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 .
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55. Examiner notes the following regarding subject matter and dates that they first appeared:
Fig. 7B, associated with paragraphs [0113-0156], does not appear in any parent and is assumed new material in the instant application, filed 12/21/2024. Claim 13 recites “a common start time,” which does not appear outside of [0114-0156]. Thus, the effective filing date (EFD) of Claim 13 and dependent Claims 14-18 is 12/21/2024.
Fig. 12, associated with paragraphs [0157-0161], appears in parent application CN-202311784536.2, filed 12/21/2023 in China. This provides basis for Claim 18, which depends on Claim 13 and thereby has the same EFD.
All other figures appear in parent application PCT/CN2024/097367, which claims priority to CN-202310857314.2, filed 7/12/2023 in China. Thus, the EFD of Claims 1-12 and 19-20 is 7/12/2023.
Applicant is advised that any amendments based on Figs. 7B and/or 12 and their respective descriptions will receive the corresponding priority date. English translations are not necessary, unless Applicant wishes to dispute the priority dates and show support for Claims 13-18 in the foreign application(s).
Information Disclosure Statement
Regarding EP-2605034-A1, no part is translated, so it cannot be considered. All other references are considered.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(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 13-16 and 18 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 13 recites “…the common start time of detecting each beam and the start time of emitting the beam” (end of claim, emphasis added). It is unclear if “the beam” refers to
the corresponding beam of “each beam”,
“a beam”, or
“the beams”.
Additionally, “the start time of emitting the beam” lacks antecedent basis. These render Claim 13 indefinite. Dependent Claims 14-16 and 18 fail to resolve the issues present in Claim 13 and are summarily rejected. Dependent Claim 17 recites “determining a time difference between the common start time of detecting each beam and a start time of emitting any one beam” (first limitation, emphasis added), which resolves the issues present in Claim 13. For examination,
In Claim 13, “the beam” refers to “the beams,” and “the start time of emitting the beam” refers to “[[the]]a start time of emitting the beams.”
In Claim 14, “the beam” (Lim 1) refers to the corresponding beam of “each beam”.
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) 1-10 and 12-20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1-2) as being anticipated by Nelson (US 2023/0052228 A1).
Regarding Claim 19, Nelson discloses A reflection rate correction Time of Flight (ToF) ranging device [0144-0145, Fig. 2], the device comprising:
a single-photon avalanche diode pixel configured to respond to detected photons [0145, SPAD of #210 in Fig. 2];
wherein the photons comprise photons of a light pulse reflected by a target object [Abstract];
a time-to-digital converter configured to obtain detection times of the photons of the light pulse [0145, TDC of #210 in Fig. 2];
a counter configured to count and statistically analyze the detected photons to obtain statistical results [0068-0071, 0144-0150, #210 and #220 in Fig. 2];
wherein the statistical results comprise the detection times of photons and the photon quantities corresponding to the detection times [0144-0145];
a central processor configured [0144, #210-220 in Fig. 2]
to determine a start time of detecting the light pulse based on the statistical results [0144, #220]; and
to determine a distance to the target object based on the start time of detecting the light pulse and a start time of emitting the light pulse [Abstract].
This applies to Claims 1 and 20, mutatis mutandis.
Regarding Claim 2, Nelson discloses The method of claim 1, wherein the determining the start time of detecting the light pulse based on the statistical results comprises: determining a time at which a first photon is detected in the statistical results as the start time of detecting the light pulse; or, determining a time at which a number of photons detected earliest is greater than a predetermined quantity threshold in the statistical results as the start time of detecting the light pulse [0172, predetermined threshold margin].
Regarding Claim 3, Nelson discloses The method of claim 1, wherein the statistical results comprise a statistical histogram of photon flight time [0160, Figs. 4A-4C; NOTE: elements #8XX in Figs. 4A-4C are #4XX in the description, description labels will be used], the histogram comprising a plurality of time bins [0180, Fig. 4C], each time bin representing a time interval [0181, e.g. 2.9-3.0 ns], and a photon quantity corresponding to the time bin is the total number of photons detected at each detection time falling within the time interval of the time bin [0181, e.g. ~590 detections between 2.9-3.0 ns in Fig. 4C].
Regarding Claim 4, Nelson discloses The method of claim 1, wherein the determining the start time of detecting the light pulse based on the statistical results comprises: determining a distribution center [0182, maximum count 18.0-18.1ns in Fig. 4C] and a degree of aggregation of the photon quantities [0182, ~17.7-18.4ns in Fig. 4C] over the detection times based on the statistical results; and determining the start time of detecting the light pulse based on the distribution center and the degree of aggregation of the photon quantities over the detection times [0182, ~17.7ns].
