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
Claims 1-2, and 5-7 are objected to because of the following informalities:
Claim 1, line 13, "receiving element emits light" should likely read "emitting element emits light"
Claim 2, line 6, "light receiving element emits light" should likely read "light emitting element emits light"
Claim 5, line 14, "light receiving element emits light" should likely read "light emitting element emits light"
Claim 6 , line 16, "receiving element emits light" should likely read "emitting element emits light"
Claim 7, line 15, "receiving element emits light" should likely read "emitting element emits light"
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
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.
Claims 1 and 5-7 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Iguchi et al. (United States Patent Application Publication 20220308212 - claiming foreign priority to JP 2021051645 A), hereinafter Iguchi.
Regarding claim 1, Iguchi teaches a light receiving device, comprising: a light receiving unit including a first light receiving element that receives light emitted by a first light emitting element and a second light receiving element that receives light emitted by a second light emitting element that is disposed adjacent to the first light emitting element and shares an anode terminal or a cathode terminal with the first light emitting element ([0091] In step S108, VCSELs belonging to second light-emitting partition 24 other than the first light-emitting partitions 24 are caused to emit light, received light amounts of light-receiving elements belonging to the light-receiving partition 26 corresponding to the second light-emitting partition 24 that emits light are acquired from the 3D sensor 5, [0065] As described above, the light source 20 is configured by connecting the plural VCSELs in parallel. The anode electrode 218 of the VCSEL (see FIG. 3, referred to as [A] in FIG. 5) is connected to the power supply line 83.); and
a controller that controls the first light receiving element and the second light receiving element to cause the first light receiving element and the second light receiving element to receive light when the first light receiving element emits light ([0101] FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing a flow of a measurement processing executed by the control unit 8 of the measurement apparatus 1 according to the present exemplary embodiment; [Fig. 11]).
Regarding claim 5, Iguchi teaches the light receiving device according to claim 1, wherein the light receiving unit includes a third light receiving element that is disposed adjacent to the first light emitting element sharing an anode terminal or a cathode terminal with the first light emitting element and that receives light emitted by a third light emitting element ([0091] In step S108, VCSELs belonging to second light-emitting partition 24 other than the first light-emitting partitions 24 are caused to emit light, received light amounts of light-receiving elements belonging to the light-receiving partition 26 corresponding to the second light-emitting partition 24 that emits light are acquired from the 3D sensor 5, [0065] As described above, the light source 20 is configured by connecting the plural VCSELs in parallel. The anode electrode 218 of the VCSEL (see FIG. 3, referred to as [A] in FIG. 5) is connected to the power supply line 83; [0058] In an example of FIG. 4, as indicated by broken lines, the light source 20 is partitioned into 12 (4×3) light-emitting partitions 24 11 to 24 34, but the number of light-emitting partitions is not limited thereto.), and
the controller controls the first light receiving element, the second light receiving element, and the third light receiving element to cause the first light receiving element, the second light receiving element, and the third light receiving element to receive light when the first light receiving element emits light ([0101] FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing a flow of a measurement processing executed by the control unit 8 of the measurement apparatus 1 according to the present exemplary embodiment; [Fig. 11]).
Regarding claim 6, Iguchi teaches a distance measuring device, comprising: a light emitting unit including a first light emitting element, and a second light emitting element that is disposed adjacent to the first light emitting element sharing an anode terminal or a cathode terminal with the first light emitting element ([0091] In step S108, VCSELs belonging to second light-emitting partition 24 other than the first light-emitting partitions 24 are caused to emit light, received light amounts of light-receiving elements belonging to the light-receiving partition 26 corresponding to the second light-emitting partition 24 that emits light are acquired from the 3D sensor 5, [0065] As described above, the light source 20 is configured by connecting the plural VCSELs in parallel. The anode electrode 218 of the VCSEL (see FIG. 3, referred to as [A] in FIG. 5) is connected to the power supply line 83.);
a light receiving unit including a first light receiving element that receives light emitted by the first light emitting element and a second light receiving element that receives light emitted by the second light emitting element ([Fig. 6]; [0082] In the present exemplary embodiment, as shown in FIG. 6, the 3D sensor 5 is partitioned into plural light-receiving partitions 26. The light-receiving partition 26 includes one or more light-receiving elements PD); and
a controller that controls the first light receiving element and the second light receiving element to cause the first light receiving element and the second light receiving element to receive light when the first light receiving element emits light ([0101] FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing a flow of a measurement processing executed by the control unit 8 of the measurement apparatus 1 according to the present exemplary embodiment; [Fig. 11]).
