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 1-12 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.
Limitations “ - a defined progressive, in particular continuous, rotation of the beam steering unit about the beam axis of rotation, and- a continuous emission of the distance measurement radiation and a continuous reception of returning parts of the distance measurement radiation,”
It is unclear what term “continuous” is this situation mean. With respect to “continuous emission” it can mean transmitting continuous beam or it also can mean continuously perform pulsed beam during scanning.
Similarly with respect to “continuous rotation” it is unclear does it mean constant angular velocity without steps or it can be continuously going degree by degree around 360 degree.
Also limitation in the claims 1-12 of the claim include term “in particular ” which is unclear . It is unclear whether the limitation is required or not.
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.
Claim(s) 1 and claims bellow are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over D1 US 20150285913 A1 in view of D2 US 20100149525 A1.
Regarding claim 1 D1 teaches
1. A laser scanner for optical measurement of an environment, comprising
- an optical distance measuring(fig. 5) device for detecting distance measurement data comprising measurement data, having
o a transmitter unit(17) for emitting a distance measurement radiation and
o a receiver unit(21) for receiving returning parts of the distance measurement radiation,
-abase,
- a support(56 or 12), which is rotationally fixed on the base(14) about a support axis(12a) of rotation,
in particular a slow axis of rotation,[0023]
- a beam steering unit(16) for the distance measurement radiation, which is fixed to the support such that it can rotate about a beam axis of rotation substantially orthogonal to the support
axis of rotation(16a fig. 5), in particular a fast axis of rotation[0023], and
- a first angle encoder for recording first angle data with respect to a rotation of the support about the support axis of rotation, and[0019]
- a second angle encoder for recording second angle data with respect to a rotation of the beam steering unit about the beam axis of rotation,[0019]
wherein the distance measurement data and the first and second angle data, hereafter designated as measurement data, are detected during a measurement process which comprises a scanning sensing by means of the distance measuring device with [0015]
- a defined progressive, in particular continuous, rotation of the support about the support axis of rotation,[0023]
- a defined progressive, in particular continuous, rotation of the beam steering unit about the beam axis of rotation, and[0023]
- a continuous emission of the distance measurement radiation and a continuous reception of returning parts of the distance measurement radiation,[0018]
wherein
- the laser scanner comprises a status indicator(24) for an indication of a device status, in particular for the indication of a status of the measurement process,[0038]
- the status indicator is arranged on the support, which means it co-rotates when the support rotates about the support axis of rotation,(fig. 6)
Although D1 does not explicitly teach
- the status indicator is designed in such a way that it appears substantially identical around its circumference with respect to the support axis of rotation in all azimuthal directions,
- so that irrespective of a rotational position of the support about the support axis of rotation, for a user of the laser scanner the same information provided by the status indicator is visible and readable from all horizontal user perspectives.
What Applicant claims here is similar to placing led light on top surface of 12 which would indicate that device is on.
D2 teaches status indicator positioned on the top of the measurement instrument to indicate the operative status of the instrument while in the probing mode[0055]
It will be obvious to one of ordinary skills in the art to modify teachings taught by D1 with teachings by D2 in order to indicate to operator that the device is in probing mode during the operation and place that in visible position from all sides in order to give operator information .
2. The laser scanner according to claim 1, wherein the status indicator is implemented by means of individual lamps, which are arranged adjacent to each other with a substantially identical elevation around the full circumference of the support. Obvious design choice as device is rotating and information according to D2 need to be readily observable by the operator[0055]
3. The laser scanner according to claim 1, wherein the status indicator is implemented by means of continuous and interruption-free lighting means, which substantially completely surround the support and the support axis of rotation, in particular wherein the lighting means are implemented as an LED ring. Obvious design choice as device is rotating and information according to D2 need to be readily observable by the operator[0055]
4. The laser scanner according to claim 1, wherein the status indicator is designed by means of a fiber-optic ring with at least one coupling input for light, in particular by means of two or four coupling inputs, wherein with increasing distance from the coupling input position along the fiber- optic ring the ratio of radiation, namely the radial light extraction, to transmission of the light along the fiber-optic ring increases.
Obvious design choice as device is rotating and information according to D2 need to be readily observable by the operator[0055]
5. The laser scanner according to claim 1, wherein the status indicator is designed in such a way that the device status is disclosed to a user by means of a visual coding, in particular by means of a defined color coding of the status indicator and/or by means of a defined flash coding of the status indicator.D2 [0055]
It will be obvious to one of ordinary skills in the art to modify teachings taught by D1 with teachings by D2 in order to indicate to operator that the device is in probing mode during the operation and place that in visible position from all sides in order to give operator information .
