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 .
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim(s) 6/25/2026 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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 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 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.
The factual inquiries set forth in Graham v. John Deere Co., 383 U.S. 1, 148 USPQ 459 (1966), that are applied for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claim 1-4, 6-10, and 13-20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Takeuchi US 20180059659 A1 in view of Lin US 20190324478 A1.
As to claim 1 and included method claim 17, Takeuchi discloses an aircraft [Takeuchi: Fig. 3], comprising:
a first photographing device [Takeuchi: 0082 “The sensor unit 701 of the unmanned aerial vehicle 1 includes a camera, the camera captures a still frame image or video footage of the surroundings of the unmanned aerial vehicle 1, and transmits the captured image to the access point 2, for example.”];
at least one storage medium storing at least one set of instructions for controlling the aircraft [Takeuchi: 0026 “The control unit of the unmanned aerial vehicle 1 is configured with a general computer, and includes a processor that executes programs, and a non-volatile storage device (non-transitory storage medium) for storing programs and data. The flight function and package-holding function of the unmanned aerial vehicle 1 are controlled by the processor executing programs stored in the non-volatile storage device.”]; and
at least one processor in communication with the at least one storage medium, wherein during operation, the at least one processor executes the at least one set of instructions to cause the aircraft to at least [Takeuchi: 0026 “The control unit of the unmanned aerial vehicle 1 is configured with a general computer, and includes a processor that executes programs, and a non-volatile storage device (non-transitory storage medium) for storing programs and data. The flight function and package-holding function of the unmanned aerial vehicle 1 are controlled by the processor executing programs stored in the non-volatile storage device.”]:
during a period of the aircraft returning from a first position to landing on a home point [Takeuchi: 0057 “The landing site 101 includes a marker that can be recognized by a camera installed in the unmanned aerial vehicle 1, and the control unit 306 guides the unmanned aerial vehicle 1 towards the landing site 101 while recognizing the marker captured by the camera, and lands the unmanned aerial vehicle 1 (S508).”];
control the first photographing device to adjust an attitude thereof to face toward the home point [Takeuchi: Fig. 8 and text. The UAV is directed via the waypoints and flight path to face the home point/landing point. The landing point/ home point is displayed, 0097 the UAV goes towards and #2 access point where landing pad #102 has access point 0070],
control the first photographing device to capture a first image in a direction toward the home point [Takeuchi: Fig. 8 shows capturing the landing point in an image. 0097 UAV goes towards landing point and #2 access point where landing pad #102 has access point 0070]
send the first image by the aircraft to a terminal device for display [Takeuchi: 0079 “data acquired by a camera installed in an unmanned aerial vehicle 1 is transmitted to a control center 3 through a wireless LAN, and an operator controls the unmanned aerial vehicle 1 using the camera image.” 0089 “For example, a display screen 801 illustrated in FIG. 8 includes an image display region 802 that displays the image data captured and transmitted by the unmanned aerial vehicle 1, and a location/attitude display region 803 that displays the location and attitude of the unmanned aerial vehicle 1 and data regarding the direction that the camera is facing.”].
Takeuchi discloses that the camera may have different geometric references and suggests that these positionings are changeable based on Fig. 8 box 803 having the UAV location with different location parameters than the camera direction, however this is not explicitly stated that the photographing device/camera is moveable. However, Lin suggests a first photographing device mounted on the aircraft to adjust an attitude thereof of the first photographing device relative to the aircraft to make the first photographing device face toward the home point; [Lin: #5704, 0088] It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of filing to modify the camera attached to the UAV of Takeuchi to me movable in relation to the UAV as suggested in LIN as it merely uses a known device (Takeuchi’s UAV with camera that faces towards home point with Lin’s camera that moves in relation to the UAV and faces a target/home) in a known way (Takeuchi’s camera facing home with relative movement to a target/home of Lin) with predictable results and a good likelihood of success for the benefit of avoiding UAV components blocking the view.
As to claim 2, Takeuchi in view of Lin discloses wherein the at least one processor executes the at least one set of instructions to further cause the aircraft to at least: during the period of the aircraft returning from the first position to landing on the home point, obtain a second image of a peripheral side of the aircraft [Takeuchi: 0091 “The operator 708 operates the unmanned aerial vehicle 1 while viewing a peripheral image 802 and the location 805 of the unmanned aerial vehicle 1, which are displayed in the display screen 801.”]captured by a second photographing device [Takeuchi: 0025 “The unmanned aerial vehicle 1 may be equipped with cameras for capturing images therearound” multiple devices to capture the vehicle surroundings disclosed]; and send the second image to the terminal device for display [Takeuchi: 0089]. See claim 1 for motivation statement.
