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 .
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 3/22/2024 are in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
Status of Claim(s)
Claim(s) 1-4, 10-12 and 17-18 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Bueche (US 12211095 B1) in view of Voutour (US 11721117 B1).
Claim(s) 7, 15 and 19 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Bueche (US 12211095 B1) in view of Voutour (US 11721117 B1) further in view of Puri (US 11688074 B2)
Claims 5-6, 8-9, 13-14, 16 and 20 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.
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 (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 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(s) 1-4, 10-12 and 17-18 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Bueche (US 12211095 B1) in view of Voutour (US 11721117 B1).
Regarding Claim 1:
Bueche (US 12211095 B1) teaches: A computer-implemented method for a client device, comprising (Abstract, “An image of a check that is in the field of view of a camera is monitored prior to the image of the check being captured. The camera is associated with a mobile device. “):
detecting, by a camera on the client device, a field of view of the camera (Abstract, “An image of a check that is in the field of view of a camera is monitored prior to the image of the check being captured. The camera is associated with a mobile device. “);
measuring, based on the field of view of the camera, first ambient light luminance values of a first contiguous surface area and second ambient light luminance values of a second contiguous area at least partially surrounding the first contiguous surface area, wherein the first contiguous surface area includes image pixels of a document and the second contiguous surface area includes image pixels of a background of the document (Col 9. Lines 19-30, “Another monitoring criterion may be based on the light in the image 230, such as the light contrast and/or light brightness found on the image 230, such as in various regions of the image 230. For example, if the light contrast between the check image 247 and the background image 250 is less than a predetermined amount, then it may be determined that the image 230 may be not properly processed if captured by the camera 207. In such a case, instead of capturing the image 230, feedback may be generated and provided to the user 102 to adjust the camera 207, the check 108, and/or the lighting in order to bring the image 230 into compliance with the monitoring criteria. “);
determining a contrast ratio of the first ambient light luminance values and the second ambient light luminance values (Col 9. Lines 54-62, “Histograms may be used to monitor whether the light on the image 230 is uniform, not too bright, etc. For example, the mobile device 106 can monitor the histogram of the image 230 to ensure that there is a large contrast between the background image 250 and the check image 247. Feedback may be provided to the user 102 as to how to move or adjust the camera, lighting, etc. in order to get a good image for subsequent processing (i.e., how to get an image that passes the monitoring criteria)”).;
Bueche does not explicitly teach the following; however, in related art, Voutour teaches:
selecting, based on the contrast ratio not exceeding a preselected threshold value, a virtual background, wherein the virtual background meets or exceeds the preselected threshold value (Voutour, Col 13. Lines 1-10, “In an implementation, a replacement background may be determined that increases or maximizes the contrast between the color of the check and the background. In another implementation, it may be determined if a first replacement background (e.g., an image with a logo or branding information, a patterned image, etc.) may provide acceptable contrast (e.g., for subsequent edge detection and/or processing of the digital image of the check image and the replacement background image that will be created).”); and
replacing at least a portion of the image pixels of the background of the document with the virtual background (Voutour, Col 13. Lines 10-19, “If so, then the first replacement background may be determined to be the replacement background; otherwise, a second replacement background (e.g., a consistently colored image, a dark colored image, a black image, etc.) may be determined and a digital image of the check on the replacement background may be created. The determined replacement background may be maintained for subsequent placement on the digital image comprising the image of the check.”); and
recognizing at least a partial perimeter of the document based on the virtual background (Figure 3. #310, Perimeter around document with replaced background).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate the teachings of Bueche’s mobile depositing check system that identifies lighting differences on a check with Voutour’s check processing system for removing of the background of a check and replacing it with a new background.
Regarding Claim 2:
Bueche and Voutour teaches the embodiments of claim 1 as applied above.
Bueche further teaches:
performing an optical character recognition (OCR) process on imagery located within the at least partial perimeter of the document to extract data fields (Bueche, Col 12. Lines 1-5, “In an implementation, a software object of the client 320 may optically recognize the characters on the MICR line, as a consumer mobile device such as the mobile device 106 will lack the magnetic reading ability of a commercial check scanner.”); and
communicating the extracted data fields to a remote server (Bueche, Col 12. Lines 17-24, “However, the camera 207 of the mobile device 106 may capture the image in JPEG format, which may then be converted into TIFF either at the mobile device 106 or at the server 322. In the latter example, this may use the transmission of the TIFF image across a communications network which may be more advantageous as TIFF images are typically smaller in file size for the same size of picture as a JPEG formatted image.”).
Regarding Claim 3:
Bueche and Voutour teaches the embodiments of claim 2 as applied above.
Bueche further teaches: wherein the document is a financial instrument, and the method further comprises the OCR process extracting the data fields from the financial instrument for a remote deposit of the financial instrument (Bueche, Col 8-9, Lines 58 – Line 5, MICR line is identified and detected by mobile device to be sent to a financial institution).
Regarding Claim 4:
Bueche and Voutour teaches the embodiments of claim 3 as applied above.
