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 .
Claims 1, 4, 14 have been amended as per Applicant’s amendment filed on September 11, 2026. Claims 2, 3, 8, 9, 12, and 18 have been canceled. Claim 21 is newly added. Claims 1, 4-7, 10, 11, 13-17, and 19-21 are pending.
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on September 11, 2026 has been entered.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim 21 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Bloehbaum (EP 2589981 A1, Published May 8, 2013 – translation attached).
As to claim 21, Bloehbaum discloses an illumination source adapted to generate a regular illumination pattern integrated into a portable device, the illumination source comprising:
c. an array of semiconductor laser light sources (Bloehbaum at Fig. 3, VCSEL array 140; Page 5 discloses “The Fig. 3 shows the generation of the same dot pattern, here however by means of a VCSEL array 140, a pinhole 148 and a microlens array 150.”) ;
d. a diffractive optical element (Bloehbaum at Fig. 3, microlens array 150); and
e. a diaphragm for varying a size of the regular illumination pattern (Bloehbaum at Fig. 3, pinhole 148; Page 5 discloses “Fig. 2 shows an embodiment in which the light is generated by an LED 40, which is parallelized by a condenser lens 42. Via a first microlens array 44, the light is separated into individual light beams 46, which pass through an apertured diaphragm 48 and are finally directed into the viewing region 14 via a second microlens array 50.” Page 5 discloses “In a further embodiment of the invention, for example, instead of the pinhole 148 from Fig. 3 a programmable LCD unit may be provided. With this programmable LCD unit, the structure of the illumination pattern, ie the dot pattern, can be specifically influenced via a controlled variable.”).
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.
Claims 1, 4-7, 10, 11are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as obvious over Braune (US 2003/0075675 A1, Published April 24, 2003) in view of Romano (US 2016/0286202 A1, Published September 29, 2016) and Donovan (US 2017/0307736 A1, Filed on March 13, 2017).
As to claim 1, Braune discloses an illumination source adapted to generate a regular illumination pattern (Braune at Fig. 2; ¶ [0036] discloses “In this connection, the respectively associated diffractive optical element 39 or 41 has the effect that the transmitted light is structured in accordance with a light pattern.” ¶ [0013], [0038]) integrated into a portable device (Braune at Fig. 1, optoelectronic sensor 33; ¶ [0034]-[0035]. In the event that it is found that Braune does not disclose the device is portable, then MPEP 2144.04(V) establishes that making portable is obvious)…
the illumination source comprising a. an array of… laser light sources (Braune at Fig. 1, optoelectronic sensor 33 including transmission devices 35, 37; ¶ [0034] discloses “The transmission devices 35, 37 are formed, for example, by laser diodes.”) and
b. a diffractive optical element (Braune at Fig. 1, diffractive optical element 39, 41; ¶ [0034] discloses “The optoelectronic sensor 33 shown in FIG. 1 has two transmission devices 35, 37, with which a respective diffractive optical element 39 or 41 respectively is associated as an optical transmission system.”).
Braune does not disclose the illumination source are semiconductor laser light sources.
Braune does not disclose that the portable device is a mobile phone or tablet computer.
However, Romano does disclose the illumination source are semiconductor laser light sources (Romano at Figs. 1, 6, in particular, VCSEL array 10, 60; ¶ [0079], [0086]).
Romano also discloses that the portable device is a mobile phone or tablet computer (Romano at ¶ [0014], [0072], [0095] discloses “The structured pattern based tracking arrangement may be incorporated into a computer, including a laptop computer, or a tablet or pod device or a mobile communication device such as a mobile telephone, or a game console, or a movement capture device, such as the kind of device used by animators to capture movements by actors, or any kind of device where tracking in three dimensions may provide a useful input”)
Braune discloses a base Illumination device upon which the claimed invention is an improvement. Romano discloses a comparable illumination device which has been improved in the same way as the claimed invention. Hence, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to modify or add to Braune the teachings of Romano for the predictable result of modulating lasers individually or in groups statically or dynamically to provide and alter a structured light pattern as needed (Romano at ¶ [0017]).
The combination does not disclose that the regular illumination pattern generated by the illumination source is a regular point cloud.
However, Donovan does disclose that the regular illumination pattern generated by the illumination source is a regular point cloud (Donovan at Figs. 13-15 ¶ [0116]-[0119]).
The combination of Braune and Romano discloses a base illumination device upon which the claimed invention is an improvement. Donovan discloses a comparable illumination device which has been improved in the same way as the claimed invention. Hence, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to modify or add to the combination of Braune and Romano the teachings of Donovan for the predictable result of providing multi-wavelength operation (Donovan at ¶ [0124])
As to claim 4, the combination of Braun, Romano, and Donovan discloses the illumination source according to claim 3, wherein the illumination source generates light with a wavelength of 780 nm to 3.0 micrometers (Braune at ¶ [0011]).
