CTNF 18/359,556 CTNF 91261 DETAILED ACTION The present Office action is in response to the Response to Restriction/Election of Species Requirement on 6 MARCH 2026. Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status 07-03-aia AIA 15-10-aia The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA. Election/Restrictions 08-06 AIA Claim s 15-17 and 20 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected species , there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election was made without traverse in the reply filed on 6 MARCH 2026 . Information Disclosure Statement The Information Disclosure Statement (IDS) submitted on 07/26/2023 is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the Information Disclosure Statement is being considered by the Examiner. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103 07-20-aia AIA 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. 07-23-aia AIA 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. 07-21-aia AIA Claim (s) 1, 2, 11-14, 18, and 19 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over U.S. Patent No. 10,462,390 B2 (hereinafter “Sugiyama”) in view of U.S. Publication No. 2014/0192202 A1 (hereinafter “Sano”) . Regarding claim 1 , Sugiyama discloses an image capture apparatus (FIG. 6, CMOS image sensor 13) that can acquire a visible-light image and an invisible-light image (Col. 6, ll. 39-44, “the lens 11 collects an optical image of a subject in the CMOS 13, the IR bandpass filter 12 arranged between the lens 11 and the CMOS 13 extracts visible light components and infrared light components from the optical image of the subject, and the CMOS 13 generates image signals based on incident light and outputs the signals to the image processing system.” FIG. 6, frame memory 16 and 3DNR unit 33 process the infrared light image, whereas frame memory 15 and 3DNR unit 36 process the RGB visible light image) , the image capture apparatus comprising: one or more processors (FIG. 16, CPU 201) that execute a program stored in a memory and thereby function as (Col. 18, ll. 65-67, “The program executed by the computer 200 (CPU 201) can be provided by being recorded onto the removable medium 211”) : a determination unit (FIG. 16, CPU 201) configured to determine a method of using information in order to apply predetermined processing to the visible-light image, wherein the information is based on the invisible-light image (FIG. 9 illustrates the steps of a method, including the steps S10, “synthesize luminance based on infrared image and luminance based on visible image” and S11, “Execute Υ correction.” Note, the broadest reasonable interpretation of “determine a method of using information […]” is to have determined to process said information, where the process being applied constitutes as the method; therefore, the method of FIG. 9 upon being executed has been determined to be used for processing the information) ; a generation unit (FIG. 16, CPU 201) configured to generate information based on the invisible-light image in accordance with the result of the determination (FIG. 9, step S3, “Generate luminance information Yir by de-mosaic processing” and step S4, “Execute 2DNR processing”) ; and a recording unit configured to record, in a recording medium, a data file with which the visible-light image, information indicating the result of the determination, and the information based on the invisible-light image generated by the generation unit are associated . Sugiyama fails to expressly disclose a recording unit configured to record, in a recording medium, a data file with which the visible-light image, information indicating the result of the determination, and the information based on the invisible-light image generated by the generation unit are associated . However, Sano teaches a recording unit configured to record, in a recording medium ([0046], “memory”) , a data file with which the visible-light image, information indicating the result of the determination, and the information based on the invisible-light image generated by the generation unit are associated ([0046], “temporarily store these extracted signals in a memory (not shown), and the control unit 17 reads out the color signals and the luminance signals stored in the memory to perform the above processing steps.” [0057], “thresholds Th1 and Th2 can be values that are fixed in advance and stored.” Note, the parameters are stored, which are part of the method of FIG. 6, which utilizes the stored data of the color signal and luminance signal. The memory in Sano stores all the required information and collectively constitutes the data file). Before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art to have collectively stored information of the applied method, visible