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 communication is responsive to application filed on 02/21/2023.
Claims 1-20 are presented for examination.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 02/21/2023 is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claims 1-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US Publication No. 2023/0343051 A1 issued to RUMP et al in view of US Publication No. 2012/0205905 A1 issued to DEGOTT et al.
1. RUMP et al discloses a system, comprising:
a processor (See: [0098] The present disclosure further provides a system for visualizing the appearances of at least two materials. The system comprises a display device, at least one processor and at least one memory, the memory comprising program instructions configured to cause the processor to carry out the above-described method, using the display device); and
a memory storing processor-executable instructions that, when executed by the processor (See: [0098] The present disclosure further provides a system for visualizing the appearances of at least two materials. The system comprises a display device, at least one processor and at least one memory, the memory comprising program instructions configured to cause the processor to carry out the above-described method, using the display device), cause the processor to:
receive geometric data relating to a geometry of an object (See: Abstract, a first instance (56) of an appearance model is obtained, the first instance being indicative of an appearance of a first material, and a second instance (66) of the appearance model is obtained, the second instance (66) being indicative of an appearance of a second material. A virtual object (72) having a continuous three-dimensional surface geometry is visualized together using a display device; par [0021] obtaining a first instance of an appearance model, the first instance being indicative of an appearance of a first material; par [0022] obtaining a second instance of the appearance model, the second instance being indicative of an appearance of a second material; and par [0023] obtaining a geometric model of a virtual object, the geometric model defining a three-dimensional macroscopic surface geometry of the virtual object) characterized by a curved surface (See: par [0032] The geometric model defines a three-dimensional macroscopic surface geometry of the virtual object. Preferably the macroscopic surface geometry is curved along at least two mutually orthogonal directions. In some embodiments, a combination of small polygonal planar surfaces (e.g., a polygon mesh) may be used in the geometric model to represent a curved surface of the virtual object);
determine a substrate representation of a substrate color associated with the object based on the geometric data (See: par [0058] In each case, the appearance capture device may be a multi-angle spectrophotometer, which is configured to determine color attributes for a plurality of combinations of illumination and viewing directions. The appearance capture devices may further have imaging capabilities to determine texture attributes in addition to color attributes; [0093] The appearance model may further comprise a discrete color table having a plurality of entries in the form of color values, each entry being associated with a particular set of coordinates, each set of coordinates being indicative of lighting and viewing directions under which the material is viewed. The color values can be expressed in an arbitrary color space, e.g. a trichromatic color space like RGB or CIEXYZ, or any other color space like CIELAB (L*a*b*), or in the form of spectral data representative of a spectral response of a material to incident light, in arbitrary format. Generating an instance of the appearance model may then comprise at least one of the following operations: [0094] (i) determining entries of the discrete color table by interpolating between available color attributes at different combinations of illumination and viewing directions; and/or [0095] (ii) determining entries of the discrete color table by extrapolating from available color attributes at different combinations of illumination and viewing directions; [0097] The appearance model may further include a model of the effects of a clear coating layer on top of an opaque of translucent paint layer);
determine a coating representation of a coating applied to the object based on the geometric data and a thin film model of the coating (See: par [0033] In some embodiments, the first and second materials may be essentially opaque materials, e.g., coatings as they are used in the automobile industry for coating vehicle parts, or opaque plastics. In other embodiments, the first and second materials may be translucent materials, e.g. translucent plastics. The appearance model may be specifically adapted to a particular class of materials. For instance, for vehicle coatings, the appearance model may include a model of the effects of a clear coating layer on top of an opaque or translucent paint layer and/or a model of the effects of reflecting flakes in the paint layer. As another example, for translucent materials, the appearance model may model subsurface light transport of the material, using volumetric absorption and scattering coefficients and phase function parameters to solve the radiative transfer equation); and
displaying the coating representation superimposed on the substrate representation (See: par [0024] visualizing, using a display device, a scene comprising the virtual object, using the first and second instances of the appearance model and the geometric model, together with a virtual separating element or a blending region, [0025] wherein the virtual object has first and second portions, [0026] wherein the first portion of the virtual object is visualized using the first instance of the appearance model, [0027] wherein the second portion of the virtual object is visualized using the second instance of the appearance model; par [0122] generate visualizations (i.e., render and display) of a virtual object under arbitrary illumination and viewing conditions, using the appearance model combined with a geometric model of the virtual object. For any portion of the surface of a virtual object whose geometry is defined by the geometric model and for any given illumination and viewing angle, an appearance model provides the necessary information to calculate appropriate appearance attributes).