As to claim 5, the combination of Braun, Romano, and Donovan discloses the illumination source according to claim 1, wherein the illumination source generates at least one monochromatic light beam (Braune at ¶ [0036]).
As to claim 6, the combination of Braun, Romano, and Donovan discloses the illumination source according to claim 1, wherein the illumination source generates light with a wavelength of 940 nm (Braune at ¶ [0011]).
As to claim 10, the combination of Braun, Romano, and Donovan discloses the illumination source according to claim 1, wherein the array of semiconductor laser light sources are arranged behind the diffractive optical element (Braune at Fig. 1).1
As to claim 11, the combination of Braun, Romano, and Donovan discloses the illumination source according to claim 10, wherein the illumination source generates light with a wavelength of 940 nm (Braune ¶ [0010]. Examiner takes an official notice that near infrared light is well-known in the art).
Claims 7 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Braune, Romano, and Donovan as applied to claim 1 above, and in further view of Hudman (US 2015/0097947 A1, Published April 9, 2015).
As to claim 7, the combination of Braun, Romano, and Donovan discloses the illumination source according to claim 1.
Braune does not disclose that the illumination source generates a collimated light beam.
However, Hudman does disclose that the illumination source generates a collimated light beam (Hudman at Figs. 7-9, in particular; ¶ [0008] discloses “In accordance with an embodiment, the illumination module includes a VCSEL array, and first and second DOEs. The first DOE collimates each beam of light output by each of the plurality of VCSELs of the VCSEL array. The second DOE receives the collimated beams produced by the first DOE and outputs the structured light.” ¶ [0083]).
The combination of Braun, Romano, and Donovan discloses a base Illumination device upon which the claimed invention is an improvement. Hudman discloses a comparable illumination device which has been improved in the same way as the claimed invention. Hence, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to modify or add to the combination of Braun, Romano, and Donovan the teachings of Hudman for the predictable result of outputting structured light that illuminates a capture area (Hudman at ¶ [0003]-[0004]).
Claims 13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Braun, Romano, and Donovan as applied to claim 1 above, and in further view of Niclass (US 2017/0176579 A1, filed December 8, 2016).
As to claim 13, the combination of Braun, Romano, and Donovan discloses the illumination source according to claim 1.
The combination does not expressly disclose that the illumination source is adapted to generate pulsed illumination.
However, Niclass does disclose that the illumination source is adapted to generate pulsed illumination (Niclass at Figs. 10-11; ¶ [0038], [0074]).
The combination of Braun, Romano, and Donovan discloses a base Illumination device upon which the claimed invention is an improvement. Niclass discloses a comparable illumination device which has been improved in the same way as the claimed invention. Hence, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to modify or add to the combination of Braun, Romano, and Donovan the teachings of Niclass for the predictable result of measuring scene depths over a wide range of FoVs and distances while keeping the optical design and construction simple (Niclass at ¶ [0043]).
Claims 14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as obvious over Braune (US 2003/0075675 A1, Published April 24, 2003) in view of Romano (US 2016/0286202 A1, Published September 29, 2016) and Send (US 2017/0074652 A1, Published as WO 2015162528 on October 29, 2015).
As to claim 14, Braune discloses a detector comprising
a. an illumination source adapted to generate a regular pattern comprising an array of… laser light sources (Braune at Figs. 1-2, transmission devices 35, 37; ¶ [0013], [0034], [0036], [0038])) and
a diffractive optical element (Braune at Fig. 1, diffractive optical element 39, 41; ¶ [0034]),
b. an array of optical sensors, wherein each optical sensor is configured to generate a sensor signal in response to an illumination of its respective light-sensitive area (Braune at Fig. 1, reception device 45; ¶ [0035] discloses “The sensor 33 further has, separated from the transmission devices 35, 37 by a partition wall 43, a reception device 45 which is formed, for example, by a CCD camera.” In the event that it is found that a CCD device is not an array, then Examiner takes an official notice that CMOS image sensors are well-known in the art to be composed of an array of sensors. Hence, it would be obvious to a person of ordinary skill to simply substitute the CMOS image sensor for the CCD sensor with the known and predictable result of detecting light)…
c. an evaluation device adapted to evaluate the sensor signal (Braune at Fig. 1, control and evaluation device 47; ¶ [0040]),
that the illumination source is off-axis relative to an optical axis of the array of optical sensors (Braune at Figs. 1, 3, transmission device 35, 37 optical axis is offset to optical axis of control and evaluation device 47. Additionally, MPEP 2144.04(IV & VI) establish changes in configuration and rearrangement of parts are obvious).
Braune does not disclose the illumination source are semiconductor laser light sources.
