DETAILED ACTION
The United States Patent & Trademark Office appreciates the response filed for the current application that is submitted on 04/16/2026. The United States Patent & Trademark Office reviewed the following documents submitted and has made the following comments below.
Amendment
Applicant submitted amendments on 04/16/2026. The Examiner acknowledges the amendment and has reviewed the claims accordingly.
Priority
Acknowledgment Applicant claims the benefit of foreign application CN 202110120697.6 filed 01/28/2021. Claims 1, 3, 5-8, 10, 13, 15-19, and 21 have been afforded the benefit of this filing date.
Information Disclosure Statement
The IDS dated 07/27/2023 and 08/27/2024 have been previously considered and placed in the application file.
Overview
Claims 1, 3, 5-8, 10, 13, 15-19 and 21 are pending in this application and have been considered below.
Claims 2, 4, 9, 11-12, 14, 20 and 22 have been cancelled.
Claims 1, 3, 5-8, 10, 13, 15-19 and 21 are rejected.
Applicant Arguments:
In regards to the argument on Argument 1, Applicant/s state/s “The subject matter of claims 19 and 21 has been amended into "A non-transitory computer readable storage medium" as suggested by the Examiner. Thus, amended claims 19 and 21 are directed to a statutory subject matter and patent eligible. Reconsideration and withdrawal of the rejection is respectfully requested.” therefore, the rejection of 35 U.S.C. 101 should be withdrawn (See Remarks, page 9, paragraph 3).
In regards to the argument on Argument 2, Applicant/s state/s “Diao is a Chinese patent application with a publication date of June 30, 2023. The effective filing date (i.e., the priority date) of the current US application is January 28, 2021. Therefore, Diao cannot be used as the prior art for evaluating novelty and inventiveness of the current US application. Thus, claim 1 is patentable over Chao and Bin. Accordingly, claims 3, 5-8 which depend from claim 1 are also patentable at least by virtue of their dependence on an allowable base claim 1.” therefore, the rejection of 35 U.S.C. 103 should be withdrawn (See Remarks, page 10, paragraph 2-3).
In regards to the argument on Argument 3, Applicant/s state/s “Claim 10 which an electronic device corresponding to method claim 1 is also patentable for comprising all elements of claim 1. Claims 13, 15-18 which depend from claim 10 are also patentable at least by virtue of their dependence on an allowable base claim 10.” therefore, the rejection of 35 U.S.C. 103 should be withdrawn (See Remarks, page 10, paragraph 4).
In regards to the argument on Argument 4, Applicant/s state/s “Claim 19 which a computer-readable storage medium corresponding to method claim 1 is also patentable for comprising all elements of claim 1. Claim 21 which depends from claim 19 is also patentable at least by virtue of its dependence on an allowable base claim 19.” therefore, the rejection of 35 U.S.C. 103 should be withdrawn (See Remarks, page 10, paragraph 5).
Examiner’s Responses:
In response to Argument 1, Applicant’s arguments, see Remarks, filed, with respect to the rejection(s) of claims 19 and 21 under 35 U.S.C. 101 have been fully considered and is persuasive. Therefore, the rejection has been withdrawn.
In response to Argument 2-4, Applicant’s arguments, see Remarks, filed 04/16/2026, with respect to the rejection(s) of claim 1, 10, and 19 under 35 U.S.C. 103 have been fully considered and are persuasive. Therefore, the rejection has been withdrawn. However, upon further consideration, a new ground(s) of rejection is made for Claim 1, 10, 19 and its dependent claims under 35 U.S.C. 103 in view of Chao et al. (US Patent Publication CN109978777A (using US Patent Pub US20210295801A1 as translated document) hereafter referred to as Chao) in view of Bin et al. (Bin et al CN110120047A (using IP.com as translation document) hereafter referred to as Bin) in further view of Wang et al (US Patent Publication US 2018/0005410 A1) hereafter referred to as Wang).
The Examiner finds that Chao teaches on the amended claim language “the adjusting brightness of each pixel in the first image portion based on the brightness adjustment information of the pixel in the first image portion”. The Examiner also finds that Bin teaches on the amended claim language “dividing the first image into a plurality of image portions” and “for a first image portion of the plurality of image portions” and “by replacing”
Specifically, Chao teaches determining the brightness adjustment information for the pixels based on the overall brightness of the image as whole in ¶0092 and ¶0093 and ¶0141 and Fig 14. Chao also teaches adjusting the original image portion in ¶0130 and ¶0021. The Examiner interprets that Chao teaches the main concept of adjusted each image pixel of the first portion of the original image the additional details of the function and characteristics of the main concepts as stated above by the applicant in the amendments is taught by Wang in the details of the rejection below. The Examiner will maintain prior art Chao and details of the rejection are below. The Examiner also finds that Bin teaches to segment the original image in multiple portions to be processed in Pg 3 ¶07-¶09 and Pg 10 ¶09-¶13. The Examiner interprets that Chao in view of Bin teaches the main concept of segmenting the original image into portions to be processed and the additional details of the function and characteristics of the main concepts as stated above by the applicant in the amendments is taught by Wang in the details of the rejection below. The Examiner will maintain prior art Bin and details of the rejection are below.
