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 .
This office action is responsive to a response filed on April 15th, 2026. In this office action:
Claims 1-9, 19, and 21-30 are pending
Claims 1-9, 19, and 21-30 are rejected
Summary of Previous Office Action
In the Non-Final Office Action mailed on February 18th, 2026,
Claims 5 and 24 were objected to because of informalities.
Claims 1-2, 5-6, 19, 21, 24-25, and 29-30 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Nakata (Pub. No. US 2017/0249108); in view of Shimada et al. (Pub. No. US 2009/0115798), hereinafter Shimada.
Claims 3-4, 8-9, 22-23, and 27-28 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Nakata (Pub. No. US 2017/0249108); in view of Shimada et al. (Pub. No. US 2009/0115798), hereinafter Shimada; and further in view of Popelo et al. (Pub. No. US 2016/0335500), hereinafter Popelo.
Claims 7 and 26 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Nakata (Pub. No. US 2017/0249108); in view of Shimada et al. (Pub. No. US 2009/0115798), hereinafter Shimada; and further in view of AHN (Pub. No. US 2017/0026493).
Response to Amendment
The amendments filed on April 15th, 2026 have been entered.
Claims 1, 5, 7, 19, 24-26, and 29 have been amended.
The previously raised claim objections for claims 5 and 24 are withdrawn in light of the amendments.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments filed on April 15th, 2026 have been fully considered by the Examiner, but are moot in view of the new grounds of rejection.
Regarding finality of the current Office Action, the Examiner notes that the amended independent claim 1 recites “positioning, by the one or more processors, the chunks in a packet in a priority order according to a priority of the chunks and their designation as critical or ancillary, the priority order being configured to permit selective removal of ancillary chunks from the packet by a packet wash process during packet transit.” Prior claim 7, filed on October 27th, 2025, recites wherein the chunks are positioned to support removal of ancillary chunks by a packet wash process during packet transit.
The amended claim 1 is different compared to the teachings of the prior claim 7.
Similar response applies to claim 19.
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 set forth in Graham v. John Deere Co., 383 U.S. 1, 148 USPQ 459 (1966), that are applied 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.
Claims 1-2, 5-7, 19, 21, 24-26, and 29-30 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Nakata (Pub. No. US 2017/0249108); in view of Shimada et al. (Pub. No. US 2009/0115798), hereinafter Shimada; and further in view of Li et al. (Pub. No. WO2020072132A1, Published on April 9th, 2020), hereinafter Li.
Claim 1. Nakata discloses [a] method implemented by an image source, the method comprising:
designating, by one or more processors of the image source (See Parag. [0027] [0053]), each chunk of a plurality of chunks of an image file as critical or ancillary (See Parag. [0032]; The chunk can store various kinds of information about an image. The chunks are classified into a “critical chunk” and an “ancillary chunk”);
positioning, by the one or more processors, the chunks in a packet in a priority order (See Parag. [0031-0033]; The meta image is generated conforming to a format to be described with reference to FIGS. 5A and 5B … FIG. 5A is a schematic diagram illustrating a data example of the meta image in the present exemplary embodiment. The image format of PNG is defined in a form including a plurality of data areas each referred to as a “chunk”, following a file header of 8 bytes ... The chunks are classified into a “critical chunk” and an “ancillary chunk”. Four types of chunks are each defined as the critical chunk. The four types are image header (IHDR), palette table (PLTE), image data (IDAT), and image trailer (IEND) ... the document data including the meta image is converted into the print data and then transmitted to a printer ... the meta image in the present exemplary embodiment includes the four chunks of IHDR, IDAT, naNo, and IEND. Examiner’s interpretation: The chunks are placed following the file header to be transmitted to the printer, see also Fig. 5A, which is reasonably interpreted by the Examiner as the chunks are positioned in a priority order); and
transmitting, by a transmitter of the image source, the packet toward an image destination (See Parag. [0033]; the document data including the meta image is converted into the print data and then transmitted to a printer. See also Parag. [0028] [0036]. Examiner’s interpretation: sending an image to a printer involves sending packet(s) (or frames/packets in the context of network printing) that are transmitted over a network/connection).
