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 .
Specification
The title of the invention is not descriptive. A new title is required that is clearly indicative of the invention to which the claims are directed. The following title is suggested: Electronic apparatus for transmitting search request and acquiring location information.
Claim Objections
Claim 10 is objected to because of the following informalities:
Claim 10 recites the limitation "a time in case of the captured image has been acquired", which should read "a time at which the captured image has been acquired”.
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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 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(s) 1, 3, 5-6, 15, 18 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Shimomura (US 20210264164 A1) in view of Ikeda (US 20160034497 A1).
Regarding claim 1, Shimomura discloses an electronic apparatus serving as a first apparatus, comprising at least one processor (Fig. 13, [0192] electronic device including a CPU (i.e. processor)) capable of causing the electronic apparatus to:
transmit search request information including information of a search object ([0139] the distribution request may be a request from a user operating a user device to search for a person or object including information of the person/object; Fig. 8, [0157]-[0158] the distribution request is transmitted from the user device);
acquire location information, the location information indicating a location of a second apparatus at a time when the second apparatus has acquired a captured image through image capturing (Fig. 8, [0159] a sensor device (i.e. second apparatus) acquires sensing data; [0054]-[0055] wherein the sensing data may be image data captured by an imaging device; Fig. 2, [0071], [0076] the sensor device also acquires positioning data indicating the location of the sensor device (i.e. location of the second apparatus) (See also Fig. 12, [0188])); and
specify, in case where the search object is included in the captured image, a location of the search object based on the location information ([0188] when an intended object is detected in the image, the position of the object (e.g. person) based on the position information of the camera sensors is determined),
wherein the search request information includes disclosure setting information indicating whether or not to output the information of the search object ([0093]-[0095] information of the search object may be deleted from the data to protect the privacy of the person/object and the data than transmitted/output; [0152], [0188] information of the search object and its surroundings may be deleted or retained in the data depending on the context of the search request (i.e. settings to determine whether the information is to be disclosed or not disclosed).
Shimomura fails to disclose wherein the information is displayed on a display of the second apparatus.
Ikeda, in a related system from the same field of endeavor of extracting information from images across multiple devices (Abstract), discloses wherein the information is displayed on a display of a second apparatus based on setting information (Fig. 1, [0050] information related to the image identification is displayed on a display of a second apparatus; [0067] presentation (i.e. display) to the user depends on a marked status as "location-limited" or not and a distance threshold (i.e. settings)).
It would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine Ikeda with Shimomura and display information on a display of the second apparatus based on setting information, as disclosed by Ikeda, as part of an electronic apparatus performing a search request and acquiring location information, as disclosed by Shimomura, for the purpose of improving convenience and efficiency of image searching and transmission of information related to captured images (See Ikeda: [0006]-[0007], [0115], [0188]).
Regarding claim 3, Shimomura in view of Ikeda discloses the electronic apparatus according to claim 1 as applied above. Shimomura further discloses wherein the at least one processor is capable of causing the electronic apparatus to transmit the search request information to the second apparatus, and acquire the location information from the second apparatus ([0139] the distribution request may be a request from a user operating a user device to search for a person or object including information of the person/object; Fig. 8, [0157]-[0158] the distribution request is transmitted from the user device to the sensor device; Fig. 2, [0071], [0076] the sensor device acquires positioning data indicating the location of the sensor device (i.e. location of the second apparatus) which is transmitted to the user device).
Regarding claim 5, Shimomura in view of Ikeda discloses the electronic apparatus according to claim 1 as applied above. Shimomura further discloses wherein the information of the search object is information of a character string specified by a user of the electronic apparatus ([0065] the data of distribution request (i.e. search request including information) can include a character string as determined by a user).
Regarding claim 6, Shimomura in view of Ikeda discloses the electronic apparatus according to claim 1 as applied above. Shimomura further discloses wherein the information of the search object is information of an image specified by a user of the electronic apparatus ([0141] the data of the distribution request (i.e. search request including information) is specified by the user (e.g. specific features of their cat which is the search object)).
Regarding claim 15, Shimomura in view of Ikeda discloses everything claimed as applied above (See rejection of claim 1).
Regarding claim 18, Shimomura in view of Ikeda discloses the method according to claim 15 as applied above. Shimomura further discloses a non-transitory computer readable medium storing thereon a program for causing a computer to execute the control method ([0100], [0195] a hard-disk drive (i.e. non-transitory computer readable medium) storing a program executed by a computer).
