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 § 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) 8-16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Studer et al (PGPUB 2019/0210838) in view of Send et al (PGPUB 2018/0210064).
With respect to claim 8, Studer teaches a system for determining a position of an elevator car that is movably arranged in an elevator shaft of an elevator unit, the system comprising:
a sensor (fig. 1, 19/22); an evaluation unit (35/37) in communication with the sensor;
a marking element (20), wherein one of the sensor and the marking element is arranged immovably in (fig. 1, 20) the elevator shaft (7) and another of the sensor and the marking element is arranged on the elevator car;
wherein the sensor has a plurality of sensor cells that generate measurement data when an object is detected and the evaluation unit is adapted to use the measurement data received from (paragraph 0081-0082) the sensor to determine a distance of each of the sensor cells from a part of the object detected by the sensor cell;
wherein the sensor detects the marking element and a region around the marking element as the object and the evaluation unit determines ones of the sensor cells that detect the marking element and determines a position of the elevator car in the elevator shaft based on the ones of the sensor cells that detect the marking element (paragraph 0081-0082) and/or ones of the sensor cells arranged in a region adjacent to the ones of the sensor cells that detect the marking element.
Studer does not teach 3d sensors, wherein the sensor cells detect electromagnetic radiation that either is emitted by the marking element or is emitted by a transmitter and is reflected by the object;
wherein the 3D sensor communicates to the evaluation unit, for each of the sensor cells, an intensity characteristic variable characterizing a quantity of the electromagnetic radiation detected; and
wherein the evaluation unit determines the ones of the sensor cells detecting the marking element based on the associated intensity characteristic variables.
Send teaches 3d sensors (110/111/116), wherein the sensor cells detect electromagnetic radiation that either is emitted by the marking element (116) or is emitted by a transmitter and is reflected by the object (paragraph 0263);
wherein the 3D sensor communicates to the evaluation unit (127/129), for each of the sensor cells, an intensity characteristic variable characterizing a quantity of the electromagnetic radiation detected (paragraph 0073); and
wherein the evaluation unit determines the ones of the sensor cells detecting the marking element based on the associated intensity characteristic variables (paragraph 0073/0140).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to use 3D sensor of Send, since it has been held to be within the general skill of a worker in the art to select a known material on the basis of its suitability for the intended use as a matter of obvious design choice. In re Leshin, 125 USPQ 416.
Studer does not teach details of the 3d sensor and its detailed operation, listed in dependent claims 9-14.
With respect to claim 9, Send teaches including when the transmitter is emitting electromagnetic radiation toward the detected object, the 3D sensor determines for each of the sensor cells a propagation time (paragraph 004) of the electromagnetic radiation emitted by the transmitter and reflected from the detected object, and wherein the evaluation unit determines the distance of each of the sensor cells from a detected part of the object based (paragraph 0063) on the propagation times.
With respect to claim 10, Send teaches wherein the marking element is arranged and has a spatial extent such that a characteristic distance pattern (paragraph 0073) is detected by the 3D sensor, and the evaluation unit determines the sensor cells that are detecting the marking element on the basis of the characteristic distance pattern of the marking element.
With respect to claim 11, Send teaches wherein the marking element has an LED (paragraph 0111) emitting the electromagnetic radiation.
With respect to claim 12, Send teaches where in the LED is an infrared LED (paragraph 049/0111).
With respect to claim 13, Send teaches including a transmitter emitting electromagnetic radiation toward the detected object, a reflector (paragraph 0111) arranged around the marking element or adjacent to the marking element, the reflector reflecting toward the 3D sensor the electromagnetic radiation emitted by the transmitter.
With respect to claim 14, Send teaches method for determining a position of an elevator car that is movably arranged in an elevator shaft of an elevator unit, the method comprising the steps of: providing the system according to Claim 8;
operating the evaluation unit to determine ones of the sensor cells detecting the marking element; and determining the position of the elevator car in the elevator shaft based on the determined distances to the detected object of the sensor cells detecting the marking element and/or of ones of the sensor cells arranged in a region adjacent to (paragraph 0126/127/230) the sensor cells detecting the marking element.
