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 .
Response to Amendment and Argument
Applicant’s amendment and argument with respect to pending claims 1, 3-8, 10-15 and 18-28 filed on 06/22/2026 have been fully considered. Examiners response to the applicant’s argument follows below.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
Summary of Arguments:
Applicant requests the withdrawal of the rejection claims 1, 10 and 14 under 35 USC § 112(a).
Examiner’s Response:
As discussed during the May 19, 2026 examiner interview, the rejection under 35 USC § 112(a) of claims 1, 10 and 14 is withdrawn.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
Summary of Arguments:
Regarding claim 1, applicant argue that Abalos in view of Van Der Sijde do not teach the feature of “identifying a light operation profile corresponding to the object; controlling a plurality of light sources to illuminate the object within the FOV, wherein the controlling comprises: causing, based on the light operation profile, a first subset of the plurality of light sources to illuminate, at a first intensity, the first portion of the object within the FOV; and causing, based on the light operation profile, a second subset of the plurality of light sources to illuminate, at a second intensity that is lower than the first intensity, the second portion of the object,” as recited in claim 1.
Regarding claim 10, applicant argue that Abalos in view of Van Der Sijde do not teach the feature of “causing a first subset of the one or more light sources to illuminate, at a first intensity indicated by a light operation profile, a first portion of the object within the FOV; and causing a second subset of the one or more light sources to illuminate, at a second intensity indicated by the light operation profile and that is lower than the first intensity, a second portion of the object to produce a fading behavior for the second portion of the object,” as recited in claim 10.
Regarding claim 14, Sinitsyn does not teach “controlling, based on identifying that the glaring portion of the object is a region of interest of the object, a second subset of light sources illuminating a second portion of the object to decrease in intensity,” as recited in claim 14.
Examiner’s Response:
Examiner respectfully disagrees. Abalos discloses, a controller 212 can include rules, policies, logic, instructions, etc., to manage lighting operations of light devices 122. The lighting operations can include prioritizing light devices to be activated, trigger lighting in accordance with lighting service unit 220, timing of lighting, selection of individual light devices 122, etc. Controller 212 can process input from lighting service unit 220 and/or video analytics model unit 218, detect conditions, stored rules and settings, and other factors to determine when to initiate lighting, which light devices to activate, where to activate lighting, how to prioritize which light devices are activated, determine when to trigger changes in lighting, etc. Controller 212 can also include rules or instructions for communicating with other devices as part of a determination for when to initiate lighting, which light devices to activate, where to activate lighting, etc. Abalos col. 6, lines 25-42.
If there are power limits or constraints, camera system 100 can determine an amount of power needed to turn on a light device within the array of light devices at a particular intensity (step 314). Based on the content of the scene within the camera's FOV (the content being analyzed according to the analytic model(s)) (step 318) and/or one or more energy budgets set for the camera/camera system (step 326), for example, camera system 100 can determine whether to turn on one or more light devices based on a set of contextual rules according to the amount of power needed and allowed for the light device. The contextual rules can be based on the context of the scene within the field of view and the received energy budget for the camera. For example, the analytics based lighting can direct IR to focus on the highest priority target (determined by the camera), potentially even giving up illumination of the rest of the scene for a brief moment if it needs to. Such an example would be assigning an approaching unidentified human the highest priority and an ambling cow the lowest priority, so that the system can devote more lighting resources to the person rather than the cow. This would give camera system 100 more power/thermal budget to intelligently dedicate to a smaller section of the image or video…lighting can be optimized such that light devices 122-1, 122-2 light up target 602 at a first intensity, and light devices 122-3, 122-4 light up target 604 at a second intensity (in this case, the first and second intensities can be different or the same depending on the lighting needs to illuminate the target). Accordingly, intelligent activation of lighting can optimize a first subset of light devices to a first intensity, and a second subset of light devices to a second intensity, and so on. Abalos col. 8, lines 1-26, 50-61.
Power can also be managed as target 602 approaches by illuminating target 602 with light devices 122-1, 122-2, but turning off or de-optimizing light devices 122-3, 122-4 in accordance with some received energy budget. In some embodiments, power can moreover be redirected from light devices 122-3, 122-4 to light devices 122-1, 122-2 based on an energy budget. For example, while target 602 is illuminated throughout frames 610-2 through 610-4, the system can turn off lighting for target 604 to save and/or redirect power to light devices 122-1, 122-2. Abalos col. 9, lines 22-33.
The system and/or camera 120 can determine that there are multiple targets within the frame/FOV (step 330). After detecting and/or identifying the targets of interest, each target within the FOV can be prioritized (332). A highest priority target can be determined (step 334), and lighting can be adjusted in the subset of light devices that illuminate the highest priority target. For example, target 602 can be prioritized over target 604. Abalos col. 10, lines 8-15.
