DETAILED ACTION
Applicant presents Claims 1-30 for examination. The Office rejects Claims 1-30 as detailed below.
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.
+_+_+ Claims 1 and 6-30 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by IDS entry Imai – U.S. Pub. 20180003821 +_+_+
As for Claim 1, Imai teaches
an emitting module that emits laser beams for detecting distance information and includes a first array of laser emitters that are arranged along a vertical direction (¶88|1: “In such a configuration of Example 1 (sixteen laser diodes LD1 through LD16 correspond to one photodetector Pl), the sixteen laser diodes LD1 through LD16 emit light [in a vertical array] at different timings, so that the photodetector P1 receives the light reflected or scattered by an object at different timings.”) and
disposed into a plurality of banks (¶82|20: “In this case, a single laser diode LD, which is a laser-diode group constituted by the four laser diodes corresponding to the respective photodetectors, may emit light at the same time.”),
wherein the emitting module electronically scans the laser beams along the vertical direction (¶88|1: “In such a configuration of Example 1 (sixteen laser diodes LD1 through LD16 correspond to one photodetector Pl), the sixteen laser diodes LD1 through LD16 emit light [in a vertical direction] at different timings, so that the photodetector P1 receives the light reflected or scattered by an object at different timings.”);
a mechanical scanner configured to cause the first array of laser emitters to scan along a horizontal direction (¶51|1: “As illustrated in FIG. 2A, the rotating mirror 26 includes two reflection planes opposed to each other. However, the present disclosure is not limited to the configuration. In some embodiments, the rotating mirror 26 may include one reflection plane or three or more reflection planes. Alternatively, in some embodiments, the rotating mirror 26 includes at least two reflection planes, which are tilted at different angles with respect to the axis of rotation (axis Z), to switch an area to be scanned and detected in Z-axis direction.”); and
a detecting module that detects returned laser beams generated by the first array of laser emitters and determines distance information based on returned laser beams (¶69|1: “In this case, examples of the light-receiving element for measuring time and detecting synchronization include a photo diode (PD) as described above, an avalanche photo diode (APD), and a single photon avalanche diode (SPAD) as a Geiger mode APD. The APD and the SPAD have higher sensitivity than a PD, and thus is advantageous in accuracy of detection or the detection distance.”),
wherein the emitting module is configured to activating a plurality of laser emitters in parallel for detecting an external environment, and the plurality of laser emitters is no more than one half the first array of laser emitters (¶82+83|20: “In this case, a single laser diode LD, which is a laser-diode group constituted by the four laser diodes corresponding to the respective photodetectors, may emit light at the same time.” That is, the group of emitters are emitted in parallel and in this case comprise one fourth of the sixteen emitters.)
As for Claim 6, which depends on Claim 1, Imai teaches wherein the vertical field of view of the Lidar system is formed by the first array of laser emitters (Figs. 16A-C illustrate the various patterns and sequences in which the lasers may be emitted.)
As for Claim 7, which depends on Claim 6, Imai teaches further comprising a second array of laser emitters as replacements for the first array of laser emitters (Figs. 16A-C illustrate the various patterns and sequences in which the lasers may be emitted. Fig. 16C, in particular, shows a first pattern at the top with a single array of emitters and a second array in the pattern below. That the system can use any array at any time is sufficient for the rejection, as using one over the other as a replacement is an intended use that does not have patentable weight.)
As for Claim 8, which depends on Claim 1, Imai teaches wherein adjacent banks are offset from each other both vertically and horizontally (Figs. 16A-C illustrate the various patterns and sequences in which the lasers may be emitted.)
As for Claim 9, which depends on Claim 8, Imai teaches wherein laser emitters are uniformly distributed within a bank, and the first array of laser emitters are non-uniformly distributed along the vertical direction (Figs. 16A-C illustrate the various patterns and sequences in which the lasers may be emitted. The emitters within each bank can be grouped in any pattern, including non-uniformly in the virtual direction as shown in top element of Fig. 16A.)
As for Claim 10, which depends on Claim 8, Imai teaches wherein laser emitters are non-uniformly distributed within a bank, and the first array of laser emitters are non-uniformly distributed along the vertical direction (Figs. 16A-C illustrate the various patterns and sequences in which the lasers may be emitted. The emitters within each bank can be grouped in any pattern, including non-uniformly distributed with the bank, and non-uniformly distributed in the virtual direction as shown in the third from top element of Fig. 16C.)