RUMP et al fails to disclose but DEGOTT et al discloses simulate an appearance of the coating applied to the object (See: par [0010] combining first and second coatings applied to a plurality of first and second contiguous zones on a substrate, such that the first coating includes oriented pigment particles whose orientations imitate a first curved surface, and the second coating includes oriented pigment particles whose orientations imitate a second curved surface different from said first curved surface, a device showing a dynamic visual motion effect can be produced. The image represented by the first zones and the image represented by the second zones appear to move in different planes in space upon tilting the substrate. The dynamic visual motion effect is some sort of optical illusion, simulating parallax, which is perceived upon changing the angle of view, and which is displayed by the said combination of first and second zones of coatings having said particular pigment orientations; [0029] In a more sophisticated embodiment, the first and/or the second coatings are present in the form of indicia, such as a text or a logo or an image; e.g. a second, fine-line coating representing second indicia can be applied over a first, coarse-line coating representing first indicia. Upon tilting the device, the first and second indicia appear to move relative to each other, such that they are visually perceived as belonging to different planes in space, resulting in a dynamic 3-dimensional depth effect through simulation of parallax).
It would have been obvious before the effective filing date to combine visual motion effect as taught by DEGOTT et al to visualize the appearances of at least two materials RUMP et al would be to show a dynamic visual motion effect upon tilting, such that one part of the image appears to move in a different plane than the rest (DEGOTT et al, par [0003]).
2. RUMP et al discloses the system of claim 1, wherein the geometric data comprises a three- dimensional model file characterizing a point cloud (See: [0029] In the present invention, a scene comprising an arbitrary three-dimensional virtual object is visualized, wherein two different portions of the virtual object are visualized side-by-side, separated by a virtual separating structure or a blending region; [0032] In the present invention, at least one virtual object is visualized. The geometry of the virtual object is described by a three-dimensional geometric model. The geometric model defines a three-dimensional macroscopic surface geometry of the virtual object).
3. RUMP et al discloses the system of claim 1, wherein the processor-executable instructions further cause the processor to determine a surface of the object to be coated by the coating (See: [0118] The term “recipe” is to be understood as relating to a collection of information that determines how a material is to be prepared. The material may comprise a coating material, such as automotive paint, a solid material, such as plastic materials, a semi-solid material, such as gels, and combinations thereof; par [0149] In a second aspect, the computer system executes color formulation software 104. The color formulation software 104 determines one or more candidate recipes 60 from a database of reference recipes. Each candidate recipe defines a candidate material (in the present example, a candidate paint coating) whose appearance attributes are likely to match the measured appearance attributes 54 of the target material, the candidate material comprising one or more colorants in a base formulation).
4. RUMP et al discloses the system of claim 1, wherein the processor-executable instructions further cause the processor to generate a plurality of reflectance curves as a function of a plurality of angles of incidence based on the thin film model (See: par [0030] an appearance model may be a BRDF model, which describes spectral reflectance as a function of illumination and viewing directions only, without considering spatial variations; par [0152] it comprises curved or rectilinear surface portions that have directions perpendicular to the surface portions pointing into many different directions. In 3D computer graphics, it is well known to use a polygonal modeling as an approach for modeling objects by representing or approximating their surfaces using polygon meshes. These polygon meshes are also considered to be a continuously curved three-dimensional macroscopic surface if the polygon meshes essentially appear as a continuously curved surface when rendered).
