Prosecution Insights
Last updated: August 17, 2026
Application No. 18/664,487

METHOD AND DEVICE FOR ASCERTAINING WHETHER A SPECIFIED IMAGE DETAIL OF A FIRST IMAGE OCCURS IN A SECOND IMAGE

Final Rejection §112
Filed
May 15, 2024
Priority
May 26, 2023 — DE 10 2023 204 988.0 +1 more
Examiner
PATEL, PINALBEN V
Art Unit
2673
Tech Center
2600 — Communications
Assignee
Robert Bosch GmbH
OA Round
2 (Final)
89%
Grant Probability
Favorable
3-4
OA Rounds
0m
Est. Remaining
99%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 89% — above average
89%
Career Allowance Rate
499 granted / 561 resolved
+26.9% vs TC avg
Moderate +10% lift
Without
With
+9.9%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 3m
Avg Prosecution
25 currently pending
Career history
576
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
8.5%
-31.5% vs TC avg
§103
59.7%
+19.7% vs TC avg
§102
5.0%
-35.0% vs TC avg
§112
18.7%
-21.3% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 561 resolved cases

Office Action

§112
DETAILED ACTION With regard to the amendment filed 05/12/2026, the Applicant amended claims 11, 18 and 19. Claims 1-10 are cancelled. Claims 20 and 21 are newly added. No new matter is added. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112 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. Claims 11-21 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. The amended claims 11 recite limitations – “wherein the image features are ascertained depending on pixel values of adjacent pixels, and in the second image, a rotationally symmetrical area is determined and the rotationally symmetrical area is transformed into a quadrangular area, and the image features of the pixels of the second image are calculated from pixels within the transformed area”, appears to be directed to extract features from from first and second image based on adjust pixel values and further symmetrical area in second image is determined and transformed into quadrangular area and image features are further determined from the area. However, it is not clear as to which specific area from second image is obtained and symmetrical area from second image is rotationally symmetrical to which specific area in the second image or the first image. Further, the calculated feature pixels are calculated from the transformed quadrangular area. However, it is not clear as to which specific image processing technique is applied to perform the transformation from the rotationally symmetrical area into quandrangular area that would be efficient in order to determine identical of the specific features in first and second images. Response to Arguments Applicant’s arguments, filed 05/12/2026 have been fully considered and are persuasive in view of the amendments. Therefore, the rejections of claims under 35 U.S.C 103 has been withdrawn if the set for the rejections under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) are addressed sufficiently by amending claims to explicitly define the features discussed. 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). Allowable Subject Matter Claims 11-21 would be allowable over prior art if rewritten to overcome the rejection(s) under 35 U.S.C. 112(b), set forth in this Office action. 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. The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure: AU-2007317180-A1 (Yu et al., his invention concerns texture analysis, and in particular a method for extracting texture features that are scale (intensity and geometric) and rotation invariant from images. In particular the invention involves using a window comprised of pixels around a centre pixel, moving the window across data representing an image, to derive a gradient vector of the image within the window at each location of the window. Extracting a first set of statistics that represent local features of the image and are intensity scale and rotation invariant. Low-pass filtering the image data and downsampling the output to produce data representing a coarser version of the image. Applying the window across data representing the coarser image and extracting a second set of statistics representing local features of the image. Concatenating the sets of statistics to produce a texture descriptor for the image. In another aspect the invention is a computer system which implements the method, and in a further aspect the invention is software for performing the method, Abstract) FR-2911984-A1 (Godreau et al., The method involves identifying pairs of natural points among natural points in an area. Each pair of points is determined by a natural point, whose relative position in the area with respect to another natural point corresponds to a position close to preset relative positions of searched standard symbolic points in the area. A characteristic score of an interval of the considered pair of the natural points is determined with respect to the pairs of the symbolic points. A pair of natural points having improved score is identified as symbolic points of the area of an image of a face, Abstract) Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to PINALBEN V PATEL whose telephone number is (571)270-5872. The examiner can normally be reached M-F: 10am - 8pm. 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, Chineyere Wills-Burns can be reached at 571-272-9752. 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. /Pinalben Patel/Examiner, Art Unit 2673
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

May 15, 2024
Application Filed
Feb 24, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §112
May 12, 2026
Response Filed
Jul 28, 2026
Final Rejection mailed — §112 (current)

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Study what changed to get past this examiner. Based on 5 most recent grants.

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Prosecution Projections

3-4
Expected OA Rounds
89%
Grant Probability
99%
With Interview (+9.9%)
2y 3m (~0m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
Moderate
PTA Risk
Based on 561 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

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