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 .
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim(s) 1-2, 6-8, 15-16, and 19-21 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Green et al. (WO 2015/075700).
Regarding to claims 1, 19-21:
Green et al. discloses a method performed by a computer processor for calculating a digital terrain model (DTM) for a target portion of the surface of the Earth (Claim 1: An enhanced digital terrain model having enhance resolution and accuracy for a target portion of the surface of the Earth), the method comprising:
receiving a digital elevation model (DEM) for the target portion, the DEM specifying an approximate elevation for each of a plurality of target points on the Earth within the portion (Claim 1(a): The base digital terrain model reads on the claimed digital elevation model because it specifies an elevation for sub-portions of the target portion);
receiving a digital surface model (DSM), produced using a spaceborne or airborne vehicle that has imaged the target portion, specifying, for each of the target points, the elevation above the target point of an obstructing surface visible from the spaceborne or airborne vehicle when the vehicle is in flight above the target point or, where there is no obstructing surface above the target point, the elevation of the target point (Claim 1(e) and paragraph [00069]: The digital surface model (DSM) describes the height ad geographic coordinates of the surface of the Earth visible from the air (from aircraft) or from space (from spacecraft));
correcting elevation errors in the DEM, wherein:
the elevation errors in the DEM comprises errors by land cover, the land cover including vegetation obstructing a view of the target points (Claim 2 and paragraph [00018]: The error correction functions are based on a land-use (land-cover) data),
the elevation errors in the DEM comprises errors caused by terrain curvature (claim 1(f-g)): The terrain curvature error correction),
correcting the elevation errors comprises a land cover correction using imagery and related ancillary data, the imagery and ancillary data being acquired at a period of time corresponding to the time of the acquisition of DEM data, the imagery being radiometrically corrected for the effects of topography on image brightness (paragraph [00018]: The error correction functions are based on a land-use (land-cover) data. Paragraph [000171]-[000172]: Elevation error correction is needed to resolve image blurring due to the topographic variations or the variable signal penetration through vegetation),
correcting the elevation errors comprises a curvature correction using the DSM (Claim 1(f): Calculating a terrain curvature based on the digital surface model);
calibrating a model using reference points, each reference point having accurate values of latitude, longitude and elevation, using statistical techniques or machine learning, for predicting the amount of local elevation correction needed at each target point as a function of land cover (Claim 2: The land-use error correction function is calculated based on land-use (land cover));
calibrating a model using reference points, each reference point having accurate values of latitude, longitude and elevation, using statistical techniques or machine learning, for predicting the amount of local elevation correction needed at each target point as a function of terrain curvature (Claim 4: The terrain curvature error correction function is calculated by regressing the errors); and
applying the models at each target point of the DEM to produce the DTM (paragraph [00064]: The enhance DTM is derived from the original/base DTM, which is DEM as address above).
Regarding to claim 2: wherein the land cover correction is done by extracting at each target point the land cover characteristics from the imagery and ancillary data, predicting the amount of local elevation correction as a function of land cover using the land cover model, and correcting the elevation of the target point elevation accordingly (paragraph [00018]-[00020]: The error correction function is based on land-use (land cover) data such as forest attribute data).
Regarding to claim 6: wherein the imagery and ancillary data are acquired at a period of time within 7 years of the acquisition of DEM data (paragraph [00077]: The land-use data is acquired within a few years).
Regarding to claim 7: wherein the reference points are geodetic survey points, global navigation satellite system (GNSS) points, airborne light detection and ranging (LIDAR) points, or spaceborne LIDAR points (paragraph [00051]).
Regarding to claim 15: wherein the ancillary data includes date, sun position, and view angle corresponding to the imagery (paragraph [000135]).
Regarding to claims 8 and 16: wherein the accurate values of the latitude and longitude of the reference points are accurate to within 10 m and the accurate values of the elevations of the reference points are accurate to within 1 m, wherein the approximate elevation for each of the plurality of target points is accurate to within 30 m (paragraph [00073]: The geographic data may include a precise geolocation to within a defined accuracy, for example, less than 1 meter error. Paragraph [000228]: The height was measured to within +- 0.1 meter accuracy).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 4 is objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
The primary reasons for the indication of the allowability of the claim is the inclusions therein, in combination as currently claimed, of the limitation that wherein calculation of the land cover model is done by receiving imagery and ancillary data collected by a spaceborne or airborne vehicle of the target portion, correcting the imagery for the radiometric effects of topography and sun position in the case of optical imagery, or topography and the view angle in the case of radar images, extracting the corrected image values at the latitude and longitude of the reference points, calculating the difference between the elevation of reference points and the corresponding elevation of the DEM at the latitudes and longitudes or the reference points, and establishing a relationship between the image values and the corresponding elevation differences by calibrating a statistical or machine learning model is neither disclosed nor taught by the cited prior art of record, alone or in combination.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 8/5/2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
In response to Applicant’s Remarks about the correction of the imagery for the effects of topography on image brightness, the Examiner cites that, the Specification as filed does not specifically describe how to perform such correction. The Specification indeed simply repeats the claim language without further explain or describe how the correction takes place. As a result, the claimed imagery correction is simply interpreted broadly just for improving the image quality, such as reducing the blurring that affects the image brightness resolution. The claim rejection regarding to this correction thus is made as above in light of such interpretation.
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 LAM S NGUYEN whose telephone number is (571)272-2151.
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/LAM S NGUYEN/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2853
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