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 Status
Applicant's preliminary amendments filed on 1/12/24 have been entered.
Drawings
The drawings are objected to as failing to comply with 37 CFR 1.84(p)(5) because they do not include the following reference sign(s) mentioned in the description: sample of interest 16 (sample of interest 16 appears to be described in relation to Fig. 2).
The drawings are objected to because the specification mentions that “channels (the two channels are separated by the dashed line)” (specification page 22 line 10), but it is unclear where the dashed line(s) is/are in Figure 3E.
The drawings are objected to because it is difficult to differentiate between the two channels in Figure 3E because the patterns appear to be very similar and the patterns are difficult to see and to distinguish based on the legend and in the figure.
The drawings are objected to under 37 CFR 1.83(a). The drawings must show every feature of the invention specified in the claims. Therefore, the configuration of claim 2 (inserting a signal generator into a sample arm of the interferometer) and the configuration of claim 3 (inserting a signal generator immediately downstream of the laser source) must be shown or the feature(s) canceled from the claim(s). No new matter should be entered.
Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. The figure or figure number of an amended drawing should not be labeled as “amended.” If a drawing figure is to be canceled, the appropriate figure must be removed from the replacement sheet, and where necessary, the remaining figures must be renumbered and appropriate changes made to the brief description of the several views of the drawings for consistency. Additional replacement sheets may be necessary to show the renumbering of the remaining figures. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
Specification
The disclosure is objected to because of the following informalities: in specification page 22 line 13, the phrase “thus extending the maximum ambiguous range” appears to have an editorial error and it appears that it should be corrected per the following in order to be consistent with the disclosure as a whole: thus extending the maximum [[ambiguous]]-- unambiguous-- range.
Appropriate correction is required.
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(s) 1, 4-5, and 11 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Tsai US11294040 in view of Boloorian US20200142065.
Regarding independent claim 1, Tsai discloses, in Figures 1-8,
A method (Tsai; Fig. 1-8; lidar system 100) for determining axial resolution or depth in an optical imaging system configured for imaging an object having one or more surfaces (Tsai; Fig. 8A; col. 14:11-12 “determining an object’s distance”; col. 14:53-54 “the distance to the object to be measured is calculated (Box 870)”), the method comprising: scanning the one or more surfaces (Tsai; Fig. 8A; col. 14:11-12 “determining an object’s distance”; col. 14:53-54 “the distance to the object to be measured is calculated (Box 870)”) by projecting light from a tunable narrowband laser source (Tsai; pulsed wavelength-modulated narrow bandwidth light source 105) into an interferometer (Tsai; interferometer 110) to generate an interferogram while applying phase modulation (Tsai; col. 2:61-66 modulating controller that adjusts the light source phase - “adjusting the phase of the light emitted from the light source”) to the projected light.
Tsai is silent regarding applying multirate signal processing to the interferogram to determine positional information for the one or more surfaces of the object.
Boloorian teaches applying multirate signal processing to determine positional information for the one or more surfaces of the object (Boloorian; [0034] having multiple channels with differently tuned frequencies; [0056] processing the different channel data for determining distance and/or velocity of an object or multiple objects).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill at the effective filing date of the invention to modify the lidar method/system as taught by Tsai to comprise applying multirate signal processing as taught by Boloorian for the purpose of determining distance and/or velocity of an object or multiple objects (Boloorian; [0056] processing the different channel data for determining distance and/or velocity of an object or multiple objects).
Regarding claim 4, Modified Tsai teaches the invention substantially the same as described above, and The method of claim 1, further comprising repeating scanning and applying for multiple iterations (Tsai; col. 14:57-62 iterative repetition).
Regarding claim 5, Modified Tsai teaches the invention substantially the same as described above, and The method of claim 1, wherein applying multirate signal processing comprises defining multiple channels within the interferogram and combining the multiple channels in a frequency domain to increase time domain resolution (Boloorian; [0035] channel multiplexer 82 combines the channels - “channel multiplexer 82 that combines the channels so as to form the outgoing light signal”).
Regarding claim 11, Modified Tsai teaches the invention substantially the same as described above, and The method of claim 101, wherein the optical imaging coherence tomography system is a Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) system (Tsai; lidar system 100).
Claim(s) 2 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Tsai US11294040 in view of Boloorian US20200142065 as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Izatt US20080013093.
Claim(s) 17-18 and 22 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Tsai US11294040 in view of Boloorian US20200142065 and Izatt US20080013093.
Regarding claim 2, Modified Tsai teaches the invention substantially the same as described above, and The method of claim 1.
Modified Tsai does not teach wherein applying phase modulation comprises inserting a signal generator into a sample arm of the interferometer to apply phase modulation that is slow compared to the time taken to measure a single frequency.