Claim Interpretation
The claims in this application are given their broadest reasonable interpretation using the plain meaning of the claim language in light of the specification as it would be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art. The broadest reasonable interpretation of a claim element (also commonly referred to as a claim limitation) is limited by the description in the specification.
Under MPEP 2143.03, "All words in a claim must be considered in judging the patentability of that claim against the prior art." In re Wilson, 424 F.2d 1382, 1385, 165 USPQ 494, 496 (CCPA 1970). As a general matter, the grammar and ordinary meaning of terms as understood by one having ordinary skill in the art used in a claim will dictate whether, and to what extent, the language limits the claim scope. Language that suggests or makes a feature or step optional but does not require that feature or step does not limit the scope of a claim under the broadest reasonable claim interpretation. In addition, when a claim requires selection of an element from a list of alternatives, the prior art teaches the element if one of the alternatives is taught by the prior art. See, e.g., Fresenius USA, Inc. v. Baxter Int’l, Inc., 582 F.3d 1288, 1298, 92 USPQ2d 1163, 1171 (Fed. Cir. 2009).
Claim 6 recite “at least one of ” then listing “brightness of each pixel in the image, a position of each pixel in the image, and an image recognized object”. Since “at least one of” is disjunctive, any one of the elements found in the prior art is sufficient to reject the claim. While citations have been provided for completeness and rapid prosecution, only one element is required. Because, on balance, it appears the disjunctive interpretation enjoys the most specification support and for that reason the disjunctive interpretation (one of A, B OR C) is being adopted for the purposes of this Office Action. Applicant’s comments and/or amendments relating to this issue are invited to clarify the claim language and the prosecution history.
Claim 16 recite “at least one of ” then listing “brightness of each pixel in the image, a position of each pixel in the image, and an image recognized object”. Since “at least one of” is disjunctive, any one of the elements found in the prior art is sufficient to reject the claim. While citations have been provided for completeness and rapid prosecution, only one element is required. Because, on balance, it appears the disjunctive interpretation enjoys the most specification support and for that reason the disjunctive interpretation (one of A, B OR C) is being adopted for the purposes of this Office Action. Applicant’s comments and/or amendments relating to this issue are invited to clarify the claim language and the prosecution history.
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, 3, 5-8, 10, 13, 15-19 and 21 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as unpatentable over Chao et al. (US Patent Publication CN109978777A (using US Patent Pub US20210295801A1 as translated document) hereafter referred to as Chao) in view of Bin et al. (Bin et al CN110120047A (using IP.com as translation document) hereafter referred to as Bin) in further view of Wang et al (US Patent Publication US 2018/0005410 A1) hereafter referred to as Wang).
Regarding Claim 1, Chao teaches an image brightness adjustment method (Chao ¶0005 discloses a method for adjusting image luminance), comprising:
obtaining a first image to be adjusted (Chao ¶0130, 0021 discloses an original image to be adjusted);
determining a brightness adjustment strategy based on brightness of the first image portion (Chao ¶0115, ¶0136 discloses determining an adjustment intensity using a formula containing the luminance distribution of the adjacent pixels) and performing brightness adjustment on the first image portion (Chao ¶0130, 0021 discloses an original image to be adjusted) in accordance with the brightness adjustment strategy (Chai ¶0015 discloses an adjustment module that adjusts the pixel luminance to a target value), to obtain a second image portion (Chao ¶0129 discloses generating a second image from the first image); and
obtaining a second image (Chao ¶0129 discloses generating a second image from the first image)
in the first image (Chao ¶0130, 0021 discloses an original image to be adjusted), the first image portion with the second image portion (Chao ¶0129 discloses generating a second image corresponding to the original image),
wherein said determining the brightness adjustment strategy based on the brightness of the first image portion (Chao ¶0115, ¶0136 discloses determining an adjustment intensity using a formula containing the luminance distribution of the adjacent pixels) and performing the brightness adjustment on the first image portion (Chao ¶0130, 0021 discloses an original image to be adjusted) in accordance with the brightness adjustment strategy (Chai ¶0015 discloses an adjustment module that adjusts the pixel luminance to a target value), comprises:
determining brightness adjustment information for each pixel (Chao ¶0092-¶0093 discloses determining the color luminance value in each pixel to determine if the pixel needs to be adjusted) in the first image portion based on overall brightness of the first image portion (Chao ¶0141 and Fig 14 discloses an overall luminance map generated from the original image), wherein the brightness adjustment information for each pixel (Chai ¶0015 discloses an adjustment module that adjusts the pixel luminance to a target value)
adjusting brightness of each pixel in the first image portion (Chao ¶0010, ¶0047 discloses adjusting the pixel to target luminance in the original image) based on the brightness adjustment information of the pixel (Chai ¶0015 discloses an adjustment module that adjusts the pixel luminance to a target value) in the first image portion (Chao ¶0130, 0021 discloses an original image to be adjusted), wherein the adjusting brightness of each pixel in the first image portion (Chao ¶0010, ¶0047 discloses adjusting the pixel to target luminance in the original image) based on the brightness adjustment information of the pixel (Chai ¶0015 discloses an adjustment module that adjusts the pixel luminance to a target value) in the first image portion (Chao ¶0130, 0021 discloses an original image to be adjusted)
wherein said determining the brightness adjustment information for each pixel (Chao ¶0092-¶0093 discloses determining the color luminance value in each pixel to determine if the pixel needs to be adjusted) in the first image portion (Chao ¶0130, 0021 discloses an original image to be adjusted) based on the overall brightness of the first image portion (Chao ¶0141 and Fig 14 discloses an overall luminance map generated from the original image) comprises:
obtaining the brightness of each pixel in the first image portion (Chao ¶0092, ¶0141, discloses obtaining a luminance value for each pixel in the original image);
for any one of pixels in the first image portion (Chao ¶0142 discloses each pixel being processed for luminance determination) determining brightness adjustment information (Chao ¶0092-¶0093 discloses determining the color luminance value in each pixel to determine if the pixel needs to be adjusted) for the pixel based on brightness of the pixel and the overall brightness of the first image portion (Chao ¶0142 discloses the pixel luminance value being compared to the overall luminance value of the original image to determine the luminance adjustment), the brightness adjustment information for the pixel being proportional to the brightness of the pixel (Chao ¶0142 discloses comparing pixel luminescence to overall image luminesce and adjusting the pixel based on the calculation of the difference in luminance between the overall luminance and the pixel luminance).