5. RUMP et al discloses the system of claim 4, wherein the processor-executable instructions further cause the processor to determine a plurality of color values as a function of the reflectance curves and the angles of incidence (See: [0030] The term “appearance” as used in the present disclosure includes both color and texture, “texture” being broadly understood as describing spatial variations of appearance across the surface of an object. An “appearance model” is a formal construct that describes appearance in mathematical terms, using a plurality of material-dependent parameters called “appearance attributes”. The appearance attributes may include color attributes and texture attributes. In simple embodiments, an appearance model describes only the dependence of color on the illumination and viewing conditions, without considering spatial variations of appearance across a surface of an object. For instance, in simple embodiments, an appearance model may be a BRDF model, which describes spectral reflectance as a function of illumination and viewing directions only, without considering spatial variations).
6. RUMP et al discloses the system of claim 4, wherein the processor-executable instructions further cause the processor to: receive a user input corresponding to a viewing angle and a viewing distance; and determine a point of view from the viewing angle (See: par [0126] A “bidirectional reflectance distribution function” (BRDF) is to be understood in the usual sense as a function that defines how light is reflected at an opaque surface dependent on illumination and viewing directions, providing the ratio of reflected radiance exiting along a viewing direction to the irradiance incident on the surface from an illumination direction) and the viewing distance (See: [0030] The term “appearance” as used in the present disclosure includes both color and texture, “texture” being broadly understood as describing spatial variations of appearance across the surface of an object. An “appearance model” is a formal construct that describes appearance in mathematical terms, using a plurality of material-dependent parameters called “appearance attributes”. The appearance attributes may include color attributes and texture attributes. In simple embodiments, an appearance model describes only the dependence of color on the illumination and viewing conditions, without considering spatial variations of appearance across a surface of an object. For instance, in simple embodiments, an appearance model may be a BRDF model, which describes spectral reflectance as a function of illumination and viewing directions only, without considering spatial variations).
7. RUMP et al discloses the system of claim 6, wherein the processor-executable instructions further cause the processor to: determine localized angles of incidence as a function of the point of view (See: par [0030] The appearance attributes may include color attributes and texture attributes. In simple embodiments, an appearance model describes only the dependence of color on the illumination and viewing conditions, without considering spatial variations of appearance across a surface of an object. For instance, in simple embodiments, an appearance model may be a BRDF model, which describes spectral reflectance as a function of illumination and viewing directions only, without considering spatial variations); determine color values for the object as a function of the localized angles of incidence (See: par [0058] In each case, the appearance capture device may be a multi-angle spectrophotometer, which is configured to determine color attributes for a plurality of combinations of illumination and viewing directions. The appearance capture devices may further have imaging capabilities to determine texture attributes in addition to color attributes); and display a representation of the object from the point of view based on the determined color values (See: par [0122] generate visualizations (i.e., render and display) of a virtual object under arbitrary illumination and viewing conditions, using the appearance model combined with a geometric model of the virtual object. For any portion of the surface of a virtual object whose geometry is defined by the geometric model and for any given illumination and viewing angle, an appearance model provides the necessary information to calculate appropriate appearance attributes).
As per Claims 8-20: The instant claims recite substantially same limitation as the above rejected claims 1-7, and therefore rejected under the same rationale.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Kuepper et al (US Patent No. 8,647,710 B2) discloses having a patterned optical coating on a curved surface is provided, applying a masking to a sub-area of the curved surface applying an optical coating using a vacuum deposition method, and removing the masking, the coated substrate includes a curved surface that is provided with at least one patterned optical coating, the at least one patterned optical coating is provided on at least one sub-area of the curved surface and is missing on at least one adjacent sub-area (Abstract).
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to KIBROM K GEBRESILASSIE whose telephone number is (571)272-8571. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9:00 AM-5:30 PM.
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KIBROM K. GEBRESILASSIE
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 2189
/KIBROM K GEBRESILASSIE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2189 06/16/2026
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