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 Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim(s) 1-27 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.
With regards to the 101 rejection applicant argues that claims may employ mathematical algorithms does not convert them into claims directed to an abstract idea. Examiner respectfully disagrees.
MPEP 2106.4(a)(2) Abstract Idea Groupings I. Mathematical concepts: The Court’s rationale for identifying these "mathematical concepts" as judicial exceptions is that a mathematical concept does direct the claims to an abstract idea unless “there is some other inventive concept in its application”.
To identify the inventive concept, in view of the claims, we look at the updated subject matter analysis provided by Ex Parte Desjardins (December 5, 2025), herein after referred to as Desjardins, and 2024 Guidance Update on Patent Subject Matter Eligibility, Including on Artificial Intelligence published July 17, 2024 (89 FR 58128) (AI-SME Update). Desjardins, page 1 “2)”, states “improvements in computational performance, learning, storage, data set and structures, for example, can constitute patent-eligible technological advancements under the Alice framework.” In order to identify the improvement as being an eligible improvement in technology “ when the specification provides sufficient details such that one of ordinary skill in the art would recognize the claimed invention as providing a technological improvement and the claims reflect the disclosed improvement. The specification need not explicitly set forth the improvement, so long as the specification describes the invention such that the improvement would be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art.” (Desjardin page 3)(MPEP2106.05(a)).
Therefore, establishing whether the claimed mathematical concepts are directed to an abstract idea is tied to whether the inventive concept is claimed or reflected by the claims. Applicant argues the inventive concept, page 7 of the filed remarks, “The claims further recite the implementation of a storage medium advantageously used to allow for the digital image data to be stored and later decompressed.” However, storing compressed data for decompression is well known in the art. One of ordinary skill in the art in at the time of the invention would not recognize any technological improvement performed by decompressing stored data.
Further, page 8 of the filed remarks, states that the specification of the current application paragraphs 20-21 describes the improvement to regard “significant decrease in quantization of the image, offer a reduction in store requirements, an increase in reconstruction speed, and efficient data management of the scaled image data” and “localized scaling/rescaling of the image data (based on dynamic scaling of the initial image data) yields a higher dynamic range that convention conversion techniques”. However, as described above, the independent claim does not state or reflect any of the described improvement of the specification. There is no claimed limitation stating, reflecting, or a synonym thereof: quantization, reduction, increase, efficiency, management, or scaling. Therefore, one of ordinary skill in the art would not recognize any technological improvement reflected by the claimed limitations.
Therefore, the 101 rejection regarding the abstract idea of mathematical concepts is upheld.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 101
Claims 1-27 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 101 because the claimed invention is directed to an abstract idea without significantly more.
The claims 1 and 18 recite identifying a plurality of regions in a digital image of an object, assigning a first bit value to a first region based on a first characteristic of the first region, compressing based on that value to a first level of compression and assigning a second bit value to a second region based on a second characteristic of the second region and compressing accordingly to a second level of compression, storing the compressed image data associated with first and second region and decompressing the compressed digital image data associated with the first region and the second region. The claims employ mathematical algorithms to manipulate existing information to generate additional information and are directed essentially to a method of calculating using mathematical formulas. Accordingly, the claims are an abstract idea similar to concepts that have been identified as abstract by the courts, such as organizing and manipulating information through mathematical correlations in DIGITECH and obtaining and comparing intangible data in CyberSource.
This judicial exception is not integrated into a practical application because the claims recite the additional elements “storing the compressed digital image data” this limitation amounts to gathering steps which is considered to be insignificant extra-solution activity (See MPEP 2106.05(g)). The storage device in these steps is recited at a high-level of generality (i.e., as a generic processor performing a generic computer function) such that it amounts no more than mere instructions to apply the exception using a generic computer component. Accordingly, these additional elements do not integrate the abstract idea into a practical application because they do not impose any meaningful limits on practicing the abstract idea. The claims are directed to an abstract idea.
The claims do not include additional elements that are sufficient to amount to significantly more than the judicial exception because The insignificant extra-solution activity identified above, which includes the data gathering steps, is recognized by the courts as well-understood, routine, and conventional activity when they are claimed in a merely generic manner (e.g., at a high level of generality) or as insignificant extra-solution activity (See MPEP 2106.05(d)(II)(i) Receiving or transmitting data over a network, e.g., using the Internet to gather data, buySAFE, Inc. v. Google, Inc., 765 F.3d 1350, 1355, 112 USPQ2d 1093, 1096 (Fed. Cir. 2014) (computer receives and sends information over a network)). The claims are not patent eligible.
Claim 2 is dependent on claim 1 and includes all the limitations of claim 1. Therefore, claim 2 recites the same abstract idea of claim 1. The claim recites the additional limitation of “assigning a third bit value to the first region and second region, decompress the compressed digital image and reconstruct the digital image of the object based on the third bit value”, which is merely elaborating on the abstract idea, by further specifying an additional mathematical calculation, therefore, does not amount to significantly more than the abstract idea.
