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) s 1-10 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) and (a)(2) as being anticipated by Taylor et al. 2007/0052950.
The PG Pub to Taylor ‘950 discloses all features of the claimed invention as described below. In regards to claims 1 and 8, Taylor discloses the following.
A control method of a measurement system comprising a navigation module, a laser distance measuring module and a support portion, wherein the control method comprises: obtaining relative position parameters between the navigation module and the laser distance measuring module; (said optical sensor being in fixed position with respect to the phase center of said GNSS antenna, claim 1) obtaining parameter information of the support portion; switching to a first measurement mode, obtaining first measurement information of the navigation module, and obtaining coordinates of a point to be measured according to the first measurement information and the parameter information of the support portion, or; (optional feature) switching to a second measurement mode, obtaining second measurement information of the navigation module, and obtaining coordinates of a point to be measured according to the second measurement information and the parameter information of the support portion, or; (optional feature) switching to a third measurement mode, obtaining second measurement information of the navigation module (receiving signals from the GNSS receiver, claim 1) and distance information between the laser distance measuring module and a point to be measured (distance between the transmitter and the GNSS receiver, claim 5), and obtaining coordinates of the point to be measured according to the second measurement information, the relative position parameters between the navigation module and the laser distance measuring module, and the distance information. (a device receiving signals from the GNSS receiver and signals from the optical sensor to determine and store the position of the transmitter from said signals, said device thereafter utilizing signals received from the optical sensor and from the GNSS receiver to determine the position of said GNSS receiver, claim 1). The support 36 has a plurality of sensors for which positions are known (paragraph 24 of Taylor) and provide the parameter information of claim 1. Claims 9 and 10 follow from the above rejection.
[0024] FIG. 2 illustrates diagrammatically one embodiment of a CLDGNS antenna 16 which provides an antenna element 32 mounted to an electronic housing 34, which in turn is mounted to an end of an elongated support 36, such as a mast. Within the housing 34, the antenna element 32 is coupled to a low noise amplifier (LNA) 38, and a laser detector 40 is coupled to a laser signal processor 42. The laser detector 40 may include a number of optical sensors 44 placed around the periphery of the housing 34. The optical sensors 44 face generally downward and outward. In this orientation, at least one of the optical sensors 44 will detect the fan-shaped beams 23 and 23' from the laser system 12, and two or more optical sensors 44 will detect the fan-shaped beam some of the time. Each optical sensor 44 can be read independently and its position calculated by the control system 18.
In regard to claims 2 and 3 see paragraph 18 inherency.
[0018] It is to be appreciated that the fan-shaped beams 23 and 23' , if rotated at a constant speed about a vertical axis, will successively activate (with some delay of time therebetween) at least one optical sensor 44 (FIGS. 2 and 3) of each CLDGNS antenna 16. Further, it is to be appreciated that in the embodiment of FIG. 1, the time delay between activating the optical sensor 44 by the fan-shaped beams 23 and 23' will increase or decrease as the relative position of a CLDGNS antenna 16 moves above or below the horizontal reference plane 24, respectively. It is to be appreciated that the CLDGNS antenna 16 can be initialized to any arbitrary horizontal reference plane 24 simply by selecting and entering into the control system 18 a detection time delay. Additionally, it is to be appreciated that any detected change by the CLDGNS antenna 16 in the detection time delay is related to an angle y, which is the angle at which a straight line passing through the optical sensor 44 (FIGS. 2-4) of the CLDGNS antenna 16 and the point of emanation of the fan-shaped beams 23 and 23' meets the selected arbitrary horizontal reference plane 24.
In regard to claims 4-7 see paragraphs 72-75.
[0072] The measured position of each of the transmitters is stored for use when the motorgrader passes under the overpass, and the positioning and control systems view of the GNSS satellites is obstructed to some degree. As shown in FIG. 8, this information may be stored in memory 100. The GNSS obvervations and precisions may be provided at 102 to the estimator device 104, along with the laser system observations and precisions at 106. The device 104 then uses the signals received from laser detector at 106 to improve the estimate of position of the machine based on signals from the GNSS receiver. It will be appreciated that other position data may also be combined by the estimator device 104 with data from the GNSS receiver to enhance or improve the estimate of position. FIG. 8 indicates that, in an optional variation of the embodiment, inertial sensor readings and precisions may also be provided to the estimator device 104 for inertial system 108. Estimator device 104 is preferably implemented as a programmed computer functioning as a Kalman filter. A Kalman filter is a recursive digital algorithm that can be used to combine estimate data of varying levels of uncertainties. The Kalman filter simply combines the position data which is available and, based upon the anticipated error levels, provides position estimates.
[0073] GNSS observations are normally made at regular time intervals or epochs. Laser readings are dictated by the rotation rate of the transmitter and therefore may not exactly coincide with the GNSS observations. There are several ways of handling this situation, assuming that the movement of the receiver is rapid enough that an error may result from a lack of synchronization. First, the rotation rate of the laser transmitter may be increased so that a reading can be taken which is sufficiently close to a GNSS epoch that negligible error in position results. Second, the motion of the rover can be modeled in a Kalman filter and the GNSS and laser detector observations can be fed into the filter whenever they occur. Third, the rate of change of the GNSS or laser observations can be modeled so that the observations can be skewed to a common epoch. In any case, the GNSS and laser observations can be readily processed together in a consistent manner.
[0074] It will be appreciated that other variations may be of the position determining system may be utilized. For example, systems are contemplated in which the estimator 104 is responsive to a GNSS receiver 102, and to an inertial sensor system 108, with no laser transmitter and receiver being used. Alternatively, a system may incorporate a GNSS receiver and a laser transmitter and receiver 106, without an inertial system. Finally, a position determining system may use laser generated position data in combination with inertial sensor data, without GNSS observations. In each variation, position data from two or three different sources are combined in a Kalman filter to provide a position estimate that is not degrade to the degree that might occur if a single source for the position data were used operating conditions reduced the accuracy of that single source. As explained previously, using a laser receiver to detect position for a motorgrader in conjunction with a GNSS receiver will help maintain accurate position determination in those instances when the motorgrader moves into an area in which some of the GNSS satellites can not be received by the GNSS receiver. In like manner, an inertial sensor may be used in place of, or in conjunction with the laser receiver, maintain the accuracy of the determined position. Further, because of the structures around which the motorgrader is operated, the laser receiver may be blocked temporarily from receiving the transmitted laser beam or beams. The GNSS receiver output and the inertial sensor output may be combined to determine position during these times.
[0075] The laser transmitter has been illustrated as a transmitter of the type that provides a pair of canted fan beams of light and a periodic 360.degree. flash of light to give a receiver an indication of relative position with respect to the transmitter. The present invention contemplates other types of laser transmitters and receivers, as well, including transmitters which sweep a thin beam of laser light through a generally horizontal plane and receivers which have multiple detectors for detecting the relative position of the plane of laser light. Other variations include using a transmitter that projects a single fan-shaped beam of laser light, preferably canted, and a periodic 360.degree. flash of light to give relative position. The laser receiver and GNSS antenna have been illustrated as being located very close together on a single mast. It will be appreciated, however, that this need not be the case, as long as the distance between the laser receiver and the GNSS antenna are a known constant distance apart, and this displacement is taken into account in position determination calculations.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to RICHARD M CAMBY whose telephone number is (571)272-6958. The examiner can normally be reached M - F flex.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Peter D Nolan can be reached at 571 270 7016. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/RICHARD M CAMBY/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3661
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