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 .
Status of Claims
The following is a non-final, first office action in response to the communication filed 06/10/2024. Claims 1-18, 22-25, 38 and 41-42 are currently pending and have been examined.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statements (IDS) submitted on 06/11/2024 and 11/19/2025 are in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statements are being considered by the examiner.
Claim Objections
Claim 2 objected to because of the following informalities: does not state whether the illumination parameters are all required or of the illumination parameters if one or more are required. Appropriate correction is required.
Claim 14 objected to because of the following informalities: claim language references an error and not a proper claim number. Appropriate correction is required.
Claim 15 objected to because of the following informalities: claim 15 references claim 14 which is not properly stated. Appropriate correction is required.
Claim 41 objected to because of the following informalities: claim 41 references claim 19 which is cancelled. Appropriate correction is required.
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.
Claim 9 rejected on the basis that it contains an improper Markush grouping of alternatives. See In re Harnisch, 631 F.2d 716, 721-22 (CCPA 1980) and Ex parte Hozumi, 3 USPQ2d 1059, 1060 (Bd. Pat. App. & Int. 1984). A Markush grouping is proper if the alternatives defined by the Markush group (i.e., alternatives from which a selection is to be made in the context of a combination or process, or alternative chemical compounds as a whole) share a “single structural similarity” and a common use. A Markush grouping meets these requirements in two situations. First, a Markush grouping is proper if the alternatives are all members of the same recognized physical or chemical class or the same art-recognized class, and are disclosed in the specification or known in the art to be functionally equivalent and have a common use. Second, where a Markush grouping describes alternative chemical compounds, whether by words or chemical formulas, and the alternatives do not belong to a recognized class as set forth above, the members of the Markush grouping may be considered to share a “single structural similarity” and common use where the alternatives share both a substantial structural feature and a common use that flows from the substantial structural feature. See MPEP § 2117.
The Markush grouping of “solid-state laser, laser diode, a high-power laser, vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser (VCSEL), external cavity diode laser (ECDL)” is improper because the alternatives defined by the Markush grouping do not share both a single structural similarity and a common use for the following reasons: An OR or AND term is missing from the selection of elements in the claim.
To overcome this rejection, Applicant may set forth each alternative (or grouping of patentably indistinct alternatives) within an improper Markush grouping in a series of independent or dependent claims and/or present convincing arguments that the group members recited in the alternative within a single claim in fact share a single structural similarity as well as a common use. For the purposes of examination, the examiner will assume this claim limitation is an “OR”.
Claim 10 rejected on the basis that it contains an improper Markush grouping of alternatives. See In re Harnisch, 631 F.2d 716, 721-22 (CCPA 1980) and Ex parte Hozumi, 3 USPQ2d 1059, 1060 (Bd. Pat. App. & Int. 1984). A Markush grouping is proper if the alternatives defined by the Markush group (i.e., alternatives from which a selection is to be made in the context of a combination or process, or alternative chemical compounds as a whole) share a “single structural similarity” and a common use. A Markush grouping meets these requirements in two situations. First, a Markush grouping is proper if the alternatives are all members of the same recognized physical or chemical class or the same art-recognized class, and are disclosed in the specification or known in the art to be functionally equivalent and have a common use. Second, where a Markush grouping describes alternative chemical compounds, whether by words or chemical formulas, and the alternatives do not belong to a recognized class as set forth above, the members of the Markush grouping may be considered to share a “single structural similarity” and common use where the alternatives share both a substantial structural feature and a common use that flows from the substantial structural feature. See MPEP § 2117.
The Markush grouping of “laser source, LED diode, flash light source” is improper because the alternatives defined by the Markush grouping do not share both a single structural similarity and a common use for the following reasons: An OR or AND term is missing from the selection of elements in the claim.
To overcome this rejection, Applicant may set forth each alternative (or grouping of patentably indistinct alternatives) within an improper Markush grouping in a series of independent or dependent claims and/or present convincing arguments that the group members recited in the alternative within a single claim in fact share a single structural similarity as well as a common use. For the purposes of examination, the examiner will assume this claim limitation is an “OR”.
Claim 11 rejected on the basis that it contains an improper Markush grouping of alternatives. See In re Harnisch, 631 F.2d 716, 721-22 (CCPA 1980) and Ex parte Hozumi, 3 USPQ2d 1059, 1060 (Bd. Pat. App. & Int. 1984). A Markush grouping is proper if the alternatives defined by the Markush group (i.e., alternatives from which a selection is to be made in the context of a combination or process, or alternative chemical compounds as a whole) share a “single structural similarity” and a common use. A Markush grouping meets these requirements in two situations. First, a Markush grouping is proper if the alternatives are all members of the same recognized physical or chemical class or the same art-recognized class, and are disclosed in the specification or known in the art to be functionally equivalent and have a common use. Second, where a Markush grouping describes alternative chemical compounds, whether by words or chemical formulas, and the alternatives do not belong to a recognized class as set forth above, the members of the Markush grouping may be considered to share a “single structural similarity” and common use where the alternatives share both a substantial structural feature and a common use that flows from the substantial structural feature. See MPEP § 2117.
The Markush grouping of “light energy, light intensity, peak power, average power, light wavelength, pulsed light form, pulsed light duration, pulsed light timing” is improper because the alternatives defined by the Markush grouping do not share both a single structural similarity and a common use for the following reasons: An OR or AND term is missing from the selection of elements in the claim.
To overcome this rejection, Applicant may set forth each alternative (or grouping of patentably indistinct alternatives) within an improper Markush grouping in a series of independent or dependent claims and/or present convincing arguments that the group members recited in the alternative within a single claim in fact share a single structural similarity as well as a common use. For the purposes of examination, the examiner will assume this claim limitation is an “OR”.
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 1-18, 22-25, 38, 41, and 42 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Ferreira et al. (US-20200284883-A1; hereinafter Ferreira).
Regarding claim 1, Ferreira discloses A LIDAR system for surveying a field of view (FOV) comprising: an illumination system, a light-sensitive detector, a scanning unit and at least one processing unit, wherein the illumination system is configured to project a first light with first illumination parameters, deflected by the scanning system through a window toward the field of view of the LIDAR system; and (see at least [0409]; "A LIDAR (light detection and ranging) Sensor System is to be understood in particular as meaning a system which, in addition to one or more emitters for emitting light beams, for example in pulsed form, and a detector for detecting any reflected beam components, may have further devices, for example optical elements such as lenses and/or a MEMS mirror." and see at least [0402]; "Furthermore, the LIDAR system has a control device (LIDAR Data Processing System/Control and Communication System/LIDAR Sensor Management System), which is designed, in the event that at least one reflected beam component is detected, to associate the detected beam component on the basis of a predetermined assignment with a solid angle range from which the beam component originates." and see at least Figure 150B and [3219]; "An example of the operation of the sensor 52 in relation to an emitted emission pattern is illustrated in FIG. 150B and FIG. 150C. The emission pattern emitted by the light emitting system 15002 (e.g., by the array of light emitters 15004) may be reflected by an object 15014 (e.g., a vehicle) in the field of view 15010. The light may be reflected by the object 15014 towards the LIDAR system 15000. The reflected light may be collected by the sensor 52. The reflected light may have a pattern in accordance with the emission pattern and with the reflection from the object 15014. Illustratively, a collected field of view 15010 (e.g., a field of view including the reflected light) may have illuminated areas (e.g., the areas D to G in FIG. 150B) in correspondence with portions of the object 15014 illuminated by the emission pattern. The collected field of view 15010 may have non-illuminated areas (e.g., the areas A to C in FIG. 1506) in correspondence of portions of the object 15014 not illuminated by the emission pattern.") the light-sensitive detector is configured to receive light reflected from objects in the field of view and deflected by the scanning unit; and (see at least [0409]; "A LIDAR (light detection and ranging) Sensor System is to be understood in particular as meaning a system which, in addition to one or more emitters for emitting light beams, for example in pulsed form, and a detector for detecting any reflected beam components, may have further devices, for example optical elements such as lenses and/or a MEMS mirror.") the at least one processing unit is configured to analyze detected light and determine information about the objects, and wherein the illumination system is further configured to project a second light with second illumination parameters toward a window vicinity, (see at least [0402]; "The disclosure relates to a LIDAR Sensor System for environment detection, wherein the LIDAR Sensor System is designed to carry out repeated measurements for detecting the environment, wherein the LIDAR Sensor System has an emitting unit (First LIDAR Sensing System) which is designed to perform a measurement with at least one laser pulse and wherein the LIDAR system has a detection unit (Second LIDAR Sensing Unit), which is designed to detect an object-reflected laser pulse during a measurement time window. Furthermore, the LIDAR system has a control device (LIDAR Data Processing System/Control and Communication System/LIDAR Sensor Management System), which is designed, in the event that at least one reflected beam component is detected, to associate the detected beam component on the basis of a predetermined assignment with a solid angle range from which the beam component originates." and see at least [1351]; "In a rotating LIDAR system (also referred to as scanning LIDAR system), a sensor faces at all times only a small solid angle range in the horizontal direction (e.g. the field of view of the system may be small), thus reducing or substantially eliminating the worsening of the SNR mentioned above. A similar effect may be achieved in a system in which the detected light is collected by means of a movable mirror or another similar (e.g. movable) component." and see at least [0444]; "Vehicle headlights employing MEMS or DMD/DLP light processing mirror devices can be used for projection of visible road light (road illumination, like low beam, high beam) but also for projection of information and images onto the surface of a road or an object and/or for the projection of infrared radiation for LIDAR Sensor System purposes.") wherein the first illumination parameters differ from second illumination parameters by at least one illumination parameter; and (see at least [4093]; "As an example, the one or more processors may be configured to control a light source of the LIDAR system (e.g., to result in a target power consumption). Illustratively, the light source may be controlled to emit light (e.g., laser light) having different power into different regions (e.g., a first power in the first region and a second power in the second region, the second power being for example lower than the first power).") the light-sensitive detector is configured to receive second light reflections in response to the second light, deflected by the scanning unit; and (see at least [0724]; "In various embodiments, a combination of a small deflection mirror or any other well-suited beam steering arrangement with a silicon photo multiplier (SiPM) detector array is provided (having the same optical path or separate optical paths). The output signals provided by those SiPM pixels of the sensor 52 of the second LIDAR sensing system 50 onto which the light beam reflected by the target object (e.g. object 100) impinges may then be combined with each other, at least in some time intervals (e.g. by one or more multiplexers, e.g. by a row multiplexer and a column multiplexer) and will then be forwarded to an amplifier, as will be described in more detail further below. Depending on the number of pixels in the SiPM detector array, which are covered by the light spot, for example one, two, or four pixels may be connected together for its evaluation. It is to be noted that, in general, any number of pixels in the SiPM detector array may be connected together depending inter alia on the size and coverage of the pixels in the SiPM detector array by the light spot.") the at least one processing unit comprises a window module to determine a location of a window blockage based on analysis of the second light reflections and position information of the scanning unit. (see at least Figure 150B and [3210]; "As another example, the light emitting system 15002 may include an optical pattern generation component (e.g., the one or more optical components 15006 may be or may include an optical pattern generation component). The optical pattern generation component may be configured to receive the light emitted by the one or more light emitters 15004. The optical pattern generation component may be configured to control (e.g., to is modulate) the received light to emit a structured illumination pattern towards the scene." and see at least [3219]; "An example of the operation of the sensor 52 in relation to an emitted emission pattern is illustrated in FIG. 150B and FIG. 150C. The emission pattern emitted by the light emitting system 15002 (e.g., by the array of light emitters 15004) may be reflected by an object 15014 (e.g., a vehicle) in the field of view 15010. The light may be reflected by the object 15014 towards the LIDAR system 15000. The reflected light may be collected by the sensor 52. The reflected light may have a pattern in accordance with the emission pattern and with the reflection from the object 15014. Illustratively, a collected field of view 15010 (e.g., a field of view including the reflected light) may have illuminated areas (e.g., the areas D to G in FIG. 150B) in correspondence with portions of the object 15014 illuminated by the emission pattern. The collected field of view 15010 may have non-illuminated areas (e.g., the areas A to C in FIG. 1506) in correspondence of portions of the object 15014 not illuminated by the emission pattern." and see at least [1892]; "The spatial light modulator controller 5914 may control the spatial light modulator 5910 in real time, although it may be foreseeable that the spatial light modulator 5910 could be calibrated periodically instead of real-time modulation, such as in the case of a non-ideal power output profile due to ageing... From time to time, the LIDAR sensor system may additionally be upgraded with upgrade parameters loaded into the firmware of the LIDAR sensor system 5900. These upgrade parameters may modify the field of view 5912 or laser beam profile, or they may upgrade the configuration of the spatial light modulator 5910. As such, the spatial light modulator 5910 may be optimized from time to time in order to achieve an optimal laser beam profile." and see at least [1895]; "In various embodiments, it may be desirable to add monitoring sensor circuitry to the LIDAR sensor system 5900 such that the monitoring sensor circuitry can evaluate, in real-time, the percentage of optical power being absorbed or blocked by a spatial light modulator." and see at least [0724]; "In various embodiments, a combination of a small deflection mirror or any other well-suited beam steering arrangement with a silicon photo multiplier (SiPM) detector array is provided (having the same optical path or separate optical paths). The output signals provided by those SiPM pixels of the sensor 52 of the second LIDAR sensing system 50 onto which the light beam reflected by the target object (e.g. object 100) impinges may then be combined with each other, at least in some time intervals (e.g. by one or more multiplexers, e.g. by a row multiplexer and a column multiplexer) and will then be forwarded to an amplifier, as will be described in more detail further below. Depending on the number of pixels in the SiPM detector array, which are covered by the light spot, for example one, two, or four pixels may be connected together for its evaluation. It is to be noted that, in general, any number of pixels in the SiPM detector array may be connected together depending inter alia on the size and coverage of the pixels in the SiPM detector array by the light spot.").
