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 .
This is the first office action on the merits and is responsive to the papers filed 03/14/2024. Claims 1-8 are currently pending and examined below.
Priority
Acknowledgment is made of applicant’s claim for foreign priority under 35 U.S.C. 119 (a)-(d).
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statements submitted by Applicant are in compliance with the provision of 37 CFR 1.97, 1.98 and MPEP § 609. They have been placed in the application file and the information referred to therein has been considered as to the merits.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the
subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 1-8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Claims 1 and 8 “the semiconductor component” lacks antecedent basis.
Claims 2-7 are rejected due to claim dependency.
Drawings
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, one figure (a single figure) with the transparent light guide is integrated in the circuit board must be shown or the feature(s) canceled from the claim(s).
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.
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 1-6 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wiethege et al. (EP 3798686 A1, “Wiethege”) in view of Yoshiba et al. (US 20240103134 A1, “Yoshiba”).
Regarding claim 1, Wiethege teaches an optoelectronic sensor for the detection of objects in a monitored zone (Fig. 1, [0045]), having a light transmitter for the transmission of transmitted light (Fig. 1, [0045], light transmitter 4);
having a measurement light receiver for generating a received signal from transmitted light reflected by objects in the monitored zone (Fig. 1, [0045], a light receiver 6 for generating a received signal from transmitted light reflected by objects 2 in the monitoring);
having a control and evaluation unit (Fig. 1, [0045], control and evaluation unit 8) for determining information on objects in the monitored zone using the received signal ([0045], control and evaluation unit 8 for determining information about objects 2 in the monitoring region 3 on the basis of the received signal); and
having at least one optical element (Fig. 1, optical element 9) that is arranged in the optical path of the transmitted light of the light transmitter such that some of the transmitted light moves into the monitored zone as detection light (Fig. 1, [0045], an optical element 9, which is arranged in the beam path of the transmitted light 5 in such a way that at least some of the transmitted light reaches the monitoring region 3 as detection light,),
wherein one or more optical elements conduct some of the transmitted light to a reference light receiver (Figs. 1-2, [0045] wherein the optical element 9 has a transparent light guide 10, which guides some of the transmitted light to a reference light receiver 11),
Wiethege fails to explicitly teach wherein the measurement light receiver and the reference light receiver are arranged on a semiconductor element, with the semiconductor element being arranged on a circuit board, and
the reference light receiver only being illuminated by the portion of the transmitted light through the side of the semiconductor component facing the circuit board.
However, Yoshida teaches a light-receiving semiconductor element 3 having an effective pixel array R1 that receives reflected measurement light and a reference pixel array R2 that receives reference light L3. Yoshida further teaches mounting light-receiving element 3 on circuit-board substrate 20 such that pixel array unit 10 is exposed through substrate opening 20c and reference light L3 reaches the reference pixel array through the substrate opening from the side of the semiconductor element facing the circuit board. Yoshida additionally teaches that the reference light does not reach the opposite back-surface side. See Yoshida, [0130]- [0131], [0192]- [0194], and [0199]–[0201], and Fig. 17.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Wiethege to arrange the measurement and reference receivers using the common semiconductor and circuit-board arrangement taught by Yoshida, such that the reference-light portion conducted by light guide 10 enters the reference receiver through the semiconductor side facing the circuit board. Doing so will provide a compact and highly integrated detector package, permit reference light to reach the reference pixels through an aligned circuit-board opening, suppress unwanted reflection from wire bonds and other package structures, and prevent reference light from entering through the opposite side of the semiconductor element.
Regarding claim 2, Wiethege, in view of Yoshida, teaches the optoelectronic sensor in accordance with claim 1, wherein the measurement light receiver and the reference light receiver are time of flight receivers (Wiethege, [0024], [0062]- [0065]).
Regarding claim 3, Wiethege, in view of Yoshida, teaches the optoelectronic sensor, in accordance with claim 1, wherein the optical element has a transparent light guide that conducts the portion of the transmitted light to a reference light receiver (Wiethege, [0045], [0052], optical element 9 includes a transparent light guide 10 that conducts a portion of transmitted light 5 to reference light receiver 11).