Regarding Claim 5, Nelson discloses The method of claim 4, wherein the degree of aggregation of the photon quantities over the detection times comprises: a length of a time interval between a first detection time at which the photon quantity is greater than a quantity threshold and a last detection time at which the photon quantity is greater than the quantity threshold [0182, full width at half maximum].
Regarding Claim 6, Nelson discloses The method of claim 4, wherein the degree of aggregation comprises one of: a weighted value of a peak width [0096], a full width at half maxima [0182], a standard deviation-related value [0087], or a quartile-related value in the histogram of the statistical results [0096, other measurable parameters];
wherein the standard deviation-related value refers to a length of a time interval corresponding to an integer multiple or a non-integer multiple of the standard deviation in the histogram of the statistical results [0087-0088];
the quartile-related value refers to a length of a time interval between any two quartiles in the histogram of the statistical results.
Regarding Claim 7, Nelson discloses The method of claim 4, wherein the determining the start time of detecting the light pulse based on the distribution center and the degree of aggregation of the photon quantities over the detection times comprises: determine the start time of detecting the photons by subtracting the degree of aggregation from the distribution center of the photon quantities over the detection times [0182].
Regarding Claim 8, Nelson discloses The method of claim 6, wherein the standard deviation is a distribution standard deviation or a mapping standard deviation;
wherein the distribution standard deviation refers to a standard deviation that reflects a distribution of the photon quantities over the detection times [0087-0088];
the mapping standard deviation refers to a standard deviation determined by the photon quantities based on a predetermined mapping relationship [0087-0088].
Regarding Claim 9, Nelson discloses The method of claim 1, wherein the start time of emitting the light pulse comprises: one of a generation time of a control signal, a reception time of the control signal, or an actual emission time of the light pulse; wherein the control signal is a signal for controlling emission of the light pulse [0046-0047, distribution includes times before/during/after emission; 0144, #215 controls #206, #210, and #220 in Fig. 2].
Regarding Claim 10, Nelson discloses The method of claim 9, wherein the actual emission time of the light pulse is a time determined after compensating the generation time of the control signal based on a predetermined time compensation parameter; or a time determined after fitting a time at which an optical emission system receives the control signal based on a predetermined fitting function [0145].
Regarding Claim 12, Nelson discloses The method of claim 1, wherein the determining the distance to the target object based on the start time of detecting the light pulse and the start time of emitting the light pulse comprises: obtaining a calibration error [0191, Fig.5, reference distribution(s)]; determining a time difference between the start time of detecting the light pulse and the start time of emitting the light pulse [Abstract]; determining the distance to the target object based on the calibration error and the time difference [0194, return is above thresholds #515 or #525 in Fig. 5].
Regarding Claim 13, Nelson discloses The method of claim 1, wherein the obtaining the statistical results of photon flight time of the light pulse reflected by the target object comprises: obtaining photon statistical results of beams [0050, detection periods have distinct pulsed beams] with different return light intensities reflected by the target object [intensities inherently vary]; the determining the start time of detecting the light pulse based on the statistical results comprises: determining a common start time of detecting each beam based on the photon statistical results corresponding to each beam [0050]; the determining the distance to the target object based on the start time of detecting the light pulse and the start time of emitting the light pulse comprises: determining the distance to the target object [0113, 0143, or plurality of targets, e.g. #110 in Fig. 1A] based on the common start time of detecting each beam and [[the]]a start time of emitting the beams [0050].
Regarding Claim 14, Nelson discloses The method of claim 13, wherein the determining the common start time of detecting each beam based on the photon statistical results corresponding to each beam comprises: determining, for the photon statistical results corresponding to each beam, a distribution center and a degree of aggregation of the photon quantities over the detection times corresponding to the beam [0050]; obtaining a first relationship between the start time of detecting the beam and the distribution center, the degree of aggregation, and a scaling factor corresponding to the beam [0050, do as above each detection period; 0191-0197, #515 and #525 in Fig. 5, apply threshold function to peaks], as well as a second relationship between the start times of detecting each beam [0054, successive detection periods have known time]; determining the common start time of detecting each beam based on the first relationship and the second relationship [0057, distribution comprises plurality of times at which photons were detected, each relative to detection period in which that photon was detected].
