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 .
Drawings
In view of applicant’s specification [0041] and the phrase “Compared with the prior art”, it appears that Figures 5-6 is prior art. Thus, it appears that Figures 5-6 should be designated by a legend such as --Prior Art-- because only that which is old is illustrated. See MPEP § 608.02(g). Corrected drawings in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. The replacement sheet(s) should be labeled “Replacement Sheet” in the page header (as per 37 CFR 1.84(c)) so as not to obstruct any portion of the drawing figures. If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
Specification
The disclosure is objected to because of the following informalities: in [0043], there appears to be an editorial error in the phrase “switching from FIG. 10 to FIG. 8” because Fig. 10 is a flowchart. It appears that the phrase should instead refer to Fig. 7 instead of Fig. 10 so that it recites “switching from FIG. 7 to FIG. 8”.
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Objections
Claim 1 is objected to because of the following informalities: in line 14, it is suggested to replace the phrase “within that area” with –within the second area-- to improve clarity since there are multiple areas recited in the claim.
Claim 8 is objected to because of the following informalities: in the last/bottom line, it is suggested to replace the phrase “any one of Claims 1” with --claim 1-- to improve clarity since only one claim is listed.
Claims 2-7 and 9 are objected to due to dependency.
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 1-9 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Claim 1 recites the limitation “the depth value” in line 9. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Claim 3 recites the limitation “the number of components in the first pixel” in line 1. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Claim 3 recites the limitation “the number of components in the second pixel” in lines 2-3. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Claim 4 recites the limitation “the I2C interface” in line 2. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Claim 7 recites the limitation “the third area position information” in lines 6-7. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Claim 7 recites the limitation “the number of components” in lines 7-8. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Claim 7 recites the limitation “the third pixel” in line 8. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Claim 7 recites the limitation “the third area” in line 9. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Claim 7 recites the limitation “the number of components in the second pixel” in line 10. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. Applicant may consider amending claim 7 to depend on claim 3 since claim 3 introduces this limitation.
Claim 8 recites the limitation “the number of SPADS per pixel” in line 4. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Claim(s) 2, 5-6, and 9 is/are also considered to be indefinite since it/they depend(s) from the indefinite parent claim(s).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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 (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) 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 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) 1-3 and 7 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Eisele US20120249998 in view of Sonn US20190056498 and Dutton US20240118397.
Regarding independent claim 1, Eisele teaches, in Figures 5-6,
A dTOF (direct Time-of-Flight) ranging method (Eisele; Fig. 6; [0022] “determine a time of flight”), comprising:
setting a first mode (Eisele; Fig. 6; largest-sized region 116) and a second mode (Eisele; Fig. 6; medium-sized region 115), wherein in the first mode, selected SPADs (Single Photon Avalanche Diodes) (Eisele; SPADs 101) are activated based on first area position information (Eisele; Fig. 6; the position of the largest-sized region 116 is on the left-side in the figure), and pixel data is output through according to a number of SPADs in each pixel (Eisele; Fig. 5-6; the largest-sized region 116 has 16 SPADs 101 per pixel), and wherein in the second mode, the selected SPADs are activated based on second area position information (Eisele; Fig. 6; the position of the medium-sized region 115 is in the middle between the largest-sized region 116 and the smallest-sized region 114), and pixel data is output according to the number of SPADs in each pixel (Eisele; Fig. 5-6; the medium-sized region 115 has 4 SPADs 101 per pixel);
switching between the first mode and the second mode (Eisele; Fig. 6; [0061] the mode depends on the target distance being in a near-range distance, a medium-range distance, or a far-range distance);
generating a from the TDC data of each pixel to determine the depth value of each pixel (Eisele; [0022] binning distance determining unit for time-of-flight; [0023] each pixel can be assigned a dedicated distance determining unit);
wherein: the first area position information includes a block size of a first area of an SPAD array and positions of the SPADs within the first area (Eisele; Fig. 6; largest-sized region 116);
the second area position information includes a block size of a second area of the SPAD array and positions of the SPADs within that area (Eisele; Fig. 6; medium-sized region 115);
the first area is larger than the second area (Eisele; Fig. 6; the largest-sized region 116 has a larger area than that of the medium-sized region 115), and the number of SPADs per pixel in the first area (Eisele; Fig. 5-6; the largest-sized region 116 has 16 SPADs 101 per pixel) is greater than the number of SPADs per pixel in the second area (Eisele; Fig. 5-6; the medium-sized region 115 has 4 SPADs 101 per pixel).