With respect to claim 15, Studer teaches system for determining a position of an elevator car that is movably arranged in an elevator shaft of an elevator unit, the system comprising:
a sensor (19/22); an evaluation unit (35/37) in communication with the sensor;
a marking element (20), wherein one of the sensor and the marking element is arranged immovably (fig. 1, 20) in the elevator shaft (7) and another of the sensor and the marking element is arranged on the elevator car (3);
wherein the sensor has a plurality of sensor cells that generate measurement data when an object is detected and the evaluation unit is adapted to use the measurement data (paragraph 0081-0082) received from the sensor to determine a distance of each of the sensor cells from a part of the object detected by the sensor cell;
wherein the sensor detects the marking element and a region around the marking element as the object and the evaluation unit determines ones of the sensor cells that detect the marking element and determines a position of the elevator car in the elevator shaft based on the ones of the sensor cells that detect the marking element (paragraph 0081-0082) and/or ones of the sensor cells arranged in a region adjacent to the ones of the sensor cells that detect the marking element.
Studer does not teach 3d sensors, wherein the sensor cells detect electromagnetic radiation that is emitted by the marking element;
wherein the sensor communicates to the evaluation unit, for each of the sensor cells, an intensity characteristic variable characterizing a quantity of the electromagnetic radiation detected; and
wherein the evaluation unit determines the ones of the sensor cells detecting the marking element based on the associated intensity characteristic variables.
Send teaches 3d sensors (110/111/116), wherein the sensor cells detect electromagnetic radiation that either is emitted by the marking element (116);
wherein the 3D sensor communicates to the evaluation unit (127/129), for each of the sensor cells, an intensity characteristic variable characterizing a quantity of the electromagnetic radiation detected (paragraph 0073); and
wherein the evaluation unit determines the ones of the sensor cells detecting the marking element based on the associated intensity characteristic variables (paragraph 0073/0140).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to use 3D sensor of Send, since it has been held to be within the general skill of a worker in the art to select a known material on the basis of its suitability for the intended use as a matter of obvious design choice. In re Leshin, 125 USPQ 416.
With respect to claim 16, Studer teaches system for determining a position of an elevator car that is movably arranged in an elevator shaft of an elevator unit, the system comprising:
a sensor (19/22); an evaluation unit (35/37) in communication with the sensor;
a marking element (20), wherein one of the sensor and the marking element is arranged immovably (fig. 1, 20) in the elevator shaft (7) and another of the sensor and the marking element is arranged on the elevator car (3);
wherein the sensor has a plurality of sensor cells that generate measurement data when an object is detected and the evaluation unit is adapted to use the measurement data received (paragraph 0081-0082) from the sensor to determine a distance of each of the sensor cells from a part of the object detected by the sensor cell;
wherein the sensor detects the marking element and a region around the marking element as the object and the evaluation unit determines ones of the sensor cells that detect the marking element and determines a position of the elevator car in the elevator shaft based on the ones of the sensor cells that detect the marking element (paragraph 0081-0082) and/or ones of the sensor cells arranged in a region adjacent to the ones of the sensor cells that detect the marking element;
Studer does not teach a 3d sensor, wherein the sensor cells detect electromagnetic radiation that is emitted toward the object by a transmitter and is reflected by the object;
wherein the sensor communicates to the evaluation unit, for each of the sensor cells, an intensity characteristic variable characterizing a quantity of the electromagnetic radiation detected; and
wherein the evaluation unit determines the ones of the sensor cells detecting the marking element based on the associated intensity characteristic variables.
Send teaches 3d sensors (110/111/116), wherein the sensor cells detect electromagnetic radiation that either is emitted toward the object by a transmitter and is reflected by the object (paragraph 0263);
wherein the 3D sensor communicates to the evaluation unit (127/129), for each of the sensor cells, an intensity characteristic variable characterizing a quantity of the electromagnetic radiation detected (paragraph 0073); and
wherein the evaluation unit determines the ones of the sensor cells detecting the marking element based on the associated intensity characteristic variables (paragraph 0073/0140).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to use 3D sensor of Send, since it has been held to be within the general skill of a worker in the art to select a known material on the basis of its suitability for the intended use as a matter of obvious design choice. In re Leshin, 125 USPQ 416.
Conclusion
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/ERICK D GLASS/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2837