As to claim 3, Takeuchi in view of Lin discloses wherein the peripheral side includes at least one of a front side [Takeuchi: Fig, 8], a rear side, a left side, or a right side. See claim 1 for motivation statement.
As to claim 4, Takeuchi in view of Lin discloses wherein at the first position, a distance from the aircraft to the home point is equal to a preset first distance threshold [Takeuchi: 0071]. See claim 1 for motivation statement.
As to claim 6, Takeuchi in view of Lin discloses wherein control the first photographing device to adjust an of the first photographing device to make the first photographing device to face toward the home point, the at least one processor executes the at least one set of instructions to cause the aircraft to at least: adjust an angle of the first photographing device in a pitch direction based on an angle between a connection line between the aircraft and the home point and a horizontal plane[Lin: #5704, 0088]. See claim 1 for motivation statement.
As to claim 7, Takeuchi in view of Lin discloses wherein control the first photographing device to adjust an attitude of the first photographing device to make the first photographing device to face toward the home point, the at least one processor executes the at least one set of instructions to cause the aircraft to at least: adjust the attitude of the first photographing device based on a vertical height and a horizontal distance between the aircraft and the home point [Lin: #5704, 0088]. See claim 1 for motivation statement.
As to claim 8, Takeuchi in view of Lin discloses wherein to adjust the attitude of the first photographing device based on the vertical height and the horizontal distance between the aircraft and the home point, the at least one processor executes the at least one set of instructions to cause the aircraft to at least: determine a target pitch attitude of the first photographing device based on the vertical height and the horizontal distance between the UAV and the home point; and adjust the attitude of the first photographing device based on the target pitch attitude[Takeuchi: 0033 waypoints are sent to control the flight path, Fig. 8 and text. The UAV is directed via the waypoints and flight path to face the home point/landing point. The landing point/ home point is displayed, 0097 the UAV goes towards and #2 access point where landing pad #102 has access point 0070. Fig. 9]. See claim 1 for motivation statement.
As to claim 9, Takeuchi in view of Lin discloses wherein control the first photographing device to adjust an attitude of the first photographing device to make the first photographing deviceto face toward the home point, the at least one processor executes the at least one set of instructions to cause the aircraft to at least: adjust at least one of an attitude of the aircraft [Lin: #5704, 0088]. See claim 1 for motivation statement.
As to claim 10, Takeuchi in view of Lin discloses wherein the first image captured by a first vision camera mounted below the aircraft [Takeuchi: 0057 “The landing site 101 includes a marker that can be recognized by a camera installed in the unmanned aerial vehicle 1, and the control unit 306 guides the unmanned aerial vehicle 1 towards the landing site 101 while recognizing the marker captured by the camera, and lands the unmanned aerial vehicle 1 (S508).”] See claim 1 for motivation statement.
As to claim 13, Takeuchi in view of Lin discloses wherein the at least one processor executes the at least one set of instructions to further cause the aircraft to at least: obtain a second image captured by a second photographing device located on a peripheral side of the aircraft, wherein the peripheral side includes at least one of a front side, a rear side, a left side, or a right side; and send the second image to the terminal device for display [Takeuchi: 0900 image stitching to create wide image]. See claim 1 for motivation statement.
As to claim 14, Takeuchi in view of Lin discloses wherein the second photographing device includes at least one of a first person view camera, a front view camera, a rear view camera, a left view camera, or a right view camera [Takeuchi: 0090, 0091]. See claim 1 for motivation statement.
As to claim 15, Takeuchi in view of Lin discloses wherein the at least one processor executes the at least one set of instructions to further cause the aircraft to at least: upon receiving a first control instruction sent by the terminal device, adjust an attitude of the aircraft based on the first control instruction [Takeuchi: 0033 waypoints are sent to control the flight path]. See claim 1 for motivation statement.
As to claim 16, Takeuchi in view of Lin discloses wherein the home point is a landing location or a landing area of the aircraft [Takeuchi: #101 landing site, 0057]. See claim 1 for motivation statement.