Thus, Abalos teaches “identifying a light operation profile corresponding to the object (i.e., a controller 212 can include rules, policies, logic, instructions, etc., to manage lighting operations of light devices 122…Based on the content of the scene within the camera's FOV (the content being analyzed according to the analytic model(s)) (step 318) and/or one or more energy budgets set for the camera/camera system (step 326), for example, camera system 100 can determine whether to turn on one or more light devices based on a set of contextual rules according to the amount of power needed and allowed for the light device. The contextual rules can be based on the context of the scene within the field of view and the received energy budget for the camera. For example, the analytics based lighting can direct IR to focus on the highest priority target …); “controlling a plurality of light sources to illuminate the object within the FOV, wherein the controlling comprises: causing, based on the light operation profile, a first subset of the plurality of light sources to illuminate, at a first intensity, the first portion of the object within the FOV; and causing, based on the light operation profile, a second subset of the plurality of light sources to illuminate, at a second intensity that is lower than the first intensity” (lighting can be optimized such that light devices 122-1, 122-2 light up target 602 at a first intensity, and light devices 122-3, 122-4 light up target 604 at a second intensity (in this case, the first and second intensities can be different or the same depending on the lighting needs to illuminate the target)…power can also be managed as target 602 approaches by illuminating target 602 with light devices 122-1, 122-2, but turning off or de-optimizing light devices 122-3, 122-4 in accordance with some received energy budget. In some embodiments, power can moreover be redirected from light devices 122-3, 122-4 to light devices 122-1, 122-2 based on an energy budget), as recited in claim 1.
Furthermore, Van Der Sijde discloses at ¶0057 discloses while less light is provided in region 40, corresponding to foreground person 30. Extra light is provided to the face 52 of the person in the background. ¶0057. Van Der Sijde further discloses FIG. 14A illustrates how the scene is illuminated when six LEDs are supplied with varying levels of current and three LEDs receive no current. The center LED 96 in the left column is supplied with five times more current than the five LEDs 97, 98, 99, 100, and 101 which surround LED 96. ¶0080
Thus, Van Der Sijde teaches “causing…a second subset of the plurality of light sources to illuminate, at a second intensity that is lower than the first intensity, the second portion of the object.
Regarding claim 10, Abalos teaches causing a first subset of the one or more light sources to illuminate, at a first intensity indicated by a light operation profile, a first portion of the object within the FOV (i.e., a controller 212 can include rules, policies, logic, instructions, etc., to manage lighting operations of light devices 122…Based on the content of the scene within the camera's FOV (the content being analyzed according to the analytic model(s)) (step 318) and/or one or more energy budgets set for the camera/camera system (step 326), for example, camera system 100 can determine whether to turn on one or more light devices based on a set of contextual rules according to the amount of power needed and allowed for the light device. The contextual rules can be based on the context of the scene within the field of view and the received energy budget for the camera. For example, the analytics based lighting can direct IR to focus on the highest priority target …); and causing a second subset of the one or more light sources to illuminate, at a second intensity indicated by the light operation profile and that is lower than the first intensity (lighting can be optimized such that light devices 122-1, 122-2 light up target 602 at a first intensity, and light devices 122-3, 122-4 light up target 604 at a second intensity (in this case, the first and second intensities can be different or the same depending on the lighting needs to illuminate the target)…power can also be managed as target 602 approaches by illuminating target 602 with light devices 122-1, 122-2, but turning off or de-optimizing light devices 122-3, 122-4 in accordance with some received energy budget. In some embodiments, power can moreover be redirected from light devices 122-3, 122-4 to light devices 122-1, 122-2 based on an energy budget), as recited in claim 10.
Furthermore, Van Der Sijde discloses while less light is provided in region 40, corresponding to foreground person 30. Extra light is provided to the face 52 of the person in the background.¶0057. Van Der Sijde further discloses that in each of FIGS. 10A, 11A, 12A, 13A, 14A, and 15A, the amount of light provided to a region decreases with increasing darkness of the shading. The light distributions illustrated in each figure may be relative. ¶0073. FIG. 14A illustrates how the scene is illuminated when six LEDs are supplied with varying levels of current and three LEDs receive no current. The center LED 96 in the left column is supplied with five times more current than the five LEDs 97, 98, 99, 100, and 101 which surround LED 96. ¶0080
Thus, Van Der Sijde teaches “a second portion of the object to produce a fading behavior for the second portion of the object” as recited in claim 10.
Regarding claim 14, Sinitsyn at ¶¶0040, 0050, 0099, 0134 discloses the following:
[0040] The outdoor lighting system 100 comprises a plurality of outdoor lighting apparatuses 101. Four outdoor lighting apparatuses 101 are shown in FIG. 1a…
[0050] …If there has been an adverse change, the lighting controller 330 controls a lighting parameter of at least one of the plurality of outdoor lighting apparatuses 101 to change the illumination of the monitored area so as to improve the image quality parameter of the captured image data. Hence, in some embodiments, the lighting controller 330 controls a lighting parameter of at least one of the plurality of lighting units so as to change the illumination of the area so as to improve the image quality parameter of the captured image data back to its previous (i.e. before the change) state.