image, and invisible image, as taught by Sano ([0046]), in Sugiyama’s disclosure. One would have been motivated to modify Sugiyama’s disclosure, by incorporating Sano’s invention, to improve reproduction of a color image even in a low illuminance environment (Sano: [0005]). Regarding claim 2 , Sugiyama and Sano disclose every limitation of claim 1, as outlined above. Additionally, Sugiyama discloses wherein the determination unit determines the method based on shooting settings of the invisible-light image or the movement of the image capture apparatus when the invisible-light image was shot (FIG. 9 discloses a method based on the images taken with the CMOS 13 and camera DSP 14 of FIG. 6, wherein the shooting settings for the invisible-light image are control with timing control unit 31 and AE control unit 32). Regarding claim 11 , Sugiyama and Sano disclose every limitation of claim 1, as outlined above. Additionally, Sugiyama discloses wherein the generation unit adjusts the quality of the invisible-light image in accordance with the result of the determination, and uses the invisible-light image with adjusted quality as the information based on the invisible-light image (FIG. 7 depicts the luminance synthesis unit 41, which is step S10 in FIG. 9 for the method, and determines a gain for adjusting the luminance of the infrared image and then outputs the adjusted synthesized luminance for use in generating a corrected visible image). Regarding claim 12 , Sugiyama and Sano disclose every limitation of claim 1, as outlined above. Additionally, Sugiyama discloses wherein the invisible-light image is an infrared-light image (Col. 2, l. 48, “capturing an infrared image”). Regarding claim 13 , the limitations are the same as those in claim 1 , as outlined above. Additionally, Sano discloses an image processing apparatus (FIG. 1, imaging device 1) comprising one or more processors that execute a program stored in a memory and thereby function ([0097], “programs executed by a processor”) as: an acquisition unit ([0097], “a processor”) configured to acquire the data file recorded by the image capture apparatus according to claim 1 ([0046], “temporarily store these extracted signals in a memory (not shown), and the control unit 17 reads out the color signals and the luminance signals stored in the memory to perform the above processing steps.” [0057], “thresholds Th1 and Th2 can be values that are fixed in advance and stored.” Note, when the “method” is executed, the control unit 17 of FIG. 1 will control the visible image, invisible image, and instruct the image synthesis unit 16) ; an extraction unit ([0097], “a processor”) configured to extract, from the data file, the information indicating the result of the determination, the visible-light image, and the information based on the invisible-light image ([0046], “temporarily store these extracted signals in a memory (not shown), and the control unit 17 reads out the color signals and the luminance signals stored in the memory to perform the above processing steps.” [0057], “thresholds Th1 and Th2 can be values that are fixed in advance and stored.” Note, when the “method” is executed, the control unit 17 of FIG. 1 will control the visible image, invisible image, and instruct the image synthesis unit 16) ; and a processing unit ([0097], “a processor”) configured to apply the predetermined processing to the visible-light image by using the information based on the invisible-light image according to the method indicated by the information indicating the result of the determination ([0007], “an image synthesis unit that synthesizes the visible light luminance signal Y1 and the invisible light luminance signal Y2 to form a synthesized luminance signal Y3 and that generates a color image using the synthesized luminance signal Y3 and the corrected color signals; and a control unit that controls the imaging unit, the color signal extraction unit, and the image synthesis unit.” Note, Sugiyama the synthesizing of the luminance and correction of color occurs in elements 41, 42, and 43 of FIG. 6). The same motivation of claim 1 applies to claim 13. Regarding claim 14 , the limitations are the same as those in claim 1 . Therefore, the same rationale of claim 1 applies to claim 14. Regarding claim 18 , the limitations are the same as those in claim 1 . Therefore, the same rationale of claim 1 applies to claim 18. Regarding claim 19 , the limitations are the same as those in claim 13 . Therefore, the same rationale of claim 13 applies to claim 19 . 