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 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.
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim(s) below is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Borowski (20130300840).
Referring to claims 1 and 11, Borowski shows a system comprising:
one or more light sources of a light detection and ranging (LIDAR) device configured to emit one or more light beams (see figure 2 Ref 2001);
one or more detectors of the LIDAR device configured to receive a light beam emitted from a corresponding light source of the one or more light sources upon the light beam being reflected from an object in an environment of the LIDAR device (see figure 2 Ref 2014);
a transmit lens of the LIDAR device configured to focus light beams emitted by the one or more light sources of the LIDAR device (see figure 2 Ref 2009);
a receive lens of the LIDAR device configured to focus light beams reflected from objects in the environment of the LIDAR device onto the one or more detectors of the LIDAR device (see the receive lens 2012 in figure 2); and
an alignment apparatus (see figure 2 Ref 33) configured to:
adjust a position of at least one of the one or more light sources relative to the transmit lens or the receive lens by effecting a relative rotation between the at least one light source and the transmit lens or the receive lens in one of three rotational degrees of freedom (see figure 2 note the rotation of 33 that holds the receiving lens and note the relative rotation between the receive lens Ref 2012 and the laser Ref 2004); or
adjust a position of at least one of the one or more detectors relative to the transmit lens or the receive lens by effecting a relative rotation between the at least one detector and the transmit lens or the receive lens in one of three rotational degrees of freedom (see figure 2 note the adjustment of the detector as shown in figure 2 Ref 2014 relative to the transmit lens Ref 2009 through the rotation of Ref 33).
Referring to claims 2 and 12, Borowski a mounting platform, wherein the one or more light sources of the LIDAR device and the one or more detectors of the LIDAR device are mounted to the mounting platform (see figure 6 note the unreferenced frame that everything is mounted on also see paragraph 155).
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) 3 and 13 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Borowski (20130300840).
Referring to claims 3 and 13, Borowski shows a mounting platform (see figure 6 note the unreferenced platform that houses everything, note this is also discussed in paragraph 155) however Borowski fails to specifically show what the material the mounting platform comprises. Borowski does specifically show the mounting platform includes part of a motor shaft (as shown in paragraph 155) and it is well known that motor shafts are metal.
Claim(s) 4 and 14 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Borowski (20130300840) in view of Pennecot (8836922).
Referring to claims 4 and 14, While Borowski fails to show but Pennecot shows the one or more light sources of the LIDAR device and the one or more detectors of the LIDAR device are removably mounted to the mounting platform (see column 14 lines 25-30). It would have been obvious to include the removably mounted detector because this allows for ease of replacement of a defective or damaged detector.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 5-10 and 15-20 objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to LUKE D RATCLIFFE whose telephone number is (571)272-3110. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9:00AM-5:00PM EST.
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/LUKE D RATCLIFFE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3645
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