Bueche teaches: wherein the imagery comprises a partial frame or an entire frame of the financial instrument (Bueche, Col 8-9, Lines 58 – Line 5, MICR line is identified and detected by mobile device to be sent to a financial institution).
Regarding Claim 10:
Bueche teaches: A system, comprising (Col 2. Lines 44-48, “In the following detailed description of example embodiments, reference is made to the accompanying drawings, which form a part hereof and in which is shown, by way of illustration, specific embodiments in which the example methods, apparatuses, and systems may be practiced.”):
a memory (Col 21. Lines 13-16, “the computing device generally includes a processor, a storage medium readable by the processor (including volatile and non-volatile memory and/or storage elements),”); and
at least one processor coupled to the memory and configured to (Col 21. Lines 13-16, “the computing device generally includes a processor, a storage medium readable by the processor (including volatile and non-volatile memory and/or storage elements),”):
detect, by a camera on a client device, a field of view of the camera (Abstract, “An image of a check that is in the field of view of a camera is monitored prior to the image of the check being captured. The camera is associated with a mobile device. “);
measure, based on the field of view of the camera, first ambient light luminance values of a first contiguous surface area and second ambient light luminance values of a second contiguous area at least partially surrounding the first contiguous surface area, wherein the first contiguous surface area includes image pixels of a document and the second contiguous surface area includes image pixels of a background of the document (Col 9. Lines 19-30, “Another monitoring criterion may be based on the light in the image 230, such as the light contrast and/or light brightness found on the image 230, such as in various regions of the image 230. For example, if the light contrast between the check image 247 and the background image 250 is less than a predetermined amount, then it may be determined that the image 230 may be not properly processed if captured by the camera 207. In such a case, instead of capturing the image 230, feedback may be generated and provided to the user 102 to adjust the camera 207, the check 108, and/or the lighting in order to bring the image 230 into compliance with the monitoring criteria. “);
determine a contrast ratio of the first ambient light luminance values and the second ambient light luminance values (Col 9. Lines 54-62, “Histograms may be used to monitor whether the light on the image 230 is uniform, not too bright, etc. For example, the mobile device 106 can monitor the histogram of the image 230 to ensure that there is a large contrast between the background image 250 and the check image 247. Feedback may be provided to the user 102 as to how to move or adjust the camera, lighting, etc. in order to get a good image for subsequent processing (i.e., how to get an image that passes the monitoring criteria)”);
Bueche does not explicitly teach the following; however, in related art, Voutour teaches:
select, based on the contrast ratio not exceeding a preselected threshold value, a virtual background, wherein the virtual background meets or exceeds the preselected threshold value (Voutour, Col 13. Lines 1-10, “In an implementation, a replacement background may be determined that increases or maximizes the contrast between the color of the check and the background. In another implementation, it may be determined if a first replacement background (e.g., an image with a logo or branding information, a patterned image, etc.) may provide acceptable contrast (e.g., for subsequent edge detection and/or processing of the digital image of the check image and the replacement background image that will be created).”); and
replace at least a portion of the image pixels of the background of the document with the virtual background (Voutour, Col 13. Lines 10-19, “If so, then the first replacement background may be determined to be the replacement background; otherwise, a second replacement background (e.g., a consistently colored image, a dark colored image, a black image, etc.) may be determined and a digital image of the check on the replacement background may be created. The determined replacement background may be maintained for subsequent placement on the digital image comprising the image of the check.”); and
recognize at least a partial perimeter of the document based on the virtual background (Voutour ,Figure 3. #310, Perimeter around document with replaced background).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate the teachings of Bueche’s mobile depositing check system that identifies lighting differences on a check with Voutour’s check processing system for removing of the background of a check and replacing it with a new background.
Regarding Claim 11:
Bueche and Voutour teaches the embodiments of claim 10 as applied above.
Bueche further teaches: comprising an ambient light sensor to measure the first ambient light luminance values of a first contiguous surface area and the second ambient light luminance values of a second contiguous area (Col 9. Lines 19-30, “Another monitoring criterion may be based on the light in the image 230, such as the light contrast and/or light brightness found on the image 230, such as in various regions of the image 230. For example, if the light contrast between the check image 247 and the background image 250 is less than a predetermined amount, then it may be determined that the image 230 may be not properly processed if captured by the camera 207. In such a case, instead of capturing the image 230, feedback may be generated and provided to the user 102 to adjust the camera 207, the check 108, and/or the lighting in order to bring the image 230 into compliance with the monitoring criteria. “).
Regarding Claim 12:
Bueche and Voutour teaches the embodiments of claim 10 as applied above.
Bueche teaches: wherein the document is a financial instrument, and the at least one processor is further configured to extract data fields from the financial instrument for a remote deposit of the financial instrument (Bueche, Col 8-9, Lines 58 – Line 5, MICR line is identified and detected by mobile device to be sent to a financial institution).
