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 .
This action is in response to Amendment filed 07/09/2025.
Claims 1, 8, 10-13, 15, 17 and 19-20 have been amended, and claims 9 and 18 were previously cancelled. Currently, Claims 1-8, 10-17 and 19-20 are pending.
Response to Amendment
Amendments to claims 8, 13, 15 and 17 are effective to overcome the claim objections presented in the previous Office action. Therefore, the previous claim objections have been withdrawn.
Amendments to independent claims 1, 10-12, and 19-20 are not effective to overcome the 112(b) rejection presented in the previous Office action. Therefore, the 112(b) rejections are maintained.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 07/09/2025 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
Regarding Applicant’s argument (see Remarks, page 8) with respect to rejections under 35 U.S.C § 112(b) that claims 1, 10, 19 and 20 are amended to recite features about how an image in one HEIF file is related to another image in another file and the 112(b) rejection should be withdrawn, Examiner respectively disagrees.
The recited limitation of “the proxy file storing association information, …wherein the association information associates data in the proxy file with specification information of external data outside the proxy file” broadly recites an association between data of the proxy file with external data outside the proxy file and does not recite how the association information associates each respective related image in the proxy file with a respective target master image in a respective target HEIF file. It should be noted that an HEIF file contains not only media data (e.g., images) but also metadata about the media data in its data structure(s) (e.g., boxes).
Regarding Applicant’s argument (see Remarks, pages 8-10) with respect to independent claim 1 and similarly applied to other independent claims 10-12 and 19-20 that none of Hannuksela and Gu, whether taken alone or in combination, teach or suggest “the proxy file storing association information, and, as profile file master images, related images, whether the association information associates data in the proxy file with specification information of external data outside the proxy file” as recited in claim 1, Examiner respectively disagrees.
Hannuksela et al. teaches a HEIF file storing a set of images (see [0115]-[0116]), wherein an HEIF file storing a set of images as disclosed can be interpreted as a proxy file as recited. Hannuksela et al. further teaches HEIF conform to ISOBMFF, which provides a feature to refer to external files through data references (see [0106] and [0116]-[0117]) wherein data in the Data Reference Box (dref) box or data in the Data Information (dinf) box) of an HEIF file to refer to external file(s) identified by a uniform resource locator (URL) or a uniform resource identifier (URI) can be interpreted as association information associated data in the proxy file with specification information of external data outside the proxy file as broadly recited.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(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 1-8, 10-17 and 19-20 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.
Regarding independent claims 1 and 11, the claims recite generating a proxy file that is an HEIF file wherein each of images stored in the proxy file is related to a respective target image in another HEIF file, and causing index display of the related images on a user interface. However, it is unclear how an image in one HEIF file is related to another image in another HEIF file (e.g., how a relation/link is created between the two images in the two different HEIF file (?)), which also raises questions regarding the inventive step and/or the practical application of the invention (e.g., how the proxy file (i.e., HEIF) is used for any technical improvement (?), or how the two HEIF files interacts and/or are used together for any beneficial purposes (?), or whether/how the proxy file is used in causing index display as recited (?)). In addition, the steps of generating an HEIF file storing a set of images and displaying the set of images from the HEIF file appear to be well-known and well-used in the art because High Efficiency Image File Format (HEIF) standard supports storing a set of images in a single file and providing images from the HEIF file in a gallery view to a user using a player. As such, there is no inventive step recited in the claim.
The amended limitation “the proxy file storing association information, …wherein the association information associates data in the proxy file with specification information of external data outside the proxy file” is not effective to clarify how a respective related image in the proxy file is related/associated with a respective target master image in a respective target HEIF file using association information.
Regarding independent claim 10, the claim recites generating a proxy file that is an HEIF file wherein each of images stored in the proxy file is related to a respective target image in another HEIF file. However, it is unclear how an image in one HEIF file is related to another image in another HEIF (e.g., how a relation/link is created between the two images in the two different HEIF file (?)), which also raises questions regarding the inventive step and/or the practical application of the invention (e.g., how the proxy file (i.e., HEIF) is used for any technical improvement (?), or how the two HEIF files interacts and/or are used together for any beneficial purposes (?)). In addition, the feature of generating an HEIF file storing a set of images appears to be well-known and well-used in the art because High Efficiency Image File Format (HEIF) standard supports storing a set of images in a single file. As such, there is no inventive step recited in the claim.
