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 .
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election without traverse of Species I (Fig.9, claims 11-20) in the reply filed on November 23, 2025 is acknowledged. Claims 1-10 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected Species II (Fig. 13), there being no allowable generic or linking claim.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim(s) 11-15 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Whelan et al. (Patent No. US 10,586,343 B1).
Regarding claim 11, Whelan et al. shows in Figs. 1-2 an image signal processor comprising: a dot center pixel detector (220, i.e., Structured Light Detection Module) configured to determine a dot center pixel having a highest intensity of depth data in each of a plurality of kernels (Col. 9, lines 26-41); and a depth image generator (250, i.e., Depth Triangulation Module) configured to calculate a distance to a scene using the depth data of the dot center pixel (Col. 11, lines 1-29).
Regarding claim 12, Whelan et al. shows in Figs. 1-2 the image signal processor according to claim 11, wherein the intensity of the depth data refers to an amplitude value of first to fourth depth data generated by using first to fourth modulation control signals having different phase differences with respect to a dot pattern light emitted to the scene (Col. 12, lines 44-65).
Regarding claim 13, Whelan et al. shows in Figs. 1-2 the image signal processor according to claim 11, wherein the dot center pixel detector includes: a search point management unit configured to determine a search point included in each of the plurality of kernels (Col. 9, lines 26-41).
Regarding claim 14, Whelan et al. shows in Figs. 1-2 the image signal processor according to claim 13, wherein: a distance between the search point and an adjacent search point, which is adjacent to the search point, is smaller than a distance between dots of a dot pattern light emitted to the scene (Col. 9, lines 42-55).
Regarding claim 15, Whelan et al. shows in Figs. 1-2 the image signal processor according to claim 11, wherein the dot center pixel detector includes: a nearby pixel comparison unit configured to determine the dot center pixel by comparing intensities of the depth data of a plurality of pixels included in each of the plurality of kernels with each other (Col. 9, lines 42-55).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 16-18 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Claims 19-20 are allowed.
The following is an examiner's statement of reasons for allowance:
Claims 19-20 are not disclosed or made obvious by the prior art of record, specifically in combination with the limitation of "determining whether the dot center pixel is a valid pixel by comparing the intensity of the depth data of the dot center pixel with a valid threshold value; removing an overlapped dot center pixel from among the dot center pixels, which are valid pixels; and calculating a distance to a scene using the depth data of the dot center pixel.”
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure:
Hegarty et al. (Patent No. US 11,676,293 B2) discloses depth sensing for an image.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to SEUNG C SOHN whose telephone number is (571)272-4123. The examiner can normally be reached M - F 8 - 5.
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/SEUNG C SOHN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2878