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 .
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 1-14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 101 because the claimed invention is directed to a Judicial Exception in the form of an Abstract Idea, without significantly more:
Beginning with independent claim 1, an apparatus claim, which recites:
A drug identification apparatus comprising: one or more processors; and one or more storage devices, wherein the one or more storage devices are configured to store an identification mark master including an image of an identification mark on each of a front surface and a back surface, for each drug having the identification mark formed by engraving or printing thereon, and wherein the one or more processors are configured to: detect each drug, from a first-surface image acquired by imaging a first surface of a package accommodating drugs in a packaging bag; create, from the identification mark master by using information on a determined drug which is at least one of the drugs, and whose drug type and a front surface and a back surface have been determined based on a drug image extracted for each drug from the first-surface image, a second-surface ground-truth identification mark image list including an identification mark image showing an identification mark of the determined drug appearing on a second surface being a back surface of the first surface of the package; detect each drugs from a second-surface image acquired by imaging the second surface of the package; extract an identification mark of each drug from the second-surface image, and create an extracted identification-mark image list including an extracted identification-mark image for each drug; determine the determined drug in the second-surface image by performing pattern matching using the second-surface ground-truth identification mark image list and the extracted identification-mark image list; and present on the second-surface image, information for differentiating the determined drug from a undetermined drug whose drug type has not been determined.
The claim recites abstract ideas:
“A drug identification apparatus, comprising one or more processors, one or more storage devices, and a computer program that is stored in the storage device and capable of being executed the processor to perform the “detecting” steps, the “creating” step, the “extracting” step, the “determining” step and the “presenting” step are considered being performed by a generic computer. Therefore, If the apparatus, processor and memory are removed from the claim, the method can be easily performed by a human being without the need of any of a computer component. The claim(s) does/do not include additional elements that are sufficient to amount to significantly more than the judicial exception.
“storing” the identification mark master in a storage device is mere data gathering a high level of generality, and thus are insignificant extra-solution activity.
A process that encompass a human performing the steps mentally with or without a physical aid in the form of the “presenting” step, with the “detecting” steps, the “creating” step, the “extracting” step and the “detecting” step being pre-solution acts of processing information which could be performed visually and/or mentally; and
A method of organizing human behavior in the form of a social activity of following rules or instructions informing a person to perform the “detecting” steps, the “creating” step, the “extracting” step, the “determining” step and the “presenting” strep.
These two abstract ideas will be considered together for analysis as a single abstract idea per MPEP 2106:
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This judicial exception is not integrated into a practical application because there are no recited additional elements that amount to a practical application, such as but no limited to the following as noted in MPEP 2106:
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The claim does not include additional elements that are sufficient to amount to significantly more than the judicial exception for the same reason: There are not additional elements other than the abstract idea.
Independent claim 13, a processing claim, which recites:
A drug identification apparatus comprising: one or more processors; and one or more storage devices, wherein the one or more storage devices are configured to store an identification mark master including an image of an identification mark on each of a front surface and a back surface, for each drug having the identification mark formed by engraving or printing thereon, and wherein the one or more processors are configured to: detect each drug, from a first-surface image acquired by imaging a first surface of a package accommodating drugs in a packaging bag; create, from the identification mark master by using information on a determined drug which is at least one of the drugs, and whose drug type and a front surface and a back surface have been determined based on a drug image extracted for each drug from the first-surface image, a second-surface ground-truth identification mark image list including an identification mark image showing an identification mark of the determined drug appearing on a second surface being a back surface of the first surface of the package; detect each drugs from a second-surface image acquired by imaging the second surface of the package; extract an identification mark of each drug from the second-surface image, and create an extracted identification-mark image list including an extracted identification-mark image for each drug; determine the determined drug in the second-surface image by performing pattern matching using the second-surface ground-truth identification mark image list and the extracted identification-mark image list; and present on the second-surface image, information for differentiating the determined drug from a undetermined drug whose drug type has not been determined.
The claim recites abstract ideas:
“causing to store” the identification mark master in a storage device is mere data gathering a high level of generality, and thus are insignificant extra-solution activity.
A process that encompass a human performing the steps mentally with or without a physical aid in the form of the “presenting” step, with “acquiring” steps, “detecting” steps, “determining” step, the “creating” step, and “detecting” steps being pre-solution acts of processing information which could be performed visually and/or mentally; and
A method of organizing human behavior in the form of a social activity of following rules or instructions informing a person to perform the “acquiring” steps, “detecting” steps, “determining” step, “creating” step, and “detecting” steps and “presenting” step.
These two abstract ideas will be considered together for analysis as a single abstract idea per MPEP 2106:
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This judicial exception is not integrated into a practical application because there are no recited additional elements that amount to a practical application, such as but no limited to the following as noted in MPEP 2106:
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The claim does not include additional elements that are sufficient to amount to significantly more than the judicial exception for the same reason: There are not additional elements other than the abstract idea.
Independent claims 1 and 13 are merely a generic computer implementation of the abstract ideas and likewise do not amount to significantly more. See MPEP 2106:
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Likewise, the following dependent claims have been analyzed and do not recite elements that recite a practical application or significantly more and remain rejected under 35 USC 101: Claims 2-12 and 14.
Contact
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to HUO LONG CHEN whose telephone number is (571)270-3759. The examiner can normally be reached on M-F 9am - 5pm. If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Tieu, Benny can be reached on (571) 272-7490. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is (571) 273-8300. Information regarding the status of an application may be obtained from the Patent Application Information Retrieval (PAIR) system. Status information for published applications may be obtained from either Private PAIR or Public PAIR. Status information for unpublished applications is available through Private PAIR only. For more information about the PAIR system, see http://pair-direct.uspto.gov. Should you have questions on access to the Private PAIR system, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative or access to the automated information system, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/HUO LONG CHEN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2682