The amended limitation “the proxy file storing association information, …wherein the association information associates data in the proxy file with specification information of external data outside the proxy file” is not effective to clarify how a respective related image in the proxy file is related/associated with a respective target master image in a respective target HEIF file using association information.
Regarding independent claims 12, 19 and 20, these claims recite “identifying a respective target master image in a target high efficiency image file format (HEIF) file that corresponds to a selected related image, the selected related image selected by a user from related images that are stored, as proxy file master images, in the proxy file, the proxy file being another HEIF file”, and “causing index display of the related images on a user interface”, which raise questions (e.g., how to identify a target image in an HEIF file (?), how a user can select a related image from related images in the proxy file (i.e., another HEIF file) (?), what is the purpose of causing index display of related images as recited (?), or whether/how the proxy file is used in causing the index display (?)). As such the metes and bounds of the claimed invention is unclear.
The amended limitation “the proxy file storing association information, …wherein the association information associates data in the proxy file with specification information of external data outside the proxy file” is not effective to clarify how a respective related image in the proxy file is related/associated with a respective target master image in a respective target HEIF file using association information.
Regarding claim 12, the recitation that “wherein the target HEIF file stores association information,…the association information associates data in the proxy file with specification information of external data outside the proxy file” raises question of why the association information stored in the target HEIF file can associate data in the proxy file with specification information of external data outside the proxy file as recited.
Other dependent claims are rejected as incorporating and failing to resolve the deficiencies of independent claims 1 and 12 upon which they depend correspondingly.
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 1-8, 10-17 and 19-20 (effective filing date is 07/16/2020 or 07/30/2019 (if perfected)) are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hannuksela et al. (U.S. Publication No. 2018/0146225, Publication date 05/24/2018), and further in view of Gu et al. (U.S. Patent No. 7,292,251, Patent date 11/06/2007).
As to claim 1, Hannuksela et al. teaches:
“A file processing device” (see Hannuksela et al., Abstract, Fig. 1 and [0115]) comprising:
“a memory storing program code” (see Hannuksela et al., Fig. 1 for memory 58); and
“a processor configured to execute the program code to perform operations comprising” (see Hannuksela et al., Fig., 1 and [0033] for controller 56 (i.e., processor)):
“generating a proxy file that is a high efficiency image file format (HEIF) file, the proxy file storing association information, as proxy file master images, related images, wherein the association information associates data in the proxy file with specification information of external data outside the proxy file, and each respective related image is related to a respective target master image in a respective target HEIF file” (see Hannuksela et al., [0115] for creating a HEIF file to store a set of images, wherein a HEIF file storing a set of images can be interpreted as a proxy file as recited; also see [0118] and [0120] wherein any number of image items and different types of images (e.g., cover image, thumbnail images, auxiliary images, primary/master images, etc.) can be included in a same HEIF file; also see [0105]-[0106] and [0116]-[0117] for a feature in ISO base media file format (ISOBMFF) or its derivative formats (e.g., HEIF) to refer to external files through data references wherein data in the Data Reference Box (dref) box or data in the Data Information (dinf) box) of an HEIF file (e.g., proxy file) to refer to external file(s) identified by a uniform resource locator(s) (URL) or a uniform resource identifier(s) (URI) can be interpreted as association information associated data in the proxy file with specification information of external data outside the proxy file as broadly recited), and
“causing index display of the related images on a user interface” (see Hannuksela et al., [0122] for showing the images in a gallery view (i.e., index display);
“wherein the respective target HEIF file stores the respective target master image and a thumbnail image of the respective target master image” (see Hannuksela et al., [0011]-[0012] for a container file (e.g., HEIF) including a thumbnail image and a respective master image; also see [0114], [0118] and [0120]); and
“each respective related image is: a thumbnail image stored in the respective target HEIF file; an image for which coding with a compression ratio different from the compression ratio for the thumbnail image is adopted; or an image for which a codec different from the codec for the thumbnail image is adopted” (see Hannuksela et al., [0120] for a thumbnail image as a smaller-resolution representation (i.e., related image) of the primary image; also see [0129] for an available set of codecs supported by the system).