Eisele is silent regarding
a TDC (Time-to-Digital Converter) array;
a user-input;
generating a histogram from the TDC data;
Sonn teaches a user-input (Sonn; [0192] on-the-fly user gating parameter configuration of the desired spatial resolution; [0191-0192] spatial resolution can be dynamically decreased or increased on-the-fly based on user input; [0226] adjust/increase spatial resolution relating to an object of interest; [0173] user interface 140).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill at the effective filing date of the invention to modify the mode selection as taught by Eisele to additionally be based on user-input and including a user input interface as taught by Sonn for the purpose of providing the desired spatial resolution relating to an object of interest (Sonn; [0192] on-the-fly user gating parameter configuration of the desired spatial resolution; [0191-0192] spatial resolution can be dynamically decreased or increased on-the-fly based on user input; [0226] adjust/increase spatial resolution relating to an object of interest).
Modified Eisele is silent regarding
a TDC (Time-to-Digital Converter) array;
generating a histogram from the TDC data;
Dutton teaches a TDC (Time-to-Digital Converter) array; generating a histogram from the TDC data (Dutton; Fig. 3B; TDC 306 feeds data to the histogram generation circuit 308; [0003] TDC provides a digital representation of time associated with events; [0005] TDC is used to determine distance; [0057] histogram is used for peak-detection by peak detector 1510 for distance-determination).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill at the effective filing date of the invention to modify the dTOF ranging method as taught by Modified Eisele to comprise a TDC and histogram generation as taught by Dutton for the purpose of accurately determining target distance/ranging (Dutton; [0003] TDC provides a digital representation of time associated with events; [0005] TDC is used to determine distance; [0057] histogram is used for peak-detection by peak detector 1510 for distance-determination).
Regarding claim 2, Modified Eisele teaches the invention substantially the same as described above, and The method of claim 1 wherein the first area (Eisele; Fig. 5-6; the largest-sized region 116 has 16 SPADs 101 per pixel) and the second area (Eisele; Fig. 5-6; the medium-sized region 115 has 4 SPADs 101 per pixel) comprise the same or different SPADs (Eisele; Fig. 6; regions 115 and 116 have different SPADs).
Regarding claim 3, Modified Eisele teaches the invention substantially the same as described above, and The method of claim 1, wherein the number of components in the first pixel is the number of SPADs contained in each pixel in the first mode (Eisele; Fig. 5-6; the largest-sized region 116 has 16 SPADs 101 per pixel); the number of components in the second pixel is the number of SPADs contained in each pixel in the second mode (Eisele; Fig. 5-6; the medium-sized region 115 has 4 SPADs 101 per pixel); the first number of pixels being different from the second number of pixels (Eisele; Fig. 6; region 115 has a lower SPAD/pixel ratio of 4 SPADs/pixel in comparison to that of region 116 which has a ratio/density of 16 SPADs/pixel).
Regarding claim 7, Modified Eisele teaches the invention substantially the same as described above, and The method of claim 1, wherein the step of switching the first mode and the second mode according to user-input command, further comprising: setting a third mode (Eisele; Fig. 6; smallest-sized region 114); switching the first mode, the second mode and the third mode according to user-input command (Sonn; [0192] on-the-fly user gating parameter configuration of the desired spatial resolution; [0191-0192] spatial resolution can be dynamically decreased or increased on-the-fly based on user input; [0226] adjust/increase spatial resolution relating to an object of interest; [0173] user interface 140); wherein the third mode activates the corresponding SPADs according to the third area position information (Eisele; Fig. 6; smallest-sized region 114); outputting the data of each pixel through the TDC array (Dutton; Fig. 3B; TDC 306 feeds data to the histogram generation circuit 308; [0003] TDC provides a digital representation of time associated with events; [0005] TDC is used to determine distance) according to the number of components in the third pixel (Eisele; Fig. 6; smallest-sized region 114); the third area information comprises the block size of the third area of the SPAD array and SPAD positions (Eisele; Fig. 6; smallest-sized region 114); the second area is larger than the third area (Eisele; Fig. 6), and the number of components in the second pixel is larger than the number of components in the third pixel (Eisele; Fig. 5-6; medium-sized region 115 has 4 SPADs per pixel while smallest-sized region 114 has 1 SPAD per pixel).
Claim(s) 4 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Eisele in view of Sonn and Dutton as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Kumar US20190392189.
Claim(s) 8 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Eisele in view of Sonn, Dutton, and Kumar US20190392189.
