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 .
Double Patenting
Claims 1, 6, 11 and 16 are provisionally rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claims 1, 6, 11 and 16 of copending Application No. 18/645,254 (reference application). Although the claims at issue are not identical, they are not patentably distinct from each other because
It is clear that all the elements of the application claims 1, 6, 11 and 16 are to be found in copending claims 1, 6, 11 and 16 (as the application claims 1, 6, 11 and 16 fully encompasses copending claims 1, 6, 11 and 16). The difference between the application claims and the copending claims lies in the fact that the copending claim includes many more elements and is thus much more specific. Thus the invention of claims of the copending application is in effect a “species” of the “generic” invention of the application claims. It has been held that the generic invention is “anticipated” by the “species”. See In re Goodman, 29 USPQ2d 2010 (Fed. Cir. 1993).
This is a provisional nonstatutory double patenting rejection because the patentably indistinct claims have not in fact been patented.
18/645,273
1. A method for optimizing a search space associated with a plurality of alignment curves, the method comprising: determining, at at least one processor, a bounding region; determining, at the at least one processor, an initial alignment within the bounding region; generating, at the at least one processor, a corridor buffer associated with the initial alignment; and generating, at the at least one processor and based on the corridor buffer, a rasterized cost map.
18/645,254
1. A method for gap filling of geographic information service (“GIS”) data, the method comprising: determining, at at least one processor, a bounding region at or near an initial alignment; determining, at the at least one processor, the initial alignment within the bounding region; generating, at the at least one processor, a corridor buffer at or near the initial alignment and within the bounding region; processing, at the at least one processor, cost layer data; determining, at the at least one processor and based on the cost layer data, incompleteness of a plurality of polygon-bounded area; determining, at the at least one processor and based on the cost layer data, partial completeness of the plurality of polygon-bounded areas; determining, at the at least one processor and based on the cost layer data, completeness of the plurality of polygon-bounded areas; generating, at the at least one processor and based on the incompleteness, the partial completeness, synthetic completeness, and the completeness of the plurality of polygon-based areas, the synthetic completeness of the plurality of polygon-bounded areas; and storing, at the at least one processor and in at least one memory, a rasterized cost map including the completeness and the synthetic completeness of the plurality of polygon-bounded areas.
6. An apparatus for optimizing a search space associated with a plurality of alignment curves, the apparatus comprising: at least one memory; and at least one processor coupled to the at least one memory, the at least one processor configured: to determine a bounding region; to determine an initial alignment within the bounding region; to generate a corridor buffer associated with the initial alignment; and to generate based on the corridor buffer, a rasterized cost map.
6. An apparatus for gap filling of geographic information service (“GIS”) data, the apparatus comprising: at least one memory; and at least one processor coupled to the at least one memory, the at least one processor configured: to determine a bounding region at or near an initial alignment; to determine the initial alignment within the bounding region; to generate a corridor buffer at or near the initial alignment and within the bounding region; to process cost layer data; to determine based on the cost layer data, incompleteness of a plurality of polygon-bounded area; to determine, based on the cost layer data, partial completeness of the plurality of polygon-bounded areas; to determine, based on the cost layer data, completeness of the plurality of polygon-bounded areas; to generate, based on the incompleteness, the partial completeness, synthetic completeness, and the completeness of the plurality of polygon-based areas, the synthetic completeness of the plurality of polygon-bounded areas; and to store in the at least one memory, a rasterized cost map, the rasterized cost map including the completeness and the synthetic completeness of the plurality of polygon-bounded areas.
11. A non-transitory computer-readable medium having program code recorded thereon, the program code executed by at least one processor and comprising: program code to determine, at the at least one processor, a bounding region; program code to determine, at the at least one processor, an initial alignment within the bounding region; program code to generate, at the at least one processor, a corridor buffer associated with the initial alignment; and program code to generate, at the at least one processor and based on the corridor buffer, a rasterized cost map.
16. An apparatus for optimizing a search space associated with a plurality of alignment curves, the apparatus comprising: means for determining, at at least one processor, a bounding region; means for determining, at the at least one processor, an initial alignment within the bounding region; means for generating, at the at least one processor, a corridor buffer associated with the initial alignment; and means for generating, at the at least one processor and based on the corridor buffer, a rasterized cost map.
