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 .
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
Information Disclosure Statement
This acknowledges that as of the date of this office action, no Information Disclosure Statement has been submitted by the applicant.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim(s) 1, 5, 7-14, 18 and 20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) and (a)(2) as being anticipated by Campbell et al. (hereinafter Campbell, US 10061019 B1).
Regarding claims 1 and 14, Campbell anticipates a light detection and ranging (LiDAR) apparatus and a method of operating a light detection and ranging (LiDAR) apparatus, comprising:
at least one laser (Col. 4, lines 11-28 and 55-67, Col. 23, lines 20-36; Figs. 1, 8, where emitter (110) may be a laser emitting at different wavelengths or two lasers emitting at differing wavelengths);
at least one diffractive optical element (Col. 22 line 40 - Col. 23, line 36; Fig. 8, where emitted beam pulse (125) is split by diffractive optical element (DOE) (262) );
a plurality of light sensors (Col. 13, lines 3-44; Figs. 8, where detector (260) may include multiple SPADs or APDs);
at least one memory comprising instructions;
and at least one processor coupled to the at least one laser, the plurality of light sensors, and the at least one memory, wherein the at least one processor is configured to execute the instructions and cause the LiDAR apparatus to (Col. 13, line 61 - Col. 14, line 18; Fig. 1, Controller (150) controls emission, detection, movement of components and may include a non-transitory computer-readable memory coupled to the one or more processors):
transmit, via the at least one laser, a first laser beam through the at least one diffractive optical element to generate a first transmitted beamlet group and a second transmitted beamlet group (Col. 22, line 40 - Col. 23, line 36; Fig. 8, where beams leaving DOE (262) (125a and 125b) are aimed in differing directions towards environment/field of regard);
receive, via a first portion of the plurality of light sensors, a first set of reflected light signals corresponding to the first transmitted beamlet group (Col. 23, lines 1-67; Fig. 9, where emissions with a first wavelength are projected at least one pixel ahead/behind of the receiver FOV, causing specific overlap with a first portion of the receiver FOV and sensors);
receive, via a second portion of the plurality of light sensors, a second set of reflected light signals corresponding to the second transmitted beamlet group (Col. 23, lines 1-67; Fig. 9, where emissions with a second wavelength are projected at least one pixel ahead/behind of the receiver FOV, causing specific overlap with a second portion of the receiver FOV and sensors);
and determine a distance between the LiDAR apparatus and at least one object based on at least one of the first set of reflected light signals and the second set of reflected light signals (Col. 13, line 61 - Col. 14, line 18).
Regarding claims 5 and 18, Campbell anticipates the LiDAR apparatus of claim 1, wherein
the at least one laser comprises a first laser and a second laser, and wherein the first transmitted beamlet group corresponds to the first laser beam transmitted via the first laser and the second transmitted beamlet group corresponds to a second laser beam transmitted via the second laser (Col. 4, lines 11-28 and 55-67, Col. 23, lines 20-36; Figs. 8, 9, where emitter (110) may be a laser emitting at different wavelengths or two lasers emitting at differing wavelengths causing two beams to transmit from DOE (262) depending on wavelength).
Regarding claim 7, Campbell anticipates the LiDAR apparatus of claim 5, wherein
the at least one processor is further configured to cause the LiDAR apparatus to: configure a first transmission power for the first laser beam and a second transmission power for the second laser beam, wherein the first transmission power is different than then second transmission power (Col. 13 lines 45-60; where an emitted power, frequency, duration can be changed between emissions such that two emissions have differing power).
Regarding claim 8, Campbell anticipates the LiDAR apparatus of claim 5, wherein
the at least one processor is further configured to cause the LiDAR apparatus to: configure a first receiver gain for the first portion of the plurality of light sensors and a second receiver gain for the second portion of the plurality of light sensors, wherein the first receiver gain is different than the second receiver gain (Col. 29, line 63 - Col. 30, line 30; where gain values for transimpedance amplifiers within system may be set to values based on required signal-to noise ratios, such that differing emitted beams have associated different gains).
Regarding claim 9, Campbell anticipates the LiDAR apparatus of claim 5, wherein
the at least one processor is further configured to cause the LiDAR apparatus to: transmit, via the first laser, the first transmitted beamlet group at a first time;
and transmit, via the second laser, the second transmitted beamlet group at a second time occurring after the first time (Col. 23 lines 36-67; Fig. 9, where at different times pulses emitted from the at least one source create different pairs of emitted beams from the diffractive element (DOE) illuminating different FOVs).