As for Claim 11, which depends on Claim 8, Imai teaches wherein each bank has a same number of laser emitters (Figs. 16A-C illustrate the various patterns and sequences in which the lasers may be emitted.)
As for Claim 12, which depends on Claim 1, Imai teaches wherein, when a plurality of laser emitters are activated in parallel, at least one of the activated laser emitters emit a unique laser beam according to a laser profile that is different from laser beams of other laser emitters (Figs. 16A-C illustrate the various patterns and sequences in which the lasers may be emitted. ¶95|1: “Accordingly, the amount of light (illumination amount) emitted from the object detector 100 to reach (illuminate) the illumination range IR preferably differs between the illumination ranges IR. To change the illumination amount for each illumination range IR, for example, the amount of light emission may differ between laser diodes LD.” That is, the amount of light emission from a particular laser can be uniquely adjusted, which is part of a laser profile as disclosed in the Spec. (¶10).)
As for Claim 13, which depends on Claim 12, Imai teaches wherein the laser profile defines parameters of a sequence of laser pulses that are used for a single measurement of distance (Figs. 16A-C illustrate the various patterns and sequences in which the lasers may be emitted. Further, (¶76|1) “[t]he object recognizer 47 recognizes the position of an object based on a plurality of sets of distance data obtained by one or more scans, outputting an object recognition result to the measurement controller 46. The measurement controller 46 transfers the object recognition result to the ECU.”)
As for Claim 14, which depends on Claim 13, Imai teaches wherein the emitting module is configured to adjust the laser profile in real-time based on a detection result of the detecting module (¶72|1: “That is, the LD drive signal is a light-emission control signal (periodic pulsed signal) which is delayed relative to the synchronization signal.” The pulse signal is a part of the laser profile and is continuously synchronized, i.e., adjusted in real time.)
As for Claim 15, which depends on Claim 12, Imai teaches wherein the emitting module is further configured to adjust a starting time for the activated laser emitters (¶72|1: “That is, the LD drive signal is a light-emission control signal (periodic pulsed signal) which is delayed relative to the synchronization signal.” The pulse signal is a part of the laser profile and is continuously synchronized, including the first pulse.)
As for Claim 16, which depends on Claim 1, Imai teaches wherein the scanner includes a spinning mirror (¶47|1: “The projection optical system 20 includes a coupling lens 22, a reflection mirror 24, and a rotating mirror 26 as a light deflector.”)
As for Claim 17, which depends on Claim 16, Imai teaches wherein the spinning mirror has at least two reflecting surfaces (¶163|1: “Further, a light deflector may be any other mirror,
such as a polygon mirror (rotating polygon mirror), a galvano mirror, or a micro electro mechanical system (MEMS) mirror, instead of the rotating mirror 26.”)
As for Claim 18, which depends on Claim 1, Imai teaches further comprising a mirror that is disposed between the scanner and the emitting module and configured to direct a laser beam generated by the emitting module to the scanner (¶47|1: “The projection optical system 20 includes a coupling lens 22, a reflection mirror 24, and a rotating mirror 26 as a light deflector.”)
As for Claim 19, which depends on Claim 18, Imai teaches wherein the mirror has a size that is smaller than a spot of a return beam such that a substantial portion of the returned laser beams bypasses the mirror via peripheral zones of the mirror and impinges on the detection module (Fig. 2A)
As for Claim 20, Imai teaches arranging a first array of laser emitters along a vertical direction (¶88|1: “In such a configuration of Example 1 (sixteen laser diodes LD1 through LD16 correspond to one photodetector Pl), the sixteen laser diodes LD1 through LD16 emit light [in a vertical array] at different timings, so that the photodetector P1 receives the light reflected or scattered by an object at different timings.”); separating the first array of lasers into a plurality of banks activating a plurality of laser emitters in parallel for scanning an external environment, wherein the plurality of laser emitters are no more than one half of the first array of laser emitters (¶82|20: “In this case, a single laser diode LD, which is a laser-diode group constituted by the four laser diodes corresponding to the respective photodetectors, may emit light at the same time.” That is, the group of emitters are emitted in parallel and in this case comprise one fourth of the sixteen emitters.); scanning the first array of laser emitters along a horizontal direction (¶51|1: “As illustrated in FIG. 2A, the rotating mirror 26 includes two reflection planes opposed to each other. However, the present disclosure is not limited to the configuration. In some embodiments, the rotating mirror 26 may include one reflection plane or three or more reflection planes. Alternatively, in some embodiments, the rotating mirror 26 includes at least two reflection planes, which are tilted at different angles with respect to the axis of rotation (axis Z), to switch an area to be scanned and detected in Z-axis direction.”); detecting returned laser beams generated by the first array of laser emitters; and determining distance information based on returned laser beams (¶69|1: “In this case, examples of the light-receiving element for measuring time and detecting synchronization include a photo diode (PD) as described above, an avalanche photo diode (APD), and a single photon avalanche diode (SPAD) as a Geiger mode APD. The APD and the SPAD have higher sensitivity than a PD, and thus is advantageous in accuracy of detection or the detection distance.”)