Claim 3 is dependent on claim 1 and includes all the limitations of claim 1. Therefore, claim 3 recites the same abstract idea of claim 1. The claim recites the additional limitation of “presenting the digital images to a user via one or more output devices”, which is merely elaborating on the abstract idea, by further specifying an additional component recited at a high-level of generality, therefore, does not amount to significantly more than the abstract idea.
Claim 4 is dependent on claim 1 and includes all the limitations of claim 1. Therefore, claim 4 recites the same abstract idea of claim 1. The claim recites the additional limitation of “the first bit value is 8-bit”, which is merely elaborating on the abstract idea, by further specifying an additional mathematical calculation, therefore, does not amount to significantly more than the abstract idea.
Claim 5 is dependent on claim 1 and includes all the limitations of claim 1. Therefore, claim 5 recites the same abstract idea of claim 1. The claim recites the additional limitation of “the second bit value is 16-bit”, which is merely elaborating on the abstract idea, by further specifying an additional mathematical calculation, therefore, does not amount to significantly more than the abstract idea.
Claim 6 is dependent on claim 1 and includes all the limitations of claim 1. Therefore, claim 6 recites the same abstract idea of claim 1. The claim recites the additional limitation of “the third bit value is 32-bit”, which is merely elaborating on the abstract idea, by further specifying an additional mathematical calculation, therefore, does not amount to significantly more than the abstract idea.
Claim 7 is dependent on claim 1 and includes all the limitations of claim 1. Therefore, claim 7 recites the same abstract idea of claim 1. The claim recites the additional limitation of “the digital image is comprised of a plurality of voxels or pixels”, which is merely elaborating on the abstract idea, by further specifying an additional mathematical calculation, therefore, does not amount to significantly more than the abstract idea.
Claim 8 is dependent on claims 1 and 7 and includes all the limitations of claims 1 and 7. Therefore, claim 8 recites the same abstract idea of claims 1 and 7. The claim recites the additional limitation of “each voxel or pixel corresponding to a region of the plurality of regions”, which is merely elaborating on the abstract idea, by further specifying an additional mathematical calculation, therefore, does not amount to significantly more than the abstract idea.
Claim 9 is dependent on claims 1 and 7 and includes all the limitations of claims 1 and 7. Therefore, claim 9 recites the same abstract idea of claims 1 and 7. The claim recites the additional limitation of “size of each voxel or pixel ranges from tens to hundred micrometers”, which is merely elaborating on the abstract idea, by further specifying an additional mathematical calculation, therefore, does not amount to significantly more than the abstract idea.
Claim 10 is dependent on claims 1 and 7 and includes all the limitations of claims 1 and 7. Therefore, claim 10 recites the same abstract idea of claims 1 and 7. The claim recites the additional limitation of “each region of the plurality of regions corresponds to a voxel or a pixel of the plurality of voxels or pixel”, which is merely elaborating on the abstract idea, by further specifying an additional mathematical calculation, therefore, does not amount to significantly more than the abstract idea.
Claim 11 is dependent on claim 1 and includes all the limitations of claim 1. Therefore, claim 11 recites the same abstract idea of claim 1. The claim recites the additional limitation of “scanning the object with a radiation emission source to generate a digital image of the object”, which is merely elaborating on the abstract idea, by further specifying an additional component recited at a high-level of generality, therefore, does not amount to significantly more than the abstract idea.
Claim 12 is dependent on claim 1 and includes all the limitations of claim 1. Therefore, claim 12 recites the same abstract idea of claim 1. The claim recites the additional limitation of “wherein the first bit value and the second bit value are a common bit value”, which is merely elaborating on the abstract idea, by further specifying an additional mathematical calculation, therefore, does not amount to significantly more than the abstract idea.
Claim 13 is dependent on claim 1 and includes all the limitations of claim 1. Therefore, claim 13 recites the same abstract idea of claim 1. The claim recites the additional limitation of “assigning a fourth bit value to a third region of the plurality of regions; compressing digital image data associated with the third region based on the assigned fourth bit value; and storing the compressed digital image data associated with the third region”, which is merely elaborating on the abstract idea, by further specifying an additional mathematical calculation, therefore, does not amount to significantly more than the abstract idea.
Claim 19 is dependent on claim 18 and includes all the limitations of claim 18. Therefore, claim 19 recites the same abstract idea of claim 18. The claim recites the additional limitation of “comparing the determined one or more characteristics to a list that associates characteristic data with a desired bit value; and determining the assigned bit value based on the comparison”, which is merely elaborating on the abstract idea, by further specifying an additional mathematical calculation, therefore, does not amount to significantly more than the abstract idea.