Regarding Claim 17:
Bueche teaches: A non-transitory computer-readable device having instructions stored thereon that, when executed by at least one computing device, causes the at least one computing device to perform operations comprising (Col 21. Lines 13-16, “the computing device generally includes a processor, a storage medium readable by the processor (including volatile and non-volatile memory and/or storage elements),”):
activating, on the client device, a remote deposit application (Abstract, “An image of a check that is in the field of view of a camera is monitored prior to the image of the check being captured. The camera is associated with a mobile device.”);
activating, based on receiving a user request to initiate a remote deposit (Col 3. Lines 48-56, “As described further herein, a digital image of a check or other negotiable instrument may be provided from a user to a financial institution, and the digital image may be processed and funds associated with the check or negotiable instrument in the digital image may be deposited in a user's bank account. The user 102 may deposit the check 108 into account 160 by making a digital image of the check 108 and sending the image file containing the digital image to financial institution 130.”), a camera on the client device, wherein the camera provides access to a field of view of the camera (Abstract, “An image of a check that is in the field of view of a camera is monitored prior to the image of the check being captured. The camera is associated with a mobile device.”);
detecting, within the field of view of the camera, first ambient light luminance values of a document and second ambient light luminance values of a background area (Col 9. Lines 19-30, “Another monitoring criterion may be based on the light in the image 230, such as the light contrast and/or light brightness found on the image 230, such as in various regions of the image 230. For example, if the light contrast between the check image 247 and the background image 250 is less than a predetermined amount, then it may be determined that the image 230 may be not properly processed if captured by the camera 207. In such a case, instead of capturing the image 230, feedback may be generated and provided to the user 102 to adjust the camera 207, the check 108, and/or the lighting in order to bring the image 230 into compliance with the monitoring criteria. “);
determining of a contrast ratio of the first ambient light luminance values and the second ambient light luminance values (Col 9. Lines 54-62, “Histograms may be used to monitor whether the light on the image 230 is uniform, not too bright, etc. For example, the mobile device 106 can monitor the histogram of the image 230 to ensure that there is a large contrast between the background image 250 and the check image 247. Feedback may be provided to the user 102 as to how to move or adjust the camera, lighting, etc. in order to get a good image for subsequent processing (i.e., how to get an image that passes the monitoring criteria)”);
Bueche does not explicitly teach the following; however, in related art, Voutour teaches:
overlaying, based on the contrast ratio not exceeding a preselected threshold, a virtual background over at least a portion of the background area (Voutour, Col 13. Lines 1-10, “In an implementation, a replacement background may be determined that increases or maximizes the contrast between the color of the check and the background. In another implementation, it may be determined if a first replacement background (e.g., an image with a logo or branding information, a patterned image, etc.) may provide acceptable contrast (e.g., for subsequent edge detection and/or processing of the digital image of the check image and the replacement background image that will be created).”); and
processing imagery of the document (Voutour, Col 4. Lines 28-35, “As described further herein, in an implementation, the user computing device 109 may comprise an image processing engine 121 that provides replacement background data (corresponding to a replacement background image) to the digital image generated by the imaging device 115 in place of the original background data (which would correspond to an original background image if such an image were generated).”).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate the teachings of Bueche’s mobile depositing check system that identifies lighting differences on a check with Voutour’s check processing system for removing of the background of a check and replacing it with a new background.
Regarding Claim 18:
Bueche and Voutour teaches the embodiments of claim 17 as applied above.
Bueche further teaches: wherein the operations further comprise extracting data fields from the financial instrument for the remote deposit of the financial instrument (Bueche, Col 8-9, Lines 58 – Line 5, MICR line is identified and detected by mobile device to be sent to a financial institution).
Claim(s) 7, 15 and 19 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Bueche (US 12211095 B1) in view of Voutour (US 11721117 B1) further in view of Puri (US 11688074 B2)
Regarding Claim 7, 15 and 19:
Bueche and Voutour teaches the embodiments of claim 3, 10 and 17 as applied above.
Bueche and Voutour doesn’t explicitly teach the following; however, Puri teaches teaches: further comprising selecting the virtual background based on a trained machine learning model (Col 14. Lines 6-16, Machine learning model predicts and integrates object into new background).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate the teachings of Bueche’s and Voutour’s check processing systems for identifying properties of an image with a check, its background, and the replacement of the background with Puri’s machine learning system for replacement background for objects by background selection via machine learning.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 5-6, 8-9, 13-14, 16 and 20 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.
Relevant Prior Art Directed to State of Art
Lynch (US 20250278443 A1)
Han (US 12579703 B1)
Doken (US 20230259202 A1)
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to DYLAN J SHERRILLO whose telephone number is (703)756-5605. The examiner can normally be reached 1st week of bi-week: Mon-Wed 7am-5:30pm PST, Thurs: 7am-4:30pm PST, Fri off / 2nd week of bi-week: Mon-Wed 7am-5:30pm PST, Thurs-Fri: 7am-4:30pm PST.
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/D.J.S./Examiner, Art Unit 2665
/Stephen R Koziol/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2665
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