Regarding claims 10 and 11, Campbell anticipates the LiDAR apparatus of claim 1, further comprising:
at least one beamlet steering device configured to steer the first transmitted beamlet group in a first direction and the second transmitted beamlet group in a second direction, wherein the at least one beamlet steering device includes at least one of a Risley prism, a micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS) mirror, a tuning fork, a voice coil mirror (VCM), and a metasurface scanner (Col. 14, line 55 - Col. 15, line 20; Figs. 2, 8 where scanner (162) may include at least a MEMS device or VCM for redirecting emitted beam (125) and beams leaving DOE (262) (125a and 125b) are aimed in differing directions within scan field-of-view).
Regarding claim 12, Campbell anticipates the LiDAR apparatus of claim 1, wherein
the at least one laser corresponds to a vertical cavity surface-emitting laser (VCSEL) array (Col. 10 lines 5-43, where one or more light sources in emitter may be VCSEL lasers together).
Regarding claim 13, Campbell anticipates the LiDAR apparatus of claim 1, wherein
the plurality of light sensors corresponds to a plurality of single-photon avalanche diodes (SPADs) (Col. 13, lines 3-44; Figs. 8, where detector (260) may include multiple SPADs or APDs).
Regarding claim 20, Campbell anticipates a light detection and ranging (LiDAR) apparatus comprising:
at least one laser (Col. 4, lines 11-28 and 55-67, Col. 23, lines 20-36; Figs. 1, 8, where emitter (110) may be a laser emitting at different wavelengths or two lasers emitting at differing wavelengths);
a plurality of light sensors (Col. 13, lines 3-44; Figs. 8, where detector (260) may include multiple SPADs or APDs);
at least one memory comprising instructions;
and at least one processor coupled to the VCSEL array, the plurality of light sensors, and the at least one memory, wherein the at least one processor is configured to execute the instructions and cause the LiDAR apparatus to (Col. 13, line 61 - Col. 14, line 18; Fig. 1, Controller (150) controls emission, detection, movement of components and may include a non-transitory computer-readable memory coupled to the one or more processors):
transmit, via a first set of VCSEL array elements, a first transmitted beamlet group (Col. 10 lines 5-43, Col. 22, line 40 - Col. 23, line 36; Fig. 8, where beams leaving DOE (262) (125a and 125b) are aimed in differing directions towards environment/field of regard and where one or more light sources in emitter may be VCSEL lasers together);
transmit, via a second set of VCSEL array elements, a second transmitted beamlet group (Col. 10 lines 5-43, Col. 22, line 40 - Col. 23, line 36; Fig. 8, where beams leaving DOE (262) (125a and 125b) are aimed in differing directions towards environment/field of regard and where one or more light sources in emitter may be VCSEL lasers together and pulses may be separated in time);
receive, via a first portion of the plurality of light sensors, a first set of reflected light signals corresponding to the first transmitted beamlet group (Col. 23, lines 1-67; Fig. 9, where emissions with a first wavelength are projected at least one pixel ahead/behind of the receiver FOV, causing specific overlap with a first portion of the receiver FOV and sensors);
receive, via a second portion of the plurality of light sensors, a second set of reflected light signals corresponding to the second transmitted beamlet group (Col. 23, lines 1-67; Fig. 9, where emissions with a second wavelength are projected at least one pixel ahead/behind of the receiver FOV, causing specific overlap with a second portion of the receiver FOV and sensors);
and determine a distance between the LiDAR apparatus and at least one object based on at least one of the first set of reflected light signals and the second set of reflected light signals (Col. 13, line 61 - Col. 14, line 18).
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) 2, 6, 15 and 19 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Campbell et al. (hereinafter Campbell, US 10061019 B1) in view of Donovan et al. (hereinafter Donovan, US 20200041614 A1).
Regarding claims 2 and 15, Campbell teaches the lidar apparatus and method of operation of claims 1 and 14, respectively, but is silent on the specifics of the light sensor having two portions, where at least one signal from the second set of reflected signals is detected by a sensor in a first portion, and where cross-talk is detected.
