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 .
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Response to Amendment
Applicant’s amendment filed 17 June 2026 has been entered.
Claims 1, 3-5 and 7 are currently pending. Claims 2 and 6 are cancelled.
Independent claims 1 and 7 have been amended to incorporate subject matter corresponding to original claim 2, and to further recite newly presented limitation that first and second center regions “meet at center of the center portion.”
Applicant’s arguments have been fully considered but are not persuasive. Applicant’s assertion that Campbell fails to teach or disclose the amended limitations of claims 1 and 7 is conclusory, as applicant merely identifies the amended claim language without specifically pointing out how that language distinguishes over the cited teachings of Campbell or how the amendments avoid the reference. As set forth below, Campbell discloses the disputed limitations, and the rejection under 35 U.S.C. § 102 is maintained.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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.
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.
Claims 1, 3-5 and 7 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) and 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Campbell (US 20190107623 A1).
Regarding claim 1, Campbell discloses an optical sensing device (Fig. 1, lidar system 100, employing the scan profile of Fig. 19; ¶¶ 31, 44, 138, 145) comprising:
a control circuit (Fig. 1, controller 150) configured to rotate a light irradiation circuit (Fig. 1, scanner 120; ¶¶ 31, 44) configured to irradiate an irradiation target being at least a part of a target (Fig. 1, target 130) with laser light (Fig. 1, beam 125), and thus move an incident position of the laser light on the irradiation target in a reciprocating manner between one end portion and another end portion of the irradiation target (Fig. 19, scan profile 500 corresponding to scan angle covering Θmax to Θmin then reciprocating back to scan angle Θmax via retrace 400; ¶ 145), via a center portion positioned between the one end portion and the another end portion of the irradiation target (Fig. 19, scan angle covering Θ2 to Θmin corresponding to a center portion, positioned between Θmax to Θmin);
an acquisition circuit (Fig. 1, controller 150) configured to acquire information relating to reflected light associated with the incident position, based on the reflected light of the laser light from the irradiation target (¶ 33, determine distance based on acquired electrical signal 145 measured from reflected light 135 of target 130); and
a generation circuit configured to generate point cloud data relating to the irradiation target, based on the information relating to the reflected light (¶¶ 48, 63, point cloud generated based on collection of distance values, where each target distance previously determined by controller 150; ¶¶ 33, 47), wherein,
when the incident position moves from the one end portion or the another end portion to the center portion of the irradiation target (Fig. 19, scan angle rotating from Θmax towards Θ2), the control circuit reduces a speed at which the light irradiation circuit is rotated (Fig. 19, reduction in rotation speed from ω2 to ω1),
the center portion of the irradiation target (Fig. 19, scan angle covering Θ2 to Θmin) includes a first center region (Fig. 19, scan angle covering Θ2 to Θ1) and a second center region (Fig. 19, scan angle covering Θ1 to Θmin) that meet at center of the center portion (Fig. 19, Θ1), and when the incident position on which the laser light is incident moves between the first center region and the second center region, the control circuit increases a speed at which the light irradiation circuit is rotated (Fig. 19, increase in rotation speed from ω1 to ω2 when moving from first center region covering Θ2 to Θ1 into second center region covering Θ1 to Θmin).
Regarding claim 3, Campbell discloses the optical sensing device of claim 1, and further discloses: wherein the light irradiation circuit performs irradiation with the laser light at a constant time interval (Fig. 19, τscan; ¶ 132, τscan comprising τy + τretrace).
Regarding claim 4, Campbell discloses the optical sensing device of claim 1, and further discloses: wherein the control circuit rotates the light irradiation circuit in such a way that the incident position on which the laser light is incident moves along a longitudinal direction of the target (¶ 98 & Fig. 19, scan profile moves along vertical orientation Θy of the target, understood as a longitudinal direction; furthermore, ¶¶ 96, 127-128 discloses interchangeability of scan profile along vertical orientation Θy with horizontal orientation Θx; see Fig. 11/Fig. 14 and Fig. 12/Fig. 15).
Regarding claim 5, Campbell discloses the optical sensing device of claim 4, and further discloses: wherein the target is a railway line (¶ 50, railroad).
Regarding claim 7, Campbell discloses an optical sensing method (Fig. 1, lidar system 100, employing the scan profile of Fig. 19; ¶¶ 31, 44, 138, 145) comprising: rotating a light irradiation circuit (Fig. 1, scanner 120; ¶¶ 31, 44) configured to irradiate an irradiation target being at least a part of a target (Fig. 1, target 130) with laser light (Fig. 1, beam 125), and thus moving an incident position of the laser light on the irradiation target in a reciprocating manner between one end portion and another end portion of the irradiation target (Fig. 19, scan profile 500 corresponding to scan angle covering Θmax to Θmin then reciprocating back to scan angle Θmax via retrace 400; ¶ 145), via a center portion positioned between the one end portion and the another end portion of the irradiation target (Fig. 19, scan angle covering Θ2 to Θmin corresponding to a center portion, positioned between Θmax to Θmin); reducing a speed at which the light irradiation circuit is rotated when the incident position moves from the one end portion or the another end portion to the center portion of the irradiation target (Fig. 19, reduction in rotation speed from ω2 to ω1 corresponding to scan angle rotating from Θmax towards Θ2); acquiring information relating to reflected light associated with the incident position, based on the reflected light of the laser light from the irradiation target (¶ 33, determine distance based on acquired electrical signal 145 measured from reflected light 135 of target 130); and generating point cloud data relating to the irradiation target, based on the information relating to the reflected light (¶¶ 48, 63, point cloud generated based on collection of distance values, where each target distance previously determined by controller 150; ¶¶ 33, 47), the center portion of the irradiation target (Fig. 19, scan angle covering Θ2 to Θmin) includes a first center region (Fig. 19, scan angle covering Θ2 to Θ1) and a second center region (Fig. 19, scan angle covering Θ1 to Θmin) that meet at center of the center portion (Fig. 19, Θ1), and when the incident position on which the laser light is incident moves between the first center region and the second center region, the control circuit increases a speed at which the light irradiation circuit is rotated (Fig. 19, increase in rotation speed from ω1 to ω2 when moving from first center region covering Θ2 to Θ1 into second center region covering Θ1 to Θmin).
Conclusion
Prior art made of record though not relied upon in the present basis of rejection are noted in the attached PTO 892 and include: Li (US 20220373655 A1) which discloses a lidar scanner using control circuitry to vary galvanometer mirror scan speed across regions while transmitting laser light, receiving reflected light, and generating point cloud data. Hughes (US 20190310351 A1) which discloses a lidar optical sensing system that emits laser light, scans a target region using controllable rotating mirrors, detects reflected light to determine distance, and generates point cloud data, with controller based adjustment of mirror rotation speed including slowing near the center of a scan line. Zhang (US 20190383911 A1) which discloses a lidar system that steers laser light using controlled mirror and polygon rotation, detects reflected light to create point cloud data, and varies scan speed by slowing mirror movement for dense regions and increasing speed for sparse regions.
THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. 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 extension fee 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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/ZHENGQING QI/Examiner, Art Unit 3645
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