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. Claim Objections Claim 1 is objected to because of the following informalities: the second to last line recites “towards common point”, which is missing an article ahead of “common”. Suggested correction is “towards a common point”. Appropriate correction is required. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112 The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b): (b ) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention. The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA), second paragraph: The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the appl icant regards as his invention. Claims 1-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention. Namely, claims 1, 15 and 20 recite in their preambles “a multiple beam, single mirror lidar system comprising” (claims 1 and 15) and “a method performed by a multiple beam, single mirror lidar system” (claim 20). The claims are indefinite because the scope of the body of the claims are inconsistent with the preambles. That is to say, the preambles recite “single mirror” , but the body of the claims recite “a moveable mirror” which for infringement purposes can include multiple mirrors. Thus, the scope of the claimed invention is indefinite, as the preamble and the body of the independent claims are inconsistent in scope. Further, all elements recited within the body of the claims are taught by t he cited prior art, which , in arguendo, renders the preamble satisfied by the prior art . Additionally, the preambles of the claims include the open-ended term “comprising” which itself lends to an understanding that additional components may be included, and that it does not exclude additional, unrecited elements or method steps. See MPEP 2111.03; Invitrogen Corp. v. Biocrest Manufacturing, L.P., 327 F.3d 1364, 1368, 66 USPQ2d 1631, 1634 (Fed. Cir. 2003) ("The transition ‘comprising’ in a method claim indicates that the claim is open-ended and allows for additional steps.") ; and Genentech, Inc. v. Chiron Corp., 112 F.3d 495, 501, 42 USPQ2d 1608, 1613 (Fed. Cir. 1997) ("Comprising" is a term of art used in claim language which means that the named elements are essential, but other elements may be added and still form a construct within the scope of the claim. ). For purposes of examination, and since the claim language includes the transitional phrase “comprising” in addition to the recitation of “a moveable mirror”, the claims will be interpreted such that the preamble is considered to be the name of the lidar system, whose scope (or method scope) is recited in the body of the claims . 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 - 20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Eichenholz (US 2020/0025923). 1 , 15 mutatis mutandis : Eichenholz teaches a multiple beam, single mirror lidar system, comprising: a movable mirror [0071 scanner 120; fig. 1; also scanner 302 in fig. 9; 0126 sets forth that scanner 302 may similar to scanner 120] ; and a photonic integrated circuit [0182 describes the lidar system of the disclosure being implemented or performed by a general purpose single or multi chip processor, or an ASIC , among others. Since the disclosure is implementable as a chip, and since the disclosure is drawn to lidar, it follows that the result would be a lidar chip, which is type of photonic integrated circuit ] , comprising: a first waveguide configured to guide a first beam towards the movable mirror [0126 sets forth that laser 300 of fig. 9 may include, may be part of, may be similar to, or may be substantially the same as the light source 110 of fig. 1; laser sensor link 320 may include any suitable number of optical links, wherein an optical link 330 may include optical fiber, which may further be single or multi mode; thus, in the embodiment in which there are multiple optical fibers (indicated by 330), there would be a first optical fiber transmitting light from laser 300 to scanner 302 (or from light source 110 to scanner 120] ; and a second waveguide configured to guide a second beam towards the movable mirror [from the limitation above: in the embodiment in which there are multiple optical fibers (indicated by 330), there would be a second optical fiber transmitting light from laser 300 to scanner 302 (or from light source 110 to scanner 120 ] ; wherein the first waveguide and the second waveguide are configured to guide the first beam and the second beam towards common point on the movable mirror with a relative offset angle [in the embodiment in which there exist multiple optical fibers, it follows that they would be inherently separated by some spatial distance, corresponding to relative offset angle; the waveguides transmitting light to scanner 302 (or scanner 120) via collimator 340 which produces a free space optical beam 312 that includes the optical pulses (from waveguides 320) to ward a common point on the scanner 302] . It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the embodiments disclosed the prior art (namely those of fig. 1 and fig. 9, as well as the additional adaptations from 0126 as described above) with a reasonable expectation of success because the prior art discloses the embodiments as usable together for the purpose of adapting the lidar system to a desired application, function, or use. Note: Regarding claim 15, wherein the claimed channels correspond to the optical fibers of the rejection above. 2: Eichenholz teaches the movable mirror is a two-dimensional (2D) micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS) mirror [0085 teaches a mems scanner ] . 3: Eichenholz teaches a first lidar channel, the first lidar channel comprises a first transmitter and a first receiver, wherein the first waveguide is configured to guide the first beam from the first transmitter towards the common point on the moveable mirror and to guide a first return beam from the movable mirror to the first receiver; and a second lidar channel, the second lidar channel comprises a second transmitter and a second receiver, wherein the second waveguide is configured to guide the second beam from the second transmitter towards the common point on the movable mirror and to guide a second return beam from the movable mirror to the second receiver [0149 teaches light source 110 as having multiple laser diodes; 0040 teaches receiver 140 including SPAD detectors; 0050 teaches multiple lidar sensors, each including a respective scanner and a receiver; wherein the c laimed channels correspond to the optical fibers of the rejection of claim 1] . 4: Eichenholz teaches a signal processor, the signal processor is configured to: receive a first electrical signal from the first receiver based on the first return beam and a second electrical signal from the second receiver based on the second return beam; and derive distance data to one or more targets based on at least the first electrical signal and the second electrical signal [0046] . 