[0099] …The lighting controller 330 can then control lighting parameters of only the outdoor lighting apparatuses 101 that affect the illumination of the monitored area, rather than controlling all the outdoor lighting apparatuses 101 to have the new illumination conditions….
[0134] The case of reflections from rain will be illustrated with reference to FIG. 8. This shows an example image 700a as may be displayed on the display 310. In this example, it is assumed that lighter region 701 in the image 700a is a bright spot caused by glare from a puddle from a specific outdoor lighting apparatus 101. In this embodiment, in step S3, it may be detected that there is the bright spot 701 in the image 700a that was not previously there. .. As a result, the system can reduce the illumination of the outdoor lighting apparatus 101 in the monitored area of the image 700a causing the bright spot 701, e.g. by controlling that outdoor lighting apparatus 101 to rotate to the different orientation or by reducing its light output. This would lead to an improved image 700b.
As noted above, Sinitsyn discloses a plurality of outdoor lighting apparatuses 101, and controlling a lighting parameter of at least one of the plurality of outdoor lighting apparatuses 101 to change the illumination of the monitored area so as to improve the image quality parameter of the captured image data. The controlling may include controlling lighting parameters of only the outdoor lighting apparatuses 101 that affect the illumination of the monitored area. Based on detecting there is the bright spot 701 in the image 700a, as illustrated in FIG. 8, the system can reduce the illumination of the outdoor lighting apparatus 101 in the monitored area of the image 700a causing the bright spot 701, e.g. by controlling that outdoor lighting apparatus 101 to rotate to the different orientation or by reducing its light output.
Thus, Sinitsyn teaches “controlling, based on identifying that the glaring portion of the object is a region of interest of the object, a second subset of light sources illuminating a second portion of the object to decrease in intensity” as recited in claim 14.
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.
Claim(s) 1, 3-7, 21-23 and 26-28 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Abalos (US 11102453 B2) in view of Van Der Sijde et al. (US 20200154027 A1).
Regarding claim 1, Abalos teaches a method comprising: receiving, by a computing device, a motion detection signal related to a field of view (FOV) of a camera, wherein the motion detection signal comprises information identifying an object within the FOV (Figs. 1-7, col. 4, lines 57-61: Image and video data captured by lens 202 can be provided as input to other components in camera system 100, such as image processing unit 204 and detection and analytics unit 210. Col. 9, lines 34-42: targets can be tracked within camera 120's FOV if there is detected movement. col. 5, lines 35-45: motion detection); identifying a first portion of the object and a second portion of the object (col. 5, lines 35-45: detection operations can include…human detection, object-in-hand detection, sound classification, facial recognition); identifying a light operation profile corresponding to the object (col. 6, lines 25-42,
col. 8, lines 1-26, 50-61: a controller 212 can include rules, policies, logic, instructions, etc., to manage lighting operations of light devices 122…Based on the content of the scene within the camera's FOV (the content being analyzed according to the analytic model(s)) (step 318) and/or one or more energy budgets set for the camera/camera system (step 326), for example, camera system 100 can determine whether to turn on one or more light devices based on a set of contextual rules according to the amount of power needed and allowed for the light device. The contextual rules can be based on the context of the scene within the field of view and the received energy budget for the camera. For example, the analytics based lighting can direct IR to focus on the highest priority target …); and controlling a plurality of light sources to illuminate the object within the FOV (col. 3, lines 61-65: Light devices 122 can be any light device or array of light devices, that illuminates all or a portion of camera's 120 FOV) wherein the controlling comprises: causing, based on the light operation profile, a first subset of the plurality of light sources to illuminate, at a first intensity, the first portion of the object within the FOV; and causing, based on the light operation profile, a second subset of the plurality of light sources to illuminate, at a second intensity that is lower than the first intensity (col. 8, lines 47-61, lighting can be optimized such that light devices 122-1, 122-2 light up target 602 at a first intensity, and light devices 122-3, 122-4 light up target 604 at a second intensity (in this case, the first and second intensities can be different or the same depending on the lighting needs to illuminate the target). Accordingly, intelligent activation of lighting can optimize a first subset of light devices to a first intensity, and a second subset of light devices to a second intensity, and so on. Col. 9, lines 9-32: illuminating target 602 with light devices 122-1, 122-2, but turning off or de-optimizing light devices 122-3, 122-4 in accordance with some received energy budget). Note that the lighting optimization is based on rules, policies, logic, instructions, etc., to manage lighting operations of light devices 122 as stated in col. 6, lines 25-42, col. 8, lines 1-26, 50-61, col. 9, lines 22-33,
Abalos does not explicitly disclose causing… a second subset of the plurality of light sources to illuminate, at a second intensity that is lower than the first intensity, the second portion of the object.