Nakata doesn’t explicitly disclose the PNG image is an interlaced image file; [and] positioning the chunks in a priority order according to a priority of the chunks and their designation as critical or ancillary, the priority order being configured to permit selective removal of ancillary chunks from the packet by a packet wash process during packet transit.
However, Shimada discloses: PNG image is an interlaced image file (See Parag. [0097]; Still image data such as an image material is written as, for example, a PNG image file in the memory 80 or 81. This PNG image file is supplied via a graphics unit 69 to a color lookup table (CLUT) 70. Reference is made to the index number, and the PNG image file is converted into RGB data, and supplied via a scaling unit 71 to the .alpha. blending unit 72. The scaling unit 71 converts the data into interlaced data ...); [and] positioning, by the one or more processors, the chunks in a priority order according to a priority of the chunks and their designation as critical or ancillary (See Parag. [0086-0087]; FIGS. 11A and 11B show an exemplary structure of a PNG image file. A PNG image file includes, as shown in FIG. 11A, a PNG signature, an IHDR chunk, a PLTE chunk, an IDAT chunk, an IEND chunk, two ancillary chunks, and, if necessary, additional chunks ... Referring to FIG. 11B, a PNG signature is an identifier of the PNG image and stores an 8-byte sequence for identifying a PNG image. An IHDR chunk is an image header and stores important data of the overall image, such as the image size and bit depth of the PNG image. An ancillary chunk placed after the IHDR chunk contains one or a plurality of chunks relating to displaying colors, such as a gamma value and a chroma of the PNG image. A PLTE chunk stores a palette in which an element is designated using an index number, as described above. The PLTE chunk is critical in an index color mode. The next ancillary chunk containing one or a plurality of chunks relating to displaying transparent colors or the like. The next additional chunk is optional and is not critical. An IDAT chunk is image data and stores a compressed and encoded image data sequence. A plurality of IDAT chunks may exist in one PNG image file. An IEND chunk marks the end of the PNG image file and has a data length of 0).
It would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to modify the positioned chunks, taught by Nakata, to include positioning, by the one or more processors, the chunks in a priority order according to a priority of the chunks and their designation as critical or ancillary, as taught by Shimada. This would be convenient to provide image processing program which are suitable for use in displaying an image represented by image data having a significantly large number of pixels on a display device having a standard number of pixels (Shimada, Parag. [0003]).
Nakata in view of Shimada doesn’t explicitly disclose the priority order being configured to permit selective removal of ancillary chunks from the packet by a packet wash process during packet transit.
However, Li discloses the priority order being configured to permit selective removal of ancillary chunks from the packet by a packet wash process during packet transit (See Parag. [0018]; a packet wash operation specification that specifies details for breaking the information into a plurality of data payload portions, the packet wash operation specification associates particular attributes with each data payload portion. The method indicates in the data packet that the data packet supports a packet wash operation that modifies a size of the payload of the data packet based on the particular attributes associated the plurality of data payload portions. The method transmits the data packet along a network path towards a destination node. See Parag. [0021]; the particular attributes for a data payload portion include a priority level of the data payload portion. See Parag. [0028]; the packet wash operation reduces a size of the data packet by removing at least one data payload portion of information from the data packet, wherein the at least one data payload portion of information selected for removal is based on the particular attributes assigned to the plurality of data payload portions of the data packets. See Parag. [0052]; The packet wash operation is a function performed by a network node 1 14 to modify a size of a data packet by removing a discardable data payload portion or data payload portions of the data (e.g., least-significant bytes) from the packet payload, or by adding or restoring a data payload portion of the data from the packet payload, while the data packet is en route from a source node to a destination node. A discardable data payload portion a is data within the payload that has been flagged or identified as being less significant, not required, and/or data that can be recovered from the payload of other data packets (e.g., redundant data such as color or a background image) ... See also Parag. [0053]).
It would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to modify the priority order, taught by Nakata in view of Shimada, to be configured to permit selective removal of ancillary chunks from the packet by a packet wash process during packet transit, as taught by Li. This would be convenient to resolve retransmission requirements waste network resources and increase communication latency (Li, Parag. [0004]).
