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 .
Specification
The disclosure is objected to because of the following informalities:
On p. 19, ll. 26-27, “optical sensor 100 is integrated into a sensor system 100” should read --optical sensor 110 is integrated into a sensor system 100--.
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Objections
Claims 1-15 are objected to because of the following informalities:
Regarding claim 2, “(114)” should be deleted.
Regarding claim 3, “configured for a time-correlated single photon counting” should read --configured for time-correlated single photon counting--.
Regarding claim 5, “(110)” should be deleted.
Regarding claim 10, “(110)” should be deleted.
Regarding claim 13, “the method comprises that” should read --the method comprises steps in which--.
Regarding claim 14, “configured for a time-correlated single photon counting, respective histograms” should read --configured for time-correlated single photon counting, and respective histograms--.
Claims 2-12 and 14-15 are further objected to by virtue of dependency.
Appropriate correction is required.
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.
(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.
Claims 13-15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) and 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Kimura (US 20210373156 A1).
Regarding claim 13, Kimura discloses a method of calibrating an optical sensor (Fig. 1, apparatus 100; ¶¶ 45-47, 54) that has a transmission unit (Fig. 1, laser diode 10; ¶¶ 33-34) and a reception unit (Fig. 1, light receiving element 18, as further detailed in Fig. 3; ¶¶ 34, 37) and that is in communication with a calibration device during a calibration phase (¶¶ 45-47, 54, halogen lamp supplies controlled optical calibration input to distance measurement unit 16), wherein the method comprises that:
a light intensity of an illumination unit of the calibration device of the optical sensor is varied such that the reception unit is illuminated with a plurality of predetermined light intensities (¶¶ 46-47, 54-55, halogen lamp illuminates detector 18 under controlled illumination conditions, with the quantity of light varied to characterize different background levels),
calibration measurement signals of the reception unit are acquired for each predetermined light intensity (Fig. 3, detector 18; ¶¶ 46-47, 54, noise histograms are acquired with laser emission stopped for the respective illumination conditions), a respective signal threshold value is determined based on the calibration measurement signals (¶¶ 54, 57-58, measured noise distributions supply corresponding threshold values), and the respective signal threshold value is associated with a background level for the optical sensor (¶ 54, relationship between noise average value μ and boundary level ε), which background level corresponds to the respective predetermined light intensity (¶¶ 46-47, 54), and
the signal threshold values for an operating phase of the optical sensor when the transmission unit is activated (Fig. 1, laser diode 10; ¶¶ 42-43) are provided as a calibration data set (¶¶ 45, 54, 56, noise average value-threshold conversion table produced in advance and used for operating threshold selection) so that, during the operating phase, a control and evaluation unit of the optical sensor (Fig. 1, distance measurement unit 16, further detailed in Fig. 5; ¶¶ 41-45) is able:
to select one of the signal threshold values of the calibration data set based on a current background level (Fig. 5, threshold setting part 32; ¶¶ 45, 56, threshold selected from the conversion table according to the measured noise average value) that is determined based on operating measurement signals that are acquired by means of the reception unit of the optical sensor during the operating phase (Fig. 3, detector 18; ¶ 44, noise measurement circuitry generates a histogram and determines the noise average value), and
to identify output signals that are derived from the operating measurement signals when the transmission unit is activated (Fig. 5, histogram circuit 30; ¶¶ 41-43, evaluation of histogram peaks against the threshold) as an invalid signal if the respective output signal is smaller than the selected signal threshold value (¶ 43, rejection of a below-threshold peak prevents the corresponding TOF output).
Regarding claim 14, Kimura discloses the method according to claim 13, and further discloses: wherein the optical sensor is configured for a time-correlated single photon counting (¶¶ 14-15, 37-42, SPAD photon detection, emission referenced timing, and histogram accumulation), and respective histograms of the time-correlated single photon counting are produced (Fig. 5, TDC 28 and histogram circuit 30; ¶¶ 41-42) for both the calibration measurement signals (¶ 46, the same histogram procedure is used during calibration with laser emission stopped) and the operating measurement signals (¶¶ 41-43).