5 : Eichenholz teaches the first waveguide and the second waveguide are formed of one or more of silicon (Si), silicon dioxide (SiO2), silicon nitride (Si3N4), gallium arsenide (GaAs), indium phosphide (InP), or lithium nitrate (LiNO3) [0127, 0152, 0154 teach optical fiber compositions] . 6: Eichenholz does not explicitly teach that the relative offset angle is fixed, but it does not teach that the relative offset angle is variable, either. The disclosure teaches the use of optical fibers to connect a laser source to a scanner, so while it is silent as to additional details of the spatial nature of the fibers, it follows that a person of ordinary skill in the art would find obvious the use of a fixed angle for the purpose of more precisely controlling light transmission, correlating the entrance and then subsequent exit of light from each fiber, and/or for ensuring measurement and transmission accuracy. 7: Eichenholz teaches a single laser source, the single laser source is configured to generate an optical input; and a splitter, the splitter is configured to split the optical input such that the first beam is inputted to the first waveguide and the second beam is inputted to the second waveguide [0069 teaches that beam splitters may be included to condition, shape, filter, modify, steer, or direct output beam 125; light source 110 as a single laser source in 0036] . 8: Eichenholz does not explicitly teach the numerical value of the relative offset angle, but does teach that multiple optical fibers are employed along a specific light transmission route, from source to scanner. Thus, it would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to employ a 0-30 degree relative offset angle, since it has been held that where the general conditions of a claim are disclosed in the prior art, discovering the optimum or workable ranges involve only routine skill in the art. In re Aller, 105 USPQ 233. 9: Eichenholz teaches the first waveguide terminates with a first structural component to couple the first beam to free space and the second waveguide terminates with a second structural component to couple the second beam to the free space [at least 0127; wherein an optical fiber to free space transition must inherently include a structural transition component] . 10: Eichenholz does not explicitly teaches the type of first structural component compris ing one of an edge coupler, a taper, or a grating coupler , but the disclosure does teach optical fiber to free space beam transition, and a person of ordinary skill in the art would find obvious the need or desire to use such structural transition component as an edge couple, taper, or grating coupler are known in the art as providing such a transition. 11: Eichenholz teaches the first waveguide and the second waveguide are oriented on the photonic integrated circuit at the relative offset angle [0126, 0182] . 12 , 14, 16, 18 mutatis mutandis : Eichenholz does not explicitly teach in which direction the relative offset angle occurs, e.g. elevation or azimuth, however, fig. 9 and 0126-0127 teach a plurality of optical fibers which inherently must be arranged in such a way that creates some spatial relationship between or among them, particularly since the multiple optical fibers are employed along a specific light transmission route, from source to scanner . Thus, it would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to employ one or more of a variety of optical fiber arrangements, e.g. with respect to elevation or azimuth angles, since the type of angle would not materially affect that the transmission of light from source to scanner, but a desired angular relationship may be desirable such as to accommodate multiple optical fibers within a confined or specific space, etc. 13 , 17 mutatis mutandis: Eichenholz teaches a tilt of the movable mirror in the elevation direction is limited relative to a maximum tilt in the elevation direction [0071 teaches scanner tilt and movement along one or more axes , and wherein a maximum mechanical range would be inherent to any movable component ] . 19: Eichenholz teaches a tilt of the movable mirror in the azimuthal direction is limited relative to a maximum tilt in the azimuthal direction [ 0071 teaches scanner tilt and movement along one or more axes, and wherein a maximum mechanical range would be inherent to any movable component ] . 20: Eichenholz teaches a method performed by a multiple beam, single mirror lidar system, comprising: outputting beams from a plurality of transmitters [0149 teaches light source 110 as having multiple laser diodes] , the beams being directed at a common point on a movable mirror and oriented at differing angles relative to each other [ 0126 sets forth that laser 300 of fig. 9 may include, may be part of, may be similar to, or may be substantially the same as the light source 110 of fig. 1; laser sensor link 320 may include any suitable number of optical links, wherein an optical link 330 may include optical fiber, which may further be single or multi mode; thus, in an embodiment , there are multiple optical fibers (indicated by 330), transmitting light from laser 300 to scanner 302 (or from light source 110 to scanner 120 ; in this multi-optical fiber embodiment, it follows that they would be inherently separated by some spatial distance, corresponding to relative offset angle; the waveguides transmitting light to scanner 302 (or scanner 120) via collimator 340 which produces a free space optical beam 312 that includes the optical pulses (from waveguides 320) toward a common point on the scanner 302 )]; actuating the movable mirror in two axes to scan the beams over a field of view in an environment [ 0071 teaches scanner movement along one or more axes ] ; collecting return beams from the environment responsive to the beams [fig. 1, receiver 140] ; and generating a point cloud of data based on the return beams as collected [0074 teaches generating a point cloud of a field of regard from return beams ] . It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the embodiments disclosed the prior art (namely those of fig. 1 and fig. 9, as well as the additional adaptations from 0126 as described above) with a reasonable expectation of success because the prior art discloses the embodiments as usable together for the purpose of adapting the lidar system to a desired application, function, or use. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to FILLIN "Examiner name" \* MERGEFORMAT Samantha K. Nickerson whose telephone number is FILLIN "Phone number" \* MERGEFORMAT (571)270-1037 . The examiner can normally be reached FILLIN "Work Schedule?" \* MERGEFORMAT Generally Monday-Tuesday, 7:00AM-3:00PM CT . 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, FILLIN "SPE Name?" \* MERGEFORMAT Isam Alsomiri can be reached at FILLIN "SPE Phone?" \* MERGEFORMAT (571)272-6970 . 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. FILLIN "Examiner Stamp" \* MERGEFORMAT SAMANTHA K. NICKERSON Primary Examiner Art Unit 3645 /SAMANTHA K NICKERSON/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3645