DETAILED ACTION
Claims 3, 4, 6, 16, 17 and 19 have been cancelled.
Claims 1, 2, 5, 7-15, 18 and 20 are currently pending.
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on 1/29/26 has been entered.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 1/29/26 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
The Applicant argues on page 8 of the response in essence that: Besides, the technical solution of Lee does not separately detect the luminescence information (for example, one or more of brightness, chroma and saturation) of the flash light LF, but rather detects the spectral content or color temperature of the ambient light LA, or the spectral content of the combination of the ambient light LA and the flash light LF.
In response to applicant's argument that the references fail to show certain features of the invention, it is noted that the features upon which applicant relies (i.e., separately detecting the luminescence information of the flash light LF) are not recited in the rejected claims. Although the claims are interpreted in light of the specification, limitations from the specification are not read into the claims. See In re Van Geuns, 988 F.2d 1181, 26 USPQ2d 1057 (Fed. Cir. 1993).
The Applicant argues on pages 8 and 9 of the response in essence that: In contrast, amended claim 1 provides that the illumination information acquisition circuit is configured to acquire one or more of brightness, chroma and saturation of light emitted by the external flash, then the color correction processing circuit performs color correction processing according to one or more of brightness, chroma and saturation of light emitted by the external flash and generates color correction result information, and the external flash corrects illumination according to the color correction result information. Accordingly, the technical solution of amended claim 1 detects one or more of brightness, chroma and saturation of light emitted by the external flash, rather than detecting the ambient light, or the combination of the ambient light and the flash light.
The present invention detects illumination information via the light pick-up portion 202. The disclosure does not provide that light pick-up portion 202 receives illumination information without detecting ambient light. It is unclear how a light sensor would be able to detect the light emitted by the external flash without detecting at least a portion of ambient light. Therefore, the Examiner disagrees with the statement that the technical solution of the present invention is detecting the light of the external flash rather than detecting ambient light.
The Applicant argues on page 9 of the response in essence that: Thus, Lee fails to disclose "an illumination information acquisition circuit configured to acquire illumination information of the external flash; wherein the illumination information comprises one or more of brightness, chroma and saturation of light emitted by the external flash," as required by amended claim 1.
Lee discloses that the color detector 20 senses the spectral content of the combination of the ambient light LA and flash light LF provided by light module 14 (step 54) (paragraph 23). Regardless of whether color detector 20 also senses ambient light, color detector 20 senses flash light LF which is illumination information comprising one or more of brightness, chroma and saturation of light emitted by the external flash. Furthermore, using the camera of Lee in a dark room in which there is no ambient light results in the color detector 20 sensing only the light emitted by the external flash.
The Applicant argues on page 9 of the response in essence that: In addition, the features of the amended claim 1 have an effect of the illumination correction of the external flash, avoiding the deviation of lighting effect of the external flash caused by long-term use of the external flash. However, the technical solution of Lee does not involve eliminating deviation of lighting effect of the light module. In other words, when the lighting effect of the light module of Lee deviates from the original lighting effect, the technical solution of Lee cannot eliminate the deviation of the lighting effect. The technical solution of Lee aims to achieve a target spectral content or color temperature of the combined ambient light LA and supplemental flash light LF. Thus, the technical effects of the amended claim 1 and the technical solution of Lee are different.
Lee discloses adjusting a spectral content of a flash to provide optimal lighting (paragraph 3). Adjusting the spectral content of the flash would have the effect of compensating for deviation of the lighting effect of the flash caused by long-term use.
The Applicant argues on pages 10 and 11 of the response in essence that: However, the technical solution of Gu regulates the light emission of the light supplement module by adjusting the PWM signal, rather than programming the message of the PWM signal on the chip of the light supplement module. Gu has no motivation to program the message of the PWM signal on the chip of the light supplement module, because the message of the PWM signal can change dynamically. See Gu at paragraph [0096]. That is, the message of the PWM signal is a temporary message. Constantly programming the temporary message into the chip can inevitably increase the chip's power consumption and damage the hardware within the chip.