As to claim 18. Takeuchi in view of Lin discloses an aircraft system [Takeuchi: Fig. 3], comprising:
an aircraft [Takeuchi: #1 unmanned aerial vehicle]; and
a terminal device in communication with the aircraft [Takeuchi: 0028 “The access point 2 may be a terminal (smartphone, tablet device, laptop computer) possessed by the user 4 instead of a fixed position wireless base station. In such a case, the terminal would operate in tethering mode as a wireless LAN access point. In such a case, a specialized application program installed in the terminal would communicate with the control center 3.”] and having a display device configured to display images [Takeuchi: 0081 “the server of the control center 3 includes a reception unit 703 that receives image data and sensor data transmitted from the unmanned aerial vehicle 1, a linking unit 704 that estimates the range captured in the received image data, a display unit 705 that generates image data to be displayed to an operator 708 and outputs the image data, and a command unit 707 that creates flight commands according to piloting operations by the operator 708.”], wherein the aircraft includes:
a first photographing device, at least one storage medium storing at least one set of instructions for controlling the aircraft, and at least one processor in communication with the at least one storage medium [Takeuchi: 0026 “The control unit of the unmanned aerial vehicle 1 is configured with a general computer, and includes a processor that executes programs, and a non-volatile storage device (non-transitory storage medium) for storing programs and data. The flight function and package-holding function of the unmanned aerial vehicle 1 are controlled by the processor executing programs stored in the non-volatile storage device.”], wherein during operation, the at least one processor executes the at least one set of instructions to cause the aircraft to at least[Takeuchi: 0026 “The control unit of the unmanned aerial vehicle 1 is configured with a general computer, and includes a processor that executes programs, and a non-volatile storage device (non-transitory storage medium) for storing programs and data. The flight function and package-holding function of the unmanned aerial vehicle 1 are controlled by the processor executing programs stored in the non-volatile storage device.”]:
See claim 1 for citations to the remaining limitations that are cited therein.
As to claim 19, Takeuchi in view of Lin discloses wherein the at least one processor executes the at least one set of instructions to further cause the aircraft to: during the period of the aircraft returning from the first position to landing on the home point, obtaining a second image of a peripheral side of the aircraft captured by a second photography device; and sending the second image to the terminal device for display, wherein the terminal device is further configured to display the first image and the second image on a same display interface of the display device, and a display area of the first image is larger than a display area of the second image [Takeuchi: 0090-0091, multiple images may be taken and stitched into wide images and images with virtual perspectives. Fig.8 shows a split pane with two images. 0117 discloses that embodiments may be combined as part of the disclosure. Combining wide, narrow, virtual images in a display like Fig.8 is thereby disclosed.].
As to claim 20, Takeuchi in view of Lin discloses wherein the aircraft includes an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) [Takeuchi: #1 unmanned aerial vehicle]. See claim 1 for motivation statement.
Claim 11 and 12 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Takeuchi in view of Lin in view of Zehua WO-2020211812-A1.
As to claim 11, Takeuchi in view of Lin discloses cameras on the prereferral but does not explicitly disclose a downward camera. However, Zehua discloses wherein a monocular vision camera of a downward-looking binocular vision cameras [Zehua: S2 “For example, it can be taken with a downward-looking camera according to a fixed image acquisition time.”]. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of filing to modify the camera configuration of Takeuchi in view of Lin to include a downward camera as disclosed in Zehua as they are in similar fields of UAV landing that merely uses a known device (Takeuchi with a camera configuration of Zehua) in a known way (landing a UAV using camera input) with predictable results and a good likelihood of success for the benefit of having a desired view.
As to claim 12, Takeuchi in view of Lin discloses cameras on the prereferral but does not explicitly disclose a downward camera and Lin discloses adjusting the camera relative to the UAV [0088 S704]. However, Zehua discloses wherein the at least one processor executes the at least one set of instructions to cause the aircraft to at least: obtain the first image directly below the aircraft when the aircraft is directly above the home point [Zehua: S2 “For example, it can be taken with a downward-looking camera according to a fixed image acquisition time.”]. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of filing to modify the camera configuration of Takeuchi in view of Lin to include a downward camera as disclosed in Zehua as they are in similar fields of UAV landing that merely uses a known device (Takeuchi with a camera configuration of Zehua) in a known way (landing a UAV using camera input) with predictable results and a good likelihood of success for the benefit of having a desired view.
Conclusion
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 nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) 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 mailing date of this final action.
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
US 20200388171 An unconventional application of ADS-B data emitted from an aircraft includes a system for recording video images of landing aircraft. The system uses a camera with motorized pan and tilt. The pan and tilt are controlled by a control logic based on ADS-B position data received from a landing aircraft. Another unconventional use of ADS-B data relates to optimized scheduling of an ADS-B equipped aircraft with automated schedule updates and user interactions based on ADS-B data received from the scheduled aircraft.
The examiner has pointed out particular references contained in the prior art of record in the body of this action for the convenience of the applicant. Although the specified citations are representative of the teachings in the art and are applied to the specific limitations within the individual claim, other passages and figures may apply as well. Applicant should consider the entire prior art as applicable as to the limitations of the claims. It is respectfully requested from the applicant, in preparing the response, to consider fully the entire references as potentially teaching all or part of the claimed invention, as well as the context of the passage as taught by the prior art or disclosed by the examiner.
Inquiry
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to FREDERICK M BRUSHABER whose telephone number is (313)446-4839. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 8am-5pm.
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/FREDERICK M BRUSHABER/
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 3665
/FREDERICK M BRUSHABER/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3665
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