Claim(s) 2 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Shimomura (US 20210264164 A1) in view of Ikeda (US 20160034497 A1) in further view of Sommerlade (US 20150146015 A1).
Regarding claim 2, Shimomura in view of Ikeda discloses the electronic apparatus according to claim 1 as applied above. Shimomura fails to disclose wherein the at least one processor is capable of causing the electronic apparatus to acquire attitude information indicating an attitude of the second apparatus at a time when the second apparatus has acquired the captured image, and in case where the search object is included in the captured image, a location of the search object is specified based on the location information and the attitude information.
Sommerlade, in a related system from the same field of endeavor of using a network of devices to determine object location relative to a displayed image (Abstract), discloses wherein the at least one processor is capable of causing the electronic apparatus to acquire attitude information indicating an attitude of the second apparatus at a time when the second apparatus has acquired the captured image, and in case where the search object is included in the captured image, a location of the search object is specified based on the location information and the attitude information ([0111], [0114] a sensor determines an attitude of a camera unit which is capturing an image in order to calibrate the images; [0117] and identify a target location when the image location corresponds to the target location (see also fig. 11)).
It would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine Sommerlade with Shimomura in view of Ikeda and acquire attitude information of the apparatus, as disclosed by Sommerlade, as part of an electronic apparatus performing a search request and acquiring location information, as disclosed by Shimomura in view of Ikeda, for the purpose of accurately identifying search and location targets across a network of devices, particularly for use in military operations requiring reduced risk of inaccuracy (See Sommerlade [0001]-[0006]).
Claim(s) 4 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Shimomura (US 20210264164 A1) in view of Ikeda (US 20160034497 A1) in further view of Briggs (US 20160371548 A1).
Regarding claim 4, Shimomura in view of Ikeda discloses the electronic apparatus according to claim 1 as applied above. Shimomura further discloses wherein the at least one processor is capable of causing the electronic apparatus to transmit the search request information to a server, and acquire the location information from the server.
Shimomura fails to disclose wherein the captured image is an image that has previously been acquired by the second apparatus.
Briggs, in a related system from the same field of endeavor of object detection from images using a network of devices (Abstract), discloses wherein the captured image is an image that has previously been acquired by the second apparatus (Fig. 3-4, [0031] images acquired during an acquisition stage and then used for subsequent object detection processes (i.e. the image is captured previously to search request and processing)).
It would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine Briggs with Shimomura in view of Ikeda and use a captured image that has been captured previously, as disclosed by Briggs, as part of an electronic apparatus performing a search request and acquiring location information, as disclosed by Shimomura in view of Ikeda, for the purpose of facilitating locating of search objects without the need for pre-placed sensors and with the use of a network of remote and local devices to effective searching (See Briggs [0039]-[0041]).
Claim(s) 7 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Shimomura (US 20210264164 A1) in view of Ikeda (US 20160034497 A1) in further view of Yagi (Yagi, Takuma, et al. "GO-finder: a registration-free wearable system for assisting users in finding lost objects via hand-held object discovery." Proceedings of the 26th International Conference on Intelligent User Interfaces. 2021.).
Regarding claim 7, Shimomura in view of Ikeda discloses the electronic apparatus according to claim 1 as applied above. Shimomura fails to disclose wherein the information of the search object is information estimated on a basis of a past activity history of a user of the electronic apparatus.
Yagi, in a related system from the same field of endeavor of object tracking and detection based on image data including user activity history (Abstract), discloses wherein the information of the search object is information estimated on a basis of a past activity history of a user of the electronic apparatus (Fig. 1, 4; Page 3, sections 3.1-3.2: images of a user interacting with objects in the environment are captured and the user identifies an object as a search object; sections 3.3-3.4: an indication of the object's location based on the last location in which the user interacted with the object (i.e. search object information based on past user activity) is presented to the user to locate the object).
It would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine Yagi with Shimomura in view of Ikeda and estimate search object information based on past activity history of a user, as disclosed by Yagi, as part of an electronic apparatus performing a search request and acquiring location information, as disclosed by Shimomura in view of Ikeda, for the purpose of effective locating of lost objects without registration of the objects in advance and to reduce time spent locating objects (See Yagi: [Abstract], [Introduction, first 4 paragraphs]).
