Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
1. 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
2. The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 04/20/2026 is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
Response to Arguments
3. Applicant's arguments filed 04/20/2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive. See the rejection below
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
4. 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.
5. Claim(s) 1-2, 4, 6-11 and 18-20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Izadi et al. (US 2016/0163054) hereinafter “Izadi”.
As per claim 1, Izadi discloses a system comprising:
a first camera configured to output a first infrared (IR) light (FIG. 1 shows a plurality of infra-red (IR) depth cameras, wherein each of the IR depth cameras comprises an IR source 106 to project a structured light pattern; paragraph 0021);
a second camera configured to output a second IR light (FIG. 1 shows a plurality of infra-red (IR) depth cameras, wherein each of the IR depth cameras comprises an IR source 106 to project a structured light pattern; paragraph 0021);
a first sensor configured to detect the first IR light being outputted by the first camera (FIG. 1 shows a plurality of infra-red (IR) depth cameras. Each of the IR depth cameras comprises an IR source 106 and an IR camera 104, wherein, each IR source (or illuminator) 106 is arranged to project a structured light pattern which can then be detected by one or more of the IR cameras 104; paragraph 0021); and
a first controller (i.e., controller 110; see FIG. 1) associated with the second camera (as shown in FIG. 1) and configured to control operation of the second camera (paragraph 0027), wherein the first controller is further configured to determine whether to output the second IR light based on detection, by the first sensor, of the first IR light being outputted by the first camera (paragraph 0027, the controller may only sample (i.e. turn on a structured light source and detect the pattern using the camera) at a few Hz if nothing is moving in that part of the scene), and to control the second camera to not output the second IR light while the first sensor detects the first IR light being outputted by the first camera (paragraph 0023, the controller 110 controls the sources 106 such that only one source is illuminating a given part of the room (or scene/environment) at any one time. This has the effect that each IR camera only sees one source of illumination at any time. Where all the projected light patterns overlap (e.g. as in the arrangement of FIG. 1), the controller may cycle between all of the structured light sources (block 302 of FIG. 3) and this is shown in the first part 401 of the example timing diagram shown in FIG. 4. This timing diagram shows the operation of each of the four sources 106 shown in FIG. 1 and in the first part 401 of the diagram, each of the sources in turn (1, then 2, then 3, . . . ) illuminates the room (shown as ‘on’ in FIG. 4) for a period of time and at any point in time only one of the sources is illuminating the room and the other three sources are not (shown as ‘off’ in FIG. 4). It is clear that the controller coordinates multiple structured light sources such that, at a given time, one source emits while other sources are turned off as shown in FIG. 4 and associated description of sequencing/multiplexing of sources 106. Thus, the controller controls a second IR source to not emit during the same time period in which the emitted IR light from the first source is being detected by an IR camera from the IR cameras).
As per claim 2, Izadi discloses the system of claim 1 further comprising:
a second sensor configured to detect the second IR light being outputted by the second camera (FIG. 1 shows a plurality of infra-red (IR) depth cameras. Each of the IR depth cameras comprises an IR source 106 and an IR camera 104, wherein, each IR source (or illuminator) 106 is arranged to project a structured light pattern which can then be detected by one or more of the IR cameras 104; paragraph 0021); and
a second controller (i.e., controller 110; see FIG. 1, see also paragraph 0052 regarding using more than one controller) associated with the first camera (as shown in FIG. 1) and configured to control operation of the first camera (paragraph 0027), wherein the second controller is further configured to determine whether to output the first IR light based on detection, by the second sensor, of the second IR light being outputted by the second camera (paragraph 0027, the controller may only sample (i.e. turn on a structured light source and detect the pattern using the camera) at a few Hz if nothing is moving in that part of the scene), and to control the first camera to not output the first IR light while the second sensor detects the second IR light being outputted by the second camera (paragraph 0023, the controller 110 controls the sources 106 such that only one source is illuminating a given part of the room (or scene/environment) at any one time. This has the effect that each IR camera only sees one source of illumination at any time. Where all the projected light patterns overlap (e.g. as in the arrangement of FIG. 1), the controller may cycle between all of the structured light sources (block 302 of FIG. 3) and this is shown in the first part 401 of the example timing diagram shown in FIG. 4. This timing diagram shows the operation of each of the four sources 106 shown in FIG. 1 and in the first part 401 of the diagram, each of the sources in turn (1, then 2, then 3, . . . ) illuminates the room (shown as ‘on’ in FIG. 4) for a period of time and at any point in time only one of the sources is illuminating the room and the other three sources are not (shown as ‘off’ in FIG. 4). It is clear that the controller coordinates multiple structured light sources such that, at a given time, one source emits while other sources are turned off as shown in FIG. 4 and associated description of sequencing/multiplexing of sources 106. Thus, the controller controls a second IR source to not emit during the same time period in which the emitted IR light from the first source is being detected by an IR camera from the IR cameras).