Regarding claim 15, Kimura discloses the method according to claim 14, and further discloses: wherein a respective plurality of TCSPC histograms are produced for the calibration measurement signals at each predetermined light intensity (¶¶ 46-47, 54, 57, repeated histogram acquisition at each controlled illumination condition), a respective maximum count value is determined for each of the TCSPC histograms that are associated with the respective predetermined light intensity (¶ 57, one maximum value is obtained from each histogram) in order to produce a statistical distribution of the maximum count values for the respective predetermined light intensity (¶¶ 54, 57, a frequency distribution of the measured maxima is generated for the respective background conditions), a respective cumulative relative frequency of the maximum count values is determined for each predetermined light intensity based on the statistical distribution (¶¶ 54, 57-58, measured frequencies are normalized by Nmes and accumulated as Cmax(i)), and the respective signal threshold values for the predetermined light intensities are determined based on the respective cumulative relative frequency (¶¶ 54, 58, equation 7, threshold T is the smallest value i satisfying 1 - Cmax(i) ≤ Err).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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 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.
Claims 1-6, 8-9 and 11-12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kimura in view of Liu (US 20220003850 A1).
Regarding claim 1, Kimura discloses an optical sensor (Fig. 1, apparatus 100), comprising:
a transmission unit for emitting an optical transmission signal into the environment of the optical sensor (Fig. 1, laser diode 10; ¶¶ 33-34),
a reception unit that is configured to detect a reflected or remitted portion of the transmission signal (Fig. 1, light receiving element 18, as further detailed in Fig. 3; ¶¶ 34, 37), and
a control and evaluation unit (Fig. 1, distance measurement unit 16, further detailed in Fig. 5; ¶¶ 41-45) that is configured: […], wherein the calibration data set (¶¶ 45, 54, conversion table) comprises a plurality of signal threshold values that are associated with a respective background level (¶¶ 54, 58, recorded relationship between noise average value µ and boundary level ε) that corresponds to a respective predetermined light intensity (¶¶ 46-47, 54-55, halogen lamp illuminates detector 18 under controlled illumination conditions, with the quantity of light varied to characterize different background levels), during the operating phase of the optical sensor (¶¶ 42-43):
to receive operating measurement signals (Fig. 5, adder 24; ¶¶ 41, 44) from the reception unit (Fig. 3, detector 18; ¶¶ 41, 44) when the transmission unit is activated (Fig. 1, laser diode 10; ¶ 42),
to determine a current background level (¶ 44, noise averaging circuitry) and to select one of the signal threshold values of the calibration data set based on the current background level (Fig. 5, threshold setting part 32; ¶ 56), and
to identify output signals that are derived from the operating measurement signals (Fig. 5, histogram circuit 30; ¶¶ 41-43, evaluation of histogram peaks against threshold) as an invalid signal if the respective output signal is smaller than the selected signal threshold value (¶ 43, peak rejection removes the corresponding TOF output).
Although Kimura discloses the obtaining and storage of calibration data in advance (¶¶ 22, 45, 54), Kimura does not teach the implementation of the control and evaluation unit configured: “to receive and store a calibration data set before an operating phase of the optical sensor.” However, Liu teaches the limitation in ¶¶ 36, 68, where the calibration results are stored in “MCU or a FPGA-related storage device”; ¶¶ 23, 70, the results stored prior to operational use. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the control and evaluation unit of Kimura with the teachings of Liu, since such a modification would have been a predictable use of prior art elements according to their established functions and would have merely involved combining familiar elements according to known methods to yield predictable results (KSR rationale A). Kimura already discloses storing of the calibration data in advance (¶¶ 22, 27, 69), while Liu provides for the transfer of calibration results into sensor memory before operational use (¶¶ 23, 36, 68, 70). It would have been obvious to modify the control and evaluation unit of Kimura with the receipt and storage of calibration data in memory as taught by Liu, with a reasonable expectation of success, in order to predictably store the calibration table for subsequent threshold selection through employing known memory storage elements performing their established storage functions.