Claim(s) 8-10 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Shimomura (US 20210264164 A1) in view of Ikeda (US 20160034497 A1) in further view of Pai (US 20120302256 A1).
Regarding claim 8, Shimomura in view of Ikeda discloses the electronic apparatus according to claim 1 as applied above. Shimomura fails to disclose a display configured to display an item indicating the location of the search object.
Pai, in a related system from the same field of endeavor of transmitting information including location information between mobile devices for object tracking (Abstract), discloses a display configured to display an item indicating the location of the search object (Fig. 10, [0073] display configured to display a map (i.e. item) indicating the location of a search object).
It would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine Pai with Shimomura in view of Ikeda and display an item indicating the location of the search object, as disclosed by Pai, as part of an electronic apparatus performing a search request and acquiring location information, as disclosed by Shimomura in view of Ikeda, for the purpose of effective sharing of location information among devices and users, such as for improved safety and facilitating social interactions (See Pai, [0004]-[0006], [0083]-[0090]).
Regarding claim 9, Shimomura in view of Ikeda and Pai discloses the electronic apparatus according to claim 8 as applied above. Shimomura fails to disclose wherein the item is a map including a location of the electronic apparatus and the location of the search object.
Pai, in a related system from the same field of endeavor of transmitting information including location information between mobile devices for object tracking (Abstract), discloses wherein the item is a map including a location of the electronic apparatus and the location of the search object (Fig. 10, an interface including a map as an item to display a location of a search object; Fig. 18, [0080] the interface also including an indicator of the user's present location (i.e. location of the electronic apparatus)).
It would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine Pai with Shimomura in view of Ikeda and Pai and include a map including a location of the electronic apparatus and the location of the search object, as disclosed by Pai, as part of an electronic apparatus performing a search request and acquiring location information, as disclosed by Shimomura in view of Ikeda and Pai, for the purpose of effective sharing of location information among devices and users, such as for improved safety and facilitating social interactions (See Pai, [0004]-[0006], [0083]-[0090]).
Regarding claim 10, Shimomura in view of Ikeda and Pai discloses the electronic apparatus according to claim 8 as applied above. Shimomura further discloses wherein the at least one processor is capable of causing the electronic apparatus to acquire information of a time in case of the captured image has been acquired ([0095] information on the date and time when sensing data (i.e. image) has been acquired is output along with the search object information).
Shimomura fails to disclose where a display displays the time together with the item.
Pai, in a related system from the same field of endeavor of transmitting information including location information between mobile devices for object tracking (Abstract), discloses wherein the display displays the time together with the item (Fig. 9-10, [0072] an interface including a map (i.e. item) is displayed on a device display including a time at which the data was acquired).
It would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine Pai with Shimomura in view of Ikeda and Pai and include a time at which a captured image has been captured in an item displaying a location, as disclosed by Pai, as part of an electronic apparatus performing a search request and acquiring location information, as disclosed by Shimomura in view of Ikeda and Pai, for the purpose of effective sharing of location information among devices and users, such as for improved safety and facilitating social interactions (See Pai, [0004]-[0006], [0083]-[0090]).
Claim(s) 11-12, 14, 16, 19 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Shimomura (US 20210264164 A1) in view of Pai (US 20120302256 A1).
Regarding claim 11, Shimomura discloses electronic apparatus comprising at least one processor (Fig. 13, [0192] electronic device including a CPU (i.e. processor)) capable of causing the electronic apparatus to:
acquire search request information including information of a search object from a first apparatus ([0139] the distribution request may be a request from a user operating a user device to search for a person or object including information of the person/object; Fig. 8, [0157]-[0158] the distribution request is transmitted from the user device via a server to the sensor device);
determine, based on the information of the search object, whether or not the search object is included in a captured image acquired by a second apparatus through image capturing; and transmit location information to the first apparatus, in case where it is determined that the search object is included in the captured image, the location information indicating a location of the second apparatus at a time when the second apparatus has acquired the captured image ([0188] determine whether the object is detected and when an intended object is detected in the image, the position of the object (e.g. person) based on the position information of the camera sensors is determined; Fig. 8, [0159] a sensor device (i.e. second apparatus) acquires sensing data and transmits it; [0054]-[0055] wherein the sensing data may be image data captured by an imaging device; Fig. 2, [0071], [0076] the sensor device also acquires positioning data indicating the location of the sensor device (i.e. location of the second apparatus) (See also Fig. 12, [0188])).
