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 .
DETAILED ACTION
This communication is responsive to the Amendment filed on 4/30/2026.
In the Instant Amendment, Claim(s) 1, 3-6, 15-17, 19 and 21 has/have been amended; Claim(s) 1, 16 and 21 is/are independent claims. Claims 1-21 have been examined and are pending in this application.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement(s) submitted on 3/26/2026 is/are in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement(s) is/are being considered by the examiner.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 4/30/2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
Applicant’s arguments, see remarks (pages 11-13), filed 4/30/2026, with respect to amended claims 1, 16 and 21 have been fully considered and are persuasive. The rejections of 1/30/2026 has been withdrawn. However, there are new matter issues with the amended claims 1, 16 and 21 (please see below for details).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph 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 the first paragraph of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112:
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.
Claims 1-21 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 applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the inventor(s), at the time the application was filed, had possession of the claimed invention.
Regarding claim 1, claim 1 recites, in lines 4-11, “a distance measurement device configured to obtain a preliminary distance between the camera device and the identified object based on an occupancy percentage of the identified object in the captured image; and a controller configured to: determine a final distance between the camera device and the identified object based on the preliminary distance, a reference physical size associated with the identified object, an angle of view of the camera device in a vertical direction, and a ratio of a size of the identified object in the captured image” 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 applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the inventor(s), at the time the application was filed, had possession of the claimed invention. Paragraphs 0060-0070, 0124 and 0127 in the specification describes “determine a final distance between the camera device and the identified object based on paragraph 0064. However, the equation does not include “the preliminary distance” as a parameter for determining the claimed final distance D and “obtain a preliminary distance between the camera device and the identified object based on an occupancy percentage of the identified object in the captured image”. Paragraph 0124 does describes “In operation S53, the distance measurement device 160 may determine a distance between the camera device 100 and the identified object based on an occupancy percentage of the identified object in the captured image”. However, the distance here is not the claimed “the preliminary distance” that is determined and then later used to determine the claimed “final distance”. Paragraph 0127 describes the determining of the distance in step S53 utilizing the equation 3 based on an occupancy percentage P of the identified object in the captured image (the ratio P of a size of the object), not a preliminary distance between the camera device and the identified object based on an occupancy percentage P of the identified object in the captured image. Thus, there is no support for the features as claimed. If the Applicant believes otherwise, the Applicant is welcome to point out where else in the specification the support and how it maps to the features as claimed.
Regarding claims 16 and 21, claims 21 and 16 reciting features corresponding to claim 1 are also rejected for the same reason above.
Claims 2-15 depending from claim 1 are also rejected for being dependent of the base claim.
Claims 17-20 depending from claim 16 are also rejected for being dependent of the base claim.
Conclusion
It is noted that no prior art was found applicable for the amended claims 1, 16 and 21. However, they are not allowable because of the new matter issues.
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Sugaya (US 11190676 B2): a user sets a focus lens position via the manual focus operation unit 110 such that a specific region of captured image (e.g., a path and a road) is in focus and then a diaphragm and a focus lens can be driven in a range in which a specific region of captured image can be included in depth of field.
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 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 Quan Pham whose telephone number is (571)272-4438. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Fri 9am-7pm.
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, Sinh Tran can be reached at (571) 272-7564. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/Quan Pham/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2637
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