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 .
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments, see Remarks page 12, filed 07/06/2026, with respect to Interpretations of claims 6 & 11 under SuperGuide have been fully considered and are persuasive. The Interpretations of claims 6 & 11 have been withdrawn.
Applicant’s arguments, see Remarks page 12, filed 07/06/2026, with respect to disjunctive interpretations of claim 7 have been fully considered and are persuasive. The interpretation of claim 7 has been withdrawn.
Applicant’s arguments, see Remarks page 12, filed 07/06/2026, with respect to Interpretation of claim 14 under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) have been fully considered and are persuasive. The Interpretation of claim 14 has been withdrawn.
Applicant’s arguments, see Remarks page 13-16, filed 07/06/2026, with respect to Rejections of claims 1-20 under 35 U.S.C. 101 have been fully considered and are persuasive. The Rejections of claims 1-20 have been withdrawn.
Applicant’s arguments, see Remarks page 16-20, filed 07/06/2026, with respect to the rejection of amended claim(s) 1, 15, and 20 under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1), specifically in regards to the amended claim limitation “and wherein determining the image cropping parameters comprises retrieving, from a parameter library storing different area proportion thresholds for different object types, the first area proportion threshold based on the object type”, have been fully considered and are moot in view of the new grounds of rejection (detailed in the rejections below) necessitated by Applicant’s amendment to the claim(s).
Applicant’s arguments, see Remarks page 16-20, filed 07/06/2026, with respect to the rejection of amended claim(s) 1, 15, and 20 under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1), specifically in regards to the amended claim limitation “wherein determining the cropping region comprises adjusting the preliminary cropping region to the inside of the image to be cropped in response to determining that at least the portion of the preliminary cropping region extends outside the boundary of the image to be cropped”, have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
On pages 18-19 of Remarks, Applicant argues:
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Examiner respectfully disagrees.
Paragraphs 0147-0149 of Li discloses: “When at least one object is detected in the target image, a preset magnification ratio is determined based on the area ratio of the target object in the target image…The smaller the area of the target region in the target image, the larger the corresponding magnification ratio; the larger the area of the target region in the target image, the smaller the corresponding magnification ratio…when the area of the target region in the target image exceeds a preset upper limit, directly cropping the target image using a cropping box may crop the target region into two parts. For example, if the target region is the area where a face is located, when the area of the face in the target image exceeds the preset upper limit, using a cropping box may crop out most of the face, and this cropping effect does not meet the user's needs. Therefore, a preset reduction ratio can be determined based on the area ratio of the target region in the target image. The target image is then reduced according to the preset reduction ratio. Then, the cropping range of the cropping frame is determined based on the target region in the reduced target image and the size of the cropping frame, so that the complete target region can be cropped when cropping the reduced target image using the cropping frame.”.
Wherein, in a case where the area ratio of a target region exceeds a preset upper limit, the target region, which is to be entirely encompassed within the cropping frame as disclosed by 0139 of Li, is outside the boundaries of a cropping box/frame and its area ratio, which is below the target region’s. Thus, a preset reduction ratio is determined and performed on the target image, based on the area ratio of the target region, in order to reduce the size of the target image, and thus the target region. Once reduced, a cropping frame is determined for the reduced target region so that the complete target region, and its area ratio, can be encompassed by the cropping frame.
Therefore, Li discloses the claim 1 limitations: “wherein determining the cropping region comprises adjusting the preliminary cropping region to the inside of the image to be cropped in response to determining that at least the portion of the preliminary cropping region extends outside the boundary of the image to be cropped” (Claim limitation is interpreted according to the rejection of claim 1 under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) disclosed below.).
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 1-13 & 15-20 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.
Claim 1 recites the limitation "wherein determining the cropping region comprises adjusting the preliminary cropping region to the inside of the image to be cropped in response to determining that at least the portion of the preliminary cropping region extends outside the boundary of the image to be cropped". There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. For the purposes of examination, the limitation is interpreted as "wherein determining the cropping region comprises adjusting the preliminary cropping region to the inside of the image to be cropped in response to determining that at least a portion of the preliminary cropping region extends outside a boundary of the image to be cropped".