Regarding claim 7, Iguchi teaches a method for controlling a light receiving device including: a light receiving unit including a first light receiving element that receives light emitted by a first light emitting element and a second light receiving element that receives light emitted by a second light emitting element that is disposed adjacent to the first light emitting element and shares an anode terminal or a cathode terminal with the first light emitting element; and a controller that controls the light receiving unit ([0091] In step S108, VCSELs belonging to second light-emitting partition 24 other than the first light-emitting partitions 24 are caused to emit light, received light amounts of light-receiving elements belonging to the light-receiving partition 26 corresponding to the second light-emitting partition 24 that emits light are acquired from the 3D sensor 5, [0065] As described above, the light source 20 is configured by connecting the plural VCSELs in parallel. The anode electrode 218 of the VCSEL (see FIG. 3, referred to as [A] in FIG. 5) is connected to the power supply line 83.), the method comprising
controlling, by the controller, the first light receiving element and the second light receiving element to cause the first light receiving element and the second light receiving element to receive light when the first light receiving element emits light ([0101] FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing a flow of a measurement processing executed by the control unit 8 of the measurement apparatus 1 according to the present exemplary embodiment; [Fig. 11]).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
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 2 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Iguchi in view of Ning et al (United States Patent Application Publication 20190277944 A1), hereinafter Ning.
Regarding claim 2, Iguchi, teaches the light receiving device according to claim 1,
Iguchi fails to teach the device comprising a determination unit that determines that a light emitting unit including the first light emitting element and the second light emitting element is abnormal in a case where the second light receiving element detects light when the first light receiving element emits light.
However, Ning teaches the device comprising a determination unit that determines that a light emitting unit including the first light emitting element and the second light emitting element is abnormal in a case where the second light receiving element detects light when the first light receiving element emits light ([0057] On the other hand, if it is determined in S23 that the distance RA (TA) does not match with the distance RA (TB) (“NO” in S23), the detection portion 32 determines that the abnormality occurs in at least any one of the light projecting portion 21 of the first light projector/receiver 20A and the light projecting portion 21 of the second light projector/receiver 20B; [Fig. 1]; [Fig. 6]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of this invention to modify the invention of Iguchi to comprise the abnormal signal detection similar to Ning, with a reasonable expectation of success. This would have the predictable result of detecting errors based on incorrect signal transmission for calibration and correction purposes.
Claims 3-4 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Iguchi in view of Ning, further in view of Tan et al. (United States Patent Application Publication 20070181810 A1), hereinafter Tan
Regarding claim 3, Iguchi, as modified, teaches the light receiving device according to claim 2,
Iguchi fails to teach the device wherein the light receiving device is installed on a mobile body.
However, Tan teaches the device wherein the light receiving device is installed on a mobile body ([0016] FIG. 1 illustrates a laser and optics system 100, in accordance with the invention, for use in lidar systems and particularly vehicle based lidar systems).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of this invention to modify the invention of Iguchi, as modified by Ning, to comprise the mobile body attachment similar to Tan, with a reasonable expectation of success. This would have the predictable result of using the device in a known configuration to assist in autonomous vehicle operations.
Regarding claim 4, Iguchi, as modified, teaches the light receiving device according to claim 3,
Iguchi fails to teach the device wherein when the determination unit determines that the light emitting unit is abnormal while the mobile body is traveling in an automatic driving, the controller performs control to switch the automatic driving to a manual driving or stop the mobile body.
However, Tan teaches the device wherein when the determination unit determines that the light emitting unit is abnormal while the mobile body is traveling in an automatic driving, the controller performs control to switch the automatic driving to a manual driving or stop the mobile body ([0026] That information is passed to vehicle control and safety systems 350, which uses the information in automatic or semi-automatic safety systems (e.g., automatic emergency braking, headlight control, horn control, ACC, etc.) and/or provides information to the vehicle operator via one or more human interfaces (351-359)).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of this invention to modify the invention of Iguchi, as modified by Ning, to comprise autonomous vehicle operation control similar to Tan, with a reasonable expectation of success. This would have the predictable result of using the known device configuration on an autonomous vehicle and using the detected signal to aid in vehicle operation and collision prevention.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ROBERT WILLIAM VASQUEZ JR whose telephone number is (571)272-3745. The examiner can normally be reached Monday thru Thursday, Flex Friday, 8:00-5:00 PST.
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/ROBERT W VASQUEZ/Examiner, Art Unit 3645
/HELAL A ALGAHAIM/SPE , Art Unit 3645
Prosecution Insights