07-21-aia AIA Claim (s) 3-6 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over U.S. Patent No. 10,462,390 B2 (hereinafter “Sugiyama”) in view of U.S. Publication No. 2014/0192202 A1 (hereinafter “Sano”), and further in view of U.S. Publication No. 2013/0293752 A1 (hereinafter “Peng”) . Regarding claim 3 , Sugiyama and Sano disclose very limitation of claim 2, as outlined above. Sugiyama and Sano fail to expressly disclose wherein the determination unit determines that information based on the invisible-light image is unsuitable for use in a case where a shutter speed when the invisible-light image was shot is slower than a first speed threshold or in a case where the movement of the image capture apparatus when the invisible-light image was shot is greater than a first movement threshold . However, Peng teaches wherein the determination unit determines that information based on the invisible-light image is unsuitable for use in a case where a shutter speed when the invisible-light image was shot is slower than a first speed threshold or in a case where the movement of the image capture apparatus when the invisible-light image was shot is greater than a first movement threshold ([0079], “If the calculated motion score is greater than the predetermined motion score threshold, image frame N+1 may be identified as having excessive motion and discarded.” Note, during an exposure time of the rolling shutter, the objects and/or camera can move causing motion blur and infrared images having lower exposure are able to correct blurs in a visible image; however, if the motion is too great, then it can’t be corrected and the data is unsuitable for use). Before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art to have detected for motion to determine whether to keep the images, as taught by Peng ([0079]), in Sugiyama and Sano’s invention. One would have been motivated to modify Sugiyama and Sano’s invention, by incorporating Peng’s invention, to provide an improved imaging system with enhanced image capture and processing efficiency (Peng: [0004]). Regarding claim 4 , Sugiyama, Sano, and Peng disclose every limitation of claim 3, as outlined above. Additionally, Peng discloses wherein the generation unit does not generate the information based on the invisible-light image in a case where the determination unit determines that information based on the invisible-light image is unsuitable for use ([0079], “If the calculated motion score is greater than the predetermined motion score threshold, image frame N+1 may be identified as having excessive motion and discarded.” Note, because the frames are discarded, the information is not generated). The same motivation of claim 3 applies to claim 4. Regarding claim 5 , Sugiyama, Sano, and Peng disclose every limitation of claim 3, as outlined above. Additionally, Peng discloses wherein the determination unit determines a first method in a case where the shutter speed when the invisible-light image was shot is not slower than the first speed threshold and slower than a second speed threshold, or in a case where the movement of the image capture apparatus when the invisible-light image was shot is smaller than the first movement threshold and greater than a second movement threshold ([0079], “If the calculated motion score is greater than the predetermined motion score threshold, image frame N+1 may be identified as having excessive motion and discarded.” Note, the second movement threshold constitutes the detection of any motion for correction as long as it’s not too much motion (i.e., the first threshold)). The same motivation of claim 3 applies to claim 5. Regarding claim 6 , Sugiyama, Sano, and Peng disclose every limitation of claim 5, as outlined above. Additionally, Sugiyama discloses wherein the predetermined processing is processing for improving the visibility of the visible-light image (FIG. 9, step S12 “generate color image on basis of y-corrected luminance information and color information based on visible image”) , and in a case where the determination unit determines the first method (Note, in view of claim 5, this is interpreted as proceeding to improve the visible-light image and not discard it as per Peng’s disclosure in [0079]) , the generation unit generates, based on the invisible-light image and the visible-light image, a gain map to be applied to the visible-light image (FIG. 7 discloses gain conversion unit 57 based on the luminance of the infrared image and the visible image, that is to be y-corrected and then used for generating the color image of the visible image. See FIG. 9, steps S10 to S12) . 