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 .
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 06/28/2024 is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 7/8/2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive. Applicant has amended claims 1, 3-5, 10-11, 14-16 and 21-22, and cancelled claims 2, 13, and 20. Claims 1, 3-8, 10-11, 14-19, and 21-22 are currently being considered. The rejection under 35 U.S.C 101 is now withdrawn based on the amended claims to include “a non-transient computer-readable medium”. The amendment to claim 1 incorporated features of original claim 2. Applicant further argues the Liu contains zero disclosure of “capturing” images because there is no camera, no “viewpoint”, and no “view” in the sense of a photographic image captured from a specific pose. Applicant also argues that Liu performs no “optical flow calculation processing” and the grid vertices taught by Liu are mathematical anchors for UV mapping, not physical camera positions.
However, Examiner relies on the Huang reference that discloses “capturing” images through a camera, collecting live-action images (Huang [0020]). Huang also discloses “optical flow calculation processing” in paragraphs [0081]-[0082], given two images, if the optical flow information between them is known, a new image of an arbitrary viewpoint can be constructed. Liu also discloses the spherical grid model under broadest reasonable interpretation (Liu, abstract, [0007]-[0008]). Combining these references into a 35 USC 103 rejection is appropriate and thus the prior arts are still effective in rejecting the claims as amended.
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 (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 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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claim(s) 1, 3-8, 10-11 and 14-19, 21-22 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Huang (Chinese Patent CN-102750724-B) in view of Liu (Chinese Patent CN-112927371-B).
Regarding claim 1, Huang discloses an image processing method, comprising: determining a target drawing viewpoint corresponding to a trigger operation in response to detecting the trigger operation on a target object (Huang, see description, [0054]-[0077], an image-based three-dimensional and panoramic system automatic generation method comprising: running a Web browser, wherein by clicking a mouse button at any position in a navigation map, a user can enter a viewpoint space at a corresponding position); and determining a target interpolation image corresponding to the target drawing viewpoint according to at least one optical flow information set of the target grid region (Huang, [0081]-[0082], given two images, if the optical flow information between them is known, a new image of an arbitrary viewpoint can be constructed); and sending the target interpolation image to a target client, to display the target interpolation image corresponding to the trigger operation on the target client (Huang, [0031]-[0033], the generated 3D file is released to the mobile phone, the three-dimensional virtual reality is browsed and checked through the mobile phone supporting JAVA; and the panoramic image is displayed in a screen window), for each image processing group, obtaining an optical flow information set of the grid point corresponding to each to-be-processed image by performing optical flow calculation processing on a plurality of to-be-processed images in a current image processing group (Huang, [0081]-[0082], given two images, if the optical flow information between them is known, a new image of an arbitrary viewpoint can be constructed).
However, Huang fails to teach determining a target grid region to which the target drawing viewpoint belongs based on a pre-generated target sphere grid model, wherein the method further comprises: determining a to-be-processed sphere grid model, the to-be-processed sphere grid model comprising a plurality of to-be-processed grid regions, a plurality of mapping grids of the surface mapping area are determined using a target sphere model); capturing a to-be-processed image of a to-be-processed object from a viewing angle of each grid point, and determining an image processing group corresponding to each to-be-processed grid region, the image processing group comprising to-be-processed images of grid points in a same to-be-processed grid region.
Liu teaches determining a target grid region to which the target drawing viewpoint belongs based on a pre-generated target sphere grid model (Liu, abstract, [0007]-[0008]), determining a to-be-processed sphere grid model, the to-be-processed sphere grid model comprising a plurality of to-be-processed grid regions (Liu, [0007]-[0022], a plurality of mapping grids of the surface mapping area are determined using a target sphere model); capturing a to-be-processed image of a to-be-processed object from a viewing angle of each grid point, and determining an image processing group corresponding to each to-be-processed grid region, the image processing group comprising to-be-processed images of grid points in a same to-be-processed grid region (Liu [0027]-[0033]); processing the to-be-processed sphere grid model based on the optical flow information set of each grid point to obtain the target sphere grid model (Liu, [0035]-[0037], the determining module is used for determining a surface mapping area of the target sphere model according to the target rectangular area). The key to the claimed invention is how to achieve full-viewing angle display of a three-dimensional target.
Thus, it would have been obvious for one skilled in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to replace a cylindrical model for achieving 360-degree panoramic view of a three-dimensional target disclosed by Huang with a sphere model taught by Liu, and achieving approximate calculation of a viewpoint without a physical size by using the scale of a grid, which is also a customary means in the art. The key to the claimed invention is how to achieve full-viewing angle display of a three-dimensional target.
Regarding claim 10, which is an electronic device comprising one or more processors; and a storage device on which one or more programs are stored, when the one or more programs are executed by the one or more processors, the one or more processors realize an image processing method when the one or more programs are executed by the one or more processors, the one or more processors realize and corresponding to an image processing method of claim 1, which the rejection analysis is incorporated herein.