As for Claim 21, which depends on Claim 20, Imai teaches further comprising electronically scanning the first array of laser emitters along a vertical direction without an assistance of a mechanical moving part (¶88|1: “In such a configuration of Example 1 (sixteen laser diodes LD1 through LD16 correspond to one photodetector Pl), the sixteen laser diodes LD1 through LD16 emit light [in a vertical array] at different timings, so that the photodetector P1 receives the light reflected or scattered by an object at different timings.”)
As for Claim 23, which depends on Claim 22, Imai teaches further comprising sequentially scanning laser emitters within each bank, and activating at least two laser emitters from different banks in parallel (Figs. 16A-C illustrate the various patterns and sequences in which the lasers may be emitted.)
Claims 22 and 24-30 recite substantially the same subject matter as Claims 3 and 7-9, 11-12, and 14-15, respectively, and stand rejected on the same basis accordingly.
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 2-5 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Imai in view of Wang - Wang et al.; "MEMS Mirrors for LiDAR: A Review"; Micromachines (Basel) 11(5), 456; 27 Apr 2020 +_+_+
As for Claim 2, which depends on Claim 1, Imai does not explicitly teach the limitations. But Wang teaches wherein the vertical scanning frequency is at least 100 times faster than the horizontal scanning frequency (“For MEMS scanned LiDAR for self-driving cars, the fast-axis (horizontal) scanning is in the range of 0.5–2 kHz in the horizontal direction, and the slow-axis (vertical) scanning is typically 10–30 Hz.” That is, the reference teaches a fast-axis scan (vertical, in the present case) that can be 100 times faster (2kHz vs 20 Hz) than the slow-axis scan (horizontal in the present case).”)
It 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 to combine Imai and Wang because most LiDAR FOVs are not 2D squares, which means they generally extended significantly further in one direction requiring a faster scan frequency that direction compared to the other.
As for Claim 3, which depends on Claim 2, Imai teaches wherein the emitting module is further configured to scan the first array of laser emitters along the vertical direction according to a firing pattern that reduces crosstalk caused by concurring laser beams (¶123|6: “In FIGS. 16A through 16C, a minimum rectangular represents each light-emitting element LE, and a plurality of black dots in each rectangular respectively represents light-emitting sections LS. In the present Example, each light-emitting section LS is preferably the VCSEL, which facilitates a two-dimensional arrangement of the light-emitting sections LS.” That is, crosstalk is caused by laser emitters being too close, by spacing the patterns as seen in, for example, Fig. 16A top section vs bottom section, cross talk is reduced.)
As for Claim 4, which depends on Claim 2, Imai teaches wherein the emitting module is configured to sequentially scan laser emitters within each bank (¶89|3: “As illustrated in FIG. 8, the laser diodes LD1 through LD16 sequentially emit light so that the light-emitting timings of the laser diodes LD1 through LD16 do not coincide with each other.”)
As for Claim 5, which depends on Claim 4, Imai teaches wherein laser emitters within each bank are individually addressable ([0089] implicit Figs. 16A-C illustrate the various patterns and sequences in which the lasers may be emitted. Each laser is individually addressable.)
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to CLINT THATCHER whose telephone number is (571)270-3588. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Fri 9am-5:30pm ET and generally keeps a daily 2:30pm timeslot open for interviews.
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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.
Though not relied on, the Office considers the additional prior art listed in the Notice of Reference Cited form (PTO-892) pertinent to Applicant's disclosure.
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/Clint Thatcher/
Examiner, Art Unit 3645
/HOVHANNES BAGHDASARYAN/Examiner, Art Unit 3645
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