Gu discloses that the light supplement module further includes a processor, and the processor is electrically connected to the color temperature control chip 104 (paragraph 55). The processor and the color temperature control chip 104 starts the light supplement module, controls the light emitting state of the LED in the light supplement module, increases the proportion of red light, or reduces the proportion of green light and blue light, and supplements light with high value of color temperature to the camera (paragraph 60). The operations performed by the processor to adjust the color temperature program the color correction result information on a control chip of the external flash. It is irrelevant whether the adjustment might be made dynamically.
The Applicant argues on page 11 of the response in essence that: Accordingly, the control logic for color correction of the external flash in amended claim 1 and the control logic for adjusting the light supplement module in the technical solution of Gu are different.
Lee discloses the color correction result information is generated according to one or more of brightness, chroma, and saturation of light emitted by the external flash (paragraph 23, The spectral content of the flash light LF provided by the light module 14 is then adjusted according to the control signal 17 that is communicated to the driver 16 to form an automatic or semi-automatic color-control feedback system (step 56). In this example, the driver 16 adjusts the drive signals SR, SG, SB to the emitters R1-RL, G1-GM, B1-BN in the light module 14 to achieve a target spectral content or color temperature of the combined ambient light LA and supplemental flash light LF). In response to applicant's arguments against the references individually, one cannot show nonobviousness by attacking references individually where the rejections are based on combinations of references. See In re Keller, 642 F.2d 413, 208 USPQ 871 (CCPA 1981); In re Merck & Co., 800 F.2d 1091, 231 USPQ 375 (Fed. Cir. 1986).
The Applicant argues on page 11 of the response in essence that: In addition, the technical solution of Gu does not involve eliminating deviation of the lighting effect of light supplemental module. In other words, when the lighting effect of light supplemental module of Gu deviates from the original lighting effect, the technical solution of Gu cannot eliminate the deviation of the lighting effect.
In response to applicant's argument that the references fail to show certain features of the invention, it is noted that the features upon which applicant relies (i.e., eliminating deviation of the lighting effect) are not recited in the rejected claims. Although the claims are interpreted in light of the specification, limitations from the specification are not read into the claims. See In re Van Geuns, 988 F.2d 1181, 26 USPQ2d 1057 (Fed. Cir. 1993).
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.
Claims 1, 5, 7, 13, 14, 18 and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lee et al. US Publication 2005/0134723 (hereafter “Lee”) and Gu et al. US Publication 2020/0375005 (hereafter “Gu”).
Referring to claim 1, Lee discloses a color correction device, configured to perform color correction on an external flash, comprising:
an illumination information acquisition circuit configured to acquire illumination information of the external flash, wherein the illumination information comprises one or more of brightness, chroma, and saturation of light emitted by the external flash (paragraph 23, In yet another operating mode 50 of the embodiments of the present invention (shown in FIG. 6B), the light module 14 is activated prior to image acquisitions so that the series of emitters provides the flash light LF to the subject 13 of an image (step 52). This pre-flash of the light module 14 is sufficiently long for the color detector 20 to sense the spectral content of the combination of the ambient light LA and flash light LF provided by light module 14 (step 54));
a color correction processing circuit electrically connected to the illumination information acquisition circuit, so as to be configured to perform color correction processing according to the illumination information and generate color correction result information (paragraph 23, The spectral content of the flash light LF provided by the light module 14 is then adjusted according to the control signal 17 that is communicated to the driver 16 to form an automatic or semi-automatic color-control feedback system (step 56). In this example, the driver 16 adjusts the drive signals SR, SG, SB to the emitters R1-RL, G1-GM, B1-BN in the light module 14 to achieve a target spectral content or color temperature of the combined ambient light LA and supplemental flash light LF); and
a communication circuit configured to communicate with the external flash, the communication circuit being electrically connected to the color correction processing circuit, so as to receive the color correction result information and send the color correction result information to the external flash, so that the external flash corrects illumination according to the color correction result information (paragraph 18, The embodiment of the present invention shown in FIG. 4 is directed toward the light module 14 housed separately from the camera 12 and for use in connection with the camera 12. In this embodiment, the driver 16 (not shown) is integrated into the light module 14 or the camera 12, or the driver 16 is separate from the camera 12 and the light module 14).
Lee does not disclose expressly wherein the communication circuit comprises a communication circuit, or that a programming circuit is electrically connected to the color correction processing circuit and the external flash.