In addition, Hannuksela et al. teaches a relation between images (see [0120]) and a feature of referring to external files (see [0106]).
In case that Hannuksela et al. does not explicitly teach a feature of relating each image of images in a file to a master image in a different file as equivalently recited as follows:
“wherein each of the related images is related to a respective master image in a target HEIF file”.
On the other hand, Gu et al. explicitly teaches a feature for relating each image of images in a file to a master image in a different file (see Gu et al., [column 9, lines 1-11] and [column 10, lines 40-52] for an index file including thumbnail images, each corresponding to one high-resolution image or one image file on the server).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate Gu et al.'s teaching to Hannuksela et al.’s system by implementing a feature for relating each low resolution image in an index file with a high resolution image file. Ordinarily skilled artisan would have been motivated to do so, as suggested by Gu et al. (column 10, lines 40-48) to provide Hannuksela et al.’s system with an effective way to relate and access images stored in HEIF files. In addition, both of the references (Hannuksela et al. and Gu et al.) teach features that are directed to analogous art and they are directed to the same field of endeavor, such as, storing a plurality of images in a file to provide an effective way to display and navigate through the images. This close relation between both of the references highly suggests an expectation of success when combined.
As to claim 2, this claim is rejected based on the same arguments as above to reject claim 1, and is similarly rejected including the following:
Hannuksela et al. as modified by Gu et al. teaches:
“wherein the proxy file is a collection file which is a HEIF file in an image item format, and in which the related images are stored as items” (see Hannuksela et al., [0115]-[0116] for a HEIF file (i.e., proxy file) storing a set of still images, in which the still images are stored as items).
As to claim 3, this claim is rejected based on the same arguments as above to reject claim 2, and is similarly rejected including the following:
Hannuksela et al. as modified by Gu et al. teaches:
“wherein the proxy file storing association information that associates each respective related image with specification information specifying the respective master image corresponding to the related image” (see Hannuksela et al., [0117] for using item reference to document relations between items within the same file or in an external file; also see Gu et al., [column 9, lines 9-11] and [column 10, lines 40-42] wherein each thumbnail image (i.e., related image) corresponding/referencing to a respective high resolution image (i.e., master image)).
As to claim 4, this claim is rejected based on the same arguments as above to reject claim 3, and is similarly rejected including the following:
Hannuksela et al. as modified by Gu et al. teaches:
“wherein the proxy file storing the association information in which an item ID specifying the respective related image is correlated with the specification information” (see Hannuksela et al., [0117] for using item reference to document relations between items within the same file or in an external file; also see Gu et al., [column 9, lines 9-11] and [column 10, lines 40-42] wherein each thumbnail image (i.e., related image) corresponding/referencing to a respective high resolution image (i.e., master image)).
As to claim 5, this claim is rejected based on the same arguments as above to reject claim 4, and is similarly rejected including the following:
Hannuksela et al. as modified by Gu et al. teaches:
“wherein in the proxy file, the association information is stored in a meta box or an mdat box” (see Hannuksela et al., [0117] for using item reference (‘iref’) box to document relations between items within the same file or in an external file, wherein the ‘iref’ box is stored in the ‘meta’ box).
As to claim 6, this claim is rejected based on the same arguments as above to reject claim 3, and is similarly rejected including the following:
Hannuksela et al. as modified by Gu et al. teaches:
“the specification information is stored as an item, in an mdat box in the proxy file” (see Hannuksela et al., [0112] storing metadata (e.g., reference information, file name, item identifier, etc.) as metadata items in an ‘mdat’ box).
“the association information is stored in a meta box, the association information correlating an item ID specifying each related image with an item ID specifying the specification information stored in the mdat box” (see Hannuksela et al., [0117] for using item reference (‘iref’) box to document relations between items within the same file or in an external file, wherein the ‘iref’ box is stored in the ‘meta’ box).
As to claim 7, this claim is rejected based on the same arguments as above to reject claim 1, and is similarly rejected including the following:
Hannuksela et al. as modified by Gu et al. teaches:
“wherein the related images are different from the respective master image in image quality or data amount” (see Hannuksela et al., [0120] wherein a thumbnail image (i.e., related image) is a smaller-resolution representation of a primary/master image).
