DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 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)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim(s) 1-5, 10-20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Krig (US 2014/0267616).
Regarding Claim 1, Krig discloses a control method [Fig 3], comprising: controlling a receiving optical system to receive a first echo signal reflected by a target object [#306-#310 of Fig 3; 0033; 0036; 0081]; and controlling a detector to convert the first echo signal into an electrical signal by using a first pixel configuration [0023], wherein in the first pixel configuration, at least one of different regions of the detector have different pixel configurations, or the detector has different pixel configurations in different time periods [#306, #308, #320 of Fig 3; 0033; 0036; 0042].
Regarding Claim 10, Krig discloses a lidar [0023; 0080], comprising a controller [0066-67], a receiving optical system [0032; 0036; 0062; 0066; 0081], and a detector [0036; 0040-41], wherein the controller is configured to perform a control method, wherein the control method comprises operations comprising: controlling the receiving optical system to receive a first echo signal reflected by a target object [#306-#310 of Fig 3; 0033; 0036; 0081]; and controlling the detector to convert the first echo signal into a first electrical signal by using a first pixel configuration [0023], wherein: in the first pixel configuration, at least one of different regions of the detector have different pixel configurations, or the detector has different pixel configurations in different time periods [#306, #308. #320 of Fig 3; 0033; 0036; 0042]; the receiving optical system is configured to receive an echo signal; and the detector is configured to convert the echo signal into an electrical signal [0033-36; 0042; 0045; 0081].
Regarding Claims 2 and 17, Krig also discloses wherein the first echo signal is presented as a linear spot or a staggered spot, and the staggered spot is at least one of a spot staggered in a horizontal direction or a vertical direction of the detector [0041-47]
Regarding 3 and 18, Krig also discloses wherein the different regions of the detector include a region corresponding to a central field of view region of a lidar in the detector and a region corresponding to a non-central field of view region, and the central field of view region is a region within a preset angle range in front of the lidar [0033-37; 0041-47].
Regarding 4 and 19, Krig also discloses wherein a quantity of cells corresponding to each pixel in a pixel configuration corresponding to the central field of view region is less than a quantity of cells corresponding to each pixel in a pixel configuration corresponding to the non- central field of view region [0033-37; 0041-47].
Regarding 5 and 20, Krig also discloses wherein the different regions of the detector include a region in which the target object is presented in the detector and a region other than the region in which the target object is presented [Fig 2, 3; 0033-37]; and wherein before the controlling a detector to convert the first echo signal into an electrical signal by using a first pixel configuration, the method further comprises: controlling the detector to convert a second echo signal into a second electrical signal by using a second pixel configuration[0033-37; 0041-47], wherein for the region in which the target object is presented in the detector [0033-37; 0041-47], a quantity of cells corresponding to each pixel in the first pixel configuration is less than a quantity of cells corresponding to each pixel in the second pixel configuration [0033-37; 0041-47], and for the region other than the region in which the target object is presented in the detector, a quantity of cells corresponding to each pixel in the first pixel configuration is equal to a quantity of cells corresponding to each pixel in the second pixel configuration [0033-37; 0041-47].
Regarding Claim 11, Krig also discloses a transmitter and a transmitting optical system [0023; 0080-81], wherein: the transmitter is configured to emit a detection signal under control of the controller [0023; 0033-37; 0080-81]; and the transmitting optical system is configured to transmit the detection signal [0023; 0033-37; 0080-81].
Regarding Claim 12, Krig also teaches wherein the detector comprises a single photon avalanche diode (SPAD} detector array [0023; 0033-37; 0044-47; 0080-81].
Regarding Claim 13, Krig also teaches a scanning mechanism, and the scanning mechanism comprises one or more of a multi- faceted rotating mirror, an oscillating mirror, a micro-electro-mechanical system (micro-electro- mechanical system, MEMS) scanning mirror, or a prism [0023; 0033-37; 0044-47; 0080-81].