As per claim 4, Izadi discloses the system of claim 1 wherein: the first sensor is an imaging device within the second camera (FIG. 1 shows a plurality of infra-red (IR) depth cameras. Each of the IR depth cameras comprises an IR source 106 and an IR camera 104, wherein, each IR source (or illuminator) 106 is arranged to project a structured light pattern which can then be detected by one or more of the IR cameras 104; paragraph 0021).
As per claim 6, arguments analogous to those applied for claim 4 are applicable for claim 6.
As per claim 7, arguments analogous to those applied for claim 2 are applicable for claim 7; in addition, Izadi discloses a third camera configured to output a third IR light (FIG. 1 shows a plurality of infra-red (IR) depth cameras, wherein each of the IR depth cameras comprises an IR source 106 to project a structured light pattern; paragraph 0021); and
a third controller (i.e., controller 110; see FIG. 1; see also paragraph 0052 regarding using more than one controller) configured to control the third camera to not output the third IR light while the first sensor detects either (i) the first IR light being outputted by the first camera or (ii) the second IR light being outputted by the second camera (paragraph 0023, the controller 110 controls the sources 106 such that only one source is illuminating a given part of the room (or scene/environment) at any one time. This has the effect that each IR camera only sees one source of illumination at any time. Where all the projected light patterns overlap (e.g. as in the arrangement of FIG. 1), the controller may cycle between all of the structured light sources (block 302 of FIG. 3) and this is shown in the first part 401 of the example timing diagram shown in FIG. 4. This timing diagram shows the operation of each of the four sources 106 shown in FIG. 1 and in the first part 401 of the diagram, each of the sources in turn (1, then 2, then 3, . . . ) illuminates the room (shown as ‘on’ in FIG. 4) for a period of time and at any point in time only one of the sources is illuminating the room and the other three sources are not (shown as ‘off’ in FIG. 4). It is clear that the controller coordinates multiple structured light sources such that, at a given time, one source emits while other sources are turned off as shown in FIG. 4 and associated description of sequencing/multiplexing of sources 106. Thus, the controller controls a second IR source to not emit during the same time period in which the emitted IR light from the first source is being detected by an IR camera from the IR cameras).
As per claim 8, Izadi discloses the system of claim 1 wherein: the first camera is oriented to output the first IR light towards a target; and the second camera is oriented to output the second IR light towards a different target (paragraph 0023, the controller 110 controls the sources 106 such that only one source is illuminating a given part of the room (or scene/environment) at any one time; paragraph 0029, the controller cycles through all of the sources and so each view of the scene is given substantially the same amount of time for depth detection. In the second part 402, however, the first source (source 1) is given priority and this may, for example, be because the controller determines that there is movement in the scene detected by the first source-camera pair and no movement in the scenes detected by the other source-camera pairs).
As per claim 9, Izadi discloses the system of claim 1 wherein: the first camera is oriented to output the first IR light towards a target; and the second camera is oriented to output the second IR light towards the same target (FIG. 1 and paragraph 0022).
