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
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
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) 1-6, 8-16, and 18-20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Send et al. (US 2021/0302617) hereinafter known as “Send”.
With regards to claim 1 and 11, Send discloses a device and method for optically surveilling at least one area [0001] including an optical sensor (FIG. 2-3; optical sensors 138) sensitive in the infrared spectral range [0032][0196] comprising:
a first emitter (FIG. 2-33; [0189]; The sender unit 114 comprises at least one illumination source 118. The illumination source 118 may be or may comprise at least one light source 120.”) configured to emit an emission beam comprising IR light ([0191]; “…the light emitted by the illumination source 118 may have a wavelength of 300 to 1000 nm, especially 500 to 1000 nm. Additionally or alternatively, light in the infrared spectral range may be used, such as in the range of 780 nm to 3.0 μm. Specifically, the light in the part of the near infrared region where silicon photodiodes are applicable specifically in the range of 700 nm to 1000 nm may be used.”)
one or more lenses [0037] configured to form an IR pattern [0193] on a surface [0046] ([0193]; “…the sender unit may use more complex modulation patterns to encode the light source. This may allow that the receiver unit 116 detects the light beam 122 which was send by the sender unit 114.”)([0195]; “ Each optical sensor 138 is designed to generate at least one sensor signal in response to an illumination of its respective light-sensitive area 140 by the light beam 122.”) by:
duplicating the emission beam to form a first duplicated beam and a second duplicated beam ([0082]; “…a part of the light beam may be split off within the receiver unit, by at least one beam splitting element.”)[0128],
directing the first duplicated beam to a first reception area on the surface (FIG. 2; 159) ([0113]; “The split-off portion…may be guided towards a transversal sensor, such as a CCD or CMOS chip or a camera sensor, and a transversal position of a light spot generated by the split-off portion on the transversal sensor may be determined…”)[0114], the first reception area comprising the first duplicated beam and a third duplicated beam from a second emitter ([0123]; “…quadrant diodes are used in…combination with LEDs…”)([0128]; “Another quadrant photodiode may be used, e.g. in a second partial beam path split off from the beam path of the first quadrant photodiode, for a transversal position measurement, such as for using at least one transversal coordinate x and/or y.”) , and
directing the second duplicated beam to a second reception area on the surface ([0128]; “Another quadrant photodiode may be used, e.g. in a second partial beam path split off from the beam path of the first quadrant photodiode, for a transversal position measurement, such as for using at least one transversal coordinate x and/or y. The second quadrant photodiode…may be located on-axis with respect to the optical axis.”)([0129]; “…two or more diodes from a quadrant diode may be connected in parallel or in series to form a single light sensitive area.”); and
a receptor ([0114][0189]; FIG. 3; receiver unit 116) ([0113]; a transversal sensor, such as a CCD or CMOS chip or a camera sensor) configured to receive a reception beam from the first reception area ([0113]; “The split-off portion, as an example, may be guided towards a transversal sensor, such as a CCD or CMOS chip or a camera sensor,…”)([0189]; FIG. 3; receiver unit 116), the reception beam comprising one or more of the first duplicated beam and the third duplicated beam (see above) reflected from the surface [0021][0220] (FIG. 2; reflective target 159).
With regards to claim 2 and 12, Send discloses the IR sensor and method of claim 1 and 11, wherein the first emitter and the second emitter comprise a portion of a plurality of emitters (FIG. 3; 114, 130) and the receptor comprises a portion of a plurality of receptors (FIG. 3; receiver units 116).
With regards to claim 3 and 13, Send discloses the IR sensor and method of claim 2 and 12, wherein the plurality of emitters comprise:
a first row of emitters 114, 130 comprising first left emitters and first right emitters [0204][0221](FIG. 3);
a second row of emitters 114, 130 comprising second left emitters and second right emitters [0204][0221](FIG. 3); and
a third row of emitters 114, 130 comprising third left emitters and third right emitters [0204][0221](FIG. 3).
With regards to claim 4 and 14, Send discloses the IR sensor and method of claim 3 and 13, wherein the plurality of receptors comprise:
a first row of receptors 116, 134 comprising first left receptors and first right receptors [0204][0221](FIG. 3),
a second row of receptors 116, 134 comprising second left receptors and second right receptors [0204][0221](FIG. 3), and
a third row of receptors 116, 134 comprising third left receptors and third right receptors [0204][0221](FIG. 3).
With regards to claim 5 and 15, Send discloses the IR sensor and method of claim 4 and 14, wherein the one or more lenses are further configured to:
direct reception beams of the first left receptors, the second left receptors, and the third left receptors and emission beams of the first left emitters, the second left emitters, and the third left emitters onto a first area of the surface ([0039][0098][00123] in view of the rejections of claims 1-4);
direct reception beams of the first right receptors, the second right receptors, and the third right receptors and emission beams of the first left emitters, the second left emitters, and the third left emitters onto a second area of the surface adjacent to the first area ([0039][0098][00123] in view of the rejections of claims 1-4);
direct reception beams of the first left receptors, the second left receptors, and the third left receptors and emission beams of the first right emitters, the second right emitters, and the third right emitters onto a third area of the surface adjacent to the second area ([0039][0098][00123] in view of the rejections of claims 1-4); and
direct reception beams of the first right receptors, the second right receptors, and the third right receptors and emission beams of the first right emitters, the second right emitters, and the third right emitters onto fourth area of the surface adjacent to the third area ([0039][0098][00123] in view of the rejections of claims 1-4).
With regards to claim 6 and 16, Send discloses the IR sensor and method of claim 5 and 15, wherein:
the receptor beams of the first left receptors and the first right receptors and the emitter beams of the first left emitters and the first right emitters form a first IR curtain ([0039][0098][00123] in view of the rejections of claims 1-4)[0221];
the receptor beams of the second left receptors and the second right receptors and the emitter beams of the second left emitters and the second right emitters form a second IR curtain ([0039][0098][00123] in view of the rejections of claims 1-4)[0221]; and
the receptor beams of the third left receptors and the third right receptors and the emitter beams of the third left emitters and the third right emitters form a third IR curtain ([0039][0098][00123] in view of the rejections of claims 1-4)[0221].
With regards to claim 8 and 18, Send discloses the IR sensor and method of claim 1 and 11, wherein the IR pattern comprises multiple IR curtains. [0014][0221]
With regards to claim 9 and 19, Send discloses the IR sensor of claim 1 and 18, wherein the multiple IR curtains are separated from each other via a portion of the surface. [0014][0220][0221]
With regards to claim 10 and 20, Send discloses the IR sensor and method of claim 8 and 18, wherein the multiple IR curtains comprise three rows, each row comprising 32 detection spots. [0110][0111][0204]
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 7 and 17 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:
With regards to claim 7 and 17, Send do not disclose the IR sensor and method of claim 2 and 12, wherein a number of the plurality of receptors is one half a number of the plurality of emitters.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Olmstead et al. (US 2013/0020392)
Immega et al. (US 5,726,443)
Meinherz et al. (US 2013/0201480)
Katz et al. (US 2017/0215233)
Kare et al. (US 2018/0136364)
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to HUGH H MAUPIN whose telephone number is (571)270-1495. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 7:30 - 5:00 pm.
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/HUGH MAUPIN/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2884
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