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 .
Specification
Applicant is reminded of the proper content of an abstract of the disclosure.
A patent abstract is a concise statement of the technical disclosure of the patent and should include that which is new in the art to which the invention pertains. The abstract should not refer to purported merits or speculative applications of the invention and should not compare the invention with the prior art.
If the patent is of a basic nature, the entire technical disclosure may be new in the art, and the abstract should be directed to the entire disclosure. If the patent is in the nature of an improvement in an old apparatus, process, product, or composition, the abstract should include the technical disclosure of the improvement. The abstract should also mention by way of example any preferred modifications or alternatives.
Where applicable, the abstract should include the following: (1) if a machine or apparatus, its organization and operation; (2) if an article, its method of making; (3) if a chemical compound, its identity and use; (4) if a mixture, its ingredients; (5) if a process, the steps.
Extensive mechanical and design details of an apparatus should not be included in the abstract. The abstract should be in narrative form and generally limited to a single paragraph within the range of 50 to 150 words in length.
See MPEP § 608.01(b) for guidelines for the preparation of patent abstracts.
The abstract of the disclosure is objected to because the abstract contains more than 150 words. A corrected abstract of the disclosure is required and must be presented on a separate sheet, apart from any other text. See MPEP § 608.01(b).
Claim Interpretation
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.
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 pre-AIA 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: “an acquisition unit that acquires three-dimensional point cloud data at each of times and position data at each of times”; “a first estimation unit that estimates a local position representing a position of the mobile body in a local coordinate system with a position at a start of movement of the mobile body as an origin and a local posture representing a posture of the mobile body in the local coordinate system,”; “a second estimation unit that estimates an estimated absolute position that is a position of the mobile body in an absolute coordinate system with a predetermined position on Earth as an origin on a basis of the local position of the mobile body, and estimates an estimated absolute posture that is a posture of the mobile body in the absolute coordinate system on a basis of the local posture of the mobile body, every time the position data is acquired with a lapse of the second time”; “a correction unit that generates provisional three-dimensional point cloud data at each of times in the absolute coordinate system for each of pieces of the three-dimensional point cloud data at each of times ” in claim 5.
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. Paragraph 0029 of the patent publication describes As illustrated in FIG. 2, the position and posture estimation device 10 includes, as the functional components, a position data storage unit 100, a three-dimensional point cloud data storage unit 102, a local coordinate data storage unit 104, an absolute coordinate data storage unit 106, a corrected data storage unit 108, a map point cloud data storage unit 110, an acquisition unit 120, an initial estimation unit 122, a first estimation unit 124, a second estimation unit 126, a correction unit 128, and a map data generation unit 130. Each functional component is implemented by the CPU 11 reading a program stored in the ROM 12 or the storage 14, loading the program to the RAM 13, and executing the program; Therefore, the for the purpose of examination, the structure of claimed acquisition unit, first estimation unit, second estimation unit, and correction unit is interpreted to be a CPU.
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 pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 101
35 U.S.C. 101 reads as follows:
Whoever invents or discovers any new and useful process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter, or any new and useful improvement thereof, may obtain a patent therefor, subject to the conditions and requirements of this title.
Claims 6, 10-12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 101 because the claimed invention is directed to non-statutory subject matter. The claim(s) does/do not fall within at least one of the four categories of patent eligible subject matter because the claims are directed towards a program which may include transitory elements such as signals.
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 18 is 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.
Claim 18 recites the limitation "wherein the ICP algorithm is used to generate a corrected absolute position" in lines 1-3. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Claim 19 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, for being directly or indirectly dependent on rejected claim 18.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1-4, 5-9, 17, 13-16, 20 are allowed.
The following is an examiner’s statement of reasons for allowance: The claims are allowable over the prior art of record because none of the prior art of record render the claimed invention obvious.
With respect to claim 1, TAKEDA (US Pub 2021/0215831) discloses a positioning method (see abstract); the device determining posture of the device in the global coordinates (par 0054; discloses The global posture calculator 62 calculates a posture of the antenna 73 in the global coordinates from, for example, an average of the results of the detections respectively performed by the plurality of IMUs 61-1 to 61-n, and outputs information regarding the posture that is a calculation result to the controller 31.); and determining local coordinates of the device (par 0048; discloses as illustrated in FIG. 4, the local coordinates are coordinates at a position P based on the antenna 73 in the GPS receiver 33 and are determined by an elevation angle θ and an azimuth angle ψ that represent an incident direction L of a carrier transmitted from a GPS satellite St );
Similarly, Gullicksen (US Pub 2021/0364790) discloses system and method for locating object in word coordinate system (see abstract); Gullicksen discloses method for calculating position and orientation of the device (par 0047; discloses the device 130 may be equipped with markings 136, such as shiny black regions, which the depth camera 122 interprets as distant areas or holes. The depth holes left by the markings 136 enable the HMD 120 to calculate the location and orientation of the device 130 relative to a local FoR of the HMD 120, and to translate that location into the spatial FoR 108b.)
