DETAILED ACTION
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Claims 1-18 are pending.
Prior art:
D1: US20130002660A1 Chikazawa
D2: US20150085163A1 Aimi et al
D3: US20130083174A1 Sakurabu
D4: US20140153816A1 Cohen et al
D5: US20170289528A1 Shioda et al
Claim Interpretation - 35 USC § 112(f)
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.
The claims in this application are given their broadest reasonable interpretation using the plain meaning of the claim language in light of the specification as it would be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art. The broadest reasonable interpretation of a claim element (also commonly referred to as a claim limitation) is limited by the description in the specification when 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, is invoked.
As explained in MPEP § 2181, subsection I, claim limitations that meet the following three-prong test will be interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph:
(A) the claim limitation uses the term “means” or “step” or a term used as a substitute for “means” that is a generic placeholder (also called a nonce term or a non-structural term having no specific structural meaning) for performing the claimed function;
(B) the term “means” or “step” or the generic placeholder is modified by functional language, typically, but not always linked by the transition word “for” (e.g., “means for”) or another linking word or phrase, such as "configured to" or "so that"; and
(C) the term “means” or “step” or the generic placeholder is not modified by sufficient structure, material, or acts for performing the claimed function.
Use of the word “means” (or “step”) in a claim with functional language creates a rebuttable presumption that the claim limitation is to be treated in accordance with 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph. The presumption that the claim limitation is interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, is rebutted when the claim limitation recites sufficient structure, material, or acts to entirely perform the recited function.
Absence of the word “means” (or “step”) in a claim creates a rebuttable presumption that the claim limitation is not to be treated in accordance with 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph. The presumption that the claim limitation is not interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, is rebutted when the claim limitation recites function without reciting sufficient structure, material or acts to entirely perform the recited function.
Claim limitations in this application that use the word “means” (or “step”) are being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, except as otherwise indicated in an Office action. Conversely, claim limitations in this application that do not use the word “means” (or “step”) are not being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, except as otherwise indicated in an Office action.
This application includes one or more claim limitations that do not use the word “means,” but are nonetheless being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or preAIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, because the claim limitation(s) uses a generic placeholder that is coupled with functional language without reciting sufficient structure to perform the recited function and the generic placeholder is not preceded by a structural modifier. Such claim limitation(s) is/are:
Claim 15:
“a control unit configured to…”; and
“a data processing unit configured to…”.
Because this/these claim limitation(s) is/are being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, it/they is/are being interpreted to cover the corresponding structure described in the specification as performing the claimed function, and equivalents thereof.
If applicant does not intend to have this/these limitation(s) interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, applicant may: (1) amend the claim limitation(s) to avoid it/them being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph (e.g., by reciting sufficient structure to perform the claimed function); or (2) present a sufficient showing that the claim limitation(s) recite(s) sufficient structure to perform the claimed function so as to avoid it/them being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or preAIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The following is a quotation of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 103(a) which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
(a) A patent may not be obtained though the invention is not identically disclosed or described as set forth in section 102 of this title, if the differences between the subject matter sought to be patented and the prior art are such that the subject matter as a whole would have been obvious at the time the invention was made to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which said subject matter pertains. Patentability shall not be negatived by the manner in which the invention was made.
Claim(s) 1-9 and 14-17 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over D1 in view of D2.
