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 .
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election without traverse of Claims 1-10 and 15-20 in the reply filed on June 19, 2026 is acknowledged.
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.
Claims 1-10 and 15-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US PgPub. No. 2024/0153280 by Sun (hereinafter ‘Sun’) in view of US PgPub. No. 2018/0189574 by Brueckner et al. (hereinafter ‘Bru’).
In regards to claim 1, Sun teaches an electronic device comprising: a camera; and a processor, wherein the processor is configured to:
based on
segment the first area to a plurality of partial areas, using the window, based on the width and the height; (See Sun paragraphs [0051]-[0052], Sun teaches segmenting region of interest into basic bounding boxes.)
identify, from a neural network to which a first partial area among the plurality of partial areas is inputted, whether an external object is included in the first partial area; and based on a gap identified based on whether the external object is included in the first partial area, obtain a second partial area separated from the first partial area within the image. (See Sun paragraphs [0061]-[0064], Sun teaches inputting bounding boxes into an object detection model and using expanded candidate boxes for updating the next moment.)
However, Sun does not expressly teach determining width and height of first area based on FoV and reference surface.
Bru teaches determining width and height of first area based on FoV and reference surface. (See Bru paragraphs [0025]-[0027], Bru teaches setting region based on FoV and height of the terrain.)
It would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to one of ordinary skill in the art to modify Sun to include region a based on FoV and height of the terrain as taught by Bru. The determination of obviousness is predicated upon the following findings: One skilled in the art would have been motivated to modify Sun in this manner in order to be able to reduce the processing power required by the object detection model.
Further, one skilled in the art could have combined the elements as described above by known method with no change in their respective functions, and the combination would have yielded nothing more than predictable results.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to combine Sun with Bru to obtain the invention as specified in claim 1.
In regards to claim 2, Sun and Bru teach all the limitations of claim 1. Bru further teaches wherein the processor is configured to: identify distortion of the image by the camera, the image being a first image; and identify the external object based on a second image in which the distortion is compensated, the second image being different from the first image. (See Bru paragraphs [0030]-[0031]).
In regards to claim 3, Sun and Bru teach all the limitations of claim 1. Sun further teaches wherein the processor is configured to: at least partially overlap the plurality of partial areas based on a first ratio of the width. (See Sun paragraphs [0065]-[0067]).
In regards to claim 4, Sun and Bru teach all the limitations of claim 1. Bru further teaches further comprising a sensor, and wherein the processor is configured to: identify, based on the sensor, a first speed of the electronic device which is smaller than a first reference speed; and based on the identification of the first speed, overlap the plurality of partial areas within the first partial area including an edge of the image based on a second ratio smaller than the first ratio. (See Bru paragraph [0082]).
In regards to claim 5, Sun and Bru teach all the limitations of claim 1. Bru further teaches further comprising a sensor, and wherein the processor is configured to: identify, based on the sensor, a second speed of the electronic device which is greater than a second reference speed; and based on identification of the second speed, overlap the plurality of partial areas within the second partial area different from the first partial area including an edge of the image, based on a second ratio smaller than the first ratio. (See Bru paragraphs [0076] and [0082]).
In regards to claim 6, Sun and Bru teach all the limitations of claim 1. Bru further teaches further comprising a speaker, and wherein the processor is configured to: based on identifying the external object, output an audio signal indicating that the external object is identified. (See Bru paragraph [0072]).
In regards to claim 7, Sun and Bru teach all the limitations of claim 1. Bru further teaches further comprising a display, and wherein the processor is configured to: based on identifying the external object, display a visual object corresponding to the external object. (See Bru paragraph [0072]).
In regards to claim 8, Sun and Bru teach all the limitations of claim 1. Bru further teaches comprising a sensor, and wherein the processor is configured to: identify a direction to which the camera is directed that is identified using the sensor; and based on identifying the direction included in a preset range, identify the height. (See Bru paragraph [0019]).
In regards to claim 9, Sun and Bru teach all the limitations of claim 1. Bru further teaches wherein the height is a first height, and wherein the processor is configured to: identify a second height of a second area; based on identifying a difference between the second height and the first height, adjust sizes of the plurality of partial areas capturing portions of the image. (See Bru paragraphs [0025]-[0027]).
In regards to claim 10, Sun and Bru teach all the limitations of claim 1. Sun further teaches wherein the processor is configured to: based on identifying the first height smaller than the second height, identify the first partial area including a vertex of the second area; and identify the second partial area, which has a size identical to the first partial area, and partially overlaps the first partial area. (See Sun paragraphs [0061]-[0064]).
Claims 15-20 recite limitations that are similar to that of claims 1-6, respectively. Therefore, claims 15-20 are rejected similarly as claims 1-6, respectively.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to UTPAL D SHAH whose telephone number is (571)272-5729. The examiner can normally be reached M-F: 7:30-5:30.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Vu Le can be reached at (571) 272-7332. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/UTPAL D SHAH/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2668
Prosecution Insights