As to claim 8, this claim is rejected based on the same arguments as above to reject claim 1, and is similarly rejected including the following:
Hannuksela et al. as modified by Gu et al. teaches:
“wherein the related image is different from the respective target master image in number of pixels or in size and same as the respective target master image in content, is different from the respective target master image in signal format and same as the respective target master image in content, or is different from the respective target master image in gradation or same as the respective target master image in content” (see Hannuksela et al., [0120] wherein a thumbnail image (i.e., related image) is a smaller-resolution representation of a primary/master image).
As to claim 10, Hannuksela et al. teaches:
“A file processing method” (see Hannuksela et al., Abstract, Fig. 1 and [0115]) comprising:
“generating a proxy file that is a high efficiency image file format (HEIF) file, the proxy file storing association information and, as proxy file master images, related images, wherein the association information associates data in the proxy file with specification information of external data outside the proxy file, and each respective related image is related to a respective target master image in a respective target HEIF file” (see Hannuksela et al., [0115] for creating a HEIF file to storing a set of images; also see [0118] and [0120] wherein any number of image items and different types of images (e.g., cover image, thumbnail images, auxiliary images, primary/master images, etc.) can be included in a same HEIF file; also see [0105]-[0106] and [0116]-[0117] for a feature in ISO base media file format (ISOBMFF) or its derivative formats (e.g., HEIF) to refer to external files through data references wherein data in the Data Reference Box (dref) box or data in the Data Information (dinf) box) of an HEIF file (e.g., proxy file) to refer to external file(s) identified by a uniform resource locator(s) (URL) or a uniform resource identifier(s) (URI) can be interpreted as association information associated data in the proxy file with specification information of external data outside the proxy file as broadly recited), and
“the respective target HEIF file stores the respective target master image and a thumbnail image of the respective target master image” (see Hannuksela et al., [0011]-[0012] for a container file (e.g., HEIF) including a thumbnail image and a respective master image; also see [0114], [0118] and [0120]); and
“each respective related image is: a thumbnail image stored in the respective target HEIF file; an image for which coding with a compression ratio different from the compression ratio for the thumbnail image is adopted; or an image for which a codec different from the codec for the thumbnail image is adopted” (see Hannuksela et al., [0120] for a thumbnail image as a smaller-resolution representation (i.e., related image) of the primary image; also see [0129] for an available set of codecs supported by the system).
In addition, Hannuksela et al. teaches a relation between images (see [0120]) and a feature of referring to external files (see [0106]).
In case that Hannuksela et al. does not explicitly teach a feature of relating each image of images in a file to a master image in a different file as equivalently recited as follows:
“wherein each of the related images is related to a respective master image in a target HEIF file”.
On the other hand, Gu et al. explicitly teaches a feature for relating each image of images in a file to a master image in a different file (see Gu et al., [column 9, lines 1-11] and [column 10, lines 40-52] for an index file including thumbnail images, each corresponding to one high-resolution image or one image file on the server).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate Gu et al.'s teaching to Hannuksela et al.’s system by implementing a feature for relating each low resolution image in an index file with a high resolution image file. Ordinarily skilled artisan would have been motivated to do so, as suggested by Gu et al. (column 10, lines 40-48) to provide Hannuksela et al.’s system with an effective way to relate and access images stored in HEIF files. In addition, both of the references (Hannuksela et al. and Gu et al.) teach features that are directed to analogous art and they are directed to the same field of endeavor, such as, storing a plurality of images in a file to provide an effective way to display and navigate through the images. This close relation between both of the references highly suggests an expectation of success when combined.