As per claim 10, Izadi discloses the system of claim 1 wherein:
the first IR light is a first IR light pulse train (FIG. 1 shows a plurality of infra-red (IR) depth cameras, wherein each of the IR depth cameras comprises an IR source 106 to project a structured light pattern; wherein the IR emitter within the source can be a VECSEL (vertical-external-cavity surface-emitting laser) as taught in paragraph 0026. It is known that VECSEL generates light pulse train);
the second IR light is a second IR light pulse train (FIG. 1 shows a plurality of infra-red (IR) depth cameras, wherein each of the IR depth cameras comprises an IR source 106 to project a structured light pattern; wherein the IR emitter within the source can be a VECSEL (vertical-external-cavity surface-emitting laser) as taught in paragraph 0026. It is known that VECSEL generates light pulse train);
the controller is further configured to determine a pulse rate of the first IR light pulse train based on the first IR light outputted by the first camera detected by the first sensor (paragraphs 0027-0028, the controller may dynamically adjust the cycle, as shown in block 304 of FIG. 3 and the upper timing diagram 400 in FIG. 4, in response to the detected scene. For example, the controller may only sample (i.e. turn on a structured light source and detect the pattern using the camera) at a few Hz if nothing is moving in that part of the scene and may use the extra frames to increase the sampling rate in areas of increased activity); and
the controller is further configured to control the second camera to cause the second IR light pulse train to have a different pulse rate than the pulse rate of the first IR light pulse train (paragraphs 0027-0028, the controller may dynamically adjust the cycle, as shown in block 304 of FIG. 3 and the upper timing diagram 400 in FIG. 4, in response to the detected scene. For example, the controller may only sample (i.e. turn on a structured light source and detect the pattern using the camera) at a few Hz if nothing is moving in that part of the scene and may use the extra frames to increase the sampling rate in areas of increased activity).
As per claim 11, Izadi discloses the system of claim 1 wherein: the first camera and the second camera lack any direct intercommunication with each other (see FIG. 1, no direct connection between IR depth cameras).
As per claims 18-20, arguments analogous to those applied for claims 1-2 and 7 are applicable for claims 18-20.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
6. 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.
7. 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.
8. Claim(s) 3 and 5 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Izadi et al. (US 2016/0163054) in view of Greene (US 2002/0100875).
As per claim 3, Izadi discloses the system of claim 1; however, Izadi does not explicitly disclose wherein the first sensor is remotely located from both the first camera and the second camera.
In an analogous art, Greene discloses wherein the first sensor is remotely located (paragraph 0027, detecting active infrared light by using the device…The device would merely be turned on and pointed toward any area to detect an infrared light…) from both the first camera and the second camera (in Izadi, the area where the first and second sensors are used contains more than one IR depth camera, see FIG. 1 and paragraph 0054).
Therefore, it would have been obvious for one having skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the teachings of Izadi in view of Greene by placing an IR detection sensor toward any area, in order to detect active infrared from further distance and indicate its presence (Greene, paragraphs 0006 and 0009).
As per claim 5, arguments analogous to those applied for claim 3 are applicable for claim 5.
9. Claim(s) 12-14 and 16-17 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Izadi et al. (US 2016/0163054) in view of Jalaliyazdi et al. (US 2024/0174235) cited in IDS, hereinafter “Jalaliyazdi”.