Regarding claim 4, Modified Eisele teaches the invention substantially the same as described above, and The method of claim 1, before the user-input, further comprising: obtaining the user-input through the interface of the dTOF device (Sonn; [0173] user interface 140).
Modified Eisele is silent regarding the I2C interface.
Kumar teaches the I2C interface (Kumar; [0195] “I/O interfaces 1210 may comprise Inter-Integrated Circuit (I2C)” for the purpose of enabling communication between devices/components).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill at the effective filing date of the invention to modify the interface as taught by Modified Eisele to comprise an I2C interface as taught by Kumar for the purpose of enabling/supporting communication between devices/components (Kumar; [0195] “I/O interfaces 1210 may comprise Inter-Integrated Circuit (I2C)” for the purpose of enabling communication between devices/components).
Regarding independent claim 8, Modified Eisele teaches the invention substantially the same as described above in reference to independent claim 1 and dependent claim 4, and
Eisele teaches, in Figures 5-6,
A dTOF (direct Time-of-Flight) ranging method (Eisele; Fig. 6; [0022] “determine a time of flight”), comprising:
setting a first mode (Eisele; Fig. 6; largest-sized region 116) and a second mode (Eisele; Fig. 6; medium-sized region 115), wherein in the first mode, selected SPADs (Single Photon Avalanche Diodes) (Eisele; Fig. 6; SPADs 101) are activated based on first area position information (Eisele; Fig. 6; the position of the largest-sized region 116 is on the left-side in the figure), and pixel data is output through according to a number of SPADs in each pixel (Eisele; Fig. 5-6; the largest-sized region 116 has 16 SPADs 101 per pixel), and wherein in the second mode, the selected SPADs are activated based on second area position information (Eisele; Fig. 6; the position of the medium-sized region 115 is in the middle between the largest-sized region 116 and the smallest-sized region 114), and pixel data is output according to the number of SPADs in each pixel (Eisele; Fig. 5-6; the medium-sized region 115 has 4 SPADs 101 per pixel);
switching between the first mode and the second mode (Eisele; Fig. 6; [0061] the mode depends on the target distance being in a near-range distance, a medium-range distance, or a far-range distance);
generating a from the TDC data of each pixel to determine the depth value of each pixel (Eisele; [0022] binning distance determining unit for time-of-flight; [0023] each pixel can be assigned a dedicated distance determining unit);
wherein: the first area position information includes a block size of a first area of an SPAD array and positions of the SPADs within the first area (Eisele; Fig. 6; largest-sized region 116);
the second area position information includes a block size of a second area of the SPAD array and positions of the SPADs within that area (Eisele; Fig. 6; medium-sized region 115);
the first area is larger than the second area (Eisele; Fig. 6; the largest-sized region 116 has a larger area than that of the medium-sized region 115), and the number of SPADs per pixel in the first area (Eisele; Fig. 5-6; the largest-sized region 116 has 16 SPADs 101 per pixel) is greater than the number of SPADs per pixel in the second area (Eisele; Fig. 5-6; the medium-sized region 115 has 4 SPADs 101 per pixel).
Eisele is silent regarding
a TDC (Time-to-Digital Converter) array;
a user-input;
generating a histogram from the TDC data;
Sonn teaches a user-input (Sonn; [0192] on-the-fly user gating parameter configuration of the desired spatial resolution; [0191-0192] spatial resolution can be dynamically decreased or increased on-the-fly based on user input; [0226] adjust/increase spatial resolution relating to an object of interest; [0173] user interface 140).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill at the effective filing date of the invention to modify the mode selection as taught by Eisele to additionally be based on user-input and including a user input interface as taught by Sonn for the purpose of providing the desired spatial resolution relating to an object of interest (Sonn; [0192] on-the-fly user gating parameter configuration of the desired spatial resolution; [0191-0192] spatial resolution can be dynamically decreased or increased on-the-fly based on user input; [0226] adjust/increase spatial resolution relating to an object of interest).
Modified Eisele is silent regarding
a TDC (Time-to-Digital Converter) array;
generating a histogram from the TDC data;
Dutton teaches a TDC (Time-to-Digital Converter) array; generating a histogram from the TDC data (Dutton; Fig. 3B; TDC 306 feeds data to the histogram generation circuit 308; [0003] TDC provides a digital representation of time associated with events; [0005] TDC is used to determine distance; [0057] histogram is used for peak-detection by peak detector 1510 for distance-determination).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill at the effective filing date of the invention to modify the dTOF ranging method as taught by Modified Eisele to comprise a TDC and histogram generation as taught by Dutton for the purpose of accurately determining target distance/ranging (Dutton; [0003] TDC provides a digital representation of time associated with events; [0005] TDC is used to determine distance; [0057] histogram is used for peak-detection by peak detector 1510 for distance-determination).
