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 .
DETAILED ACTION
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of papers submitted under 35 U.S.C. 119(a)-(d), which papers have been placed of record in the file.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement(s) submitted on 9/10/2024 and 3/31/2025 is/are in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement(s) is/are being considered by the examiner.
Specification
The title of the invention is not descriptive. A new title is required that is clearly indicative of the invention to which the claims are directed.
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.
Claim(s) 25 and 34 is/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 pre-AIA the applicant regards as the invention.
Claim 25 recites the limitation "the relative moving speed" in line 3. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Claim 25 recites the limitation "the preset relative moving speed" in line 4. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Claim 34 recites the limitation "the relative moving speed" in line 3. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Claim 34 recites the limitation "the preset relative moving speed" in line 4. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
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 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.
Claim(s) 22, 30-31 and 39-40 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Cui et al (US 20230276136 A1) in view of Lull et al (US 10334141 B2) and Endo (JP-2010093679-A).
Regarding claim 22, Cui teaches An image processing method, wherein the method comprises:
shooting a first image and a second image in an alternating current lighting environment, wherein an exposure duration of the first image is greater than an exposure duration of the second image, and the exposure duration of the second image is less than an energy period of the alternating current (para. 0096: “the electronic device acquires a first image stream (namely, a plurality of first images) corresponding to a first exposure duration and a second image stream (namely, a plurality of second images) corresponding to a second exposure duration. For the two exposure durations, the first exposure duration is greater than the second exposure duration. The first exposure duration may be an integer multiple of a flickering duration of an illumination device. The second exposure duration is less than the flickering duration of the illumination device.”);
inputting the first image and the second image to a
but fails to teach
inputting the first image and the second image to a trained image processing model, and outputting a target image by using the image processing model, the first image, and the second image;
detecting a moving speed of a shot object in the first and second images, and a shaking speed of an image capture device while shooting the first and second images; and
detecting, based on the moving speed and the shaking speed, whether a current shooting scene is a motion scene.
However, in the same field of endeavor Lull teaches
inputting the first image and the second image to a trained image processing model, and outputting a target image by using the image processing model, the first image, and the second image (Fig. 3; cols. 5-6; input different exposures 50A-50C into a trained HDR model to create HDR image 50A).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in this art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention (AIA ) to use the teachings as taught by Lull in Cui to have inputting the first image and the second image to a trained image processing model, and outputting a target image by using the image processing model, the first image, and the second image for utilizing the trained HDR model to accelerate the creation of HDR images from different camera exposures yielding a predicted result.
Moreover, in the same field of endeavor Endo teaches
detecting a moving speed of a shot object in the first and second images, and a shaking speed of an image capture device while shooting the first and second images; and detecting, based on the moving speed and the shaking speed, whether a current shooting scene is a motion scene (pages 12-13, 18; page 12, line 37: “according to the second dynamic range expansion process, although noise is not generated, a plurality of shootings are necessary. Therefore, if the subject is moving or the digital camera 100 is shaken, a plurality of shootings are performed.”; page 13, line 13: “When the motion vector of the subject is 2 pixels or more in 1/100 second, it is determined that the moving body is captured… In step S4, if the motion vector of the subject is less than 2 pixels in 1/100 second, it is determined that still object shooting is performed, and second dynamic range expansion processing is performed. That is, two exposure values of a proper exposure value α and a final exposure value β that results in underexposure by Log .sub.2 (DR / 100) steps with respect to the proper exposure value α in accordance with the set dynamic range DR. Based on the above, two consecutive photographings are performed (step S9).”; page 18, line 4: “when the output of the gyro sensor 56 is larger than the specified value, it is determined that camera shake has occurred, and the first dynamic range expansion process that performs one-time shooting is performed to reduce the dynamic range without blurring. Get an enlarged image. Further, when the output of the gyro sensor 56 is smaller than the specified value, it is determined that there is no camera shake, and an image with an increased dynamic range with less noise is obtained by the second dynamic range expansion process in which shooting is performed a plurality of times”).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in this art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention (AIA ) to use the teachings as taught by Endo in the combination to have detecting a moving speed of a shot object in the first and second images, and a shaking speed of an image capture device while shooting the first and second images; and detecting, based on the moving speed and the shaking speed, whether a current shooting scene is a motion scene for obtaining an image with an increased dynamic range with less noise due to object motion and camera shake yielding a predicted result.
Regarding claim 30, the combination of Cui, Lull and Endo teaches everything as claimed in claim 22. In addition, Cui teaches wherein the first image and the second image are images shot by a same image capture device, and a shooting time interval between the first image and the second image is less than a preset duration; or the first image and the second image are images shot by different image capture devices, and a shooting start time of the first image and a shooting start time of the second image are the same (Fig. 9; paras. 0113, 0163-0165).
Regarding claim 31, the combination of Cui, Lull and Endo teaches everything as claimed in claim 22. In addition, Cui teaches An electronic device (Fig. 3; para. 0116), comprising:
a memory and a processor, wherein the memory is coupled to the processor; and
the memory stores program instructions, and when the program instructions are executed by the processor, the electronic device is enabled to perform: (as taught in claim 22).
Regarding claim 39, claim 39 reciting features corresponding to claim 30 is also rejected for the same reason above.
Regarding claim 40, the combination of Cui, Lull and Endo teaches everything as claimed in claim 22. In addition, Cui teaches A chip (Fig. 3; para. 0116), comprising one or more interface circuits and one or more processors, wherein the interface circuit is configured to receive a signal from a memory of an electronic device, and send the signal to the processor; the signal comprises computer instructions stored in the memory; and when the processor executes the computer instructions, the electronic device is configured to perform: (as taught in claim 22).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 23-24, 26-29, 32-33, 35-38 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 claims.
Claims 25 and 34 would be allowable if rewritten to overcome the rejection(s) under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), 2nd paragraph, set forth in this Office action and to include all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Hu et al (US 20210365729 A1): The LDR images are converted to high dynamic range (HDR) images by using a first neural network. A second neural network for video stabilization is trained to generate stabilized HDR images in a time-dependent manner. The HDR images generated by the first neural network may be stabilized by using time-dependent LDR images through a deflickering process, and thereby outputting stabilized HDR images without flickering artefacts (or with reduced flickering artefacts) as well as training the second neural network for video stabilization.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Quan Pham whose telephone number is (571)272-4438. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Fri 9am-7pm.
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, Sinh Tran can be reached at (571) 272-7564. 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.
/Quan Pham/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2637