Regarding Claim 15, Nelson discloses The method of claim 14, wherein the determining the common start time of detecting each beam based on the first relationship and the second relationship comprises: under a condition that types of degree of aggregation of the photon statistical results corresponding to each beam are the same [use the same measure of aggregation for each detection period], determining a target scaling factor based on the first relationship and the second relationship [e.g. 1]; determining the common start time of detecting each beam based on the target scaling factor and the first relationship [0057].
Regarding Claim 16, Nelson discloses The method of claim 13, wherein the obtaining the photon statistical results of beams with different return light intensities reflected by the target object comprises: obtaining the photon statistical results of beams with different return light intensities reflected by a plurality of target objects, wherein the distances to be measured of the plurality of target objects are the same [0057, multiple detection periods; 0113, calibration with plurality of targets present; 0095-0119, reference values generally discussed; 0172].
Regarding Claim 17, Nelson discloses The method of claim 13, wherein the determining the distance to the target object based on the common start time of detecting each beam and the start time of emitting the beam comprises: determining a time difference between the common start time of detecting each beam and a start time of emitting any one beam; using the time difference as the photon flight time, and determining the distance to the target object based on the photon flight time [Abstract].
Regarding Claim 18, Nelson discloses The method of claim 13, further comprising: determining a ratio of the return light intensities of at least two beams reflected by the target object; determining a light reflectivity of the target object based on the ratio of the return light intensities and the distribution centers corresponding to each beam [0157-0159, 0172, calibrate using target of known reflectivity, update reference distribution accordingly; reflectivity of other target inherent after comparing to reference; target can comprise plurality of targets; comparison of peaks may involve a ratio, based on reflectivity and/or sensor sensitivity].
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:
Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claim(s) 11 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Nelson (US 2023/0052228 A1) in view of Wildgoose (US 2017/0207073 A1).
Regarding Claim 11, Nelson teaches The method of claim 4, using the distribution center and degree of aggregation to determine a start time [0182, Fig. 4, center ~18.1ns, full width at half maximum (FWHM) ~7ns, peak starts ~17.7ns], that various statistical measures can be derived from the distribution [0087-0088, e.g. standard deviation; 0096, time of occurrence (range of times, time at maximum of peak), shape of peak, total energy of peak, height of peak, width of peak/FWHM], and obtaining a compensation coefficient related to the degree of aggregation and using the compensation coefficient to compensate for the degree of aggregation [0087-0088, 2.5×(standard deviation)].
Nelson does not explicitly teach subtracting the compensated degree of aggregation from the distribution center of the photon quantities over the detection times to determine the start time of detecting the light pulse.
However, Wildgoose, in the closely related field of ToF peak analysis, teaches determining a first arrival time of one of more peaks based on a peak center [e.g. recorded arrival time in Fig. 3] and peak characteristics [0116-0122, e.g. width, skewness, kurtosis, which affect degree of aggregation].
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention, combine the peak analysis of Wildgoose with the peak analysis of Nelson to provide a more accurate start time for the reflected pulse and thereby more accurately resolve the true ToF [Wildgoose: 0005-0010]
Relevant Prior Art
In addition to applicant-provided prior art and the prior art used above, the examiner identified the following relevant prior art (art is prior for all claims unless otherwise noted):
Qi (High-resolution multi-spectral snapshot 3D imaging with a SPAD array camera, 08/29/2023) discloses simultaneously determining depth and reflectivity using multi-channel return intensities [Figs. 4 and 5]. This is prior to Claims 13-18.
Yan (Photon-limited depth and reflectivity imaging with sparsity regularization, 01/28/2017) discloses using intensity-modulated light pulses and ToF principles to simultaneously determine reflectivity and depth [§3, Fig. 2].
Ingle (Count-Free Single-Photon 3D Imaging with Race Logic, 07/10/2023) discloses quantile tracking (which includes median and quartiles) [All text, all figures].
Tsukada (JP 2021001763 A) discloses ToF histograms with time-resolution refinement around detected peaks [All text, all figures].
Zhu (US 2021/0181317 A1) has foreign priority to applicant-provided Zhu (CN 110596722 A).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MICHAEL ALEX DECARIA whose telephone number is (571)270-0565. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Thursday, 6:45 a.m. - 5:15 p.m..
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Helal Algahaim can be reached at (571) 270-5227. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/MAD/Examiner, Art Unit 3645
/HELAL A ALGAHAIM/SPE , Art Unit 3645