However, Van Der Sijde discloses causing… a second subset of the plurality of light sources to illuminate, at a second intensity that is lower than the first intensity, the second portion of the object (¶0057: while less light is provided in region 40, corresponding to foreground person 30. Extra light is provided to the face 52 of the person in the background. ¶0080: FIG. 14A illustrates how the scene is illuminated when six LEDs are supplied with varying levels of current and three LEDs receive no current. The center LED 96 in the left column is supplied with five times more current than the five LEDs 97, 98, 99, 100, and 101 which surround LED 96).
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Abalos’s illumination system by incorporating the teaching of Van Der Sijde as noted above, in order to lower the power consumption of the system as suggested by Van Der Sijde (¶0003).
Regarding claim 3, Abalos in view of Van Der Sijde discloses the method of claim 1. Van Der Sijde discloses wherein the second subset surrounds the first subset of the plurality of light sources (See Figs. 11B, 12B, 13B and 14B: e.g. Fig. 14B illustrates center LED 96 surrounded by LEDs LEDs 97, 98, 99, 100, and 101, as described in ¶0080). The motivation statement set forth above with respect to claim 1 applies here.
Regarding claim 4, Abalos discloses the method of claim 1, wherein the plurality of light sources (lighting devices 122) are co-located with a motion sensor capturing the motion detection signal (Col. 4, lines 50- 63, col. 5, lines 35-45: The captured data by the camera 120 is used for motion detection. Col. 3, line 65 to col. 4, line 1: Light devices 122 can be built into the camera or can be an external accessory that communicates with the cameras in an area (e.g., an external illuminator such as a flood light)).
Regarding claim 5, Abalos discloses the method of claim 1, wherein the controlling comprises adjusting different light sources of the plurality of light sources to illuminate with different intensities based on a distance to the object within the FOV (col. 6, lines 60-63: Based on this determination, the camera/system can determine that a lighting change is needed, and can determine that the system needs to adjust one or more LEDs within the array of LEDs. col. 8, lines 27-36, col. 9, lines 9-33: when camera 120 has an object in its foreground but the system wants to illuminate targets in the background, with enough LEDs, the power on the LEDs aimed at close targets can be lowered while LEDs illuminating the longer distances and background can be maintained at high power).
Regarding claim 6, Abalos teaches the method of claim 1, wherein the controlling comprises determining intensity of the first subset of the plurality of light sources based on a battery level associated with the computing device (col. 2, lines 49-62, col. 8, lines 1-6: lighting adjustments can take power resources and limits into consideration in some embodiments (step 312). Thus, if there are power limits or constraints, camera system 100 can determine an amount of power needed to turn on a light device within the array of light devices at a particular intensity).
Regarding claim 7, Abalos discloses the method of claim 1, further comprising determining the first subset of the plurality of light sources based on a battery level associated with the computing device (col. 2, lines 49-62, col. 8, lines 1-6: lighting adjustments can take power resources and limits into consideration in some embodiments (step 312). Thus, if there are power limits or constraints, camera system 100 can determine an amount of power needed to turn on a light device within the array of light devices at a particular intensity).
Regarding claim 21, Abalos discloses the method of claim 1, wherein the controlling further comprises adjusting at least one of the first intensity or the second intensity based on sound data received by the computing device (col. 9, line 61 to col. 10, line 6: audio sources can be captured by sensors 214 (or other external sensors)... Based on the audio source detection, however, video analytics models may be applied that determine or infer the location of a target that's about to enter the scene. Lighting can then be adjusted based on the predicted location/trajectory, such as by directing a floodlight to its predicted location or adjusting gain based on its predicted location and an identification of the target).
Regarding claim 22, Abalos discloses the method of claim 1, wherein the controlling further comprises: causing, before causing the second subset of the plurality of light sources to illuminate at the second intensity, the second subset of the plurality of light sources to illuminate at the first intensity (col. 8, lines 47-61, col. 9, lines 22-32: lighting can be optimized such that light devices 122-1, 122-2 light up target 602 at a first intensity, and light devices 122-3, 122-4 light up target 604 at a second intensity (in this case, the first and second intensities can be different or the same depending on the lighting needs to illuminate the target).), wherein the causing the second subset of the plurality of lights to illuminate at the second intensity is based on determining that the first portion of the object is a region of interest of the object (col. 9, lines 9-32: assuming target 602 is considered a threat but target 604 is not, power can also be managed as target 602 approaches by illuminating target 602 with light devices 122-1, 122-2, but turning off or de-optimizing light devices 122-3, 122-4 in accordance with some received energy budget).