Chao does not explicitly teach dividing the first image into a plurality of image portions, for a first image portion of the plurality of image portions, by replacing.
Bin is in the same field of image segmentation. Further, Bin teaches dividing the first image into a plurality of image portions (Bin Pg 3 ¶07-¶09 discloses acquiring an input image to be split Bin Pg 10 ¶09-¶13 discloses the image being split into as many pieces as the image parted pattern requires);
for a first image portion of the plurality of image portions (Bin Pg 10 ¶09-¶13 discloses the image being split into as many pieces as the image parted pattern requires), by replacing (Bin Pg 8 ¶04 discloses replacing the pixel values).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the invention of Chao by incorporating the image segmentation method used to segment and process the images, as taught by Bin, to make an invention that can automatically segment the images to be automatically processed for the brightness adjustment for a more efficient process; thus, one of ordinary skilled in the art would be motivated to combine the references since an object of the present invention is to improve the precision of segmentation (Bin, Pg 2 Background).
Thus, the claimed subject matter would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Chao and Bin in combination do not explicitly disclose is a brightness adjustment value for each pixel, comprises taking a sum, obtained by adding a current brightness value of the pixel and the brightness adjustment value for the pixel, as an adjusted brightness of the pixel.
Wang is in the same field of automated image brightness adjustment. Further, Wang teaches is a brightness adjustment value for each pixel (Wang ¶0060, ¶0064 discloses determining a luminance adjustment amount value for each pixel); and
comprises taking a sum (Wang ¶0061 discloses determining the luminance value of the pixel after adjustment being determined by a sum I'(x)=I(x)+llI(x)), obtained by adding a current brightness value of the pixel and the brightness adjustment value for the pixel, as an adjusted brightness of the pixel (Wang ¶0060-¶0062 discloses a calculation for determining the adjusted value of the pixel based on luminance value before adjustment and the adjustment factor of the pixel).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the invention of Chao in view of Bin by incorporating a brightness adjustment value for each pixel to be able to add the value of the brightness pixel with the adjustment value to output a new value, as taught by Wang, to make an invention that can automatically assign the adjustment value to the pixels so that they may be automatically processed for the brightness adjustment for a more efficient process; thus, one of ordinary skilled in the art would be motivated to combine the references since an object of the present invention is to address the need for a method that can prevent or reduce over exposure or under exposure during brightness adjustment is needed (Wang ¶0005).
Thus, the claimed subject matter would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Regarding Claim 3, Chao in view of Bin in further view of Wang teaches the method according to claim 1, wherein all pixels in the first image portion correspond to the same brightness adjustment information (Chao ¶0085 discloses a single color value being obtained for all of the pixels of the original image, ¶0066 discloses the luminance adjustment curve being used for all of the pixels in the original image). See rationale for Claim 1, its parent claim.
Regarding Claim 5, Chao in view of Bin in further view of Wang teaches the method according to claim 1, further comprising, prior (Chao ¶0074- ¶0077 discloses determining the overall luminance of the image before a target luminance is determined) to said obtaining the first image to be adjusted (Chao ¶0130, 0021 discloses an original image to be adjusted):
obtaining an initial image to be adjusted (Chao ¶0130, 0021 discloses an original image to be adjusted); and
performing brightness adjustment on the initial image based on overall brightness (Chao ¶0074- ¶0077 discloses determining the overall luminance of the image before a target luminance is determined) of the initial image, to obtain the first image (Chao ¶0082-¶0083 discloses determining the luminance value for the original image to get the first image). See rationale for Claim 1, its parent claim.