As per claim 13, Izadi discloses a system for monitoring (FIG. 1), the system comprising:
a first camera configured to illuminate…with a first infrared (IR) light (FIG. 1 shows a plurality of infra-red (IR) depth cameras, wherein each of the IR depth cameras comprises an IR source 106 to project a structured light pattern; paragraph 0021) for use of the first camera in monitoring the driver;
a second camera configured to illuminate…with a second infrared (IR) light (FIG. 1 shows a plurality of infra-red (IR) depth cameras, wherein each of the IR depth cameras comprises an IR source 106 to project a structured light pattern; paragraph 0021) for use of the second camera in monitoring the driver;
a first sensor configured to detect a presence of the first IR light (FIG. 1 shows a plurality of infra-red (IR) depth cameras. Each of the IR depth cameras comprises an IR source 106 and an IR camera 104, wherein, each IR source (or illuminator) 106 is arranged to project a structured light pattern which can then be detected by one or more of the IR cameras 104; paragraph 0021); and
a first controller (i.e., controller 110; see FIG. 1) associated with the second camera (as shown in FIG. 1) and configured to control operation of the second camera (paragraph 0027), wherein the first controller is further configured to determine whether to output the second IR light based on detection, by the first sensor, of the first IR light being outputted by the first camera (paragraph 0027, the controller may only sample (i.e. turn on a structured light source and detect the pattern using the camera) at a few Hz if nothing is moving in that part of the scene), and to control the second camera to not illuminate…with the second IR light while the first sensor detects the presence of the first IR light (paragraph 0023, the controller 110 controls the sources 106 such that only one source is illuminating a given part of the room (or scene/environment) at any one time. This has the effect that each IR camera only sees one source of illumination at any time. Where all the projected light patterns overlap (e.g. as in the arrangement of FIG. 1), the controller may cycle between all of the structured light sources (block 302 of FIG. 3) and this is shown in the first part 401 of the example timing diagram shown in FIG. 4. This timing diagram shows the operation of each of the four sources 106 shown in FIG. 1 and in the first part 401 of the diagram, each of the sources in turn (1, then 2, then 3, . . . ) illuminates the room (shown as ‘on’ in FIG. 4) for a period of time and at any point in time only one of the sources is illuminating the room and the other three sources are not (shown as ‘off’ in FIG. 4). It is clear that the controller coordinates multiple structured light sources such that, at a given time, one source emits while other sources are turned off as shown in FIG. 4 and associated description of sequencing/multiplexing of sources 106. Thus, the controller controls a second IR source to not emit during the same time period in which the emitted IR light from the first source is being detected by an IR camera from the IR cameras).
While Izadi’s system is used to monitor or detect and illuminate a person (e.g., user or body as taught in paragraphs 0027, 0029 and monitoring a scene taught in paragraph 0053); however, Izadi does not disclose monitoring and illuminating a driver of a vehicle.
In an analogous art, Jalaliyazdi discloses a system for monitoring and illuminating a driver of a vehicle (FIG. 1; paragraphs 0002, DMSs typically use a driver-facing camera equipped with infrared light-emitting diodes (LEDs) or lasers that allow the DMSs to observe the driver; see also paragraph 0031).
Therefore, it would have been obvious for one having skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to apply the teachings of Izadi into those of Jalaliyazdi in order to reduce or eliminate the interferences caused by overlapping IR-light projected by monitoring cameras.
As per claim 14, arguments analogous to those applied for claim 2 are applicable for claim 14.
As per claim 16, Jalaliyazdi discloses wherein the first camera and the second camera lack any vehicle bus intercommunication therebetween (see FIG. 1, no bus intercommunication between camera 50 and sensing devices 40a-40n).
As per claim 17, Jalaliyazdi discloses wherein the controllers lack any vehicle bus intercommunication therebetween (paragraph 0034).
As per claim 12, arguments analogous to those applied for claim 17 are applicable for claim 12.
10. Claim(s) 15 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Izadi et al. (US 2016/0163054) in view of Jalaliyazdi et al. (US 2024/0174235) in further view of Greene (US 2002/0100875).
As per claim 15, arguments analogous to those applied for claim 4 are applicable for claim 15. In addition, Greene discloses that the first or second sensor can be a photodiode (paragraph 0006).
Conclusion
THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MOHAMMED JEBARI whose telephone number is (571)270-7945. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Fri: 09:00am-06:00pm.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Chris Kelley can be reached at 571-272-7331. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/MOHAMMED JEBARI/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2482
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