Regarding claim 11, which is a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium, comprising computer-executable instructions, wherein the computer-executable instructions, when executed by a computer processor, perform an image processing method corresponding to claim 1, which the rejection analysis is incorporated herein.
The additional technical features of claims 3-8 are readily obtained by combining the disclosure of Huang and Liu, which is common general knowledge in the art.
Regarding claim 20, which is a non-transient computer-readable storage medium according to claim 11, comprising computer-executable instructions, wherein the computer-executable instructions, when executed by a computer processer, perform an image processing method corresponding to claim 2, which the rejection analysis is incorporated herein.
Regarding claim 3, the combination of Huang and Liu discloses the method according to claim 1, and both further disclose wherein the obtaining the optical flow information set of the grid point corresponding to each to-be-processed image by performing optical flow calculation processing on the plurality of to-be-processed images in the current image processing group, comprises (Huang, [0081]-[0082], given two images, if the optical flow information between them is known, a new image of an arbitrary viewpoint can be constructed): performing optical flow calculation processing on two to-be-processed images located at a same longitude in the current image processing group, and determining longitudinal optical flow information of the two to-be-processed images located at the same longitude (Liu, [0023]-[0026], according to the longitudinal resolution, the second included angle is equally divided, so that a plurality of longitudinal second equally divided rays are obtained); performing optical flow calculation processing on two to-be-processed images located at a same latitude in the current image processing group, and determining latitudinal optical flow information of the two to-be-processed images located at the same latitude (Liu, [0023]-[0025], dividing the first included angle equally according to the transverse resolution to obtain a plurality of transverse first equal-dividing rays); and determining the optical flow information set of the grid point corresponding to each to-be- processed image according to the longitudinal optical flow information and the latitudinal optical flow information of the each to-be-processed image (Huang, [0081]-[0082], given two images, if the optical flow information between them is known, a new image of an arbitrary viewpoint can be constructed). The key to the claimed invention is how to achieve full-viewing angle display of a three-dimensional target. Thus, it would have been obvious for one skilled in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to replace a cylindrical model for achieving 360-degree panoramic view of a three-dimensional target disclosed by Huang with a sphere model taught by Liu, and achieving approximate calculation of a viewpoint without a physical size by using the scale of a grid, which is also a customary means in the art.
Regarding claim 14, which is an electronic device according to claim 10, comprising one or more processors; and a storage device on which one or more programs are stored, when the one or more programs are executed by the one or more processors, the one or more processors realize an image processing method when the one or more programs are executed by the one or more processors, the one or more processors realize and corresponding to an image processing method of claim 3, which the rejection analysis is incorporated herein.
Regarding claim 21, which is a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium according to claim 11, comprising computer-executable instructions, wherein the computer-executable instructions, when executed by a computer processer, perform an image processing method corresponding to claim 3, which the rejection analysis is incorporated herein.
Regarding claim 4, the combination of Huang and Liu discloses the method according to claim 1, and Liu further teaches wherein the processing the to-be-processed sphere grid model based on the optical flow information set of each grid point to obtain the target sphere grid model, comprises: for each to-be-processed grid region, determining a to-be-used theoretical view of each to- be-used viewpoint in a current to-be-processed grid region according to to-be-processed images of grid points of the current to-be-processed grid region and the corresponding optical flow information sets; for each to-be-processed grid region, performing pixel processing on a to-be-used actual view and the to-be-used theoretical view at a same to-be-used viewpoint in the current to-be- processed grid region to obtain an image pixel difference value corresponding to the same to-be- used viewpoint, and determining a pixel average value according to the image pixel difference values belonging to the current to-be-processed grid region; wherein the to-be-used actual view is captured at the same to-be-used viewpoint; and if the pixel average value is not within a preset pixel difference threshold range, re-dividing the to-be-processed grid region to which the pixel average value belongs, until the pixel average value of the to-be-processed grid region after re-dividing is within the preset pixel difference threshold range, to obtain the target sphere grid model (Liu, [0106]-[[0114], the surface mapping area is divided into w x h mapping grids, each mapping grid in the surface mapping area corresponds to w x h pixels in the image to be processed, and the correspondence between the mapping grids and the pixels in the image to be processed is also achieved, Fig. 10).
Regarding claim 15, which is an electronic device according to claim 10, comprising one or more processors; and a storage device on which one or more programs are stored, when the one or more programs are executed by the one or more processors, the one or more processors realize an image processing method when the one or more programs are executed by the one or more processors, the one or more processors realize and corresponding to an image processing method of claim 4, which the rejection analysis is incorporated herein.
Regarding claim 22, which is a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium according to claim 11, comprising computer-executable instructions, wherein the computer-executable instructions, when executed by a computer processer, perform an image processing method corresponding to claim 4, which the rejection analysis is incorporated herein.