Claim 2. Nakata in view of Shimada and Li discloses [t]he method of claim 1,
Nakata further discloses wherein positioning the chunks comprises positioning critical chunks at a head of the packet, positioning an image trailer (IEND) chunk as a last chunk of the critical chunks (See Parag. [0031-0032]; The meta image is generated conforming to a format to be described with reference to FIGS. 5A and 5B … FIG. 5A is a schematic diagram illustrating a data example of the meta image in the present exemplary embodiment. The image format of PNG is defined in a form including a plurality of data areas each referred to as a “chunk”, following a file header of 8 bytes. The chunk includes a chunk size (4 bytes), a chunk type (4 bytes), a data part (an arbitrary length), and a cyclic redundancy code (CRC) (4 bytes). The chunk can store various kinds of information about an image. The chunks are classified into a “critical chunk” and an “ancillary chunk”. Four types of chunks are each defined as the critical chunk. The four types are image header (IHDR), palette table (PLTE), image data (IDAT), and image trailer (IEND)).
Nakata doesn’t explicitly disclose positioning ancillary chunks at a tail of the packet after the IEND chunk.
However, Shimada discloses positioning ancillary chunks at a tail of the packet after the IEND chunk (See Parag. [0087]; An IEND chunk marks the end of the PNG image file and has a data length of 0).
It would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to modify the positioned chunks, taught by Nakata, to include positioning ancillary chunks at a tail of the packet after the IEND chunk, as taught by Shimada. This would be convenient to provide image processing program which are suitable for use in displaying an image represented by image data having a significantly large number of pixels on a display device having a standard number of pixels (Shimada, Parag. [0003]).
Claim 5. Nakata in view of Shimada and Li discloses [t]he method of claim 1,
Nakata further discloses the method further comprising receiving, by a receiver of the image source, a request for the image file containing parameters, and wherein positioning the chunks in the packet in the priority order of the priority of the chunks is based on the parameters in the request (See Parag. [0027]; An application 301 is a software program for creating document data, and receiving a print instruction via a print dialog. Upon receiving a print instruction from a user, the application 301 transmits a rendering command for document data to a V3 graphics module 307 using API of GDI. See Parag. [0031-0032]; The meta image is generated conforming to a format to be described with reference to FIGS. 5A and 5B … FIG. 5A is a schematic diagram illustrating a data example of the meta image in the present exemplary embodiment … See Parag. [0033]; the document data including the meta image).
Nakata doesn’t expliclty disclose the PNG image is an interlaced image file.
Shimada further discloses: PNG image is an interlaced image file (See Parag. [0097]; Still image data such as an image material is written as, for example, a PNG image file in the memory 80 or 81. This PNG image file is supplied via a graphics unit 69 to a color lookup table (CLUT) 70. Reference is made to the index number, and the PNG image file is converted into RGB data, and supplied via a scaling unit 71 to the .alpha. blending unit 72. The scaling unit 71 converts the data into interlaced data ...)
Claim 6. Nakata in view of Shimada and Li discloses [t]he method of claim 5,
Nakata further discloses wherein the parameters in the request indicate one or more of: an image smoothness requirement of the image destination, an image attribute preference of the image destination, or a decoding capability of the image destination (See Parag. [0027]; Upon receiving a print instruction from a user, the application 301 transmits a rendering command for document data to a V3 graphics module 307 using API of GDI. The V3 printer driver using GDI has no step for converting GDI into XPS. The V3 graphics module 307 directly converts GDI into a printer description language (PDL). The PDL is print data for performing print processing in the printer 20. The V3 graphics module 307 then outputs this PDL. A spooler 305 buffers the output PDL, and then a port monitor 306 transmits the PDL to the printer 20).
Claim 7. Nakata in view of Shimada and Li discloses [t]he method of claim 1,
Nakata doesn’t explicitly disclose wherein the ancillary chunks are removable by the packet wash process starting at a tail of the packet and progressing toward a head of the packet based on a position of an image trailer (IEND) chunk.
Shimada discloses positioning ancillary chunks at a tail of the packet after the IEND chunk (i.e., position of an image trailer (IEND) chunk) (See Parag. [0087]; An IEND chunk marks the end of the PNG image file and has a data length of 0).
