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 .
Information Disclosure Statement
Acknowledgement is hereby made of receipt of Information Disclosure Statement(s) filed by applicant. Due to the excessively lengthy Information Disclosure Statements submitted by applicant (including well over 500 entries to consider), the examiner has given only a cursory review of the listed references. In accordance with MPEP 609.04(a), applicant is encouraged to provide a concise explanation of why the information is being submitted and how it is understood to be relevant. Concise explanations (especially those which point out the relevant pages and lines) are helpful to the Office, particularly where documents are lengthy and complex and applicant is aware of a section that is highly relevant to patentability or where a large number of documents are submitted and applicant is aware that one or more are highly relevant to patentability. Applicant is required to comply with this statement for any non-English language documents. See 37 CFR § 1.56 Duty to Disclose Information Material to Patentability.
Claim Interpretation
This application includes one or more claim limitations that use the word “means” or “step” but are nonetheless not being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph because the claim limitation(s) recite(s) sufficient structure, materials, or acts to entirely perform the recited function. Such claim limitation(s) is/are: “a light source configured to produce…” and “a pulse steering system…configured to receive…and to direct” in claim 18.
Because this/these claim limitation(s) is/are not being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, it/they is/are not being interpreted to cover only the corresponding structure, material, or acts described in the specification as performing the claimed function, and equivalents thereof.
If applicant intends to have this/these limitation(s) interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, applicant may: (1) amend the claim limitation(s) to remove the structure, materials, or acts that performs the claimed function; or (2) present a sufficient showing that the claim limitation(s) does/do not recite sufficient structure, materials, or acts to perform the claimed function.
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) 18-29 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Villeneuve (US 2017/0155225).
18: Villeneuve teaches a light detection and ranging (LiDAR) system [0098] comprising:
a light source [0098 (seed laser 400)] configured to produce a first plurality of pulses including a first pulse and a second plurality of pulses including a second pulse, wherein the first plurality of pulses have a first wavelength and the second plurality of pulses have a second wavelength different than the first wavelength [0098 teaches N optical pulses having N different wavelengths; 0092 describes that the laser produces optical pulses at N different wavelengths, e.g. a repeating sequence of pulses at one of each of N wavelengths. Therefore, the first plurality of pulses would correspond to each of a plurality of pulses emitted at the first wavelength and the second plurality of pulses would correspond to each of a plurality of pulses emitted at the second wavelength.]; and
a pulse steering system having a dispersion optic [0091 (demultiplexer 410 performing wavelength splitting using a prism or diffraction grating] configured to receive along a receive path the first pulse and the second pulse from the light source and to direct the first pulse along a first scan path and the second pulse along a second scan path different than the first scan path [0091 teaches wavelength splitting among sensor heads; 0202 teaches performing a series of forward and reverse scans, wherein the forward and reverse scans may be in opposite directions and/or may trace paths that are adjacent to or displaced with respect to one another].
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 cited above, i.e. the tunable seed laser with demultiplexer and the different scanning patterns, with a reasonable expectation of success because the disclosure of Villeneuve teaches them as being complementary for the purpose of scanning different, specific areas of an environment while achieving a balance of high-performing and versatile sensing by combining the strengths of each wavelength and reducing their weaknesses.
19: Villeneuve teaches a rotatable polygon having a plurality of reflective sides [0058 (scanner 120 as polygonal scanner)].
20: Villeneuve teaches the rotatable polygon has an axis of rotation parallel to a direction of dispersion of the dispersion optic [0058 teaches scanner 120 is configured to rotate, tilt, pivot, or move in an angular manner about one or more axes].
21: Villeneuve teaches a scanning mirror [0058 teaches scanner 120 may include one or more scanning mirrors and as a galvanometer scanner].
22: Villeneuve teaches the scanning mirror is a mirror galvanometer [0058].
Regarding claims 19-22, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine each of the embodiments cited above with the embodiments cited in the rejection of claim 18, because Villeneuve discloses them as usable together.
23: Villeneuve teaches the dispersion optic is a prism or an optical grating [0091 (demultiplexer 410 performing wavelength splitting using a prism or diffraction grating].
24: Villeneuve teaches the light source includes a tunable seed laser [0098 (seed laser 400)].
25: Villeneuve teaches the light source includes a fiber configured to deliver the first plurality of light pulses and the second plurality of light pulses to the dispersion optic [0091].
26: Villeneuve teaches the light source is further configured to produce a third plurality of pulses, wherein the third plurality of pulses have a third wavelength different than the first wavelength and the second wavelength [0098 teaches N optical pulses having N different wavelengths; 0092 describes that the laser produces optical pulses at N different wavelengths, e.g. a repeating sequence of pulses at one of each of N wavelengths. Therefore, the third plurality of pulses would correspond to each of a plurality of pulses emitted at the third wavelength, different from the first and second wavelengths.].
27: Villeneuve teaches the light source is configured to provide light pulses of at least 50 different wavelengths [0091 teaches “any suitable number of different wavelengths”].
28: Villeneuve teaches the light source is configured to provide light pulses of at least 300 different wavelengths [0091 teaches “any suitable number of different wavelengths”].
Regarding claims 27 and 28: It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to utilize at least 50 or at least 300 different wavelengths, since 0091 of Villeneuve teaches that “any suitable number of different wavelengths” are usable within the system, and since it has been held that discovering an optimum value of a result effective variable involves only routine skill in the art. In re Boesch, 617 F.2d 272, 205 USPQ 215 (CCPA 1980).
29: Villeneuve teaches the light source is configured to provide light pulses having wavelengths that differ by less than 1 nm [0092 teaches wavelength separation of approximately 0.8 nm].
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Samantha K. Nickerson whose telephone number is (571)270-1037. The examiner can normally be reached 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, Isam Alsomiri can be reached at (571)272-6970. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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SAMANTHA K. NICKERSON
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 3645
/SAMANTHA K NICKERSON/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3645
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