6. The laser scanner according to claim 1, wherein with respect to a rotation of the support about the support axis of rotation the base is designed exclusively as passive element, in the sense that all active electronics required for the motorization of the rotation around the support axis of rotation is arranged exclusively in the support and co-rotates with the support around the axis of
rotation of the support.(D1 fig. 5)
D1 Discloses the invention except for
8. The laser scanner according to claim 1, wherein during the measurement process the beam steering unit rotates about the beam axis of rotation with a rotation speed of at least 50 Hz, in particular of at least 100 Hz, and/or during the measurement process the base rotates about the support axis of rotation with a rotation speed of at least 0.01 Hz, in particular of at least 0.02 Hz.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skills in the art, at the time of invention to modify apparatus by D1, since it has been held that the general conditions of a claim are disclosed in the prior art, discovering the optimum or workable ranges involves only routine skill in the art. In re Aller, 105 USPQ 233.
9. A measurement system for optical measurement and for imaging an environment, having - a laser scanner according to 1 measurement system for optical measurement and for imaging an environment, having - a laser scanner according to
- a processing unit (22 fig. 5 and everything regarding element 22 )for processing portions of the measurement data into processed measurement data, and
- a display(24 and every paragraph regarding 24) for displaying portions of the processed measurement data, which represent at least a partial region of the environment,
wherein - the laser scanner further comprises at least one color camera(25) for recording image data,[0024]
wherein the camera defines an optical axis of the camera and a viewing direction of the camera
along the optical axis, and(fig. 5)
- the laser scanner is configured such that the measurement process further comprises performing multiple readings of image data with the camera with respect to different viewing directions of the camera, and that the read image data, forming part of the measurement data, are also recorded in the course of the measurement process.(implicit)
Claim(s) 7 and claims bellow are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over D1 US 20150285913 A1 in view of D2 US 20100149525 A1 further in view of D3 US 20150323350 A1.
Regarding claims 7 D1 does not teach but D3 which is by the same Applicant for the same device see fig. 1 shows specifics of the interior
7. The laser scanner according to claim 1, wherein each of the following components is arranged entirely in the support and co-rotates with the support about the support axis of rotation:
- an active drive element for the rotation of the support about the support axis of rotation,[0047] in
particular a rotary motor with a drive shaft coupled to the motor[0047] or an electrical coil element for a radial interaction with respect to the support axis of rotation between the electrical coil element and a passive magnetic element in the base, and
Although neither D1 or D3 explicitly teach
- a power supply unit for the active drive element.
Placing the battery compartment to power up the electronics if just obvious modification in order to make device portable and operational in the place where external power is inaccessible.
It will be obvious to one of ordinary skills in the art to modify teachings taught by D1 with teachings by D3 in order to make device operational on any type of tripod which does not have rotating means for example.
Although D1 does not explicitly teach
10. The measurement system according to claim 9, wherein - the processing unit is arranged on a computing device, built as a tablet, separate to the laser scanner, and
- the laser scanner and the computing device are configured in such a way that
o a transmission of the measurement data from the laser scanner to the computing device takes place wirelessly,
o the transmission of the measurement data is carried out during the measurement process by means of a data streaming of parts of the measurement data which is started simultaneously with respect to the start of the measurement process, or at least almost
simultaneously,
o an at least initial processing of the parts of the measurement data in terms of a linking of the surface sensor data with the distance measurement data and the first and second angle data takes place during the measurement process, and
o displaying of portions of the processed measurement data takes place during the
measurement process and is progressively updated based on the processed measurement data,
wherein a display being integrated in the computing device is provided for the displaying.
12. The measuring system as claimed in claim 9, wherein the laser scanner and the computing device are configured in such a way that by means of a monitoring and control unit on the computing device, control signals can be transmitted to the laser scanner wirelessly.
D1 teaches displaying on internal display
D3 teaches wireless wireless communication
It will be obvious to one of ordinary skills in the art to modify teachings taught by D1 with teachings by D3 in order to send and display information to the operator so operator can monitor and operate the scanning progress being away from the site.
Although D1 does not teach D3 teaches
11. The measuring system as claimed in claim 10, wherein - by means of a virtual 360-degree rotation of the beam steering unit about the beam axis of
rotation a scanning plane of the distance measurement radiation is defined, and
- the camera(66) is arranged and oriented on the support in such a way that its azimuthal viewing direction and the azimuthal orientation of the scanning plane are different(fig. 2),
Although D1 and D3 do not teach
which means that a virtual backwards extension of the optical axis of the camera cuts the scanning plane at a defined cutting angle, in particular wherein the cutting angle is at least 45 degrees, specifically wherein the scanning plane is not captured by the field of view of the camera.
Placement of the camera is just simple design choice and does not have specific use.
It will be obvious to one of ordinary skills in the art to modify teachings taught by D1 with teachings by D3 to place external camera in order to image surrounding area.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to HOVHANNES BAGHDASARYAN whose telephone number is (571)272-7845. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Fri 7am - 5 pm.
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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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/HOVHANNES BAGHDASARYAN/Examiner, Art Unit 3645
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