Li discloses wherein the ancillary chunks are removable by the packet wash process starting at a tail of the packet and progressing toward a head of the packet (See Parag. [0053]; The data packet 300 includes the IP HDR 202, a packet wash (PW) specification 206, and the payload 204 ... The PW specification 206 describes the significance of the bytes or data payload portions of the payload 204. During the packetization process, the source node 1 10 breaks the data into a plurality of data payload portions (i.e., smaller pieces of data). For example, in the depicted embodiment, the data payload for the data packet 300 is broken into data payload portion (P0) 208, data payload portion (Pl) 210, data payload portion (P2) 212, and data payload portion (P3) 214 based on the PW specification 206 ... Each data payload portion is associated with particular attributes such as, but not limited to, a priority level or significance value of the data payload portion. In some embodiments, a binary value (e.g., 0 or 1) can be assigned to each data payload portion indicating whether the data payload portion is significant/required or insignificant/disposable. Alternatively, each data payload portion can be assigned a value within a range (e.g., 0-9) to provide greater granularity of the significance or priority level of a data payload portion of data. ... the network node 114 performs the packet wash operation by dropping lower-priority data payload portions from the payload 204 of the data packet 300 according to the information in the PW specification 206).
It would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to modify the positioned chunks where a tail of the packet is positioned after the IEND chunk (i.e., position of an image trailer (IEND) chunk), taught by Nakata in view of Shimada, such that wherein the ancillary chunks are removable by the packet wash process starting at a tail of the packet and progressing toward a head of the packet, as taught by Li. This would be convenient to resolve retransmission requirements waste network resources and increase communication latency (Li, Parag. [0004]).
Claim 19. Nakata discloses [a]n image source comprising:
a memory storing instructions; and at least one processor in communication with the memory (See Parag. [0027] [0053]), the at least one processor configured, upon execution of the instructions, to perform the following steps:
designating each chunk of a plurality of chunks of an image file as critical or ancillary (See Parag. [0032]; The chunk can store various kinds of information about an image. The chunks are classified into a “critical chunk” and an “ancillary chunk”);
positioning the chunks in a packet in a priority order (See Parag. [0031-0033]; The meta image is generated conforming to a format to be described with reference to FIGS. 5A and 5B … FIG. 5A is a schematic diagram illustrating a data example of the meta image in the present exemplary embodiment. The image format of PNG is defined in a form including a plurality of data areas each referred to as a “chunk”, following a file header of 8 bytes ... The chunks are classified into a “critical chunk” and an “ancillary chunk”. Four types of chunks are each defined as the critical chunk. The four types are image header (IHDR), palette table (PLTE), image data (IDAT), and image trailer (IEND) ... the document data including the meta image is converted into the print data and then transmitted to a printer ... the meta image in the present exemplary embodiment includes the four chunks of IHDR, IDAT, naNo, and IEND. Examiner’s interpretation: The chunks are placed following the file header to be transmitted to the printer, see also Fig. 5A, which is reasonably interpreted by the Examiner as the chunks are positioned in a priority order); and
transmitting the packet toward an image destination (See Parag. [0033]; the document data including the meta image is converted into the print data and then transmitted to a printer. See also Parag. [0028] [0036]. Examiner’s interpretation: sending an image to a printer involves sending packet(s) (or frames/packets in the context of network printing) that are transmitted over a network/connection).
Nakata doesn’t explicitly disclose the PNG image is an interlaced image file; [and] positioning the chunks in a priority order according to a priority of the chunks and their designation as critical or ancillary, the priority order being configured to permit selective removal of ancillary chunks from the packet by a packet wash process during packet transit.
