DETAILED ACTION
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Continued Examination
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on 5/13/2026 has been entered. Claims 1, 3, 23, 25 and 28 have been canceled, claims 30-31 have been added. claims 2, 4-22, 24, 26-27 and 29-31 remain pending in the application.
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers submitted under 35 U.S.C. 119(a)-(d), which papers have been placed of record in the file.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(a):
(a) IN GENERAL.—The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor or joint inventor of carrying out the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), first paragraph:
The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor of carrying out his invention. (FP 7.30.01)
Claims 2, 4-22, 24, 26-27 and 29-31 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), first paragraph, as failing to comply with the written description requirement. The claim(s) contains subject matter which was not described in the specification in such a way as to reasonably convey to one skilled in the relevant art that the inventor or a joint inventor, or for pre-AIA the inventor(s), at the time the application was filed, had possession of the claimed invention. (FP 7.31.01)
Claim 2 and 31 recite “a depth information of the 3D neighbourhood is determined based at least in part on the first image and the second image in response to the likelihood having a predetermined value”, and “the depth information of the 3D neighbourhood is determined based at least in part on the first image, the second image and the third image in response to the likelihood having a predetermined value”. However, there are no disclosure in specification of these feature, so the language constitutes new matter.
There is no “predetermined value” disclosed in specification, and “likelihood having a predetermined value” sounds indefinite, person of ordinary skill in the art could not ascertain the scope of the claim. Please incorporate claim 22 (the previous allowable subject matter indicated in office action dated 1/13/2026), or amend the claims based on the specification.
Claim 2 and 31 fail to comply with the written description requirement, and are not supported by the original disclosure and therefore constitutes new matter. (See also 37 C.F.R. 1.121(f), MPEP 608.04, 706.03(o))
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 2, 4-22, 24, 26-27 and 29-31 are allowed if 112(a) rejection can be overcome.
The following is an examiner’s statement of reasons for allowance:
Claim 2 is about generating three-dimensional information of a scene comprising: a plurality of cameras, the cameras configured to be positioned to view the scene, and the plurality of cameras configured to generate pixel data representative of at least two images taken at different positions relative to the scene, and the plurality of cameras configured to transmit pixel data associated at least in part with the at least two images to one or more computer systems, wherein a first camera of the plurality of cameras is associated with a mobile platform or vehicle, and a second camera of the plurality of cameras is associated with a stationary platform or a separate vehicle; and the one or more computer systems configured to: obtain the transmitted associated pixel data from the at least two images, wherein the at least two images include a first image taken from the first camera at a first location and a second image taken with the first camera at a second location; extract at least a portion of the associated pixel data; use the at least a portion of the associated pixel data to generate a representation of a 3D neighbourhood that is representative of at least a portion of the scene based at least in part on a projection of the 3D neighbourhood in at least one of the images; and use the at least a portion of the associated pixel data to determine a likelihood one or more physical surfaces in the scene intersects the 3D neighbourhood, wherein a depth information of the 3D neighbourhood is determined based at least in part on the first image and the second image in response to the likelihood having a predetermined value.
Colmenares 10949986, Tay 20190311546, and Hoy 20170316259 combined cannot discloses “a depth information of the 3D neighbourhood is determined based at least in part on the first image and the second image in response to the likelihood having a predetermined value”. These limitations when read in light of the rest of the limitations in the claim make the claim allowable subject matter.
Claim 4-22, 24, 26-27 and 29-31 depend on claim 2, are allowed based on same reason as claim 2.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Yi Yang whose telephone number is (571)272-9589. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday-Friday 9:00 AM-6:00 PM EST.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Daniel Hajnik can be reached on 571-272-7642. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/YI YANG/
Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2616
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