Modified Eisele teaches the invention substantially the same as described above, before the user-input, further comprising: obtaining the user-input through the interface of the dTOF device (Sonn; [0173] user interface 140).
Modified Eisele is silent regarding the I2C interface.
Kumar teaches the I2C interface (Kumar; [0195] “I/O interfaces 1210 may comprise Inter-Integrated Circuit (I2C)” for the purpose of enabling communication between devices/components).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill at the effective filing date of the invention to modify the interface as taught by Modified Eisele to comprise an I2C interface as taught by Kumar for the purpose of enabling/supporting communication between devices/components (Kumar; [0195] “I/O interfaces 1210 may comprise Inter-Integrated Circuit (I2C)” for the purpose of enabling communication between devices/components).
Modified Eisele teaches A dTOF (direct Time-of-Flight) ranging system (Eisele; Fig. 6; [0022] “determine a time of flight”), comprising: an SPAD array (Single Photon Avalanche Diode array) (Eisele; Fig. 6; SPADs 101); a TDC array (Time-to-Digital Converter array) (Dutton; Fig. 3B; TDC 306 feeds data to the histogram generation circuit 308; [0003] TDC provides a digital representation of time associated with events; [0005] TDC is used to determine distance); a register for storing configuration information, including the number of SPADs per pixel (Eisele; Fig. 5-6; register for the different configurations of the number of SPADs per pixel); an I2C interface (Kumar; [0195] “I/O interfaces 1210 may comprise Inter-Integrated Circuit (I2C)” for the purpose of enabling communication between devices/components); and a controller (Eisele; Fig. 1; the assembly of measuring device 10 which comprises a control unit 24 connected to evaluation unit 36); wherein: the I2C interface (Kumar; [0195] “I/O interfaces 1210 may comprise Inter-Integrated Circuit (I2C)” for the purpose of enabling communication between devices/components) is connected to the register and the controller; the controller is connected to the SPAD array and the TDC array (Eisele; Fig. 1); the is configured to execute the steps of the dTOF ranging method as described in any one of Claims 1 (Eisele; Fig. 1 and 5-6).
Modified Eisele is silent regarding the controller is configured to execute the steps of the dTOF ranging method as described in any one of Claims 1, by running a computer program stored in a memory.
Sonn teaches a controller and the controller is configured to execute the steps of the dTOF ranging method as described in any one of Claims 1, by running a computer program stored in a memory (Sonn; [0157] controller 116 for controlling operation of both the light source(s) 112 and the image sensor(s) 114; [0175] controller 116 executes instructions stored in memory; [0236] controller 116 can selectively control each pixel element PE 500 of image sensor 114; [0320] on-chip controller 510 coordinates with controller 116 to control pixel elements PE 500).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill at the effective filing date of the invention to modify the controller as taught by Modified Eisele to comprise the controller is configured to execute the steps of the dTOF ranging method by running a computer program stored in a memory as taught by Sonn for the purpose of providing the structural and functional means for performing the direct time-of-flight ranging method using available hardware controls and software controls.
Claim(s) 5-6 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Eisele in view of Sonn and Dutton as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Li US20240353535.
Regarding claim 5, Modified Eisele teaches the invention substantially the same as described above, and The method of claim 1, wherein the block area of the first area is greater than the block area of the second area (Eisele; Fig. 6; largest-sized region 116 has a block area that is greater/larger than that of medium-sized region 115); the number of the pixels correspondingly opened in the first area the number of the pixels correspondingly opened in the second area (Eisele; Fig. 6).
Modified Eisele does not teach the number of the pixels correspondingly opened in the first area equals the number of the pixels correspondingly opened in the second area.
Li teaches the number of the pixels correspondingly opened in the first area equals the number of the pixels correspondingly opened in the second area (Li; [0015] the quantity of pixel cells in configuration 1 is the same as the quantity of pixel cells in configuration 2; [0015] “overall angular resolution of the lidar can be further improved by configuring staggered cells by using software”).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill at the effective filing date of the invention to modify the relative number of pixels corresponding to each area as taught by Modified Eisele to be equal as taught by Li for the purpose providing the desired angular resolution (Li; [0015] the quantity of pixel cells in configuration 1 is the same as the quantity of pixel cells in configuration 2; [0015] “overall angular resolution of the lidar can be further improved by configuring staggered cells by using software”).
