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 .
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim(s) 1 and 4-12 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
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.
Claim 11 is 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.
Claim 11 is a duplicate of claim 9. Applicant should clarify which claim the claim depends from. Examiner has interpreted the claim to depend from independent claim 7, which is the next independent claim after claim 1.
Appropriate clarification is required.
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) 1, 4-6, 7-9, and 11-12 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Tamura Kazuya (JP 2021-071022 A) in view of Cole (US PG Pub. 2019/0156678) and further in view of Crain et al (US PG. Pub. 2021/0201510 A1). Relative to claims 1, 4-6, 9 and 11-12, Tamura discloses:
Claim 1) a vehicle transport management device (vehicle transport control device) for managing a plurality of types of vehicle transport devices (transport devices, Ref. 3) having different transport characteristics (Page 3, Para. 4 of the English translation of the specification), comprising a processor configured to:
acquire vehicle information relating to a vehicle to be transported (Page 3, Para. 6, various characteristics of the vehicle is sensed);
select a particular type of vehicle transport device (3)(Fig. 2) from the plurality of types of vehicle transport devices (3) as a vehicle transport device for transporting the vehicle based on the vehicle information (Page 8, Para. 9; Page 7, Para. 7, transport device 3 is selected based on sensed vehicle information);
Claim 4) the vehicle information is a vehicle name, a type, or size-type information of the vehicle (Page 3, Para. 6 of the English translation of the Specification);
Claim 5) the vehicle information includes at least one of a vehicle width, a vehicle length, a tire inch size, and a wheel base of the vehicle (Page 6, Para. 6 of the English translation of the Specification); and
Claim 6) the processor is configured to select a particular type of a parking space from a plurality of types of predetermined parking spaces as a parking space to which the vehicle is transported based on the vehicle information (Page 4, Para. 3 of the English translation of the Specification).
Tamura does not expressly disclose:
acquiring position information of the vehicle;
identifying a camera closest to the vehicle based on the position information, the vehicle information is acquired based on an image generated by the identified camera;
the camera is a stationary camera; or
the processor is configured to acquire the position information based on a signal from a terminal device associated with the vehicle.
Cole teaches:
acquiring position information of the vehicle (Para. 0033), the vehicle information is acquired based on an image generated by the camera (135)(Para. 0033);
the camera is a stationary camera (Para. 0033, cameras 135, Fig. 1A, appear to be stationary cameras, and are disposed at various locations at various heights above the ground); and
the processor (145) is configured to acquire the position information based on a signal from a terminal device associated with the vehicle (geolocation device 460 determines current location of vehicle 115, the geolocation device is included with the vehicle 115)(Para. 0046; 0049; 0035)(Fig. 4).
Cole teaches: acquiring position information of the vehicle; the camera is a stationary camera; and the processor
is configured to acquire the position information based on a signal from a terminal device as described above for the purpose of providing an improved system that facilitates passenger off-loading and parking of vehicles at a large scale parking facility or location that requires passenger off-loading, that employs sensors, in conjunction with the control systems, to understand the world around each vehicle in order to reduce traffic accidents and other safety concerns, and improve the speed and flow of traffic on roadways (Para. 0002-0003).
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 system of Tamara with the: acquiring position information of the vehicle based on an image generated by the camera; the camera is a stationary camera; and acquiring the position information based on a signal from a terminal device associated with the vehicle described above, as taught in Cole for the purpose of providing an improved system that facilitates passenger off-loading and parking of vehicles at a large scale parking facility or location that requires passenger off-loading, that employs sensors, in conjunction with the control systems, to understand the world around each vehicle in order to reduce traffic accidents and other safety concerns, and improve the speed and flow of traffic on roadways.
Relative to claim 1, the disclosure of Tamura in view of Cole discloses all claim limitations above, but does not expressly disclose: identifying a camera closest to the vehicle based on the position information, or the vehicle information is acquired based on an image generated by the identified camera.
