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) 1 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.
Although Examiner agree that the art by D1 does not teach direct contact with sensing area, this can be considered just matter of the improving coupling between sensing area and other optical elements. Filling the void with some type of the light guide material affects light transfer properties and can be advantageous as shown in arts provided as secondary 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.
Claim(s) 1 and claims bellow are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over D1 US 20180329065 A1 in view of D01 US 20050236553 A1.
Regarding claim 1 D1 teaches
1. A distance sensing module, comprising:
a first substrate;(fig. 15a part of 1506 on which light emitters 1510 are placed)
an upper cover(1409 fig. 14 and similar structure on fig. 15a) disposed on the first substrate to form an accommodating space;(fig. 14 space between aperture and emitters)
a light-emitting unit(1510) disposed at an emitting end in the accommodating space(fig. 15a); and
at least one sensing pixel(1504) disposed at a receiving end in the accommodating space, and the at least one sensing pixel comprises(fig. 15a)
a second substrate(subtract corresponding to the 1504 right part layer or 1505) disposed in the accommodating space and having a top surface;(fig. 15a with fig. 21b)
a plurality of sensing areas(fig. 15a with fig. 21b elements 2171) disposed in the second substrate and exposed on the top surface;(fig. 15a)
a light guide layer(2170 without 2173) disposed on the second substrate, wherein the light guide layer comprises a plurality of light guide structures(2191), each of the plurality of light guide structures has a first side and a second side opposite to each other(fig. 21b), and the plurality of second sides are coupled to the plurality of sensing areas(curved parts optically coupled to sensors 2171);
a light transmission layer(2161 or 2461on fig. 25) disposed on the light guide layer 2170 without 2173), wherein the light guide layer(2470-2473 in fig. 24 ) is located between the second substrate(substrate on which 2473 is accommodated) and the light transmission layer(2461 fig. 24), and the plurality of first sides are connected to the light transmission layer; and(fig. 24)
a lens layer(2451) comprising at least one lens and disposed on the light transmission layer(2461), and the light transmission layer is located between the light guide layer and the lens layer.(fig. 24)
but does not explicitly teach while D01 teaches
the plurality of second sides are directly connected to the plurality of sensing areas(fig. 3 direct connection of 203 with sensing area 201, due to the complicated structure of the light guide the structure of the D1 can be filled with additional element 203 as in D2 in order to provide better guidance of the light toward the sensor. [0105])
It will be obvious to one of ordinary skills in the art to modify teachings taught by D1 with teachings by D01 in order to efficiently guide the light toward the sensing area.
2. The distance sensing module of claim 1, wherein the light guide layer further comprises a medium structure(whatever is gap between 2491 bd 2471 is filled ) surrounding the plurality of light guide structures(2491 of fig. 21J light guide structures 2164 surrounded by medium ), and a refractive index of the plurality of light guide structures is greater than a refractive index of the medium structure.[0211](optically non transparent structures)
3. The distance sensing module of claim 1, wherein an area of the first side is greater than or equal to an area of the second side.(fig. 21j area corresponding to photodetector is smaller than area for incoming light cone)
4. The distance sensing module of claim 1, wherein an orthographic projection of the second side on the second substrate is completely overlapped with an orthographic projection of the first side on the second substrate.(implicit fig. 21i or h if viewed from above.)
5. The distance sensing module of claim 4, wherein a center of the orthographic projection of the second side on the second substrate is aligned with a center of the orthographic projection of the first side on the second substrate.(fig. 22i or h symmetric structure)
6. The distance sensing module of claim 1, wherein an orthographic projection of the second side on the second substrate is only partially overlapped with an orthographic projection of the first side on the second substrate.(fig. 21j)
7. The distance sensing module of claim 1, wherein a shape of the plurality of light guide structures is a frustum polygonal pyramid or a frustum cone.(fig. 21j)
8. The distance sensing module of claim 1, wherein each of the plurality of light guide structures further has at least one sidewall connected to the first side and the second side, the light guide layer further comprises a reflective interface disposed at the plurality of sidewalls of the plurality of light guide structures, and the reflective interface is a metal or an air layer.[0211]
11. The distance sensing module of claim 1, wherein a number of the at least one lens is one and the at least one lens covers the plurality of sensing areas.(fig. 21b)
12. The distance sensing module of claim 11, wherein there is spacing between a centerline of the lens and a centerline of each of the plurality of first sides.(fig. 21b centerline of the lens 2151 is shifted with respect to (2191 corresponding to different 2171)
13. The distance sensing module of claim 1, wherein a number of the at least one lens is equal to a number of the plurality of sensing areas.(fig. 15b number of lens corresponding to number of sensing areas)
15. The distance sensing module of claim 13, wherein a centerline of each of the plurality of lenses is overlapped with a centerline of each of the plurality of first sides.(fig. 15b with fig. 17 when one lens correspond to one receiver.)
16. The distance sensing module of claim 15, wherein the centerline of each of the plurality of lenses is overlapped with a centerline of each of the plurality of second sides. (fig. 15b with fig. 17 when one lens correspond to one receiver.)
18. The distance sensing module of claim 1, wherein a number of the at least one sensing pixel is multiple, and the multiple sensing pixels share the same second substrate(fig. 8)
Claim(s) 9, 10, 14 , 17is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over D1.
Although D1 does not explicitly teach
14. The distance sensing module of claim 13, wherein there is spacing between a centerline of each of the plurality of lenses and a centerline of each of the plurality of first sides.
It is just matter of the placement of the receivers relative to the placement of lenses and light guiding structures which is within the skill of one of ordinary skills in the art in order to achieve optimal light collection on the receiver taking into the account possible different sizes of the lenses and/or receivers.
Also D1does not explicitly teach
17. The distance sensing module of claim 1, further comprising:
a baffle disposed in the accommodating space to partition the accommodating space into the emitting end and the receiving end.
It would be obvious to one of ordinary skills in the art at the time of filing to modify teachings by D1 to include absorber between receiver in fig 8 and transmitter in order to avoid leakage of light and the interference.
Although D1 does not explicitly teach
9. The distance sensing module of claim 1, wherein a focal plane of the at least one lens is overlapped with the plurality of first sides.
10. The distance sensing module of claim 1, wherein there is spacing between a focal plane of the at least one lens and the plurality of first sides.
It would be obvious to one of ordinary skills in the art at the time of filing to modify teachings by D1 in order to deliver the optimal amount of light towards the receiver.(it is important to note that it is just placement of parts and modifying it within the one of ordinary skills in the art and obvious as guiding the light is just a simple geometrical procedure well understood and predictable.)
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 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