Regarding claim 2, Ferreira discloses The LIDAR system of claim 1, wherein the illumination parameters comprise light energy, light intensity, peak power, average power, light wavelength, pulsed light form, pulsed light duration, pulsed light timing. (see at least [0050]; "The LIDAR Sensor System and/or LIDAR Sensor Device may be configured to enable customer-specific and/or vehicle-specific light spectra. The LIDAR Sensor Device may be configured to change the form and/or position and/or orientation of the at least one LIDAR Sensor System. Further, the LIDAR Sensor System and/or LIDAR Sensor Device may be configured to change the light specifications of the light emitted by the light source, such as direction of emission, angle of emission, beam divergence, color, wavelength, and intensity as well as other characteristics like laser pulse shape, temporal length, rise- and fall times, polarization, pulse synchronization, pulse synchronization, laser power, laser type (IR-diode, VCSEL), Field of View (FOV), laser wavelength, beam changing device (MEMS, DMD, DLP, LCD, Fiber), beam and/or sensor aperture, sensor type (PN-diode, APD, SPAD)." and see at least [0747]; "a) the emitted pulse waveform may be generated by a LIDAR electrooptic simulation model at design time (in this case, a simulation model may be provided, which mathematically models the electrical and optical components of the light (e.g. laser) source—the LIDAR pulses would then not be measured but simulated using the device parameters);" and see at least [2249]; "It can be advantageous that the emission points (time stamps) of two subsequent laser pulses vary within a minimum and a maximum time difference value (Variation Amplitude) of the Detection Window (Measurement Window) but otherwise fulfilling the above described timing conditions. It can be especially advantageous when the Variation Amplitude (as defined before) is a function of a quality indication parameter such as a resolution measure of a feedback signal or a SNR-value. Another method is to track the time stamps of incoming laser pulses as a function of the (known) emission points of the own laser pulses in a kind of histogram analysis." and see at least [2282]; "As already described in other aspects of this disclosure, it is important that a LIDAR Sensor System is able to detect an object quickly and reliably and that LIDAR pulses from different LIDAR Sensor Systems can be discriminated from each other in order to avoid false positive object recognition. The advantageous method of a reliable LIDAR pulse discrimination is to vary or modulate, including stochastic modulation, LIDAR laser pulse shapes, for example Gaussian, Lorentzian or saw-tooth, pulse rise times, pulse fall times, pulse widths, including stochastic modulations of a combination of some or all these parameters.").
Regarding claim 3, Ferreira discloses The LIDAR system of claim 1, wherein the at least one illumination parameter comprises light energy, and (see at least [0050]; "The LIDAR Sensor System and/or LIDAR Sensor Device may be configured to enable customer-specific and/or vehicle-specific light spectra. The LIDAR Sensor Device may be configured to change the form and/or position and/or orientation of the at least one LIDAR Sensor System. Further, the LIDAR Sensor System and/or LIDAR Sensor Device may be configured to change the light specifications of the light emitted by the light source, such as direction of emission, angle of emission, beam divergence, color, wavelength, and intensity as well as other characteristics like laser pulse shape, temporal length, rise- and fall times, polarization, pulse synchronization, pulse synchronization, laser power, laser type (IR-diode, VCSEL), Field of View (FOV), laser wavelength, beam changing device (MEMS, DMD, DLP, LCD, Fiber), beam and/or sensor aperture, sensor type (PN-diode, APD, SPAD)." and see at least [0747]; "a) the emitted pulse waveform may be generated by a LIDAR electrooptic simulation model at design time (in this case, a simulation model may be provided, which mathematically models the electrical and optical components of the light (e.g. laser) source—the LIDAR pulses would then not be measured but simulated using the device parameters);") wherein the light energy of the second light is lower than the light energy of the first light. (see at least [3203]; "The thermal management circuit may be configured to provide constraints or other parameters to the one or more processors (and/or to the light emitting controller) in case critical peaks are present (e.g., in areas where nearby pixels are switched “ON” often). The temperature data may further describe or include such constraints or other parameters...As another example, additionally or alternatively, the thermal management circuit may be configured to control the light emitting controller to lower the output power of the one or more light emitters (e.g., globally or on a per-emitter basis, e.g. on a pixel basis).").
Regarding claim 4, Ferreira discloses The LIDAR system of claim 1, wherein each of the first and second light have a wavelength between 700 nm-1000 nm. (see at least [0422]; "The radiation emitted by the light source is in some embodiments infrared (IR) radiation emitted by a laser diode in a wavelength range of 600 nm to 850 nm. However, wavelengths up to 1064 nm, up to 1600 nm, up to 5600 nm or up to 8100 nm are also possible.").
Regarding claim 5, Ferreira discloses The LIDAR system of claim 1, wherein the illumination unit is configured to project pulsed light toward the FOV and toward the window vicinity in non-overlapping time intervals such that the light reflected from the field of view in response to projecting the first light and light received in response to projecting the second light toward the light-sensitive detector in non-overlapping time intervals. (see at least [0402]; "The disclosure relates to a LIDAR Sensor System for environment detection, wherein the LIDAR Sensor System is designed to carry out repeated measurements for detecting the environment, wherein the LIDAR Sensor System has an emitting unit (First LIDAR Sensing System) which is designed to perform a measurement with at least one laser pulse and wherein the LIDAR system has a detection unit (Second LIDAR Sensing Unit), which is designed to detect an object-reflected laser pulse during a measurement time window. Furthermore, the LIDAR system has a control device (LIDAR Data Processing System/Control and Communication System/LIDAR Sensor Management System), which is designed, in the event that at least one reflected beam component is detected, to associate the detected beam component on the basis of a predetermined assignment with a solid angle range from which the beam component originates." and see at least [3214]; "The light emitting controller 15008 may be configured to control the light emitting system 15002 to emit light in a pulsed fashion to emit the plurality of different emission patterns in a pulsed fashion. Illustratively, the light emitting controller 15008 may be configured to control the light emitting system 15002 to emit a sequence of different emission patters (e.g., to sequentially illuminate different areas of the field of emission). The sequence of emission patterns may define an imaging process (e.g., an image acquisition). The light emitting controller 15008 may be configured to control the light emitting system 15002 to emit a different emission pattern at predefined time intervals. The length of the time intervals (illustratively, the repetition rate) may be dependent on the resolution and/or on the detection range (e.g., on the maximum time-of-flight) of the LIDAR system 15000. By way of example, the length of a time interval may be in the range from about 1 ps to about 100 ps, for example from about 200 ns to about 500 ns, for example from about 10 ns to about 100 ns." and see at least [5850]; "Illustratively, the optical sensor array 16906 may include a plurality of optical sensor arrays (e.g., sub-arrays). The plurality of optical sensor arrays may have a same field of view or a different field of view. By way of example, at least a first optical sensor sub-array may have the same field of view as a second optical sensor sub-array. As another example, at least a first optical sensor sub-array may have a field of view different (e.g., non-overlapping, or partially overlapping) from the field of view of a second optical sensor sub-array. The field of view of the optical sensor array 16906 may be the combination (e.g., the superposition) of the individual fields of view of the plurality of optical sensor sub-arrays." and see at least Figure 150B and [3219]; "An example of the operation of the sensor 52 in relation to an emitted emission pattern is illustrated in FIG. 150B and FIG. 150C. The emission pattern emitted by the light emitting system 15002 (e.g., by the array of light emitters 15004) may be reflected by an object 15014 (e.g., a vehicle) in the field of view 15010. The light may be reflected by the object 15014 towards the LIDAR system 15000. The reflected light may be collected by the sensor 52. The reflected light may have a pattern in accordance with the emission pattern and with the reflection from the object 15014. Illustratively, a collected field of view 15010 (e.g., a field of view including the reflected light) may have illuminated areas (e.g., the areas D to G in FIG. 150B) in correspondence with portions of the object 15014 illuminated by the emission pattern. The collected field of view 15010 may have non-illuminated areas (e.g., the areas A to C in FIG. 1506) in correspondence of portions of the object 15014 not illuminated by the emission pattern.").