Claim 20 is dependent on claim 18 and includes all the limitations of claim 18. Therefore, claim 20 recites the same abstract idea of claim 18. The claim recites the additional limitation of “wherein one of the assigned bit value or the desired bit value is 8-bit, 16-bit, or 32-bit”, which is merely elaborating on the abstract idea, by further specifying an additional mathematical calculation, therefore, does not amount to significantly more than the abstract idea.
Claim 14 recites identifying a plurality of regions in a digital image of an object, assigning a first bit value to a first region compressing based on that value and assigning a second bit value to a second region and compressing accordingly and storing the compressed image data associated with first and second region. The claims employ mathematical algorithms to manipulate existing information to generate additional information and are directed essentially to a method of calculating using mathematical formulas. Accordingly, the claims are an abstract idea similar to concepts that have been identified as abstract by the courts, such as organizing and manipulating information through mathematical correlations in DIGITECH and obtaining and comparing intangible data in CyberSource.
This judicial exception is not integrated into a practical application because the claims recite the additional elements “storing the compressed digital image data” this limitation amounts to gathering steps which is considered to be insignificant extra-solution activity (See MPEP 2106.05(g)). The storage device in these steps is recited at a high-level of generality (i.e., as a generic processor performing a generic computer function) such that it amounts no more than mere instructions to apply the exception using a generic computer component. Accordingly, these additional elements do not integrate the abstract idea into a practical application because they do not impose any meaningful limits on practicing the abstract idea. The claims are directed to an abstract idea.
The claim also claims an adjustable fixture configured to position an object, detector to capture radiation from the object and image acquisition to generate an image of the object based on detected radiation which further considered to be insignificant extra-solution activity (See MPEP 2106.05(g)). These steps are recited at a high-level of generality (i.e., as a generic processor performing a generic computer function) such that it amounts no more than mere instructions to apply the exception using a generic computer component. Accordingly, these additional elements do not integrate the abstract idea into a practical application because they do not impose any meaningful limits on practicing the abstract idea. The claims are directed to an abstract idea.
The claim do not include additional elements that are sufficient to amount to significantly more than the judicial exception because The insignificant extra-solution activity identified above, which includes the data gathering steps, is recognized by the courts as well-understood, routine, and conventional activity when they are claimed in a merely generic manner (e.g., at a high level of generality) or as insignificant extra-solution activity (See MPEP 2106.05(d)(II)(i) Receiving or transmitting data over a network, e.g., using the Internet to gather data, buySAFE, Inc. v. Google, Inc., 765 F.3d 1350, 1355, 112 USPQ2d 1093, 1096 (Fed. Cir. 2014) (computer receives and sends information over a network)). The claim is not patent eligible.
Claim 15 is dependent on claim 14 and includes all the limitations of claim 14. Therefore, claim 15 recites the same abstract idea of claim 14. The claim recites the additional limitation of “processing circuitry is further operable to store the compressed digital image data associated with the second region on the storage medium”, which is merely elaborating on the abstract idea, by further specifying an additional component recited at a high-level of generality, therefore, does not amount to significantly more than the abstract idea.
Claim 16 is dependent on claim 14 and includes all the limitations of claim 14. Therefore, claim 16 recites the same abstract idea of claim 14. The claim recites the additional limitation of “a radiation emitter to transmit radiation toward the object to be received by the detector”, which is merely elaborating on the abstract idea, by further specifying an additional component recited at a high-level of generality, therefore, does not amount to significantly more than the abstract idea.
Claim 17 is dependent on claim 14 and includes all the limitations of claim 14. Therefore, claim 17 recites the same abstract idea of claim 14. The claim recites the additional limitation of “the detector is a sensor panel comprising one or more of a charge coupled device (CCD) panel, or a complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) panel”, which is merely elaborating on the abstract idea, by further specifying an additional component recited at a high-level of generality, therefore, does not amount to significantly more than the abstract idea.
Claim 21 is dependent on claim 1 and includes all the limitations of claim 1. Therefore, claim 21 recites the same abstract idea of claim 1. The claim recites the additional limitation of “wherein the first characteristic comprises a minimum volume in the first region and the second characteristic comprises a minimum volume in the second region”, which is merely elaborating on the abstract idea, by further specifying an additional mathematical calculation, therefore, does not amount to significantly more than the abstract idea.
Claim 22 is dependent on claim 1 and includes all the limitations of claim 1. Therefore, claim 22 recites the same abstract idea of claim 1. The claim recites the additional limitation of “wherein the first characteristic comprises a maximum volume in the first region and the second characteristic comprises a maximum volume in the second region”, which is merely elaborating on the abstract idea, by further specifying an additional mathematical calculation, therefore, does not amount to significantly more than the abstract idea.
Claim 23 is dependent on claim 1 and includes all the limitations of claim 1. Therefore, claim 23 recites the same abstract idea of claim 1. The claim recites the additional limitation of “wherein the first characteristic comprises a gray value range in the first region and the second characteristic comprises a gray value range in the second region”, which is merely elaborating on the abstract idea, by further specifying an additional mathematical calculation, therefore, does not amount to significantly more than the abstract idea.