Regarding claim 2, Kimura in view of Liu teaches the optical sensor according to claim 1, and further teaches: wherein the optical sensor is configured to be in communication with a calibration device during a calibration phase before the operating phase (Kimura, ¶¶ 45-47, 54, halogen lamp supplies optical calibration input for distance measuring unit 16), said calibration device having an illumination unit that illuminates the reception unit with the respective predetermined light intensity to which the respective background level corresponds (Kimura, ¶¶ 46-47, 54, halogen lamp illuminates detector 18 at constant quantities of light corresponding to background levels), and the control and evaluation unit (Kimura, Fig. 5, histogram circuit 30) is further configured, during the calibration phase, to detect calibration measurement signals of the reception unit (Kimura, Fig. 3, detector 18; ¶ 46) for each predetermined light intensity (Kimura, ¶ 54, varying illumination conditions of light quantity and source distance) so that a processing unit (Kimura, ¶ 60, “probability distribution estimation means”) is able to generate the calibration data set based on the calibration measurement signals (Kimura, ¶¶ 46, 54, 57-58, measured noise histograms supply distributions and corresponding threshold values).
Regarding claim 3, Kimura in view of Liu teaches the optical sensor according to claim 2, and further teaches: wherein the optical sensor is configured for a time-correlated single photon counting (Kimura, ¶¶ 14-15, 37-42, SPAD photon detection, emission referenced timing, and histogram accumulation), and the control and evaluation unit is configured to produce respective histograms of the time-correlated single photon counting (Kimura, Fig. 5, TDC 28 and histogram circuit 30; ¶¶ 41-42) for both the calibration measurement signals (Kimura, ¶ 46, the same histogram procedure is used during calibration with laser emission stopped) and the operating measurement signals (Kimura, ¶¶ 41-43).
Regarding claim 4, Kimura in view of Liu teaches the optical sensor according to claim 3, and further teaches: wherein the control and evaluation unit is further configured, during the calibration phase of the optical sensor, to produce a respective plurality of TCSPC histograms for each predetermined light intensity (Kimura, ¶¶ 46-47, 54, repeated histogram acquisition at each controlled illumination condition), and the processing unit is configured, during the calibration phase of the optical sensor, to determine a respective maximum count value for each of the TCSPC histograms that are associated with the respective predetermined light intensity (Kimura, ¶ 57, one maximum value is obtained from each histogram) in order to produce a statistical distribution of the maximum count values for the respective predetermined light intensity (Kimura, ¶¶ 54, 57, a frequency distribution of the measured maxima is generated for the respective background conditions), and to determine the signal threshold values for the respective predetermined light intensities based on the statistical distribution (Kimura, ¶¶ 54, 58).
Regarding claim 5, Kimura in view of Liu teaches the optical sensor according to claim 4, and further teaches: wherein the processing unit is further configured, during the calibration phase of the optical sensor: to determine a respective cumulative relative frequency of the maximum count values for each predetermined light intensity based on the statistical distribution (Kimura, ¶¶ 54, 57-58, measured frequencies are normalized by Nmes and accumulated as Cmax(i)), and to determine the respective signal threshold values for the predetermined light intensities based on the respective cumulative relative frequency (Kimura, ¶¶ 54, 58, equation 7, threshold T is the smallest value i satisfying 1 - Cmax(i) ≤ Err).
Regarding claim 6, Kimura in view of Liu teaches the optical sensor according to claim 5, and further teaches: wherein the processing unit is further configured, during the calibration phase of the optical sensor, to use at least one predefined percentage for false-positive output signals (Kimura, ¶¶ 32, 52, 58, Err specifies the prescribed rate of noise peaks erroneously detected as reflected signals, expressible as a percentage) in order to determine the respective signal threshold values for the associated background level (Kimura, ¶ 54) based on the respective cumulative relative frequency (Kimura, ¶ 58, equation 7).
Regarding claim 8, Kimura in view of Liu teaches the optical sensor according to claim 2, and further teaches: wherein the processing unit is further configured, during the calibration phase of the optical sensor, to produce the calibration data set in the form of at least one look-up table (Kimura, ¶ 54, conversion table) in which the respective signal threshold values and the associated background levels are contained (Kimura, ¶¶ 54, 56, boundary levels ε associated with noise average values μ).
