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
1. Applicant' s arguments, see Remarks, filed 01/21/2026, with respect to newly amended claims 1 and 11 have been fully considered but are not persuasive.
Limitation added by Applicant 1st is intended use and has no patentable weight, 2nd is implicit as movement of the radar source in any manner will create artificial relative velocity relative to the target.
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, 6-7, 10-13, 16-17 and 20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over D1 US 11402475 B1 in view of D2 US 12386042 B2.
Regarding claims 1 and 11 D1 teaches
1, 11. Radar determination circuitry configured to:
measure a first position (col 4 lines 45-59 with fig. 5A) of a radar (lidar is laser radar) source and a second position (second position of the mirror corresponding to second position on frame fig. 5A) of the radar source(mirror) with respect to a reference coordinate system of a vehicle(implicit),
wherein the first position and the second position differ from each other (fig. 5a) to (intended use no patentable weight) synchronizing the movement of the radar source with a measurement interval in which including multiple chirp sequences are used to (intended use no patentable weight) induce an artificial relative velocity of multiple targets with respect to the radar source to separate the multiple targets(implicit relative motion of the source will generate relative motion of targets);(measurement frame is corresponding to fig. 5A which includes transmission of multiple chirps see fig. 3 which are synchronized with transmission Col 10 lines 4-34) and
determine, for each of the multiple targets, a target parameter based on synchronized movement of the radar source with the measurement interval. (col 5 line 60 -col 6 line 9)
but D1 does not teach
wherein a position of the radar source follows a straight line trajectory during the measurement interval and the radar source speed is constant during the measurement interval
D2 teaches alternative scanning mechanism which uses instead of rotational mirror the translational linear motion (col 3 line 60 col 4 line 12)
Although D2 does not teach constant speed D1 teaches scan pattern 5A which requires same distance between points in horizontal direction and therefore it would be obvious to provide linear scan with constant velocity in order to achieve scanning pattern of fig. 5A of D1 without changing the transmission frequency.
It would be obvious to one of ordinary skills in the art at the time of the filing to modify invention by D1 with invention by D2 in order to use alternative scanning technologies which use line scan mechanism with appropriate advantages describes in (col 3 line 60 col 4 line 12).
D1 also teaches
2, 12. The radar determination circuitry of claim 1, wherein the radar source includes a radar antenna or a mirror. (col 4 lines 45-59)
3, 13. The radar determination circuitry of claim 1, further configured to:
trigger a radar measurement based on a movement trajectory of the radar source.(col 10 line 35- col 11 line 3)
6, 16. The radar determination circuitry of claim 1, wherein the second position being different from the first position is caused due to a displacement of the radar source in the coordinate system of the vehicle.(implicit mirror either rotates or oscillates and even if center position is stationary(as one can argue) the sides of the mirrors due to rotation or oscillation have different position)
7, 17. The radar determination circuitry of claim 6, wherein the displacement is inclined with respect to a radar detection direction.(inherent due to rotation the second position is inclined relative to the detection region)
10, 20. The radar determination circuitry of claim 1, wherein the target parameter includes at least one of a position, a distance, a velocity, and an angle. (col 5 line 60 -col 6 line 9)
Claim(s) 4-5, 8-9, 14-15 and 18-19 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over D1 in view of D2 and further in view of D3 US 20190154836 A1.
Regarding claims 4 and 14 Although D1 does not teach D3 teaches
4, 14. The radar determination circuitry of claim 1, further configured to:
impart a vibration to the radar source.[0006]
It would be obvious to one of ordinary skills in the art at the time of the filing to modify invention by D1 with invention by D3 in order to make optical scanner which would scanner in different directions.
Regarding claims 5 and 15 Although D1 does not teach D3 teaches
5, 15. The radar determination circuitry of claim 4, further configured to:
determine an acceleration caused by the imparted vibration.[0012]
It would be obvious to one of ordinary skills in the art at the time of the filing to modify invention by D1 with invention by D3 in order to dynamically vary distances between scan lines.
Regarding claims 8-9 and 18-19 Although D1 does not teach D3 teaches
8,18. The radar determination circuitry of claim 7, wherein the inclination is forty-five(inclination of 14 is 45 degree) degrees.(fig. 26A)
9, 19. The radar determination circuitry of claim 7, wherein the displacement and the radar detection direction lie in a plane parallel to a movement direction of the vehicle.(fig. 31, 32 obvious to illuminate in front of vehicle)
It would be obvious to one of ordinary skills in the art at the time of the filing to modify invention by D1 with invention by D3 in order to set up scanner which would scan the desired region(matter of design choice to direct beam in desired region).
Conclusion
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.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to HELENA H SERAYDARYAN whose telephone number is (571)270-0706. The examiner can normally be reached M-T 7:30 AM - 5:00 AM.
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, Resha Desai can be reached on (571) 270-7792. 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.
/HELENA H SERAYDARYAN/Examiner, Art Unit 3648
/TIMOTHY A BRAINARD/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3648
Prosecution Insights