As to claim 11, Hannuksela et al. teaches:
“A non-transitory computer readable medium storing a program that, when executed by a computer, causes the computer to” (see Hannuksela et al., Abstract, Fig. 1 and [0115]):
“a memory storing program code” (see Hannuksela et al., Fig. 1 for memory 58); and
“ a processor configured to execute the program code to perform operations comprising” (see Hannuksela et al., Fig., 1 and [0033] for controller 56 (i.e., processor)):
“generate a proxy file that is a high efficiency image file format (HEIF) file, the proxy file storing association information and, as proxy file master images, related images, wherein the association information associates data in the proxy file with specification information of external data outside the proxy file, and each respective related image is related to a respective target master image in a respective target HEIF file” (see Hannuksela et al., [0115] for creating a HEIF file to store a set of images, wherein a HEIF file storing a set of files can be interpreted as a proxy file as recited; also see [0118] and [0120] wherein any number of image items and different types of images (e.g., cover image, thumbnail images, auxiliary images, primary/master images, etc.) can be included in a same HEIF file (e.g., a proxy file or a target HEIF file); also see [0105]-[0106] and [0116]-[0117] for a feature in ISO base media file format (ISOBMFF) or its derivative formats (e.g., HEIF) to refer to external files through data references wherein data in the Data Reference Box (dref) box or data in the Data Information (dinf) box) of an HEIF file (e.g., proxy file) to refer to external file(s) identified by a uniform resource locator(s) (URL) or a uniform resource identifier(s) (URI) can be interpreted as association information associated data in the proxy file with specification information of external data outside the proxy file as broadly recited), and
“cause index display of the related images on a user interface” (see Hannuksela et al., [0122] for showing the images in a gallery view (i.e., index display);
“wherein the respective target HEIF file stores the respective target master image and a thumbnail image of the respective target master image” (see Hannuksela et al., [0011]-[0012] for a container file (e.g., HEIF) including a thumbnail image and a respective master image; also see [0114], [0118] and [0120]); and
“each respective related image is: a thumbnail image stored in the respective target HEIF file; an image for which coding with a compression ratio different from the compression ratio for the thumbnail image is adopted; or an image for which a codec different from the codec for the thumbnail image is adopted” (see Hannuksela et al., [0120] for a thumbnail image as a smaller-resolution representation (i.e., related image) of the primary image; also see [0129] for an available set of codecs supported by the system).
In addition, Hannuksela et al. teaches a relation between images (see [0120]) and a feature of referring to external files (see [0106]).
In case that Hannuksela et al. does not explicitly teach a feature of relating each image of images in a file to a master image in a different file as equivalently recited as follows:
“wherein each of the related images is related to a respective master image in a target HEIF file”.
On the other hand, Gu et al. explicitly teaches a feature for relating each image of images in a file to a master image in a different file (see Gu et al., [column 9, lines 1-11] and [column 10, lines 40-52] for an index file including thumbnail images, each corresponding to one high-resolution image or one image file on the server).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate Gu et al.'s teaching to Hannuksela et al.’s system by implementing a feature for relating each low resolution image in an index file with a high resolution image file. Ordinarily skilled artisan would have been motivated to do so, as suggested by Gu et al. (column 10, lines 40-48) to provide Hannuksela et al.’s system with an effective way to relate and access images stored in HEIF files. In addition, both of the references (Hannuksela et al. and Gu et al.) teach features that are directed to analogous art and they are directed to the same field of endeavor, such as, storing a plurality of images in a file to provide an effective way to display and navigate through the images. This close relation between both of the references highly suggests an expectation of success when combined.
As to claim 12, Hannuksela et al. teaches:
“A file processing device” (see Hannuksela et al., Fig. 1 and Abstract) comprising:
“a memory storing program code” (see Hannuksela et al., Fig. 1 for memory 58); and
“a processor configured to execute the program code to perform operations comprising” (see Hannuksela et al., Fig., 1 and [0033] for controller 56 (i.e., processor)):
“identifying a respective target master image in a target high efficiency image file format (HEIF) file that corresponds to a selected related image, the selected related image selected by a user from related images stored, as proxy file master images, in a proxy file, the proxy file being another HEIF file” (see Hannuksela et al., [0115] for creating a HEIF file to storing a set of images; also see [0118] and [0120] wherein any number of image items and different types of images (e.g., cover image, thumbnail images, auxiliary images, primary/master images, etc.) can be identified and included in a same HEIF file), and
“causing index display of the related images on a user interface” (see Hannuksela et al., [0122] for showing the images in a gallery view (i.e., index display);
“wherein the respective target HEIF file stores association information, the respective target master image and a thumbnail image of the respective target master image, the association information associates data in the proxy file with specification information of external data outside the proxy file” (see Hannuksela et al., [0011]-[0012] for a container file (e.g., HEIF) including a thumbnail image and a respective master image; also see [0114], [0118] and [0120]; also see [0105]-[0106] and [0116]-[0117] for a feature in ISO base media file format (ISOBMFF) or its derivative formats (e.g., HEIF) to refer to external files through data references wherein data in the Data Reference Box (dref) box or data in the Data Information (dinf) box) of an HEIF file (e.g., proxy file) to refer to external file(s) identified by a uniform resource locator(s) (URL) or a uniform resource identifier(s) (URI) can be interpreted as association information associated data in the proxy file with specification information of external data outside the proxy file as broadly recited), and
“each respective related image is: a thumbnail image stored in the respective target HEIF file; an image for which coding with a compression ratio different from the compression ratio for the thumbnail image is adopted; or an image for which a codec different from the codec for the thumbnail image is adopted” (see Hannuksela et al., [0120] for a thumbnail image as a smaller-resolution representation (i.e., related image) of the primary image; also see [0129] for an available set of codecs supported by the system).