Izatt teaches wherein applying phase modulation comprises inserting a signal generator into a sample arm of the interferometer to apply phase modulation that is slow compared to the time taken to measure a single frequency (Izatt; Fig. 2; phase/polarization signal generator modulator 250 located in sample arm of interferometer; [0046] “placing light with desired phase delay”).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill at the effective filing date of the invention to modify the phase modulation as taught by Modified Tsai to include a phase modulator signal generator located in the interferometer sample arm as taught by Izatt (and is consistent with the configuration shown in 18579312 instant applicant’s Figure 3B) for the purpose of providing the desired phase delay (Izatt; [0046] “placing light with desired phase delay”).
Regarding independent claim 17, Tsai discloses, in Figures 1-8,
An assembly (Tsai; Fig. 1-8; lidar system 100) for determining axial resolution or depth in an optical imaging system configured for imaging an object having one or more surfaces (Tsai; Fig. 8A; col. 14:11-12 “determining an object’s distance”; col. 14:53-54 “the distance to the object to be measured is calculated (Box 870)”), the assembly comprising: a tunable narrowband laser source (Tsai; pulsed wavelength-modulated narrow bandwidth light source 105); an interferometer (Tsai; interferometer 110) configured to generate an interferogram at a detector (Tsai; col. 2:43-45 photodetector array) using light from the laser source; a phase modulator (Tsai; col. 2:61-66 modulating controller that adjusts the light source phase - “adjusting the phase of the light emitted from the light source”).
Tsai is silent regarding a phase modulator inserted within an arm of the interferometer; and a multirate filter bank configured for processing the interferogram to determine positional information for the object.
Boloorian teaches a multirate filter bank configured for processing the interferogram to determine positional information for the object (Boloorian; [0062] filters 152 for processing branches 140 that are configures “to pass the frequencies in a frequency band centered at zero-frequency while filtering out other frequency bands”; [0034] having multiple channels with differently tuned frequencies; [0056] processing the different channel data for determining distance and/or velocity of an object or multiple objects).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill at the effective filing date of the invention to modify the lidar method/system as taught by Tsai to comprise a multirate filter bank as taught by Boloorian for the purpose of passing the frequencies in a frequency band centered at zero-frequency while filtering out other frequency bands (Boloorian; [0062] filters 152 for processing branches 140 that are configures “to pass the frequencies in a frequency band centered at zero-frequency while filtering out other frequency bands”).
Modified Tsai is silent regarding a phase modulator inserted within an arm of the interferometer.
Izatt teaches a phase modulator inserted within an arm of the interferometer (Izatt; Fig. 2; phase/polarization signal generator modulator 250 located in sample arm of interferometer; [0046] “placing light with desired phase delay”).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill at the effective filing date of the invention to modify the phase modulation as taught by Modified Tsai to include a phase modulator signal generator located in the interferometer sample arm as taught by Izatt (and is consistent with the configuration shown in 18579312 instant applicant’s Figure 3B) for the purpose of providing the desired phase delay (Izatt; [0046] “placing light with desired phase delay”).
Regarding claim 18, Modified Tsai teaches the invention substantially the same as described above, and The assembly of claim 17, wherein the phase modulator is inserted into a sample arm of the interferometer, and wherein the phase modulator is configured to apply slow modulation to the light to improve axial resolution in a length domain (Izatt; Fig. 2; phase/polarization signal generator modulator 250 located in sample arm of interferometer; [0046] “placing light with desired phase delay”).
Regarding claim 22, Modified Tsai teaches the invention substantially the same as described above, and The assembly of claim 17 wherein the multirate filter bank is configured to define multiple channels within the interferogram and combine the multiple channels in a frequency domain to increase time domain resolution (Boloorian; [0035] channel multiplexer 82 combines the channels - “channel multiplexer 82 that combines the channels so as to form the outgoing light signal”).
Claim(s) 3 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Tsai US11294040 in view of Boloorian US20200142065 as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Crouch US20210072381.
Claim(s) 20-21 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Tsai US11294040 in view of Boloorian US20200142065 and Izatt US20080013093 as applied to claim 17 above, and further in view of Crouch US20210072381.
Regarding claim 3, Modified Tsai teaches the invention substantially the same as described above, and The method of claim 1.
Modified Tsai does not teach wherein applying phase modulation comprises inserting a signal generator immediately downstream of the laser source to apply fast modulation to increase a maximum unambiguous range, wherein the fast modulation repeats after every sweep frequency.
Crouch teaches wherein applying phase modulation comprises inserting a signal generator immediately downstream of the laser source to apply fast modulation to increase a maximum unambiguous range, wherein the fast modulation repeats after every sweep frequency (Crouch; Fig. 2; phase modulator signal generator 282 is directly downstream of laser source 212; [0055] to produce a phase coded optical signal 203 that has a symbol length M*N and a duration D).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill at the effective filing date of the invention to modify the phase modulation as taught by Modified Tsai to include a phase modulator signal generator located immediately downstream of the laser source as taught by Crouch (and is consistent with the configuration shown in 18579312 instant applicant’s Figure 3C) for the purpose to produce a phase coded optical signal (Crouch; [0055] to produce a phase coded optical signal 203 that has a symbol length M*N and a duration D).
