DETAILED ACTION
This office action is in response to the application filed on August 7, 2024. Claims 1 – 20 are pending.
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
Acknowledgment is made of applicant’s claim for foreign priority under 35 U.S.C. 119 (a)-(d). The certified copy has been filed in parent Application No. EP22156579.9, filed on February 14, 2022.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) was submitted on August 7, 2024. The submission is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the Examiner.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
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 - 4 and 6 - 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by PALUBIAK et al. (US 2021/0302553 A1) referred to as PALUBIAK hereinafter.
Regarding Claim 1, PALUBIAK discloses time-of-flight light event detection circuitry (Fig. 4, Par. [0012] present invention relate to LIDAR systems having direct time-of-flight capabilities) configured to:
determine, in a macropixel mode, for a first frame for a first predetermined time period (Par. [0038] Cycle 1 (i.e. first frame) may analyze first bit 504A of time-stamped data 504. First bit 504A may be the most significant bit (i.e., the coarsest bit) (i.e. micropixel mode) of time-stamped data 504. Time period T1 may correspond to the amount of time of needed for laser emission and detection (i.e. predetermined time period) and may be less than 100 ns, less than 50 ns, less than 45 ns, more than 30 ns, or any other desired length of time), light events of light being incident on a first light detection element (Par. [0037] An example of the cyclic histogramming process is shown in FIG. 5. As shown in FIG. 5, SPAD pixel 202 (or SiPM) (i.e. first light detection element) may be coupled to TDC 502 (which may correspond to TDC circuitry 400 of FIG. 4). Together, SPAD pixel 202 and TDC 502 may generate time-stamped signals in response to laser light that has been reflected by external objects (i.e. light events of light));
determine, in the macropixel mode, for the first frame for a second predetermined time period (Par. [0035] each SPAD pixel 202 (or SiPM 114) may be associated with TDC circuitry 400 that generates histograms in response to the charge detected by the SPAD pixel. SPAD pixel 202 (or SiPM 114) may be coupled to time-stamp circuitry 402. Par. [0038] Cycle 1 (i.e. first frame) may analyze first bit 504A of time-stamped data 504. First bit 504A may be the most significant bit (i.e., the coarsest bit) (i.e. micropixel mode) of time-stamped data 504.Time period T1 may correspond to the amount of time of needed for laser emission and detection (i.e. predetermined time period with second ) and may be less than 100 ns, less than 50 ns, less than 45 ns, more than 30 ns, or any other desired length of time), light events of light being incident on a second light detection element (Par. [0028] multiple SPAD devices (i.e. second light detection element) grouped together is shown in FIG. 3); and
determine, in a window mode, based on the macropixel mode ((Par. [0039] In Cycle 2, the laser may emit light and the SPAD pixel may detect reflected light during a new time period T2, which is half the time period of T1 (i.e. based on micropixel mode). Signals generated by the SPAD pixel may be stored as second bit 504B of time-stamped data 504 in memory 506. Second bit 504B may be the second coarsest bit of time-stamped data (i.e. window mode) 504 relative to the most significant bit)), for a second frame after the resulting first frame, a third time period in which light events are to be detected (Par. [0038] Because the peak occurs in the second half of time period T1, Cycle 2 (i.e. second frame) may focus on a new time period T2 (i.e. third time period) that is equal to the second half of time period T1).
Regarding Claim 2, PALUBIAK discloses Claim 1. PALUBIAK further discloses wherein the third time period corresponds to one of the first and the second time periods for which more light events have been determined (Par. [0038] Because the peak occurs in the second half of time period T1, Cycle 2 (i.e. second frame) may focus on a new time period T2 (i.e. third time period) that is equal to the second half of time period T1 (i.e. corresponds to first time period)).
Regarding Claim 3, PALUBIAK discloses Claim 1. PALUBIAK further discloses wherein the first and the second light detection elements include a single photon avalanche diode (Figs. 2-5, a single-photon avalanche diode (SPAD) device 202).
Regarding Claim 4, PALUBIAK discloses Claim 3. PALUBIAK further discloses wherein the light events are determined based on at least one histogram (Fig. 4 and Fig. 5, Par. [0034] The readout for direct time-of-flight (ToF) LIDAR is achieved using multiple LASER cycles to create a histogram in memory based on the time-stamps generated by a SPAD and time-to-digital converter (TDC), Par. [0035] each SPAD pixel 202 (or SiPM 114) may be associated with TDC circuitry 400 that generates histograms in response to the charge detected by the SPAD pixel. After the emission and detection of light has been time-stamped, the data may be passed to histogram and peak detection circuitry 404. Par. [0038] Histogram 508A may be produced in response to the data stored in memory 506. In particular, histogram 508A may be used to determine that a peak over time period T1 occurs at position 510A).