Regarding claims 1 and 15, D1 a method for stereo image processing and representation of at least one stereo image for a predetermined person, the at least one stereo image comprising one first partial image and one second partial image, wherein the one first partial image and one second partial image represent different projection directions and are associated respectively with a right eye and a left eye of the person, the method comprising:
(D1, Fig. 2; "adjusting right and left image outputs to solve visual non-uniformity due to differences between right and left eyesights of a viewer", [0007]; "a left-eye image acquisition unit, acquiring a left-eye image from the acquired stereoscopic image content, a right-eye image acquisition unit, acquiring a right-eye image from the acquired stereoscopic image content", [0111]; D1 teaches a method for processing stereo images comprising first and second partial images associated with a viewer's right and left eyes having different projection directions/parallax)
providing a visual capacity data of the right eye, of the left eye, or of the right eye and the left eye of the predetermined person;
(D1, Fig. 19; "acquiring user's left-eye vision information based on the user input, and the right-eye image quality adjustment reception unit may further comprise a right-eye vision information acquisition section, acquiring user's right-eye vision information based on the user input", [0112]; "receive the user input such as existence of vision feature (e.g., astigmatic eye, vision field abnormality, color blindness, vision difference)", [0127]; providing visual capacity data of the right eye and the left eye of the predetermined person)
processing the at least one stereo image such that at least one corresponding image feature in the first partial image and/or the second partial image are each amended in the first partial image and/or the second partial image depending upon the visual capacity data of a respective associated eye of the predetermined person, wherein a stereo disparity of the at least one corresponding image feature is prese; and
(D1, Fig. 19; "executing image quality adjustment of the left-eye image independently from the right-eye image, a right-eye image quality adjustment unit, executing image quality adjustment of the right-eye image independently from the left-eye image", [0111]; "executing adjustment of any one of edge enhancement, brightness, and gamma value of the left-eye image based on the left-eye vision information", [0112]; D2, Fig. 8; "detects the face region of a person in the reconstruction image", [0087]; "blur processing is performed using a filter coefficient", [0138]; "image from another viewpoint (incident direction from the microlens) may be aligned and added in consideration of a moving amount corresponding to the parallax", [0050]; D1 teaches independently amending partial images based on visual capacity data but lacks explicit teaching of isolating a specific corresponding image feature and preserving its stereo disparity during amendment. D2 teaches detecting a specific corresponding image feature (e.g., a face region) and amending it (e.g., applying blur/filters) while preserving stereo disparity by aligning based on a moving amount corresponding to parallax. D2 teaches the limitation "wherein a stereo disparity of the at least one corresponding image feature is preserved" because it explicitly maintains the 3D depth information (parallax) of specific objects even when those objects are locally amended. Specifically, D2 discloses detecting a corresponding image feature (such as a face region) and applying a localized amendment (such as a blur filter) strictly to that feature. Crucially, when generating the different stereoscopic viewpoints (the left and right partial images), D2 aligns and adds the images "in consideration of a moving amount corresponding to the parallax" ([0050]). By retaining this parallax-based moving amount during the image generation process, D2 ensures that the physical horizontal offset, and thus the stereo disparity and perceived 3D depth, of the specifically amended feature is kept completely intact rather than being flattened or removed)
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention was made to incorporate D2 into D1 in order to apply visual capacity-based adjustments selectively to specific, highly relevant regions of interest rather than uniformly processing the entire image, while ensuring the three-dimensional depth perception and stereo disparity (parallax) of that specific object is maintained. The combination of D1 and D2 also teaches other enhanced capabilities.
The combination of D1 and D2 further teaches:
displaying the processed at least one stereo image by a stereoscopic display apparatus.
(D1, Fig. 22; "output unit for image after adjustment, outputting images, such that the images after adjustment configures the stereoscopic image content", [0111]; "displaying the stereoscopic image on the 'display'", [0074]; displaying the processed stereo image by a stereoscopic display apparatus)
Regarding claim 2, the combination of D1 and D2 teaches its/their respective base claim(s).
The combination further teaches the method of claim 1, wherein a large number of corresponding image features in the first partial image and the second partial image are amended in the first partial image and in the second partial image, respectively, dependent upon the visual capacity data of an associated eye of the predetermined person.
(D1, “the image quality adjustment received by the first reception unit for image quality adjustment of left-eye test image is executed for the left-eye test image, and the image quality adjustment received by the first reception unit for image quality adjustment of right-eye test image is executed for the right-eye test image”, [0059]; “independently executing the image quality adjustment for the respective right-eye and left-eye images configuring the stereoscopic content image”, [0061]; “image quality adjustment for each of the right-eye image and left-eye image configuring the stereoscopic content image is independently performed”, [0063]; mending images based on visual capacity differences between right and left eyes, including adjusting "large number" of features through image quality adjustments like edge enhancement, brightness, RGB adjustments applied to the images)
Regarding claim 3, the combination of D1 and D2 teaches its/their respective base claim(s).