Shimomura fails to disclose wherein a user of the second apparatus is able to set in advance whether or not to reject a search request, and in case where the user of the second apparatus sets a setting to reject the search request, the at least one processor is capable of causing the electronic apparatus to transmit information indicating that the search request has been rejected to the first apparatus.
Pai, in a related system from the same field of endeavor of transmitting information including location information between mobile devices for object tracking (Abstract), discloses wherein a user of the second apparatus is able to set in advance whether or not to reject a search request, and in case where the user of the second apparatus sets a setting to reject the search request, the at least one processor is capable of causing the electronic apparatus to transmit information indicating that the search request has been rejected to the first apparatus (Fig. 23, [0094]-[0095] the user of a second apparatus is able to accept or decline (i.e. reject) an invitation to enable sharing of the location of the second apparatus with a first apparatus (i.e. the user of the second apparatus sets a setting in advance indicating whether the user of the first apparatus will be able to determine the location of the second apparatus when a future request is made); [0094] if the user of the second apparatus declines (i.e. rejects) the invitation, the first apparatus displays an "X" indicating the rejection (i.e. information is transmitted to the first apparatus indicating the rejection)).
It would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine Pai with Shimomura and allow a user of the second apparatus to set in advance whether to accept or reject a search request and to transmit information to the first apparatus indicating a rejection, as disclosed by Pai, as part of an electronic apparatus performing a search request and acquiring location information, as disclosed by Shimomura, for the purpose of protecting the privacy of device users and optimizing device performance (See Pai: [0066], [0006]).
Regarding claim 12, Shimomura in view of Pai discloses the electronic apparatus according to claim 11 as applied above. Shimomura fails to disclose wherein in case where it is determined that the search object is not included in the captured image, the at least one processor is capable of causing the electronic apparatus to transmit information indicating that the search object is not included in the captured image to the first apparatus.
Pai, in a related system from the same field of endeavor of transmitting information including location information between mobile devices for object tracking (Abstract), discloses wherein in case where it is determined that the search object is not included in the captured image, the at least one processor is capable of causing the electronic apparatus to transmit information indicating that the search object is not included in the captured image to the first apparatus (Fig. 9, [0072] when the search object cannot be located in the given data, an indication is displayed to the user of the first device that the location is not available).
It would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine Pai with Shimomura and transmit information indicating that the search object is not included when it is determined that the search object is not included, as disclosed by Pai, as part of an electronic apparatus performing a search request and acquiring location information, as disclosed by Shimomura, for the purpose of effective sharing of location information among devices and users, such as for improved safety and facilitating social interactions (See Pai, [0004]-[0006], [0083]-[0090]).
Regarding claim 14, Shimomura in view of Pai discloses the electronic apparatus according to claim 11 as applied above. Shimomura fails to disclose wherein the electronic apparatus is the second apparatus.
Pai, in a related system from the same field of endeavor of transmitting information including location information between mobile devices for object tracking (Abstract), discloses wherein the electronic apparatus is the second apparatus (Fig. 16, [0078] an electronic device acts as a device which receives a search request and is utilized by a user to transmit location information and set settings indicating whether search requests are to be rejected or accepted (i.e. second apparatus)).
It would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine Pai with Shimomura and use an electronic apparatus as the second apparatus, as disclosed by Pai, as part of an electronic apparatus performing a search request and acquiring location information, as disclosed by Shimomura, for the purpose of effective sharing of location information among devices and users, such as for improved safety and facilitating social interactions (See Pai, [0004]-[0006], [0083]-[0090]).
Regarding claim 16, Shimomura in view of Pai discloses everything claimed as applied above (See rejection of claim 11).
Regarding claim 19, Shimomura in view of Pai discloses the method according to claim 16 as applied above. Shimomura further discloses a non-transitory computer readable medium storing thereon a program for causing a computer to execute the control method ([0100], [0195] a hard-disk drive (i.e. non-transitory computer readable medium) storing a program executed by a computer).
Claim(s) 13, 17, 20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Shimomura (US 20210264164 A1) in view of Sawada (US 20190147252 A1).
