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) 07/31/2026 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.
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, 13,19 and claims bellow are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over D1 US 20190310351 A1 in view of D01 CN 113767301 A.
Regarding claims 1, 13, 19 D1 teaches
19. (Original) A system for LiDAR using multiple illumination sources and a rotating mirror, the system comprising:
a first illumination source;(110A-1 fig. 4)
a second illumination source;(110B-1)
a mirror(80) comprising a first side and a second side(fig. 3), wherein:
the mirror is arranged to rotate;(fig. 4)
the mirror is arranged to reflect light emitted from the first illumination source into an environment using the first side of the mirror;(fig. 4)
the mirror is arranged to direct light from the first illumination source into a first field of view;(fig. 4)
the mirror is arranged to reflect light emitted from the second illumination source into the environment using the second side of the mirror while the first side of the mirror is used to reflect light from the first illumination source;(fig. 4)
the mirror is arranged to direct light from the second illumination source into a second field of view; and
the second field of view at least partially overlaps the first field of view; and(fig. 5)
a detector(18C-1 fig. 4) arranged to receive light emitted from the first illumination source, after light
emitted from the first illumination source is reflected by the mirror into the environment; and
one or more memory devices comprising instructions that, when executed by one or more processors, performs a step for calculating a distance to an object in the environment based on the detector receiving the light emitted from the first illumination source.(abstract, [0079] Lidar device inherent)
but does not teach while D01 teaches
a first plurality of laser diodes arranged in a first region; anda second plurality of laser diodes arranged in a second region; the first plurality of laser diodes are arranged in the first region in a higher density than the second plurality of laser diodes are arranged in the second region;(page 17-18, fig 9a-d)
It will be obvious to one of ordinary skills in the art to modify teachings taught by D1 with teachings by D2 in order to provide different more resolution in the region of the most interest for example in front of the vehicle while using smaller resolution in surroundings or above the car.
2. (Original) The system of claim 1, wherein:
the mirror is arranged to direct light from the first illumination source into a first field of view;
the mirror is arranged to direct light from the second illumination source into a second field of view; and
the second field of view at least partially overlaps the first field of view.(fig. 5)
4. (Original) The system of claim 2, wherein:
the mirror comprises a first surface and a second surface; and
the second illumination source is arranged opposite the first illumination source so that the first illumination source illuminates the first surface of the mirror while the second illumination source illuminates the second surface of the mirror.(fig. 4, 5)
5, 20 (Original) The system of claim 1, wherein:
the mirror comprises a first surface and a second surface; and
the second illumination source is arranged opposite the first illumination source so that the first illumination source illuminates the first surface of the mirror while the second illumination source illuminates the second surface of the mirror.(fig. 4, 5)
6. (Original) The system of claim 1, wherein:
the mirror comprises a first surface and a second surface; and
the second illumination source is arranged to illuminate the first surface of the mirror while the first illumination source illuminates the first surface of the mirror.(same fig. 4 but instead of using as second source 110b-1 using 110A-2 then both of the sources illuminate same surface of the mirror)
7. (Original) The system of claim 1, wherein:
the detector(18C-1) is a first detector;(fig. 4)
the distance is a first distance;(implicit)
the object is a first object;(implicit first lidar system 110A-1 receiver 18C-1 detects object in its F)V fig. for example 5)
the system comprises a second detector;(18C-2)
the second detector is arranged to receive light emitted by the second illumination source, after light from the second illumination source is reflected by the mirror into the environment;(fig. 4, 5)
and the one or more memory devices comprises instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, performs a step for calculating a second distance to a second object in the
environment based on the second detector receiving the light emitted by the second illumination source.(implicit Lidar device )
14. (Original) The method of claim 13, comprising:
directing light from the first illumination source into a first field of view; and
directing light from the second illumination source into a second field of view, wherein the second field of view at least partially overlaps the first field of view.(fig. 5)
15. (Original) The method of claim 13, wherein:
the mirror comprises a first surface and a second surface; and
the second illumination source is arranged opposite the first illumination source so that the first illumination source illuminates the first surface of the mirror while the second illumination source illuminates the second surface of the mirror.(fig. 4, 5)
Claim(s) 3 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over D1 and D01.
Although D1 does not explicitly teach
3. (Original) The system of claim 2, wherein the second field of view overlaps at
least 1/8 or 1/4 of the first field of view and does not overlap more than 7/8 or 3/4 of the first field of view.
This is just a matter of selecting workable/operating ranges or just deign choice in order to create smooth transition of the FOV of different mirrors.
Regarding claim 10, 17 D1 teaches
10. (Original) The system of claim 1, wherein:
the first illumination source comprises:
a first plurality of laser diodes arranged in a first region;(fig. 4 [0012]) and
a second plurality of laser diodes arranged in a second region; and;(fig. 4 [0012])
Although does not explicitly teach
the first plurality of laser diodes are arranged in the first region in a higher density than the second plurality of laser diodes are arranged in the second region.
This is just a matter of the design choice or multiplication of the parts in order to illuminate one region in more details than the other one , for example in front of the car is more important than the side or back of the car and hence providing system with different resolution for different rejoins allows saving energy and computation power .
Regarding claim 11, 18 D1 teaches
11. (Original) The system of claim 1, further comprising a beam splitter[0070]
but does not explicitly teach between the first illumination source and the mirror.
Although D1 does not teach placement of the beam splitter it is just a simple matter of placement in order to for example provide feedback beam for the system.
Claim(s) 8 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over D1 and D01 further in view of D2 US 4967076 A.
Regarding claim 8 D1 teaches
8. (Original) The system of claim 1, wherein:
the mirror is arranged to rotate about a vertical axis to reflect light from the first illumination source horizontally into a field of view; and(fig. 4)
but does not teach while D2 teaches
a side of the mirror is arranged to rotate vertically to reflect light from the first illumination source vertically into the field of view. (col 3 1-15 and fig. 3 with 5, col 1 lines 37-68)
It will be obvious to one of ordinary skills in the art to modify teachings taught by D1 with teachings by D2 in order to produce different scan patterns.
Claim(s) 9, 16 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over D1 and D01 further in view of D3 US 20180180720 A1
Regarding claim D1 teaches
reflecting light from the first illumination source by the mirror
does not teach but D3 teaches
9. (Original) The system of claim 1, further comprising a platform, wherein:
the first illumination source is mounted to the platform; and
the platform is coupled with a fixed base using flexures.(fig. 3 [0053-0057])
16. (Original) The method of claim 13, wherein:
the first illumination source is mounted to a platform;
the platform is coupled with a fixed base using flexures; and
the method comprises translating the platform with respect to the fixed base [0055]
It will be obvious to one of ordinary skills in the art to modify teachings taught by D1 with teachings by D3 in order to educe vibrations of the system and avoid damage and perform scan well known ways.
Claim(s) 12 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over D1 and D01 further in view of D4 US 20210063542 A1.
Regarding claim 12 D1 teaches using multiple lenses[0070] with their respective focal lenses while D4 teaches
12. (Original) The system of claim 1, further comprising a first lens and a second lens, wherein:
the first lens is positioned a first distance from the mirror;(scanner 1)
the first distance is equal to the first focal length;
the second lens is positioned a second distance from the first lens; and
the second distance is equal to a sum of the first focal length and the second focal length.(fig. 4 [0030])
It will be obvious to one of ordinary skills in the art to modify teachings taught by D1 with teachings by D4 in order to expand the beam.
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.
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/HOVHANNES BAGHDASARYAN/Examiner, Art Unit 3645
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