Regarding claim 2-13, it/they is/are rejected under 112b for inheriting and failing to cure the deficiencies of the parent claim 1.
As per claim(s) 15 & 20, arguments made in rejecting claim(s) 1 are analogous.
Regarding claim 16-19, it/they is/are rejected under 112b for inheriting and failing to cure the deficiencies of the parent claim 15.
Claim 5 recites the limitation "wherein determining the object cropping object comprises…". There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. For the purposes of examination, the limitation is interpreted as "wherein determining the cropping object comprises…".
As per claim(s) 19, arguments made in rejecting claim(s) 5 are analogous.
Regarding Claim 8, the limitation: "The image cropping method according to claim 7, wherein the adjusting the preliminary cropping region to the inside of the image to be cropped to obtain the target cropping region corresponding to the image to be cropped comprises", is indefinite as it is unclear whether the limitation is referring to the claim 1 limitation: “wherein determining the cropping region comprises adjusting the preliminary cropping region to the inside of the image to be cropped in response to determining that at least the portion of the preliminary cropping region extends outside the boundary of the image to be cropped;”, or the optional claim 7 limitation: “in response to the relative position relationship between the preliminary cropping region and the image to be cropped being that at least part of the preliminary cropping region is located outside the image to be cropped, adjusting the preliminary cropping region to the inside of the image to be cropped to obtain the cropping region corresponding to the image to be cropped.”. For the purposes of examination, the limitation is interpreted as: "The image cropping method according to claim 7, wherein the adjusting the preliminary cropping region to the inside of the image to be cropped, in response to the relative position relationship between the preliminary cropping region and the image to be cropped being that at least part of the preliminary cropping region is located outside the image to be cropped, to obtain the target cropping region corresponding to the image to be cropped comprises".
Regarding claim 9-10, it/they is/are rejected under 112b for inheriting and failing to cure the deficiencies of the parent claim 8.
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) 1-5, 7-12, and 15-20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Li et al. (CN-110706150-A) hereinafter referenced as Li, in view of Choi et al. (US-20140104477-A1) hereinafter referenced as Choi.
Regarding claim 1, Li discloses: An image cropping method (Li: 0008), comprising: displaying an image to be cropped via an interface of an image cropping software executing on a computing device (Li: 0114: “The target image consists of multiple pixels. The R (red), G (green), and B (blue) values of each pixel are obtained. Based on the R, G, and B values of each pixel, the grayscale value of the corresponding pixel is obtained according to a preset conversion formula. The target image is then displayed according to the calculated grayscale value, thus converting it into a grayscale image.”);
determining a cropping object in the image to be cropped, wherein the cropping object has an object type (Li: 0100: “In step S201, object detection is performed on the target image.”;
0102: “The objects in the target image include various types, such as human faces, animals, and plants.”);
determining image cropping parameters corresponding to the image to be cropped (Li: 0104: “In step S202, when at least one object is detected in the target image, a target object is selected from the at least one object according to preset conditions, and the area where the target object is located is determined as the target area.”), wherein the image cropping parameters comprise a first area proportion threshold of the cropping object in a cropping image (Li: 0135-0136: “The preset distance can be set manually and is not 0. Specifically, the preset distance is greater than 0. At this time, the cropping center and the focus center do not coincide, and the cropping center is separated from the focus center by a preset distance…if the target area is the area where the face is located in the target image, and the area of the face in the target image is less than a set threshold, then the focus point is set in the upper middle part of the cropping box, so that the face and the upper body of the person can be cropped out through the cropping box later.”);
processing the image to be cropped by determining a bounding box corresponding to the cropping object in the image to be cropped (Li: 0105: “when at least one object is detected in the target image, one or more rectangular boxes are output. These rectangular boxes are used to frame the objects in the target image. The objects that the user most needs to keep are selected from the at least one object according to preset conditions as target objects. That is, the rectangular box corresponding to the selected target object is the area where the target object is located, i.e., the target area.”)
