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 § 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 7 and 18 recites the limitation "a readout circuit" in a claim limitation. It is unclear whether claimed “a readout circuit” in claims 7 and 18 are the same “readout circuit” in claim 1 from which claims 7 and 18 ultimately depend. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
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.
Claim(s) 1 and 12 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102b as being anticipated by Harris et al US Publication No. 2018/0225521.
Regarding claim 1 Harris et al discloses of Fig. 1 – 5 of applicant’s an apparatus (paragraph 0016 pixel-based event detection system 100 is an apparatus) comprising: a light detector including a photon detection element (paragraph 0025 detector 200 uses pixel 202 which generates an electrical signal, such as a voltage signal, based on an intensity of incoming illumination received by the pixel 202 like a photodetector); a counter configured to count an output of the light detector (paragraph 0026 - 0030 capacitor 204 stores an electrical charge based on the output of the pixel 202 and filter counter 212 denotes a counter that increments or decrements a counter value each time the output of the comparator 208 indicates the voltage stored on the capacitor 204 has reached a specified level (i.e., the reference voltage) such that filter counter 212 configured to count an output of the light detector pixel 202);
Harris et al further discloses of applicant’s a generator configured to reset the counter and generate a flag signal in accordance with a count value of the counter reaching a predetermined value (paragraph 0021 – 0022 processing system 106 process information from the pixel-based detectors in the focal plane array 104 to determine whether any events of interest have been detected by the pixel-based detectors and includes any suitable structure for processing information from a focal plane array or other imaging system containing pixel-based detectors. Paragraph 0030 filter counter 212 can be reset at the end of the current periodic time interval and the beginning of the next periodic time interval. Paragraph 0034 detector 200 outputs a pixel event indictor signal 218, which is generated by the latch 214 and indicates when the latch 214 detects the threshold value from the filter counter 212. Paragraph 0034 neighboring pixel filter and event flag generator 222 receives the pixel event indictor signal 218 from the latch 214 of the detector 200, as well as one or more pixel event indictor signals 224 from one or more neighboring detectors. The neighboring pixel filter and event flag generator 222 determines whether the neighboring detector(s) detected the same event as the detector 200 and, if so, generates a pulse in an event indicator signal 226 such that processing system 106 is a generator configured to reset the filter counter 212 and generate a flag signal 226 in accordance with a count value of the filter counter 212 has reaching a threshold value predetermined value);
Harris et al further discloses of applicant’s and a readout circuit configured to process the flag signal, wherein the readout circuit detects occurrence of an event based on a time interval of the flag signal (paragraph 0049 when an event is detected, any suitable information can be derived by the processing system 106 or other system using the information from the detectors 200. For example, the processing system 106 or other system could use the event indicator signals 226 from the detectors 200 to identify the X-Y coordinates of the detecting pixels in the focal plane array 104, the center location of the detected event, the measured intensities from those pixels, and a timestamp for the event such that processing system 106 is a readout circuit configured to process the flag signal 226, wherein the processing system readout circuit 106 detects occurrence of an event based on the occurrence of the time interval of the flag signal 226).
Regarding claim 12 Harris et al further discloses of applicant’s A system (paragraph 0016 system 100) comprising: the apparatus defined in claim 1 (paragraph 0016 pixel-based event detection system 100 apparatus); and a processor configured to process a signal output by the apparatus (paragraph 0049 when an event is detected, any suitable information can be derived by the processing system 106 or other system using the information from the detectors 200. For example, the processing system 106 or other system could use the event indicator signals 226 from the detectors 200 to identify the X-Y coordinates of the detecting pixels in the focal plane array 104, the center location of the detected event, the measured intensities from those pixels, and a timestamp for the event such that processor system 106 is configured to process a signal of the X-Y coordinates of the detecting pixels output by the apparatus 100).
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) 11 and 20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Harris et al US Publication No. 2018/0225521 in view of Zhu US Publication No. 2022/0006965.
Regarding claim 11 Harris et al discloses detector that uses pixel which generates an electrical signal, such as a voltage signal, based on an intensity of incoming illumination received by the pixel like a photodetector but does not expressively disclose wherein the photon detection element is an avalanche photodiode;
Zhu teaches a structure where a SPAD pixel has an avalanche photodiode. Zhu teaches of Fig. 1 – 24 of applicant’s wherein the photon detection element is an avalanche photodiode (paragraph 0103 configuration of an SPAD pixel 320 has an avalanche photodiode 323 such that the photon detection SPAD pixel 320 element is an avalanche photodiode 323). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to modify the circuitry of Harris et al in a manner similar to Zhu et al. Doing so would result improving Harris et al invention in a similar way as Zhu et al – namely the ability to provide a structure where a SPAD pixel has an avalanche photodiode, in Zhu et al invention, to the detector that uses pixel photodetector in Harris et al invention.
Regarding claim 20 of applicant’s wherein, in the apparatus, the photon detection element is an avalanche photodiode. Claim 20 is rejected for the reasons found in rejected claims 11 and 12 above.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 2 – 6, 8 – 10, 13 – 17, and 19 are 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 MARK T MONK whose telephone number is (571)270-7454. The examiner can normally be reached Monday thru Friday 8am to 4pm.
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/MARK T MONK/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2637