DETAILED ACTION
This is the first office action on the merits. Claims 1-8 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.
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 1-8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Chen (US 20200278427 A1) in view of Kimura (US 20180172984 A1).
Regarding claim 1, Chen discloses a master device comprising: a light emission circuit configured to emit first laser light (Fig. 2C, light source 208, Paragraph [0053]); an amplitude control circuit (Fig. 8a, amplitude controller 710, Paragraph [0083]; See also Figs. 7A-C, Paragraph [0078]-[0081]) configured to control a scanning amplitude of a micro electro mechanical system (MEMS) mirror (Fig. 2C, micro-mirror assemblies 252, Paragraph [0056]) that scans the first laser light emitted by the light emission circuit in a raster scan method (Fig. 2E, Paragraph [0059]); a timing data generation circuit configured to generate timing data that indicates a timing when a scanning angle of the MEMS mirror becomes zero, based on an operation of the MEMS mirror (Fig. 5, reference signal 514, Paragraph [0068]: reference signal can include reference clock signals; Fig. 9B, pulses 906, Paragraph [0084]-[0085]); [..]; a light emission control circuit configured to control light emission of the first laser light by the light emission circuit, based on the timing data generated by the timing data generation circuit (Fig. 2A, LiDAR controller 206, Paragraph [0053]); and a data output circuit configured to output data to a slave device that operates dependent on an own device (Fig. 5D, output control signal 522a, Paragraph [0071]), wherein […], and the data output circuit outputs the timing data for one frame (Fig. 5D, output control signal 522a, Paragraph [0071]).
Chen does not teach: a buffer configured to store the timing data in one frame of the scanning of the MEMS mirror and when the scanning amplitude of the first laser light on the MEMS mirror is changed, the light emission control circuit controls the light emission by using the timing data for one frame held by the buffer instead of the timing data generated by the timing data generation circuit.
However, Kimura teaches an image projector where displacement sensors detect the tilt of a MEMs mirror and sends the signals to a system controller via a buffer circuit. The signals from the displacement sensors are used for determining the emission timing of the laser light. (Fig. 2, buffer circuit 13, system controller 11, Paragraph [0037]).
It would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modify Chen’s micromirror controller by using a buffer circuit, disclosed by Kimura, to send a reference signal to the controller. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order to “enable improvement of the accuracy of a position to which the laser light is emitted”, as suggested by Kimura (Paragraph [0005]).
Regarding claim 2, Chen, as modified in view of Kimura, discloses the master device according to claim 1, wherein the buffer holds the timing data for a latest one frame generated by the timing data generation circuit (Kimura, Fig. 2, buffer circuit 13, Paragraph [0037]; Note: Chen discloses timing data from MEMs rotation sensors in Fig. 9B).
It would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modify Chen’s micromirror controller by using a buffer circuit, disclosed by Kimura, to send a reference signal to the controller. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order to “enable improvement of the accuracy of a position to which the laser light is emitted”, as suggested by Kimura (Paragraph [0005]).
Regarding claim 3, Chen, as modified in view of Kimura, discloses the master device according to claim 2, wherein the buffer includes a storage circuit that stores the timing data for one frame (Kimura, Fig. 2, buffer circuit 13, Paragraph [0037]), and a holding circuit that, when the timing data for one frame is collected in the storage circuit, holds the collected timing data for one frame and the timing data for the latest one frame over a next one frame period (Kimura, Fig. 2, system controller 11, Paragraph [0037]).
It would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modify Chen’s micromirror controller by using a buffer circuit, disclosed by Kimura, to send a reference signal to the controller. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order to “enable improvement of the accuracy of a position to which the laser light is emitted”, as suggested by Kimura (Paragraph [0005]).
Regarding claim 4, Chen, as modified in view of Kimura, discloses the master device according to claim 3, wherein when the scanning amplitude of the first laser light on the MEMS mirror is changed, the buffer outputs the timing data for the latest one frame held by the holding circuit to the light emission control circuit and the slave device (Kimura, buffer circuit 13, Paragraph [0037]; Chen, Fig. 5D, output control signal 522a, Paragraph [0071]), and the light emission control circuit controls the light emission based on the timing data for the latest one frame output from the buffer instead of the timing data generated by the timing data generation circuit (Kimura, buffer circuit 13, Paragraph [0037]).
It would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modify Chen’s micromirror controller by using a buffer circuit, disclosed by Kimura, to send a reference signal to the controller. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order to “enable improvement of the accuracy of a position to which the laser light is emitted”, as suggested by Kimura (Paragraph [0005]).
Regarding claim 5, Chen, as modified in view of Kimura, discloses the master device according to claim 4, wherein in a case where the scanning amplitude of the first laser light on the MEMS mirror is changed over a plurality of frames, the buffer causes the holding circuit to hold the timing data for the latest one frame immediately before the change of the scanning amplitude over the plurality of frames (Chen, Fig. 8A, Paragraph [0085]: disable/bypass phase controller 610; Kimura, buffer circuit 13, Paragraph [0037]), and outputs the timing data for the latest one frame to the light emission control circuit and the slave device over the plurality of frames (Kimura, buffer circuit 13, Paragraph [0037]; Chen, Fig. 5D, output control signal 522a, Paragraph [0071]).
It would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modify Chen’s micromirror controller by using a buffer circuit, disclosed by Kimura, to send a reference signal to the controller. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order to “enable improvement of the accuracy of a position to which the laser light is emitted”, as suggested by Kimura (Paragraph [0005]).