Crain teaches:
identifying a camera (305) based on the position information of the identified object
(cameras at various locations in the environment determine the positions of objects or people based on captured images, Para. 0143-0144; the system uses the captured image data to associate an identifier (370) of camera with a particular set of images using frame data, as well as a position of the identified camera, See Para. 169: “Camera client 220A then generates frame data 330A that contains information about frame 320A. As seen in FIG. 3G, frame data 330A includes an identifier for camera 305A (e.g., “camera=1” )”; Para. 0213: “The camera client 220 labels or indexes each corresponding color frame 364 and depth frame 366 with a timestamp 368 when they arrive at the camera client 220. The camera client 220 also labels or indexes the color frames 364 and depth frames 366 with a camera identifier 370 associated with the camera 305. The camera identifier 370 may be related to a position of the camera 305 in the store 100, for example, a region or a zone that is in the field-of-view of the camera 305”); and
the object information is acquired based on an image generated by the identified camera (presence of a person or object in an environment; person’s identity, object identifier; 0400; 0430; 0029)(Fig. 3FR), for the purpose of providing a position tracking system for tracking the physical locations of people and/or objects that provides reliable and accurate tracking in real-time while reducing computing costs (Para. 0028; 0033).
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 system of Tamura in view of Cole with the: identifying a camera based on the position information of the identified object; and acquiring the object information based on an image generated by the identified camera described above, as taught in Crain, for the purpose of providing a position tracking system for tracking the physical locations of people and/or objects that provides reliable and accurate tracking in real-time while reducing computing costs.
Relative to claim 1, the disclosure of Tamura, Cole, and Crain, modified as above, discloses all claim limitations, but does not expressly disclose: identifying a camera that is closest to the object based on the position information, or the object that is being identified is a vehicle.
Tamura in view of Cole and Crain teaches: identifying a camera that is closest to the object based on the position information, and the object being identified is a vehicle as an obvious matter of design choice.
The disclosure of Crain includes the cameras having the identifiers (370a) are at known locations in the environment (Para. 0213; 0207; 0149)(See positions of cameras in Fig. 3A, 3C, 3G). Since 1) the position of the identified camera associated with a set of images of the object is known, and 2) the position of the object known, the camera that is closest to the object can be determined based on the known positions of the identified camera, and the position of the object.
The positions of each of the cameras in the environment can be compared to the determined position of the object to determine which of the cameras is closest to the object.
Moreover, Tamura in view of Cole and Crain can be further modified so that the object being tracked is a vehicle is also a matter of design choice based on the user’s preference. The surveillance system in Crain is flexible and can be easily applied to a variety of other types of environments and physical spaces, including places where vehicles may be tracked (Para. 0123; 0493).
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 system of Tamura in view of Cole and Crain to include: identifying a camera that is closest to the object based on the position information, and the object being identified is a vehicle as an obvious matter of design choice since the positions of the cameras in the environment as well as the determined position of the object captured by the camera is known. Moreover, the system is flexible and can be applied to a variety of other types of environments and physical spaces, including places where vehicles are tracked.
Relative to claims 7 and 11, the disclosure of Tamura includes:
A vehicle transport management method executed by a computer for managing a plurality of types of vehicle transport devices (3) having different transport characteristics (computer is included with system that includes server device 4 and vehicle transport control device; Page 3, Para. 4; see also Page 8, Para. 8-9; transport devices are different, Page 3, Para. 7)(Fig. 1-2), comprising:
acquiring vehicle information relating to a vehicle to be conveyed (Page 3, Para. 6); and
selecting a particular type of vehicle transport device (3) from the plurality of types of vehicle transport devices (3) as a vehicle transport device for transporting the vehicle based on the vehicle information (Page 8, Para. 9; Page 7, Para. 7, transport device 3 is selected based on sensed information).
Tamura does not expressly disclose:
acquiring position information of the vehicle;
the camera is a stationary camera; or
identifying a camera closest to the vehicle based on the position information, the vehicle information is acquired based on an image generated by the identified camera.
Cole teaches: acquiring position information of the vehicle (Para. 0033), the vehicle information is acquired based on an image generated by the camera (135)(Para. 0033); and the camera is a stationary camera (Para. 0033, cameras 135, Fig. 1A, appear to be stationary cameras, and are disposed at various locations at various heights above the ground, for the purpose of providing an improved system that facilitates passenger off-loading and parking of vehicles at a large scale parking facility or location that requires passenger off-loading, that employs sensors, in conjunction with the control systems, to understand the world around each vehicle in order to reduce traffic accidents and other safety concerns, and improve the speed and flow of traffic on roadways (Para. 0002-0003).
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 system of Tamara with the: acquiring position information of the vehicle based on an image generated by the camera; the camera is a stationary camera described above, as taught in Cole, for the purpose of providing an improved system that facilitates passenger off-loading and parking of vehicles at a large scale parking facility or location that requires passenger off-loading, that employs sensors, in conjunction with the control systems, to understand the world around each vehicle in order to reduce traffic accidents and other safety concerns, and improve the speed and flow of traffic on roadways.
