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 .
In response to the restriction requirement, Applicant elected claims 1-2, 6-7, 9-10 for further examination. As a result, claims 3-5 and 8 are withdrawn from further prosecution.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 101
35 U.S.C. 101 reads as follows:
Whoever invents or discovers any new and useful process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter, or any new and useful improvement thereof, may obtain a patent therefor, subject to the conditions and requirements of this title.
Claims 1, 9, and 10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 101 because:
Eligibility Step 1 (MPEP 2106. 3, subsection II): The claims, after reviewing the entire application disclosure, considered as a whole, are determined to be directed to one of the statutory category (processes, machines, manufactures, and compositions of matter): A method/apparatus/system.
Eligibility Step 2A (MPEP 2106. 4, subsection II):
Prong One: The claims recite the limitation of calculating measurement frequency of distances to generate stability information. This limitation is analyzed including concepts directed to “mathematical concepts” and “mental process” that falls within at least one of the groupings of abstract idea (MPEP 2106.04(a) Abstract Ideas: The enumerated groupings of abstract ideas: Mathematical concepts, Certain methods of organizing human activity, Mental processes). As a result, the claims recite a judicial exception.
Prong Two: The additional steps/actions/elements recited in the claims:
- acquiring measurement results of a distance for each measured point (Mere data gathering – obtaining information (MPEP 2106.05(g));
When viewed in combination of as a whole, the recited additional steps/actions/elements do no more than add insignificant extra-solution to the judicial exception. As a result, these additional steps/actions/elements do not integrate the judicial exception into a practical application because they do not impose any meaningful limits on practicing the abstract idea. These claims are therefore directed to an abstract idea.
Eligibility Step 2B (MPEP 2106. 5: Whether a claim amounts to significantly more):
The additional steps/actions/elements recited in the claims, acquiring measurement results of a distance for each measured point, are well known in the field as addressed in the rejection below, do not add an inventive concept to the claim because they do is no more than adding insignificant pre-solution and post-solution activities to the judicial exception.
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.
2. Claim(s) 1-2, 6-7, and 9-10 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Tanaka (US 5691725) in view of Inaba et al. (US 2004/0070748).
Tanaka discloses an information processing device comprising:
an acquisition unit configured to obtain measurement results of a distance in time series for each measurement point, the each measurement point corresponding to a measurement direction by a measurement device for measuring the distance from a fixed position (FIGs. 1 and 4: Scanning means 17 drives the transmitter 13 to scan the laser beam F at different angles (directions), wherein the distance calculating devices calculates the distance based on the laser beam G reflected from the object 3. Column 5, lines 34-37: The transmitter transmits the laser beam F for every angle steps (0.015 degrees) to calculate the distance from the transmitter to an object);
a calculation unit configured to calculate the measurement distance to be measured for the each measurement point, based on the measurement results (FIG. 3: The distance calculation S3 and the detection data corresponding to the calculated distance (S4)); and
a generation unit configured to generate stability information indicating a degree of stability for the each measurement point, based on the measurement distance data (column 9, lines 10-15: The reliability is calculated based on the number of the detection data. Column 9, lines 45-48: Reliability of distance data is expressed by the percentage of the number “m” of the detection data in an angle region).
Tanaka however is silent wherein the measurement distance data is the measurement frequency of distance to be measured for the each measurement point.
Inaba et al. discloses a ranging apparatus for determining a distance to an object by obtaining and process reflected light from the object (Abstract), wherein the apparatus comprises a distance calculator having a counter for counting a frequency when the reflected light representing a distance that satisfies a specific condition in order to calculate the distance with high reliability (paragraphs [0004]-[0005]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious for one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Tanaka’s method to include counting a frequency of detected distance in order to determine the distance based on such frequency with high accuracy by eliminating the effect of randomly noise light as taught by Inaba et al. (paragraphs [0004]-[0005]).
Regrading to claim 2: wherein the calculation unit is configured to calculate, as the measurement frequency, histograms of the distances for predetermined periods provided at predetermined time intervals, and wherein the generation unit is configured to generate the stability information based on a peak distance that is a peak in each of the histograms (Inaba et al.: paragraphs [0004]-[0005]): The distance at which the total count in the frequency distribution table (histogram) is at its maximum is considered to be the distance with high accuracy by eliminating the effect of randomly noise light).
Regrading to claims 6-7: wherein the calculation unit is configured to calculate occurrence frequency of the peak distance during each of the predetermined periods for each of the histogram, and wherein the generation unit is configured to generate the stability information based on a total value obtained by putting a weight on each of the predetermined periods included in a period in which the peak distance continues, the weight being determined by the occurrence frequency/time slot of the histogram corresponding to the each of the predetermined periods (Inaba et al.: FIG. 7 shows the occurrence frequency in each time slot of the histogram).
Conclusion
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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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, DOUGLAS RODRIGUEZ, can be reached on 571-431-0716. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/LAM S NGUYEN/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2853
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