Regarding Claim 6, Chao in view of Bin in further view of Wang teaches the method according to claim 1, wherein said dividing the first image into the plurality of image portions (Bin Pg 3 ¶07-¶09 discloses acquiring an input image to be split Bin Pg 10 ¶09-¶13 discloses the image being split into as many pieces as the image parted pattern requires) comprises:
dividing the first image into the plurality of image portions (Bin Pg 3 ¶07-¶09 discloses acquiring an input image to be split Bin Pg 10 ¶09-¶13 discloses the image being split into as many pieces as the image parted pattern requires) according to at least one of brightness of each pixel in the image (Chao ¶0003, ¶0093, discloses the brightness of each pixel being determined), a position of each pixel in the image (Chao ¶0089 discloses obtaining a first position of a pixel), and an image recognized object(Bin Pg 8 ¶02 and Pg 10 ¶10 discloses recognizing noise in an image an basing subsequent segmentation off of the noise and its preprocessing). See rationale for Claim 1, its parent claim.
Regarding Claim 7, Chao in view of Bin in further view of Wang teaches the method according to claim 1, wherein said obtaining the second image (Chao ¶0129 discloses generating a second image from the first image) by replacing (Bin Pg 8 ¶04 discloses replacing the pixel values), in the first (Chao ¶0130, 0021 discloses an original image to be adjusted), the first image portion with the second image portion (Chao ¶0129 discloses generating a second image corresponding to the original image) comprises:
determining the second image (Chao ¶0129 discloses generating a second image) portion (Dan Pg 13 ¶5 discloses an area of interest being determined) and image portions in the first image other than (Chao ¶0058 discloses the selected pixels changing based off of the target pixel luminance value) the first image portion(Dan Pg 13 ¶5 discloses an area of interest being determined) as images to be spliced (Bin Pg 12 ¶04 and Pg 14 ¶05 and discloses two areas of interest being spliced);
obtaining images in different resolutions (Chao ¶0127 discloses generating images with different resolutions), the images in different resolutions comprising (Chao ¶0127 discloses generating images with different resolutions) the images to be spliced (Bin Pg 12 ¶04 and Pg 14 ¶05 and discloses two areas of interest being spliced) and images obtained by down-sampling (Bin Pg 3 ¶12 discloses down sampling the images) the images to be spliced (Bin Pg 12 ¶04 and Pg 14 ¶05 and discloses two areas of interest being spliced);
obtaining a spliced image corresponding (Bin Pg 9 ¶03 discloses splicing and image to the have the same scale) to each resolution (Chao ¶0127 discloses generating images with different resolutions) by splicing images in the resolution (Bin Pg 9 ¶03 discloses splicing and the output image to the have the same scale) ; and
obtaining the second image (Chao ¶0088 discloses obtaining a second image) by fusing the spliced images (Bin Pg 13 ¶05-¶11 discloses the multiscale fusion process for the images to be fused) corresponding to individual resolutions (Chao ¶0084 discloses the first image with the resolution of 1x1 and ¶0096 an image having a resolution of 64x64). See rationale for Claim 1, its parent claim.
Regarding Claim 8, Chao in view of Bin in further view of Wang teaches the method according to claim 7, wherein said obtaining the second image (Chao ¶0088 discloses obtaining a second image) by fusing the spliced images (Bin Pg 13 ¶05-¶11 discloses the multiscale fusion process for the images to be fused) corresponding to individual resolutions (Chao ¶0084 discloses the first image with the resolution of 1x1 and ¶0096 an image having a resolution of 64x64) comprises:
obtaining a fusion image (Bin Pg 13 ¶05-¶11 discloses the multiscale fusion process for the images to be fused) by determining a spliced image (Bin Pg 9¶03 discloses splicing and image to the have the same scale) in the lowest resolution as a current image (Chao ¶0084 discloses the first image with the resolution of 1x1) and performing a fusion operation (Bin Pg 13 ¶05-¶11 discloses the multiscale fusion process for the images to be fused); and
repeatedly performing (Chao ¶0077 discloses a repetitive process for determining the image) the fusion operation by using the fusion image (Bin Pg 13 ¶05-¶11 discloses the multiscale fusion process for the images to be fused) as the current image (Bin Pg 9 ¶04 discloses the fusion and scaling of the image happening simultaneously on the current image) and until a resolution of the fusion image is equal to the highest resolution (Bin Pg 9 ¶04 discloses a scale step so that the output is the same resolution), wherein the fusion operation (Bin Pg 13 ¶05-¶11 discloses the multiscale fusion process for the images to be fused) comprises:
performing up-sampling on the current image to obtain an up-sampled image (Bin Pg 9 ¶02 and Pg 4 ¶01 discloses up sampling the image), wherein the up-sampled image has a resolution equal (Bin Pg 9 ¶04 discloses a scale step so that the output is the same resolution) to a resolution of an adjacent image (Chao ¶0107, ¶0106 discloses the adjacent pixels being used to determine the brightness of the image) of the current image, and the adjacent image (Chao ¶0107, ¶0106 discloses the adjacent pixels being used to determine the brightness of the image) is a spliced image (Bin Pg 13 ¶05-¶11 discloses the multiscale fusion process for the images to be fused) with a resolution greater than and having a minimum difference (Chao ¶0113 discloses have a greater difference from the current image) from a resolution of the current image (Chao ¶0127 discloses generating images with different resolutions);
obtaining the fusion image (Bin Pg 13 ¶05-¶11 discloses the multiscale fusion process for the images to be fused) by fusing the up-sampled image (Bin Pg 9 ¶02 and Pg 4 ¶01 discloses up sampling the image) with the adjacent image (Chao ¶0107, ¶0106 discloses the adjacent pixels being used to determine the brightness of the image). See rationale for Claim 1, its parent claim.