Regarding claim 6, Ferreira discloses The LIDAR system of claim 5, further comprising a readout unit configured to read light-sensitive detector signals, and (see at least [0550]; "As described above, the second LIDAR sensing system 50 includes an in-pixel readout electronic and may include or essentially consist of several cascaded readout units, which enables the analysis and storage of several consecutive events of one ToF-trace, while the interface to the adjacent FPGA 62." and see at least [0661]; "Example 1a is a LIDAR Sensor System. The LIDAR Sensor System includes at least one photo diode, an energy storage circuit configured to store electrical energy provided by the photo diode, a controller configured to control a read-out process of the electrical energy stored in the energy storage circuit, and at least one read-out circuitry. The at least one readout circuitry includes an event detector configured to provide a trigger signal if an analog electrical characteristic representing the electrical energy stored in the energy storage circuit fulfills a predefined trigger criterion, a timer circuit configured to provide a digital time information, and an analog-to-digital converter configured to convert the analog electrical characteristic into a digital electrical characteristic value.") wherein the light reflected from the field of view FOV is received in a first time interval, and the light received in response to window illumination is received in a second time interval, and; (see at least [1724]; "Illustratively, in case a plurality of optical fibers 10902 is assigned to one sensor 52 (e.g., to one sensor pixel 10808), all incoming light pulses may be measured within the same (e.g., first) measurement time window. Alternatively, at least one of the incoming light pulses from at least one the plurality of optical fibers 10902 may be measured within a second measurement time window different from the first measurement time window (e.g., it may be shifted in time). The light received from a first optical fiber 10902 may generate a first signal at a first time point and the light received from a second optical fiber 10902 may generate a second signal at a second time point, different from the first time point (e.g., after 100 ns or after 1 ms)." and see at least [2275]; "A scanning LIDAR Sensor System employing this advantageous method emits laser pulses in a time-stochastic manner. This leads to the fact that laser pulses are emitted in various ‘stochastic’ directions within the Field-of-View (FOV) thus scanning the FOV in an angle-stochastic manner. This method reduces the aliasing effects based on the Nyquist-Shannon-Sampling Theorem. One effect of this measurement method is that objects are more likely to be detected quicker than with the usual non-stochastic pulse method.") wherein the processing unit controls a readout sampling frequency during a first time interval and a second time interval. (see at least [0581]; "Illustratively, various embodiments providing an enhanced sampling scheme may be based on the application of the differentiated ToF signals. which enables increased temporal resolution for analyzing overlapping double peaks in the ToF trace. The trigger settings may be controlled by the digital backend (e.g. the host processor 62). The S-Clk (system clock) from the controller (e.g. the sensor controller 53) may be provided for optional enabling of the continuous waveform-sampling mode." and see at least [0556]; "FIG. 20A shows a pixel architecture for advanced event timing both for TDC-application and ADC control. The enhanced sampling to scheme is based on the application of differentiated ToF signals (also referred to as time derivatives of the ToF signal), which enables increased temporal resolution for analyzing overlapping double peaks in the ToF trace." and see at least [2271]; "As already described in other aspects of this disclosure, it is important that a LIDAR Sensor System is able to detect an object quickly and reliably. Problems doing this are, for example, aliasing-artefacts that occur when a sampling rate is less than the twofold of the highest frequency of a signal (Nyquist-Shannon-Sampling Theorem), or when stroboscopic effects lead to a distorted signal detection." and see at least [1724]; "Illustratively, in case a plurality of optical fibers 10902 is assigned to one sensor 52 (e.g., to one sensor pixel 10808), all incoming light pulses may be measured within the same (e.g., first) measurement time window. Alternatively, at least one of the incoming light pulses from at least one the plurality of optical fibers 10902 may be measured within a second measurement time window different from the first measurement time window (e.g., it may be shifted in time). The light received from a first optical fiber 10902 may generate a first signal at a first time point and the light received from a second optical fiber 10902 may generate a second signal at a second time point, different from the first time point (e.g., after 100 ns or after 1 ms)." and see at least [6220]; "Sampling signal generally denotes the signal (and its properties) which is used to sample a sensing field. In case of a LIDAR sampling signal, a laser source is used which may be configured to emit light with a wide range of properties. Generally, the laser light might be emitted in a continuous wave manner (including modulations or adaptions of wavelength, phase, amplitude, frequency, polarization, etc.) or in a pulsed manner (including modulations or adaptions of pulse width, pulse form, pulse spacing, wavelength, etc.).").
Regarding claim 7, Ferreira discloses The LIDAR system of claim 6, wherein the readout sampling frequency during the second time interval is higher than the frequency in the first time interval. (see at least [6220]; "Sampling signal generally denotes the signal (and its properties) which is used to sample a sensing field. In case of a LIDAR sampling signal, a laser source is used which may be configured to emit light with a wide range of properties. Generally, the laser light might be emitted in a continuous wave manner (including modulations or adaptions of wavelength, phase, amplitude, frequency, polarization, etc.) or in a pulsed manner (including modulations or adaptions of pulse width, pulse form, pulse spacing, wavelength, etc.)." and see at least [4440]; "It is understood that the frequency-domain components at higher (or lower) frequency associated with the first portion and/or with the second portion may be frequency-domain components having an amplitude above a certain threshold, as described in further detail below. Illustratively, the frequency-domain components at higher (or lower) frequency may not be associated with noise, but with one or more properties of the first portion and/or the second portion." and see at least [0641]; "The simplest technique to quantize a time interval is to count the cycles of a reference clock during the targeted time interval. The time interval is defined by a start signal and a stop signal. Since in general the respective time interval is asynchronous to the reference clock, a first systematic measurement error ΔTstart appears already at the beginning of the time interval and a second systematic measurement error appears ΔTstop at the end of the time interval. The measurement accuracy can be increased by a higher reference clock frequency, which in general leads to a higher power consumption for clock generation and clock distribution. CMOS based oscillators generators are limited in their frequencies and for frequency values higher than 1 GHz CML or external LC oscillators are required (CML=Current mode logic). For a 65 nm technology the maximum frequency is limited typically to 5 GHz-10 GHz Higher resolution than the underlying reference clock is achieved by subdividing the reference clock period asynchronously into smaller time intervals.").
Regarding claim 8, Ferreira discloses The LIDAR system of claim 1, wherein the illumination system comprises a FOV illumination unit with a first at least one FOV light source configured to project light with the first illumination parameters, and a window illumination unit with a second at least one window light source configured to project light with the second illumination parameters. (see at least [0050]; "The LIDAR Sensor System and/or LIDAR Sensor Device may be configured to enable customer-specific and/or vehicle-specific light spectra. The LIDAR Sensor Device may be configured to change the form and/or position and/or orientation of the at least one LIDAR Sensor System. Further, the LIDAR Sensor System and/or LIDAR Sensor Device may be configured to change the light specifications of the light emitted by the light source, such as direction of emission, angle of emission, beam divergence, color, wavelength, and intensity as well as other characteristics like laser pulse shape, temporal length, rise- and fall times, polarization, pulse synchronization, pulse synchronization, laser power, laser type (IR-diode, VCSEL), Field of View (FOV), laser wavelength, beam changing device (MEMS, DMD, DLP, LCD, Fiber), beam and/or sensor aperture, sensor type (PN-diode, APD, SPAD)." and see at least [0422]; "The radiation emitted by the light source is in some embodiments infrared (IR) radiation emitted by a laser diode in a wavelength range of 600 nm to 850 nm. However, wavelengths up to 1064 nm, up to 1600 nm, up to 5600 nm or up to 8100 nm are also possible." and see at least Figure 150B and [3210]; "As another example, the light emitting system 15002 may include an optical pattern generation component (e.g., the one or more optical components 15006 may be or may include an optical pattern generation component). The optical pattern generation component may be configured to receive the light emitted by the one or more light emitters 15004. The optical pattern generation component may be configured to control (e.g., to is modulate) the received light to emit a structured illumination pattern towards the scene." and see at least [4093]; "As an example, the one or more processors may be configured to control a light source of the LIDAR system (e.g., to result in a target power consumption). Illustratively, the light source may be controlled to emit light (e.g., laser light) having different power into different regions (e.g., a first power in the first region and a second power in the second region, the second power being for example lower than the first power).").
Regarding claim 9, Ferreira discloses The LIDAR system of claim 8, wherein the first at least one FOV light source is one of a group consisting of: solid-state laser, laser diode, a high-power laser, vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser (VCSEL), external cavity diode laser (ECDL). (see at least [0050]; "The LIDAR Sensor System and/or LIDAR Sensor Device may be configured to enable customer-specific and/or vehicle-specific light spectra. The LIDAR Sensor Device may be configured to change the form and/or position and/or orientation of the at least one LIDAR Sensor System. Further, the LIDAR Sensor System and/or LIDAR Sensor Device may be configured to change the light specifications of the light emitted by the light source, such as direction of emission, angle of emission, beam divergence, color, wavelength, and intensity as well as other characteristics like laser pulse shape, temporal length, rise- and fall times, polarization, pulse synchronization, pulse synchronization, laser power, laser type (IR-diode, VCSEL), Field of View (FOV), laser wavelength, beam changing device (MEMS, DMD, DLP, LCD, Fiber), beam and/or sensor aperture, sensor type (PN-diode, APD, SPAD)." and see at least [2063]; "Pulsed laser sources may have various applications. An important field of application for pulsed laser sources may be time-of-flight LIDAR sensors or LIDAR systems. In a time-of-flight LIDAR system, a laser pulse may be emitted, the laser pulse may be reflected by a target object, and the reflected pulse may be received again by the LIDAR system. A distance to the object may be calculated by measuring the time that has elapsed between sending out the laser pulse and receiving the reflected pulse. Various types of lasers or laser sources may be used for a LIDAR application (e.g., in a LIDAR system). By way of example, a LIDAR system may include an edge-emitting diode laser, a vertical cavity surface-emitting laser (VCSEL), a fiber laser, or a solid state laser (e.g., a Nd:YAG diode pumped crystal laser, a disc laser, and the like). An edge-emitting diode laser or a VCSEL may be provided, for example, for low-cost applications." and see at least [2070]; "The capacitors (e.g., DRAM-like capacitors) may have sufficient capacity to provide enough current to the laser diode for high-power laser emission, illustratively for emission in time-of-flight LIDAR applications." and see at least [0422]; "However, it is also possible to use a VECSEL (Vertical External Cavity Surface Emitting Laser), which can be operated with high pulse powers in the wattage range. Both the VCSEL and the VECSEL may be in the form of an array, e.g. 15×20 or 20×20 laser diodes may be arranged so that the summed radiation power can be several hundred watts.").