Claim 24 is dependent on claim 1 and includes all the limitations of claim 1. Therefore, claim 24 recites the same abstract idea of claim 1. The claim recites the additional limitation of “wherein the first characteristic comprises a gray value distribution in the first region and the second characteristic comprises a gray value distribution in the second region”, which is merely elaborating on the abstract idea, by further specifying an additional mathematical calculation, therefore, does not amount to significantly more than the abstract idea.
Claim 25 is dependent on claim 1 and includes all the limitations of claim 1. Therefore, claim 25 recites the same abstract idea of claim 1. The claim recites the additional limitation of “wherein the first characteristic comprises a contrast in the first region and the second characteristic comprises a contrast in the second region”, which is merely elaborating on the abstract idea, by further specifying an additional mathematical calculation, therefore, does not amount to significantly more than the abstract idea.
Claim 26 is dependent on claim 1 and includes all the limitations of claim 1. Therefore, claim 26 recites the same abstract idea of claim 1. The claim recites the additional limitation of “wherein the first characteristic comprises a density in the first region and the second characteristic comprises a density in the second region”, which is merely elaborating on the abstract idea, by further specifying an additional mathematical calculation, therefore, does not amount to significantly more than the abstract idea.
Claim 27 is dependent on claim 1 and includes all the limitations of claim 1. Therefore, claim 27 recites the same abstract idea of claim 1. The claim recites the additional limitation of “wherein the first characteristic comprises a location of the first region in the image and the second characteristic comprises a location of the second region in the image”, which is merely elaborating on the abstract idea, by further specifying an additional mathematical calculation, therefore, does not amount to significantly more than the abstract idea.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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.
Claims 1, 3-4, 7-10, 12, 18-24 and 27 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Zhang et al. (US 2022/0239944 A1) in view of Jun et al. (US 2024/0073421 A1).
With respect to Claim 1, Zhang’944 shows a method of compressing (paragraph [0015] compression and/or decompression scheme) and [ ] of an object comprising:
identifying, by processing circuitry, a plurality of regions in the digital image of the object (paragraphs [0079] bit allocation is also described herein for assigning different number of bits to different areas within a frame);
assigning, by the processing circuitry, a first bit value to a first region of the plurality of regions (paragraph [0108] spatial bit allocation method is proposed which assigns different number of bits to different areas (first and second) within a video unit (e.g., a picture/slice/tile/subpicture/CTU row/CTU)) based on a first characteristic of the first region (paragraph [0108] spatial bit allocation is deployed by either adjusting the lambda value with a scaling factor applied to the base lambda value or adjusting the quantization step, based on the characteristics of a spatial location and/or other information);
compressing, by the processing circuitry, digital image data associated with the first region to a first level of compression based on the assigned first bit value (paragraph [0005] using lambda to determine a target bitrate for a current video unit/area. Paragraph [0079]-[0081] video compression in accordance with a target bitrate/level, spatial bit allocation for assigning different number of bits to different areas within a frame, for a given target bitrate, lambda value is derived);
assigning, by processing circuitry, a second bit value to a second region of the plurality of regions (paragraph [0108] spatial bit allocation method is proposed which assigns different number of bits to different areas (first and second) within a video unit (e.g., a picture/slice/tile/subpicture/CTU row/CTU)) based on a second characteristic of the second region (paragraph [0108] spatial bit allocation is deployed by either adjusting the lambda value with a scaling factor applied to the base lambda value or adjusting the quantization step, based on the characteristics of a spatial location and/or other information, paragraph [0091] scaling factor for lambda depends on location of video unit, paragraph [0092] scaling factor for lambda dependent on color, paragraph [0067] color is represented by grayscale);
compressing, by processing circuitry, digital image data associated with the second region to a second level of compression based on the assigned second bit value (paragraph [0005] using lambda to determine a target bitrate for a current video unit/area. Paragraph [0079]-[0081] video compression in accordance with a target bitrate/level, spatial bit allocation for assigning different number of bits to different areas (first and second) within a frame, for a given target bitrate, lambda value is derived); [ ].
Zhang’944 does not specifically show storing digital image data; storing, by processing circuitry, the compressed digital image data associated with the first region and the second region on a storage medium, decompressing the compressed digital image data associated with the first region and the second region.
Jun’421 shows storing digital image data (figure 1 memory 200 with compressed data); storing, by processing circuitry, the compressed digital image data associated with the first region and the second region on a storage medium (paragraph [0040] storing the compressed data to the memory 200), decompressing the compressed digital image data associated with the first region and the second region (paragraph [0040] read the compressed data from the memory 200 to decompress the compressed data, and provide the decompressed data to the multimedia IP 110 as input data).