11. A non-transitory computer-readable medium having program code recorded thereon, the program code executed by at least one processor and comprising: program code to determine a bounding region, the bounding region being at or near an initial alignment; program code to determine the initial alignment, the initial alignment being within the bounding region; program code to generate a corridor buffer, the corridor buffer being at or near the initial alignment, the corridor buffer further being within the bounding region; program code to process cost layer data; program code to determine based on the cost layer data, incompleteness of a plurality of polygon-bounded area; program code to determine based on the cost layer data, partial completeness of the plurality of polygon-bounded areas; program code to determine based on the cost layer data, completeness of the plurality of polygon-bounded areas; program code to generate based on the incompleteness, the partial completeness, synthetic completeness, and the completeness of the plurality of polygon-based areas, the synthetic completeness of the plurality of polygon-bounded areas; and program code to store, at the at least one processor and in at least one memory, a rasterized cost map, the rasterized cost map including the completeness and the synthetic completeness of the plurality of polygon-bounded areas.
16. An apparatus for gap filling of geographic information service (“GIS”) data, comprising: means for determining, at at least one processor, a bounding region at or near an initial alignment; means for determining, at the at least one processor, the initial alignment within the bounding region; means for generating, at the at least one processor, a corridor buffer at or near the initial alignment and within the bounding region; means for processing, at the at least one processor, cost layer data; means for determining, at the at least one processor and based on the cost layer data, incompleteness of a plurality of polygon-bounded area; means for determining, at the at least one processor and based on the cost layer data, partial completeness of the plurality of polygon-bounded areas; means for determining, at the at least one processor and based on the cost layer data, completeness of the plurality of polygon-bounded areas; means for generating, at the at least one processor and based on the incompleteness, the partial completeness, synthetic completeness, and the completeness of the plurality of polygon-based areas, the synthetic completeness of the plurality of polygon-bounded areas; and means for storing, at the at least one processor and in at least one memory, a rasterized cost map, the rasterized cost map including the completeness and the synthetic completeness of the plurality of polygon-bounded areas.
Claim Interpretation
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(f):
(f) Element in Claim for a Combination. – An element in a claim for a combination may be expressed as a means or step for performing a specified function without the recital of structure, material, or acts in support thereof, and such claim shall be construed to cover the corresponding structure, material, or acts described in the specification and equivalents thereof.
The following is a quotation of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph:
An element in a claim for a combination may be expressed as a means or step for performing a specified function without the recital of structure, material, or acts in support thereof, and such claim shall be construed to cover the corresponding structure, material, or acts described in the specification and equivalents thereof.
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.
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) 1-20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Koch et al., U.S. Patent Publication Number 2015/0154323 A1, in view of Ma et al., U.S. Patent Publication Number 2019/0164313 A1.
Regarding claim 1, Koch discloses a method for optimizing a search space associated with a plurality of alignment curves, the method comprising: determining, at at least one processor, a bounding region (paragraph 0046, produces another, coarser grid over the terrain grid, that contains edges; paragraph 0168, finding an initial alignment between a starting point and an end point is an optimization problem on its own; project boundaries may encompass a very surface; discretize the search space; a grid is constructed; Examiner interprets grid as boundary); determining, at the at least one processor, an initial alignment within the bounding region (paragraph 0046, obtains a starting alignment; paragraph 0124, initial alignment; paragraph 0168, finding an initial alignment); generating, at the at least one processor, constraints associated with the initial alignment (paragraph 0099, may require minimum curve radius, minimum distances between PIs, other constraints that affect the geometry of alignment); and generating, at the at least one processor and based on the constraint, a rasterized cost map (paragraph 0046, computes the costs that would corresponds to an alignment segment that connects the two grid points for the edge).
However, it is noted that Koch discloses constraints associated with an alignment, including distances between points of interest. Koch fails to specifically disclose the constraints as a corridor buffer.