and determining box center point information of the bounding box; determining region center point information based on the box center point information (Li: 0118-0121: “In step S204, the center of interest of the target image is determined based on the target region. Based on the target region in the target image, the center of interest of the target image is determined…Determine a specified location within the target region, and then define a second specified location within the target region as the center of interest point of the target image. This second specified location can be the center or centroid of the target region, etc.”);
determining a preliminary cropping region corresponding to the image to be cropped based on the region center point information and the first area proportion threshold (Li: 0133: “In step S207, when the area ratio of the target region in the target image is less than the set threshold, the focus point is set at the first specified position of the cropping frame, such that the cropping center of the cropping frame is spaced apart from the focus point by a preset distance, and the preset distance is greater than 0.”; Wherein the cropping frame’s center is determined based on focus point and the preset distance.);
determining a cropping region corresponding to the image to be cropped based on a relative position relationship between the preliminary cropping region and the image to be cropped (Li: 0141-0142: “In step S209, when the area ratio of the target region in the target image is less than the set threshold, the target image is magnified according to a preset magnification ratio. When the area of the target region in the target image is less than the set threshold, it is determined that the area of the target region in the target image is small. Therefore, the target image needs to be magnified according to the preset magnification ratio. The short side of the magnified target image will be larger than the size of the cropping box, that is, the entire cropping box is located inside the target image”), wherein determining the cropping region comprises adjusting the preliminary cropping region to the inside of the image to be cropped in response to determining that at least the portion of the preliminary cropping region extends outside the boundary of the image to be cropped (Claim limitation is interpreted according to the rejection of claim 1 under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) disclosed above.) (Li: 0149: “when the area of the target region in the target image exceeds a preset upper limit, directly cropping the target image using a cropping box may crop the target region into two parts. For example, if the target region is the area where a face is located, when the area of the face in the target image exceeds the preset upper limit, using a cropping box may crop out most of the face, and this cropping effect does not meet the user's needs. Therefore, a preset reduction ratio can be determined based on the area ratio of the target region in the target image. The target image is then reduced according to the preset reduction ratio. Then, the cropping range of the cropping frame is determined based on the target region in the reduced target image and the size of the cropping frame, so that the complete target region can be cropped when cropping the reduced target image using the cropping frame.”;
Wherein the cropping frame is adjusted when the target region exceeds an area ratio, thus correcting the cropping range to encompass the target region and its area ratio. Thus, constituting adjusting the preliminary cropping region to the inside of the image to be cropped in response to determining that at least a portion of the preliminary cropping region, or area ratio, extends outside a boundary, or area ratio of the target region, of the image to be cropped.);
generating the cropping image corresponding to the image to be cropped based on the cropping region (Li: 0158: “In step S211, the target image is cropped according to the cropping center and the cropping range.”); and
displaying the cropping image via the interface of the image cropping software executing on the computing device (Li: 0078: “This disclosure applies to various scenarios where target images need to be cropped. For example, when uploading a target image to a designated application as an avatar, the target image needs to be cropped into a square for display.”).
Li does not disclose expressly: wherein determining the image cropping parameters comprises retrieving, from a parameter library storing different area proportion thresholds for different object types, the first area proportion threshold based on the object type.