At the time of the invention, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claim invention to modify Zhang’944 to include storing digital image data; storing, by processing circuitry, the compressed digital image data associated with the first region and the second region on a storage medium, decompressing the compressed digital image data associated with the first region and the second region method taught by Jun’421. The suggestion/motivation for doing so would have been to improve the system’s ability to be able to perform image processing reducing or preventing deterioration of quality when performing lossy compression on image data based on quantization (paragraph [0004]).
With respect to Claim 3, the combination of Zhang’944 and Jun’421 the method of claim 1, further comprising presenting the digital images to a user via one or more output devices (in Jun’421: paragraph [0028] received input data for displaying the input data on a display).
With respect to Claim 4, the combination of Zhang’944 and Jun’421 the method of claim 1, wherein the first bit value is 8-bit (in Zhang’944: paragraphs [0066]-[0067] and [0092] wherein lambda is associated with color which is assigned bit an 8-bit value).
With respect to Claim 7, the combination of Zhang’944 and Jun’421 the method of claim 1, wherein the digital image is comprised of a plurality of voxels or pixels (in Zhang’944: paragraph [0098] the video unit is one or multiple pixels/samples).
With respect to Claim 8, the combination of Zhang’944 and Jun’421 the method of claim 7, wherein each voxel or pixel of the plurality of voxels corresponds to a region of the plurality of regions (in Zhang’944: paragraph [0098] the video unit is one or multiple pixels/samples).
With respect to Claim 9, the combination of Zhang’944 and Jun’421 does not specifically show the method of claim 7, wherein a size of each voxel or pixel ranges from tens to hundreds of micrometers (in Jun’421: paragraph [0055] pixels arranged in 64 columns×32 rows (hereinafter referred to as 64×32 pixels), and the encoder (10 in FIG. 1) performs compression in block units including 32×4 pixels, paragraph [0065] pixels having values of (253, 254, 255)).
With respect to Claim 10, the combination of Zhang’944 and Jun’421 the method of claim 7, wherein each region of the plurality of regions corresponds to a voxel or a pixel of the plurality of voxels or pixel (in Zhang’944: paragraph [0098] the video unit is one or multiple pixels/samples).
With respect to Claim 12, the combination of Zhang’944 and Jun’421 the method of claim 1, wherein the first bit value and the second bit value are a common bit value (in Zhang’944: paragraph [0080] use adaptively adjusted lambda values for coding one video).
With respect to Claim 18, Zhang’944 shows a method of compressing (paragraph [0015] compression and/or decompression scheme) and [ ] comprising:
identifying, by processing circuitry, a plurality of regions in the digital image of the object (paragraphs [0079] bit allocation is also described herein for assigning different number of bits to different areas within a frame);
determining, by the processing circuitry, one or more characteristics of each identified region of the plurality of regions (paragraph [0108] spatial bit allocation is deployed by either adjusting the lambda value with a scaling factor applied to the base lambda value or adjusting the quantization step, based on the characteristics of a spatial location and/or other information);
assigning, by the processing circuitry, a bit value to each identified region of the plurality of regions (paragraph [0108] spatial bit allocation method is proposed which assigns different number of bits to different areas (first and second) within a video unit (e.g., a picture/slice/tile/subpicture/CTU row/CTU)) based on the one or more characteristics (paragraph [0108] spatial bit allocation is deployed by either adjusting the lambda value with a scaling factor applied to the base lambda value or adjusting the quantization step, based on the characteristics of a spatial location and/or other information);
compressing, by the processing circuitry, digital image data associated with each identified region to a compression level corresponding to the assigned bit value (paragraph [0005] using lambda to determine a target bitrate for a current video unit/area. Paragraph [0079]-[0081] video compression in accordance with a target bitrate/level, spatial bit allocation for assigning different number of bits to different areas within a frame, for a given target bitrate, lambda value is derived); and [ ].
Zhang’944 does not specifically show storing digital image data of an object; storing, by the processing circuitry, the compressed digital image data associated with each identified region on a storage medium, wherein the storage medium is configured to be accessed such that compressed digital image data associated with each identified region is decompressed.
Jun’421 shows storing digital image data of an object (figure 1 memory 200 with compressed data); storing, by the processing circuitry, the compressed digital image data associated with each identified region on a storage medium (paragraph [0040] storing the compressed data to the memory 200), wherein the storage medium is configured to be accessed such that compressed digital image data associated with each identified region is decompressed (paragraph [0040] read the compressed data from the memory 200 to decompress the compressed data, and provide the decompressed data to the multimedia IP 110 as input data).
At the time of the invention, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claim invention to modify Zhang’944 to include storing digital image data of an object; storing, by the processing circuitry, the compressed digital image data associated with each identified region on a storage medium, wherein the storage medium is configured to be accessed such that compressed digital image data associated with each identified region is decompressed method taught by Jun’421. The suggestion/motivation for doing so would have been to improve the system’s ability to be able to perform image processing reducing or preventing deterioration of quality when performing lossy compression on image data based on quantization (paragraph [0004]).
