DETAILED ACTION
Response to Amendment
Applicant’s response to the last Office Action, filed on 12/09/2025 has been entered and made of record.
Rejection under 35 USC 112(a) is added in view of amendments.
Applicant’s amendments necessitated the new ground of rejection set forth herein; therefore, this action is made Final.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed on 12/09/2025 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
New rejection under 35 USC 112(a) is added in view of amendments which have been found to introduce new matter, please see detailed analysis below. Prior rejections under 35 USC 112(a) have been withdrawn in view of amendments.
Examiner notes that prior rejections 35 USC 103 have been withdrawn in view of amendments because the art of record does not read on the claims in their current form. However, should the new matter issue identified below be resolved via amendment, Applicant should expect Examiner to reinstate prior art rejections.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of 35 U.S.C. 112(a):
(a) IN GENERAL.—The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor or joint inventor of carrying out the invention.
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112:
The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor of carrying out his invention.
Claims 21, 23-28, 30-35, and 37-43 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), first paragraph, as failing to comply with the written description requirement. The claim(s) contains subject matter which was not described in the specification in such a way as to reasonably convey to one skilled in the relevant art that the inventor or a joint inventor, or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the inventor(s), at the time the application was filed, had possession of the claimed invention.
Examiner notes that the claims have been amended to require, “comparing a grey level value of the first pixel with a threshold value determined based on a middle value and a mode of grey level values of the plurality of pixels”
Examiner notes that the only relevant section in the original disclosure in appears at [0049] and only provides support for “determine a threshold grey level, such as averaging all grey level of the pixels on the pattern, middle grey level, or mode grey level”
Examiner respectfully notes that there is no support for the current claim language which requires that the threshold value is determined based on both a middle value and a mode value. It is not clear what determining a threshold based on both of these values would mean and there is no support for this concept in the original disclosure.
Claims 41-43 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), first paragraph, as failing to comply with the written description requirement. The claim(s) contains subject matter which was not described in the specification in such a way as to reasonably convey to one skilled in the relevant art that the inventor or a joint inventor, or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the inventor(s), at the time the application was filed, had possession of the claimed invention.
Examiner notes that the claims have been amended to require, “the threshold value is further determined based on an average value of the plurality of pixels.”
Examiner notes that the only relevant section in the original disclosure in appears at [0049] and only provides support for “determine a threshold grey level, such as averaging all grey level of the pixels on the pattern, middle grey level, or mode grey level”. The parent claims already require using mode/middle values and so Examiner respectfully notes that there is no support for the current claim language which requires that the threshold value is determined based on both a middle/mode value in addition to the average value.
Conclusion
Based on these facts, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. 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 extension fee 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.
Contact Information
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Raphael Schwartz whose telephone number is (571)270-3822. The examiner can normally be reached Monday to Friday 9am-5pm CT.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Vincent Rudolph can be reached on (571) 272-8243. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/RAPHAEL SCHWARTZ/ Examiner, Art Unit 2671
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