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
Applicant’s election of Group I (Claims 1-13) in the reply filed on 27 May 2026 is acknowledged. Because applicant did not distinctly and specifically point out the supposed errors in the restriction requirement, the election has been treated as an election without traverse (MPEP § 818.01(a)).
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Information Disclosure Statement
This office acknowledges receipt of the following item(s) from the applicant:
Information Disclosure Statement(s) (IDS) filed on 30 September 2025. The references have been considered.
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) 1-13 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kim et al. (Kim, US PGPub 2015/0109603) in view of Nagmune (US PGPub 2012/0212619).
Referring to Claim 1, Kim teaches a reference device configured to radiate a reference signal to an object located in a pre-defined region, to receive a reference reflection signal reflected from the object, and to process the reference reflection signal to generate reference data including three-dimensional information and a reference amplitude value of the object; a first device configured to radiate a first signal with a first wavelength to the object, to receive a first reflection signal reflected from the object, and to process the first reflection signal to generate first data; a second device configured to radiate a second signal with a second wavelength to the object, to receive a second reflection signal reflected from the object, and to process the second reflection signal to generate second data; a signal mapper configured to map the first data and the second data based on the reference data and to generate mapping data; and at least one processor configured to post-process the mapping data and to obtain three-dimensional information of the object and characteristic information of the object; See Fig. 1, 2 and 6 and [0041-0056] as well as [0081-0086], but does not explicitly disclose nor limit the generated data including two-dimensional information and amplitude value of the object.
However, Nagmune teaches generating data including two-dimensional information and amplitude value of the object; [0273-0277].
Therefore it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify Kim with the two-dimensional measuring as taught by Nagmune as it provides aid in provide images as natural as possible in non-optimal conditions and applying a known technique to a known device (method, or product) ready for improvement to yield predictable results is well known in the art.
Referring to Claim 2, Kim as modified by Nagmune teaches wherein the first wavelength and the second wavelength are independent of each other, and wherein at least one of the first signal and the second signal is a short wavelength infrared signal; [0078] of Kim.
Referring to Claim 3, Kim as modified by Nagmune teaches wherein the characteristic information includes physical characteristic information and chemical characteristic information of the object; [0096] of Kim.
Referring to Claim 4, Kim as modified by Nagmune teaches wherein the characteristic information is obtained based on an absorption characteristic that the first signal is absorbed by a substance and an absorption characteristic that the second signal is absorbed by the substance; [0011] and Fig. 3 and associated text of Kim.
Referring to Claim 5, Kim as modified by Nagmune teaches wherein the reference device performs at least one of a depth calculation operation, a data calibration operation, and an error correction operation to obtain the reference three-dimensional information; [0025] of Kim.
Referring to Claim 6, Kim as modified by Nagmune teaches wherein the reference signal, the first signal, and the second signal are pulse-shaped signals with independent wavelengths and are radiated to be distributed into independent time bands; [0055] and [0078] of Kim.
Referring to Claim 7, Kim as modified by Nagmune teaches wherein the reference device includes a reference transmitter configured to radiate the reference device, and wherein the reference transmitter is implemented with at least one of a radar, an ultrasonic device, a laser, and a LiDAR; see abstract of Kim.
Referring to Claim 8, Kim as modified by Nagmune teaches wherein the first device includes a first transmitter configured to radiate the first signal, wherein the second device includes a second transmitter configured to radiate the second signal, and wherein each of the first transmitter and the second transmitter is implemented with at least one of a laser and an LED; [0006] of Kim.
Referring to Claim 9, Kim as modified by Nagmune teaches wherein the first device further includes a first receiver configured to receive the first reflection signal, wherein the second device further includes a second receiver configured to receive the second reflection signal, and wherein each of the first receiver and the second receiver is implemented with at least one of a light detector array and an image sensor; [0007] and [0012] of Kim.
Referring to Claim 10, Kim as modified by Nagmune teaches wherein each of the reference device, the first device, and the second device further includes a filter configured to block a signal of any other wavelength band other than a radiation signal band; [0052] of Kim.
Referring to Claim 11, Kim as modified by Nagmune teaches a receiver including a filter configured to block a signal of any other wavelength band other than a radiation signal band of each of the reference device, the first device, and the second device, wherein the reference reflection signal, the first reflection signal, and the second reflection signal are received through the receiver; [0052] of Kim.
Referring to Claim 12, Kim as modified by Nagmune teaches a third device configured to radiate a third signal with a third wavelength to the object, to receive a third reflection signal reflected from the object, and to process the third reflection signal to output third data including third two-dimensional information and a third amplitude value of the object, wherein the first wavelength, the second wavelength, and the third wavelength are independent of each other, and wherein the signal mapper maps the first data, the second data, and the third data based on the reference data and generates the mapping data; a third device would be mere duplication of parts which has been found my the courts to be acceptable legal rationale, as Kim and Nagmune both teach obvious modifications can be made, it would have been obvious to one ordinary skill in the art to incorporate a third device as the Applicant has not shown that this additional device would result in any critical changes to the invention; the court held that mere duplication of parts has no patentable significance unless a new and unexpected result is produced.
Referring to Claim 13, Kim as modified by Nagmune teaches wherein the at least one processor includes at least one of a neural processing unit (NPU), a neuromorphic processor (NP), and a graphic processing unit (GPU); these are all well known processors that would be commonly used in the art and obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to WHITNEY T MOORE whose telephone number is (571)270-3338. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday from 7am-4pm.
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/WHITNEY MOORE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3646
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