With respect to Claim 19, the combination of Zhang’944 and Jun’421 the method of claim 18, further comprising: comparing the determined one or more characteristics to a list that associates characteristic data with a desired bit value; and determining the assigned bit value based on the comparison (in Zhang’944: paragraphs [0138]-[0139] table 2).
With respect to Claim 20, the combination of Zhang’944 and Jun’421 the method of claim 19, wherein one of the assigned bit value or the desired bit value is 8-bit, 16-bit, or 32-bit (in Zhang’944: paragraphs [0066]-[0067] and [0092] wherein lambda is associated with color which is assigned bit an 8-bit value).
With respect to Claim 21, the combination of Zhang’944 and Jun’421 the method of claim 1, wherein the first characteristic comprises a minimum volume in the first region and the second characteristic comprises a minimum volume in the second region (in Jun’421: paragraphs [0064] and [0112] minimum QP size may be 1, and the maximum QP size may be 4. When lossy compression is performed, a predetermined or alternatively, desired first QP size (constraint QP size) may be greater than the minimum QP size and smaller than the maximum QP size, When the bit-depth is 8 bits and a target compression ratio is 50%, the maximum QP size may be 4. The constraint QP size may be set smaller than the maximum QP size, and the constraint QP size in the quality priority mode may be set smaller than the constraint QP size in the power priority mode).
With respect to Claim 22, the combination of Zhang’944 and Jun’421 the method of claim 1, wherein the first characteristic comprises a maximum volume in the first region and the second characteristic comprises a maximum volume in the second region (in Jun’421: paragraphs [0064] and [0112] minimum QP size may be 1, and the maximum QP size may be 4. When lossy compression is performed, a predetermined or alternatively, desired first QP size (constraint QP size) may be greater than the minimum QP size and smaller than the maximum QP size, When the bit-depth is 8 bits and a target compression ratio is 50%, the maximum QP size may be 4. The constraint QP size may be set smaller than the maximum QP size, and the constraint QP size in the quality priority mode may be set smaller than the constraint QP size in the power priority mode).
With respect to Claim 23, the combination of Zhang’944 and Jun’421 the method of claim 1, wherein the first characteristic comprises a gray value range in the first region and the second characteristic comprises a gray value range in the second region (in Zhang’944: paragraph [0092] scaling factor for lambda dependent on color, paragraph [0067] color is represented by grayscale).
With respect to Claim 24, the combination of Zhang’944 and Jun’421 the method of claim 1, wherein the first characteristic comprises a gray value distribution in the first region and the second characteristic comprises a gray value distribution in the second region (in Zhang’944: paragraph [0092] scaling factor for lambda dependent on color, paragraph [0067] color is represented by grayscale).
With respect to Claim 27, the combination of Zhang’944 and Jun’421 the method of claim 1, wherein the first characteristic comprises a location of the first region in the image and the second characteristic comprises a location of the second region in the image (in Zhang’944: paragraph [0108] spatial bit allocation is deployed by either adjusting the lambda value with a scaling factor applied to the base lambda value or adjusting the quantization step, based on the characteristics of a spatial location and/or other information).
Claims 25-26 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Zhang et al. (US 2022/0239944 A1) in view of Jun et al. (US 2024/0073421 A1) further in view of XU et al. (US 2018/0109772 A1).
With respect to Claim 25, the combination of Zhang’944 and Jun’421 does not specifically show the method of claim 1, wherein the first characteristic comprises a contrast in the first region and the second characteristic comprises a contrast in the second region.
XU’772 shows the first characteristic comprises a contrast in the first region and the second characteristic comprises a contrast in the second region (paragraphs [0023], [0054] luminance partition scaling to improve a contrast, executing a luminance compression to the images in the low luminance area, executing a luminance enhancement to the images in the mid luminance area, while keeping the luminance in the high luminance area unchanged).
At the time of the invention, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claim invention to modify Zhang’944 and Jun’421 to include first characteristic comprises a contrast in the first region and the second characteristic comprises a contrast in the second region method taught by XU’772. The suggestion/motivation for doing so would have been to improve the system’s ability to be able to improve image processing by improving the contrast (paragraph [0023]).
With respect to Claim 26, the combination of Zhang’944 and Jun’421 does not specifically shows the method of claim 1, wherein the first characteristic comprises a density in the first region and the second characteristic comprises a density in the second region.
XU’772 shows wherein the first characteristic comprises a density in the first region and the second characteristic comprises a density in the second region (paragraphs [0023], [0054] luminance partition scaling to improve a contrast, executing a luminance compression to the images in the low luminance area, executing a luminance enhancement to the images in the mid luminance area, while keeping the luminance in the high luminance area unchanged).