The combination further teaches the method of claim 1, wherein at least one of the following amendments is carried out: enhancing, attenuating, sharpening, blurring, using high pass, using low pass, filtering, increasing or decreasing depth of focus, increasing or decreasing resolution, transforming, sharpening edges, enhancing contrast, adapting brightness, or removing small details.
(D1, “the image quality adjustment may include the edge enhancement, the brightness adjustment, or RGB value adjustment”, [0059]; “executes the image quality adjustment such as the edge enhancement for the left-eye test image”, [0073]; teaching edge enhancement/sharpening, brightness adjustment, and contrast-related adjustments)
Regarding claim 4, the combination of D1 and D2 teaches its/their respective base claim(s).
The combination further teaches the method of claim 1, wherein the visual capacity data comprises a contrast resolution capacity, a stereopsis capacity, a resolving power, an accommodation, a color vision capability, an eye motor function, a visual acuity and/or a low-light vision.
(D1, “vision strengths”, [0042]; “eyesight”, [0046]; “color blindness”, [0048]; "color vision", [0113]; “user's left-eye vision is ‘1.2’ and left-eye vision of the user is ‘0.7’”, [0040]; “one eye of the user is color blindness, for example, ‘green is viewed as blue’”, [0125]; teaching visual acuity (vision strength) and color vision capability)
Regarding claim 5, the combination of D1 and D2 teaches its/their respective base claim(s).
The combination further teaches the method of claim 1, further comprising:
asymmetrical processing of the first partial image and/or the second partial image depending on different visual capacities of the right eye and the left eye.
(D1, “the image quality adjustment is independently received and executed”, [0059]; “image quality adjustment for each of the right-eye image and left-eye image configuring the stereoscopic content image is independently performed”, [0063]; “the image quality adjustment received by the second reception unit for image quality adjustment of left-eye test image is executed for the left-eye test image, and the image quality adjustment received by the second reception unit for image quality adjustment of right-eye test image is executed for the right-eye test image”, [0095]; teaching asymmetrical/independent processing of left and right images based on different visual capacities of the two eyes)
Regarding claim 6, the combination of D1 and D2 teaches its/their respective base claim(s).
The combination further teaches the method of claim 1, wherein a current observation geometry and/or a spacing of the eyes of the person from the display apparatus is captured and taken into account for processing of the at least one stereo image.
(D1, “viewing distance information may be further acquired, for example, by a sensor or user input, and used for determining the adjustment parameter value”, [0126]; viewing distance corresponds to the spacing of the eyes from the display apparatus)
Regarding claim 8, the combination of D1 and D2 teaches its/their respective base claim(s).
The combination further teaches the method of claim 1, wherein data regarding lighting conditions in a region of the person or the display apparatus, and/or optical parameters of the display apparatus are taken into account during the processing of the stereo image.
(D1, “When the user's left eye has astigmatic vision, the astigmatic effect is reduced in the bright situation, so that the left-eye image quality adjustment unit increases the brightness value of the respective pixels in the left-eye image”, [0122]; adjusting brightness to adapt to the change of astigmatic effect in different bright situations)
Regarding claim 9, the combination of D1 and D2 teaches its/their respective base claim(s).
The combination further teaches the method of claim 8, wherein the optical parameters comprise visibility, contrast, and/or brightness.
(D1, “When the user's left eye has astigmatic vision, the astigmatic effect is reduced in the bright situation, so that the left-eye image quality adjustment unit increases the brightness value of the respective pixels in the left-eye image”, [0122]; adjusting brightness to adapt to the change of astigmatic effect in different bright situations)
Regarding claim 14, the combination of D1 and D2 teaches its/their respective base claim(s).
