DETAILED ACTION
In Applicant’s Response dated 4/22/2026, Applicant amended claims 1 to 20; and argued against all rejections previously set forth in the Office action dated 1/23/2026.
Response to Argument
Applicant’s arguments were considered, but are moot in view of the new ground(s) of rejection.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 1-20 would be allowable if rewritten to overcome the rejection(s) under 35 U.S.C. 112, set forth in this Office action and to include all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
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.
Claim 1-20 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.
With regard to claim 1, the limitation “predicting road defect levels by fitting the ROI and the depth map into a road surface model based on a road surface threshold computed as an intersection of the road pixels from the ROI and a road surface plane obtained from the depth map;” is not taught anywhere in the specification or the original claims.
Claims 9 and 17 are rejected for the same reason.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claim1-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
With regard to claim 1, applicant claims the limitation the limitation “predicting road defect levels by fitting the ROI and the depth map into a road surface model based on a road surface threshold computed as an intersection of the road pixels from the ROI and a road surface plane obtained from the depth map.”
It is unclear what constitutes “a road surface threshold computed as an intersection of the road pixels from the ROI and a road surface plane obtained from the depth map.” It is unclear how the threshold is determined. It is unclear whether it is based on a matching of contents between the image and depth map or whether it is based a difference between the two or whether it is based on something else. For the purpose of a compact prosecution, it is interpreted that the threshold is satisfied if the contents from pixels of the image have the number of features that matches the features from the depth map.
Claims 9 and 17 are rejected for the same reason.
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.
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/DI XIAO/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2178
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