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 .
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 3/13/2024 follows the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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 the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim(s) 1-3, 5, and 6 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Mann et al. (US 2012/0293669).
Regarding claim 1, Mann teaches a method for acquiring multispectral images (CT6-CT11, Fig. 6) and panchromatic thumbnail images (CT1-CT4, Fig. 6) by a monochrome matrix-array sensor installed in a mobile carrier in a direction of movement above a space comprising a scene to be observed (sensor; ¶ 0007, ¶¶ 0038-0046, Fig. 2), the matrix-array sensor having a field covering an extent of the space greater than the scene in the direction of movement (Fig. 4) and the matrix-array sensor being provided with a filter having a panchromatic filtering band followed by at least two spectral filtering bands, each covering a different wavelength interval, the panchromatic filtering band and the spectral filtering bands being parallel and extending in a direction substantially orthogonal to the direction of movement (spectral filter strips 505a-505d and panchromatic filter 505efgh; ¶¶ 0060-0063, Fig. 4A-4D), characterised in that the method comprises the following steps:
a) when the scene is within one of the filtering bands of the filter, acquiring a multispectral image by the sensor at least through the two spectral filtering bands ( an imaging sequence for capturing an image; ¶ 0082, Fig. 6 CT6-CT11);
b) transferring the multispectral image to an electronic processing unit (provide images; ¶ 0055, ¶ 0067, ¶ 0075);
c) acquiring a panchromatic thumbnail image by the sensor, only through the panchromatic filtering band (panchromatic images; ¶ 0082, Fig. 6 609a-609d);
d) transferring the panchromatic thumbnail image to the electronic processing unit (provide images; ¶ 0055, ¶ 0067, ¶ 0075);
e) as long as the scene is not within another of the filtering bands,
repeating steps c) and d) (capture image; ¶ 0082, Fig. 6); and
f) repeating steps a) to e) until a multispectral image of the scene through each spectral filtering band is obtained (capture image; ¶ 0082, Fig. 6).
Regarding claim 2, Mann teaches the method according to claim 1, wherein the acquisition of the multispectral image achieved in step a) is done through the panchromatic filtering band and the spectral filtering bands (¶¶ 0038-0039).
Regarding claim 3, Mann teaches the method according to claim 1, wherein the acquisition of the multispectral image achieved in step a) is done only through the spectral filtering bands (spectral filter strips only; ¶ 0038).
Regarding claim 5, Mann teaches the method according to claim 1, comprising the steps of: correcting the defects of all the thumbnail images of a band over a given duration, aligning said thumbnail images, merging the thumbnail images to form a reconstituted image and to crop the reconstituted image to preserve a useful field (¶ 0040).
Regarding claim 6, Mann teaches a image acquisition device arranged to be mounted on a vehicle, comprising an image sensor connected to an electronic control unit programmed to implement the method according to claim 1 (imaging system mounted on an aircraft, etc.; ¶ 0044).
Regarding claim 7, Mann teaches a vehicle equipped with an image acquisition device according to claim 6 (imaging system mounted on an aircraft, etc.; ¶ 0044).
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.
Claim(s) 4 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Mann as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Dixon (US 20190018231).
Regarding claim 4, Mann teaches the method according to claim 1, but does not explicitly teach wherein the acquisition of the multispectral image achieved in step a) is done in “2×2 binning” mode.
However, Dixon teaches wherein the acquisition of the multispectral image achieved in step a) is done in “2×2 binning” mode (2x2 binning; ¶¶ 0075-0076, Fig. 9).
Mann and Dixon are in the same field of endeavor of a method for acquiring multispectral images. Thus, 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 modify the method of Mann to include 2x2 binning as taught by Dixon. The combination improves the method by increasing the scanning speed.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Mann et al. (US 20120300064) teaches an imaging sensor include a two-dimensional staring sensor with spectral filter strips for multispectral overhead imaging.
Ooi et al. (US 10823615) teaches a hyperspectral imaging apparatus.
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/KENT YIP/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2681