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, filed 6/25/2026, have been fully considered. The amendments made with regard to the claim objections have overcome the objections which are now withdrawn.
On page 9, applicant argues that Fu does not disclose the claimed beam splitter because the applicant’s claimed beam splitter is part of the echo receiving optical path and is not part of the telescope. MPEP section 2111 states that claims must be given their broadest reasonable interpretation in light of the specifications. Claim 1 recites a common-path lunar laser ranging system. Since this lunar laser ranging system is a common path system, one of ordinary skill in the art would recognize that there are shared elements along the optical path when the laser beam is being emitted and received. In the Fu reference, a received echo beam is received by the telescope and travels along an optical path that includes the “folding-axis mirror 7” (which is mapped to the applicant’s claimed “beam splitter”). The folding-axis mirror being part of the telescope does not preclude it from also being part of the receiving optical path. So, under broadest reasonable interpretation, the “folding-axis mirror 7” is also part of the echo receiving optical path. Therefore, the grounds of rejection are maintained.
On page 10, applicant argues that Fu does not disclose that the adjustable diaphragm adjusts the field of view over a range of 3 arcseconds to 15 arcseconds. Applicant states that the cited portion that was mapped to this limitation (paragraph [0033] of the Fu reference) discloses that the laser divergence angle of 2 arcseconds to 2 arcminutes is adjusted by moving the negative lens instead of by adjusting the diaphragm. This argument is convincing and the current grounds of rejection are withdrawn. However, a new ground for rejection is made under 35 U.S.C. 103 in view of a further teaching in the Fu reference.
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.
Claims 1, 6, 8, and 13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Fu (CN 101650438 A) in view of Ipatov (RU 2760829 C1).
Regarding Claim 1: Fu discloses a common-path high repetition frequency lunar laser ranging system (Fig. 1) comprising: a laser emitting optical path, a telescope and an echo receiving optical path (Fig. 1) wherein,
the laser emitting optical path comprises a kHz laser (Fig. 1, kHz laser 8; [0013]), a beam expanding negative lens, a beam expanding positive lens (Fig. 1, lenses 9 and 10; [0013]), and a laser docking mirror which are sequentially arranged along an optical path direction (Fig. 1, 11; [0013]); a laser beam emitted by the kHz laser enters the telescope through the laser docking mirror after passing through the beam expanding negative lens and the beam expanding positive lens and is then emitted to a retro-reflector (Fig. 1; [0018] beam emitted to target having a retro reflector), the beam expanding lens and the beam expanding positive lens are arranged in a confocal manner ([0013]);
the echo receiving optical path comprises a beam splitter, a focusing lens, a rotating shutter, an adjustable diaphragm, a collimating lens, an optical filter and a detector, which are sequentially arranged along the optical path direction (Fig. 1, reflector 7, lens 12, shutter 13, diaphragm 14, lens 15, filter 16, detector 17); the focusing lens and the collimating lens are a pair of confocal lenses ([0014]); the adjustable diaphragm is installed at a common focus of the focusing lens and the collimating lens ([0017]); the echo of the telescope is focused by the focusing lens after being reflected by the beam splitter, filtered by the rotating shutter and the adjustable diaphragm, transformed into an unfocused beam by the collimating lens, and finally filtered by the optical filter and then enters the detector ([0034] and Fig. 1).
Based on applicant’s disclosure in the specifications and referring to Fig. 2, with beam splitter 15, the claimed beam splitter does not split the beam, and merely acts as a reflector to reflect the echo light back to the detector. See Paragraphs [0009], [0022], [0036], and [0087] “…reflected by [a/the] beam splitter…”.
While Fu teaches performing ranging measurements and tracking a satellite ([0018]), Fu does not expressly teach that the beam is emitted to a lunar retro-reflector. This current embodiment of Fu also does not expressly teach that an aperture of the adjustable diaphragm increases corresponding to a field of view of 3 arcseconds to 15 arcseconds.
Ipatov teaches a laser ranging system that is designed to perform ranging using time of flight measurements (paragraph [0007]) and the beam is emitted to both a lunar retro-reflector and a satellite, and is reflected back from the lunar retro-reflector ([0005], [0006], Fig. 1, corner reflectors on moon 9, satellite with retro reflectors 8).