The combination further teaches the method of claim 1, wherein to provide the visual capacity data of the person, a vision test is carried out.
(D1, “the various programs are loaded into the ‘main memory’”, [0072], for vision testing; “A plurality of synthetic test scenes or test images are shown”, carrying out vision tests to obtain visual capacity data by showing test images and receiving adjustments from the viewer)
Regarding claim 16, the combination of D1 and D2 teaches its/their respective base claim(s).
The combination further teaches the system of claim 15, further comprising:
a test apparatus configured for testing the visual capacity of the eyes of the person.
(D1, “display the astigmatism check chart or Landort ring chart (vision check chart) for checking the vision feature on the display screen”, [0131]; displaying a "vision check chart" on the display screen and receiving user input, thereby acting as a test apparatus associated with the system)
Regarding claim 17, the combination of D1 and D2 teaches its/their respective base claim(s).
The combination further teaches the system of claim 15, further comprising:
at least one sensor configured for measuring an observation geometry; and/or
(D1, “the viewing distance information may be further acquired, for example, by a sensor or user input, and used for determining the adjustment parameter value”, [0126]; viewing distance constitutes observation geometry)
at least one sensor configured for measuring lighting conditions.
Claim(s) 7 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over D1 in view of D2 and further in view of D3.
Regarding claim 7, the combination of D1 and D2 teaches its/their respective base claim(s).
The combination does not expressly disclose but D3 teaches the method of claim 6, wherein the current observation geometry comprises a size of the display apparatus and/or a viewing angle of the person to the display apparatus.
(D3, Fig. 1; "A stereoscopic imaging digital camera 1 is provided with a first capture device 2 for capturing a left-eye image viewed by the left eye of an observer and with a second capture device 3 for capturing a right-eye image viewed by the right eye of the observer", [0064]; "the zoom lens is on the wide-angle side", [0167]; D3 teaches determining the user's viewable angle based on the wide-angle lens state)
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention was made to incorporate D3 into D1 and D2 in order to accurately account for the user's viewing angle and the field of view presented by the apparatus, thereby ensuring that the stereoscopic image adjustments and depth perception are properly calibrated for a comfortable and realistic 3D viewing experience across different observation geometries. The combination of D1, D2 and D3 also teaches other enhanced capabilities.
Claim(s) 11 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over D1 in view of D2 and further in view of D4.
Regarding claim 11, the combination of D1 and D2 teaches its/their respective base claim(s).
The combination does not expressly disclose but D4 teaches the method of claim 1, wherein determining the image features comprises:
(D4, “Stereo correspondence calculations may be used to determine which parts in stereo images correspond to each other”, [0002]; “The stereo correspondence module 126, for instance, may process images 112, 114 to determine depth of the image scene”, [0038]; “The image edge identification module 312 is representative of functionality to identify image edges 314 in image data 308 of the images 112, 114 based on characteristics of the images”, [0045]; determining image features as part of stereo image processing)
analyzing the partial images with regard to corresponding image features and therefrom determining stereo disparities;
(D4, Figs. 1-2 and 7; “The images 112, 114 in this example are stereoscopic in that the images are taken from different viewpoints of the illustrated image scene”, [0033]; “The stereo correspondence module 126 is representative of functionality to generate stereo correspondence data 128 that describes which points (i.e., coordinates) in stereoscopic images correspond to each other”, [0038]; “stereo correspondence may be formulated as a labeling problem in which “P” is a set of pixels in an image. “L” is a set of labels that represent the disparities”, [0054]; “disparity may change at each pixel... disparity is generally inversely proportion to depth, such that closer objects tend to move between the two images more whereas objects located at “infinity” do not move between the two images”, [0057]; “The disparity may be expressed as a disparity map 702”, [0058]; analyzing stereoscopic partial images to identify corresponding features and determining stereo disparities from the correspondence)
creating a depth map of the corresponding image features or the whole scene;
(D4, Figs. 1-2; “The depth sensor 116 and depth sensor module 118 are representative of functionality to generate a depth map 120 that describes depths at different portions of the image scene”, [0035]; “The depth map 120, therefore, may describe depths of the image scene at different coordinates”, [0036]; “The depth map 120 may describe depth at different locations (e.g., coordinates) in the image scene 202”, [0041]; creating a depth map for the whole scene using depth sensor output)