Choi discloses: A method for extracting a thumbnail image from a processed image based on image metadata and object information extracted from an image, wherein the metadata and object information are used to determine the thumbnail image’s aspect ratio (Choi: Abstract). Wherein the method comprises: determining the image cropping parameters comprises retrieving, from a parameter library storing different area proportion thresholds for different object types, a first area proportion threshold based on the object type (Choi: 0054-0056: “FIG. 2A is a flowchart illustrating a process of determining an aspect ratio of a thumbnail image on the basis of object information and meta data of an image in an electronic device according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention…In step 203, the electronic device 100 determines an aspect ratio of the thumbnail image on the basis of the detected meta data and object information. First, the electronic device 100 may recognize a representative object of the image on the basis of the detected meta data information and object information, and thereafter may determine an aspect ratio of a thumbnail image generated according to the recognized representative object. For one example, if the representative object of the image recognized on the basis of the meta data information and the object information is a person, the electronic device 100 can determine a ratio of the generated thumbnail image as a ratio of a portrait type. In this case, the ratio of the portrait type implies a ratio in which a lengthwise length is longer than a widthwise length. In another example, if the representative object of the image recognized on the basis of the meta data information and the object information is a scenery, the electronic device 100 can determine a ratio of the generated thumbnail image as a ratio of a landscape type. In this case, the ratio of the landscape type implies a ratio in which a widthwise length is longer than a lengthwise length.”;
0057: “In step 205 , the electronic device 100 displays a thumbnail image of which an aspect ratio is determined. In this case, a thumbnail image determined to the ratio of the landscape type may be an image of the same ratio as an image captured in a landscape mode of the electronic device 100 , and a thumbnail image determined as the ratio of the portrait type may be an image of the same ratio as an image captured in a portrait mode of the electronic device 100 .”).
Before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art to implement the method for determining a thumbnail image’s ratio based on objects detected as disclosed by Choi for the determination of a target region’s area ratio threshold disclosed by Li based on a detected object’s type. The suggestion/motivation for doing so would have been “the thumbnail image generating processor 122 can recognize a representative object of the image as the person according to object information having a high priority, can determine a ratio of the image as a ratio of a portrait type, and can determine an area including the person in a full area of the image as a thumbnail image area. In another example…the thumbnail image generating processor 122 can recognize a representative object of the image as a scenery according to object information having a high priority, can determine a ratio of the image as a ratio of a landscape type, and can determine an area including the scenery in the image as a thumbnail image area.” (Choi: 0049; Wherein the detected object type can be used to adjust the ratio of the object’s region as a basis of details and regions expected to be of interest to the user.). Further, one skilled in the art could have combined the elements as described above by known methods with no change in their respective functions, and the combination would have yielded nothing more than predictable results. Therefore, it would have been obvious to combine Li with Choi to obtain the invention as specified in claim 1.
Regarding claim 2, Li in view of Choi discloses: The image cropping method according to claim 1, wherein the image cropping parameters comprise an image aspect ratio corresponding to the cropping image obtained by cropping the image to be cropped (Li: 0078: “This disclosure applies to various scenarios where target images need to be cropped. For example, when uploading a target image to a designated application as an avatar, the target image needs to be cropped into a square for display.”;
0096: “The cropping frame can be square, circle, regular hexagon, etc., and the target image after cropping using the cropping frame can also be square, circle, regular hexagon, etc.”); and
the determining region center point information based on the box center point information, and determining a preliminary cropping region corresponding to the image to be cropped based on the region center point information and the first area proportion threshold comprises: determining the region center point information based on the box center point information (Li: 0118-0121: “In step S204, the center of interest of the target image is determined based on the target region. Based on the target region in the target image, the center of interest of the target image is determined…Determine a specified location within the target region, and then define a second specified location within the target region as the center of interest point of the target image. This second specified location can be the center or centroid of the target region, etc.”), and
determining the preliminary cropping region corresponding to the image to be cropped based on the region center point information, the first area proportion threshold and the target image aspect ratio (Li: 0133: “In step S207, when the area ratio of the target region in the target image is less than the set threshold, the focus point is set at the first specified position of the cropping frame, such that the cropping center of the cropping frame is spaced apart from the focus point by a preset distance, and the preset distance is greater than 0.”; Wherein the cropping frame’s center is determined based on focus point and the preset distance.).
