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 .
DETAILED ACTION
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on 08/26/2026 has been entered.
16, 20, 22, and 29-30 are amended. Claims 1-15 remain cancelled. Claims 16-30 are currently pending and are under examination.
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) 16-25 and 29-30 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1)/(a)(2) as being anticipated by Zhu et al. (US 10,473,770).
Regarding Claim 16, Zhu disclose a light detection system (col. 7, lines 13-39)) comprising:
a detector (260, Fig.2) configured to provide a received light signal (reflected passes received and converted to digital reflected pulses, abstract, Fig. 5, matched filter path); and
processing circuit configured to:
identify a number of peaks in the received light signal (Fig. 2, 220; col. 12, lines 1-16; matched filter produces a higher number of output peaks than the number of reflected pulses, abstract, claim 1)), and
estimate a signal-to-noise ratio associated with the received light signal based on a comparison of the identified peaks in the received light signal with respective peaks of a known adapted light signal associated with the received light signal(matched filter performs convolution of the digital reflected pulses with a replica of the transmitted plurality of laser pulses; The replica is a known ideal/adapted waveform that is associated with the received light signal, abstract, claim 1, col. 2, lines 12-20), wherein the adapted light signal is a light signal that would be received at the light detection system in an absence of noise (the “ replica of the transmitted plurality of laser pulses” is the clean, noise-free transmitted waveform that would be received in the absence of a noise and channel distortion; This is the classic marked filter reference signal) .
Regarding Claim 17, Zhu disclose a light detection system wherein the processing circuit is configured to estimate the signal-to-noise ratio associated with the received light signal by using a preset difference between respective signal levels associated with different peaks in the received light signal (Fig. 7, col. 10, lines 51-57) .
Regarding Claim 18, Zhu disclose a light detection system wherein the received light signal comprises at least a first peak having a first peak power and a second peak having a second peak power different from the first peak power, and wherein the processing circuit is configured to estimate the signal-to-noise ratio associated with the received light signal by using a preset difference between the first peak power and the second peak power (Fig. 7).
Regarding Claim 19, Zhu disclose a light detection system wherein the processing circuit is configured to identify the number of peaks in the received light signal by comparing the received light signal with a threshold value (Fig. 2, 270, 280, col. 7, lines 13-23, lines 40-42).
Regarding Claim 20, Zhu disclose a light detection system wherein the processing circuit is configured to estimate an average signal level of noise associated with the received light signal, and wherein the processing circuit is configured to determine a threshold value for the received light signal by using the estimated average signal level of the noise (col. 3, lines 65-col. 4, lines 2).
Regarding Claim 21, Zhu disclose a light detection system wherein the processing circuit is further configured to estimate a signal level of at least one peak of the identified peaks in the received light signal (col. 3, lines 65-67, ‘amplitude’).
Regarding Claim 22, Zhu disclose a light detection system wherein the processing circuit is configured to estimate the signal level of the peak having a greatest signal level by using an estimated signal-to-noise ratio and an estimated average signal level of noise associated with the received light signal (col. 3, lines 61-col. 4, line 9).
Regarding Claim 23, Zhu disclose a light detection system wherein the detector comprises a photo diode configured to provide an analog signal in response to the received light signal impinging onto the photo diode (col. 7, lines 24-39).
Regarding Claim 24, Zhu disclose a system comprising: the light detection system according to claim 16 (see rejection of claim 16 above); and a light signal received at the light detection system (col. 7, lines 24-, “incoming return signal”).
Regarding Claim 25, Zhu disclose a system wherein the light signal comprises a plurality of light pulses, and wherein each light pulse of the plurality of light pulses is associated with a respective peak (Fig. 6).
Regarding Claim 29, Zhu disclose a LIDAR system (col. 11, lines 4-6) comprising:
a light emission system configured to emit a light signal comprising a plurality of peaks (Fig. 2, 230, 232); and a light detection system comprising: a detector (col. 7, lines 13-39) configured to receive the light signal (reflected passes received and converted to digital reflected pulses, abstract, Fig. 5, matched filter path), and a processing circuit configured to identify a number of peaks in the received light signal( Fig. 2. 220; col. 12, lines 1-16, matched filter produces a higher number of output peaks than the number of reflected pulses, abstract, claim 1)), and to determine a signal-to-noise ratio associated with the received light signal based on a comparison of the identified peaks in the received light signal with respective peaks of a known adapted light signal associated with the received light signal(matched filter performs convolution of the digital reflected pulses with a replica of the transmitted plurality of laser pulses; The replica is a known ideal/adapted waveform that is associated with the received light signal, abstract, claim 1, col. 2, lines 12-20), wherein the adapted light signal is a light signal that would be received at the light detection system in an absence of noise (the “ replica of the transmitted plurality of laser pulses” is the clean, noise-free transmitted waveform that would be received in the absence of a noise and channel distortion; This is the classic marked filter reference signal) .
Regarding Claim 30, the method claim 30 is rejected under the same rational as the rejection of the apparatus claim 16.
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) 26-28 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Zhu et al. (US 10,473,770).
Regarding Claim 26, Zhu disclose a system wherein the light signal comprises at least a first light pulse having a first amplitude and a first peak power, and a second light pulse having a second amplitude and a second peak power (Fig. 6).
Zhu disclose a system discloses the claimed invention except that the first amplitude is greater than the second amplitude and/or that the first peak power is greater than the second peak power. It would have been an obvious matter of design choice to make the first amplitude is greater than the second amplitude and/or that the first peak power is greater than the second peak power, since applicant has not disclosed that making that the first amplitude greater than the second amplitude and/or that the first peak power greater than the second peak power solves any stated problem or is for any particular purpose and it appears that the invention would perform equally as well with the amplitudes disclosed in Zhu.
Regarding Claim 27, Zhu disclose a system wherein the light signal comprises a third peak having a third amplitude and a third peak power (col. 10, lines 36-38, ‘two or more pulses’).
Zhu disclose a system discloses the claimed invention except that the second amplitude is greater than the third amplitude and/or that the second peak power is greater than the third peak power. It would have been an obvious matter of design choice to make the second amplitude is greater than the third amplitude and/or that the second peak power is greater than the third peak power, since applicant has not disclosed that making the second amplitude greater than the third amplitude and/or that the second peak power greater than the third peak power solves any stated problem or is for any particular purpose and it appears that the invention would perform equally as well with the amplitudes disclosed in Zhu.
Regarding Claim 28, Zhu disclose a system discloses the claimed invention except that the difference between the first amplitude and the second amplitude is equal to the difference between the second amplitude and the third amplitude, and/or that a difference between the first peak power and the second peak power is equal to a difference between the second peak power and the third peak power It would have been an obvious matter of design choice to make the difference between the first amplitude and the second amplitude is equal to the difference between the second amplitude and the third amplitude, and/or that a difference between the first peak power and the second peak power is equal to a difference between the second peak power and the third peak power, since applicant has not disclosed that making a difference between the first amplitude and the second amplitude equal to the difference between the second amplitude and the third amplitude, and/or that a difference between the first peak power and the second peak power equal to a difference between the second peak power and the third peak power solves any stated problem or is for any particular purpose and it appears that the invention would perform equally as well with the proportions of amplitudes disclosed in Zhu.
Conclusion.
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Assres H. Woldemaryam
Primary Examiner (Aeronautics and Astronautics)
Art Unit 3642
/ASSRES H WOLDEMARYAM/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3642
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