Regarding Claim 6, PALUBIAK discloses Claim 4. PALUBIAK further discloses wherein the third time period is determined based on a peak in the at least one histogram (Par. [0038] histogram 508A may be used to determine that a peak over time period T1 occurs at position 510A (i.e. peak). Because the peak occurs in the second half of time period T1, Cycle 2 (i.e. third time period) may focus on a new time period T2 that is equal to the second half of time period T1 (i.e. based on peak)).
Regarding Claim 7, PALUBIAK discloses Claim 1. PALUBIAK further discloses wherein the third time period is determined for at least one of the first and the second light detection elements (Par. [0039] In Cycle 2, the laser may emit light and the SPAD pixel may detect reflected light during a new time period T2, which is half the time period of T1 (e.g., the time period that corresponds with the second half of original time period T1). Signals generated by the SPAD pixel may be stored as second bit 504B of time-stamped data 504 in memory 506, Par. [0028] The group or array of SPAD devices may be referred to as a silicon photomultiplier (SiPM)).
Regarding Claim 8, PALUBIAK discloses Claim 1. PALUBIAK further discloses wherein the third time period is determined for the first and the second light detection elements (Par. [0039] In Cycle 2, the laser may emit light and the SPAD pixel may detect reflected light during a new time period T2, which is half the time period of T1 (e.g., the time period that corresponds with the second half of original time period T1). Signals generated by the SPAD pixel may be stored as second bit 504B of time-stamped data 504 in memory 506, Par. [0028] The group or array of SPAD devices may be referred to as a silicon photomultiplier (SiPM)), and wherein the third time period corresponds to the time period of the first and the second time periods for which more light events have been determined (Par. [0038] Because the peak occurs in the second half of time period T1, Cycle 2 (i.e. second frame) may focus on a new time period T2 (i.e. third time period) that is equal to the second half of time period T1 (i.e. first and second time periods)).
Regarding Claim 9, PALUBIAK discloses Claim 1. PALUBIAK further discloses wherein the third time period is determined for a third light detection element (Par. [0028] The group or array of SPAD devices may be referred to as a silicon photomultiplier (SiPM), multiple SPAD devices grouped together is shown in FIG. 3, Par. [0035] each SPAD pixel 202 (or SiPM 114) (i.e. third light detection element) may be associated with TDC circuitry 400 that generates histograms in response to the charge detected by the SPAD pixel. SPAD pixel 202 (or SiPM 114) may be coupled to time-stamp circuitry 402).
Regarding Claim 10, PALUBIAK discloses Claim 9. PALUBIAK further discloses wherein, in the second frame (Par. [0038] Because the peak occurs in the second half of time period T1, Cycle 2 (i.e. second frame) may focus on a new time period T2 that is equal to the second half of time period T1), the light events of the first and the second light detection elements (Par. [0028] The group or array of SPAD devices may be referred to as a silicon photomultiplier (SiPM), multiple SPAD devices grouped together is shown in FIG. 3, Par. [0035] each SPAD pixel 202 (or SiPM 114) (i.e. first and second light detection element) may be associated with TDC circuitry 400 that generates histograms in response to the charge detected by the SPAD pixel. SPAD pixel 202 (or SiPM 114) may be coupled to time-stamp circuitry 402) are determined for the first and the second time periods in the first frame (Par. [0038] Cycle 1 (i.e. first frame) may analyze first bit 504A of time-stamped data 504. Histogram 508A may be used to determine that a peak over time period T1 occurs at position 510A. Time period may correspond to the amount of time of needed for laser emission and detection. Because the peak occurs in the second half of time period T1, Cycle 2 (i.e. second frame) may focus on a new time period T2 (i.e. third time period) that is equal to the second half of time period T1 (i.e. first and second time period)).
Regarding Claim 11, PALUBIAK discloses Claim 1. PALUBIAK further discloses wherein, in the window mode, at least one of the first and the second light detection elements are quenched (Par. [0020] Each SPAD may therefore include a passive and/or active quenching circuit for halting the avalanche. The SPAD pixels may be used to measure photon time-of-flight (ToF) from a synchronized light source (e.g., laser 104) to a scene object point and back to the sensor, which can be used to obtain a 3-dimensional image of the scene. Par. [0022] Quenching circuitry 206 may be passive quenching circuitry or active quenching circuitry).
Regarding Claim 12, PALUBIAK discloses Claim 1. PALUBIAK further discloses further configured to: determine, for a third frame after the second frame, in the macropixel mode, a fourth time period (Par. [0039] Because the peak occurs in the first half of time period T2, Cycle 3 (i.e. third frame) may focus on a new time period T3 (i.e. fourth time period) that is equal to the first half of time period T2. The processing circuitry may determine that the value of the next bit relative to the MSB (e.g., the second coarsest bit relative to the MSB)), if a number of light events is below a predetermined threshold in the second frame, for carrying out the window mode in a fourth frame after the third frame (Par. [0040] the next Cycle (if any) (i.e. fourth frame) may focus on a new time period that is equal to the second half of time period T3, and the processing circuitry may determine that the value of the next bit relative to the MSB (e.g., the third coarsest bit relative to the MSB) is 1. This process may be continued iteratively for as many bits are desired, or at least for as much significance is desired).
