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 .
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statements (IDS) submitted on 10/11/2024 and 04/08/2026 are being considered by the examiner.
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)(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, 6, 9-11, 17 and 20-21 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Boutaud et al. (US. Pub. No. 2019/0346540, hereinafter “Boutaud”).
As to claims 1 and 9, Boutaud discloses a range imaging apparatus [figure 1, TOF sensor], associated with its range imaging method, comprising:
a light source unit [figure 1, emitter 104 that emits a light pulse 110 to a measurement space 108] that emits a light pulse to a measurement space;
a light receiving unit [figure 1, sensor 106 including a pixel] including a pixel having a photoelectric conversion device configured to generate charge corresponding to incident light and a plurality of charge storages configured to store the charge [paragraph 40, the photo-detectors of sensor 106 accumulate electrical charges based on the exposure duration of the sensor 106 to the received light pulse radiation relative to a time reference. The accumulated charges translate into a voltage value that is used by the distance measurement components 102 to recognize the pulse]; and
a range image processing unit [figure 1, range image processing unit 102] comprising circuitry configured to calculate a distance to a subject in the measurement space based on amounts of charge stored in the charge storages [paragraph 40, The accumulated charges translate into a voltage value that is used by the distance measurement components 102 to recognize the pulse. Once the pulse is identified, the distance measurement components 102 can estimate the time that the reflected pulse was received at the TOF sensor relative to the time that the pulse was emitted, and the distance can be estimated based on this time using equation (1) (or another distance determination equation or algorithm that defined distance as a function of light pulse propagation time)],
wherein the light receiving unit includes a pixel driver circuit [figure 2, pixel driver circuit to distribute and store the charge with cap 206, paragraph 43, The accumulated charge (and corresponding voltage) stored on the measuring capacitor 206] configured to distribute and store the charge into the charge storages at a storage timing synchronized with an emission timing at which the light pulse is emitted [figure 3A, timing chart 310 represents the amount of charge stored on the measuring capacitor 206 over time, starting at time t2 which is synchronized with an emission timing 302], and the circuitry of the range image processing unit is configured to store the charge by controlling the storage timing such that the storage timing relative to the emission timing is relatively different in each of a plurality of subframes provided per frame and select a subframe for calculating the distance from the subframes based on the amounts of charge stored per unit integration count in each of the subframes [figure 3A, cap 206 to store the charge starting at time t2 is relatively different to emission timing in each of a plurality of subframes, paragraph 46, The distance measurement components 102 can then calculate the estimated distance based on a ratio of the trailing edge portion to the full pulse value (where the full pulse value is the sum of the trailing and leading edges)].
As to claims 6 and 10, Boutaud discloses the range imaging apparatus according to claim 1, associated with its range imaging method, wherein the plurality of subframes includes a first subframe and a second subframe [figure 3A, a first subframe and a second subframe between t2 and t3], and the circuitry of the range image processing unit is configured to store the charge in the charge storages of the pixel in each of the subframes in sequence of the first subframe and then the second subframe, and control the storage timing such that a last storage timing, which is a latest timing at which the charge is stored in the charge storage of the pixel in the first subframe, and a first storage timing, which is an earliest timing at which the charge is stored in the charge storage of the pixel in the second subframe, are the same timing relative to the timing at which the light pulse is emitted [figure 3A, to store the charge of the received pulse and FD cap charge in sequence of the first subframe and then the second subframe, the last storage timing of received pulse 308 and the earliest timing of FD cap charge are the same timing relative to the timing at which emitted light pulse].