In addition, Hannuksela et al. teaches a relation between images (see [0120]) and a feature of referring to external files (see [0106]).
In case that Hannuksela et al. does not explicitly teach a feature of relating each image of images in a file to a master image in a different file as equivalently recited as follows:
“identify a respective target master image in a target high efficiency image file format (HEIF) file that corresponds to a selected related image, the selected related image selected by a user from related images stored, as proxy file master images, in a proxy file, the proxy file being another HEIF file”.
On the other hand, Gu et al. explicitly teaches a feature for relating each image of images in a file to a master image in a different file (see Gu et al., [column 9, lines 1-11] and [column 10, lines 40-61] for an index file including thumbnail images, each corresponding to one high-resolution image or one image file on the server, wherein selecting a desired slide (i.e., a thumbnail image), the corresponding high-resolution image will be identified and displayed).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate Gu et al.'s teaching to Hannuksela et al.’s system by implementing a feature for relating each low resolution image in an index file with a high resolution image file. Ordinarily skilled artisan would have been motivated to do so, as suggested by Gu et al. (column 10, lines 40-48) to provide Hannuksela et al.’s system with an effective way to relate and access images stored in HEIF files. In addition, both of the references (Hannuksela et al. and Gu et al.) teach features that are directed to analogous art and they are directed to the same field of endeavor, such as, storing a plurality of images in a file to provide an effective way to display and navigate through the images. This close relation between both of the references highly suggests an expectation of success when combined.
As to claim 13, this claim is rejected based on the same arguments as above to reject claim 12, and is similarly rejected including the following:
Hannuksela et al. as modified by Gu et al. teaches:
“wherein the proxy file is a HEIF file in an image item format, the proxy file storing the related images as items” (see Hannuksela et al., [0115]-[0116] for a HEIF file (i.e., proxy file) storing a set of still images, in which the still images are stored as items).
As to claim 14, this claim is rejected based on the same arguments as above to reject claim 13 and is similarly rejected including the following:
Hannuksela et al. as modified by Gu et al. teaches:
“wherein the proxy file stores association information that associates the related image with specification information specifying the respective target master image corresponding to the related image” (see Hannuksela et al., [0117] for using item reference to document relations between items within the same file or in an external file), and the operations further comprise:
“detecting, as the respective target master image corresponding to the selected related image, the respective target master image specified by the specification information associated with the selected related image” (see Hannuksela et al., [0117] for using item reference to document relations between items within the same file or in an external file; also see [0112]-[0114]; also see Gu et al., [column 9, lines 9-11] and [column 10, lines 40-62] wherein when a slide or a thumbnail image (i.e., related image) is selected, a corresponding respective high resolution image (i.e., master image) is identified and displayed).
As to claim 15, this claim is rejected based on the same arguments as above to reject claim 14 and is similarly rejected including the following:
Hannuksela et al. as modified by Gu et al. teaches:
“wherein the proxy file stores the association information in which an item ID specifying the selected related image is correlated with the specification information” (see Hannuksela et al., [0112] storing metadata (e.g., reference information, file name, item identifier, etc.) as metadata items in an ‘mdat’ box; also see [0117] for using item reference (‘iref’) box to document relations between items within the same file or in an external file, wherein the ‘iref’ box is stored in the ‘meta’ box, wherein each item/content can be identified by a uniform resource identifier (i.e., item ID)), and
“the respective target master image corresponding to the selected related image, the respective target master image specified by the specification information correlated with the item ID of the selected related image” (see Hannuksela et al., [0117] for using item reference (‘iref’) box to document relations between items within the same file or in an external file, wherein each resources (e.g., item/content) can be identified by a uniform resource identifier (i.e., item ID); also see [0112]-[0114]; also see Gu et al., [column 9, lines 9-11] and [column 10, lines 40-62] wherein when a slide or a thumbnail image (i.e., related image) is selected, a corresponding respective high resolution image (i.e., master image) is identified and displayed).