Regarding Claim 14, Diehl also discloses a processor, wherein the processor is configured to process the electrical signal to obtain point cloud data [0002; 0013; 0029].
Regarding Claim 15, Diehl also discloses wherein the processor is further configured to determine a target feature based on the point cloud data [0002; 0013; 0029].
Regarding Claim 16, Krig also discloses wherein the controller and the processor are integrated into a system on chip (SOC) [0023; 0072].
Claim(s) 1-5, 9-13, 17-20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Diehl (US 2021/0097303).
Regarding Claim 1, Diehl discloses a control method [Fig 1; 0038], comprising: controlling a receiving optical system to receive a first echo signal reflected by a target object [Fig 1, 4, 5; 0038; 0044-45]; and controlling a detector to convert the first echo signal into an electrical signal by using a first pixel configuration [Fig 1, 4, 5; 0038; 0044-45], wherein in the first pixel configuration, at least one of different regions of the detector have different pixel configurations, or the detector has different pixel configurations in different time periods [Fig 1, 4, 5; 0038; 0044-45].
Regarding Claim 10, Krig discloses a lidar [Fig 1, 0038], comprising a controller [Fig 1; 0038], a receiving optical system [Fig 1; 0038], and a detector [Fig 1; 0038], wherein the controller is configured to perform a control method, wherein the control method comprises operations comprising: controlling the receiving optical system to receive a first echo signal reflected by a target object [Fig 1, 4, 5; 0038; 0044-45];]; and controlling the detector to convert the first echo signal into a first electrical signal by using a first pixel configuration [Fig 1, 4, 5; 0038; 0044-45], wherein: in the first pixel configuration, at least one of different regions of the detector have different pixel configurations, or the detector has different pixel configurations in different time periods [Fig 1, 4, 5; 0038; 0044-45]; the receiving optical system is configured to receive an echo signal; and the detector is configured to convert the echo signal into an electrical signal [Fig 1, 4, 5; 0038; 0044-45].
Regarding Claims 2 and 17, Diehl also discloses wherein the first echo signal is presented as a linear spot or a staggered spot, and the staggered spot is at least one of a spot staggered in a horizontal direction or a vertical direction of the detector [Fig 4-9; 0044-49].
Regarding 3 and 18, Diehl also discloses wherein the different regions of the detector include a region corresponding to a central field of view region of a lidar in the detector and a region corresponding to a non-central field of view region, and the central field of view region is a region within a preset angle range in front of the lidar [Fig 4-9; 0044-49].
Regarding 4 and 19, Diehl also discloses wherein a quantity of cells corresponding to each pixel in a pixel configuration corresponding to the central field of view region is less than a quantity of cells corresponding to each pixel in a pixel configuration corresponding to the non- central field of view region [Fig 4-9; 0044-49].
Regarding 5 and 20, Diehl also discloses wherein the different regions of the detector include a region in which the target object is presented in the detector and a region other than the region in which the target object is presented [Fig 4-9; 0044-49]; and wherein before the controlling a detector to convert the first echo signal into an electrical signal by using a first pixel configuration, the method further comprises: controlling the detector to convert a second echo signal into a second electrical signal by using a second pixel configuration[Fig 4-9; 0044-49], wherein for the region in which the target object is presented in the detector [Fig 4-9; 0044-49], a quantity of cells corresponding to each pixel in the first pixel configuration is less than a quantity of cells corresponding to each pixel in the second pixel configuration [Fig 4-9; 0044-49], and for the region other than the region in which the target object is presented in the detector, a quantity of cells corresponding to each pixel in the first pixel configuration is equal to a quantity of cells corresponding to each pixel in the second pixel configuration [Fig 4-9; 0044-49].
Regarding Claim 9, Diehl also discloses receiving an upgrade instruction, wherein the upgrade instruction comprises a third pixel configuration; and controlling the detector to convert a third echo signal into a third electrical signal by using the third pixel configuration [Fig 11A; 0052].