At the time of the invention, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claim invention to modify Zhang’944 and Jun’421 to include the first characteristic comprises a density in the first region and the second characteristic comprises a density in the second region method taught by XU’772. The suggestion/motivation for doing so would have been to improve the system’s ability to be able to improve image processing by improving the contrast (paragraph [0023]).
Claim 5 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Zhang et al. (US 2022/0239944 A1) in view of Jun et al. (US 2024/0073421 A1) and further in view of Brown et al. (US 11995871 B1).
With respect to Claim 5, the combination of Zhang’944 and Jun’421 does not specifically show the method of claim 1, wherein the second bit value is 16-bit.
Brown’871 shows having the second bit value of 16-bit (Column 4, lines 20-31 encoding/decoding 8-bit color values and 16-bit color values).
At the time of the invention, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claim invention to modify Zhang’944 and Jun’421 to include second bit value of 16-bit method taught by Brown’871. The suggestion/motivation for doing so would have been to improve the system’s ability to be able to accomplish minimal increase in computational overhead (column 4, lines 27-28).
Claims 11, 14-17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Zhang et al. (US 2022/0239944 A1) in view of Jun et al. (US 2024/0073421 A1) and further in view of Schneider et al. (US 2020/0311924 A1).
With respect to Claim 11, the combination of Zhang’944 and Jun’421 does not specifically show the method of claim 1, further comprising scanning the object with a radiation emission source to generate a digital image of the object.
Schneider’924 shows scanning the object with a radiation emission source to generate a digital image of the object (paragraphs [0035]-[0036] using x-ray radiation to obtain an image of an object).
At the time of the invention, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claim invention to modify Zhang’944 and Jun’421 to include scanning the object with a radiation emission source to generate a digital image of the object method taught by Schneider’924. The suggestion/motivation for doing so would have been to improve the system’s ability to be able to improve data volume of tomographic system (paragraphs [0006] and [0041]).
With respect to Claim 14, Zhang’944 shows [An industrial] imaging system, comprising: [ ];
a user interface comprising an input device (paragraph [0153] input 1902 may represent a network interface, a peripheral bus interface, or a storage interface. Examples of network interface include wired interfaces such as Ethernet, passive optical network (PON), etc. and wireless interfaces such as Wi-Fi or cellular interfaces );
identifying a plurality of regions in the digital image according to different characteristics of the plurality of regions (paragraphs [0079] bit allocation is also described herein for assigning different number of bits to different areas within a frame);
receive, via the input device, a selection of a first bit depth to a first region of the plurality of regions (paragraph [0108] spatial bit allocation method is proposed which assigns different number of bits to different areas (first and second) within a video unit (e.g., a picture/slice/tile/subpicture/CTU row/CTU));
receive, via the input device, a selection of a second bit depth to a second region of the plurality of regions (paragraph [0108] spatial bit allocation method is proposed which assigns different number of bits to different areas (first and second) within a video unit (e.g., a picture/slice/tile/subpicture/CTU row/CTU));
compress the digital image data associated with the first region based on the assigned first bit depth (paragraph [0005] using lambda to determine a target bitrate for a current video unit/area. Paragraph [0079]-[0081] video compression in accordance with a target bitrate/level, spatial bit allocation for assigning different number of bits to different areas within a frame, for a given target bitrate, lambda value is derived);
compress the digital image data associated with the second region based on the assigned second bit depth (paragraph [0005] using lambda to determine a target bitrate for a current video unit/area. Paragraph [0079]-[0081] video compression in accordance with a target bitrate/level, spatial bit allocation for assigning different number of bits to different areas (first and second) within a frame, for a given target bitrate, lambda value is derived); and [ ].
Zhang’944 does not specifically show storing store the compressed data digital image data associated with the first and second regions on the memory circuitry, wherein the memory circuitry is configured to be accessed such that compressed digital image data associated with the first region and the second region is decompressed.
Jun’421 storing store the compressed data digital image data associated with the first and second regions on the memory circuitry (paragraph [0040] storing the compressed data to the memory 200), wherein the memory circuitry is configured to be accessed such that compressed digital image data associated with the first region and the second region is decompressed (paragraph [0040] read the compressed data from the memory 200 to decompress the compressed data, and provide the decompressed data to the multimedia IP 110 as input data).
At the time of the invention, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claim invention to modify Zhang’944 to include storing store the compressed data digital image data associated with the first and second regions on the memory circuitry, wherein the memory circuitry is configured to be accessed such that compressed digital image data associated with the first region and the second region is decompressed method taught by Jun’421. The suggestion/motivation for doing so would have been to improve the system’s ability to be able to perform image processing reducing or preventing deterioration of quality when performing lossy compression on image data based on quantization (paragraph [0004]).