However, Shimada discloses: PNG image is an interlaced image file (See Parag. [0097]; Still image data such as an image material is written as, for example, a PNG image file in the memory 80 or 81. This PNG image file is supplied via a graphics unit 69 to a color lookup table (CLUT) 70. Reference is made to the index number, and the PNG image file is converted into RGB data, and supplied via a scaling unit 71 to the .alpha. blending unit 72. The scaling unit 71 converts the data into interlaced data ...); [and] positioning the chunks in a priority order according to a priority of the chunks and their designation as critical or ancillary (See Parag. [0086-0087]; FIGS. 11A and 11B show an exemplary structure of a PNG image file. A PNG image file includes, as shown in FIG. 11A, a PNG signature, an IHDR chunk, a PLTE chunk, an IDAT chunk, an IEND chunk, two ancillary chunks, and, if necessary, additional chunks ... Referring to FIG. 11B, a PNG signature is an identifier of the PNG image and stores an 8-byte sequence for identifying a PNG image. An IHDR chunk is an image header and stores important data of the overall image, such as the image size and bit depth of the PNG image. An ancillary chunk placed after the IHDR chunk contains one or a plurality of chunks relating to displaying colors, such as a gamma value and a chroma of the PNG image. A PLTE chunk stores a palette in which an element is designated using an index number, as described above. The PLTE chunk is critical in an index color mode. The next ancillary chunk containing one or a plurality of chunks relating to displaying transparent colors or the like. The next additional chunk is optional and is not critical. An IDAT chunk is image data and stores a compressed and encoded image data sequence. A plurality of IDAT chunks may exist in one PNG image file. An IEND chunk marks the end of the PNG image file and has a data length of 0).
It would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to modify the positioned chunks, taught by Nakata, to include positioning the chunks in a priority order according to a priority of the chunks and their designation as critical or ancillary, as taught by Shimada. This would be convenient to provide image processing program which are suitable for use in displaying an image represented by image data having a significantly large number of pixels on a display device having a standard number of pixels (Shimada, Parag. [0003]).
Nakata in view of Shimada doesn’t explicitly disclose the priority order being configured to permit selective removal of ancillary chunks from the packet by a packet wash process during packet transit.
However, Li discloses the priority order being configured to permit selective removal of ancillary chunks from the packet by a packet wash process during packet transit (See Parag. [0018]; a packet wash operation specification that specifies details for breaking the information into a plurality of data payload portions, the packet wash operation specification associates particular attributes with each data payload portion. The method indicates in the data packet that the data packet supports a packet wash operation that modifies a size of the payload of the data packet based on the particular attributes associated the plurality of data payload portions. The method transmits the data packet along a network path towards a destination node. See Parag. [0021]; the particular attributes for a data payload portion include a priority level of the data payload portion. See Parag. [0028]; the packet wash operation reduces a size of the data packet by removing at least one data payload portion of information from the data packet, wherein the at least one data payload portion of information selected for removal is based on the particular attributes assigned to the plurality of data payload portions of the data packets. See Parag. [0052]; The packet wash operation is a function performed by a network node 1 14 to modify a size of a data packet by removing a discardable data payload portion or data payload portions of the data (e.g., least-significant bytes) from the packet payload, or by adding or restoring a data payload portion of the data from the packet payload, while the data packet is en route from a source node to a destination node. A discardable data payload portion a is data within the payload that has been flagged or identified as being less significant, not required, and/or data that can be recovered from the payload of other data packets (e.g., redundant data such as color or a background image) ...).
It would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to modify the priority order, taught by Nakata in view of Shimada, to be configured to permit selective removal of ancillary chunks from the packet by a packet wash process during packet transit, as taught by Li. This would be convenient to resolve retransmission requirements waste network resources and increase communication latency (Li, Parag. [0004]).
Claim 21 is taught by Nakata in view of Shimada and Li as described for claim 2.
Claim 24 is taught by Nakata in view of Shimada and Li as described for claim 5.
Claim 25 is taught by Nakata in view of Shimada and Li as described for claim 6.
Claim 26 is taught by Nakata in view of Shimada and Li as described for claim 7.
