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)(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.
(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) 1-14, 16 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Smith (US 2016/0323524).
Regarding Claims 1 and 16, Smith discloses a ranging device and method comprising: a light receiving unit including a plurality of pixels configured to detect light [#241 of Fig 8, 0115] including an irradiation light from a light emitting unit [0102; 0111; 0123] reflected by an object in a measurement target region [0262]; a binning processing unit configured to convert a plurality of signals output from the plurality of pixels into signals of pixel blocks each including a part of the plurality of pixels [0109-15]; an information generation unit configured to generate information in which each of the signals of the pixel blocks generated by the binning processing unit and a time from light emission of the light emitting unit to light detection are associated with each other [#243, #245 of Fig 8; 0109-0115]; and a data transfer unit configured to transfer the plurality of signals from the light receiving unit to the binning processing unit [0104; 0110; 0113-15; 0120], wherein the data transfer unit is configured to sequentially transfer the plurality of signals received from the light receiving unit to the binning processing unit [0113; 0118; 0120; 0130], and wherein the binning processing unit is configured to sequentially convert the plurality of signals transferred from the data transfer unit into the signals of the pixel blocks [0109-15; 0126; 0228].
Regarding Claim 2, Smith also discloses wherein the data transfer unit includes a plurality of signal holding units configured to be connectable to the plurality of pixels, respectively [0109-15; 0120; 0130].
Regarding Claim 3, Smith also discloses wherein the plurality of signals is transferred from the plurality of pixels to the plurality of signal holding units in parallel [0109-15; 0120; 0128; 0150; 0232]
Regarding Claim 4, Smith also discloses wherein the plurality of signal holding units is configured to be connectable so as to form a shift register [0150; 0199-0200; 0233].
Regarding Claim 5, Smith also discloses wherein the shift register is configured to transfer each of the plurality of signals held in the plurality of signal holding units sequentially to the signal holding unit on a downstream side [0150; 0199-0200; 0233].
Regarding Claim 6, Smith also discloses wherein the plurality of pixels is arranged to form a plurality of rows and a plurality of columns, and wherein the plurality of signal holding units is divided into a plurality of groups each corresponding to the row or the column, and the shift register is configured for each of the plurality of groups [0106; 0110-15; 0120; 0123-28;0150; 0199-0200; 0232-33].
Regarding Claim 7, Smith also discloses wherein the signal holding units corresponding to the row or the column are divided into two or more groups [0106; 0110-15; 0120; 0123-28;0150; 0199-0200; 0233].
Regarding Claim 8, Smith also discloses wherein the binning processing unit is configured to receive the signals from a predetermined number of the signal holding units on a downstream side of the shift register in parallel [0109-15; 0120; 0128; 0150; 0199-0200; 0232-33].
Regarding Claim 9, Smith also discloses wherein the part of the plurality of pixels is arranged in two or more rows or columns, and wherein the binning processing unit is configured to receive signals of the part of the plurality of pixels from the shift registers corresponding to the two or more rows or columns [0106; 0110-15; 0120; 0123-28;0150; 0199-0200; 0232-33].
Regarding Claim 10, Smith also discloses wherein the shift register is configured sequentially input the signals to the binning processing unit from the signal holding units on a downstream side in response to a clock pulse [0106; 0110-15; 0120; 0123-28;0150; 0199-0200; 0232-33; 0258].
Regarding Claim 11, Smith also discloses wherein the binning processing unit is configured to convert the signals input from the data transfer unit to the signals corresponding to the pixel blocks each time the clock pulse is input [0106; 0110-15; 0120; 0123-28;0150; 0199-0200; 0232-33; 0258].
Regarding Claim 11, Smith also discloses wherein the binning processing unit is configured to generate a signal based on the signal input from the data transfer unit and the signal input from the data transfer unit in response to the clock pulse one clock period or more before [0106; 0110-15; 0120; 0123-28;0150; 0199-0200; 0232-33; 0258].
Regarding Claim 13, Smith also discloses wherein a bit width of data processed by the binning processing unit is equal to or less than a bit width of data input to the binning processing unit [0109-15; 0120; 0126]
Regarding Claim 14, Smith also discloses wherein the information generation unit is configured to generate, for each of the pixel blocks, information indicating a relationship between a class determined according to a time from light emission of the light emitting unit to light detection by the light receiving unit and a frequency indicating the number of times the light is detected [0109-15; 0120; 0128; 0150; 0199-0200; 0232-33].
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) 15 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Smith (US 2016/0323524), as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Maekawa (US 20220236420).
Regarding Claim 1, Smith also teaches the ranging device of Claim 1 0109-15; 0126; 0228], but does not explicitly teach a control device to control the movable object based on a distance information acquired by the ranging device [0151; 0154; 0163]. It would have been obvious to modify the device of Smith to place the device on a movable object by realizing avoidance of collision and reduction of damage
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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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Helal Algahaim can be reached at 5712705227. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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JAMES R. HULKA
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 3645
/JAMES R HULKA/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3645
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