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 . 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. There are a total of 20 claims and claims 1-20 are pending.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 09/23/2024 is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
Priority
Acknowledgment is made of applicant’s claim for foreign priority under 35 U.S.C. 119 (a)-(d) which papers have been placed of record in the file.
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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claims 1-3 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ochiai et al. (US 2020/0241117 A1) in view of Nehmadi et al. (US 2016/0291154 A1).
Regarding claim 1, Ochiai discloses a distance measurement device comprising([see in Fig. 1]- The ranging device 10 is an optical ranging device that optically measures a distance to an object): a light emitting section that periodically emits a light pulse signal([Fig. 1 and abstract- the ranging device 10 includes a light source unit 11 that includes a light source 11A and a light source driving circuit 11B for driving the light source 11A. The light source 11A generates and emits a pulsed laser light (hereinafter referred to as a pulsed light)]); a light scanning section that scans the light pulse signal within a predetermined angle range([see in Fig. 5B]- as shown in FIG. 5B, the control unit 15 determines (estimates) the swing angle of the light reflecting surface 24A for each timing t, and determines the emission direction of the scanning light L2 for each timing t, namely, whether the ranging point P (t) on the effective scanning surface R2 is the intersection ranging point P1 or the non-intersection ranging point P2); a light receiving section including a light receiving area that receives a reflected light pulse signal reflected by an object irradiated with the light pulse signal([para 0010;0025; Fig. 3A-3B]- a light receiving unit that receives a reflected light from an object where the light is irradiated; and a control unit that controls an emission of the light); a distance measurement section that measures a distance of the object on a basis of a light emission timing of the light pulse signal and a light reception timing of the reflected light pulse signal([abstract; [0002].[0009],[0025]]- a light source unit that emits a pulsed light; an optical scanning unit that scans a predetermined region with the pulsed light and has an intersection point where a path of the pulsed light intersects when viewing a virtual surface inside the predetermined region; a ranging unit that receives a reflected light from an object irradiated with the pulsed light to measure a distance to the object; and a control unit that controls an emission of the pulsed light to the intersection point based on a predetermined condition on the reflected light)
However, Ochiai does not explicitly disclose control section that determines whether or not to shift the light receiving area that receives the reflected light pulse signal in a predetermined direction according to the distance of the object.
In an analogous art, Nehmadi discloses control section that determines whether or not to shift the light receiving area that receives the reflected light pulse signal in a predetermined direction according to the distance of the object([abstract] and [0011]- wherein the at least one target object is recognized in an image acquired by a passive sensor; at least one receiver configured to detect light pulses reflected from the at least one target object; a controller configured to control an energy level, a direction, and a timing of each light pulse emitted by the transmitter, wherein the controller is further configured to control at least the direction for detecting each of the reflected light pulses; and a distance measurement circuit configured to measure a distance to each of the at least one target object based on the emitted light pulses and the detected light pulses). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to provide the technique of Nehmadi to the modified system of Ochiai an active sensor for performing active measurements of a scene. The scene may be a field of view captured by an apparatus for causing generation of the 3D-map. The active sensor comprises at least one transmitter configured to emit light pulses toward at least one target object in the scene, wherein the at least one target object is recognized in an image acquired by a passive sensor; at least one receiver configured to detect light pulses reflected from the at least one target object; a controller configured to control an energy level, a direction, and a timing of each light pulse emitted by the transmitter, wherein the controller is further configured to control at least the direction for detecting each of the reflected light pulses; and a distance measurement circuit configured to measure a distance to each of the at least one target object based on the emitted light pulses and the detected light pulses to provide a solution for generating 3D-maps that would overcome the deficiencies [ Nehmadi; para 0011].
Regarding Claim 2, Nehmadi discloses wherein the light emitting section and the light receiving section are disposed to be shifted from each other in the predetermined direction, and the control section shifts the light receiving area in the predetermined direction when the distance of the object is less than or equal to a predetermined value([abstract] and [0011]- wherein the at least one target object is recognized in an image acquired by a passive sensor; at least one receiver configured to detect light pulses reflected from the at least one target object; a controller configured to control an energy level, a direction, and a timing of each light pulse emitted by the transmitter, wherein the controller is further configured to control at least the direction for detecting each of the reflected light pulses; and a distance measurement circuit configured to measure a distance to each of the at least one target object based on the emitted light pulses and the detected light pulses).
