of the laser as it is done for example in LIDAR devices.
Regarding claim 2 D0 or D1 teaches beamsplitter 3
beam splitter having a predetermined reflectance and transmittance is formed on a joined surface of said reflecting part(D0 122/ D1 fig. 1a)
and said reflecting part is configured to deflect said optical axis of said distance measuring light via said beam splitter film so as to coincide with an optical axis of said reflected distance measuring light.(fig. 1/fig. 1a)
But does not explicitly say
The surveying instrument according to claim 1, wherein said distance measuring light projecting module has a reflecting prism having two prisms joined together, a beam splitter film having a predetermined reflectance and transmittance is formed on a joined surface of said reflecting prism, and said reflecting prism is configured to deflect said optical axis of said distance measuring light via said beam splitter film so as to coincide with an optical axis of said reflected distance measuring light.
Although D1 does not explicitly teach limitation above it is very well known beam splitter design and therefore It would be obvious to one of ordinary skills in the art at the time of filing to modify teachings by D0 in order to build beamsplitter required for D1.
Regarding claims 4, 8, 9 D0 does not teach but D1 teaches
4, 8, 9 The surveying instrument according to claim 1, wherein said distance measuring light receiving module has a light amount adjusting plate(14 filter) provided on an optical axis of said reflected distance measuring light, and a light amount adjusting surface capable of changing a transmittance of said reflected distance measuring light at an incidence position is configured to be formed on said light amount adjusting plate.(D1 fig. 2 and fig. 7)
It will be obvious to one of ordinary skills in the art to modify teachings taught by D0 with teachings by D0 in order to filter out unwanted light.
Claim(s) 3 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over D0 and D1 further in view of D2 US 4569591 A.
Regarding claim 3 D1 does not teach but D2 teaches
The surveying instrument according to claim 2, wherein said reflecting prism is configured to tilt with respect to said optical axis of said reflected distance measuring light, and said distance measuring light is configured to enter at a slight tilt with respect to a projecting surface of said reflecting prism.(claim 3)
It would be obvious to one of ordinary skills in the art at the time of filing to modify teachings by D0 with teaching by D2 for adjustment of the light target in a second direction hereby optical performance of the laser beam expander optical path is maintained after adjusting the light target in the first and second directions and the laser beam expander optics and beam steering optical mechanism are combined for compactness
Claim(s) 7, 18-20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over D0 and D1 (in view of D2 US 4569591 A for claim 3) further in view of D4 US 6433860 B1.
D0 does not teach but D4 teaches
5, 10-14 The surveying instrument according to claim 1, further comprising a tracking light projecting module(2000 fig. 3) configured to project a tracking light to said object coaxially with said distance measuring light(fig. 3), and a tracking light receiving module having a tracking photodetector configured to receive a reflected tracking light reflected from said object coaxially with said reflected distance measuring light(fig. 3 6600 eyepiece can be considered photodetector but placing any visible light detector is obvious modification), wherein a dichroic mirror(6100) configured to coincide said optical axis of said distance measuring light with an optical axis of said tracking light is provided on a common optical path of said distance measuring light and said tracking light(fig. 3), and a separating surface configured to separate said optical axis of said reflected distance measuring light from an optical axis of said reflected tracking light is provided on a common optical path of said reflected distance measuring light and said reflected tracking light.(fig. 3)
It would be obvious to one of ordinary skills in the art at the time of filing to modify teachings by D0 with teaching by D4 in order to provide visible tracking light for the user in case measuring light is in non visible spectrum.
Claim(s) 6,15-17 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over D0 and D1 (in view of D2 US 4569591 A for claim 3).
Although D0 does not explicitly teach
6, 15-17 The surveying instrument according to claim 2, wherein a long-pass filter surface configured to reflect a visible light is formed on a projecting surface of said reflecting prism from which said distance measuring light is projected, and an image pickup module is provided on a reflected optical axis of said long-pass filter surface.
Placing different filters on different surfaces of the optical system to limit background is well known in the art and therefore It would be obvious to one of ordinary skills in the art at the time of filing to modify teachings by D0 in order to decrease the noise associated with the other sources.
Claim(s) 7, 18-20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over D0 and D1 (in view of D2 US 4569591 A for claim 3) further in view of D3 US 20150185008 A1/ D4 US 6433860 B1.
Although D0 does not teach D3/D4 teaches
7, 18-20 The surveying instrument according to claim 1, further comprising a laser pointer light projecting module configured to project a laser pointer light coaxially with said distance measuring light[0010-0018], and an image pickup module configured to separate said reflected distance measuring light from a visible light.[0058]/ claim 1
It would be obvious to one of ordinary skills in the art at the time of filing to modify teachings by D0 with teaching by D3 in order to give visual representation of the point of measurement in case the measuring laser is in invisible range.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to HOVHANNES BAGHDASARYAN whose telephone number is (571)272-7845. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Fri 7am - 5 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, Yuqing Xiao can be reached at (571) 270-3603. 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.
/HOVHANNES BAGHDASARYAN/Examiner, Art Unit 3645
Prosecution Insights