Regarding Claim 10, Chao teaches an electronic device (Chao ¶0005 discloses and electronic device), comprising:
one or more processors (Chao ¶0134 discloses using one or more processors);
a memory (Chao ¶0134 discloses using a memory); and
one or more applications, wherein the one or more applications are stored in the memory (Chao ¶0018 discloses a plurality of computer programs being stored in a memory) and configured to be executed by the one or more processors (Chao ¶0018 discloses a method being executed by a processor of an electronic device) to perform operations comprising:
obtaining a first image to be adjusted (Chao ¶0130, 0021 discloses an original image to be adjusted);
determining a brightness adjustment strategy based on brightness of the first image portion (Chao ¶0115, ¶0136 discloses determining an adjustment intensity using a formula containing the luminance distribution of the adjacent pixels) and performing brightness adjustment on the first image portion(Chao ¶0130, 0021 discloses an original image to be adjusted) in accordance with the brightness adjustment strategy (Chai ¶0015 discloses an adjustment module that adjusts the pixel luminance to a target value), to obtain a second image portion (Chao ¶0129 discloses generating a second image from the first image); and
obtaining a second image (Chao ¶0129 discloses generating a second image from the first image) in the first image (Chao ¶0130, 0021 discloses an original image to be adjusted), the first image portion with the second image portion (Chao ¶0129 discloses generating a second image corresponding to the original image)
wherein said determining the brightness adjustment strategy based on the brightness of the first image portion (Chao ¶0115, ¶0136 discloses determining an adjustment intensity using a formula containing the luminance distribution of the adjacent pixels) and performing the brightness adjustment on the first image portion (Chao ¶0130, 0021 discloses an original image to be adjusted) in accordance with the brightness adjustment strategy (Chai ¶0015 discloses an adjustment module that adjusts the pixel luminance to a target value), comprises:
determining brightness adjustment information for each pixel (Chao ¶0092-¶0093 discloses determining the color luminance value in each pixel to determine if the pixel needs to be adjusted) in the first image portion based on overall brightness of the first image portion (Chao ¶0141 and Fig 14 discloses an overall luminance map generated from the original image), wherein the brightness adjustment information for each pixel (Chai ¶0015 discloses an adjustment module that adjusts the pixel luminance to a target value)
adjusting brightness of each pixel in the first image portion (Chao ¶0010, ¶0047 discloses adjusting the pixel to target luminance in the original image) based on the brightness adjustment information of the pixel (Chai ¶0015 discloses an adjustment module that adjusts the pixel luminance to a target value) in the first image portion (Chao ¶0130, 0021 discloses an original image to be adjusted), wherein the adjusting brightness of each pixel in the first image portion (Chao ¶0010, ¶0047 discloses adjusting the pixel to target luminance in the original image) based on the brightness adjustment information of the pixel (Chai ¶0015 discloses an adjustment module that adjusts the pixel luminance to a target value) in the first image portion (Chao ¶0130, 0021 discloses an original image to be adjusted)
wherein said determining the brightness adjustment information for each pixel (Chao ¶0092-¶0093 discloses determining the color luminance value in each pixel to determine if the pixel needs to be adjusted) in the first image portion (Chao ¶0130, 0021 discloses an original image to be adjusted) based on the overall brightness of the first image portion (Chao ¶0141 and Fig 14 discloses an overall luminance map generated from the original image) comprises:
obtaining the brightness of each pixel in the first image portion (Chao ¶0092, ¶0141, discloses obtaining a luminance value for each pixel in the original image);
for any one of pixels in the first image portion (Chao ¶0142 discloses each pixel being processed for luminance determination) determining brightness adjustment information (Chao ¶0092-¶0093 discloses determining the color luminance value in each pixel to determine if the pixel needs to be adjusted) for the pixel based on brightness of the pixel and the overall brightness of the first image portion (Chao ¶0142 discloses the pixel luminance value being compared to the overall luminance value of the original image to determine the luminance adjustment), the brightness adjustment information for the pixel being proportional to the brightness of the pixel (Chao ¶0142 discloses comparing pixel luminescence to overall image luminesce and adjusting the pixel based on the calculation of the difference in luminance between the overall luminance and the pixel luminance).
Chao does not explicitly teach dividing the first image into a plurality of image portions, for a first image portion of the plurality of image portions, by replacing.
Bin is in the same field of image segmentation. Further, Bin teaches dividing the first image into a plurality of image portions (Bin Pg 3 ¶07-¶09 discloses acquiring an input image to be split);
for a first image portion of the plurality of image portions (Bin Pg 10 ¶09-¶13 discloses the image being split into as many pieces as the image parted pattern requires), by replacing (Bin Pg 8 ¶04 discloses replacing the pixel values).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the invention of Chao by incorporating the image segmentation method used to segment and process the images, as taught by Bin, to make an invention that can automatically segment the images to be automatically processed for the brightness adjustment for a more efficient process; thus, one of ordinary skilled in the art would be motivated to combine the references since an object of the present invention is to improve the precision of segmentation (Bin, Pg 2 Background).