Regarding claim 23, Abalos teaches the method of claim 1, wherein the plurality of light sources comprises an array of light emitting diodes oriented at a plurality of different angles (Fig. 5, col. 3, lines 61-65: Light devices 122 can be any light device or array of light devices, that illuminates all or a portion of camera's 120 FOV. For example, light devices 122 can be a static matrix of different FOV LEDs or individually position-able LEDs of various FOVs (field of view)).
Regarding claim 26, Abalos teaches the method of claim 1, wherein the light operation profile comprises first information comprising a first range of intensities for illuminating the first portion of the object and second information comprising a second range of intensities, different from the first range of intensities, for illuminating the second portion of the object (col. 6, lines 25-40: Controller 212 can include rules, policies, logic, instructions, etc., to manage lighting operations of light devices 122. The lighting operations can include prioritizing light devices to be activated…selection of individual light devices 122, etc. Controller 212 can process input from lighting service unit 220 and/or video analytics model unit 218, detect conditions, stored rules and settings, and other factors to determine when to initiate lighting, which light devices to activate, where to activate lighting, how to prioritize which light devices are activated…Col. 8, lines 1-25, 47-61: Thus, if there are power limits or constraints, camera system 100 can determine an amount of power needed to turn on a light device within the array of light devices at a particular intensity (step 314). Based on the content of the scene within the camera's FOV…Such an example would be assigning an approaching unidentified human the highest priority and an ambling cow the lowest priority, so that the system can devote more lighting resources to the person rather than the cow).
Regarding claim 27, Abalos teaches the method of claim 1, wherein the light operation profile comprises a first range of intensities for illuminating a type of object associated with the object within the FOV and a second range of intensities for illuminating a different type of object (col. 6, lines 25-40: Controller 212 can include rules, policies, logic, instructions, etc., to manage lighting operations of light devices 122. The lighting operations can include prioritizing light devices to be activated…selection of individual light devices 122, etc. Controller 212 can process input from lighting service unit 220 and/or video analytics model unit 218, detect conditions, stored rules and settings, and other factors to determine when to initiate lighting, which light devices to activate, where to activate lighting, how to prioritize which light devices are activated…Col. 8, lines 1-25, 47-61: Thus, if there are power limits or constraints, camera system 100 can determine an amount of power needed to turn on a light device within the array of light devices at a particular intensity (step 314). Based on the content of the scene within the camera's FOV…Such an example would be assigning an approaching unidentified human the highest priority and an ambling cow the lowest priority, so that the system can devote more lighting resources to the person rather than the cow).
Regarding claim 28, Abalos teaches the method of claim 1. Van Der Sijde further teaches wherein the profile indicates illumination of: a portion of a first type of object; and an entirety of a second type of object (col. 8, lines 27 to col. 9, line 33: FIG. 6, for example, illustrates a further example of power management…Some embodiments can classify targets 602 and 604 within the image or frame, using one or more image classification algorithms that match the detected targets to machine vision models or techniques of known objects, animals, or people. Col. 9, lines 4-32: as target 602 continues to approach in frame 610-4 at time 10:00:25 hours…when camera 120 has an object in its foreground but the system wants to illuminate targets in the background, with enough LEDs, the power on the LEDs aimed at close targets can be lowered while LEDs illuminating the longer distances and background can be maintained at high power).
Claim(s) 8 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Abalos (US 11102453 B2) in view of Van Der Sijde et al. (US 20200154027 A1) as applied to claim 1, and further in view of Sinitsyn et al. (US 20190246477 A1).
Regarding claim 8, Abalos in view of Van Der Sijde does not disclose generating a light reflection map based on glare detected in a calibration image of the FOV; and determining one or more light sources of the first subset of the plurality of light sources that should be reduced based on one or more locations, corresponding to the glare, in the light reflection map.
However, Sinitsyn discloses generating a light reflection map based on glare detected in a calibration image of the FOV(¶0134: This shows an example image 700a as may be displayed on the display 310. In this example, it is assumed that lighter region 701 in the image 700a is a bright spot caused by glare from a puddle from a specific outdoor lighting apparatus 101); and determining one or more light sources of the first subset of the plurality of light sources that should be reduced based on one or more locations, corresponding to the glare, in the light reflection map (Figs. 1, 3-6, ¶0040: The outdoor lighting system 100 comprises a plurality of outdoor lighting apparatuses 101. Four outdoor lighting apparatuses 101 are shown in FIG. 1a…¶0050, 0099: the lighting controller 330 controls a lighting parameter of at least one of the plurality of lighting units so as to change the illumination of the area so as to improve the image quality parameter of the captured image data…¶0134-0135: the system can reduce the illumination of the outdoor lighting apparatus 101 in the monitored area of the image 700a causing the bright spot 701, e.g. by controlling that outdoor lighting apparatus 101 to rotate to the different orientation or by reducing its light output).