Regarding claim 13, Shimomura discloses an electronic apparatus comprising at least one processor (Fig. 13, [0192] electronic device including a CPU (i.e. processor)) capable of causing the electronic apparatus to:
acquire search request information including information of a search object from a first apparatus ([0139] the distribution request may be a request from a user operating a user device to search for a person or object including information of the person/object; Fig. 8, [0157]-[0158] the distribution request is transmitted from the user device via a server to the sensor device);
determine, based on the information of the search object, whether or not the search object is included in a captured image acquired by a second apparatus through image capturing; and transmit location information to the first apparatus, in case where it is determined that the search object is included in the captured image, the location information indicating a location of the second apparatus at a time when the second apparatus has acquired the captured image ([0188] determine whether the object is detected and when an intended object is detected in the image, the position of the object (e.g. person) based on the position information of the camera sensors is determined; Fig. 8, [0159] a sensor device (i.e. second apparatus) acquires sensing data and transmits it; [0054]-[0055] wherein the sensing data may be image data captured by an imaging device; Fig. 2, [0071], [0076] the sensor device also acquires positioning data indicating the location of the sensor device (i.e. location of the second apparatus) (See also Fig. 12, [0188])),
wherein the search request information includes disclosure setting information indicating whether or not to output the information of the search object ([0093]-[0095] information of the search object may be deleted from the data to protect the privacy of the person/object and the data than transmitted/output; [0152], [0188] information of the search object and its surroundings may be deleted or retained in the data depending on the context of the search request (i.e. settings to determine whether the information is to be disclosed or not disclosed).
Shimomura fails to disclose wherein the information may be displayed on a display of the second apparatus and a user of the second apparatus is able to set a setting to notify the information of the search object, and the at least one processor is capable of causing the electronic apparatus to display the information of the search object on the display of the second apparatus in case where the disclosure setting information indicates that the information of the search object is to be displayed on the display of the second apparatus and the user of the second apparatus sets a setting to notify the information of the search object.
Sawada, in a related system from the same field of endeavor determining a location of a target based on locations of a plurality of sensor apparatuses (Abstract), discloses wherein the information may be displayed on a display of the second apparatus (Fig. 3, [0055] a display of a second apparatus (e.g. vehicle) may display information (i.e. notify) to nearby individuals),
and a user of the second apparatus is able to set a setting to notify the information of the search object, and the at least one processor is capable of causing the electronic apparatus to display the information of the search object on the display of the second apparatus in case where the disclosure setting information indicates that the information of the search object is to be displayed on the display of the second apparatus and the user of the second apparatus sets a setting to notify the information of the search object (Fig. 3, [0055] a display of a second apparatus (e.g. vehicle) may display information (i.e. notify) to nearby individuals; Fig. 4-5, [0081] the information related to a person who is a search target (i.e. search object); Fig. 5, [0080], [0083]-[0084] an owner of a vehicle (i.e. second apparatus) may prevent the vehicle from performing actions as described in [0081] (i.e. a user is able to set a setting to notify the information)).
It would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine Sawada with Shimomura and include disclosure setting information and set a setting to notify the information of the search object and display the information on a display of the second apparatus, as disclosed by Sawada, as part of an electronic apparatus performing a search request and acquiring location information, as disclosed by Shimomura, for the purpose of identifying and locating search targets for improved safety and protection (See Sawada: [0007]-[0008], [0002]-[0003]).
Regarding claim 17, Shimomura in view of Sawada discloses everything claimed as applied above (see rejection of claim 13).
Regarding claim 20, Shimomura in view of Sawada discloses the method according to claim 17 as applied above. Shimomura further discloses non-transitory computer readable medium storing thereon a program for causing a computer to execute the control method ([0100], [0195] a hard-disk drive (i.e. non-transitory computer readable medium) storing a program executed by a computer).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Story (US 20200409537 A1) discloses transmitting location information across devices including in response to search requests initiated from one deice in the network and allowing for users of other devices to accept or reject the request.
Fu (US 20190163976 A1) discloses an augmented reality system including a head-mounted device used to search for target objects using an image capturing apparatus and determining whether the object appears in a captured field-of-view image.
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/CAROLINE E. DEPALMA/Examiner, Art Unit 2675
/ANDREW M MOYER/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2675