evaluating the detected corresponding image features with regard to at least one evaluation criterion; and
(D4, Figs. 5-6; “The image edge classification module 502 is representative of functionality to classify image edges 314 as image edges that correspond to depth discontinuities 504 ... this comparison may also be used to classify image edges 314 as image edges that do not correspond to depth discontinuities 506 using similar techniques. This classification may be performed in a variety of ways, such as a binary classification, use of a weighting value based on correspondence of the image edges and depth discontinuities”, [0051]; “techniques are described herein in which an output of the depth sensor 116 may be used to define a search range for both the data cost and the smoothness cost, which may improve efficiency and accuracy of the search for stereo correspondence”, [0063]; valuating detected image features/edges against evaluation criteria such as correspondence to depth discontinuities and using cost functions as evaluation metrics)
selecting at least one corresponding image feature from a set of the detected corresponding image features on a basis of the at least one evaluation criterion.
(D4, Figs. 5-6; “After processing by the image edge classification module 502, image edges that correspond to depth discontinuities 504 are shown in the second stage 604 and image edges that do not correspond to depth discontinuities 506 are suppressed. Thus, a distinction may be made between image edges that do not correspond to depth discontinuities 506 and image edges that do correspond to depth discontinuities 504”, [0052]; “The stereo correspondence algorithm 508, for instance, may suppress image edges that do not correspond to depth discontinuities 506 in the calculation of the stereo correspondence data 128, whereas image edges that correspond to depth discontinuities 504 are not suppressed”, [0053]; selecting corresponding image features based on evaluation criteria - specifically selecting image edges that correspond to depth discontinuities while suppressing those that do not)
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention was made to incorporate the teaching of D4 into modified system or method of D1 and D2 in order to use depth map data to identify and select corresponding stereo image features, improving correspondence accuracy in weakly-textured or ambiguous regions. The combination of D1, D2 and D4 also teaches other enhanced capabilities.
Claim(s) 18 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over D1 in view of D2 and further in view of D5.
Regarding claim 18, the combination of D1 and D2 teaches its/their respective base claim(s).
The combination does not expressly disclose but D5 teaches the system of claim 15, further comprising:
a medical imaging system configured for recording and providing a medical stereo image.
(D5, Fig. 1, “the surgical video microscope device 510 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure (that is, a medical stereoscopic observation device) is configured to be able to acquire image data for displaying the imaging target as a three-dimensional image (3D image)”, [0053])
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention was made to incorporate the medical imaging configuration of D5 into modified system or method of D1 and D3 in order to adapt the personalized vision correction display for use in a surgical environment, enabling medical professionals to view stereoscopic medical imagery clearly without the physical hindrance of corrective eyeglasses. The combination of D1, D3 and D5 also teaches other enhanced capabilities.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim(s) 10 and 12-13 is/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 Claim(s).
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
Claim(s) 10 and 12-13 recite(s) limitation(s) related to forward-convolving image features with visual perception function, amending perception representation, then backward-convolving for image adjustment; evaluation criterion assesses visibility; corresponding features below visibility threshold are selected for processing; and additional relevance criterion applied, corresponding features exceeding visibility threshold are selected based on relevance. There are no explicit teachings to the above limitation(s) found in the prior art cited in this office action and from the prior art search.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed on 7/8/2026 with respect to one or more of the pending claims have been fully considered but are moot in view of the new ground(s) of rejection.
Conclusion
THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. 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.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JIANXUN YANG whose telephone number is (571)272-9874. The examiner can normally be reached on MON-FRI: 8AM-5PM Pacific Time.
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/JIANXUN YANG/
Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2662 8/22/2026
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