Claim 29. Nakata discloses [a] non-transitory, computer-readable medium storing instructions that when executed by a processor cause the processor (See Parag. [0027] [0053]) to:
designate each chunk of a plurality of chunks of an image file as critical or ancillary (See Parag. [0032]; The chunk can store various kinds of information about an image. The chunks are classified into a “critical chunk” and an “ancillary chunk”);
position the chunks in a packet in a priority order (See Parag. [0031-0033]; The meta image is generated conforming to a format to be described with reference to FIGS. 5A and 5B … FIG. 5A is a schematic diagram illustrating a data example of the meta image in the present exemplary embodiment. The image format of PNG is defined in a form including a plurality of data areas each referred to as a “chunk”, following a file header of 8 bytes ... The chunks are classified into a “critical chunk” and an “ancillary chunk”. Four types of chunks are each defined as the critical chunk. The four types are image header (IHDR), palette table (PLTE), image data (IDAT), and image trailer (IEND) ... the document data including the meta image is converted into the print data and then transmitted to a printer ... the meta image in the present exemplary embodiment includes the four chunks of IHDR, IDAT, naNo, and IEND. Examiner’s interpretation: The chunks are placed following the file header to be transmitted to the printer, see also Fig. 5A, which is reasonably interpreted by the Examiner as the chunks are positioned in a priority order); and
transmit the packet toward an image destination (See Parag. [0033]; the document data including the meta image is converted into the print data and then transmitted to a printer. See also Parag. [0028] [0036]. Examiner’s interpretation: sending an image to a printer involves sending packet(s) (or frames/packets in the context of network printing) that are transmitted over a network/connection).
Nakata doesn’t explicitly disclose the PNG image is an interlaced image file; [and] position the chunks in a priority order according to a priority of the chunks and their designation as critical or ancillary, the priority order being configured to permit selective removal of ancillary chunks from the packet by a packet wash process during packet transit.
However, Shimada discloses: PNG image is an interlaced image file (See Parag. [0097]; Still image data such as an image material is written as, for example, a PNG image file in the memory 80 or 81. This PNG image file is supplied via a graphics unit 69 to a color lookup table (CLUT) 70. Reference is made to the index number, and the PNG image file is converted into RGB data, and supplied via a scaling unit 71 to the .alpha. blending unit 72. The scaling unit 71 converts the data into interlaced data ...); [and] position the chunks in a priority order according to a priority of the chunks and their designation as critical or ancillary (See Parag. [0086-0087]; FIGS. 11A and 11B show an exemplary structure of a PNG image file. A PNG image file includes, as shown in FIG. 11A, a PNG signature, an IHDR chunk, a PLTE chunk, an IDAT chunk, an IEND chunk, two ancillary chunks, and, if necessary, additional chunks ... Referring to FIG. 11B, a PNG signature is an identifier of the PNG image and stores an 8-byte sequence for identifying a PNG image. An IHDR chunk is an image header and stores important data of the overall image, such as the image size and bit depth of the PNG image. An ancillary chunk placed after the IHDR chunk contains one or a plurality of chunks relating to displaying colors, such as a gamma value and a chroma of the PNG image. A PLTE chunk stores a palette in which an element is designated using an index number, as described above. The PLTE chunk is critical in an index color mode. The next ancillary chunk containing one or a plurality of chunks relating to displaying transparent colors or the like. The next additional chunk is optional and is not critical. An IDAT chunk is image data and stores a compressed and encoded image data sequence. A plurality of IDAT chunks may exist in one PNG image file. An IEND chunk marks the end of the PNG image file and has a data length of 0).
It would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to modify the positioned chunks, taught by Nakata, to include positioning the chunks in a priority order according to a priority of the chunks and their designation as critical or ancillary, as taught by Shimada. This would be convenient to provide image processing program which are suitable for use in displaying an image represented by image data having a significantly large number of pixels on a display device having a standard number of pixels (Shimada, Parag. [0003]).
Nakata in view of Shimada doesn’t explicitly disclose the priority order being configured to permit selective removal of ancillary chunks from the packet by a packet wash process during packet transit.