Relative to claims 7 and 11, the disclosure of Tamura in view of Cole discloses all claim limitations above, but does not expressly disclose:
identifying a camera closest to the vehicle based on the position information; or
the vehicle information is acquired based on an image generated by the identified camera.
Crain teaches:
identifying a camera (305) based on the position information of the identified object (cameras at various locations in the environment determine the positions of objects or people in the environment based on captured images, Para. 0143-0144; 0169; 0213; the system uses the captured image data to associate an identifier (370) of camera associated with a particular set of images using frame data, as well as a position of the identified camera);
the object information is acquired based on an image generated by the identified camera (presence of a person or object in an environment; person’s identity, object identifier; 0400; 0430; 0029)(Fig. 3FR), for the purpose of providing a position tracking system for tracking the physical locations of people and/or objects that provides reliable and accurate tracking in real-time while reducing computing costs (Para. 0028; 0033).
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 system of Tamura in view of Cole with the: identifying a camera based on the position information of the identified object; and acquiring the object information based on an image generated by the identified camera described above, as taught in Crain, for the purpose of providing a position tracking system for tracking the physical locations of people and/or objects that provides reliable and accurate tracking in real-time while reducing computing costs.
Relative to claim 7, the disclosure of Tamura, Cole, and Crain, modified as above, discloses all claim limitations, but does not expressly disclose: identifying a camera that is closest to the object based on the position information, or the object that is being identified is a vehicle.
Tamura in view of Cole and Crain teaches: identifying a camera that is closest to the object based on the position information, and the object being identified is a vehicle as an obvious matter of design choice based on the user’s preference.
The disclosure of Crain includes the cameras having the identifiers (370a) are at known locations in the environment (Para. 0213; 0207; 0149, see also the positions of cameras in Fig. 3A, 3C, 3G).
Since the position of the identified camera associated with a set of images of the object is known, and the position of the object known, the camera that is closest to the object can be determined based on the known positions of the specifically identified camera, and the position of the object. The positions of each of the cameras in the environment can be compared to the determined position of the object to determine which of the cameras is closest to the object.
Moreover, Tamura in view of Cole and Crain can be further modified so that the object being tracked is a vehicle is also a matter of design choice based on the user’s preference. The surveillance system in Crain is flexible and can be easily applied to a variety of other types of environments and physical spaces, including places where vehicles may be tracked (Para. 0123; 0493).
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 system of Tamura in view of Cole and Crain to include: identifying a camera that is closest to the object based on the position information, and the object being identified is a vehicle as an obvious matter of design choice since the positions of the cameras in the environment as well as the determined position of the object captured by the camera is known. Moreover, the system is flexible and can be applied to a variety of other types of environments and physical spaces, including places where vehicles are tracked.
Relative to claim 8, the disclosure of Tamura includes:
A vehicle transport system (100), comprising:
a plurality of types of vehicle transport devices (3) having different transport characteristics (Fig. 2); and
a server (4) configured to communicate with each of the plurality of types of vehicle transport devices (3), the server comprises a processor configured to:
acquire vehicle information relating to a vehicle to be transported (Page 3, Para. 6); and
select a particular type of vehicle transport device from the plurality of types of vehicle transport devices (3) as a vehicle transport device for transporting the vehicle based on the vehicle information (Page 8, Para. 9; Page 7, Para. 7, transport device 3 is selected based on sensed information).
Tamura does not expressly disclose:
acquiring position information of the vehicle; or
identifying a camera closest to the vehicle based on the position information, the vehicle information being acquired based on an image generated by the identified camera.
Cole teaches: acquiring position information of the vehicle (Para. 0033), and the vehicle information is acquired based on an image generated by the camera (135)(Para. 0033) described above, for the purpose of providing an improved system that facilitates passenger off-loading and parking of vehicles at a large scale parking facility or location that requires passenger off-loading, that employs sensors, in conjunction with the control systems, to understand the world around each vehicle in order to reduce traffic accidents and other safety concerns, and improve the speed and flow of traffic on roadways (Para. 0002-0003).
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 system of Tamara with the: acquiring position information of the vehicle based on an image generated by the camera, and the vehicle information is acquired based on an image generated by the camera as taught in Cole for the purpose of providing an improved system that facilitates passenger off-loading and parking of vehicles at a large scale parking facility or location that requires passenger off-loading, that employs sensors, in conjunction with the control systems, to understand the world around each vehicle in order to reduce traffic accidents and other safety concerns, and improve the speed and flow of traffic on roadways.