Gu discloses wherein the communication circuit comprises a communication interface, and the communication interface is electrically connected to a color correction processing device, and the communication interface is electrically connected to the external flash through a connection wire, so as to transmit the color correction result information to the external flash (paragraph 55, The light supplement module further includes a processor, and the processor is electrically connected to the color temperature control chip 104. A connection manner includes a Serial Peripheral Interface (SPI) or a serial interface, and the connection manner is not limited in this aspect);
wherein the color correction device further comprises a programming circuit, and the programming circuit is electrically connected to the color correction processing circuit and the external flash, so as to program the color correction result information output through the communication interface on a control chip of the external flash (paragraph 90, In step 33, the n PWM signals in the target group PWM signal is used to control the n LEDs respectively) (paragraph 94, the camera 601 is also connected to the color temperature controller 603 and the color temperature sensor 604, and the color temperature controller 603 is connected to the light supplement module 605).
At the time of the effective filing date of the claimed invention, it would have obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art to use a communication circuit to transmit information to an external flash, and to use the same programming circuit to program the color correction processing circuit and the external flash. The motivation for doing so would have been to connect the devices with a comparatively stabler connection and less computationally intensive communication interface, and to reduce the number of required devices and to make coordination between the color correction processing circuit and flash more efficient. Therefore, it would have been obvious to combine Gu with Lee to obtain the invention as specified in claim 1.
Referring to claims 5 and 18, Lee discloses wherein the color correction device further comprises a timing control circuit, and the timing control circuit is electrically connected to the illumination information acquisition circuit and is connected to the external flash by the communication circuit; and
wherein the timing control circuit is configured to control the external flash to emit light at a preset timing and control the illumination information acquisition circuit to acquire the illumination information at the preset timing (paragraph 25, While the amplitudes of each of the drive signals SR, SG, SB determine the relative color contributions of the particular color emitters to the flash light LF provided by the light module 14, a pulse of predesignated duration or width determines the time interval during which the emitters are activated. The activation of the emitters to provide flash light LF is initiated by a trigger TRIG provided to the driver 16 from the camera 12).
Referring to claims 7 and 20, Lee discloses wherein the external flash comprises a plurality of LED light sources (paragraph 13, In one embodiment, the emitters of the light module 14 are solid state light sources such as laser diodes or LEDs (light emitting diodes)), wherein the illumination information comprises one or more of brightness, chroma and saturation of each LED light source of the plurality of LED light sources (paragraph 23, The spectral content of the flash light LF provided by the light module 14 is then adjusted according to the control signal 17 that is communicated to the driver 16 to form an automatic or semi-automatic color-control feedback system (step 56). In this example, the driver 16 adjusts the drive signals SR, SG, SB to the emitters R1-RL, G1-GM, B1-BN in the light module 14 to achieve a target spectral content or color temperature of the combined ambient light LA and supplemental flash light LF).
Referring to claim 13, Lee discloses wherein the color correction device is a handheld device (paragraph 18, the light module 14 and driver 16 are integrated into a conventional camera 12).
Referring to claim 14, Lee discloses a color correction system comprising an external flash and a color correction device,
wherein the color correction device, configured to perform color correction on an external flash, comprising:
an illumination information acquisition circuit configured to acquire illumination information of the external flash, wherein the illumination information comprises one or more of brightness, chroma, and saturation of light emitted by the external flash (paragraph 23, In yet another operating mode 50 of the embodiments of the present invention (shown in FIG. 6B), the light module 14 is activated prior to image acquisitions so that the series of emitters provides the flash light LF to the subject 13 of an image (step 52). This pre-flash of the light module 14 is sufficiently long for the color detector 20 to sense the spectral content of the combination of the ambient light LA and flash light LF provided by light module 14 (step 54));
a color correction processing circuit electrically connected to the illumination information acquisition circuit, so as to be configured to perform color correction processing according to the illumination information and generate color correction result information (paragraph 23, The spectral content of the flash light LF provided by the light module 14 is then adjusted according to the control signal 17 that is communicated to the driver 16 to form an automatic or semi-automatic color-control feedback system (step 56). In this example, the driver 16 adjusts the drive signals SR, SG, SB to the emitters R1-RL, G1-GM, B1-BN in the light module 14 to achieve a target spectral content or color temperature of the combined ambient light LA and supplemental flash light LF); and
a communication circuit configured to communicate with the external flash, the communication circuit being electrically connected to the color correction processing circuit, so as to receive the color correction result information and send the color correction result information to the external flash, so that the external flash corrects illumination according to the color correction result information (paragraph 18, The embodiment of the present invention shown in FIG. 4 is directed toward the light module 14 housed separately from the camera 12 and for use in connection with the camera 12. In this embodiment, the driver 16 (not shown) is integrated into the light module 14 or the camera 12, or the driver 16 is separate from the camera 12 and the light module 14).