07-21-aia AIA Claim (s) 7, 8, and 10 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over U.S. Patent No. 10,462,390 B2 (hereinafter “Sugiyama”) in view of U.S. Publication No. 2014/0192202 A1 (hereinafter “Sano”), and further in view of U.S. Publication No. 2021/0014439 A1 (hereinafter “Yamanaka”) . Regarding claim 7 , Sugiyama and Sano disclose every limitation of claim 2, as outlined above. Sugiyama and Sano fail to expressly disclose wherein the determination unit determines the method additionally based on the brightness of the visible-light image . However, Yamanaka teaches wherein the determination unit determines the method additionally based on the brightness of the visible-light image (FIG. 4 discloses a threshold between dark area 401 and bright area 402. The threshold identifies pixel saturation for replacement). Before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art to have included thresholding brightness in a method, as taught by Yamanaka (FIG. 4), in Sugiyama and Sano’s invention. One would have been motivated to modify Sugiyama and Sano’s invention, by incorporating Yamanaka’s invention, to improve the generation of a high dynamic range image (Yamanaka: [0058]). Regarding claim 8 , Sugiyama, Sano, and Yamanaka disclose every limitation of claim 7, as outlined above. Additionally, Yamanaka discloses wherein the determination unit determines a second method in a case where the brightness of visible-light image is lower than a brightness threshold, and determines a third method in a case where the brightness of the visible-light image is higher than or equal to the brightness threshold (FIG. 4 depicts a threshold of brightness separating a dark region 401 from a light region 402. Processing of pixels based on the brightness being less than or greater than the threshold is different and as such, they represent different methods of processing (e.g., a second method and a third method)). The same motivation of claim 7 applies to claim 8. Regarding claim 10 , Sugiyama, Sano, and Yamanaka disclose every limitation of claim 8, as outlined above. Additionally, Sugiyama discloses wherein the predetermined processing is processing for improving the visibility of the visible-light image (FIG. 9, step S12 “generate color image on basis of y-corrected luminance information and color information based on visible image”) ; and in a case where the determination unit determines the third method, the generation unit uses the invisible-light image as the information based on the invisible-light image (FIG. 9, steps S10 to steps S12) . 07-21-aia AIA Claim (s) 9 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over U.S. Patent No. 10,462,390 B2 (hereinafter “Sugiyama”) in view of U.S. Publication No. 2014/0192202 A1 (hereinafter “Sano”), and further in view of U.S. Publication No. 2009/0202129 A1 (hereinafter “Omi”) . Regarding claim 9 , Sugiyama and Sano disclose every limitation of claim 8, as outlined above. Additionally, Sugiyama and Sano fail to expressly disclose, however, Omi discloses wherein the predetermined processing is processing for improving the visibility of the visible-light image (FIG. 9, step S12 “generate color image on basis of y-corrected luminance information and color information based on visible image”) ; and in a case where the determination unit determines the second method, the generation unit generates an AC image of the invisible-light image (Claim 6 discloses a high-pass filter on dark images). Before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art to have generated AC images, as taught by Omi, in Sugiyama and Sano’s invention. One would have been motivated to modify Sugiyama and Sano’s invention, by incorporating Omi’s invention, to detect the amount of noise for correction. Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to STUART D BENNETT whose telephone number is (571)272-0677. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday from 9:00 AM - 5PM EST. Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice. If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, William Vaughn can be reached at 571-272-3922. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300. Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. 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If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000. /STUART D BENNETT/Examiner, Art Unit 2481 Application/Control Number: 18/359,556 Page 2 Art Unit: 2481 Application/Control Number: 18/359,556 Page 3 Art Unit: 2481 Application/Control Number: 18/359,556 Page 4 Art Unit: 2481 Application/Control Number: 18/359,556 Page 5 Art Unit: 2481 Application/Control Number: 18/359,556 Page 6 Art Unit: 2481 Application/Control Number: 18/359,556 Page 7 Art Unit: 2481 Application/Control Number: 18/359,556 Page 8 Art Unit: 2481 Application/Control Number: 18/359,556 Page 9 Art Unit: 2481 Application/Control Number: 18/359,556 Page 10 Art Unit: 2481 Application/Control Number: 18/359,556 Page 11 Art Unit: 2481 Application/Control Number: 18/359,556 Page 12 Art Unit: 2481
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