Thus, the claimed subject matter would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Chao and Bin in combination do not explicitly disclose s a brightness adjustment value for each pixel, comprises taking a sum, obtained by adding a current brightness value of the pixel and the brightness adjustment value for the pixel, as an adjusted brightness of the pixel.
Wang is in the same field of automated image brightness adjustment. Further, Wang teaches is a brightness adjustment value for each pixel (Wang ¶0060, ¶0064 discloses determining a luminance adjustment amount value for each pixel); and
comprises taking a sum (Wang ¶0061 discloses determining the luminance value of the pixel after adjustment being determined by a sum I'(x)=I(x)+llI(x)), obtained by adding a current brightness value of the pixel and the brightness adjustment value for the pixel, as an adjusted brightness of the pixel (Wang ¶0060-¶0062 discloses a calculation for determining the adjusted value of the pixel based on luminance value before adjustment and the adjustment factor of the pixel).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the invention of Chao in view of Bin by incorporating a brightness adjustment value for each pixel to be able to add the value of the brightness pixel with the adjustment value to output a new value, as taught by Wang, to make an invention that can automatically assign the adjustment value to the pixels so that they may be automatically processed for the brightness adjustment for a more efficient process; thus, one of ordinary skilled in the art would be motivated to combine the references since an object of the present invention is to address the need for a method that can prevent or reduce over exposure or under exposure during brightness adjustment is needed (Wang ¶0005).
Thus, the claimed subject matter would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Regarding Claim 13, Chao in view of Bin in further view of Wang teaches the electronic device according to claim 10, wherein all pixels in the first image portion correspond to the same brightness adjustment information (Chao ¶0085 discloses a single color value being obtained for all of the pixels of the original image, ¶0066 discloses the luminance adjustment curve being used for all of the pixels in the original image). See rationale for Claim 10, its parent claim.
Regarding Claim 15, Chao in view of Bin in further view of Wang teaches the electronic device according to claim 10, wherein the operations further comprise, prior (Chao ¶0074- ¶0077 discloses determining the overall luminance of the image before a target luminance is determined) to said obtaining the first image to be adjusted (Chao ¶0130, 0021 discloses an original image to be adjusted):
obtaining an initial image to be adjusted (Chao ¶0130, 0021 discloses an original image to be adjusted); and
performing brightness adjustment on the initial image based on overall brightness (Chao ¶0074- ¶0077 discloses determining the overall luminance of the image before a target luminance is determined) of the initial image, to obtain the first image (Chao ¶0082-¶0083 discloses determining the luminance value for the original image to get the first image). See rationale for Claim 10, its parent claim.
Regarding Claim 16, Chao in view of Bin in further view of Wang teaches the electronic device according to claim 10,wherein said dividing the first image into the plurality of image portions (Bin Pg 3 ¶07-¶09 discloses acquiring an input image to be split Bin Pg 10 ¶09-¶13 discloses the image being split into as many pieces as the image parted pattern requires)comprises:
dividing the first image into the plurality of image portions (Bin Pg 3 ¶07-¶09 discloses acquiring an input image to be split Bin Pg 10 ¶09-¶13 discloses the image being split into as many pieces as the image parted pattern requires) according to at least one of brightness of each pixel in the image (Chao ¶0003, ¶0093, discloses the brightness of each pixel being determined), a position of each pixel in the image (Chao ¶0089 discloses obtaining a first position of a pixel), and an image recognized object (Bin Pg 8 ¶02 and Pg 10 ¶10 discloses recognizing noise in an image an basing subsequent segmentation off of the noise and its preprocessing). See rationale for Claim 10, its parent claim.
Regarding Claim 17, Chao in view of Bin in further view of Wang teaches the electronic device according to claim 10, wherein said obtaining the second image (Chao ¶0129 discloses generating a second image from the first image) by replacing (Bin Pg 8 ¶04 discloses replacing the pixel values), in the first (Chao ¶0130, 0021 discloses an original image to be adjusted), the first image portion with the second image portion (Chao ¶0129 discloses generating a second image corresponding to the original image) comprises:
determining the second image (Chao ¶0129 discloses generating a second image) portion (Dan Pg 13 ¶5 discloses an area of interest being determined) and image portions in the first image other than (Chao ¶0058 discloses the selected pixels changing based off of the target pixel luminance value) the first image portion(Dan Pg 13 ¶5 discloses an area of interest being determined) as images to be spliced (Bin Pg 12 ¶04 and Pg 14 ¶05 and discloses two areas of interest being spliced);
obtaining images in different resolutions (Chao ¶0127 discloses generating images with different resolutions), the images in different resolutions comprising (Chao ¶0127 discloses generating images with different resolutions) the images to be spliced (Bin Pg 12 ¶04 and Pg 14 ¶05 and discloses two areas of interest being spliced) and images obtained by down-sampling (Bin Pg 3 ¶12 discloses down sampling the images) the images to be spliced (Bin Pg 12 ¶04 and Pg 14 ¶05 and discloses two areas of interest being spliced);
obtaining a spliced image corresponding (Bin Pg 9¶03 discloses splicing and image to the have the same scale) to each resolution (Chao ¶0127 discloses generating images with different resolutions) by splicing images in the resolution (Bin Pg 9¶03 discloses splicing and the output image to the have the same scale) ; and
obtaining the second image (Chao ¶0088 discloses obtaining a second image) by fusing the spliced images (Bin Pg 13 ¶05-¶11 discloses the multiscale fusion process for the images to be fused) corresponding to individual resolutions (Chao ¶0084 discloses the first image with the resolution of 1x1 and ¶0096 an image having a resolution of 64x64). See rationale for Claim 10, its parent claim.