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the ranging system disclosed by Fu, such that the ranging measurements are performed not just for satellites, but also for the moon, as taught by Ipatov. This would merely be a predictable variation of the system disclosed by Fu, where a ranging telescope is used to perform measurements of the moon, as taught by Ipatov. See MPEP 2141.III KSR Rationale F.
This combination still does not teach that an aperture of the adjustable diaphragm increases corresponding to a field of view of 3 arcseconds to 15 arcseconds.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to further modify the system taught by Fu, in view of Ipatov, such that the aperture of the adjustable diaphragm is capable of changing the field of view from 3 arcseconds to 15 arcseconds. Fu further discloses that an aperture of the adjustable diaphragm increases and this corresponds to increasing the field of view on the order of arcseconds ([0017] variable aperture’s diameter is adjustable corresponding to a field of view of 16 arcseconds to 2.7 arcminutes). The claimed range of 3 arcseconds to 15 arcseconds is close to the range disclosed by Fu, which begins at 16 arcseconds. One of ordinary skill in the art of lidar technologies would find it obvious to select an adjustable diaphragm that would correspond to a desired field of view (See MPEP 2144.05).
Regarding Claim 8: Fu discloses a common-path high repetition frequency lunar laser ranging method using a common-path high repetition frequency lunar laser ranging system wherein the common path high repetition frequency lunar laser ranging system comprises a laser emitting optical path, a telescope, and an echo receiving optical path (Fig. 1) wherein,
the laser emitting optical path comprises a kHz laser (Fig. 1, kHz laser 8; [0013]), a beam expanding negative lens, a beam expanding positive lens (Fig. 1, lenses 9 and 10; [0013]), and a laser docking mirror which are sequentially arranged along an optical path direction (Fig. 1, 11; [0013]); a laser beam emitted by the kHz laser enters the telescope through the laser docking mirror after passing through the beam expanding negative lens and the beam expanding positive lens and is then emitted to a retro-reflector (Fig. 1; [0018] beam emitted to target having a retro reflector), the beam expanding lens and the beam expanding positive lens are arranged in a confocal manner ([0013]);
the echo receiving optical path comprises a beam splitter, a focusing lens, a rotating shutter, an adjustable diaphragm, a collimating lens, an optical filter and a detector, which are sequentially arranged along the optical path direction (Fig. 1, reflector 7, lens 12, shutter 13, diaphragm 14, lens 15, filter 16, detector 17); the focusing lens and the collimating lens are a pair of confocal lenses ([0014]); the adjustable diaphragm is installed at a common focus of the focusing lens and the collimating lens ([0017]); the echo of the telescope is focused by the focusing lens after being reflected by the beam splitter, filtered by the rotating shutter and the adjustable diaphragm, transformed into an unfocused beam by the collimating lens, and finally filtered by the optical filter and then enters the detector ([0034] and Fig. 1), and
using the telescope to track the retro-reflector ([0018]);
emitting, by the kHz laser, the laser beam through the beam expanding negative lens and beam expanding positive lens, the laser docking mirror, and the telescope ([0033] and Fig. 1);
triggering, by the laser beam output by the kHz laser, the detector to generate a transmit wave signal and send the transmit wave signal to an event timer to determine a transmit wave time ([0035]);
reflecting, by the retro reflector, the laser beam back to the telescope ([0035] “generates echo”);
receiving, by the telescope, the echo reflected by the retroreflector, wherein the echo is focused by the focusing lens after being reflected by the beam splitter, filtered by the rotating shutter and the adjustable diaphragm, transformed into the unfocused beam by the collimating lens, and finally filtered by the optical filter, and then enters the detector ([0018] and see echo receiving path in Fig. 1);
sending an echo signal generated by the detector to the event timer ([0035]);
determining a distance of the retro reflector according to a time difference between an arrival time of the echo recorded by the event timer and the transmit wave time ([0035]).
Based on applicant’s disclosure in the specifications and referring to Fig. 2, with beam splitter 15, the claimed beam splitter does not split the beam, and merely acts as a reflector to reflect the echo light back to the detector. See Paragraphs [0009], [0022], [0036], and [0087] “…reflected by [a/the] beam splitter…”.