Regarding Claim 11, Diehl also discloses a transmitter and a transmitting optical system [Fig 1, 4-9; 0038; 0044-49], wherein: the transmitter is configured to emit a detection signal under control of the controller [Fig 1, 4-9; 0038; 0044-49]; and the transmitting optical system is configured to transmit the detection signal [Fig 1, 4-9; 0038; 0044-49].
Regarding Claim 12, Diehl also teaches wherein the detector comprises a single photon avalanche diode (SPAD) detector array [Fig 4-9; 0038; 0044-49].
Regarding Claim 13, Diehl also teaches a scanning mechanism, and the scanning mechanism comprises one or more of a multi- faceted rotating mirror, an oscillating mirror, a micro-electro-mechanical system (micro-electro- mechanical system, MEMS) scanning mirror, or a prism [Fig 1, 4-9; 0038; 0044-49].
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
Claim(s) 6-8 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Krig (US 2014/0267616), as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Angelopoulou (ARC 2008).
Regarding Claim 6, Krig does not explicitly teach – but Angelopoulou does teach wherein the different time periods comprise a first time period and a second time period, the first time period corresponds to a pixel configuration 1, the second time period corresponds to a pixel configuration 2, quantities of cells corresponding to all pixels in the pixel configuration 1 and the pixel configuration 2 are the same, a region comprising cells in a working state in the pixel configuration 1 and a region comprising cells in a working state in the pixel configuration 2 are staggered in at least one of a horizontal direction or a vertical direction of the detector, and a staggered distance is less than a cell distance corresponding to one pixel [Fig 1-3, 5, 7, 9; Sec 1, Pg 125-127; Sec 2.1 Pg 127-128; Sec 2.2, Pg 128-130]. It would have been obvious to modify the system of Krig to include different time periods corresponding to different pixel configurations to enhance spatial resolution, allow any frame to be chosen as a reference frame, and increase the available spatial information at the input block before integration and allow for weighting.
Regarding Claim 7, Krig does not explicitly teach – but Angelopoulou does teach wherein the different time periods comprise a first time period and a second time period, the first time period corresponds to a pixel configuration 1, the second time period corresponds to a pixel configuration 2, cells in a working state in the pixel configuration 1 and the pixel configuration 2 are the same, and a quantity of cells corresponding to each pixel in the pixel configuration 1 is greater than a quantity of cells corresponding to each pixel in the pixel configuration 2 [Fig 1-3, 5, 7, 9; Sec 1, Pg 125-127; Sec 2.1 Pg 127-128; Sec 2.2, Pg 128-130]. It would have been obvious to modify the system of Krig to include different time periods corresponding to different pixel configurations to enhance spatial resolution, allow any frame to be chosen as a reference frame, and increase the available spatial information at the input block before integration and allow for weighting.
Regarding Claim 8, Krig does not explicitly teach – but Angelopoulou does teach wherein: the different regions of the detector are different sub-regions, on the detector, in a region on which the first echo signal is focused; or the different time periods are any one of the following time periods: _time periods corresponding to different first echo signals returned through detection of a same region of the target object; a time period corresponding to a first echo signal returned through detection of different regions of the target object; or _time periods corresponding to first echo signals returned through different times of detection of the entire target object [Fig 1-3, 5, 7, 9; Sec 1, Pg 125-127; Sec 2.1 Pg 127-128; Sec 2.2, Pg 128-130]. It would have been obvious to modify the system of Krig to include different time periods corresponding to different pixel sub regions to enhance spatial resolution, allow any frame to be chosen as a reference frame, and increase the available spatial information at the input block before integration and allow for weighting.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JAMES R HULKA whose telephone number is (571)270-7553. The examiner can normally be reached M-R: 9am-6pm, F: 10am-2pm.
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JAMES R. HULKA
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 3645
/JAMES R HULKA/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3645
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