Ma discloses a method for optimizing a search space associated with a plurality of alignment curves (paragraph 0095, determine an optimum recognition), the method comprising: determining, at at least one processor (paragraph 0305), a bounding region (paragraph 0133, analysis parameters may designate upper, mid, and/or lower sizes and/or dimensions for downscaled images; minimum edge or boundary length for forming objects from the line segments ); determining, at the at least one processor, an initial alignment within the bounding region (paragraph 0096, detection algorithm (e.g., line segment-based) ); generating, at the at least one processor, a corridor buffer associated with the initial alignment (paragraph 0133, utilize a buffer “corridor” in assembling edges from line segment sets; paragraph 0308, compute an optional buffer corridor within which to search for line segments; a size of the optional buffer corridor, and an orientation angle of a longitudinal axis of the optional buffer corridor).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to include as the constraints as disclosed by Koch, corridor buffers as disclosed Ma, to search for an alignment that tries to minimize the costs or any combination of cost, while respecting the given constraints of an optional buffer corridor.
Regarding claim 2, Koch discloses further comprising: storing, in at least one memory, the rasterized cost map; and communicating, at the at least one processor, the rasterized cost map to a one dimensional (1-D) optimizer, the 1-D optimizer being configured to generate, based on the initial alignment, an optimized profile for an alignment (paragraph 0021, requires some cost input that may include earthwork costs, construction costs, land costs, environmental costs; paragraph 0124, cost evaluation where xk, is the 1 different alignments in iteration k; the current cost value is compared with the stored best value; a typical stopping condition can be that; paragraph 0128, the change by the alignment x by the stochastic optimization method is very small)
Regarding claim 3, Koch discloses in which generating the constraint is based on a plurality of extended radii (figure 11; paragraph 0099, may require minimum curve radius, minimum distances between PIs, or other constraints that affect the geometry of the alignment. These type of constraints are referred to as design constraints; paragraph 0151, the projection of a transport alignment center line, and offset lines).
Ma discloses paragraph 0133, utilize a buffer “corridor” in assembling edges from line segment sets.
Regarding claim 4, Koch discloses in which generating the constraint is based on a plurality of points distributed at or near the initial alignment (paragraph 0152, points are sampled at a regular distance along the arc until reaching PT; then process then shifts to the next curve).
Ma discloses corridor buffer (paragraph 0133, utilize a buffer “corridor” in assembling edges from line segment sets) .
Regarding claim 5, Koch discloses in which the rasterized cost map comprises a two dimensional (2-D) set of values associated with a cost to traverse (paragraph 0143, In a discrete land use layer, the cost value would be for the full parcel, and the full parcel needs to be bought if traversed; paragraph 0154, sequential grid values are stored as profiles, where the grid value is the y-value in the profile, and the x-value is the station value representing the distance along the alignment; FIG 14 and 16 show the profiles for land use and soft costs).
Regarding claims 6-10, they are rejected based upon similar rational as above claims 1-5. Koch further discloses an apparatus for optimizing a search space associated with a plurality of alignment curves, the apparatus comprising: at least one memory; and at least one processor coupled to the at least one memory (figure 1).
Regarding claims 11-15, they are rejected based upon similar rational as above. Koch further discloses a non-transitory computer-readable medium having program code recorded thereon, the program code executed by at least one processor (paragraph 0056).
Regarding claims 16-20, they are rejected based upon similar rational as above. Koch further discloses an apparatus for optimizing a search space associated with a plurality of alignment curves, the apparatus comprising: means for determining, at at least one processor (paragraph 0055-0056).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Broadway et al., U.S. Patent Publication Number 2022/0341752 A1
Broadway discloses paragraph 0056, obtain building outlines/polygons in a defined region of interest; paragraph 0065, identify candidate alignments for the map segment; paragraph 0090, when two nearby segments have connecting corridors that nearly align but not perfectly, a small translation may be applied to align them as well; paragraph 0090, transformation may apply a further contribution to the cost function.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Motilewa Good-Johnson whose telephone number is (571)272-7658. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday 6am-2:30pm.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Jason Chan can be reached at 571-272-3022. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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MOTILEWA . GOOD JOHNSON
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 2616
/MOTILEWA GOOD-JOHNSON/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2619
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