Regarding claim 3, Li in view of Choi discloses: The image cropping method according to claim 1, wherein the determining a preliminary cropping region corresponding to the image to be cropped based on the region center point information and the first area proportion threshold comprises: determining an original area proportion of the cropping object in the cropping image based on a bounding area of the bounding box and an image area of the image to be cropped (Li: 0126-0127: “In step S205, the area ratio of the target region in the target image is detected. Calculate the ratio between the area of the target region and the area in the target image to obtain the area ratio of the target region in the target image.”); and
in response to the original area proportion being less than a preset second area proportion threshold, determining the preliminary cropping region corresponding to the image to be cropped based on the region center point information and the first area proportion threshold (Li: 0133: “In step S207, when the area ratio of the target region in the target image is less than the set threshold, the focus point is set at the first specified position of the cropping frame, such that the cropping center of the cropping frame is spaced apart from the focus point by a preset distance, and the preset distance is greater than 0.”).
Regarding claim 4, Li in view of Choi discloses: The image cropping method according to claim 3, wherein the image cropping parameters comprise an image aspect ratio corresponding to the cropping image obtained by cropping the image to be cropped (Li: 0078: “This disclosure applies to various scenarios where target images need to be cropped. For example, when uploading a target image to a designated application as an avatar, the target image needs to be cropped into a square for display.”;
0096: “The cropping frame can be square, circle, regular hexagon, etc., and the target image after cropping using the cropping frame can also be square, circle, regular hexagon, etc.”); and
after determining the original area proportion of the cropping object in the cropping image based on the bounding area of the bounding box and the image area of the image to be cropped, the method further comprises: in response to the original area proportion being greater than or equal to the preset second area proportion threshold, determining the cropping region corresponding to the image to be cropped based on an original image aspect ratio of the image to be cropped and the image aspect ratio (Li: 0137: “In step S208, when the area ratio of the target region in the target image is greater than or equal to the set threshold, the cropping range of the cropping frame is determined according to the target region and the size of the cropping frame.”), and determining the cropping image corresponding to the image to be cropped based on the cropping region (Li: 0158: “In step S211, the target image is cropped according to the cropping center and the cropping range.”).
Regarding claim 5, Li in view of Choi discloses: The image cropping method according to claim 1, further comprising: in response to an effect trigger operation for an effect, acquiring the image to be cropped (Li: 0078: “This disclosure applies to various scenarios where target images need to be cropped. For example, when uploading a target image to a designated application as an avatar, the target image needs to be cropped into a square for display.”), wherein determining the object cropping object comprises determining an effect action object in the image to be cropped and taking the effect action object as the cropping object (Claim limitation is interpreted according to the rejection of claim 5 under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) disclosed above.) (Li: 0100-0101: “In step S201, object detection is performed on the target image. In this embodiment of the disclosure, image detection technology is used to detect objects in the target image and identify objects in the target image.”;
0104: “In step S202, when at least one object is detected in the target image, a target object is selected from the at least one object according to preset conditions, and the area where the target object is located is determined as the target area.”).
Regarding claim 7, Li in view of Choi discloses: The image cropping method according to claim 1, wherein the determining a cropping region corresponding to the image to be cropped based on a relative position relationship between the preliminary cropping region and the image to be cropped comprises: in response to the relative position relationship between the preliminary cropping region and the image to be cropped being that the preliminary cropping region is located inside the image to be cropped, taking the preliminary cropping region as the cropping region corresponding to the image to be cropped; or, in response to the relative position relationship between the preliminary cropping region and the image to be cropped being that at least part of the preliminary cropping region is located outside the image to be cropped, adjusting the preliminary cropping region to the inside of the image to be cropped to obtain the cropping region corresponding to the image to be cropped (Li: 0130: “When the area of the target region in the target image is greater than or equal to a set threshold, it is determined that the area of the target region in the target image is large. Therefore, the focus point can be directly determined as the cropping center of the cropping box, so that the complete target region can be directly cropped out through the cropping box in the future.”;
0138-0139: “When the area of the target region in the target image is greater than or equal to a set threshold, it is determined that the area of the target region in the target image is large. No processing of the target image is required. The cropping range of the cropping frame can be determined based on the size of the target region and the cropping frame. The size of the cropping frame can be fixed. The cropping frame includes the complete target area.”).