Relative to claim 8, the disclosure of Tamura in view of Cole discloses all claim limitations above, but does not expressly disclose:
identifying a camera closest to the vehicle based on the position information; or the vehicle information is acquired based on an image generated by the identified camera.
Crain teaches:
identifying a camera based on the position information of the identified object (cameras, 305, located at various locations in the environment determine the positions of objects or people in the environment based on captured images, Para. 0143-0144; 0169; 0213; the system uses the captured image data to associate an identifier (370) of camera associated with a particular set of images using frame data, as well as a position of the identified camera); and
the object information is acquired based on an image generated by the identified camera (presence of a person or object in an environment; person’s identity, object identifier; 0400; 0430; 0029)(Fig. 3FR), for the purpose of providing a position tracking system for tracking the physical locations of people and/or objects that provides reliable and accurate tracking in real-time while reducing computing costs (Para. 0028; 0033).
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 system of Tamura in view of Cole with the: identifying a camera based on the position information of the identified object; and acquiring the object information based on an image generated by the identified camera described above, as taught in Crain, for the purpose of providing a position tracking system for tracking the physical locations of people and/or objects that provides reliable and accurate tracking in real-time while reducing computing costs.
Relative to claim 8, the disclosure of Tamura, Cole, and Crain, modified as above, discloses all claim limitations, but does not expressly disclose: identifying a camera that is closest to the object based on the position information, or the object being identified is a vehicle.
Tamura in view of Cole and Crain teaches: identifying a camera that is closest to the object based on the position information, and the object being identified is a vehicle as an obvious matter of design choice.
Crain discloses the cameras having the identifiers (370a) are at known locations in the environment (Para. 0213; 0207; 0149)(See positions of cameras in Fig. 3A, 3C, 3G). Since the position of the identified camera associated with a particular set of images of the object is known, and the position of the object known, the camera that is closest to the object can be determined based on the known positions of the cameras in the environment, and the position of the object.
Moreover, the system of Tamura in view of Cole and Crain can be further modified so that the object being tracked is a vehicle is also a matter of design choice based on the user’s preference. The surveillance system in Crain is flexible and can be easily applied to a variety of other types of environments and physical spaces, including places where vehicles may be tracked (Para. 0123; 0493).
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 system of Tamura in view of Cole and Crain to include: identifying a camera that is closest to the object based on the position information, and the object being identified is a vehicle as an obvious matter of design choice since the positions of the cameras in the environment, as well as the position of the object captured by the identified camera is known. Moreover, the system is flexible and can be applied to a variety of other types of environments and physical spaces, including places where vehicles are tracked.
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 system of Tamura in view of Cole and Crain to include: identifying a camera that is closest to the object based on the position information, and the object being identified is a vehicle as an obvious matter of design choice since the positions of the cameras in the environment and the determined position of the object captured by the camera is known. Moreover, the object being tracked can be a vehicle since the system is flexible and can be easily applied to a variety of other types of environments and physical spaces.
Claim(s) 10 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Tamura and Crain as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Vastad (WO 2004/068417 A1). Relative to claim 10, Tamura in view of Crain discloses all claim limitations mentioned above, but does not expressly disclose: the camera is a movable camera.
Vastad teaches: the camera is a movable camera (Page 8, line 36), for the purpose of providing a system and method for identifying vehicles when entering and exiting a monitored area that is accurate and can reduce the risks of theft of vehicles from public car parks (Page 2, lines 4-12; Page 3, Lines 1-10).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art on or before the time of the filing to modify the system of Tamura and Crain with the movable camera as taught in Vastad for the purpose of providing a system and method for identifying vehicles when entering and exiting a monitored area that is accurate and can reduce the risks of theft of vehicles from public car parks.
Related Art:
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Xiong et al: drawn to a video surveillance systems and for object detection. Each camera of a set of cameras may be assigned a unique identifier to associate video data with the camera with which it was received (Para. 0042).
King et al (US PG. Pub. 2009/0109295): includes a moving camera (Para. 0046).
Conclusion
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 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.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to YOLANDA RENEE CUMBESS whose telephone number is (571)270-5527. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9-5.
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, Ernesto Suarez can be reached at 571-270-5565. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/YOLANDA R CUMBESS/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3655