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Abalos in view of Van Der Sijde by incorporating the teaching of Sinitsyn as noted above, in order to improve the captured image quality (Sinitsyn: ¶0130, 0134).
Claim(s) 10-12 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Abalos (US 11102453 B2) in view of Van Der Sijde et al. (US 20200154027 A1) and Deaton (US 9839088 B1).
Regarding claim 10, Abalos teaches a method comprising: receiving, by a computing device, a motion detection signal related to a field of view (FOV) of a camera, wherein the motion detection signal comprises information identifying an object within the FOV (Figs. 1-7, col. 4, lines 57-61: Image and video data captured by lens 202 can be provided as input to other components in camera system 100, such as image processing unit 204 and detection and analytics unit 210. Col. 9, lines 34-42: targets can be tracked within camera 120's FOV if there is detected movement. col. 5, lines 35-45: motion detection); selecting, based on the battery level and on the object within the FOV, one or more light sources, of a plurality of light sources, of the camera (col. 8, lines 1-27: lighting adjustments can take power resources and limits into consideration in some embodiments (step 312). Thus, if there are power limits or constraints, camera system 100 can determine an amount of power needed to turn on a light device within the array of light devices at a particular intensity...for example, camera system 100 can determine whether to turn on one or more light devices based on a set of contextual rules according to the amount of power needed and allowed for the light device…so that the system can devote more lighting resources to the person rather than the cow); and controlling the one or more light sources to illuminate the object within the FOV (Col. 9, lines 34-49, col. 10, lines 7-12: Based on the predicted trajectory of target 602, the second camera can be informed that lighting should be adjusted in accordance with an illumination determined by camera 120 or camera system 100), wherein the controlling comprises: causing a first subset of the one or more light sources to illuminate, at a first intensity indicated by a light operation profile, a first portion of the object within the FOV; and causing a second subset of the one or more light sources to illuminate, at a second intensity that is lower than the first intensity (col. 8, lines 47-61, lighting can be optimized such that light devices 122-1, 122-2 light up target 602 at a first intensity, and light devices 122-3, 122-4 light up target 604 at a second intensity (in this case, the first and second intensities can be different or the same depending on the lighting needs to illuminate the target). Accordingly, intelligent activation of lighting can optimize a first subset of light devices to a first intensity, and a second subset of light devices to a second intensity, and so on. Col. 9, lines 9-32: illuminating target 602 with light devices 122-1, 122-2, but turning off or de-optimizing light devices 122-3, 122-4 in accordance with some received energy budget). Note that the lighting optimization is based on rules, policies, logic, instructions, etc., to manage lighting operations of light devices 122 as stated in col. 6, lines 25-42, col. 8, lines 1-26, 50-61, col. 9, lines 22-33,
Abalos does not explicitly disclose receiving information indicating a battery level associated with the computing device; causing a second subset of the plurality of light sources to illuminate, at a second intensity …that is lower than the first intensity, the second portion of the object to produce a fading behavior for the second portion of the object.
However, Van Der Sijde discloses causing a second subset of the plurality of light sources to illuminate, at a second intensity that is lower than the first intensity, the second portion of the object to produce a fading behavior for the second portion of the object (¶0057: while less light is provided in region 40, corresponding to foreground person 30. Extra light is provided to the face 52 of the person in the background. ¶0080: FIG. 14A illustrates how the scene is illuminated when six LEDs are supplied with varying levels of current and three LEDs receive no current. The center LED 96 in the left column is supplied with five times more current than the five LEDs 97, 98, 99, 100, and 101 which surround LED 96.¶0073 in each of FIGS. 10A, 11A, 12A, 13A, 14A, and 15A, the amount of light provided to a region decreases with increasing darkness of the shading).
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Abalos’s illumination system by incorporating the teaching of Van Der Sijde as noted above, in order to lower a power consumption of the system as suggested by Van Der Sijde (¶0003).
Furthermore, Deaton discloses receiving information indicating a battery level associated with the computing device (col. 4, lines 62-67, col. 20, line 64 to col. 21, line 19: the security light controller may determine a third lighting control output based on the battery voltage or battery status input or alternative sensor input in order to select the appropriate light output level dependent upon such modified or degraded status).
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Abalos in view of Van Der Sijde by incorporating the teaching of Deaton as noted above, in order to preserve or lengthen the battery life (Deaton: col. 20, line 64 to col. 21, line 19).
Regarding claim 11, Abalos discloses the method of claim 10, wherein the controlling comprises determining intensity of the one or more light sources based on the battery level (col. 2, lines 49-62, col. 8, lines 1-6: lighting adjustments can take power resources and limits into consideration in some embodiments (step 312). Thus, if there are power limits or constraints, camera system 100 can determine an amount of power needed to turn on a light device within the array of light devices at a particular intensity).
