DETAILED ACTION
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Status of Claims
Claims 1-8, 10-20 are pending.
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 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.
Claim(s) 1-5, 7, 14, 15 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kim [US 20160140703] in view of Inoue et al. [US 20240353347].
As to claim 1. Kim discloses A defect information projection system, comprising:
a quality inspector, [fig. 2, 0045] image processing unit 100, configured to generate surface quality information of a vehicle, [0045] determine defective portion of the vehicle body surface based on a reference pattern image;
a tracker, [fig. 2, 0062] image processing unit 100, configured to track a vehicle body of the vehicle to generate vehicle body position information, [0062] measures a position of the vehicle body;
a matcher, [fig. 3, 0063] image processing unit 100, configured to generate mapping information in which the vehicle body position information and the surface quality information are mapped, [0063-0065] compares image of the reference hole to a reference coordinate image to map the vehicle body position to the reference hole position; and
an indicator, [fig. 3, 0048] pattern projecting unit 110, configured to display the mapping information, [0048] projects the pattern image onto the vehicle body for comparing the pattern image to a reference pattern image,
wherein the surface quality information is mapped according to the vehicle body position information, [0081] the pattern image projected onto the vehicle body, [0083] determine a defective portion on the vehicle body using the pattern image,
wherein the surface quality information comprises defect position information indicating where a surface defect occurs, [0083] determine the portion of the body with the defect, and determination result information indicating a defect occurrence at a corresponding defect position, [0083] and
wherein the mapping information is configured to be projected on a surface of the vehicle body, [0081, 0083].
Kim fails to disclose wherein the vehicle body position information is 3D information, and wherein the projected mapping on the vehicle body is by converting from 3D information to 2D information based on a position of the indicator.
Inoue teaches a visual inspection apparatus and visual inspection method wherein the system detects a defect on an object surface from captured images, [0030, 0031], and calculates the 3-dimensional coordinate of the defect, [0037], based on the 3D CAD model of the object, [0038], and displays the detect by projecting on the object by transforming the 3D data into a 2D information, [0039].
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the filing of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of Kim with that of Inoue so that the user can easily visualize the defect in different perspectives on the actual model of the object.
As to claim 2. Kim discloses The defect information projection system of claim 1 wherein the indicator is configured to display the mapping information on the surface of the vehicle body of the vehicle, [0048, 0083].
As to claim 3. Kim discloses The defect information projection system of claim 1, wherein the matcher includes:
a collection module, [fig. 3, 0063] image processing unit 100, configured to collect the vehicle body position information, [0063] determines the coordinate values Tm, Hm, of the reference coordinate image, and the surface quality information, [0063] determines the reference hole coordinate value Tr, Hr;
a mapping module, [fig. 3, 0063] image processing unit 100, configured to generate the mapping information by mapping the vehicle body position information and the surface quality information, [0063] compare the two coordinate values to determines the difference between the two coordinates and produce a correction value to map the first coordinate to the second coordinate; and
a conversion module configured to generate a projection content using the mapping information, [0080] project the pattern image on the vehicle body, [0079] based on the position information determined.
As to claim 4. Kim discloses The defect information projection system of claim 3, wherein the projection content is represented by projection coordinates, [0083].
As to claim 5. Kim discloses The defect information projection system of claim 3, wherein the projection content includes defect extent information indicating a defect extent, [0082, 0083] determine the size of the defect and determine if the defect size is more than a predetermined range.
As to claim 7. Kim discloses The defect information projection system of claim 3, wherein the matcher includes a monitoring module configured to generate a virtual space represented by a unified coordinate system and monitor the vehicle, the tracker, and the indicator in the virtual space, [fig. 4, 0052] a fixed space centered on a rotating mirror, [0068] used for projecting the plurality of pattern images.
As to claim 14 is rejected using the same prior arts and reasoning as to that of claim 1.
As to claim 15 is rejected using the same prior arts and reasoning as to that of claim 3.
Claim(s) 6, 13, 20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kim in view of Inoue as applied to claim 1 above, further in view of Arthur et al. [US 20230321687].
As to claim 6. the combination of Kim and Inoue fails to disclose The defect information projection system of claim 5, wherein the defect extent is classified into a major defect and a minor defect, and the major defect and the minor defect are represented by at least one of a color, a size, or a shape in order to improve visibility.
Arthur teaches a robotic repair control system and method used for detecting a defect on a vehicle surface, [0043]; wherein the system determines the severity of the defect, [0069]; wherein the system severity of the detect is represented by a size of the defect, [0046, 0072].