While Fu teaches performing ranging measurements and tracking a satellite ([0018]), Fu does not expressly teach that the beam is emitted to a lunar retro-reflector. This current embodiment of Fu also does not expressly teach that an aperture of the adjustable diaphragm increases corresponding to a field of view of 3 arcseconds to 15 arcseconds.
Ipatov teaches a laser ranging system that is designed to perform ranging using time of flight measurements (paragraph [0007]) and the beam is emitted to both a lunar retro-reflector and a satellite, and is reflected back from the lunar retro-reflector ([0005], [0006], Fig. 1, corner reflectors on moon 9, satellite with retro reflectors 8).
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the ranging system disclosed by Fu, such that the ranging measurements are performed not just for satellites, but also for the moon, as taught by Ipatov. This would merely be a predictable variation of the system disclosed by Fu, where a ranging telescope is used to perform measurements of the moon, as taught by Ipatov. See MPEP 2141.III KSR Rationale F.
This combination still does not teach that an aperture of the adjustable diaphragm increases corresponding to a field of view of 3 arcseconds to 15 arcseconds.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to further modify the system taught by Fu, in view of Ipatov, such that the aperture of the adjustable diaphragm is capable of changing the field of view from 3 arcseconds to 15 arcseconds. Fu further discloses that an aperture of the adjustable diaphragm increases and this corresponds to increasing the field of view on the order of arcseconds ([0017] variable aperture’s diameter is adjustable corresponding to a field of view of 16 arcseconds to 2.7 arcminutes). The claimed range of 3 arcseconds to 15 arcseconds is close to the range disclosed by Fu, which begins at 16 arcseconds. One of ordinary skill in the art of lidar technologies would find it obvious to select an adjustable diaphragm that would correspond to a desired field of view (See MPEP 2144.05).
Regarding Claims 6 and 13: Fu, in view of Ipatov, teaches the common path high repetition frequency lunar laser ranging system according to claim 1, and the method according to claim 8. Fu further discloses further comprising an event timer, wherein the event timer is configured to measure a time when an event occurs ([0035]).
Claims 2 and 9 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Fu (CN 101650438 A) in view of Ipatov (RU 2760829 C1), further in view of Li (CN 105928689 A). Fu, in view of Ipatov, teaches the common path high repetition frequency lunar laser ranging system according to claim 1, and the method according to claim 8. They do not expressly teach that wherein the laser beam expanded by the beam expanding negative lens and the beam expanding positive lens has a diameter of 40mm and the laser beam emitted to the lunar retro reflector has a diameter of 300 mm.
Li teaches a far-field ranging system that performs satellite ranging and expands the beam that is emitted to the target to a diameter of 300mm ([0042] 200-1000mm; beam diameter over 200mm).
It would have been obvious to a person ordinarily skilled in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to further modify the ranging system taught by Fu and Ipatov, such that the beam is expanded to a large diameter, as further taught by Li. While Li does not expressly state that the beam is first expanded to 40mm before being expanded to a larger diameter size, expanding the beam to a particular diameter in this manner would have been obvious because one ordinarily skilled in the art would select the optimal operational range of values for their particular system. Expanding a beam from a laser to a diameter of 40mm before expanding to 300mm is simply one way to expand the beam to the desired diameter. See MPEP 2144.05.
Claims 4 and 11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Fu (CN 101650438 A) in view of Ipatov (RU 2760829 C1), further in view of Wagner (US 20050030628 A1), further in view of Jiang (CN 110989064 A). Fu, in view of Ipatov, teaches the common path high repetition frequency lunar laser ranging system according to claim 1, and the method according to claim 8. Fu further discloses the optical filter is an ultra narrowband filter ([0034]).
They do not expressly teach that the narrowband filter is held at a constant temperature or that the bandwidth is specifically 0.2 nm to 0.4nm.
Wagner teaches a narrowband optical filter that has a heater to control the temperature of the filter ([0056] “heater for varying the temperature of the filter”).
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing range of the claimed invention to further modify the system taught by Fu and Ipatov, such that the optical filter has a heater in order to control the temperature of the filter, as taught by Wagner. The passband of the optical filter changes as temperature changes, and having control over the temperature of the optical filter can control the passband of the optical filter (Wagner, Abstract).
This still does not expressly teach that the bandwidth is specifically 0.2nm to 0.4nm.
Jiang teaches a bandpass filter which has a bandwidth within the range of 0.2nm to 0.4nm (Fig. 5).
