DETAILED ACTION
for
SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR DIMENSIONING OBJECTS
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 .
Information Disclosure Statement
No information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted.
Oath/Declaration
The Oath/Declaration submitted on 03/11/2024 is noted by the Examiner.
Drawings
The drawings are objected to because:
Figure 7A: The outside box is blank and should also be labeled – field of view 116- in order to more easily identify the structure of the invention.
Figure 7B: The outside box is blank and should also be labeled – field of view 116- in order to more easily identify the structure of the invention.
Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. The figure or figure number of an amended drawing should not be labeled as “amended.” If a drawing figure is to be canceled, the appropriate figure must be removed from the replacement sheet, and where necessary, the remaining figures must be renumbered and appropriate changes made to the brief description of the several views of the drawings for consistency. Additional replacement sheets may be necessary to show the renumbering of the remaining figures. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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 (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) 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 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)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 1-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Thrimawithana (US 2023/0025659).
The applied reference has a common Applicant with the instant application. Based upon the earlier effectively filed date of the reference, it constitutes prior art under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2). This rejection under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) might be overcome by: (1) a showing under 37 CFR 1.130(a) that the subject matter disclosed in the reference was obtained directly or indirectly from the inventor or a joint inventor of this application and is thus not prior art in accordance with 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(A); (2) a showing under 37 CFR 1.130(b) of a prior public disclosure under 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(B) if the same invention is not being claimed; or (3) a statement pursuant to 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) establishing that, not later than the effective filing date of the claimed invention, the subject matter disclosed in the reference and the claimed invention were either owned by the same person or subject to an obligation of assignment to the same person or subject to a joint research agreement.
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Regarding claim 1, Thrimawithana discloses a dimensioning device (104) having a depth sensor configured to obtain depth data within a field of view (see abstract); a processor (200) interconnected with the depth sensor (220), the processor (200) configured to obtain depth data within the field of view including an object to be dimensioned (¶0012, lines 1-3); obtain a subset of the depth data from a predefined target region within the field of view (¶0013, lines 1-3); select a dimensioning function for the object (¶0012, lines 7-9), the dimensioning function having a target orientation of the object (¶0026, lines 1-12); validate the target orientation of the object based on the subset of the depth data in the predefined target region (¶0033, lines 1-6; Fig. 4); and when the target orientation is validated, apply the dimensioning function to obtain dimensions of the object (¶0033, lines 7-14)
Regarding claims 2 and 11, Thrimawithana further the processor being configured to select the dimensioning function for the object by: detecting an element of the object in the target region (¶0034, lines 6-13); and selecting the dimensioning function based on the detected element of the object (¶0024, lines 1-9).
Regarding claims 3 and 12, Thrimawithana further discloses the processor (200) being further configured to display a region indicator representing the target region at a display of the dimensioning device (“The input devices 224 may include one or more buttons, keypads, touch-sensitive display screens or the like for receiving input from an operator”; ¶0023, lines 2-4).
Regarding claims 4 and 13, Thrimawithana further discloses the dimensioning function having a perpendicular-face approach (Fig. 4), and wherein the target orientation includes an orientation of a surface perpendicular to a principal axis of the depth sensor (¶0027, lines 2-7).
Regarding claims 8 and 17, Thrimawithana further discloses the dimensioning function comprises a two-sided perspective approach (¶0037, lines 2-4), and wherein the target orientation of the object results in a perspective view including two sides of the object (¶0040).
Regarding claims 9 and 18, Thrimawithana further discloses the dimensioning function having a three-sided perspective approach (¶0026, lines 1-3), and wherein the target orientation of the object results in a perspective view including three sides of the object ;( “the object model may be, for example, a line, a plane a rectangular prism” ¶0027, lines 2-7).
Regarding claim 10, Thrimawithana discloses method including obtaining depth data within a field of view including an object to be dimensioned (see abstract); obtaining a subset of the depth data from a predefined target region within the field of view (¶0027, lines 7-10); selecting a dimensioning function for the object, the dimensioning function having a target orientation of the object (¶0033, lines 7-14); validating the target orientation of the object based on the subset of the depth data in the predefined target region (¶0034, lines 6-13); and when the target orientation is validated, applying the dimensioning function to obtain dimensions of the object (¶0028, lines 1-7).
Regarding claim 19, Thrimawithana discloses a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing instructions thereon, which when executed configure a processor (¶0051) to: obtain depth data within a field of view including an object to be dimensioned (see abstract); obtain a subset of the depth data from a predefined target region within the field of view (¶0027, lines 7-10); select a dimensioning function for the object (¶0012, lines 7-9), the dimensioning function having a target orientation of the object (¶0026, lines 1-12); validate the target orientation of the object based on the subset of the depth data in the predefined target region (¶0033, lines 1-6; Fig. 4); and when the target orientation is validated(¶0024, lines 1-9), apply the dimensioning function to obtain dimensions of the object (¶0034, lines 6-13).
Regarding claim 20, Thrimawithana further discloses the instructions further configure the processor to: segment the depth data and discard segments of the depth data outside the predefined target region (¶0031, lines 6-10); and apply the dimensioning function a segment of the depth data originating in the predefined target region (¶0032 4-11 and ¶3300, lines 1-7).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 5-7 and 14-16 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
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to BRANDI N HOPKINS whose telephone number is (571)270-7042. The examiner can normally be reached M & F 9-5 and T-TH, 6-4.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Kristina Deherrera can be reached at (303) 297-4237. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/BRANDI N HOPKINS/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2855
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