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 § 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.
Claim(s) 1-3 and 6-12 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Jang et al. (Patent Pub. No. US 2021/0066893 A1) in view of Van Leeuwen et al. (Patent Pub. No. US 2021/0320478 A1).
Regarding claims 1 and 10, Jang et al. shows in Figs. 1-2 & 70-83 a light detection and ranging (LiDAR) device, comprising: a laser emitting array (100) configured to emit laser; a transmission optic (200) configured to steer the laser; a light detecting array (300) configured to detect light; and a reception optic (300) configured to focus an incident light to the light detecting array, wherein the laser emitting array comprises: a first set of vertical cavity surface emitting lasers (VCSELs) (Fig. 82, 4301 - 4303) arranged along a first axis, wherein each VCSEL comprises an upper electrode (4310) and a lower electrode (4360); a first upper connection line extended along the first axis between a first end and a second end and configured to be electrically connected to the upper electrodes of the first set of VCSELs; a first side pad (left 4380) electrically connected to the first end of the first upper connection line via a first wire (4391), wherein the first side pad is electrically connected to a first electric source; and a second side pad (right 4380) electrically connected to the second end of the first upper connection line via a second wire (4392), wherein the second side pad is electrically connected to a second electric source ([1071] – [1230]).
Jang et al. does not disclose the first set of VCSELs comprise a first VCSEL and a second VCSEL, the first VCSEL being positioned at an edge of the first upper connection line and the second VCSEL being positioned at a middle section of the first upper connection line, and wherein a diameter of the second VCSEL is greater than a diameter of the first VCSEL, so as to allow an electric resistance of the second VCSEL to be smaller than an electric resistance of the first VCSEL. Van Leeuwen et al. shows in Figs. 7-10 the first set of VCSELs comprise a first VCSEL (14A) and a second VCSEL (14B), the first VCSEL being positioned at an edge of the first upper connection line and the second VCSEL being positioned at a middle section (120) of the first upper connection line, and wherein a diameter (aperture size) of the second VCSEL is greater than a diameter of the first VCSEL, so as to allow an electric resistance of the second VCSEL to be smaller than an electric resistance of the first VCSEL ([0038] – [0043]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to provide different diameter sizes of VCSELs of Van Leeuwen et al. on the device of Jang et al. for the purpose of achieving a substantially uniform optical power projected by the linear array in spite of the change in resistance along the transmission line ([0038]).
Regarding claims 2-3 and 11-12, the modified device of Jang et al. shows in Figs. 1-2 & 70-83 the laser emitting array of claims 1 and 10, wherein it is inherent that the lower electrode of each VCSEL of the first set of VCSELs is electrically connected to a ground and that a potential of the lower electrode of each VCSEL is configured to be zero in response to each of the first set of VCSELs operating (e.g., see 2022/0069545 A1, para [0028]).
Regarding claim 6, the modified device of Jang et al. shows in Figs. 1-2 & 70-83 the laser emitting array of claim 1, wherein Van Leeuwen et al. further discloses in Fig. 7 a diameter of each VCSEL of the first set of VCSELs is configured to gradually increase in response to each VCSEL being positioned closer to the middle section of the first upper connection line.
Regarding claim 7, the modified device of Jang et al. shows in Figs. 1-2 & 70-83 the laser emitting array of claim 1, wherein Van Leeuwen et al. further shows in Fig. 7 the first set of VCSELs comprise a third VCSEL (the second VCSEL from left) being positioned immediately adjacent to the first VCSEL (the first VCSEL from the left) and a fourth VCSEL (the seventh VCSEL from the left) being positioned immediately adjacent to the second VCSEL (the sixth VCSEL from the left), and wherein the third VCSEL and the fourth VCSEL are positioned between the first VCSEL and the second VCSEL.
Regarding claim 8, the modified device of Jang et al. shows in Figs. 1-2 & 70-83 the laser emitting array of claim 1, wherein Van Leeuwen et al. further shows in Fig. 7 a diameter of the third VCSEL is the same as the diameter of the first VCSEL, and wherein a diameter of the fourth VCSEL is the same as the diameter of the second VCSEL.
Regarding claim 9, the modified device of Jang et al. shows in Figs. 1-2 & 70-83 the laser emitting array of claim 1, wherein Van Leeuwen et al. further shows in Fig. 7 a diameter of the third VCSEL is greater than the diameter of the first VCSEL, and wherein a diameter of the fourth VCSEL is smaller than the diameter of the second VCSEL.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 4-5 and 13-20 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.
Claims 4-5 and 13-20 are not disclosed or made obvious by the prior art of record, specifically in combination with the limitation of "a difference between the first potential of the first upper electrode and the second potential of the second upper electrode is configured to be caused by at least one of: a difference between a length of a first electric path between the first side pad and the first VCSEL and a length of a second electric path between the first side pad and the second VCSEL, or a difference between a length of a third electric path between the second side pad and the first VCSEL and a length of a fourth electric path between the second side pad and the second VCSEL.”
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure:
Kang et al. (Patent No. US 12,542,425 B2) discloses a VCSEL array with different emitter structures.
Donovan (Patent No. US 10,514,444 B2) discloses a light detection and ranging (LIDAR) transmitter including a plurality of light emitters that generate a plurality of optical beams.
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/SEUNG C SOHN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2878
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