Regarding claim 10, Ferreira discloses The LIDAR system of claim 8, wherein the second at least one window light source is one of a group consisting of: laser source, LED diode, flash light source. (see at least [1095]; "In summary, providing a suitable wiring scheme within a detector array, e.g. within the detector housing (if applicable), the signal paths may be crossed with each other without significantly lengthening the signal paths and with a substantially lower capacitive coupling, since the dimensions of the conductive lines on the photo diode array chip are substantially smaller than the dimensions of the conductive lines on the PCB. By way of example, if a detector 52 including 32 photo diode 2602 should be grouped together to eight diode groups 7016, each diode group 7016 having four photo diodes 2602, since an implementation of only eight amplifier circuits or amplifiers 2626 are desired, it is possible to connect the photo diodes 2602 at the locations i, 8+i, 16+i, and 24+i via one respective multiplexer 6814 to the i-th amplifier 2626. Thus, it is possible to separately illuminate the diode groups 7016 in a LIDAR application which may reduce the number of required transmitter light source(s) 42, e.g. transmitter laser source(s) 42." and see at least [0036]; "The light source may be selected from the following group or a combination thereof: light emitting diode (LED), super-luminescent laser diode (LD), VSECL laser diode array." and see at least [1689]; "Illustratively, the operation may be seen as follows. The LIDAR light may enter (e.g., it may be transported) in a first waveguiding component. One or more additional input ports may be provided. Pumping light may be introduced via the additional input port(s). As an example, with each LIDAR light pulse (e.g., each LIDAR laser pulse), a pumping light driver (e.g., an excitation laser) may be configured to flash (illustratively, to emit a pumping light pulse).").
Regarding claim 11, Ferreira discloses The LIDAR system of claim 1, wherein the illumination system comprises a single pulsed light source and a light modulating unit configured to set one or more of the illumination parameters from a group consisting of: light energy, light intensity, peak power, average power, light wavelength, pulsed light form, pulsed light duration, pulsed light timing. (see at least [0050]; "The LIDAR Sensor System and/or LIDAR Sensor Device may be configured to enable customer-specific and/or vehicle-specific light spectra. The LIDAR Sensor Device may be configured to change the form and/or position and/or orientation of the at least one LIDAR Sensor System. Further, the LIDAR Sensor System and/or LIDAR Sensor Device may be configured to change the light specifications of the light emitted by the light source, such as direction of emission, angle of emission, beam divergence, color, wavelength, and intensity as well as other characteristics like laser pulse shape, temporal length, rise- and fall times, polarization, pulse synchronization, pulse synchronization, laser power, laser type (IR-diode, VCSEL), Field of View (FOV), laser wavelength, beam changing device (MEMS, DMD, DLP, LCD, Fiber), beam and/or sensor aperture, sensor type (PN-diode, APD, SPAD)." and see at least [3383]; "The modulation matrix associated with a transmitter group may be at least partially repeated in other transmitter groups (e.g., in some or all the other transmitter groups fired afterwards). By way of example, the transmitter controller may be configured to modulate each emitter pixel of a second transmitter group, so that light signals emitted by different partial emitter pixels of the second transmitter group are modulated with different modulation characteristics. At least one modulation characteristic used for modulating an emitter pixel of the first transmitter group may be the same modulation characteristic used for modulating an emitter pixel of the second transmitter group. Only as an example, the first transmitter group may include four emitter pixels modulated with four different modulation frequencies f.sub.1, f.sub.2, f.sub.3, and f.sub.4, and the second transmitter group may include four emitter pixels modulated with the same four modulation frequencies f.sub.1, f.sub.2, f.sub.3, and f.sub.4." and see at least [0747]; "a) the emitted pulse waveform may be generated by a LIDAR electrooptic simulation model at design time (in this case, a simulation model may be provided, which mathematically models the electrical and optical components of the light (e.g. laser) source—the LIDAR pulses would then not be measured but simulated using the device parameters);" and see at least [2249]; "It can be advantageous that the emission points (time stamps) of two subsequent laser pulses vary within a minimum and a maximum time difference value (Variation Amplitude) of the Detection Window (Measurement Window) but otherwise fulfilling the above described timing conditions. It can be especially advantageous when the Variation Amplitude (as defined before) is a function of a quality indication parameter such as a resolution measure of a feedback signal or a SNR-value. Another method is to track the time stamps of incoming laser pulses as a function of the (known) emission points of the own laser pulses in a kind of histogram analysis." and see at least [2282]; "As already described in other aspects of this disclosure, it is important that a LIDAR Sensor System is able to detect an object quickly and reliably and that LIDAR pulses from different LIDAR Sensor Systems can be discriminated from each other in order to avoid false positive object recognition. The advantageous method of a reliable LIDAR pulse discrimination is to vary or modulate, including stochastic modulation, LIDAR laser pulse shapes, for example Gaussian, Lorentzian or saw-tooth, pulse rise times, pulse fall times, pulse widths, including stochastic modulations of a combination of some or all these parameters.").
Regarding claim 12, Ferreira discloses The LIDAR system of claim 11, wherein the light modulating unit is configured to set one or more of the first illumination parameters for the projection of the first light towards the FOV and one or more of the second illumination parameters, different from the one or more first illumination parameters, for projection of the second light towards the window vicinity. (see at least [3383]; "The modulation matrix associated with a transmitter group may be at least partially repeated in other transmitter groups (e.g., in some or all the other transmitter groups fired afterwards). By way of example, the transmitter controller may be configured to modulate each emitter pixel of a second transmitter group, so that light signals emitted by different partial emitter pixels of the second transmitter group are modulated with different modulation characteristics. At least one modulation characteristic used for modulating an emitter pixel of the first transmitter group may be the same modulation characteristic used for modulating an emitter pixel of the second transmitter group. Only as an example, the first transmitter group may include four emitter pixels modulated with four different modulation frequencies f.sub.1, f.sub.2, f.sub.3, and f.sub.4, and the second transmitter group may include four emitter pixels modulated with the same four modulation frequencies f.sub.1, f.sub.2, f.sub.3, and f.sub.4." and see at least [0422]; "The radiation emitted by the light source is in some embodiments infrared (IR) radiation emitted by a laser diode in a wavelength range of 600 nm to 850 nm. However, wavelengths up to 1064 nm, up to 1600 nm, up to 5600 nm or up to 8100 nm are also possible." and see at least [5850]; "Illustratively, the optical sensor array 16906 may include a plurality of optical sensor arrays (e.g., sub-arrays). The plurality of optical sensor arrays may have a same field of view or a different field of view. By way of example, at least a first optical sensor sub-array may have the same field of view as a second optical sensor sub-array. As another example, at least a first optical sensor sub-array may have a field of view different (e.g., non-overlapping, or partially overlapping) from the field of view of a second optical sensor sub-array. The field of view of the optical sensor array 16906 may be the combination (e.g., the superposition) of the individual fields of view of the plurality of optical sensor sub-arrays." and see at least Figure 150B and [3219]; "An example of the operation of the sensor 52 in relation to an emitted emission pattern is illustrated in FIG. 150B and FIG. 150C. The emission pattern emitted by the light emitting system 15002 (e.g., by the array of light emitters 15004) may be reflected by an object 15014 (e.g., a vehicle) in the field of view 15010. The light may be reflected by the object 15014 towards the LIDAR system 15000. The reflected light may be collected by the sensor 52. The reflected light may have a pattern in accordance with the emission pattern and with the reflection from the object 15014. Illustratively, a collected field of view 15010 (e.g., a field of view including the reflected light) may have illuminated areas (e.g., the areas D to G in FIG. 150B) in correspondence with portions of the object 15014 illuminated by the emission pattern. The collected field of view 15010 may have non-illuminated areas (e.g., the areas A to C in FIG. 1506) in correspondence of portions of the object 15014 not illuminated by the emission pattern.").
Regarding claim 13, Ferreira discloses The LIDAR system of claim 1, wherein the illumination system comprises a single light source with controllable emission energy such that the energy of the second light is lower than the energy of the first light. (see at least [0050]; "The LIDAR Sensor System and/or LIDAR Sensor Device may be configured to enable customer-specific and/or vehicle-specific light spectra. The LIDAR Sensor Device may be configured to change the form and/or position and/or orientation of the at least one LIDAR Sensor System. Further, the LIDAR Sensor System and/or LIDAR Sensor Device may be configured to change the light specifications of the light emitted by the light source, such as direction of emission, angle of emission, beam divergence, color, wavelength, and intensity as well as other characteristics like laser pulse shape, temporal length, rise- and fall times, polarization, pulse synchronization, pulse synchronization, laser power, laser type (IR-diode, VCSEL), Field of View (FOV), laser wavelength, beam changing device (MEMS, DMD, DLP, LCD, Fiber), beam and/or sensor aperture, sensor type (PN-diode, APD, SPAD)." and see at least [0886]; "Moreover, it is to be noted that the light (laser) emission (e.g. provided by a plurality of light (laser) sources, which may be operated in a group-wise manner) may be adapted in its light intensity pattern to the pixel is distribution or arrangement of the sensor 52, e.g. it may be adapted such that larger pixels may be charged with light having a higher intensity than smaller pixels. This may be provided in an analog manner with respect to photo diodes having a higher and lower sensitivity, respectively." and see at least [2507]; "The signal strength of the emitted light may vary depending on the location of the emission, for example with higher power towards the front and the rear, and with lower power sideways. Also, the left and right sides of a vehicle may use light sources with different wavelengths, intensities, blinking frequencies and the like, thus facilitating easy recognition of driving direction (forward and backward) if such settings are somewhat standardized." and see at least [3143]; "The narrow linewidth emission may enable narrowband filtering. This may provide the effect of reducing ambient light and/or shot noise, thus improving the SNR. The optical output power of the individual pixels of a VCSEL may be lower than the optical output power of an edge emitting laser.").
Regarding claim 14, (Examiner’s note: Examiner will assume claim 14 to reference claim 1, from older claim list submitted.) Ferreira discloses The LIDAR system of claim Error! Reference source not found., wherein at least one of the first light and the second light is projected as a sequence of light pulses. (see at least [1724]; "Alternatively, at least one of the incoming light pulses from at least one the plurality of optical fibers 10902 may be measured within a second measurement time window different from the first measurement time window (e.g., it may be shifted in time). The light received from a first optical fiber 10902 may generate a first signal at a first time point and the light received from a second optical fiber 10902 may generate a second signal at a second time point, different from the first time point (e.g., after 100 ns or after 1 ms)." and see at least [1257]; "The light source 42 may include a light source and/or optics for emitting light in a directional manner, for example for emitting collimated light (e.g., for emitting laser light). The light source 42 may be configured to emit light in a continuous manner and/or it may be configured to emit light in a pulsed manner (e.g., to emit a sequence of light pulses, such as a sequence of laser pulses).").