Regarding claim 12, Abalos discloses the method of claim 10, further comprising receiving, by the computing device, one or more camera images of an area limited to a portion of the FOV that is illuminated by the one or more light sources (col. 8, lines 27-67: Frames 610-1, 610-2, 610-3, 610-4, and 6-10-5 show camera 120's FOV, which are illuminated by light devices 122-1, 122-2, 122-3, and 122-4).
Claim(s) 13 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Abalos (US 11102453 B2) in view of Van Der Sijde et al. (US 20200154027 A1) and Deaton (US 9839088 B1) as applied to claim 10, and further in view of Koizumi (US 20210136301 A1).
Regarding claim 13, Abalos in view of Van Der Sijde and Deaton do not explicitly disclose determining a camera frame rate based on the battery level.
However, Koizumi discloses determining a camera frame rate based on the battery level (Fig. 1, ¶0052, 0065, 0119: the imaging apparatus 200 detects a remaining battery level (step S901). Subsequently, the imaging apparatus 200 determines whether or not the detected value is less than a largest threshold (step S902). In a case where the detected value is less than the threshold (step S902: Yes), the imaging apparatus 200 changes the readout image size or the frame rate in accordance with the detected value o as to reduce the image quality (step S903)).
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Abalos in view of Van Der Sijde and Deaton by incorporating the teaching of Koizumi as noted above, in order to extend the drive time in an imaging apparatus driven by a battery (Koizumi : ¶0005).
Claim(s) 14, 15, 18, 19, 20 and 25 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Abalos (US 11102453 B2) in view of Sinitsyn et al. (US 20190246477 A1).
Regarding claim 14, Abalos teaches a method comprising: receiving, by a camera device, a plurality of camera images of a field of view (FOV) of the camera device, wherein each camera image of the plurality of camera images is received based on causing a different light source, of the a plurality of light sources, to illuminate (Figs. 1, 2 and 4-7: col. 8, lines 27- 67: Frames 610-1, 610-2, 610-3, 610-4, and 6-10-5 show camera 120's FOV, which are illuminated by light devices 122-1, 122-2, 122-3, and 122-4); receiving, by the camera device, a motion detection signal related to the FOV, wherein the motion detection signal comprises information identifying an object within the FOV (col. 4, lines 57-61: Image and video data captured by lens 202 can be provided as input to other components in camera system 100, such as image processing unit 204 and detection and analytics unit 210. Col. 9, lines 34-42: targets can be tracked within camera 120's FOV if there is detected movement. col. 5, lines 35-45: motion detection).
Abalos does not explicitly disclose identifying, based on the information identifying the object, a glaring portion of the object; controlling, based on the identifying the glaring portion of the object, a subset of light sources, of the plurality of light sources and illuminating the glaring portion of the object, to decrease in intensity at the glaring portion; and controlling, based on identifying that the glaring portion of the object is a region of interest of the object, a second subset of light sources illuminating a second portion of the object to decrease in intensity.
However, Sinitsyn teaches identifying, based on the information identifying the object, a glaring portion of the object (¶0134: In this example, it is assumed that lighter region 701 in the image 700a is a bright spot caused by glare from a puddle from a specific outdoor lighting apparatus 101. In this embodiment, in step S3, it may be detected that there is the bright spot 701 in the image 700a that was not previously there…); controlling, based on the identifying the glaring portion of the object, a subset of light sources, of the plurality of light sources and illuminating the glaring portion of the object, to decrease in intensity at the glaring portion (Figs. 1, 3-6, ¶0040: The outdoor lighting system 100 comprises a plurality of outdoor lighting apparatuses 101. Four outdoor lighting apparatuses 101 are shown in FIG. 1a…¶0050, 0099: the lighting controller 330 controls a lighting parameter of at least one of the plurality of lighting units so as to change the illumination of the area so as to improve the image quality parameter of the captured image data…¶0134-0135: the system can reduce the illumination of the outdoor lighting apparatus 101 in the monitored area of the image 700a causing the bright spot 701, e.g. by controlling that outdoor lighting apparatus 101 to rotate to the different orientation or by reducing its light output); and controlling, based on identifying that the glaring portion of the object is a region of interest of the object, a second subset of light sources illuminating a second portion of the object to decrease in intensity (¶0050: the lighting controller 330 controls a lighting parameter of at least one of the plurality of lighting units so as to change the illumination of the area so as to improve the image quality parameter of the captured image data…¶0134-0136: In this example, it is assumed that lighter region 701 in the image 700a is a bright spot caused by glare from a puddle from a specific outdoor lighting apparatus 101…As a result, the system can reduce the illumination of the outdoor lighting apparatus 101 in the monitored area of the image 700a causing the bright spot 701, e.g. by controlling that outdoor lighting apparatus 101 to rotate to the different orientation or by reducing its light output).
