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 .
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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 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.
Claims 1-10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Pacala, et al., US 2022/0043118 A1, in view of Goldstein, et al., US 2022/0057519 A1.
As per Claim 1, Pacala teaches a method for activating a SPAD-based LIDAR sensor (¶¶ 67-68), comprising the following steps:
emitting a predefined transmission pulse pattern into surroundings of the LIDAR sensor, the transmission pulse pattern being made up of a plurality of consecutive light pulses which are generated using a transmitting unit of the LIDAR sensor (¶¶ 73-74);
detecting photons arriving in the LIDAR sensor using a SPAD-based receiving unit of the LIDAR sensor within a respective predefined detection time period after the emission of a respective light pulse of the consecutive light pulses (¶¶ 76-77);
generating histograms which represent a frequency of detected photons with respect to respective reception points in time (¶ 78), each histogram referring to the respective detection time period, and to a respective macropixel of the receiving unit of the LIDAR sensor (¶¶ 77, 87); ascertaining a histogram evaluation window, based on which those of the histograms corresponding to the transmission pulse pattern are selected from a chronological sequence of histograms which, during an allocation to a total histogram, meet predefined criteria for a total histogram (¶ 128; as per “a particular sliding window of pulse trains”); and
providing the total histogram for generating a 3D point cloud representing the surroundings of the LIDAR sensor (¶ 97);
wherein the transmission pulse pattern: has a variation of at least one parameter defining the light pulses (¶ 85; “different patterns of pulses are transmitted at different times”).
Pacala does not expressly teach that the pulse pattern is essentially completely emitted within the same solid angle of the surroundings of the LIDAR sensor which is to be scanned by the LIDAR sensor. Goldstein teaches that the pulse pattern is essentially completely emitted within the same solid angle of the surroundings of the LIDAR sensor which is to be scanned by the LIDAR sensor (¶ 233; as a “choice of height and/or angle may be determined using retroreflection of light radar and/or any other imaging techniques and/or devices”). At the time of the invention, a person of skill in the art would have thought it obvious to use the LIDAR sensor as Pacala teaches with angles chosen per the methods of Goldstein, in order to determine an appropriate level of priority for objects sensed in the immediate surroundings of a body aboard which the sensor is housed.
As per Claim 2, Pacala teaches that the variation of the at least one parameter defining the light pulses includes a variation of: intensities of the light pulses of the transmission pulse pattern including a monotonically increasing or decreasing intensity of consecutive light pulses and/or a chaotic or a stochastic variation of the intensity of the light pulses, and/or distances and/or widths of the light pulses (¶¶ 160-161), and/or repetitions and/or pulse sequence to pause ratios within the transmission pulse pattern (¶¶ 149, 244).
As per Claim 3, Pacala teaches that the predefined criteria for the total histogram include: an undershooting of a predefined oversteering threshold, and/or an exceedance of a predefined understeering threshold, and/or an adherence to a predefined signal-to-noise ratio (¶¶ 120-121), and/or an adherence to a predefined dynamic range.
As per Claim 4, Pacala teaches that a width and/or a starting point of the histogram evaluation window is adapted for adherence to the predefined criteria for the total histogram (¶ 121; “based on its time of arrival relative to a start signal”).
As per Claim 5, Pacala teaches that the histogram evaluation window, prior to its use, is weighted using a predefined weighting function (¶ 265).
As per Claim 6, Pacala teach that the histogram evaluation window is established as a function of: a solid angle of the surroundings which is to be scanned by the LIDAR sensor, and/or a respective macropixel of the receiving unit, and/or one or more preceding histogram evaluation windows, and/or a maximum permissible latency period, and/or a desired range of the LIDAR sensor (¶ 80; as per ranging system controller 250 of Figure 2), and/or a quality of a point cloud which was generated based on a preceding total histogram.
As per Claim 7, Pacala teaches that the transmission pulse pattern is selected from a plurality of predefined transmission pulse patterns as a function of a respective solid angle to be scanned, and/or surroundings conditions (¶¶ 143-144), and/or a required eye safety (¶ 111).
As per Claim 8, Pacala teach that a starting position and/or a width and/or a weighting of the histogram evaluation window is established as a function of the transmission pulse pattern used (¶ 199).
