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 .
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement filed 12/11/2024 has been considered by the examiner.
Drawings
The drawings filed 7/1/2024 are approved by the examiner.
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.
Claims 1, 11 and 13-15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ito et al (JP 2016219258 A) in view of Beuschel et al (JP 201193370 A).
With respect to claim 1, Ito et al disclose: A distance measurement device that measures a distance to a target object by emitting scanning light and receiving returning light obtained by reflection of the scanning light by the target object [ taught by figure 3A; page 5 of the translation states, “…When there is an object (obstacle), the receiver can receive a reflected wave from the object through the radiation member 12, and measure the time from the emission of the laser light to the reception of light to measure the distance to the object…” ], the distance measurement device comprising: a light source that emits the scanning light [ taught by transmitting element (33b) ]; a light receiving sensor that receives the returning light and that outputs a light receiving signal corresponding to the received returning light [ taught by receiving elements (33c) ]; an incidence and emission window that has an annular shape centered at a reference axis set in advance and that is capable of omnidirectionally emitting the scanning light about the reference axis and capable of receiving the returning light incident from the target object [ taught by the opening in the housing (10) ]; a light deflector [ taught by reflecting member (12) ] that includes a movable mirror portion which includes a movable reflection surface disposed at a position at which the movable reflection surface intersects with the reference axis and which reflects the scanning light from the light source toward the incidence and emission window and reflects the returning light from the incidence and emission window toward the light receiving sensor, and that omnidirectionally changes a direction of the scanning light by changing a posture of the movable reflection surface [ taught by rotating mirror (33b) ]; and a relay optical system that relays the scanning light and the returning light between the movable mirror portion and each of the light source and the light receiving sensor, wherein in a direction along the reference axis, in a case where a direction in which the movable reflection surface faces with reference to the light deflector is referred to as a side closer to a first end of the reference axis, and a side opposite to the side closer to the first end of the reference axis is referred to as a side closer to a second end of the reference axis, the incidence and emission window is disposed on the side closer to the first end, and the light source and the light receiving sensor are disposed on the side closer to the second end.
Ito et al does not teach structure meeting and a relay optical system that relays the scanning light and the returning light between the movable mirror portion and each of the light source and the light receiving sensor, wherein in a direction along the reference axis, in a case where a direction in which the movable reflection surface faces with reference to the light deflector is referred to as a side closer to a first end of the reference axis, and a side opposite to the side closer to the first end of the reference axis is referred to as a side closer to a second end of the reference axis, the incidence and emission window is disposed on the side closer to the first end, and the light source and the light receiving sensor are disposed on the side closer to the second end.
Figure 3 of Beuschel et al teaches that it was known before the effective filing date of the present application to have used relay optics (30) to have position a transmission/reception unit (24) on a second side of an optical scanner (26) wherein light emitted from the scanner defines a reference axis (32).
Therefore, it would have been obvious for a person of ordinary skill in the art to have had a reasonable expectation of success in modifying the device of Ito et al to have met claim 1 when seeking to use the structure of introducing light into and out of a scanner, as taught by Beuschel, when seeking a geometry that allowed the transmitter and receiver to be separate from the scanner.
Figure 3 of Beuschel et al shows the relay optics (30) and transmission/reception unit (24) overlapping on an axis and being located to a second side of the scanner (26).
Therefore, claim 11 is met by the combination of Ito et al and Beuschel et al, as applied to claim 1.
Page 5 of the translation of Ito et al states, “…and a laser beam receiver (for example, a highly sensitive PIN photodiode, avalanche photodiode, or the like) as the reception device….”; thus, rendering claim 13 met by the combination of Ito et al and Beuschel et al, as applied to claim 1.
Page 3 of the translation of Ito et al states, “…As the light emitting device 11, various devices such as an LED (Light Emitting Diode) element can be applied….”; thus, rendering claim 14 met by the combination of Ito et al and Beuschel et al, as applied to claim 1.
With regard to claim 15, page 6 of the translation of Ito et al states, “…Further, by scanning the timing at which the laser beam is transmitted in this way and by devising the shape of the radiation member 12 so that the direction of the object can be detected as described above, the object distance can be accurately determined from the scanning timing and the light receiving timing. It is also possible to obtain a direction (that is, to detect a three-dimensional position)…”.
Therefore, it would have been obvious for a person of ordinary skill in the art to have had a reasonable expectation of success in including and angle sensor in the rotating mirror (33b) of Ito et al as combined with Beuschel et al in that precise angle determination would have been required for determining three-dimensional position.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 2-10 and 12 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Any inquiry concerning this communication should be directed to MARK HELLNER at telephone number (571)272-6981.
Examiner interviews are available via a variety of formats. See MPEP § 713.01. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
/MARK HELLNER/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3645
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