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the filing of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of the combination of Kim and Inoue with that of Arthur so that the system can help a user easily visualize the system and provide for a standardized measure of the defect.
As to claim 13. the combination of Kim and Inoue fails to disclose The defect information projection system of claim 1, wherein the indicator is provided as a plurality of indicators in order to display the surface quality information, which is 3D information, on the surface of the vehicle body.
Arthur teaches a robotic repair control system and method used for detecting a defect on a vehicle surface, [0043]; wherein the system determines the severity of the defect, [0069]; wherein the system severity of the detect is represented by a size of the defect, [0046, 0072]; wherein the defect is identified based on the CAD model of the vehicle that provides curvature information of the car, [0059].
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the filing of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of the combination of Kim and Inoue with that of Arthur so that the system can help a user easily visualize the defect.
As to claim 20 is rejected using the same prior arts and reasoning as to that of claim 13.
Claim(s) 8, 16, 17 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kim in view of Inoue as applied to claim 1 above, further in view of Kwon et al. [US 20210358235].
As to claim 8. the combination of Kim and Inoue fails to disclose The defect information projection system of claim 1, further comprising: a process controller configured to generate vehicle body entry information indicating a status of the vehicle entering a repair process line and vehicle body exit information indicating a status of the vehicle exiting from the repair process line.
Kwon teaches a system and method for vehicle inspection wherein the system tracks the position of the vehicle with respect to the inspection booth including the entry and exit of the vehicle using GPS signals, [0083, 0087].
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the filing of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of the combination of Kim and Inoue with that of Kwon so that the system can activate the inspection modules once the vehicle is determined to be inside the proper inspection zone.
As to claims 16, 17 are rejected using the same prior arts and reasoning as to that of claim 8.
Claim(s) 10-12, 18, 19 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kim in view of Inoue as applied to claim 1 above, further in view of Ho et al. [US 20240394861].
As to claim 10. the combination of Kim and Inoue fails to disclose The defect information projection system of claim 1, wherein the surface quality information includes vehicle type information of the vehicle.
Ho teaches a system for assessing a damage condition of a vehicle wherein the system damage information includes the model of the vehicle that can be used to identify the skeletal model of the vehicle, [0075].
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the filing of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of the combination of Kim and Inoue with that of Ho so that the system can accurately represent the detected damage based on the actual skeletal model of the vehicle.
As to claim 11. the combination of Kim and Inoue fails to disclose The defect information projection system of claim 1, wherein the vehicle body position information is feature point information on feature points extracted from the vehicle body of the vehicle.
Ho teaches a system for assessing a damage condition of a vehicle wherein the system builds a skeleton model of the vehicle based on feature points on the vehicle, [0072, 0074, 0077].
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the filing of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of the combination of Kim and Inoue with that of Ho so that the system can determine the shape of the vehicle based on actual representations of the vehicle body itself to avoid errors on the positioning of the detected error.
As to claim 12. Kim fails to disclose The defect information projection system of claim 10, wherein the matcher generates vehicle body shape information of the vehicle for recognizing a shape of the vehicle body of the vehicle by matching the feature point information and modeling data of the vehicle in order to distinguish a vehicle type of the vehicle.
Ho teaches a system for assessing a damage condition of a vehicle wherein the system builds a skeleton model of the vehicle based on feature points on the vehicle, [0072, 0074]; wherein the system matches a modeled representation of the skeleton of the vehicle to an actual model structure of the vehicle to identify errors on the positioning of the damage, [0075, 0076].
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the filing of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of the combination of Kim and Inoue with that of Ho so that the system can determine the shape of the vehicle based on actual representations of the vehicle body itself to avoid errors on the positioning of the detected error.
As to claims 18 is rejected using the same prior arts and reasoning as to that of claim 11.
As to claim 19. Kim fails to disclose The defect information projection method of claim 18, wherein the generating of the mapping information includes: matching, by the matcher, feature point information and modeling data of the vehicle to generate vehicle body shape information on the vehicle; and comparing, by the matcher, the vehicle body shape information with preset vehicle type information to distinguish a vehicle type of the vehicle.
Ho teaches a system for assessing a damage condition of a vehicle wherein the system builds a skeleton model of the vehicle based on feature points on the vehicle, [0072, 0074]; wherein the system matches a modeled representation of the skeleton of the vehicle to an actual model structure of the vehicle to identify errors on the positioning of the damage, [0075].
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the filing of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of the combination of Kim and Inoue with that of Ho so that the system can determine the shape of the vehicle based on actual representations of the vehicle body itself to avoid errors on the positioning of the detected error.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim(s) 1-8, 10-20 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
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/Benyam Haile/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2688
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