Regarding claim 8, Li in view of Choi discloses: The image cropping method according to claim 7, wherein the adjusting the preliminary cropping region to the inside of the image to be cropped to obtain the cropping region corresponding to the image to be cropped (Claim limitation is interpreted according to the rejection of claim 8 under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) disclosed above.) comprises: determining region boundaries of the preliminary cropping region and image boundaries of the image to be cropped;
traversing each of the region boundaries, taking a region boundary outside the image boundaries as a boundary to be processed, and taking a region boundary opposite the boundary to be processed as a reference boundary; and
based on a relative position relationship between the boundary to be processed, an image boundary on the same side as the boundary to be processed, the reference boundary and an image boundary on the same side as the reference boundary, adjusting the preliminary cropping region to obtain the cropping region corresponding to the image to be cropped. (The limitations of the claim are disclosed through the teaching of an alternate embodiment. See the rejection of claim 8 under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) and the rejections of parent claims 1 and 7 under 35 U.S.C. 103 above.)
Regarding claim 9, Li in view of Choi discloses: The image cropping method according to claim 8, wherein the based on a relative position relationship between the boundary to be processed, an image boundary on the same side as the boundary to be processed, the reference boundary and an image boundary on the same side as the reference boundary, adjusting the preliminary cropping region to obtain the cropping region corresponding to the image to be cropped comprises: based on first relative position information between the boundary to be processed and the image boundary on the same side as the boundary to be processed,
determining a moving distance of the preliminary cropping region from a side corresponding to the boundary to be processed to the reference boundary;
according to second relative position information between the reference boundary and the image boundary on the same side as the reference boundary, determining a maximum moving distance of the preliminary cropping region; and
based on a minimum moving distance between the moving distance and the maximum moving distance, moving the preliminary cropping region towards the reference boundary, and determining the cropping region corresponding to the image to be cropped based on the preliminary cropping region as moved.
(The limitations of the claim are disclosed through the teaching of an alternate embodiment. See the rejection of claim 8 under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) and the rejections of parent claims 1 and 7-8 under 35 U.S.C. 103 above.)
Regarding claim 10, Li in view of Choi discloses: The image cropping method according to claim 9, wherein the determining the cropping region corresponding to the image to be cropped based on the preliminary cropping region as moved comprises: in response to the moving distance being greater than the maximum moving distance, based on third relative position information between the boundary to be processed after moving and the image boundary on the same side with the boundary to be processed, determining a scaling ratio corresponding to a region boundary adjacent to the boundary to be processed; scaling the preliminary cropping region as moved based on the scaling ratio, so that the boundary to be processed is located inside the image to be cropped; and
determining the cropping region corresponding to the image to be cropped based on the boundary to be processed after scaling.
(The limitations of the claim are disclosed through the teaching of an alternate embodiment. See the rejection of claim 8 under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) and the rejections of parent claims 1 and 7-9 under 35 U.S.C. 103 above.)
Regarding claim 11, Li in view of Choi discloses: The image cropping method according to claim 1, wherein the determining image cropping parameters corresponding to the image to be cropped comprises: acquiring the first area proportion threshold corresponding to the cropping object based on object parameters associated with the cropping object (Li: 0135-0136: “The preset distance can be set manually and is not 0. Specifically, the preset distance is greater than 0. At this time, the cropping center and the focus center do not coincide, and the cropping center is separated from the focus center by a preset distance…if the target area is the area where the face is located in the target image, and the area of the face in the target image is less than a set threshold, then the focus point is set in the upper middle part of the cropping box, so that the face and the upper body of the person can be cropped out through the cropping box later.”), the object parameters comprising at least one of a number of a plurality of cropping objects in the image to be cropped, an average value of area proportions of each of the plurality of cropping objects in the image to be cropped, or distances between the plurality of cropping objects (Li: 0105-0106: “when at least one object is detected in the target image, one or more rectangular boxes are output. These rectangular boxes are used to frame the objects in the target image. The objects that the user most needs to keep are selected from the at least one object according to preset conditions as target objects….Specifically, the target object is selected from all objects in the target image, either by selecting the object with the largest area or the object with the smallest area. Alternatively, the distance between any two objects in the target image is calculated, and any one of the objects whose distance is less than a set distance is selected as the target object. In other words, the target object is selected from several objects that are relatively close to each other in the target image.”).