Regarding claim 9, Kimura in view of Liu teaches the optical sensor according to claim 2, and further teaches: wherein the optical sensor is configured as a lidar sensor (Kimura, ¶¶ 33-36, laser emission and measurement of reflected pulse flight time) with time-correlated single photon counting (Kimura, Figs. 3 and 5, SPADs 20, TDC 28, and histogram circuit 30; ¶¶ 37-42).
Regarding claim 11, Kimura in view of Liu teaches the optical sensor according to claim 2, and further teaches: wherein the reception unit of the optical sensor comprises a plurality of groups of pixels (Kimura, ¶ 38, each photodetector comprises 16 SiPMs, and each SiPM comprises a 4x6 array of SPADs; ¶ 41, respective detection circuit described for each SiPM), […].
The current combination of Kimura in view of Liu does not teach: “the groups of pixels each have different characteristics with respect to the noise, and the processing unit is further configured to determine a respective set of signal threshold values for each group of pixels in the calibration phase of the optical sensor.” However, Liu teaches differing noise characteristics among respective detection channels (¶ 62, differences among the channels include “electronic noise difference, light noise difference”; ¶ 66, “light gain of different detection channels may be different, so the light noise level is also different”). Liu further teaches calibrating for differing noise characteristics require different thresholds even under the same illumination (¶¶ 63, 68-69, “even with the same ambient light intensity,” the “comparison threshold to be used in each detection channel is also different”).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to further modify the system of Kimura in view of Liu with the teachings of Liu with a reasonable expectation of success in order to account for differing noise characteristics among the pixel groups by determining a respective set of signal threshold values for each group during calibration, thereby yielding a system with reduced differences in detection range among receiving channels while improving detection range for each channel (Liu, ¶¶ 63, 68, 71-72).
Regarding claim 12, Kimura discloses a sensor system (Fig. 1, apparatus 100) comprising:
an optical sensor (Fig. 1, elements 10+18+16), comprising: a transmission unit for emitting an optical transmission signal into the environment of the optical sensor (Fig. 1, laser diode 10; ¶¶ 33-34),
a reception unit that is configured to detect a reflected or remitted portion of the transmission signal (Fig. 1, light receiving element 18, as further detailed in Fig. 3; ¶¶ 34, 37), and
a control and evaluation unit (Fig. 1, distance measurement unit 16, further detailed in Fig. 5; ¶¶ 41-45) that is configured: […], wherein the calibration data set (¶¶ 45, 54, conversion table) comprises a plurality of signal threshold values that are associated with a respective background level (¶¶ 54, 58, recorded relationship between noise average values µ and boundary levels ε) that corresponds to a respective predetermined light intensity (¶¶ 46-47, 54), during the operating phase of the optical sensor (¶¶ 42-43):
to receive operating measurement signals (Fig. 5, adder 24; ¶¶ 41, 44) from the reception unit (Fig. 3, detector 18; ¶¶ 41, 44) when the transmission unit is activated (Fig. 1, laser diode 10; ¶ 42),
to determine a current background level (¶ 44, noise averaging circuitry) and to select one of the signal threshold values of the calibration data set based on the current background level (Fig. 5, threshold setting part 32; ¶ 56), and
to identify output signals that are derived from the operating measurement signals (Fig. 5, histogram circuit 30; ¶¶ 41-43, evaluation of histogram peaks against threshold) as an invalid signal if the respective output signal is smaller than the selected signal threshold value (¶ 43, peak rejection removes the corresponding TOF output); and
a calibration device (¶ 46, halogen lamp + ¶ 60, “probability distribution estimation means”) that is in communication with the optical sensor during a calibration phase of the optical sensor and that is configured to generate a calibration data set for the optical sensor (¶¶ 45-46, 54, 57-58, measured noise histograms distributions establish noise average value µ and boundary level ε of the conversion table), wherein the calibration data set comprises a plurality of signal threshold values that are associated with a respective background level (¶¶ 54, 58, recorded relationship between noise average value µ and boundary level ε) that corresponds to a respective predetermined light intensity (¶¶ 46-47, 54-55, halogen lamp illuminates detector 18 under controlled illumination conditions, with the quantity of light varied to characterize different background levels).