The combination of Zhang’944 and Jun’421 shows an adjustable fixture configured to position an object; a detector configured to capture radiation from the object; and an image acquisition system configured to generate an image of the object based on the detected radiation, the image acquisition system comprising: processing circuitry, and memory circuitry comprising machine readable instructions which, when executed by the processing circuitry, cause the processing circuitry to: receive, via the detector, digital image data corresponding to the object.
Schneider’924 shows an adjustable fixture configured to position an object (figure 1, paragraphs [0034]-[0035] tomography system 1 with an X-ray source 2 and a test object 10); a detector configured to capture radiation from the object (paragraph [0035] X-ray radiation 3 is radiated through the test object 10 reconstructs an object volume 12 of the test object 10 from the acquired radiographs and provides said object volume in the form of tomographic volume data 13); and an image acquisition system configured to generate an image of the object based on the detected radiation (paragraphs [0035]-[0036] tomographic volume data 13 are supplied to the compression device 7), the image acquisition system (paragraphs [0035]-[0036] tomographic volume data 13 are supplied to the compression device 7) comprising:, processing circuitry, and memory circuitry comprising machine readable instructions which, when executed by the processing circuitry, cause the processing circuitry to: receive, via the detector, digital image data corresponding to the object (paragraph [0035] X-ray radiation 3 is radiated through the test object 10 reconstructs an object volume 12 of the test object 10 from the acquired radiographs and provides said object volume in the form of tomographic volume data 13).
At the time of the invention, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claim invention to modify Zhang’944 and Jun’421 to include an adjustable fixture configured to position an object; a detector configured to capture radiation from the object; and an image acquisition system configured to generate an image of the object based on the detected radiation, the image acquisition system comprising: processing circuitry, and memory circuitry comprising machine readable instructions which, when executed by the processing circuitry, cause the processing circuitry to: receive, via the detector, digital image data corresponding to the object method taught by Schneider’924. The suggestion/motivation for doing so would have been to improve the system’s ability to be able to improve data volume of tomographic system (paragraphs [0006] and [0041]).
With respect to Claim 15, the combination of Zhang’944, Jun’421 and Schneider’924 show the system of claim 14, wherein the processing circuitry is further operable to store the compressed digital image data associated with the second region on the memory circuitry storage medium (in Jun’421: paragraph [0040] storing the compressed data to the memory 200).
With respect to Claim 16, the combination of Zhang’944, Jun’421 and Schneider’924 show the system of claim 14, further comprising a radiation emitter to transmit radiation toward the object to be received by the detector (in Schneider’924: paragraphs [0034]-[0036] an x-ray source 2 for providing x-ray radiation 3, a rotary table 4, on which a test object 10 can be disposed and rotated).
With respect to Claim 17, the combination of Zhang’944, Jun’421 and Schneider’924 show the system of claim 14, wherein the detector is a sensor panel comprising one or more of a charge coupled device (CCD) panel, or a complementary metal-oxide- semiconductor (CMOS) panel (in Schneider’924: paragraphs [0034]-[0036] an x-ray source 2 for providing x-ray radiation 3, a rotary table 4, on which a test object 10 can be disposed and rotated and x-ray detector 5).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 2, 6 and 13 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 and the 101 rejection is overcome.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Khemka et al. (US 2023/0141489 A1): paragraphs [0015]-[0018] power curve may be selected to compress an HDR image from the sensor bit-depth to the ISP bit-depth, where a level of compression of a certain region of the image is based on a pixel value of the region according to the power curve. A linear segment is used for compressing/decompressing regions of an image that has low pixel values (e.g., for compressing/ decompressing pixels of the image that have a pixel value below a certain threshold). In this case, using a linear segment for compressing/ decompressing low pixel value (e.g., low signal) regions of an input image may preserve the SNR in low-light areas of the image where noise increase due to quantization can be most critical. Decompression and/or compression performed according to the power curve may cause less compression to be performed for regions of the image with low luminance values while more compression is performed for regions of the image with high luminance values. Paragraph [0029] controlling the level of compression and/or decompression of a region of the HDR image based on the luminance conditions of the region according to the power curve, camera image compression/decompression component(s) 115A-B can optimize the size of the compressed image, such that less compression is performed for regions of the image with low luminance values while more compression is performed for regions of the image with high luminance values, thus preserving SNR and color accuracy for darker regions of the image that have less or insufficient light.
Chelnokov et al. (US 2022/0172321 A1): shows in paragraph [0024] a computer-implemented method of compressing CT reconstruction images can include: receiving a volumetric density file including one or more voxels; replacing one or more voxel density values below an air density value with the air density value; replacing one or more voxel density values above a material density value with the material density value; determining one or more voxels of interest; replacing one or more non-interesting voxel density values below a material surface density with the air density value; replacing one or more non-interesting voxel density values above the material surface density with the material density value; quantizing all voxels to provide a reduced volume image; and compressing the reduced volume image to provide a compressed volume image.
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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/IRIANA CRUZ/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2681
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