It would have been obvious to a person ordinarily skilled in the art before the effective filing date to further modify the filter in the system taught by Fu, Ipatov, and Wagner, such that the bandwidth is 0.2 to 0.4nm, as taught by Jiang. This would be a simple substitution of a narrowband optical filter with a narrowband optical filter that has a particular bandwidth. See MPEP 2141.III KSR Rationale B.
Claims 5 and 12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Fu (CN 101650438 A) in view of Ipatov (RU 2760829 C1), further in view of Chia (US 20140319638 A1), further in view of Salvoni (D. Salvoni et al., "Large Area SNSPD for Lidar Measurements in the Infrared," in IEEE Transactions on Applied Superconductivity, vol. 32, no. 4, pp. 1-4, June 2022), further in view of Henderson (US 20200284884 A1). Fu, in view of Ipatov, teaches the common path high repetition frequency lunar laser ranging system according to claim 1, and the method according to claim 8. They do not expressly disclose wherein the kHz laser outputs a wavelength of 532 nm, the detector is a HQE SPAD, and when the kHz laser outputs a wavelength of 1064nm, the detector is a 2x2 superconducting array detector.
Chia teaches a high quantum efficiency spad that can detect light having a wavelength of 532nm ([0037] and [0005] this is a high quantum efficiency spad).
It would have been obvious to a person ordinarily skilled in the art before the effective filing date to further modify the detector in the system taught by Fu and Ipatov, such that the detector is a high quantum efficiency SPAD that can detect a wavelength of 532nm, as taught by Chia. This would be a simple substitution of a generic detector in the system disclosed by Fu, with a SPAD having high quantum efficiency for a wavelength of 532nm, as taught by Chia. See MPEP 2141.III KSR Rationale B.
This still does not teach when the kHz laser outputs a wavelength of 1064nm, the detector is a 2x2 superconducting array detector.
Salvoni teaches a superconducting nanowire single photon detector that can detect a wavelength of 1064nm (Section II, paragraph 1).
It would have been obvious to a person ordinarily skilled in the art before the effective filing date to further modify the detector in the system taught by Fu, Ipatov, and Chia such that the detector is a SNSPD that can detect a wavelength of 1064nm, as taught by Salvoni. This would be a simple substitution of a generic detector in the system disclosed by Fu, with specific detector that can detect a wavelength of 1064nm as taught by Salvoni. See MPEP 2141.III KSR Rationale B.
While this combination does not expressly teach a 2 by 2 array of pixels for the detector, Henderson teaches a LIDAR detector with 4 pixels arranged in a 2 by 2 array (Fig. 4).
It would have been obvious to a person ordinarily skilled in the art before the effective filing date to further modify the detector in the system taught by Fu, Ipatov, Chia and Salvoni, such that, in a case where the light is 1064nm, the detector is a 2 by 2 array as taught by Henderson. This is simply another detector configuration and “Known work in one field of endeavor may prompt variations of it for use in either the same field or a different one based on design incentives or other market forces if the variations are predictable to one of ordinary skill in the art” MPEP 2141.III KSR Rationale F.
Claims 7 and 14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Fu (CN 101650438 A) in view of Ipatov (RU 2760829 C1), further in view of Weston (US 20240012143 A1). Fu, in view of Ipatov, teaches the common path high repetition frequency lunar laser ranging system according to claim 6, and the method according to claim 13. They do not expressly teach the event timer comprises a dual channel or multi channel event timer.
Weston teaches this limitation in Fig. 16 and paragraph [0138]: “detected electrical signals from the reference detection channel 450 and the target detection channel 452 are fed to a lidar timer circuit 440.”
It would have been obvious to a person ordinarily skilled in the art before the effective filing date to further modify the timer in the system taught by Fu and Ipatov, such that the event timer is a multi-channel event timer as taught by Weston. This would enable the timer circuit to measure time of flight by measuring the time that has elapsed between the emission and reception of the measurement signal (Weston, [0138]).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ISABELLE LIN BOEGHOLM whose telephone number is (571)270-0570. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Thursday 7:30am-5pm, Fridays 8am-12pm.
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/ISABELLE LIN BOEGHOLM/Examiner, Art Unit 3645
/YUQING XIAO/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3645
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