Lee does not disclose expressly wherein the communication circuit comprises a communication circuit, or that a programming circuit is electrically connected to the color correction processing circuit and the external flash.
Gu discloses wherein the communication circuit comprises a communication interface, and the communication interface is electrically connected to a color correction processing device, and the communication interface is electrically connected to the external flash through a connection wire, so as to transmit the color correction result information to the external flash (paragraph 55, The light supplement module further includes a processor, and the processor is electrically connected to the color temperature control chip 104. A connection manner includes a Serial Peripheral Interface (SPI) or a serial interface, and the connection manner is not limited in this aspect);
wherein the color correction device further comprises a programming circuit, and the programming circuit is electrically connected to the color correction processing circuit and the external flash, so as to program the color correction result information output through the communication interface on a control chip of the external flash (paragraph 90, In step 33, the n PWM signals in the target group PWM signal is used to control the n LEDs respectively) (paragraph 94, the camera 601 is also connected to the color temperature controller 603 and the color temperature sensor 604, and the color temperature controller 603 is connected to the light supplement module 605).
At the time of the effective filing date of the claimed invention, it would have obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art to use a communication circuit to transmit information to an external flash, and to use the same programming circuit to program the color correction processing circuit and the external flash. The motivation for doing so would have been to connect the devices with a comparatively stabler connection and less computationally intensive communication interface, and to reduce the number of required devices and to make coordination between the color correction processing circuit and flash more efficient. Therefore, it would have been obvious to combine Gu with Lee to obtain the invention as specified in claim 14.
Claims 2 and 15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lee et al. US Publication 2005/0134723 and Gu et al. US Publication 2020/0375005 as applied to claims 1 and 14 above, and further in view of Minakuti et al. US Publication 2003/0076424 (hereafter “Minakuti”).
Referring to claims 2 and 15, Lee discloses receiving the color correction result information and transmitting the color correction result information to the external flash, but does not disclose expressly wherein the communication circuit comprises a wireless communication circuit.
Minakuti discloses wherein the communication circuit comprises a wireless communication circuit, and the wireless communication circuit is electrically connected to the color correction processing circuit, so as to receive the color correction result information and transmit the color correction result information to the external flash through wireless transmission (paragraph 57, Above the lens mount portion Mt, a radio communications interface (hereinafter, referred to as "radio I/F") 157 conformed with the Bluetooth (R) standard is provided. By the radio I/F 157, information such as color component values detected by the colorimeter 2 can be obtained from the colorimeter).
At the time of the effective filing date of the claimed invention, it would have obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art to use a wireless communication circuit to transmit information to an external flash. The motivation for doing so would have been to eliminate the need to physically connect the camera and flash and thereby increase the flexibility of arranging the devices. Therefore, it would have been obvious to combine Minakuti with Lee to obtain the invention as specified in claims 2 and 15.
Claims 8 and 9 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lee et al. US Publication 2005/0134723 and Gu et al. US Publication 2020/0375005 as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Beecroft et al. US Publication 2005/0229698 (hereafter “Beecroft”).
Referring to claim 8, Lee discloses wherein the color correction device comprises a main body and a light pick-up portion, and the illumination information acquisition circuit is located in the light pick-up portion (paragraph 23, In yet another operating mode 50 of the embodiments of the present invention (shown in FIG. 6B), the light module 14 is activated prior to image acquisitions so that the series of emitters provides the flash light LF to the subject 13 of an image (step 52). This pre-flash of the light module 14 is sufficiently long for the color detector 20 to sense the spectral content of the combination of the ambient light LA and flash light LF provided by light module 14 (step 54)).
Lee does not disclose expressly that light pick-up portion protrudes from one side of the main body.