As per Claim 9, Pacala teaches a device configured to activate a SPAD-based LIDAR sensor (¶ 129), including:
a transmitting unit (¶ 143; “single pulses or multiple pulses as part of a pulse train that are transmitted from a light source”);
a SPAD-based receiving unit (¶ 150); and
an evaluation unit (¶ 178; “an auxiliary processor”);
wherein the transmitting unit is configured to generate a predefined transmission pulse pattern and to emit it into surroundings of the LIDAR sensor, the transmission pulse pattern being made up of a plurality of consecutive light pulses (¶¶ 73-74);
wherein the receiving unit is configured to detect photons arriving in the LIDAR sensor within a predefined detection time period after the emission of a respective light pulse of the consecutive light pulses (¶¶ 76-77);
wherein the evaluation unit is configured to: generate histograms which represent a frequency of detected photons with respect to respective reception points in time (¶ 78), each histogram referring to the respective detection time period, and to a respective macropixel of the receiving unit of the LIDAR sensor (¶¶ 77, 87);
ascertain a histogram evaluation window, based on which those of the histograms corresponding to the transmission pulse pattern are selected from a chronological sequence of histograms which, during an allocation to a total histogram, meet predefined criteria for the total histogram (¶ 128; as per “a particular sliding window of pulse trains”); and
provide the total histogram for generating a 3D point cloud representing the surroundings of the LIDAR sensor (¶ 97); and
wherein the transmission pulse pattern: has a variation of at least one parameter defining the light pulses (¶ 85; “different patterns of pulses are transmitted at different times”).
Pacala does not expressly teach that the pulse pattern is essentially completely emitted within the same solid angle of the surroundings of the LIDAR sensor which is to be scanned by the LIDAR sensor. Goldstein teaches that the pulse pattern is essentially completely emitted within the same solid angle of the surroundings of the LIDAR sensor which is to be scanned by the LIDAR sensor (¶ 233; as a “choice of height and/or angle may be determined using retroreflection of light radar and/or any other imaging techniques and/or devices”). See Claim 1 above for the rationale based on obviousness, motivations and reasons to combine.
As per Claim 10, Pacala teaches a surroundings detection system (¶ 129), comprising:
a device configured to activate a SPAD-based LIDAR sensor (¶ 129), including:
a transmitting unit (¶ 143; “single pulses or multiple pulses as part of a pulse train that are transmitted from a light source”);
a SPAD-based receiving unit (¶ 150); and
an evaluation unit (¶ 178; “an auxiliary processor”);
wherein the transmitting unit is configured to generate a predefined transmission pulse pattern and to emit it into surroundings of the LIDAR sensor, the transmission pulse pattern being made up of a plurality of consecutive light pulses (¶¶ 73-74);
wherein the receiving unit is configured to detect photons arriving in the LIDAR sensor within a predefined detection time period after the emission of a respective light pulse of the consecutive light pulses (¶¶ 76-77);
wherein the evaluation unit is configured to: generate histograms which represent a frequency of detected photons with respect to respective reception points in time (¶ 78), each histogram referring to the respective detection time period, and to a respective macropixel of the receiving unit of the LIDAR sensor (¶¶ 77, 87);
ascertain a histogram evaluation window, based on which those of the histograms corresponding to the transmission pulse pattern are selected from a chronological sequence of histograms which, during an allocation to a total histogram, meet predefined criteria for the total histogram (¶ 128; as per “a particular sliding window of pulse trains”); and
provide the total histogram for generating a 3D point cloud representing the surroundings of the LIDAR sensor (¶ 97); and
wherein the transmission pulse pattern: has a variation of at least one parameter defining the light pulses (¶ 85; “different patterns of pulses are transmitted at different times”).
Pacala does not expressly teach that the pulse pattern is essentially completely emitted within the same solid angle of the surroundings of the LIDAR sensor which is to be scanned by the LIDAR sensor; and a processing unit configured to: receive information representing total histograms from the device, and ascertain a 3D point cloud representing surroundings based on the total histograms. Goldstein teaches:
that the pulse pattern is essentially completely emitted within the same solid angle of the surroundings of the LIDAR sensor which is to be scanned by the LIDAR sensor (¶ 233; as a “choice of height and/or angle may be determined using retroreflection of light radar and/or any other imaging techniques and/or devices”); and
a processing unit configured to: receive information representing total histograms from the device, and ascertain a 3D point cloud (¶ 306) representing surroundings based on the total histograms (¶¶ 169, 173).
See Claim 1 above for the rationale based on obviousness, motivations and reasons to combine.
Conclusion
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ATUL TRIVEDI
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 3661
/ATUL TRIVEDI/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3661