Regarding claim 3, Ochiai discloses wherein the light emitting section and the light receiving section are disposed to be shifted from each other in the predetermined direction, and in a case where the distance of the object is less than or equal to a predetermined value, the control section shifts the light receiving area in the predetermined direction more largely than a case where the distance of the object is larger than the predetermined value([abstract]- a light source unit that emits a pulsed light; an optical scanning unit that scans a predetermined region with the pulsed light and has an intersection point where a path of the pulsed light intersects when viewing a virtual surface inside the predetermined region; a ranging unit that receives a reflected light from an object irradiated with the pulsed light to measure a distance to the object; and a control unit that controls an emission of the pulsed light to the intersection point based on a predetermined condition on the reflected light).
Allowable Subject Matter
1. Claims 11-20 are allowed.
The following is an examiner' s statement of reasons for allowance: OCHIAI et al.( US 2020/0241117 A1) discloses a ranging device comprising a light source unit that emits a pulsed light; an optical scanning unit that scans a predetermined region with the pulsed light and has an intersection point where a path of the pulsed light intersects when viewing a virtual surface inside the predetermined region; a ranging unit that receives a reflected light from an object irradiated with the pulsed light to measure a distance to the object; and a control unit that controls an emission of the pulsed light to the intersection point based on a predetermined condition on the reflected light. OCHIAI does not specially disclose an acquisition section that simultaneously acquires a first electric signal received at a central portion of the light receiving area in a first direction and a second electric signal received at a position shifted in the first direction from the central portion of the light receiving area; a determination section that determines whether or not the light reception timing of the reflected light pulse signal can be specified on a basis of the first electric signal; and a signal selection section that selects the first electric signal or the second electric signal on a basis of a determination result of the determination section, wherein the distance measurement section detects the light reception timing of the reflected light pulse signal on a basis of the first electric signal or the second electric signal selected by the signal selection section.
Any comments considered necessary by applicant must be submitted no later than the payment of the issue fee and, to avoid processing delays, should preferably accompany the issue fee. Such submissions should be clearly labeled “Comments on Statement of Reasons for Allowance.”
Claim 4-10 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.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
Regarding claim 4, The distance measurement device according to claim 1, the light emitting section includes a plurality of light emitting elements arranged along the predetermined direction, the plurality of light emitting elements emits the light pulse signal while shifting a time of each of a plurality of light emitting element groups each including two or more light emitting elements arranged adjacent to each other along the predetermined direction, the light receiving section includes a plurality of light receiving elements arranged along the predetermined direction, the plurality of light receiving elements receives the reflected light pulse signal based on the light pulse signal emitted by the corresponding light emitting element group in each of a plurality of light receiving element groups each including two or more light receiving elements arranged adjacent to each other along the predetermined direction, and the control section determines whether or not to shift positions of the plurality of light receiving element groups that receives the reflected light pulse signal along the predetermined direction according to the distance of the object.
Citation of Pertinent Prior Art
The prior art are made of record and not relied upon but considered pertinent to applicant’s disclosure:
1. KUBOTA et al., US 2021/0293957 A1, discloses a light detector and a distance measuring device.
2. Takeuchi Kengo, US 2012/0154667 A1, discloses a focus detecting apparatus that performs auto focus detection and a control method thereof.
3. Schellmann, Michael Meschede, US 2002/0140923, discloses a method for distance measurement by means of transit time measurement of laser pulses.
4. NAGASE; Masanori, US 2021/0270968 A1, discloses range-measuring elements, and range-measuring devices (range measurement devices) of 3D imaging devices or the like, and more particularly relates to a CMOS image sensor (CIS) or a range-measuring device using the pixel in the CIS.
5. ARAI et al., US 2023/0038698 A1, discloses an imaging element and a distance measurement module capable of reducing parasitic capacity.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MD NAZMUL HAQUE whose telephone number is (571)272-5328. The examiner can normally be reached IFW.
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/MD N HAQUE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2487
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