Although Kimura discloses the obtaining and storage of calibration data in advance (¶¶ 22, 45, 54), Kimura does not teach the implementation of the control and evaluation unit configured: “to receive and store a calibration data set before an operating phase of the optical sensor.” However, Liu teaches the limitation in ¶¶ 36, 68, where the calibration results are stored in “MCU or a FPGA-related storage device”; ¶¶ 23, 70, the results stored prior to operational use. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the control and evaluation unit of Kimura with the teachings of Liu, since such a modification would have been a predictable use of prior art elements according to their established functions and would have merely involved combining familiar elements according to known methods to yield predictable results (KSR rationale A). Kimura already discloses storing of the calibration data in advance (¶¶ 22, 27, 69), while Liu provides for the transfer of calibration results into sensor memory before operational use (¶¶ 23, 36, 68, 70). It would have been obvious to modify the control and evaluation unit of Kimura with the receipt and storage of calibration data in memory as taught by Liu, with a reasonable expectation of success, in order to predictably store the calibration table for subsequent threshold selection through employing known memory storage elements performing their established storage functions.
Claim 10 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kimura in view of Liu further in view of Engler (US 20200200901 A1).
Regarding claim 10, Kimura in view of Liu teaches the optical sensor according to claim 9, and further teaches: wherein the processing unit (Kimura, ¶ 60, “probability distribution means”) is further configured, in the calibration phase of the lidar sensor (Kimura, ¶¶ 45, 54, conversation table formed “in advance”), […].
Kimura in view of Liu does not teach: “to determine a respective set of signal threshold values for a plurality of distance ranges within a range of the lidar sensor.” However, Engler teaches the limitation in ¶¶ 40-44, 46, where calibration is performed at different object distances and stored. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the optical sensor of Kimura, as combined with Liu, with the teachings of Engler with a reasonable expectation of success in order to compensate for variations in sensitivity across the measurement range by determining respective sets of signal threshold values for multiple distance ranges during calibration before operation, thereby yielding a system with reduced excessive sensitivity to disturbances and more robust optical measurement and object detection (Engler, ¶¶ 16, 23, 44, 46-47).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 7 is 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. A statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter are as follows.
Kimura in view of Liu does not teach the optical sensor of claim 5, wherein the processing unit is further configured, during the calibration phase of the optical sensor, to use a plurality of predefined percentages for false-positive output signals in order to determine, for each predefined percentage, a set of respective signal threshold values for the associated background level based on the respective cumulative relative frequency. Engler fails to remedy the deficiencies of Kimura in view of Liu.
The remaining prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant’s disclosure, as noted in the attached PTO 892, include:
Moore (US 20180253404 A1) discloses photon counting histograms and thresholds based on ambient light to distinguish optical return signals from noise, however does not teach the calibration of separate threshold sets for multiple predefined false positive percentages using cumulative relative frequencies of histogram maximum counts at respective background levels, as recited in claim 7.
Pacala (US 20200341144 A1) discloses photon counting histograms and estimated background light to set thresholds for detecting reflected lidar signals, however does not teach calibration of separate threshold sets for multiple predefined false positive percentages using cumulative relative frequencies of histogram maxima at respective background levels, as recited in claim 7.
Ishihara (EP 3979637 A1) discloses the calibration and storage of brightness dependent noise thresholds for optical target detection, however does not teach the multiple predefined false positive percentages to derive corresponding threshold sets across background levels from cumulative relative frequencies of histogram maxima, as recited in claim 7.
In sum, the cited prior art lacks any teaching or motivation that would lead a person of ordinary skill in the art to implement the features of claim 7, thereby failing to render the claimed invention anticipated or obvious. Accordingly, claim 7 would be allowable if rewritten in independent form, including all limitations of its base claim and any intervening claims.
Conclusion
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/ZHENGQING QI/Examiner, Art Unit 3645
