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 § 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.
Claim(s) 1, 2 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102a1 as being anticipated by English et al. (U.S. PGPUB 2020/0271841).
Regarding claims 1, 2, English et al. disclose (Fig. 21) a steerable gated imaging system for capturing images of an object, the steerable gated imaging system comprising: a light source (2026), wherein the light source emits a pulse of light towards the object and wherein the pulse of light creates a reflection of light off of the object; a camera including a camera sensor (2010), wherein the camera captures an image when the camera sensor senses the reflection of light; a first liquid crystal polarized grating (LCPG) device (2017), wherein the first LCPG device is adjacent to the light source and wherein the pulse of light is emitted through the first LCPG device; a second LCPG device (2018), wherein the second LCPG device is adjacent to the camera and wherein the reflection of light travels through the second LCPG device; and a controller (LCPG controller and/or image sensor controller; not shown), wherein the controller applies a voltage ([0309]) to the first LCPG device to steer the pulse of light towards the object and wherein the controller applies the voltage to the second LCPG device to steer the reflection of light towards the camera. English et al. further disclose ([0091]) a time interval (capture cycle) in which the light is emitted in the time interval (image is captured) as claimed.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) 3-8 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over English et al. in view of Shiraki (U.S. PGPUB 2016/0047905).
Regarding claims 3-8, English et al. disclose the claimed invention as set forth above. English et al. does not disclose a gate as claimed. Shiraki teaches (Fig. 1; [0041]) a similar apparatus having a gate (22) that in a closed position prevents light reflection from reaching the camera sensor (21), and allows light reflection to reach the sensor in an opened position and (Fig. 2) a delay period (TA) and time gate (Trigger ON) as claimed. Thus, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the time of the effective filing of the invention to provide such a gate, control and delay in the apparatus of English et al. in view of Shiraki to reduce ambient radiation and improve detection as taught, known and predictable.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 13-20 are allowed over the prior art of record.
Claims 9-12 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.
Conclusion
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/THANH LUU/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2878
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