Regarding Claim 18, Chao in view of Bin in further view of Wang teaches the electronic device according to claim 17, wherein said obtaining the second image (Chao ¶0088 discloses obtaining a second image) by fusing the spliced images (Bin Pg 13 ¶05-¶11 discloses the multiscale fusion process for the images to be fused) corresponding to individual resolutions (Chao ¶0084 discloses the first image with the resolution of 1x1 and ¶0096 an image having a resolution of 64x64) comprises:
obtaining a fusion image (Bin Pg 13 ¶05-¶11 discloses the multiscale fusion process for the images to be fused) by determining a spliced image (Bin Pg 9¶03 discloses splicing and image to the have the same scale) in the lowest resolution as a current image (Chao ¶0084 discloses the first image with the resolution of 1x1) and performing a fusion operation (Bin Pg 13 ¶05-¶11 discloses the multiscale fusion process for the images to be fused); and
repeatedly performing (Chao ¶0077 discloses a repetitive process for determining the image) the fusion operation by using the fusion image (Bin Pg 13 ¶05-¶11 discloses the multiscale fusion process for the images to be fused) as the current image (Bin Pg 9 ¶04 discloses the fusion and scaling of the image happening simultaneously on the current image) and until a resolution of the fusion image is equal to the highest resolution (Bin Pg 9 ¶04 discloses a scale step so that the output is the same resolution), wherein the fusion operation (Bin Pg 13 ¶05-¶11 discloses the multiscale fusion process for the images to be fused) comprises:
performing up-sampling on the current image to obtain an up-sampled image (Bin Pg 9 ¶02 and Pg 4 ¶01 discloses up sampling the image), wherein the up-sampled image has a resolution equal (Bin Pg 9 ¶04 discloses a scale step so that the output is the same resolution) to a resolution of an adjacent image (Chao ¶0107, ¶0106 discloses the adjacent pixels being used to determine the brightness of the image) of the current image, and the adjacent image (Chao ¶0107, ¶0106 discloses the adjacent pixels being used to determine the brightness of the image) is a spliced image (Bin Pg 13 ¶05-¶11 discloses the multiscale fusion process for the images to be fused) with a resolution greater than and having a minimum difference (Chao ¶0113 discloses have a greater difference from the current image) from a resolution of the current image (Chao ¶0127 discloses generating images with different resolutions);
obtaining the fusion image (Bin Pg 13 ¶05-¶11 discloses the multiscale fusion process for the images to be fused) by fusing the up-sampled image (Bin Pg 9 ¶02 and Pg 4 ¶01 discloses up sampling the image) with the adjacent image (Chao ¶0107, ¶0106 discloses the adjacent pixels being used to determine the brightness of the image). See rationale for Claim 10, its parent claim.
Regarding Claim 19, Chao teaches a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium, (Chao ¶0018, ¶0162 discloses a non-transitory computer readable storage medium) having a computer program stored thereon (Chao ¶0155 discloses a storage medium storing a computer program), wherein the computer program, when executed by a processor (Chao ¶0018 discloses a processor executing a computer program), performs operations comprising:
obtaining a first image to be adjusted (Chao ¶0130, 0021 discloses an original image to be adjusted);
determining a brightness adjustment strategy based on brightness of the first image portion (Chao ¶0115, ¶0136 discloses determining an adjustment intensity using a formula containing the luminance distribution of the adjacent pixels) and performing brightness adjustment on the first image portion (Chao ¶0130, 0021 discloses an original image to be adjusted) in accordance with the brightness adjustment strategy (Chai ¶0015 discloses an adjustment module that adjusts the pixel luminance to a target value), to obtain a second image portion (Chao ¶0129 discloses generating a second image from the first image); and
obtaining a second image (Chao ¶0129 discloses generating a second image from the first image) in the first image (Chao ¶0130, 0021 discloses an original image to be adjusted), the first image portion with the second image portion (Chao ¶0129 discloses generating a second image corresponding to the original image),
wherein said determining the brightness adjustment strategy based on the brightness of the first image portion (Chao ¶0115, ¶0136 discloses determining an adjustment intensity using a formula containing the luminance distribution of the adjacent pixels) and performing the brightness adjustment on the first image portion (Chao ¶0130, 0021 discloses an original image to be adjusted) in accordance with the brightness adjustment strategy (Chai ¶0015 discloses an adjustment module that adjusts the pixel luminance to a target value), comprises:
determining brightness adjustment information for each pixel (Chao ¶0092-¶0093 discloses determining the color luminance value in each pixel to determine if the pixel needs to be adjusted) in the first image portion based on overall brightness of the first image portion (Chao ¶0141 and Fig 14 discloses an overall luminance map generated from the original image), wherein the brightness adjustment information for each pixel (Chai ¶0015 discloses an adjustment module that adjusts the pixel luminance to a target value)
adjusting brightness of each pixel in the first image portion (Chao ¶0010, ¶0047 discloses adjusting the pixel to target luminance in the original image) based on the brightness adjustment information of the pixel (Chai ¶0015 discloses an adjustment module that adjusts the pixel luminance to a target value) in the first image portion (Chao ¶0130, 0021 discloses an original image to be adjusted), wherein the adjusting brightness of each pixel in the first image portion (Chao ¶0010, ¶0047 discloses adjusting the pixel to target luminance in the original image) based on the brightness adjustment information of the pixel (Chai ¶0015 discloses an adjustment module that adjusts the pixel luminance to a target value) in the first image portion (Chao ¶0130, 0021 discloses an original image to be adjusted)
