DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 33, 35 and 50-51 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
In claim 33, the limitation “the at least one input device” lacks proper antecedent, thereby rendering the claim indefinite.
In claim 50, the limitation “wherein 5 to 9 but preferably 7 panoramic cameras” (emphasis added) renders the claim indefinite for creating ambiguity. Use of the phrase "but preferably" renders the claim indefinite because it is unclear whether the elements following "preferably" are mandatory or optional limitations, thereby failing to explicitly define the exact metes and bounds of the claimed matter.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 1, 30 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Wardle (US 20150183498 A1).
Wardle discloses an underwater probe [100] that is capable of being used, and therefore usable, in a network of underwater probes. The underwater probe comprises: a submersible body having: an elongated body [105] with a substantially hydrodynamic effective shape for travel in at least one longitudinal direction; a power system [175] for allowing the controllable driving of the submersible body in the at least one longitudinal direction; and a visual image capture system including a plurality of optical cameras [125] located on or at the surface of the elongated body (see ¶0122, last 5 lines) which are capable of allowing usage in one or more of: navigation; visual capture; visual mapping; and knitting of a composite visual image. The elongated body, as seen relative to person [10] riding a surfboard [20] in Fig 1, is considered to be substantially in the range of 1 to 5 meters long, which would allow for easy maneuverability in small spaces. The probe is remotely controlled by wireless connection [200] in real time for navigational control of the probe for easy maneuverability in small spaces.
Re claim 30, the image data captured by the optical cameras is considered capable of and allowable for use in providing a localized panorama, as well as in a navigation system.
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.
Claim 4 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wardle (US 2015/0183498 A1) in view of Brown et al. (US 10,322,782 B1).
Wardle discloses an underwater probe, as described above, but is silent on an active ballast system with a ballast controller.
Brown et al. discloses an underwater vehicle comprising an active ballast system with a ballast controller wherein the active ballast system is remotely controllable through a wireless connection to the ballast controller to allow controlled changing of the depth of the probe (see col. 3, lines 33-52).
It would have been obvious to a person with ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to provide the underwater probe of Wardle with an active ballast system with a ballast controller, as taught by Brown et al. Having such a modification would have allowed the probe of Wardle to easily and efficiently operate at different depths.
Claims 19, 43 and 48-49 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wardle (US 2015/0183498 A1).
Wardle discloses an underwater probe comprising a plurality of optical cameras [125] (see ¶0122, last 5 lines), as described above, but is silent on the camera being one of a monoscopic camera and a stereoscopic camera.
However, it would have been obvious to a person with ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to configure the camera as a monoscopic camera. Having such an arrangement would have provided a simple and inexpensive image capture system.
Re claims 48-49, it is noted that the preceding claim 43 sets forth an option of using only one of a monoscopic camera and a stereoscopic camera. Because the use of a stereoscopic camera has not been considered in claim 43, any further characterization of the stereoscopic camera in claims 48-49 has not been given any patentable weight.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 57 is allowed.
Claims 7, 12, 15, 25-27, 31 and 36 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.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Stone at al. (US 9873495 B2) shows an underwater probe with multiple cameras 16 and 154 (Fig 16) and having a length of about 4 meters (see col. 2, line 20).
Christ et al. (US 11465718) disclose an AUV used for providing underwater mapping data.
NO 20161239 discloses an underwater probe having two or more cameras that are synchronized for providing 3D images.
CN 112298506 shows an underwater probe having two cameras [3] mounted on a nose cone (Fig 1).
CN 112519992 shows an underwater probe having two cameras [5] mounted on a nose cone (Fig 2).
WO 2020210918 shows an underwater probe having two cameras [16, 18] mounted on a opposing ends.
WO 2017220601 shows an underwater scanning device with cameras for generating underwater maps.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to AJAY VASUDEVA whose telephone number is (571)272-6689. The examiner can normally be reached 6:00 am - 3:00 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, Marc Jimenez can be reached at 571-272-4530. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/AJAY VASUDEVA/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3615
Prosecution Insights