However, Li discloses the priority order being configured to permit selective removal of ancillary chunks from the packet by a packet wash process during packet transit (See Parag. [0018]; a packet wash operation specification that specifies details for breaking the information into a plurality of data payload portions, the packet wash operation specification associates particular attributes with each data payload portion. The method indicates in the data packet that the data packet supports a packet wash operation that modifies a size of the payload of the data packet based on the particular attributes associated the plurality of data payload portions. The method transmits the data packet along a network path towards a destination node. See Parag. [0021]; the particular attributes for a data payload portion include a priority level of the data payload portion. See Parag. [0028]; the packet wash operation reduces a size of the data packet by removing at least one data payload portion of information from the data packet, wherein the at least one data payload portion of information selected for removal is based on the particular attributes assigned to the plurality of data payload portions of the data packets. See Parag. [0052]; The packet wash operation is a function performed by a network node 1 14 to modify a size of a data packet by removing a discardable data payload portion or data payload portions of the data (e.g., least-significant bytes) from the packet payload, or by adding or restoring a data payload portion of the data from the packet payload, while the data packet is en route from a source node to a destination node. A discardable data payload portion a is data within the payload that has been flagged or identified as being less significant, not required, and/or data that can be recovered from the payload of other data packets (e.g., redundant data such as color or a background image) ...).
It would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to modify the priority order, taught by Nakata in view of Shimada, to be configured to permit selective removal of ancillary chunks from the packet by a packet wash process during packet transit, as taught by Li. This would be convenient to resolve retransmission requirements waste network resources and increase communication latency (Li, Parag. [0004]).
Claim 30 is taught by Nakata in view of Shimada and Li as described for claim 2.
Claims 3-4, 8-9, 22-23, and 27-28 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Nakata (Pub. No. US 2017/0249108); in view of Shimada et al. (Pub. No. US 2009/0115798), hereinafter Shimada; further in view of Li et al. (Pub. No. WO2020072132A1, Published on April 9th, 2020), hereinafter Li; and further in view of Popelo et al. (Pub. No. US 2016/0335500), hereinafter Popelo.
Claim 3. Nakata in view of Shimada and Li discloses [t]he method of claim 1,
The combination doesn’t explicitly disclose wherein positioning the chunks comprises positioning all critical chunks of a layer before all ancillary chunks of the layer.
However, Popelo discloses wherein positioning the chunks comprises positioning all critical chunks of a layer before all ancillary chunks of the layer (See Parag. [0083]; A series of critical “chunks” 302 to 305 then follows. The IHDR chunk 302 contains image 300's width, height, and bit depth. The PLTE chunk 303 contains the palette or list of colors used in image 300. One or more IDAT chunks 304 contain the actual image data of image 300. Finally, the IEND chunk 305 indicates the end of the image data. According to the PNG specification, a variety of ancillary chunks may be included in a PNG image file 300. One such chunk is the iTXt chunk 310, which allows for storage of text comprising characters encoded according to the UTF-8 character encoding. Examiner’s interpretation: Fig. 7 shows that “critical chunks 302 to 305” are positioned before “ancillary chunks 310”).
It would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to modify the positioned chunks, taught by the combination, to include positioning all critical chunks of a layer before all ancillary chunks of the layer, as taught by Popelo. This would be convenient in associating a generated image with generated image metadata, where the IEND chunk indicates the end of the image data (Popelo, Parag. [0083]).
Claim 4. Nakata in view of Shimada and Li discloses [t]he method of claim 1,
The combination doesn’t explicitly disclose wherein positioning the chunks comprises positioning a critical chunk of a lower priority layer before an ancillary chunk of a higher priority layer.
However, Popelo discloses wherein positioning the chunks comprises positioning a critical chunk of a lower priority layer before an ancillary chunk of a higher priority layer (See Parag. [0083]; A series of critical “chunks” 302 to 305 then follows. The IHDR chunk 302 contains image 300's width, height, and bit depth. The PLTE chunk 303 contains the palette or list of colors used in image 300. One or more IDAT chunks 304 contain the actual image data of image 300. Finally, the IEND chunk 305 indicates the end of the image data. According to the PNG specification, a variety of ancillary chunks may be included in a PNG image file 300. One such chunk is the iTXt chunk 310, which allows for storage of text comprising characters encoded according to the UTF-8 character encoding. Examiner’s interpretation: Fig. 7 shows that critical chunk 305 is positioned before ancillary chunk 310).
It would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to modify the positioned chunks, taught by the combination, to include positioning a critical chunk of a lower priority layer before an ancillary chunk of a higher priority layer, as taught by Popelo. This would be convenient in associating a generated image with generated image metadata, where the IEND chunk indicates the end of the image data (Popelo, Parag. [0083]).