As to claim 16, this claim is rejected based on the same arguments as above to reject claim 12 and is similarly rejected including the following:
Hannuksela et al. as modified by Gu et al. teaches:
“wherein the related image is different from the respective target master image in image quality or data amount” (see Hannuksela et al., [0120] wherein a thumbnail image (i.e., related image) is a smaller-resolution representation of a primary/master image).
As to claim 17, this claim is rejected based on the same arguments as above to reject claim 12 and is similarly rejected including the following:
Hannuksela et al. as modified by Gu et al. teaches:
“wherein the related image is different from the respective target master image in number of pixels or in size and same as the respective target master image in content, is different from the respective target master image in signal format and same as the respective target master image in content, or is different from the respective target master image in gradation or same as the respective target master image in content” (see Hannuksela et al., [0120] wherein a thumbnail image (i.e., related image) is a smaller-resolution representation of a primary/master image).
As to claim 19, Hannuksela et al. teaches:
“A file processing method” (see Hannuksela et al., Fig. 1 and Abstract) comprising:
“identifying a respective target master image in a target high efficiency image file format (HEIF) file that corresponds to a selected related image, the selected related image selected by a user from related images stored, as proxy file master images, in a proxy file, the proxy file being another HEIF file and storing association information associating data in the proxy file with specification information of external data outside the proxy file” (see Hannuksela et al., [0115] for creating a HEIF file to store a set of images, wherein a HEIF file storing a set of files can be interpreted as a proxy file as recited; also see [0118] and [0120] wherein any number of image items and different types of images (e.g., cover image, thumbnail images, auxiliary images, primary/master images, etc.) can be identified and included in a same HEIF file (e.g., a target HEIF file); also see [0105]-[0106] and [0116]-[0117] for a feature in ISO base media file format (ISOBMFF) or its derivative formats (e.g., HEIF) to refer to external files through data references wherein data in the Data Reference Box (dref) box or data in the Data Information (dinf) box) of an HEIF file (e.g., proxy file) to refer to external file(s) identified by a uniform resource locator(s) (URL) or a uniform resource identifier(s) (URI) can be interpreted as association information associated data in the proxy file with specification information of external data outside the proxy file as broadly recited), and
“causing index display of the related images on a user interface” (see Hannuksela et al., [0122] for showing the images in a gallery view (i.e., index display);
“wherein the respective target HEIF file stores the respective target master image and a thumbnail image of the respective target master image” (see Hannuksela et al., [0011]-[0012] for a container file (e.g., HEIF) including a thumbnail image and a respective master image; also see [0114], [0118] and [0120]); and
“each respective related image is: a thumbnail image stored in the respective target HEIF file; an image for which coding with a compression ratio different from the compression ratio for the thumbnail image is adopted; or an image for which a codec different from the codec for the thumbnail image is adopted” (see Hannuksela et al., [0120] for a thumbnail image as a smaller-resolution representation (i.e., related image) of the primary image; also see [0129] for an available set of codecs supported by the system).
In addition, Hannuksela et al. teaches a relation between images (see [0120]) and a feature of referring to external files (see [0106]).
In case that Hannuksela et al. does not explicitly teach a feature of relating each image of images in a file to a master image in a different file as equivalently recited as follows:
“identify a respective target master image in a target high efficiency image file format (HEIF) file that corresponds to a selected related image, the selected related image selected by a user from related images stored, as proxy file master images, in a proxy file, the proxy file being another HEIF file”.