Regarding claim 12, Li in view of Choi discloses: The image cropping method according to claim 1, wherein the determining region center point information based on the box center point information comprises: in response to the box center point information matching coordinate information of the image to be cropped, taking the box center point information as the region center point information; or in response to the box center point information of the bounding box not matching the coordinate information of the image to be cropped, transforming coordinate information of the box center point information based on the coordinate information of the image to be cropped, and taking the coordinate information after transforming of the box center point information as the region center point information (Li: 0121: “Determine a specified location within the target region, and then define a second specified location within the target region as the center of interest point of the target image. This second specified location can be the center or centroid of the target region, etc.”).
As per claim(s) 15, arguments made in rejecting claim(s) 1 are analogous. In addition, 0189 of Li discloses the claim limitations “An electronic apparatus, comprising: one or more processors; and a memory configured to store one or more programs, wherein the one or more programs, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to…”.
As per claim(s) 16, arguments made in rejecting claim(s) 2 are analogous.
As per claim(s) 17, arguments made in rejecting claim(s) 3 are analogous.
As per claim(s) 18, arguments made in rejecting claim(s) 4 are analogous.
As per claim(s) 19, arguments made in rejecting claim(s) 5 are analogous.
As per claim(s) 20, arguments made in rejecting claim(s) 1 are analogous. In addition, 0190 of Li discloses the claim limitation “A non-transitory storage medium containing computer-executable instructions”.
Claim(s) 6 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Li in view of Choi, and further in view of Cheng et al. (CN114723768A) hereinafter referenced as Cheng.
Regarding claim 6, Li in view of Choi discloses: The image cropping method according to claim 1.
Li in view of Choi does not disclose expressly: further comprising: displaying an image cropping interface, the image cropping interface comprising image configuration items and cropping parameter configuration items; in response to an image configuration trigger operation for the image configuration items, displaying image configuration parameters corresponding to the image configuration items; in response to a cropping configuration trigger operation for the cropping parameter configuration items, displaying cropping configuration parameters corresponding to the cropping parameter configuration items, the cropping configuration parameters comprising at least one of cropping object configuration parameters, an area proportion threshold of the cropping object in the cropping image, or an image aspect ratio corresponding to the target cropping image obtained by cropping the image to be cropped; and in response to a cropping execution trigger operation, acquiring the image to be cropped based on the image configuration parameters, and acquiring the target cropping object corresponding to the image to be cropped and the image cropping parameters corresponding to the image to be cropped based on the cropping configuration parameters.
Cheng discloses: displaying an image cropping interface, the image cropping interface comprising image configuration items and cropping parameter configuration items (Cheng: 0128: “Figure 2 provides a schematic diagram of the display interface of an image to be cropped. In this diagram, 200 is the display interface of an electronic device, including an image display interface 201 and a control interface 202. The control interface may include multiple operation controls, such as a cropping operation control 203, a zoom operation control 204, a white space ratio adjustment control 205, a pagination operation control 206, a zoom ratio control bar 207, and a white space ratio control bar 208, but is not limited to these. The operation controls may include icons, buttons, and options, but are not limited to these.”);
in response to an image configuration trigger operation for the image configuration items, displaying image configuration parameters corresponding to the image configuration items (Cheng: 0128: “Figure 2 provides a schematic diagram of the display interface of an image to be cropped. In this diagram, 200 is the display interface of an electronic device, including an image display interface 201 and a control interface 202…For ease of explanation in this embodiment, the control interface 202 is always displayed, 209 is the image to be cropped, and 210 is the image boundary of the image to be cropped.”);
in response to a cropping configuration trigger operation for the cropping parameter configuration items, displaying cropping configuration parameters corresponding to the cropping parameter configuration items, the cropping configuration parameters comprising at least one of cropping object configuration parameters, an area proportion threshold of the cropping object in the cropping image, or an image aspect ratio corresponding to the cropping image obtained by cropping the image to be cropped (Cheng: 0044: “Specifically, the cropping operation on at least one image to be cropped may include operations such as selecting cropping operation options through touch or by operating a mouse and keyboard, voice control, or facial expression control, etc., which are not limited here.”); and
in response to a cropping execution trigger operation, acquiring the image to be cropped based on the image configuration parameters, and acquiring the cropping object corresponding to the image to be cropped and the image cropping parameters corresponding to the image to be cropped based on the cropping configuration parameters (Cheng: 0128: “If the user wants the image to be cropped to be automatically cropped, the user can click the cropping operation control 203 on the electronic device's display interface to make the electronic device perform an image cropping operation, obtain a cropped image of the image to be cropped, and replace the image to be cropped with the cropped image for display”).