However, TAKEDA alone or in view of Gullicksen or other prior art of record fails to disclose acquiring three-dimensional point cloud data at each of times and position data at each of times, the three-dimensional point cloud data being measured every time a first time elapses by a measuring instrument mounted on a mobile body, the position data being measured every time a second time longer than the first time elapses by a position measuring device mounted on the mobile body; estimating a local position representing a position of the mobile body in a local coordinate system with a position at a start of movement of the mobile body as an origin and a local posture representing a posture of the mobile body in the local coordinate system, on a basis of the three-dimensional point cloud data acquired, every time the three-dimensional point cloud data is acquired with a lapse of the first time; estimating an estimated absolute position that is a position of the mobile body in an absolute coordinate system with a predetermined position on Earth as an origin on a basis of the local position of the mobile body, and estimating an estimated absolute posture that is a posture of the mobile body in the absolute coordinate system on a basis of the local posture of the mobile body, every time the position data is acquired with a lapse of the second time; and generating provisional three-dimensional point cloud data at each of times in the absolute coordinate system for each of pieces of the three-dimensional point cloud data at each of times, the three-dimensional point cloud data being measured every time the first time elapses, generating composite data obtained by integrating the provisional three-dimensional point cloud data and map point cloud data generated from three-dimensional point cloud data previously measured, for each of pieces of the provisional three-dimensional point cloud data at each of times, and generating a corrected absolute position obtained by correcting the estimated absolute position and a corrected absolute posture obtained by correcting the estimated absolute posture, by correcting the estimated absolute position and the estimated absolute posture to increase a degree of coincidence between the composite data and the map point cloud data, every time the position data is acquired with the lapse of the second time and it would not have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art to modify the invention disclosed by TAKEDA or Gullicksen to arrive at the claimed invention as the final result would have been unpredictable. Therefore claim 1 is allowed.
Claims 2-4, 13-16 are allowed for being directly or indirectly dependent on allowed independent claim 1.
With respect to claim 5, TAKEDA (US Pub 2021/0215831) discloses a positioning device (see abstract); the device determining posture of the device in the global coordinates (par 0054; discloses The global posture calculator 62 calculates a posture of the antenna 73 in the global coordinates from, for example, an average of the results of the detections respectively performed by the plurality of IMUs 61-1 to 61-n, and outputs information regarding the posture that is a calculation result to the controller 31.); and determining local coordinates of the device (par 0048; discloses as illustrated in FIG. 4, the local coordinates are coordinates at a position P based on the antenna 73 in the GPS receiver 33 and are determined by an elevation angle θ and an azimuth angle ψ that represent an incident direction L of a carrier transmitted from a GPS satellite St );
Similarly, Gullicksen (US Pub 2021/0364790) discloses system and method for locating object in word coordinate system (see abstract); Gullicksen discloses method for calculating position and orientation of the device (par 0047; discloses the device 130 may be equipped with markings 136, such as shiny black regions, which the depth camera 122 interprets as distant areas or holes. The depth holes left by the markings 136 enable the HMD 120 to calculate the location and orientation of the device 130 relative to a local FoR of the HMD 120, and to translate that location into the spatial FoR 108b.);
However, TAKEDA alone or in view of Gullicksen or other prior art of record fails to disclose an acquisition unit that acquires three-dimensional point cloud data at each of times and position data at each of times, the three-dimensional point cloud data being measured every time a first time elapses by a measuring instrument mounted on a mobile body, the position data being measured every time a second time longer than the first time elapses by a position measuring device mounted on the mobile body; a first estimation unit that estimates a local position representing a position of the mobile body in a local coordinate system with a position at a start of movement of the mobile body as an origin and a local posture representing a posture of the mobile body in the local coordinate system, on a basis of the three-dimensional point cloud data acquired, every time the three- dimensional point cloud data is acquired with a lapse of the first time; a second estimation unit that estimates an estimated absolute position that is a position of the mobile body in an absolute coordinate system with a predetermined position on Earth as an origin on a basis of the local position of the mobile body, and estimates an estimated absolute posture that is a posture of the mobile body in the absolute coordinate system on a basis of the local posture of the mobile body, every time the position data is acquired with a lapse of the second time; and a correction unit that generates provisional three-dimensional point cloud data at each of times in the absolute coordinate system for each of pieces of the three-dimensional point cloud data at each of times, the three-dimensional point cloud data being measured every time the first time elapses, generates composite data obtained by integrating the provisional three-dimensional point cloud data and map point cloud data generated from three-dimensional point cloud data previously measured, for each of pieces of the provisional three-dimensional point cloud data at each of times, and generates a corrected absolute position obtained by correcting the estimated absolute position and a corrected absolute posture obtained by correcting the estimated absolute posture, by correcting the estimated absolute position and the estimated absolute posture to increase a degree of coincidence between the composite data and the map point cloud data, every time the position data is acquired with the lapse of the second time and it would not have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art to modify the invention disclosed by TAKEDA or Gullicksen to arrive at the claimed invention as the final result would have been unpredictable. Therefore claim 1 is allowed.
Claims 7-9, 17, 20 are allowed for being directly or indirectly dependent on allowed independent claim 5.
Any comments considered necessary by applicant must be submitted no later than the payment of the issue fee and, to avoid processing delays, should preferably accompany the issue fee. Such submissions should be clearly labeled “Comments on Statement of Reasons for Allowance.”
Conclusion
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/SUJIT SHAH/Examiner, Art Unit 2624