Regarding claim 6, Modified Eisele teaches the invention substantially the same as described above, and The method of claim 1, wherein the block area of the first area is larger than the block area of the second area (Eisele; Fig. 6; largest-sized region 116 has a block area that is greater/larger than that of medium-sized region 115).
Modified Eisele is silent regarding wherein the block area of the first area is twice of the block area of the second area.
Li teaches wherein the block area of the first area is twice of the block area of the second area (Li; Fig. 11; see the assembled figure below showing how the activated pixel configuration 2 is twice the activated pixel configuration 1; [0103] Fig. 11A has a 3x3 pixel combination while Fig. 11B has a 3x6 pixel combination; [0103] “in this pixel configuration manner, angular resolution of point cloud data generated through detection of a region can also be further improved without being limited by hardware”).
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Li; Fig. 11. Comparison of the activated block areas of pixel configurations 1 and 2.
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill at the effective filing date of the invention to modify the relative block area size as taught by Modified Eisele so that the first block area is twice/double that of the second block area as taught by Li for the purpose of providing the desired angular resolution (Li; [0103] “in this pixel configuration manner, angular resolution of point cloud data generated through detection of a region can also be further improved without being limited by hardware”).
Claim(s) 9 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Eisele in view of Sonn, Dutton, and Kumar, as applied to claim 8 above, and further in view of Griffis US20040119838.
Regarding claim 9, Modified Eisele teaches the invention substantially the same as described above, and The system of claim 8, further comprising an area emitting end (Eisele; Fig. 1; semiconductor laser diode 18 of transmitting unit 12) and an optical signal driver (Eisele; Fig. 1; control unit 24; [0045] control unit 24 provides “modulation of the diode current”); the optical signal driver is connected with the area emitting end (Eisele; Fig. 1); the area emitting end is used for outputting the area optical signal (Eisele; Fig. 1); the optical signal driver adjusts the power consumption frame by frame (Eisele; Fig. 1; control unit 24; [0045] control unit 24 provides “modulation of the diode current”) through the I2C interface to match with the frame by frame adjustment of the angular resolution (Kumar; [0195] “I/O interfaces 1210 may comprise Inter-Integrated Circuit (I2C)” for the purpose of enabling communication between devices/components).
Modified Eisele is silent regarding further comprising an area array emitting end and an optical signal driver; the optical signal driver is connected with the area array emitting end; the area array emitting end is used for outputting the area array optical signal; it comprises a vertical cavity surface emitting laser and a diffusion element; the vertical cavity surface emitting laser comprises at least two laser signal output channels; the diffusion element is used for diffusing the optical signals output by the vertical cavity surface emitting laser to achieve uniform distribution of the laser.
Sonn teaches an area array emitting end and an optical signal driver; the optical signal driver is connected with the area array emitting end; the area array emitting end is used for outputting the area array optical signal; it comprises a vertical cavity surface emitting laser and a diffusion element; the vertical cavity surface emitting laser comprises at least laser signal output channels; the diffusion element is used for diffusing the optical signals output by the vertical cavity surface emitting laser to achieve uniform distribution of the laser (Sonn; [0158] VCSEL light source 112; [0177] diffuser).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill at the effective filing date of the invention to modify the dTOF system as taught by Modified Eisele to comprise an emitting VCESL array with diffusion element as taught by Sonn for the purpose of providing a reliable, uniform, and wide-angle field of view with fast modulation.
Modified Eisele is silent regarding the vertical cavity surface emitting laser comprises at least two laser signal output channels.
Griffis teaches the vertical cavity surface emitting laser comprises at least two laser signal output channels (Griffis; [0253] "sixty-four channel output VCSEL drive electronics").
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill at the effective filing date of the invention to modify the VCSEL output channel configuration as taught by Modified Eisele to comprise at least two laser signal output channels as taught by Griffis for the purpose of providing the desired, selectable, and optimized laser pattern for ranging.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Kapusta US20200150228 teaches, in Figures 1B-1D, providing a dynamic region of interest and the relationship between spacing of scanned segments 114 and angular resolution of a lidar and how changes in the spacing can yield coarser/finer angular resolution.
Ogawa US20220299433 teaches, in Fig. 4A, macro measurement resolution and micro measurement resolution.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JONATHAN MALIKASIM whose telephone number is (313)446-6597. The examiner can normally be reached M-F; 8 am - 5 pm (CST).
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Yuqing Xiao can be reached at 571-270-3603. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/JONATHAN MALIKASIM/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3645 9/22/26
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