Claim 8. Nakata in view of Shimada, Li, (combination) and Popelo discloses [t]he method of claim 3,
The combination doesn’t explicitly disclose the method further comprising: assigning, by the one or more processors, a layer priority level to each layer, wherein each successive layer receives a decreasing priority level; ordering, by the one or more processors, the chunks of each layer based on a layer priority level; and positioning, by the one or more processors, the chunks of each layer prior to an IEND chunk or subsequent to the IEND chunk based on the layer priority level of the each layer.
However, Popelo discloses assigning, by the one or more processors, a layer priority level to each layer, wherein each successive layer receives a decreasing priority level; ordering, by the one or more processors, the chunks of each layer based on a layer priority level; and positioning, by the one or more processors, the chunks of each layer prior to an IEND chunk or subsequent to the IEND chunk based on the layer priority level of the each layer (See Parag. [0083]; associating the generated image and the generated image metadata is by writing an image file including them both to a computer-readable storage medium, such as a memory of smartphone 120 … FIG. 7 shows a block diagram of a PNG image file 300. The first eight bytes of the file (labeled 301) consist of the standard PNG file signature. A series of critical “chunks” 302 to 305 then follows. The IHDR chunk 302 contains image 300's width, height, and bit depth. The PLTE chunk 303 contains the palette or list of colors used in image 300. One or more IDAT chunks 304 contain the actual image data of image 300. Finally, the IEND chunk 305 indicates the end of the image data. According to the PNG specification, a variety of ancillary chunks may be included in a PNG image file 300. Examiner’s interpretation: the chunks are positioned in a priority order).
It would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to modify the positioned chunks, taught by the combination to include assigning, by the one or more processors, a layer priority level to each layer, wherein each successive layer receives a decreasing priority level, ordering, by the one or more processors, the chunks of each layer based on a layer priority level, and positioning, by the one or more processors, the chunks of each layer prior to an IEND chunk or subsequent to the IEND chunk based on the layer priority level of the each layer, as taught by Popelo. This would be convenient in associating a generated image with generated image metadata, where the IEND chunk indicates the end of the image data (Popelo, Parag. [0083]).
Claim 9. Nakata in view of Shimada, Li, and Popelo discloses [t]he method of claim 8,
Nakata doesn’t explicitly disclose wherein the IEND chunk indicates a threshold beyond which no packet wash can be applied when proceeding from a tail of the packet to a head of the packet
However, Shimada discloses wherein the IEND chunk indicates a threshold beyond which no packet wash can be applied when proceeding from a tail of the packet to a head of the packet (See Parag. [0087]; An IEND chunk marks the end of the PNG image file and has a data length of 0).
It would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to modify the positioned chunks, taught by Nakata, to include wherein the IEND chunk indicates a threshold beyond which no packet wash can be applied when proceeding from a tail of the packet to a head of the packet, as taught by Shimada. This would be convenient to provide image processing program which are suitable for use in displaying an image represented by image data having a significantly large number of pixels on a display device having a standard number of pixels (Shimada, Parag. [0003]).
Claim 22 is taught by Nakata in view of Shimada, Li, and Popelo as described for claim 3.
Claim 23 is taught by Nakata in view of Shimada, Li, and Popelo as described for claim 4.
Claim 27 is taught by Nakata in view of Shimada, Li, and Popelo as described for claim 8.
Claim 28 is taught by Nakata in view of Shimada, Li, and Popelo as described for claim 9.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure:
Meier et al. (Pub. No. US 2021/0144099) – Related art in the area of sending data packets, (Parag. [0017]; segmenting the data packet to be sent into packet segments is proposed according to the method, wherein the packet segments have a priority value that corresponds to a priority value of the data packet. In other words, a segmenting method with consideration of priority is proposed. For example, packet segments of the data packet having a priority of 7 also have a priority value of 7 ...).
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 extension fee 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 date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ABDELBASST TALIOUA whose telephone number is (571)272-4061. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday-Thursday 7:30 am - 5:30 pm.
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, Oscar Louie can be reached on 571-270-1684. 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 https://ppair-my.uspto.gov/pair/PrivatePair. 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.
/Abdelbasst Talioua/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2445
Prosecution Insights