wherein said determining the brightness adjustment information for each pixel (Chao ¶0092-¶0093 discloses determining the color luminance value in each pixel to determine if the pixel needs to be adjusted) in the first image portion (Chao ¶0130, 0021 discloses an original image to be adjusted) based on the overall brightness of the first image portion (Chao ¶0141 and Fig 14 discloses an overall luminance map generated from the original image) comprises:
obtaining the brightness of each pixel in the first image portion (Chao ¶0092, ¶0141, discloses obtaining a luminance value for each pixel in the original image);
for any one of pixels in the first image portion (Chao ¶0142 discloses each pixel being processed for luminance determination) determining brightness adjustment information (Chao ¶0092-¶0093 discloses determining the color luminance value in each pixel to determine if the pixel needs to be adjusted) for the pixel based on brightness of the pixel and the overall brightness of the first image portion (Chao ¶0142 discloses the pixel luminance value being compared to the overall luminance value of the original image to determine the luminance adjustment), the brightness adjustment information for the pixel being proportional to the brightness of the pixel (Chao ¶0142 discloses comparing pixel luminescence to overall image luminesce and adjusting the pixel based on the calculation of the difference in luminance between the overall luminance and the pixel luminance).
Chao does not explicitly teach dividing the first image into a plurality of image portions
for a first image portion of the plurality of image portions by replacing.
Bin is in the same field of image segmentation. Further, Bin teaches dividing the first image into a plurality of image portions(Bin Pg 3 ¶07-¶09 discloses acquiring an input image to be split);
for a first image portion of the plurality of image portions (Bin Pg 10 ¶09-¶13 discloses the image being split into as many pieces as the image parted pattern requires), by replacing (Bin Pg 8 ¶04 discloses replacing the pixel values).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the invention of Chao by incorporating the image segmentation method used to segment and process the images, as taught by Bin, to make an invention that can automatically segment the images to be automatically processed for the brightness adjustment for a more efficient process; thus, one of ordinary skilled in the art would be motivated to combine the references since an object of the present invention is to improve the precision of segmentation (Bin, Pg 2 Background).
Thus, the claimed subject matter would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Chao and Bin in combination do not explicitly disclose is a brightness adjustment value for each pixel comprises taking a sum, obtained by adding a current brightness value of the pixel and the brightness adjustment value for the pixel, as an adjusted brightness of the pixel.
Wang is in the same field of automated image brightness adjustment. Further, Wang teaches is a brightness adjustment value for each pixel (Wang ¶0060, ¶0064 discloses determining a luminance adjustment amount value for each pixel); and
comprises taking a sum (Wang ¶0061 discloses determining the luminance value of the pixel after adjustment being determined by a sum I'(x)=I(x)+llI(x)), obtained by adding a current brightness value of the pixel and the brightness adjustment value for the pixel, as an adjusted brightness of the pixel (Wang ¶0060-¶0062 discloses a calculation for determining the adjusted value of the pixel based on luminance value before adjustment and the adjustment factor of the pixel).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the invention of Chao in view of Bin by incorporating a brightness adjustment value for each pixel to be able to add the value of the brightness pixel with the adjustment value to output a new value, as taught by Wang, to make an invention that can automatically assign the adjustment value to the pixels so that they may be automatically processed for the brightness adjustment for a more efficient process; thus, one of ordinary skilled in the art would be motivated to combine the references since an object of the present invention is to address the need for a method that can prevent or reduce over exposure or under exposure during brightness adjustment is needed (Wang ¶0005).
Thus, the claimed subject matter would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Regarding Claim 21, Chao in view of Bin in further view of Wang teaches the non-transitory computer-readable storage medium (Chao ¶0018, ¶0162 discloses a non-transitory computer readable storage medium) according to claim 19, wherein all pixels in the first image portion correspond to the same brightness adjustment information (Chao ¶0085 discloses a single color value being obtained for all of the pixels of the original image, ¶0066 discloses the luminance adjustment curve being used for all of the pixels in the original image). See rationale for Claim 19, its parent claim.
Reference Cited
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant’s disclosure.
US Patent Pub US-20150063718-A1 to Mantzel et al. discloses techniques for enhancing low light images.
Conclusion
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/RACHEL L ROBERTS/Examiner, Art Unit 2674
/ONEAL R MISTRY/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2674
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