Beecroft discloses wherein the color correction device comprises a main body and a light pick-up portion protruding from one side of the main body (paragraph 31, The SOC410 of FIG. 1 is comprised of two modular pieces, the measurement head 1, 2 and the command module 3, 4, 5, 6).
At the time of the effective filing date of the claimed invention, it would have obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art to provide a light pick-up portion protruding from one side of the main body. The motivation for doing so would have been to use different light pick-up portions attachable to the main body because this would allow for measurement of different types of illumination for adaptability to different scenes. Therefore, it would have been obvious to combine Beecroft with Lee to obtain the invention as specified in claim 8.
Referring to claim 9, Beecroft discloses wherein the main body is detachably connected to the light pick-up portion (paragraph 31, The SOC410 of FIG. 1 is comprised of two modular pieces, the measurement head 1, 2 and the command module 3, 4, 5, 6).
Claims 10-12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lee et al. US Publication 2005/013472, Gu et al. US Publication 2020/0375005, and Beecroft et al. US Publication 2005/0229698 as applied to claim 8 above, and further in view of Zhou et al. US Publication 2017/0202075 (hereafter “Zhou”).
Referring to claim 10, Lee discloses wherein the color correction device further comprises a human-computer interaction assembly, and the human-computer interaction assembly is provided on the main body (paragraph 18, FIG. 3 shows an embodiment of the imaging system 10 wherein the elements are integrated into a mobile phone [FIG. 3 shows keys]), but does not disclose expressly
the human-computer interaction assembly used for receiving a color correction instruction, receiving a color correction setting parameter, or switching color correction modes.
Zhou wherein the human-computer interaction assembly is electrically connected to the illumination information acquisition circuit and the color correction processing circuit, and the human-computer interaction assembly is used for one or more of receiving a color correction instruction, receiving a color correction setting parameter, and switching color correction modes (paragraph 59, The detected region determining information may be, but not limited to, a detected region selecting instruction input by a user. For example, a user selects at least a part of regions from the photograph framing image and uses the region selected by the user as the detected region).
At the time of the effective filing date of the claimed invention, it would have obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art to provide a human-computer interaction assembly. The motivation for doing so would have been to make it convenient for a user to select, according to actual needs, which regions in the photograph framing image need adjustment, so as to cause determining of whether illumination control needs to be performed on the to-be-adjusted region to match a user requirement better, thereby helping to satisfy various user requirements and improve user's experience. Therefore, it would have been obvious to combine Zhou with Lee and Beecroft to obtain the invention as specified in claim 10.
Referring to claim 11, Lee discloses wherein the human- computer interaction assembly comprises one or more of a key reception assembly, a voice input assembly, a touch input assembly, and a gesture control assembly (paragraph 18, FIG. 3 shows an embodiment of the imaging system 10 wherein the elements are integrated into a mobile phone [FIG. 3 shows keys]).
Referring to claim 12, Lee discloses wherein the color correction device further comprises a display screen, and the display screen is provided on the main body (paragraph 18, FIG. 3 shows an embodiment of the imaging system 10 wherein the elements are integrated into a mobile phone [FIG. 3 shows a display]).
Lee does not disclose expressly wherein a displayed content of the color correction control interface includes one or more of color correction start-stop information, color correction parameter setting information, and color correction mode switching information.
Zhou discloses wherein the display screen is configured to display a color correction control interface, and wherein a displayed content of the color correction control interface includes one or more of color correction start-stop information, color correction parameter setting information, and color correction mode switching information (paragraph 59, The detected region determining information may be, but not limited to, a detected region selecting instruction input by a user. For example, a user selects at least a part of regions from the photograph framing image and uses the region selected by the user as the detected region).
At the time of the effective filing date of the claimed invention, it would have obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art to receive a user instruction for color correction control. The motivation for doing so would have been to make it convenient for a user to select, according to actual needs, which regions in the photograph framing image need adjustment, so as to cause determining of whether illumination control needs to be performed on the to-be-adjusted region to match a user requirement better, thereby helping to satisfy various user requirements and improve user's experience. Therefore, it would have been obvious to combine Zhou with Lee and Beecroft to obtain the invention as specified in claim 12.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to PETER K HUNTSINGER whose telephone number is (571)272-7435. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday 8:30 - 5:00.
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/PETER K HUNTSINGER/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2682