As to claims 11 and 20, Boutaud discloses a range imaging apparatus [figure 1, TOF sensor], associated with its range imaging method, comprising:
a light source unit [figure 1, emitter 104 that emits a light pulse 110 to a measurement space 108] that emits a light pulse to a measurement space;
a light receiving unit [figure 1, sensor 106 including a pixel] including a pixel having a photoelectric conversion device configured to generate charge corresponding to incident light and a plurality of charge storages configured to store the charge [paragraph 40, the photo-detectors of sensor 106 accumulate electrical charges based on the exposure duration of the sensor 106 to the received light pulse radiation relative to a time reference. The accumulated charges translate into a voltage value that is used by the distance measurement components 102 to recognize the pulse]; and
a range image processing unit [figure 1, range image processing unit 102] comprising circuitry configured to calculate a distance to a subject in the measurement space based on amounts of charge stored in the charge storages [paragraph 40, The accumulated charges translate into a voltage value that is used by the distance measurement components 102 to recognize the pulse. Once the pulse is identified, the distance measurement components 102 can estimate the time that the reflected pulse was received at the TOF sensor relative to the time that the pulse was emitted, and the distance can be estimated based on this time using equation (1) (or another distance determination equation or algorithm that defined distance as a function of light pulse propagation time)],
wherein the light receiving unit includes a pixel driver circuit [figure 2, pixel driver circuit to distribute and store the charge with cap 206, paragraph 43, The accumulated charge (and corresponding voltage) stored on the measuring capacitor 206] configured to distribute and store the charge into the charge storages at a storage timing synchronized with an emission timing at which the light pulse is emitted [figure 3A, timing chart 310 represents the amount of charge stored on the measuring capacitor 206 over time, starting at time t2 which is synchronized with an emission timing 302], and the circuitry of the range image processing unit is configured to calculate an indicator of a degree of variation of an external light signal corresponding to an external light component stored in the charge storages in each of a plurality of subframes provided per frame based on storage signals corresponding to the amounts of charge stored in the charge storages in each of the subframes, and select a subframe for calculating the distance from the subframes by using the storage signals and the indicator for each of the subframes [paragraph 138, the propagation time t.sub.p can be determined by the TOF sensor device's distance determination component 408 based on equation (14) (or a reasonable variation thereof) using the summed voltages V.sub.0, V.sub.1, V.sub.2, the width of the emitted light pulse T.sub.0, and the time Ts12 of the sampling point measured relative to the falling edge of the emitted pulse (note that equation (21) represents a rewritten version of equation (14) showing the sums of the measured voltages). In general, distance determination component 408 can determine the propagation time t.sub.p by subtracting the summed ambient light (external light signal) voltage V.sub.0 from both the summed leading edge (plus ambient light) voltage V.sub.1 and the summed trailing edge (plus ambient light) voltage V.sub.2 to obtain summed voltages proportional to the leading and trailing edges, respectively, of the received reflected pulse].
As to claims 17 and 21, Boutaud discloses the range imaging apparatus according to claim 11, associated with its range imaging method, wherein the plurality of subframes includes a first subframe and a second subframe [figure 3A, a first subframe and a second subframe between t2 and t3], and the circuitry of the range image processing unit is configured to store the charge in the charge storages of the pixel in each of the subframes in sequence of the first subframe and then the second subframe, and control the storage timing such that a last storage timing, which is a latest timing at which the charge is stored in the charge storage of the pixel in the first subframe, and a first storage timing, which is an earliest timing at which the charge is stored in the charge storage of the pixel in the second subframe, are the same timing relative to the timing at which the light pulse is emitted [figure 3A, to store the charge of the received pulse and FD cap charge in sequence of the first subframe and then the second subframe, the last storage timing of received pulse 308 and the earliest timing of FD cap charge are the same timing relative to the timing at which emitted light pulse].
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 2-5, 7-8, 12-16 and 18-19 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: None of the prior art, made of record, singularly or in combination, teaches or fairly suggests the features presented in the combination limitations of dependent claims 2, 7, 12-13 and 18, such as “wherein the circuity of the range image processing unit is configured to calculate a first indicator corresponding to a magnitude of a reflected light component by using storage signals corresponding to the amounts of charge stored in each of the plurality of subframes, calculate a second indicator by dividing the first indicator by the integration count for each of the plurality of subframes, and select a subframe from the plurality of subframes whose second indicator is the largest as a subframe for calculating the distance”, recited by claim 2; “wherein the circuitry of the range image processing unit is configured to perform level adjustment by multiplying signal values corresponding to the amounts of charge stored in the charge storages in the first or second subframe by a constant such that a first signal value corresponding to an amount of charge stored in a last charge storage, which is the charge storage in which the charge is stored at the last storage timing, and a second signal value corresponding to an amount of charge stored in an first charge storage, which is the charge storage in which the charge is stored at the first storage timing, are the same, and calculate the distance using the level-adjusted signal values”, recited by claim 7; “wherein the circuitry of the range image processing unit is configured to calculate, as the indicator, a threshold based on variance of the external light component, and select a subframe from the plurality of subframes that has an external light-subtracted signal greater than the threshold as the subframe for calculating the distance, the external light-subtracted signal being a signal obtained by subtracting the external light signal from the storage signal”, recited by claim 12; “wherein the circuitry of the range image processing unit is configured to calculate, as the indicator, a threshold based on noise that is a square root of variance of the external light component, and select a subframe from the plurality of subframes that has an external light-subtracted signal greater than the threshold as the subframe for calculating the distance, the external light-subtracted signal being a signal obtained by subtracting the external light signal from the storage signal”, recited by claim 13; and “wherein the circuitry of the range image processing unit is configured to perform level adjustment by multiplying signal values corresponding to the amounts of charge stored in the charge storages in the first or second subframe by a constant such that a first signal value corresponding to an amount of charge stored in a last charge storage, which is the charge storage in which the charge is stored at the last storage timing, and a second signal value corresponding to an amount of charge stored in an first charge storage, which is the charge storage in which the charge is stored at the first storage timing, are the same, and calculates the distance using the level-adjusted signal values”, recited by claim 18.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Tayu et al. (US. Pub. No. 2023/0058408) is considered as pertinent art to claims 1, 9, 11 and 20 regarding a range imaging apparatus comprising a light source as seen in figure 7.
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/NAN-YING YANG/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2629
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