Regarding claim 6, Chen, as modified in view of Kimura, discloses the master device according to claim 4, further comprising: a correction circuit configured to correct a phase target value that indicates a timing of light emission used to control the light emission by the light emission control circuit based on the timing data (Chen, Fig. 8A, phase controller 610, Paragraph [0073], [0082]), wherein the correction circuit, when the scanning amplitude of the first laser light on the MEMS mirror is not changed, corrects the phase target value based on the timing data generated by the timing data generation circuit (Fig. 8A, phase controller 610, reference signal 514, Paragraph [0082]), and when the scanning amplitude of the first laser light on the MEMS mirror is changed, corrects the phase target value based on the timing data for the latest one frame output from the buffer (Chen, reference signal 514, phase controller 610a, Paragraph [0082]-[0083]; Kimura, buffer circuit 13, Paragraph [0037]).
It would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modify Chen’s micromirror controller by using a buffer circuit, disclosed by Kimura, to send a reference signal to the controller. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order to “enable improvement of the accuracy of a position to which the laser light is emitted”, as suggested by Kimura (Paragraph [0005]).
Regarding claim 7, Chen, as modified in view of Kimura, discloses the master device according to claim 1, further comprising: a light reception circuit configured to receive first reflection light of the first laser light emitted by the light emission circuit (Chen, Fig. 2B, photodetector 216, Paragraph [0054]), wherein the light emission control circuit controls the light emission, based on the timing data (Chen, Fig. 2A, LiDAR controller 206, Paragraph [0053]; Kimura, Fig. 2, system controller 11, Paragraph [0037]), so as to alternately ensure a first period needed to emit the first laser light by the light emission circuit and receive the reflection light by the light reception circuit and a second period needed to emit second laser light and receive second reflection light by the slave device (Chen, Fig. 2A, LiDAR controller 206, Paragraph [0053], Fig. 2D, plurality of LiDAR modules 102a, 102b, and 102c, Paragraph [0057], Fig. 5Dm controllers 510b-c, Paragraph [0071]).
It would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modify Chen’s micromirror controller by using a buffer circuit, disclosed by Kimura, to send a reference signal to the controller. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order to “enable improvement of the accuracy of a position to which the laser light is emitted”, as suggested by Kimura (Paragraph [0005]).
Regarding claim 8, Chen discloses a sensor system comprising: a master device (Fig. 5D, controller 510r, Paragraph [0071]); and a slave device that operates dependent on the master device (Fig. 5D, controller 510r, Paragraph [0071]), wherein the master device includes a first light emission circuit that emits first laser light (Fig. 2C, light source 208, Paragraph [0053]), a first amplitude control circuit (Fig. 8a, amplitude controller 710, Paragraph [0083]; See also Figs. 7A-C, Paragraph [0078]-[0081]) that controls a scanning amplitude of a first MEMS mirror (Fig. 2C, micro-mirror assemblies 252, Paragraph [0056]) that scans the first laser light emitted by the first light emission circuit in a raster scan method (Fig. 2E, Paragraph [0059]), a timing data generation circuit that generates timing data that indicates a timing when a scanning angle of the first MEMS mirror becomes zero, based on an operation of the first MEMS mirror (Fig. 5, reference signal 514, Paragraph [0068]: reference signal can include reference clock signals; Fig. 9B, pulses 906, Paragraph [0084]-[0085]), […], a first light emission control circuit that controls light emission of the first laser light by the first light emission circuit, based on the timing data generated by the timing data generation circuit (Fig. 2A, LiDAR controller 206, Paragraph [0053]), and a data output circuit that outputs data to the slave device (Fig. 5D, output control signal 522a, Paragraph [0071]), and the slave device includes a second light emission circuit that emits second laser light (Fig. 2D, plurality of LiDAR modules 102a, 102b, and 102c, light sources 208a, 208b, 208c, Paragraph [0057]), a second amplitude control circuit that controls a scanning amplitude of a second MEMS mirror that scans the second laser light emitted by the second light emission circuit in a raster scan method (Fig. 5D, controller 510b, amplitude control, Paragraph [0071]), and a second light emission control circuit that controls light emission of the second laser light by the second light emission circuit, based on the timing data supplied from the master device (Fig. 2D, plurality of LiDAR modules 102a, 102b, and 102c have LiDAR controller 206, Paragraph [0053], [0057]; Fig. 5D, output control signal 522a, Paragraph [0071]), and […], and the data output circuit outputs the timing data for one frame (Fig. 5D, output control signal 522a, Paragraph [0071]).
Chen does not teach: a buffer that stores the timing data in one frame of the scanning of the first MEMS mirror and when the scanning amplitude of the first laser light on the first MEMS mirror is changed, the first light emission control circuit controls the light emission by using the timing data for one frame stored in the buffer instead of the timing data generated by the timing data generation circuit.
However, Kimura teaches an image projector where displacement sensors detect the tilt of a MEMs mirror and sends the signals to a system controller via a buffer circuit. The signals from the displacement sensors are used for determining the emission timing of the laser light. (Fig. 2, buffer circuit 13, system controller 11, Paragraph [0037]).
It would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modify Chen’s micromirror controller by using a buffer circuit, disclosed by Kimura, to send a reference signal to the controller. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order to “enable improvement of the accuracy of a position to which the laser light is emitted”, as suggested by Kimura (Paragraph [0005])
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Druml et al., US 20200319450 A1 teaches a multi-mirror system that detects zero-crossing events of each mirror and synchronizes the phase or frequency of each mirror.
Shapira, US 20210389431 A1 teaches a first and second MEMs mirror are configured to oscillate in synchronization. The mirrors use a master and slave driving signal configuration.
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/RACHEL NGUYEN/Examiner, Art Unit 3645
/YUQING XIAO/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3645