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Abalos by incorporating the teaching of Sinitsyn as noted above, in order to improve the captured image quality (Sinitsyn: ¶0130, 0134).
Regarding claim 15, Abalos in view of Sinitsyn discloses the method of claim 14. Sinitsyn further discloses generating, based on the plurality of camera images, a reflection map indicating one or more positions comprising glare (¶0054:The image processor 320 receives image data comprising a plurality of frames from the camera 201, and analyses the frames of the image data to obtain an image quality parameter for each frame. ¶0134: In this example, it is assumed that lighter region 701 in the image 700a is a bright spot caused by glare from a puddle from a specific outdoor lighting apparatus 101. In this embodiment, in step S3, it may be detected that there is the bright spot 701 in the image 700a that was not previously there… ), wherein the controlling comprises determining one or more light sources of the subset of the light sources that should be reduced based on the reflection map (Figs. 1, 3-6, ¶0040: The outdoor lighting system 100 comprises a plurality of outdoor lighting apparatuses 101. Four outdoor lighting apparatuses 101 are shown in FIG. 1a…¶0050, 0099: the lighting controller 330 controls a lighting parameter of at least one of the plurality of lighting units so as to change the illumination of the area so as to improve the image quality parameter of the captured image data…¶0134-0135: the system can reduce the illumination of the outdoor lighting apparatus 101 in the monitored area of the image 700a causing the bright spot 701, e.g. by controlling that outdoor lighting apparatus 101 to rotate to the different orientation or by reducing its light output). The motivation statement set forth above with respect to claim 14 applies here.
Regarding claim 18, Abalos discloses the method of claim 14, wherein the controlling comprises adjusting different light sources of the subset of the light sources to illuminate with different intensities based on a distance to the object (col. 8, lines 27-36, col. 9, lines 4-17: when camera 120 has an object in its foreground but the system wants to illuminate targets in the background, with enough LEDs, the power on the LEDs aimed at close targets can be lowered while LEDs illuminating the longer distances and background can be maintained at high power).
Regarding claim 19, Abalos discloses the method of claim 14, wherein the controlling comprises determining intensity of the subset of the light sources based on a battery level associated with the camera device (col. 2, lines 49-62, col. 8, lines 1-6: lighting adjustments can take power resources and limits into consideration in some embodiments (step 312). Thus, if there are power limits or constraints, camera system 100 can determine an amount of power needed to turn on a light device within the array of light devices at a particular intensity).
Regarding claim 20, Abalos discloses the method of claim 14, further comprising determining the subset of the light sources based on a battery level associated with the camera device (col. 8, lines 1-27: lighting adjustments can take power resources and limits into consideration in some embodiments (step 312). Thus, if there are power limits or constraints, camera system 100 can determine an amount of power needed to turn on a light device within the array of light devices at a particular intensity...for example, camera system 100 can determine whether to turn on one or more light devices based on a set of contextual rules according to the amount of power needed and allowed for the light device…so that the system can devote more lighting resources to the person rather than the cow).
Regarding claim 25, Abalos teaches the method of claim 14, wherein the plurality of light sources comprises an array of light emitting diodes oriented at a plurality of different angles (Fig. 5, col. 3, lines 61-65: Light devices 122 can be any light device or array of light devices, that illuminates all or a portion of camera's 120 FOV. For example, light devices 122 can be a static matrix of different FOV LEDs or individually position-able LEDs of various FOVs (field of view)).
Claim(s) 24 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Abalos (US 11102453 B2) in view of Van Der Sijde et al. (US 20200154027 A1) as applied to claim 1, and further in view of Koizumi (US 20210136301 A1).
Regarding claim 24, Abalos in view of Van Der Sijde do not explicitly disclose reducing a frame rate of the camera based on a battery level associated with the computing device.
However, Koizumi teaches reducing a frame rate of the camera based on a battery level associated with the computing device (Fig. 1, ¶0052, 0065: the control unit 240 reduces the frame rate together with the decrease in the remaining battery level. ¶0119: the imaging apparatus 200 detects a remaining battery level (step S901). Subsequently, the imaging apparatus 200 determines whether or not the detected value is less than a largest threshold (step S902). In a case where the detected value is less than the threshold (step S902: Yes), the imaging apparatus 200 changes the readout image size or the frame rate in accordance with the detected value o as to reduce the image quality (step S903)).
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Abalos in view of Van Der Sijde by incorporating the teaching of Koizumi as noted above, in order to extend the drive time in an imaging apparatus driven by a battery (Koizumi: ¶0005).
The following is the prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Cannon et al. (US 20160227619 A1) describes “Lighting systems and methods providing active glare control”. Title
Conclusion
THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
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/NATHNAEL AYNALEM/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2488
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