Before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art to modify the method for image cropping disclosed by Li in view of Choi by implementing a display interface for an image to be cropped as taught by Cheng for the selection of an image to be cropped as well as cropping parameters. The suggestion/motivation for doing so would have been “if the electronic device does not meet the user's reading needs after displaying the image to be cropped, it can respond to the cropping operation of the image to be cropped and crop the image…If the user's reading needs are met, there is no need to crop the image to be cropped” (Cheng: 0160; Wherein the user can adjust the image based on their cropping needs.). Further, one skilled in the art could have combined the elements as described above by known methods with no change in their respective functions, and the combination would have yielded nothing more than predictable results. Therefore, it would have been obvious to combine Li in view of Choi with Cheng to obtain the invention as specified in claim 6.
Claim(s) 13 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Li in view of Choi, and further in view of Liu (US2023094362A1).
Regarding claim 13, Li in view of Choi discloses: The image cropping method according to claim 1.
Li in view of Choi does not disclose expressly: wherein the generating the cropping image corresponding to the image to be cropped based on the cropped region comprises: for each pixel in the cropping region, performing sampling based on coordinate information of the pixel in the image to be cropped, and performing image rendering based on sampled pixel values, so as to obtain the cropping image corresponding to the image to be cropped.
Liu discloses: for each pixel in the cropping region, performing sampling based on coordinate information of the pixel in the image to be cropped, and performing image rendering based on sampled pixel values, so as to obtain the cropping image corresponding to the image to be cropped (Liu: 0031: “Therefore, to realize subsequent automatic cropping in this embodiment, the image to be processed and the size information corresponding to the image to be processed may be pre-obtained, and the size information may be a width×a height, for example, 1280 pixels×720 pixels.”;
0047-0049: “ In step 104, crop the image to be processed based on the target center point and the cropped size information to obtain a target image. To unify the aspect ratios of the image to be processed and the thumbnail to realize the creation of the poster image with the size information of the thumbnail, the target center point may be used as a relative reference center, that is, the target center point is used as a cropping reference center, and the image to be processed is cropped through the cropped size information to obtain the target image with the same aspect ratio as the thumbnail. In step 105, scale the target image to the target size information.”; Wherein the cropped image is sampled to a target resolution.).
Before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art to implement the algorithms for scaling cropped images to a target size information taught by Liu for sampling the cropped images disclosed by Li in view of Choi. The suggestion/motivation for doing so would have been “the cropped size information is determined according to the aspect ratio relationship between the size information and the target size information for cropping to obtain the target image whose aspect ratio meets a requirement, and the target image is scaled to the target size information to quickly generate a thumbnail that meets the requirement. Compared with the solution in which a poster image needs to be selected and edited manually, manual intervention is not required in this embodiment, which improves the image processing efficiency” (Liu: 0131). Further, one skilled in the art could have combined the elements as described above by known methods with no change in their respective functions, and the combination would have yielded nothing more than predictable results. Therefore, it would have been obvious to combine Li in view of Choi with Liu to obtain the invention as specified in claim 13.
Conclusion
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.
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/ANTHONY J RODRIGUEZ/Examiner, Art Unit 2672
/SUMATI LEFKOWITZ/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2672
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