Regarding claim 15, (Examiner’s note: Claim 15 references claim 14 which at current amended wording references an error, examiner will assume claim 15 references claim 14 which is then assumed to have claim 14 reference claim 1.) Ferreira discloses The LIDAR system of claim 14, wherein both the first light and second light are projected as sequences of light pulses, and (see at least [1724]; "Alternatively, at least one of the incoming light pulses from at least one the plurality of optical fibers 10902 may be measured within a second measurement time window different from the first measurement time window (e.g., it may be shifted in time). The light received from a first optical fiber 10902 may generate a first signal at a first time point and the light received from a second optical fiber 10902 may generate a second signal at a second time point, different from the first time point (e.g., after 100 ns or after 1 ms)." and see at least [1257]; "The light source 42 may include a light source and/or optics for emitting light in a directional manner, for example for emitting collimated light (e.g., for emitting laser light). The light source 42 may be configured to emit light in a continuous manner and/or it may be configured to emit light in a pulsed manner (e.g., to emit a sequence of light pulses, such as a sequence of laser pulses).") wherein a pulse duration of the first light is shorter than the pulse duration of the second light. (see at least [3461]; "The one or more processors 15812 may be configured to distinguish the light pulses by determining a start time t.sub.1_i for the first received light pulse 16102-1 and calculating a corresponding end time t.sub.1_f using the known pulse duration (or vice versa, e.g. determining the end time t.sub.1_f and calculating the start time t.sub.1_i). Additionally or alternatively, the one or more processors 15812 may be configured to distinguish the light pulses by determining a start time t.sub.2_i for the second received light pulse 15816-2 and calculating a corresponding end time t.sub.2_i using the known pulse duration (or vice versa)." and see at least [4992]; "Illustratively, a symbol (e.g., drawn from a binary alphabet including symbols in {0;1}) may be mapped onto (illustratively, represented by) a time-domain signal, e.g. a light pulse. Depending on its amplitude and/or its duration, a light pulse may represent or be associated with a different symbol. By way of example, a pulse 14004-1 with substantially zero amplitude may represent the “0”-symbol (as illustrated, for example, in FIG. 140B). As another example, a pulse 14004-2 with an amplitude greater than zero may represent the “1”-symbol (as illustrated, for example, in FIG. 140C). A pulse may have a pulse duration Ts. The pulse duration may be fixed or variable. is By way of example, the duration of a pulse may be 10 ns, for example 20 ns." and see at least [5832]; "In various embodiments, a shutter may be provided (e.g., the camera may include a shutter, such as a dynamic aperture or a dynamic filter assembly). A shutter controller may be configured to control the shutter (e.g., to open the shutter) in synchronization with the emission of light by the LIDAR system (e.g., in synchronization with a pattern projection timing). The LIDAR system (e.g., the light source of the LIDAR system) may be configured to provide short light pulses (e.g., short infra-red laser pulses), for example with a pulse duration equal to or lower than about 15 ns. The LIDAR system may be configured to provide high repetition rate (e.g., equal to or higher than a few hundred Hz, or equal to or higher than 1 kHz), e.g. to emit light pulses with a high repetition rate. The exposure time of the detector may be controlled (e.g., by means of the shutter) to correspond to the duration of one or more LIDAR light pulses, illustratively to collect the light from the LIDAR system (e.g., all the emitted light) and very little light from the environment.").
Regarding claim 16, Ferreira discloses The LIDAR system of claim 1, wherein the second light reflections are deflected by the scanning unit towards the light-sensitive detector. (see at least [3219]; "An example of the operation of the sensor 52 in relation to an emitted emission pattern is illustrated in FIG. 150B and FIG. 150C. The emission pattern emitted by the light emitting system 15002 (e.g., by the array of light emitters 15004) may be reflected by an object 15014 (e.g., a vehicle) in the field of view 15010. The light may be reflected by the object 15014 towards the LIDAR system 15000. The reflected light may be collected by the sensor 52. The reflected light may have a pattern in accordance with the emission pattern and with the reflection from the object 15014. Illustratively, a collected field of view 15010 (e.g., a field of view including the reflected light) may have illuminated areas (e.g., the areas D to G in FIG. 150B) in correspondence with portions of the object 15014 illuminated by the emission pattern. The collected field of view 15010 may have non-illuminated areas (e.g., the areas A to C in FIG. 1506) in correspondence of portions of the object 15014 not illuminated by the emission pattern." and see at least [0724]; "In various embodiments, a combination of a small deflection mirror or any other well-suited beam steering arrangement with a silicon photo multiplier (SiPM) detector array is provided (having the same optical path or separate optical paths). The output signals provided by those SiPM pixels of the sensor 52 of the second LIDAR sensing system 50 onto which the light beam reflected by the target object (e.g. object 100) impinges may then be combined with each other, at least in some time intervals (e.g. by one or more multiplexers, e.g. by a row multiplexer and a column multiplexer) and will then be forwarded to an amplifier, as will be described in more detail further below. Depending on the number of pixels in the SiPM detector array, which are covered by the light spot, for example one, two, or four pixels may be connected together for its evaluation. It is to be noted that, in general, any number of pixels in the SiPM detector array may be connected together depending inter alia on the size and coverage of the pixels in the SiPM detector array by the light spot." and see at least [0420]; "In contrast to this, a raster or scanning LIDAR has an emitter which emits the measuring pulses selectively and in particular temporally sequentially in different spatial directions. Here a single sensor segment is sufficient as a detector. If, in this case, light is received by the detector in a specific measuring time window, then this light comes from a solid angle range into which the light was emitted by the emitter in the same measuring time window.").
Regarding claim 17, Ferreira discloses The LIDAR system of claim 1, wherein the at least one processing unit is further configured to generate point cloud data points comprising distance information relative to objects in the field of view based on signals generated by the light-sensitive detector in response to the first light projected toward the field of view, and (see at least [6170]; "A LIDAR Data Processing System may generate point clouds (3D/6D), object location, object movement, environment data, object/vehicle density." and see at least [0440]; "The LIDAR Sensor System 10 is further configured to receive and measure electromagnetic or other types of object-reflected or object-emitted radiation 130, but also other wanted or unwanted electromagnetic radiation 140, in order to generate signals 110 that can be used for the environmental mapping process, usually generating a point cloud that is representative of the detected objects." and see at least [5850]; "Illustratively, the optical sensor array 16906 may include a plurality of optical sensor arrays (e.g., sub-arrays). The plurality of optical sensor arrays may have a same field of view or a different field of view. By way of example, at least a first optical sensor sub-array may have the same field of view as a second optical sensor sub-array. As another example, at least a first optical sensor sub-array may have a field of view different (e.g., non-overlapping, or partially overlapping) from the field of view of a second optical sensor sub-array. The field of view of the optical sensor array 16906 may be the combination (e.g., the superposition) of the individual fields of view of the plurality of optical sensor sub-arrays." and see at least Figure 150B and [3219]; "An example of the operation of the sensor 52 in relation to an emitted emission pattern is illustrated in FIG. 150B and FIG. 150C. The emission pattern emitted by the light emitting system 15002 (e.g., by the array of light emitters 15004) may be reflected by an object 15014 (e.g., a vehicle) in the field of view 15010. The light may be reflected by the object 15014 towards the LIDAR system 15000. The reflected light may be collected by the sensor 52. The reflected light may have a pattern in accordance with the emission pattern and with the reflection from the object 15014. Illustratively, a collected field of view 15010 (e.g., a field of view including the reflected light) may have illuminated areas (e.g., the areas D to G in FIG. 150B) in correspondence with portions of the object 15014 illuminated by the emission pattern. The collected field of view 15010 may have non-illuminated areas (e.g., the areas A to C in FIG. 1506) in correspondence of portions of the object 15014 not illuminated by the emission pattern.") blockage information based on signals generated by the at least one light-sensitive detector in response to the second light projected towards the window vicinity. (see at least Figure 150B and [3210]; "As another example, the light emitting system 15002 may include an optical pattern generation component (e.g., the one or more optical components 15006 may be or may include an optical pattern generation component). The optical pattern generation component may be configured to receive the light emitted by the one or more light emitters 15004. The optical pattern generation component may be configured to control (e.g., to is modulate) the received light to emit a structured illumination pattern towards the scene." and see at least [3219]; "An example of the operation of the sensor 52 in relation to an emitted emission pattern is illustrated in FIG. 150B and FIG. 150C. The emission pattern emitted by the light emitting system 15002 (e.g., by the array of light emitters 15004) may be reflected by an object 15014 (e.g., a vehicle) in the field of view 15010. The light may be reflected by the object 15014 towards the LIDAR system 15000. The reflected light may be collected by the sensor 52. The reflected light may have a pattern in accordance with the emission pattern and with the reflection from the object 15014. Illustratively, a collected field of view 15010 (e.g., a field of view including the reflected light) may have illuminated areas (e.g., the areas D to G in FIG. 150B) in correspondence with portions of the object 15014 illuminated by the emission pattern. The collected field of view 15010 may have non-illuminated areas (e.g., the areas A to C in FIG. 1506) in correspondence of portions of the object 15014 not illuminated by the emission pattern." and see at least [1892]; "The spatial light modulator controller 5914 may control the spatial light modulator 5910 in real time, although it may be foreseeable that the spatial light modulator 5910 could be calibrated periodically instead of real-time modulation, such as in the case of a non-ideal power output profile due to ageing... From time to time, the LIDAR sensor system may additionally be upgraded with upgrade parameters loaded into the firmware of the LIDAR sensor system 5900. These upgrade parameters may modify the field of view 5912 or laser beam profile, or they may upgrade the configuration of the spatial light modulator 5910. As such, the spatial light modulator 5910 may be optimized from time to time in order to achieve an optimal laser beam profile." and see at least [1895]; "In various embodiments, it may be desirable to add monitoring sensor circuitry to the LIDAR sensor system 5900 such that the monitoring sensor circuitry can evaluate, in real-time, the percentage of optical power being absorbed or blocked by a spatial light modulator." and see at least [0724]; "In various embodiments, a combination of a small deflection mirror or any other well-suited beam steering arrangement with a silicon photo multiplier (SiPM) detector array is provided (having the same optical path or separate optical paths). The output signals provided by those SiPM pixels of the sensor 52 of the second LIDAR sensing system 50 onto which the light beam reflected by the target object (e.g. object 100) impinges may then be combined with each other, at least in some time intervals (e.g. by one or more multiplexers, e.g. by a row multiplexer and a column multiplexer) and will then be forwarded to an amplifier, as will be described in more detail further below. Depending on the number of pixels in the SiPM detector array, which are covered by the light spot, for example one, two, or four pixels may be connected together for its evaluation. It is to be noted that, in general, any number of pixels in the SiPM detector array may be connected together depending inter alia on the size and coverage of the pixels in the SiPM detector array by the light spot.").