Regarding claim 20, Modified Tsai teaches the invention substantially the same as described above in reference to claim 3 above.
Regarding claim 21, Modified Tsai teaches the invention substantially the same as described above, and The assembly of claim 20, wherein the optical imaging system is a Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) system (Tsai; lidar system 100).
Claim(s) 6 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Tsai US11294040 in view of Boloorian US20200142065 as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of deBoer US7797119.
Claim(s) 24-25 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Tsai US11294040 in view of Boloorian US20200142065 and Izatt US20080013093 as applied to claim 17 above, and further in view of deBoer US7797119.
Regarding claim 6, Modified Tsai teaches the invention substantially the same as described above, and The method of claim 1, wherein applying multirate signal processing comprises defining multiple channels (Boloorian; [0034] having multiple channels with differently tuned frequencies) within the interferogram (Tsai; interferometer 110).
Modified Tsai is silent regarding interleaving the multiple channels to increase frequency resolution.
DeBoer teaches interleaving the multiple channels (DeBoer; col. 11:61-62 “Interleaving the comb-like spectral bands of each detector 24 gives back a continuous spectrum.”).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill at the effective filing date of the invention to modify the signal processing as taught by Modified Tsai to comprise interleaving the multiple channels as taught by DeBoer for the purpose of providing a continuous spectrum (DeBoer; col. 11:61-62 “Interleaving the comb-like spectral bands of each detector 24 gives back a continuous spectrum.”).
Regarding claim 24, Modified Tsai teaches the invention substantially the same as described above, and The assembly of claim 17, wherein the multirate filter bank is configured to define multiple channels within the interferogram (Boloorian; [0062] filters 152 for processing branches 140 that are configures “to pass the frequencies in a frequency band centered at zero-frequency while filtering out other frequency bands”; [0034] having multiple channels with differently tuned frequencies; [0056] processing the different channel data for determining distance and/or velocity of an object or multiple objects).
Modified Tsai does not teach interleave the multiple channels to increase frequency resolution.
DeBoer teaches interleaving the multiple channels (DeBoer; col. 11:61-62 “Interleaving the comb-like spectral bands of each detector 24 gives back a continuous spectrum.”).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill at the effective filing date of the invention to modify the filter bank as taught by Modified Tsai to comprise interleaving the multiple channels as taught by DeBoer for the purpose of providing a continuous spectrum (DeBoer; col. 11:61-62 “Interleaving the comb-like spectral bands of each detector 24 gives back a continuous spectrum.”).
Regarding claim 25, Modified Tsai teaches the invention substantially the same as described above, and The method of claim 24, wherein the optical imaging system is a Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) system (Tsai; lidar system 100).
Claim(s) 9 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Tsai US11294040 in view of Boloorian US20200142065 as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Swanson US9464883.
Claim(s) 19 and 23 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Tsai US11294040 in view of Boloorian US20200142065 and Izatt US20080013093 as applied to claims 18 and 22 above, and further in view of Swanson US9464883.
Regarding claim 9, Modified Tsai teaches the invention substantially the same as described above, and The method of claim 1, wherein the optical imaging system.
Modified Tsai is silent regarding wherein the optical imaging system is a swept source optical coherence tomography (SS-OCT) system.
Swanson teaches wherein the optical imaging system is a swept source optical coherence tomography (SS-OCT) system (Swanson; col. 4:65-67 to col. 5:1-7 “a swept-source optical coherence tomography system” and “applicable to a wide range of applications that employ on a swept laser (or other optical sources that may be rapidly swept over a wide frequency range) and interferometric electro-optical detection, for example, ranging, medical imaging, non-destructive evaluation and testing, laser radar, spectroscopy,”).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill at the effective filing date of the invention to apply the optical imaging system as taught by Modified Tsai to be a swept source optical coherence tomography (SS-OCT) system as taught by Swanson for the purpose of providing a non-destructive imaging technique in medical imaging applications (Swanson; col. 4:65-67 to col. 5:1-7 “applicable to a wide range of applications that employ on a swept laser (or other optical sources that may be rapidly swept over a wide frequency range) and interferometric electro-optical detection, for example, ranging, medical imaging, non-destructive evaluation and testing, laser radar, spectroscopy,”).
Regarding claim 19, Modified Tsai teaches the invention substantially the same as described above in reference to claim 9 above.
Regarding claim 23, Modified Tsai teaches the invention substantially the same as described above in reference to claim 9 above.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Brydegaard US20220107423 teaches a narrowband tunable light source and interferometer.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JONATHAN MALIKASIM whose telephone number is (313)446-6597. The examiner can normally be reached M-F; 8 am - 5 pm (CST).
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Yuqing Xiao can be reached at 571-270-3603. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/JONATHAN MALIKASIM/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3645 6/8/26
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