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 .
Election/Restrictions
Claims 2, 12-16 withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected species, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election was made without traverse in the reply filed on 03/24/2026.
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 and claims bellow are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over D1 US 20200363511 A1 in view of D2 US 20080117531 A1 .
Regarding claim 1 D1 teaches
1. A light detection device comprising:
a light-emitting unit(11) including a plurality of light emitters spaced from each other[0026], arranged along a specific array direction, and configured to emit a beam;(fig. 3b implicit)
a scanning unit(15) configured to scan the beam emitted from the light-emitting unit to project the beam to a measurement area;[0036]
a light-receiving unit(19) configured to receive a return light of the beam from the measurement area; (fig. 1)and
an optical unit(12, 13) positioned on an optical path of the beam directed from the light-emitting unit to the scanning unit, wherein(fig. 1)
the optical unit includes:
a first optical element(12) having a positive power in a transmission direction of the beam directed from the light-emitting unit to the scanning unit; and(fig. 3b)
a second optical element(13) positioned behind the first optical element and having a positive power in the transmission direction of the beam in a specific section that expands along both of the transmission direction and the specific array direction, and[0041-0043]
but does not explicitly teach
the optical unit includes, as the second optical element, a Fresnel lens including divided emission surface portions arranged intermittently and each of which is convexly curved toward an emission side in the specific section.
Although D1 does not teach Fresnel lens , Fresnel lens is jus one obvious cheap option for use in lenses
And for example D2 teaches using Fresnel lens(21)
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 achieve focusing and collimating desired in D1 in all known ways, especially Fresnel lenses are light weigh and smaller in size.
7. The light detection device according to claim 1, wherein
the plurality of light emitters are arranged in a longitudinal light-emitting area elongated in the specific array direction.(fig. 9a)
8. The light detection device according to claim 7, wherein
in an orthogonal section that is orthogonal to the specific section and along the transmission direction, the light-emitting area is at a composite focal point on an incident side of the first optical element and the second optical element.(fig. 8b light sources are at the focal point of the lens.)
Claim(s) 3 and claims bellow are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over D1 US 20200363511 A1.
3. A light detection device comprising:
a light-emitting unit(11) including a plurality of light emitters spaced from each other[0026], arranged along a specific array direction, and configured to emit a beam;(fig. 3b implicit)
a scanning unit(15) configured to scan the beam emitted from the light-emitting unit to project the beam to a measurement area;[0036]
a light-receiving unit(19) configured to receive a return light of the beam from the measurement area; (fig. 1)and
an optical unit(12, 13) positioned on an optical path of the beam directed from the light-emitting unit to the scanning unit, wherein(fig. 1)
the optical unit includes:
a first optical element(12) having a positive power in a transmission direction of the beam directed from the light-emitting unit to the scanning unit; and(fig. 3b)
a second optical element(13) positioned behind the first optical element and having a positive power in the transmission direction of the beam in a specific section that expands along both of the transmission direction and the specific array direction, and[0041-0043]
but does not explicitly teach
a position of a composite focal point of the first optical element and the second optical element on an incident side in the specific section is closer to the first optical element than a position of a composite focal point of the first optical element and the second optical element on the incident side in an orthogonal section that is orthogonal to the specific section and along the transmission direction.
Although D1 does not explicitly teach limitation above it is just a matter of the design choice in order to achieve desired beam quality and parameters and would be obvious to one of ordinary skills in the art as beam propagation in lenses and optical elements is completely predictable.
Although D1 does not explicitly teach
4. The light detection device according to claim 3, wherein
the optical unit includes, as the second optical element, a cylindrical lens having an emission surface convexly curved in the specific section toward an emission side.
D1 in general teaches using cylindrical lenses[0038] (as evidenced by D2 using different type of lenses [0014] is well known and lead to predictable results )
It will be obvious to one of ordinary skills in the art to modify teachings taught by D1 to use cylindrical lens in order to achieve desired collimation, magnification and spread of the beam.
Although D1 does not explicitly teach
5. The light detection device according to claim 3, wherein
the optical unit includes, as the second optical element, a lenticular lens including a plurality of emission surfaces arranged continuously and each of which is convexly curved toward an emission side in the specific section.
6. The light detection device according to claim 3, wherein
the optical unit includes, as the second optical element, a Fresnel lens including divided emission surface portions arranged intermittently and each of which is convexly curved toward an emission side in the specific section. (as evidenced by D2 using different type of lenses [0014] is well known and lead to predictable results )
Using different type of lenses is just obvious design choice which leads to predictable transformation of the beam to desired shape and form.
Claim(s) 9, 10 and claims bellow are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over D1 US 20200363511 A1 in view of D2 US 20080117531 A1 further in view of D3 US 20180106900 A1 .
Regarding claims 9 , 10 D1 does not teach
9. The light detection device according to claim 1, wherein
the optical unit includes a front diaphragm before the first optical element, and
the front diaphragm forms a rectangular front aperture.
10. The light detection device according to claim 1, wherein
the optical unit includes a rear diaphragm behind the second optical element, and
the rear diaphragm forms a rectangular rear aperture.
D3 teaches using rectangular apertures in order to limit size of the beam(fig. 1B) and remove diverging beams.(abstract)
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 limit size of the beam and remove diverging beams(speckles).
Claim(s) 11 and claims bellow are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over D1 US 20200363511 A1 in view of D2 US 20080117531 A1 further in view of D4 US 20130050803 A1 .
Although D1 teaches scanner mirror (15a) it does not teach while D4 teaches
11. The light detection device according to claim 1, wherein
the scanning unit has a rotary mirror rotatable about a rotation axis that is along the specific array direction.[0027]
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 direct the beam into desired region of FOV.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to HOVHANNES BAGHDASARYAN whose telephone number is (571)272-7845. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Fri 7am - 5 pm.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Yuqing Xiao can be reached at (571) 270-3603. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/HOVHANNES BAGHDASARYAN/Examiner, Art Unit 3645
Prosecution Insights