On the other hand, Gu et al. explicitly teaches a feature for relating each image of images in a file to a master image in a different file (see Gu et al., [column 9, lines 1-11] and [column 10, lines 40-61] for an index file including thumbnail images, each corresponding to one high-resolution image or one image file on the server, wherein selecting a desired slide (i.e., a thumbnail image), the corresponding high-resolution image will be identified and displayed).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate Gu et al.'s teaching to Hannuksela et al.’s system by implementing a feature for relating each low resolution image in an index file with a high resolution image file. Ordinarily skilled artisan would have been motivated to do so, as suggested by Gu et al. (column 10, lines 40-48) to provide Hannuksela et al.’s system with an effective way to relate and access images stored in HEIF files. In addition, both of the references (Hannuksela et al. and Gu et al.) teach features that are directed to analogous art and they are directed to the same field of endeavor, such as, storing a plurality of images in a file to provide an effective way to display and navigate through the images. This close relation between both of the references highly suggests an expectation of success when combined.
As to claim 20, Hannuksela et al. teaches:
“A non-transitory computer readable medium storing a program that, when executed by a computer, causes the computer to” (see Hannuksela et al., Fig. 1 and Abstract):
“identify a respective target master image in a target high efficiency image file format (HEIF) file that corresponds to a selected related image, the selected related image selected by a user from related images stored, as proxy file master images, in a proxy file, the proxy file being another HEIF file and storing association information associating data in the proxy file with specification information of external data outside the proxy file” (see Hannuksela et al., [0115] for creating a HEIF file to store a set of images, wherein a HEIF file storing a set of images can be interpreted as a proxy file as recited; also see [0118] and [0120] wherein any number of image items and different types of images (e.g., cover image, thumbnail images, auxiliary images, primary/master images, etc.) can be identified and included in a same HEIF file (e.g., a target HEIF file); also see [0105]-[0106] and [0116]-[0117] for a feature in ISO base media file format (ISOBMFF) or its derivative formats (e.g., HEIF) to refer to external files through data references wherein data in the Data Reference Box (dref) box or data in the Data Information (dinf) box) of an HEIF file (e.g., proxy file) to refer to external file(s) identified by a uniform resource locator(s) (URL) or a uniform resource identifier(s) (URI) can be interpreted as association information associated data in the proxy file with specification information of external data outside the proxy file as broadly recited), and
“cause index display of the related images on a user interface” (see Hannuksela et al., [0122] for showing the images in a gallery view (i.e., index display);
“wherein the respective target HEIF file stores the respective target master image and a thumbnail image of the respective target master image” (see Hannuksela et al., [0011]-[0012] for a container file (e.g., HEIF) including a thumbnail image and a respective master image; also see [0114], [0118] and [0120]); and
“each respective related image is: a thumbnail image stored in the respective target HEIF file; an image for which coding with a compression ratio different from the compression ratio for the thumbnail image is adopted; or an image for which a codec different from the codec for the thumbnail image is adopted” (see Hannuksela et al., [0120] for a thumbnail image as a smaller-resolution representation (i.e., related image) of the primary image; also see [0129] for an available set of codecs supported by the system).
In addition, Hannuksela et al. teaches a relation between images (see [0120]) and a feature of referring to external files (see [0106]).
In case that Hannuksela et al. does not explicitly teach a feature of relating each image of images in a file to a master image in a different file as equivalently recited as follows:
“identify a respective target master image in a target high efficiency image file format (HEIF) file that corresponds to a selected related image, the selected related image selected by a user from related images stored, as proxy file master images, in a proxy file, the proxy file being another HEIF file”.
On the other hand, Gu et al. explicitly teaches a feature for relating each image of images in a file to a master image in a different file (see Gu et al., [column 9, lines 1-11] and [column 10, lines 40-61] for an index file including thumbnail images, each corresponding to one high-resolution image or one image file on the server, wherein selecting a desired slide (i.e., a thumbnail image), the corresponding high-resolution image will be identified and displayed).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate Gu et al.'s teaching to Hannuksela et al.’s system by implementing a feature for relating each low resolution image in an index file with a high resolution image file. Ordinarily skilled artisan would have been motivated to do so, as suggested by Gu et al. (column 10, lines 40-48) to provide Hannuksela et al.’s system with an effective way to relate and access images stored in HEIF files. In addition, both of the references (Hannuksela et al. and Gu et al.) teach features that are directed to analogous art and they are directed to the same field of endeavor, such as, storing a plurality of images in a file to provide an effective way to display and navigate through the images. This close relation between both of the references highly suggests an expectation of success when combined.
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
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/Phuong Thao Cao/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2164