Regarding claim 18, Ferreira discloses The LIDAR system of claim 17, wherein blockage information includes at least one of: a blockage indicator, percent blockage, and a blockage transparency. (see at least Figure 150B and [3210]; "As another example, the light emitting system 15002 may include an optical pattern generation component (e.g., the one or more optical components 15006 may be or may include an optical pattern generation component). The optical pattern generation component may be configured to receive the light emitted by the one or more light emitters 15004. The optical pattern generation component may be configured to control (e.g., to is modulate) the received light to emit a structured illumination pattern towards the scene." and see at least [3219]; "An example of the operation of the sensor 52 in relation to an emitted emission pattern is illustrated in FIG. 150B and FIG. 150C. The emission pattern emitted by the light emitting system 15002 (e.g., by the array of light emitters 15004) may be reflected by an object 15014 (e.g., a vehicle) in the field of view 15010. The light may be reflected by the object 15014 towards the LIDAR system 15000. The reflected light may be collected by the sensor 52. The reflected light may have a pattern in accordance with the emission pattern and with the reflection from the object 15014. Illustratively, a collected field of view 15010 (e.g., a field of view including the reflected light) may have illuminated areas (e.g., the areas D to G in FIG. 150B) in correspondence with portions of the object 15014 illuminated by the emission pattern. The collected field of view 15010 may have non-illuminated areas (e.g., the areas A to C in FIG. 1506) in correspondence of portions of the object 15014 not illuminated by the emission pattern." and see at least [1602]; "The sensor 52 (e.g., the one or more sensor pixels 10704) may partially cover the light-absorbing surface 10402s. Illustratively, the sensor 52 may be disposed such that at least a portion (e.g., a certain percentage of a total area) of the light-absorbing surface 10402s is free from the sensor pixels 10704. By way of example, the sensor 52 may cover a portion of about 60% (e.g., at maximum 60%, e.g., less than 60%) of the light-absorbing surface 10402s (e.g., the 60% of a surface area of the light-absorbing surface 10402s), for example of about 50%, for example of about 40%, for example of about 30%, for example of about 20%, for example of about 10%." and see at least [0415]; "Furthermore, a beam radiation from the light source can be deflection through a structure with at least one liquid crystal element, wherein one molecular orientation of the at least one liquid crystal element is adjustable by means of an electric field. The structure through which the radiation to be aligned is guided can comprise at least two sheet-like elements coated with electrically conductive and transparent coating material. The plate elements are in some embodiments transparent and spaced apart from each other in parallel. The transparency of the plate elements and the electrically conductive coating material allows transmission of the radiation. The electrically conductive and transparent coating material can at least partially or completely made of a material with a high electrical conductivity or a small electrical resistance such as indium tin oxide (ITO) and/or of a material with a low electrical conductivity or a large electrical resistance such as poly-3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene (PEDOT).").
Regarding claim 22, Ferreira discloses The LIDAR system of claim 1, wherein the light-sensitive detector is a SiPM sensor. (see at least [0489]; "A dead time of the SPAD 52 should be shorter than the targeted gate 1404, however, longer dead times in the range of >1 ns (typically >10 ns) can be compensated by repetitive measurement to restore the statistical significance of the acquired photon counts or by the application of SiPM-detectors where the effective dead time is decreased by the multitude of parallel SPADs 52 in one pixel cell.").
Regarding claim 23, Ferreira discloses The LIDAR system of claim 1, wherein the at least one processing unit is configured to perform one or more actions in response to determining the presence of an obstruction on the window, the one or more actions are selected from a group consisting of: determining information about the obstruction, communicating the obstruction information to an external system, and affecting an operating parameter of the FOV illumination unit. (see at least [0402]; "The disclosure relates to a LIDAR Sensor System for environment detection, wherein the LIDAR Sensor System is designed to carry out repeated measurements for detecting the environment, wherein the LIDAR Sensor System has an emitting unit (First LIDAR Sensing System) which is designed to perform a measurement with at least one laser pulse and wherein the LIDAR system has a detection unit (Second LIDAR Sensing Unit), which is designed to detect an object-reflected laser pulse during a measurement time window. Furthermore, the LIDAR system has a control device (LIDAR Data Processing System/Control and Communication System/LIDAR Sensor Management System), which is designed, in the event that at least one reflected beam component is detected, to associate the detected beam component on the basis of a predetermined assignment with a solid angle range from which the beam component originates." and see at least Figure 150B and [3210]; "As another example, the light emitting system 15002 may include an optical pattern generation component (e.g., the one or more optical components 15006 may be or may include an optical pattern generation component). The optical pattern generation component may be configured to receive the light emitted by the one or more light emitters 15004. The optical pattern generation component may be configured to control (e.g., to is modulate) the received light to emit a structured illumination pattern towards the scene." and see at least [3219]; "An example of the operation of the sensor 52 in relation to an emitted emission pattern is illustrated in FIG. 150B and FIG. 150C. The emission pattern emitted by the light emitting system 15002 (e.g., by the array of light emitters 15004) may be reflected by an object 15014 (e.g., a vehicle) in the field of view 15010. The light may be reflected by the object 15014 towards the LIDAR system 15000. The reflected light may be collected by the sensor 52. The reflected light may have a pattern in accordance with the emission pattern and with the reflection from the object 15014. Illustratively, a collected field of view 15010 (e.g., a field of view including the reflected light) may have illuminated areas (e.g., the areas D to G in FIG. 150B) in correspondence with portions of the object 15014 illuminated by the emission pattern. The collected field of view 15010 may have non-illuminated areas (e.g., the areas A to C in FIG. 1506) in correspondence of portions of the object 15014 not illuminated by the emission pattern." and see at least [0402]; "The disclosure relates to a LIDAR Sensor System for environment detection, wherein the LIDAR Sensor System is designed to carry out repeated measurements for detecting the environment, wherein the LIDAR Sensor System has an emitting unit (First LIDAR Sensing System) which is designed to perform a measurement with at least one laser pulse and wherein the LIDAR system has a detection unit (Second LIDAR Sensing Unit), which is designed to detect an object-reflected laser pulse during a measurement time window. Furthermore, the LIDAR system has a control device (LIDAR Data Processing System/Control and Communication System/LIDAR Sensor Management System), which is designed, in the event that at least one reflected beam component is detected, to associate the detected beam component on the basis of a predetermined assignment with a solid angle range from which the beam component originates.").
Regarding claim 24, Ferreira discloses The LIDAR system of claim 1, wherein, the processing unit is further configured to determine information about the window blockage including at least one of: a size, a shape, and a transparency of the window blockage, based on at least one of: an angle of illumination, the position information of the scanning unit, intensity of signal, form of signal, and a signal detection time information of the second light. (see at least [0402]; "The disclosure relates to a LIDAR Sensor System for environment detection, wherein the LIDAR Sensor System is designed to carry out repeated measurements for detecting the environment, wherein the LIDAR Sensor System has an emitting unit (First LIDAR Sensing System) which is designed to perform a measurement with at least one laser pulse and wherein the LIDAR system has a detection unit (Second LIDAR Sensing Unit), which is designed to detect an object-reflected laser pulse during a measurement time window. Furthermore, the LIDAR system has a control device (LIDAR Data Processing System/Control and Communication System/LIDAR Sensor Management System), which is designed, in the event that at least one reflected beam component is detected, to associate the detected beam component on the basis of a predetermined assignment with a solid angle range from which the beam component originates." and see at least [0050]; "The LIDAR Sensor System and/or LIDAR Sensor Device may be configured to enable customer-specific and/or vehicle-specific light spectra. The LIDAR Sensor Device may be configured to change the form and/or position and/or orientation of the at least one LIDAR Sensor System. Further, the LIDAR Sensor System and/or LIDAR Sensor Device may be configured to change the light specifications of the light emitted by the light source, such as direction of emission, angle of emission, beam divergence, color, wavelength, and intensity as well as other characteristics like laser pulse shape, temporal length, rise- and fall times, polarization, pulse synchronization, pulse synchronization, laser power, laser type (IR-diode, VCSEL), Field of View (FOV), laser wavelength, beam changing device (MEMS, DMD, DLP, LCD, Fiber), beam and/or sensor aperture, sensor type (PN-diode, APD, SPAD)." and see at least [1602]; "The sensor 52 (e.g., the one or more sensor pixels 10704) may partially cover the light-absorbing surface 10402s. Illustratively, the sensor 52 may be disposed such that at least a portion (e.g., a certain percentage of a total area) of the light-absorbing surface 10402s is free from the sensor pixels 10704. By way of example, the sensor 52 may cover a portion of about 60% (e.g., at maximum 60%, e.g., less than 60%) of the light-absorbing surface 10402s (e.g., the 60% of a surface area of the light-absorbing surface 10402s), for example of about 50%, for example of about 40%, for example of about 30%, for example of about 20%, for example of about 10%." and see at least Figure 150B and [3210]; "As another example, the light emitting system 15002 may include an optical pattern generation component (e.g., the one or more optical components 15006 may be or may include an optical pattern generation component). The optical pattern generation component may be configured to receive the light emitted by the one or more light emitters 15004. The optical pattern generation component may be configured to control (e.g., to is modulate) the received light to emit a structured illumination pattern towards the scene." and see at least [3219]; "An example of the operation of the sensor 52 in relation to an emitted emission pattern is illustrated in FIG. 150B and FIG. 150C. The emission pattern emitted by the light emitting system 15002 (e.g., by the array of light emitters 15004) may be reflected by an object 15014 (e.g., a vehicle) in the field of view 15010. The light may be reflected by the object 15014 towards the LIDAR system 15000. The reflected light may be collected by the sensor 52. The reflected light may have a pattern in accordance with the emission pattern and with the reflection from the object 15014. Illustratively, a collected field of view 15010 (e.g., a field of view including the reflected light) may have illuminated areas (e.g., the areas D to G in FIG. 150B) in correspondence with portions of the object 15014 illuminated by the emission pattern. The collected field of view 15010 may have non-illuminated areas (e.g., the areas A to C in FIG. 1506) in correspondence of portions of the object 15014 not illuminated by the emission pattern." and see at least [0476]; "In various embodiments, the amplified return signal is measured and processed to conduct a distance measurement. For high-speed applications as in autonomous vehicle, the LIDAR sensor system may be configured to detect an object with 10% reflectivity at a distance of 300 m and is distinguish between objects of 30 cm in size with adequate latency time of less than 20 msec." and see at least [1282]; "By way of example, the second region 12106 may have a polygonal shape, such as a triangular shape or a trapezoidal shape. Correspondingly, the distance to the one or more adjacent sensor pixels 12102 may decrease from an initial value at the beginning of the second region 12106 to a final value at the end of the second region 12106 in a gradual or step-wise manner." and see at least [0415]; "Furthermore, a beam radiation from the light source can be deflection through a structure with at least one liquid crystal element, wherein one molecular orientation of the at least one liquid crystal element is adjustable by means of an electric field. The structure through which the radiation to be aligned is guided can comprise at least two sheet-like elements coated with electrically conductive and transparent coating material. The plate elements are in some embodiments transparent and spaced apart from each other in parallel. The transparency of the plate elements and the electrically conductive coating material allows transmission of the radiation. The electrically conductive and transparent coating material can at least partially or completely made of a material with a high electrical conductivity or a small electrical resistance such as indium tin oxide (ITO) and/or of a material with a low electrical conductivity or a large electrical resistance such as poly-3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene (PEDOT)." and see at least [0035]; "The light source may be configured to emit radiation in the visible and/or the non-visible spectral range, as for example in the far-red range of the electromagnetic spectrum. It may be configured to emit monochromatic laser light. The light source may be an integral part of the LIDAR Sensor System as well as a remote yet connected element. It may be placed in various geometrical patterns, distance pitches and may be configured for alternating of color or wavelength emission or intensity or beam angle. The LIDAR Sensor System and/or light sources may be mounted such that they are moveable or can be inclined, rotated, tilted etc. The LIDAR Sensor System and/or light source may be configured to be installed inside a LIDAR Sensor Device (e.g. vehicle) or exterior to a LIDAR Sensor Device (e.g. vehicle). In particular, it is possible that the LIDAR light source or selected LIDAR light sources are mounted such or adapted to being automatically controllable, in some implementations remotely, in their orientation, movement, light emission, light spectrum, sensor etc." and see at least [1724]; "Illustratively, in case a plurality of optical fibers 10902 is assigned to one sensor 52 (e.g., to one sensor pixel 10808), all incoming light pulses may be measured within the same (e.g., first) measurement time window. Alternatively, at least one of the incoming light pulses from at least one the plurality of optical fibers 10902 may be measured within a second measurement time window different from the first measurement time window (e.g., it may be shifted in time). The light received from a first optical fiber 10902 may generate a first signal at a first time point and the light received from a second optical fiber 10902 may generate a second signal at a second time point, different from the first time point (e.g., after 100 ns or after 1 ms).").