However, Romano does disclose the illumination source are semiconductor laser light sources (Romano at Figs. 1, 6, in particular, VCSEL array 10, 60; ¶ [0079], [0086]).
Braune discloses a base Illumination device upon which the claimed invention is an improvement. Romano discloses a comparable illumination device which has been improved in the same way as the claimed invention. Hence, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to modify or add to Braune the teachings of Romano for the predictable result of modulating lasers individually or in groups statically or dynamically to provide and alter a structured light pattern as needed (Romano at ¶ [0017]).
The combination does not expressly disclose that the distance between the illumination source and the array of optical sensors is less than 0.025 meters.
However, Send does contemplate that the distance between the illumination source and the array of optical sensors is less than 0.025 meters (Send at Fig. 5; ¶ [0152], [0174] discloses “The illumination source can be integrated in particular into the detector, for example a housing of the detector.” MPEP 2144.05(II) establishes that optimization of ranges is obvious).
The combination of Braun and Romano discloses a base optical depth detecting device upon which the claimed invention is an improvement. Send discloses a comparable optical depth detecting device (Valouch at ¶ [0001], [0010]) which has been improved in the same way as the claimed invention. Hence, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to modify or add to the combination of Braun and Romano the teachings of Send for the predictable result of optically detecting a position (Send at ¶ [0022]).
Claims 15, 16, 19, 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Braune, Romano, and Send as applied to claim 14 above, and in further view of f Valouch (US 2018/0136319 A1, Published as WO 2016/169871 on October 27, 2016).
As to claim 15, the combination of Braune, Romano, and Send discloses the detector according to claim 14.
Braune does not disclose that the evaluation device is configured to determine at least one longitudinal coordinate from the sensor signal.
However, Valouch does disclose that the evaluation device is configured to determine at least one longitudinal coordinate from the sensor signal (Valouch at ¶ [0035], [0134], [0150])
The combination of Braune, Romano, and Send discloses a base optical depth detecting device upon which the claimed invention is an improvement. Valouch discloses a comparable optical depth detecting device (Valouch at ¶ [0001], [0010]) which has been improved in the same way as the claimed invention. Hence, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to modify or add to the combination of Braune, Romano, and Send the teachings of Valouch for the predictable result of providing an improved spatial detector (Valouch at ¶ [0007]).
As to claim 16, the combination of Braune, Romano, and Send discloses the detector according to claim 15.
Braune does not disclose that the longitudinal coordinate is determined from a quotient signal obtained by dividing two or more sensor signals.
However, Valouch does disclose that the longitudinal coordinate is determined from a quotient signal obtained by dividing two or more sensor signals (Valouch at ¶ [0035], [0134], [0150]).
The combination of Braune, Romano, and Send discloses a base optical depth detecting device upon which the claimed invention is an improvement. Valouch discloses a comparable optical depth detecting device (Valouch at ¶ [0001], [0010]) which has been improved in the same way as the claimed invention. Hence, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to modify or add to the combination of Braune, Romano, and Send the teachings of Valouch for the predictable result of providing an improved spatial detector (Valouch at ¶ [0007]).
As to claim 19, the combination of Braune, Romano, and Send discloses the detector according to claim 14.
Braune does not expressly disclose that the detector is applied in a security application.
However, Valouch does disclose that the detector is applied in a security application (Valouch at ¶ [0127]).
The combination of Braune, Romano, and Send discloses a base optical depth detecting device upon which the claimed invention is an improvement. Valouch discloses a comparable optical depth detecting device (Valouch at ¶ [0001], [0010]) which has been improved in the same way as the claimed invention. Hence, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to modify or add to the combination of Braune, Romano, and Send the teachings of Valouch for the predictable result of providing an improved spatial detector (Valouch at ¶ [0007]).
As to claim 20, the combination of Braune, Romano, and Send discloses the detector according to claim 14.
Braune does not disclose that the detector is used to control a mobile phone.
However, Valouch does disclose that the detector is used to control a mobile phone (Valouch at ¶ [0130]).
The combination of Braune, Romano, and Send discloses a base optical depth detecting device upon which the claimed invention is an improvement. Valouch discloses a comparable optical depth detecting device (Valouch at ¶ [0001], [0010]) which has been improved in the same way as the claimed invention. Hence, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to modify or add to the combination of Braune, Romano, and Send the teachings of Valouch for the predictable result of providing an improved spatial detector (Valouch at ¶ [0007]).
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claims 1-7, 10, 11, 13-17, 19-21 have been considered but they are believed to be addressed above, and therefore, moot in view of the new grounds of rejection.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Sanjiv D Patel whose telephone number is (571)270-5731. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday, 9:00 am - 5:00 pm.
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/Sanjiv D. Patel/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2625
09/20/2026
1 See also Hudman at Figs. 7B, 8, in particular; ¶ [0083].
Prosecution Insights