Regarding Claim 13, PALUBIAK discloses Claim 1. PALUBIAK further discloses further configured to: optimize a window (Par. [0035] Time-stamp 402 may generate time-stamp information each time a laser pulse is generated by LIDAR module 102, such as with laser 104, and each time the SPAD pixel or SiPM is triggered in response to a photon. After the emission and detection of light has been time-stamped, the data may be passed to histogram and peak detection circuitry 404. Histogram and peak detection circuitry 404 may be used to determine where a peak has occurred within the time-stamped information (e.g., where a SPAD pixel/SiPM has been triggered most within a given period of time). Histogram circuitry 404 may utilize a cyclic histogramming method, in which the data from the SPAD pixel is iteratively analyzed using smaller time periods (i.e. optimize a window) based on relative peaks in the data) of the window mode for following a pulse location (Par. [0040] The final cycle may produce the least significant bit (LSB) of the time-of-flight value. The LSB of the time-of-flight value may be the finest (e.g., least coarse) bit of the time-of-flight value. In general, any desired number of cycles may be used to determine the time-of-flight data to any desired significance value).
Regarding Claim 14, PALUBIAK discloses Claim 1. PALUBIAK further discloses further comprising a plurality of light detection elements including the first and the second light detection element (Par. [0028] The group or array of SPAD devices (i.e. plurality of light detection elements) may be referred to as a silicon photomultiplier (SiPM), multiple SPAD devices grouped together is shown in FIG. 3, Par. [0035] each SPAD pixel 202 (or SiPM 114) (i.e. first and second light detection elements) may be associated with TDC circuitry 400 that generates histograms in response to the charge detected by the SPAD pixel. SPAD pixel 202 (or SiPM 114) may be coupled to time-stamp circuitry 402), the circuitry being further configured to: group a first subset of the plurality of light detection elements for carrying out the macropixel mode; and group a second subset of the plurality of light detection elements for carrying out the window mode (Par. [0031] The array may be capable of independent detection (whether using a single SPAD pixel or a plurality of SPAD pixels (i.e. group of second subset of elements) in a silicon photomultiplier) in a line array (i.e. window mode) (e.g., an array having a single row and multiple columns or a single column and multiple rows) or an array (i.e. group of first subset of elements) having more than ten, more than one hundred, or more than one thousand rows and/or columns (i.e. micropixel mode)).
Method Claims 15 – 20 are drawn to the method of using the corresponding apparatus claimed in Claims 1, 8, 11 - 14, respectively. Therefore method Claims 15 – 20 correspond to Claims 1, 8, 11 - 14, respectively and are rejected for the same reasons of anticipation as used above.
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 of this title, 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 5 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over PALUBIAK (US 2021/0302553 A1) in view of Steigemann et al., (US 11,175,404 B2) referred to as Steigemann hereinafter.
Regarding Claim 5, PALUBIAK discloses Claim 3. While PALUBIAK teaches in Par. [0025] that “The ToF signal may be obtained by also converting the time of photon flight to a voltage. The example of an analog pulse counting circuit being included in readout circuitry 212 is merely illustrative. If desired, readout circuitry 212 may include digital pulse counting circuits. Readout circuitry 212 may also include amplification circuitry if desired”, PALUBIAK does not specifically teach two phased shifted readout signal. Therefore, PALUBIAK fails to explicitly teach wherein the light events are determined based on at least two phase-shifted readout signals.
However, Steigemann teaches wherein the light events are determined based on at least two phase-shifted readout signals (Col. 7:19-33, FIG. 4 depicts waveform diagrams 140, 142, 144, and 146 (i.e. at least two phase-shifted readout signals) illustrating square wave range-gating with a complement waveform for subsequent measurements. A waveform can be sinusoidal as well as square shaped, depending on the type of wave input).
References PALUBIAK and Steigemann are considered to be analogous art because they relate to Single photon avalanche diodes in time of flight detection devices. Therefore, it would be obvious to one possessing ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to specifying two phase-shifter readout signals as taught by Steigemann in the invention of PALUBIAK. This modification would allow a single target to be located at different places within a single or potentially multiple gating windows across different measurements and achieve or effectuate gating interleaving (See Steigemann, Col. 7:50-54).
Conclusion
The prior art references made of record are not relied upon but are considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Dutton et al. (US 2021/0302550 A1) teaches time to digital converter in ranging systems that use time of flight (ToF) techniques to determine distance by generating a fine histogram based on the detected peak coarse bin, where a fine histogram depth range is narrower than a coarse histogram depth range.
Any inquiry concerning this communication should be directed to SUSAN E HODGES whose telephone number is (571)270-0498. The Examiner can normally be reached on Monday - Friday from 8:00 am (EST) to 4:00 pm (EST).
If attempts to reach the Examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the Examiner's supervisor, Brian T. Pendleton, can be reached on (571) 272-7527. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/Susan E. Hodges/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2425
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