Regarding claim 25, Ferreira discloses A method for surveying a Field of View (FOV) by a LIDAR system, the method comprising: projecting first light with first illumination parameters, deflected by a scanning system through a window toward an FOV of the LIDAR system; (see at least [0409]; "A LIDAR (light detection and ranging) Sensor System is to be understood in particular as meaning a system which, in addition to one or more emitters for emitting light beams, for example in pulsed form, and a detector for detecting any reflected beam components, may have further devices, for example optical elements such as lenses and/or a MEMS mirror." and see at least [0402]; "Furthermore, the LIDAR system has a control device (LIDAR Data Processing System/Control and Communication System/LIDAR Sensor Management System), which is designed, in the event that at least one reflected beam component is detected, to associate the detected beam component on the basis of a predetermined assignment with a solid angle range from which the beam component originates." and see at least Figure 150B and [3219]; "An example of the operation of the sensor 52 in relation to an emitted emission pattern is illustrated in FIG. 150B and FIG. 150C. The emission pattern emitted by the light emitting system 15002 (e.g., by the array of light emitters 15004) may be reflected by an object 15014 (e.g., a vehicle) in the field of view 15010. The light may be reflected by the object 15014 towards the LIDAR system 15000. The reflected light may be collected by the sensor 52. The reflected light may have a pattern in accordance with the emission pattern and with the reflection from the object 15014. Illustratively, a collected field of view 15010 (e.g., a field of view including the reflected light) may have illuminated areas (e.g., the areas D to G in FIG. 150B) in correspondence with portions of the object 15014 illuminated by the emission pattern. The collected field of view 15010 may have non-illuminated areas (e.g., the areas A to C in FIG. 1506) in correspondence of portions of the object 15014 not illuminated by the emission pattern.") receiving, by a light-sensitive detector, light reflected from objects in the FOV and deflected by the scanning system; (see at least [0409]; "A LIDAR (light detection and ranging) Sensor System is to be understood in particular as meaning a system which, in addition to one or more emitters for emitting light beams, for example in pulsed form, and a detector for detecting any reflected beam components, may have further devices, for example optical elements such as lenses and/or a MEMS mirror.") analyzing detected light and determining information about the objects, projecting second light with second illumination parameters, toward a window vicinity; (see at least [0402]; "The disclosure relates to a LIDAR Sensor System for environment detection, wherein the LIDAR Sensor System is designed to carry out repeated measurements for detecting the environment, wherein the LIDAR Sensor System has an emitting unit (First LIDAR Sensing System) which is designed to perform a measurement with at least one laser pulse and wherein the LIDAR system has a detection unit (Second LIDAR Sensing Unit), which is designed to detect an object-reflected laser pulse during a measurement time window. Furthermore, the LIDAR system has a control device (LIDAR Data Processing System/Control and Communication System/LIDAR Sensor Management System), which is designed, in the event that at least one reflected beam component is detected, to associate the detected beam component on the basis of a predetermined assignment with a solid angle range from which the beam component originates." and see at least [1351]; "In a rotating LIDAR system (also referred to as scanning LIDAR system), a sensor faces at all times only a small solid angle range in the horizontal direction (e.g. the field of view of the system may be small), thus reducing or substantially eliminating the worsening of the SNR mentioned above. A similar effect may be achieved in a system in which the detected light is collected by means of a movable mirror or another similar (e.g. movable) component." and see at least [0444]; "Vehicle headlights employing MEMS or DMD/DLP light processing mirror devices can be used for projection of visible road light (road illumination, like low beam, high beam) but also for projection of information and images onto the surface of a road or an object and/or for the projection of infrared radiation for LIDAR Sensor System purposes.") wherein the first illumination parameters differ from second illumination parameters by at least one illumination parameter; (see at least [4093]; "As an example, the one or more processors may be configured to control a light source of the LIDAR system (e.g., to result in a target power consumption). Illustratively, the light source may be controlled to emit light (e.g., laser light) having different power into different regions (e.g., a first power in the first region and a second power in the second region, the second power being for example lower than the first power).") receiving, by the light-sensitive detector, second light reflections reflected in response to the second light and deflected by the scanning system; and (see at least [0724]; "In various embodiments, a combination of a small deflection mirror or any other well-suited beam steering arrangement with a silicon photo multiplier (SiPM) detector array is provided (having the same optical path or separate optical paths). The output signals provided by those SiPM pixels of the sensor 52 of the second LIDAR sensing system 50 onto which the light beam reflected by the target object (e.g. object 100) impinges may then be combined with each other, at least in some time intervals (e.g. by one or more multiplexers, e.g. by a row multiplexer and a column multiplexer) and will then be forwarded to an amplifier, as will be described in more detail further below. Depending on the number of pixels in the SiPM detector array, which are covered by the light spot, for example one, two, or four pixels may be connected together for its evaluation. It is to be noted that, in general, any number of pixels in the SiPM detector array may be connected together depending inter alia on the size and coverage of the pixels in the SiPM detector array by the light spot.") determine a location of a window blockage based on analysis of the second light reflections and position information of the scanning unit. (see at least Figure 150B and [3210]; "As another example, the light emitting system 15002 may include an optical pattern generation component (e.g., the one or more optical components 15006 may be or may include an optical pattern generation component). The optical pattern generation component may be configured to receive the light emitted by the one or more light emitters 15004. The optical pattern generation component may be configured to control (e.g., to is modulate) the received light to emit a structured illumination pattern towards the scene." and see at least [3219]; "An example of the operation of the sensor 52 in relation to an emitted emission pattern is illustrated in FIG. 150B and FIG. 150C. The emission pattern emitted by the light emitting system 15002 (e.g., by the array of light emitters 15004) may be reflected by an object 15014 (e.g., a vehicle) in the field of view 15010. The light may be reflected by the object 15014 towards the LIDAR system 15000. The reflected light may be collected by the sensor 52. The reflected light may have a pattern in accordance with the emission pattern and with the reflection from the object 15014. Illustratively, a collected field of view 15010 (e.g., a field of view including the reflected light) may have illuminated areas (e.g., the areas D to G in FIG. 150B) in correspondence with portions of the object 15014 illuminated by the emission pattern. The collected field of view 15010 may have non-illuminated areas (e.g., the areas A to C in FIG. 1506) in correspondence of portions of the object 15014 not illuminated by the emission pattern." and see at least [1892]; "The spatial light modulator controller 5914 may control the spatial light modulator 5910 in real time, although it may be foreseeable that the spatial light modulator 5910 could be calibrated periodically instead of real-time modulation, such as in the case of a non-ideal power output profile due to ageing... From time to time, the LIDAR sensor system may additionally be upgraded with upgrade parameters loaded into the firmware of the LIDAR sensor system 5900. These upgrade parameters may modify the field of view 5912 or laser beam profile, or they may upgrade the configuration of the spatial light modulator 5910. As such, the spatial light modulator 5910 may be optimized from time to time in order to achieve an optimal laser beam profile." and see at least [1895]; "In various embodiments, it may be desirable to add monitoring sensor circuitry to the LIDAR sensor system 5900 such that the monitoring sensor circuitry can evaluate, in real-time, the percentage of optical power being absorbed or blocked by a spatial light modulator." and see at least [0724]; "In various embodiments, a combination of a small deflection mirror or any other well-suited beam steering arrangement with a silicon photo multiplier (SiPM) detector array is provided (having the same optical path or separate optical paths). The output signals provided by those SiPM pixels of the sensor 52 of the second LIDAR sensing system 50 onto which the light beam reflected by the target object (e.g. object 100) impinges may then be combined with each other, at least in some time intervals (e.g. by one or more multiplexers, e.g. by a row multiplexer and a column multiplexer) and will then be forwarded to an amplifier, as will be described in more detail further below. Depending on the number of pixels in the SiPM detector array, which are covered by the light spot, for example one, two, or four pixels may be connected together for its evaluation. It is to be noted that, in general, any number of pixels in the SiPM detector array may be connected together depending inter alia on the size and coverage of the pixels in the SiPM detector array by the light spot.").
