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 .
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.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statements (IDS) submitted on 02/26/2024 and 08/22/2024 are in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 101
35 U.S.C. 101 reads as follows:
Whoever invents or discovers any new and useful process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter, or any new and useful improvement thereof, may obtain a patent therefor, subject to the conditions and requirements of this title.
Claims 1, 13 and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 101 because the claimed invention is directed to a judicial exception (i.e., a law of nature, a natural phenomenon, or an abstract idea) without significantly more.
Regarding claims 1, 13 and 20:
Claims 1 13 and 20 are directed to idea of itself (abstract idea). The claims do not include additional elements that are sufficient to amount to significantly more than the judicial exception for the following reasons:
Step 1: Claims 1, 13 and 20 recite series of acts for perform a correction and converting. Thus, the claim is directed to an apparatus and/or method and/or system which is one of the statutory categories of the invention.
Step 2A, the claimed perform a correction and converting are directed to abstract idea for the reason that these steps are processes found by the courts to be abstract ideas in that related to comparing known information, and organizing information through mathematical correlations that can be performed mentally abstract such as using comparing new and stored information and using rules to identify options.
Step 2B, the additional limitations left in the claim are “correction involving rotation around a vertical direction as a rotation axis”. The claimed correction is merely a process that the judicial exception being applied to. The correction step is merely an insignificant extras-solution activity to the judicial exception (e.g. data gathering). Treating claim 1 as a whole, the additional limitations do not show inventive concept in applying the judicial exception (e.g. improvements to the correction) or do not provide other meaningful limitations beyond generally linking the use of the judicial exception to a particular technological environment. Thus, claim 1 as a whole is not significantly more than the abstract idea itself and is ineligible. Claims 1, 13 and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 101 because every step of the claim can be done by a human with a paper and pencil. As evidence by “and convert the wide-angle image into a cube map format” can be done by a human grabbing images that have been printed out and putting them into a cube. Also “sets an analysis portion in a reference frame image among the plurality of frame images” analysis by a human. Further “perform correction on a wide-angle image to correct the wide-angle image, the correction involving rotation around a vertical direction as a rotation axis” a human can set out with images and correct them and convert them into cubes. The apparatus does hold patentable weight since it is in the preamble.
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 1-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Bassi (US 2024/0368606).
As per claims 1, 13, and 20 Bassi teaches, an information processing apparatus and system and method, comprising circuitry configured to: perform correction on a wide-angle image to correct the wide-angle image (Bassi, fig.26A “¶[0046] FIG. 26a illustrates an exemplary large region of interest (FOV of 90.degree.), selected as the middle room in the image, that is corrected for perspective;” this represents wide-angle image to correct that image), the correction involving rotation around a vertical direction as a rotation axis (Bassi, ¶[0101] “The image within the circle 2430 is slightly rotated in order to smoothly connect with the surrounding ZCL correction. This was achieved by using .phi..sub.0p1=25.degree.; by varying this angle the rotation can be changed and in turn the twisting in the transition region. The rotation does not distort the perspective correction. “ this represents correction involving rotation around a vertical rotation as a rotational axis as the image is being rotated for example in fig.26a-b in the vertical axis as shown ); and convert the wide-angle image into a cube map format (Bassi, ¶[0060] “A point in the 3D real world space with coordinates (x,y,z) is mapped to a point in the image (u,v)” and ¶[007] “[0007] The embodiments described herein provide in one aspect, a method for transforming an input image captured through at least one ultra wide-angle (UWA) lens, said UWA lens characterized by a corresponding transformation that maps 3D object space onto a plane that displays the input image” this represents convert the wide-angle image into a cube map format or 3D model).
As per claims 2 and 14, Bassi teaches, the information processing apparatus and system of claim 1, wherein the circuitry is further configured to display, on a display, the wide-angle image that has been corrected and converted into the cube map format (Bassi, ¶[0058] “The output image, displayed on a viewing surface, is therefore transformed in such a way that the perspective distortions are improved while all image content is preserved (hence ZCL transformation).” This represents being configured to display and ¶ [0059] “displayed output 170 accordingly” represents display).