Regarding claim 4, Wiethege, in view of Yoshida, teaches the optoelectronic sensor in accordance with claim 1, wherein the optical elements are a plurality of reflective surfaces that conduct some of the transmitted light to a reference light receiver (Wiethege teaches that light guide 10 operates by total internal reflection at its boundary surfaces and that, after entering the light guide, the reference-light portion is reflected multiple times at those surfaces until it reaches reference receiver 11. See [0051].).
Regarding claim 5, Wiethege, in view of Yoshida, teaches the optoelectronic sensor in accordance with claim 1, wherein the optical element has a diaphragm that has an aperture for the transmitted light (Wiethege, Figs. 1-2, [0045], [0052], optical element 9 includes diaphragm 12 having opening or aperture 13 for transmitted light 5).
Regarding claim 6, Wiethege, in view of Yoshida, teaches the optoelectronic sensor in in accordance with claim 1, wherein the circuit board has an opening at the position of the reference light receiver (Yoshida, Fig. 17, [0194], pixel array unit 10 is exposed through opening 20c, and reference light L3 reaches the pixel array through openings 31a, 32a, and circuit-board opening 20c,).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Wiethege to have the circuit board with an opening aligned with its reference light receiver, as taught by Yoshida, to provide a direct and unobstructed optical path through the circuit board to the board-facing side of the reference receiver. The opening would permit compact mounting of the semiconductor receiver while avoiding blockage of the reference-light path by the circuit board and reducing unwanted reflections from package and bonding structures.Claim 7 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wiethege in view of Yoshiba and Avi Feshali (US 11506762 B1, “Feshali”).
Regarding claim 7, Wiethege, in view of Yoshida, fails to explicitly teach the optoelectronic sensor in accordance with claim 3, wherein the transparent light guide is integrated in the circuit board.
However, Feshali teaches an electro-optical printed circuit board having an embedded optical waveguide 28 that conducts a reference beam to reference sensor 56 (Fig. 1, col 4: line 66 to col 5: line 12 and lines 27-39).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Wiethege to integrate the transparent light guide into the circuit board, as taught by Feshali, to reduce the number of separately mounted optical components, reduce the thickness and footprint of the sensor package, protect the reference-light path, and maintain a fixed alignment between the transmitter, light guide, and reference receiver.
Claim 8 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wiethege in view of Yoshiba and Wegleiter et al. (US 20110024790 A1 “Wegleiter”).
Regarding claim 8, Wiethege, in view of Yoshida, fails to explicitly teach the optoelectronic sensor in accordance with claim 1, wherein the reference light receiver on the semiconductor component is cast with a potting agent on the side that is remote from the circuit board.
However, Wegleiter teaches an optoelectronic semiconductor chip 3 that may be configured as a photodiode sensor and mounted on connection support 2, wherein connection support 2 may be a printed circuit board. Wegleiter further teach that the side of semiconductor chip 3 remote from connection support 2 is covered and surrounded by cast body 4, which may comprise silicone, epoxy resin, or an epoxy-resin/silicone hybrid material. See Wegleiter, [0015], [0017], [0033], [0036], and [0058] - [0060], and Fig. 1.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Wiethege to cast the circuit-board-remote side of the semiconductor reference receiver with the silicone or epoxy potting material taught by Wegleiter. Applying the potting material to the board-remote side would protect the exposed semiconductor receiver and its electrical structures so improving the durability and environmental protection of the combined sensor.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Nyaribo et al. (US 20240045035 A1), teaches source-camera assembly with light path for a reference pixel
Chou et al. (US 20220082670 A1), teaches tof optical sensing module with angular light-guiding structure
Kappel et al. (US 20190187254 A1), teaches optical sensor module and method for manufacturing an optical sensor module for time-of-flight measurement
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JEMPSON NOEL whose telephone number is (571) 272-3376. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday-Friday 8:00-5:00.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Yuqing Xiao can be reached on (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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/JEMPSON NOEL/Examiner, Art Unit 3645
/YUQING XIAO/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3645
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