Regarding claim 38, Ferreira discloses A LIDAR system for surveying a Field of View (FOV), comprising: an illumination system, a light-sensitive detector, a scanning unit and at least one processing unit configured to: control the illumination unit to project first light with first illumination parameters and second light with second illumination parameters, wherein the first illumination parameters differ from second illumination parameters by at least one illumination parameter; (see at least [0409]; "A LIDAR (light detection and ranging) Sensor System is to be understood in particular as meaning a system which, in addition to one or more emitters for emitting light beams, for example in pulsed form, and a detector for detecting any reflected beam components, may have further devices, for example optical elements such as lenses and/or a MEMS mirror." and see at least [0402]; "Furthermore, the LIDAR system has a control device (LIDAR Data Processing System/Control and Communication System/LIDAR Sensor Management System), which is designed, in the event that at least one reflected beam component is detected, to associate the detected beam component on the basis of a predetermined assignment with a solid angle range from which the beam component originates." and see at least Figure 150B and [3219]; "An example of the operation of the sensor 52 in relation to an emitted emission pattern is illustrated in FIG. 150B and FIG. 150C. The emission pattern emitted by the light emitting system 15002 (e.g., by the array of light emitters 15004) may be reflected by an object 15014 (e.g., a vehicle) in the field of view 15010. The light may be reflected by the object 15014 towards the LIDAR system 15000. The reflected light may be collected by the sensor 52. The reflected light may have a pattern in accordance with the emission pattern and with the reflection from the object 15014. Illustratively, a collected field of view 15010 (e.g., a field of view including the reflected light) may have illuminated areas (e.g., the areas D to G in FIG. 150B) in correspondence with portions of the object 15014 illuminated by the emission pattern. The collected field of view 15010 may have non-illuminated areas (e.g., the areas A to C in FIG. 1506) in correspondence of portions of the object 15014 not illuminated by the emission pattern." and see at least [4093]; "As an example, the one or more processors may be configured to control a light source of the LIDAR system (e.g., to result in a target power consumption). Illustratively, the light source may be controlled to emit light (e.g., laser light) having different power into different regions (e.g., a first power in the first region and a second power in the second region, the second power being for example lower than the first power).") control the scanning unit to deflect the first light through a window toward the FOV and optionally deflect the second light toward the window, and deflect light reflected from the FOV and the vicinity of the window toward the light-sensitive detector; (see at least [0409]; "A LIDAR (light detection and ranging) Sensor System is to be understood in particular as meaning a system which, in addition to one or more emitters for emitting light beams, for example in pulsed form, and a detector for detecting any reflected beam components, may have further devices, for example optical elements such as lenses and/or a MEMS mirror." and see at least [0724]; "In various embodiments, a combination of a small deflection mirror or any other well-suited beam steering arrangement with a silicon photo multiplier (SiPM) detector array is provided (having the same optical path or separate optical paths). The output signals provided by those SiPM pixels of the sensor 52 of the second LIDAR sensing system 50 onto which the light beam reflected by the target object (e.g. object 100) impinges may then be combined with each other, at least in some time intervals (e.g. by one or more multiplexers, e.g. by a row multiplexer and a column multiplexer) and will then be forwarded to an amplifier, as will be described in more detail further below. Depending on the number of pixels in the SiPM detector array, which are covered by the light spot, for example one, two, or four pixels may be connected together for its evaluation. It is to be noted that, in general, any number of pixels in the SiPM detector array may be connected together depending inter alia on the size and coverage of the pixels in the SiPM detector array by the light spot.") analyze light detected by the light-sensitive detector in response to receiving light reflected from at least one object in the field of view and light reflected in response to second light, and determine a location of an obstruction on the window based on analysis of reflections in response to the second light, and position information of the scanning unit. (see at least [0402]; "The disclosure relates to a LIDAR Sensor System for environment detection, wherein the LIDAR Sensor System is designed to carry out repeated measurements for detecting the environment, wherein the LIDAR Sensor System has an emitting unit (First LIDAR Sensing System) which is designed to perform a measurement with at least one laser pulse and wherein the LIDAR system has a detection unit (Second LIDAR Sensing Unit), which is designed to detect an object-reflected laser pulse during a measurement time window. Furthermore, the LIDAR system has a control device (LIDAR Data Processing System/Control and Communication System/LIDAR Sensor Management System), which is designed, in the event that at least one reflected beam component is detected, to associate the detected beam component on the basis of a predetermined assignment with a solid angle range from which the beam component originates." and see at least [1351]; "In a rotating LIDAR system (also referred to as scanning LIDAR system), a sensor faces at all times only a small solid angle range in the horizontal direction (e.g. the field of view of the system may be small), thus reducing or substantially eliminating the worsening of the SNR mentioned above. A similar effect may be achieved in a system in which the detected light is collected by means of a movable mirror or another similar (e.g. movable) component." and see at least [0444]; "Vehicle headlights employing MEMS or DMD/DLP light processing mirror devices can be used for projection of visible road light (road illumination, like low beam, high beam) but also for projection of information and images onto the surface of a road or an object and/or for the projection of infrared radiation for LIDAR Sensor System purposes." and see at least Figure 150B and [3210]; "As another example, the light emitting system 15002 may include an optical pattern generation component (e.g., the one or more optical components 15006 may be or may include an optical pattern generation component). The optical pattern generation component may be configured to receive the light emitted by the one or more light emitters 15004. The optical pattern generation component may be configured to control (e.g., to is modulate) the received light to emit a structured illumination pattern towards the scene." and see at least [3219]; "An example of the operation of the sensor 52 in relation to an emitted emission pattern is illustrated in FIG. 150B and FIG. 150C. The emission pattern emitted by the light emitting system 15002 (e.g., by the array of light emitters 15004) may be reflected by an object 15014 (e.g., a vehicle) in the field of view 15010. The light may be reflected by the object 15014 towards the LIDAR system 15000. The reflected light may be collected by the sensor 52. The reflected light may have a pattern in accordance with the emission pattern and with the reflection from the object 15014. Illustratively, a collected field of view 15010 (e.g., a field of view including the reflected light) may have illuminated areas (e.g., the areas D to G in FIG. 150B) in correspondence with portions of the object 15014 illuminated by the emission pattern. The collected field of view 15010 may have non-illuminated areas (e.g., the areas A to C in FIG. 1506) in correspondence of portions of the object 15014 not illuminated by the emission pattern." and see at least [1892]; "The spatial light modulator controller 5914 may control the spatial light modulator 5910 in real time, although it may be foreseeable that the spatial light modulator 5910 could be calibrated periodically instead of real-time modulation, such as in the case of a non-ideal power output profile due to ageing... From time to time, the LIDAR sensor system may additionally be upgraded with upgrade parameters loaded into the firmware of the LIDAR sensor system 5900. These upgrade parameters may modify the field of view 5912 or laser beam profile, or they may upgrade the configuration of the spatial light modulator 5910. As such, the spatial light modulator 5910 may be optimized from time to time in order to achieve an optimal laser beam profile." and see at least [1895]; "In various embodiments, it may be desirable to add monitoring sensor circuitry to the LIDAR sensor system 5900 such that the monitoring sensor circuitry can evaluate, in real-time, the percentage of optical power being absorbed or blocked by a spatial light modulator." and see at least [0724]; "In various embodiments, a combination of a small deflection mirror or any other well-suited beam steering arrangement with a silicon photo multiplier (SiPM) detector array is provided (having the same optical path or separate optical paths). The output signals provided by those SiPM pixels of the sensor 52 of the second LIDAR sensing system 50 onto which the light beam reflected by the target object (e.g. object 100) impinges may then be combined with each other, at least in some time intervals (e.g. by one or more multiplexers, e.g. by a row multiplexer and a column multiplexer) and will then be forwarded to an amplifier, as will be described in more detail further below. Depending on the number of pixels in the SiPM detector array, which are covered by the light spot, for example one, two, or four pixels may be connected together for its evaluation. It is to be noted that, in general, any number of pixels in the SiPM detector array may be connected together depending inter alia on the size and coverage of the pixels in the SiPM detector array by the light spot.").
Regarding claim 41, (Examiner’s note: Claim 41 references claim 19 which is cancelled, examiner will assume claim 41 references claim 8 which is the same reference claimed by claim 42 and similar claim language.) Ferreira discloses The LIDAR system of claim 19, wherein the at least one window light source is positioned behind the window to illuminate a backside of the window at one or more illumination angles. (see at least [0035]; "The light source may be configured to emit radiation in the visible and/or the non-visible spectral range, as for example in the far-red range of the electromagnetic spectrum. It may be configured to emit monochromatic laser light. The light source may be an integral part of the LIDAR Sensor System as well as a remote yet connected element. It may be placed in various geometrical patterns, distance pitches and may be configured for alternating of color or wavelength emission or intensity or beam angle. The LIDAR Sensor System and/or light sources may be mounted such that they are moveable or can be inclined, rotated, tilted etc. The LIDAR Sensor System and/or light source may be configured to be installed inside a LIDAR Sensor Device (e.g. vehicle) or exterior to a LIDAR Sensor Device (e.g. vehicle). In particular, it is possible that the LIDAR light source or selected LIDAR light sources are mounted such or adapted to being automatically controllable, in some implementations remotely, in their orientation, movement, light emission, light spectrum, sensor etc." and see at least Fig. 170 and [2177]; "The focal length f.sub.1 of the collimator lens 17002 may be selected in accordance with the other components of the optics arrangement 17000. The focal length f.sub.1 of the collimator lens 17002 may describe (e.g., correspond to) the distance from the collimator lens 17002 at which the light is focused, for example focused along an axis of the actuator 17006 (e.g., along a MEMS-axis, for example parallel to the slow axis of the light source 42). The collimator lens 17002 may be arranged downstream of the light source 42 at a first distance l along the first direction 17052. The actuator 17006 may be arranged downstream of the collimator lens 17002 at a second distance m along the first direction 17052. The focal length f.sub.1 of the collimator lens 17002 may be equal to the first distance l and to the second distance m, as described below." and see at least [2179]; "wherein the angle beta β may be or correspond to the angle with which the to light departs from the actuator 17006 (e.g., the output beam angle behind the actuator 17006, e.g. behind the MEMS mirror). The angle β may be the angle with respect to the optical axis 17008 (in the plane defined above) at which a redirected light beam 17004r is output by the actuator 17006. In the configuration illustrated in FIG. 170, the angle beta β may be the illumination angle is provided by the optics arrangement 17000 (e.g., the illumination angle of a LIDAR system including the optics arrangement 17000 at the emitter side)." and see at least [2493]; "A vehicle cabin may be equipped with infrared lights sources. These light sources can be positioned at various places inside a vehicle, for example remotely behind the front window or in the vicinity of side and rear windows, or somewhere inside the passenger compartment or attached to a transparent roof. The light sources may as well be placed at the edge of a windowpane or be partially integrated into a glass pane thus illuminating its interior.").
Regarding claim 42, Ferreira discloses The LIDAR system of claim 8, wherein the window light source is positioned to illuminate the window through an edge of the window. (see at least [0035]; "The light source may be configured to emit radiation in the visible and/or the non-visible spectral range, as for example in the far-red range of the electromagnetic spectrum. It may be configured to emit monochromatic laser light. The light source may be an integral part of the LIDAR Sensor System as well as a remote yet connected element. It may be placed in various geometrical patterns, distance pitches and may be configured for alternating of color or wavelength emission or intensity or beam angle. The LIDAR Sensor System and/or light sources may be mounted such that they are moveable or can be inclined, rotated, tilted etc. The LIDAR Sensor System and/or light source may be configured to be installed inside a LIDAR Sensor Device (e.g. vehicle) or exterior to a LIDAR Sensor Device (e.g. vehicle). In particular, it is possible that the LIDAR light source or selected LIDAR light sources are mounted such or adapted to being automatically controllable, in some implementations remotely, in their orientation, movement, light emission, light spectrum, sensor etc." and see at least Fig. 170 and [2177]; "The focal length f.sub.1 of the collimator lens 17002 may be selected in accordance with the other components of the optics arrangement 17000. The focal length f.sub.1 of the collimator lens 17002 may describe (e.g., correspond to) the distance from the collimator lens 17002 at which the light is focused, for example focused along an axis of the actuator 17006 (e.g., along a MEMS-axis, for example parallel to the slow axis of the light source 42). The collimator lens 17002 may be arranged downstream of the light source 42 at a first distance l along the first direction 17052. The actuator 17006 may be arranged downstream of the collimator lens 17002 at a second distance m along the first direction 17052. The focal length f.sub.1 of the collimator lens 17002 may be equal to the first distance l and to the second distance m, as described below." and see at least [2179]; "wherein the angle beta β may be or correspond to the angle with which the to light departs from the actuator 17006 (e.g., the output beam angle behind the actuator 17006, e.g. behind the MEMS mirror). The angle β may be the angle with respect to the optical axis 17008 (in the plane defined above) at which a redirected light beam 17004r is output by the actuator 17006. In the configuration illustrated in FIG. 170, the angle beta β may be the illumination angle is provided by the optics arrangement 17000 (e.g., the illumination angle of a LIDAR system including the optics arrangement 17000 at the emitter side)." and see at least [2493]; "A vehicle cabin may be equipped with infrared lights sources. These light sources can be positioned at various places inside a vehicle, for example remotely behind the front window or in the vicinity of side and rear windows, or somewhere inside the passenger compartment or attached to a transparent roof. The light sources may as well be placed at the edge of a windowpane or be partially integrated into a glass pane thus illuminating its interior.").
Conclusion
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/MARK ANTHONY FLORES/Examiner, Art Unit 3648
/VLADIMIR MAGLOIRE/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3648
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