As per claims 3 and 15, Bassi teaches, the information processing apparatus and system of claim 2, wherein the circuitry is further configured to: divide a back image of the wide-angle image converted into the cube map format into a right-back image and a left-back image (Bassi, ¶[0077] “The horizontal object lines are also made more curved than the original UWA lens image which distorts the perspective towards the left and right of the field of view” this represents divide the image right back and left back image); and display, on the display, the right back image on right of a right image of the wide-angle image converted into the cube map format and the left back image on left of a left image of the wide-angle image converted into the cube map format (Bassi, fig.25 would be the display as such).
As per claims 4 and 16, Bassi teaches, the information processing apparatus of claim 1, wherein the circuitry is further configured to calculate a parameter for the correction (Bassi, ¶[0069] “Preferably, the FOV-envelope and the envelope transform are built in a parameterized manner, so that they can be quickly modified by changing specific parameters.” This represents calculate a parameter for the correction).
As per claims 5 and 17, Bassi teaches, the information processing apparatus of claim 1, wherein the circuitry is further configured to perform additional correction, the additional correction correcting a tilt to the vertical direction in the wide-angle image (Bassi, [0034] “FIG. 15 illustrates an exemplary envelope transformation for a 270.degree. UWA lens for a set of points on the output image; [0035] FIG. 16 illustrates an exemplary envelope transformation for a 180.degree. UWA lens for a set of points on the output image” these two examples represent a tilt in the vertical direction).
As per claims 6 and 18, Bassi teaches, the information processing apparatus of claim 4, wherein the circuitry is configured to calculate the parameter based on an image obtained by reducing a size of the wide-angle image (Bassi, ¶ [0050] “FIG. 27 illustrates the result of four locally perspective corrected rooms, each corresponding to a 90. degree. FOV as extracted from a 360.degree. view;” This represents reducing a size of the wide-angle image as separate multiple images).
As per claims 7 and 19, Bassi teaches, the information processing apparatus of claim 4, wherein the circuitry is configured to calculate the parameter with which a specific subject of the wide-angle image is to be placed in a front image of the wide-angle image converted into the cube map format (Bassi, fig.29 showing which specific subject 2920 is placed in front of the image).
As per claim 8, Bassi teaches, the information processing apparatus of claim 1, wherein the circuitry is configured to perform the correction, in a case that the wide-angle image is an image captured indoors (Bassi, fig.29 is indoors).
As per claim 9, Bassi teaches, the information processing apparatus of claim 5, wherein the circuitry is configured to convert the wide-angle image into the cube map format based on the wide-angle image on which the correction and the additional correction have been performed (Bassi, fig.28-29 Additional corrections get performed).
As per claim 10, Bassi teaches, the information processing apparatus of claim 1, wherein the circuitry is further configured to convert an annotation added to the wide-angle image into coordinates on the wide-angle image converted into the cube map format (Bassi, ¶ [0021] “FIG. 2 illustrates the conventional Cartesian and spherical coordinate systems and conventions used in the disclosure;” this represents coordinates on the wide-angle image and ¶[0060] “A point in the 3D real world space with coordinates (x,y,z) is mapped to a point in the image (u,v)” meaning any sort of annotation is mapped to coordinates).
As per claim 11, Bassi teaches, the information processing apparatus of claim 10, wherein the circuitry is further configured to position the annotation such that an area including the wide-angle image in the cube map format and the annotation is displayed within a display area of a display (Bassi, fig.28-29 is what the user then sees on the display).
As per claim 12, Bassi teaches, the information processing apparatus of claim 2, wherein the circuitry is configured to display, on the display, the wide-angle image in a perspective projection format and the wide-angle image converted into the cube map format (Bassi, ¶ [0040] FIG. 21a illustrates an ZCL envelope mapping for a 180.degree. UWA lens, and a perspective envelope mapping for a specific region of interest;” this represents display, the wide-angle image being displayed in a perspective projection format and the wide-angle image converted into the cube map format).
Conclusion
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/SANTIAGO GARCIA/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2673
/SG/