Donovan teaches a LIDAR system with a plurality of emitters and detectors, where the system is configured to receive, via a first light sensor from the first portion of the plurality of light sensors, at least one reflected light signal from the second set of reflected light signals corresponding to the second transmitted beamlet group;
and determine that the at least one reflected light signal from the second set of reflected light signals was received by the first light sensor due to a crosstalk condition, wherein the crosstalk condition includes at least one of electrical crosstalk, optical crosstalk, and light sensor saturation ([0076] - [0080], [0083] - [0084]; system has transmitters (1906, 1908) and receivers (1902, 1904) with an overlap region, and where emissions from both first and second transmitters may be reflected by an object in the environment, and both pulses would be observed at a single detector during a single measurement, leading to optical cross-talk if controller does not maintain mapping).
Therefore, to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious prima facie to modify Campbell to incorporate the teachings of Donovan to utilize a system with a detector array separated into two portions, which may be used to determine noise and crosstalk received with a reasonable expectation of success. Donovan discusses that specific orientations of emitter and receivers, FOVs, emission wavelengths and controller settings all may impact cross-talk within a LIDAR system ([0005], [0041], [0062]) and so integration into the system of Campbell would have predictable results of controlling, and detecting, cross-talk between signals caused by detections of a second wavelength signal by a first sensor. These detections allow for the system to compensate for such cross-talk, allowing for reductions in noise and increases in signal-to-noise (SNR) ratios.
Regarding claims 6 and 19, Campbell teaches the lidar apparatus and method of operation of claims 5 and 14, respectively, but is silent on specifics of interleaving of the emission patterns.
Donovan teaches a LIDAR system with a plurality of emitters and detectors, where one or more beamlets from the first transmitted beamlet group are interlaced with one or more beamlets from the second transmitted beamlet group ([0076] - [0077]; Figs. 8B, 16 where beam sets emitted by the first 2D VCSEL array (852) are interspersed with those emitted by the second 2D VCSEL array (854)).
Therefore, to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious prima facie to modify Campbell to incorporate the teachings of Donovan to intersperse emitted beams while illuminating an environment with a reasonable expectation of success. As Donovan notes, interleaving emission patters from two (or more) transmitters allows the system to minimize optical cross-talk between the transmitters/modules while still maintaining eye-safety ([0076]).
Claim(s) 3-4 and 16-17 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Campbell et al. (hereinafter Campbell, US 10061019 B1) in view of Yang et al. (hereinafter Yang, US 20240036202 A1).
Regarding claims 3 and 16, Campbell teaches the LiDAR apparatus of claim 1, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to cause the LiDAR apparatus to: transmit, via the at least one laser, a second laser beam through the at least one diffractive optical element to generate a third transmitted beamlet group and a fourth transmitted beamlet group (Col. 23 lines 36-67; Fig. 9, where at different times pulses emitted from the at least one source create different pairs of emitted beams from the diffractive element (DOE) illuminating different FOVs), but is silent on the specifics of the pulse interval between pulses.
Yang teaches a LIDAR system which is configured to generate a trigger signal based on a time sequence random number, such that a pulse interval between the first laser beam and the second laser beam is a random amount of time ([0090] - [0091]; Fig. 5, where system control device (12) and random number generator (15) can create random firing delays between laser emitters (111-1) to (111-n)).
To one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious prima facie to modify Campbell to incorporate the teachings of Yang to utilize random firings between pulses emitted by different laser sourced with a reasonable expectation of success. Yang teaches that adopting a random firing timeline between emitters allows a system to reduce interference between signals, especially when used in combination with pulse coding and modulation ([0005] – [0006]).
Regarding claims 4 and 17, Campbell as modified above teaches the LiDAR apparatus of claim 3, wherein
the second laser beam is transmitted prior to receiving the first set of reflected light signals corresponding to the first transmitted beamlet group (Col. 7, lines 16-30, Col. 9, lines 33-56, where a ToF for an object may be between 300 ns and 1.33μs and a time between pulses may be as low as 1-4 ns, therefore emission between pulses is shorter than a ToF for a signal).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Mheen et al. (US 20170261371 A1) teaches an optical receiver and a laser radar, wherein the system emits a first and second laser beam into the environment, where each beam may be split before emission, and where receivers detect signals reflected by objects in an environment and portions of the environment map to portions of the detector.
Li et al. (US 20220107394 A1) teaches a LIDAR device where the receiver includes multiple sensor plates, which each include multiple sensor groups, and where electromagnetic shielding may occur along with other means to reduce crosstalk among receiver signal channels.
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/K.M.R./Examiner, Art Unit 3645
/HELAL A ALGAHAIM/SPE , Art Unit 3645