Regarding claim 5, the combination of Huang and Liu discloses the method according to claim 1, and Huang further discloses the method further comprising: if the target object is as same as the to-be-processed object, determining the target interpolation image based on a target view of each grid point in the target sphere grid model and the corresponding optical flow information set; if the target object is different from the to-be-processed object, capturing a target view comprising the target object at each grid point in the target sphere grid model, and determining the optical flow information set of the corresponding grid point according to each target view, so as to determine the target interpolation image based on the optical flow information set (Huang, [0081]-[0082], given two images, if the optical flow information between them is known, a new image of an arbitrary viewpoint can be constructed).
Regarding claim 16, which is an electronic device according to claim 10, comprising one or more processors; and a storage device on which one or more programs are stored, when the one or more programs are executed by the one or more processors, the one or more processors realize an image processing method when the one or more programs are executed by the one or more processors, the one or more processors realize and corresponding to an image processing method of claim 5, which the rejection analysis is incorporated herein.
Regarding claim 6, the combination of Huang and Liu discloses the method according to claim 5, and both further teach wherein the capturing the target view comprising the target object at each grid point in the target sphere grid model and determining the optical flow information set of the corresponding grid point according to each target view comprises: capturing the target view corresponding to the target object at each grid point in the target sphere grid model; obtaining longitudinal optical flow information of two grid points at a same longitude in each grid region by performing optical flow calculation processing on target views of the two grid points at the same longitude (Liu, [0023]-[0026], according to the longitudinal resolution, the second included angle is equally divided, so that a plurality of longitudinal second equally divided rays are obtained); obtaining latitudinal optical flow information of two grid points at a same latitude in each grid region by performing optical flow calculation processing on target views of the two grid points at the same latitude (Liu, [0023]-[0025], dividing the first included angle equally according to the transverse resolution to obtain a plurality of transverse first equal-dividing rays), and determining a target interpolation view corresponding to the target drawing viewpoint based on the target view, the longitudinal optical flow information and the latitudinal optical flow information of each grid point (Huang, [0081]-[0082], given two images, if the optical flow information between them is known, a new image of an arbitrary viewpoint can be constructed).
Regarding claim 17, which is an electronic device according to claim 16, comprising one or more processors; and a storage device on which one or more programs are stored, when the one or more programs are executed by the one or more processors, the one or more processors realize an image processing method when the one or more programs are executed by the one or more processors, the one or more processors realize and corresponding to an image processing method of claim 6, which the rejection analysis is incorporated herein.
Regarding claim 7, the combination of Huang and Liu discloses the method according to claim 1, and Liu further discloses wherein the determining the target drawing viewpoint corresponding to the trigger operation comprises: determining target longitude and latitude information corresponding to the target object under the trigger operation as the target drawing viewpoint (Liu, [0118]-[0119], determining the target coordinates of each of the map grids).
Regarding claim 18, which is an electronic device according to claim 10, comprising one or more processors; and a storage device on which one or more programs are stored, when the one or more programs are executed by the one or more processors, the one or more processors realize an image processing method when the one or more programs are executed by the one or more processors, the one or more processors realize and corresponding to an image processing method of claim 7, which the rejection analysis is incorporated herein.
Regarding claim 8, the combination of Huang and Liu discloses the method according to claim 1, and Liu further teaches wherein the determining the target grid region to which the target drawing viewpoint belongs based on the pre-generated target sphere grid model, and determining the target interpolation image corresponding to the target drawing viewpoint according to at least one optical flow information set of the target grid region, comprises: determining the target grid region according to target longitude and latitude information of the target drawing viewpoint; and retrieving target views of grid points in the target grid region and at least one optical flow information set of the target grid region, and determining the target interpolation image corresponding to the target drawing viewpoint (Liu, [0119]-[0120], printing the image to be processed to the surface mapping area according to the target coordinates of each mapping grid).
Regarding claim 19, which is an electronic device according to claim 10, comprising one or more processors; and a storage device on which one or more programs are stored, when the one or more programs are executed by the one or more processors, the one or more processors realize an image processing method when the one or more programs are executed by the one or more processors, the one or more processors realize and corresponding to an image processing method of claim 8, which the rejection analysis is incorporated herein.
Conclusion
Response to Amendment
Examiner has carefully considered all amendments made to the claims. The amendment to the claims are sufficient to overcome the rejection under 35 U.S.C 101. However, the amendments to the claims are not sufficient to overcome the prior art rejections.
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).
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 JESSICA YIFANG LIN whose telephone number is (571)272-6435. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 7:00am-6:15pm, with optional day off.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Vu Le can be reached at 571-272-7332. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/JESSICA YIFANG LIN/Examiner, Art Unit 2668 August 18, 2026
/VU LE/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2668
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