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 Amendment
This Office Action is in response to Applicant’s amendment/response filed on 07/02/2026, which has been entered and made of record.
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.
Claims 1, 5, and 9 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ribah et al. (LAPAN-A2 Microsatellite Performance on Target Pointing Maneuver for Imaging Mission, IEEE International Conference on Aerospace Electronics and Remote Sensing Technology (ICARES), DOI:10.1109/ICARES53960.2021.9665184, hereinafter “Ribah”) in view of rjc287 (Creating Satellite Imagery – Landsat, archive.org, (https://web.archive.org/web/20210228092138/https://www.instructables.com/Creating-Satellite-Imagery-Landsat/, hereinafter “rjc287”) and Peng et al. (US 20200007914 A1, hereinafter “Peng”).
Regarding claim 1, Ribah discloses An observation assistance apparatus comprising: (Abstract, “AGI System Tool Kit (STK) is used for simulating satellite orbit and determining the angular rate profile, elevation, and azimuth angle by computing access from the satellite to the target.”). Note that: the computing device running STK can be regarded as an observation assistance apparatus.
generate a target region quasi-image that shows a target region and is estimated to be obtained when an image of the target region is captured from a viewpoint of a mobile body that is equipped with an observation apparatus for observing Earth's surface and moves along a path in a space above the Earth's surface; and (page 2, col. right, Fig. 3: a satellite moves along a “trajectory” as a path and captures the images of “Region to be imaged” as a target region while the camera points to the target region indicated as arrows can be regarded as the satellite / camera viewpoints (“1”, “2”, and “3”), respectively; page 3, col. left, Fig. 4: “LAPAN-TUBSAT/A1 target pointing result” as a target region quasi-image can be acquired in the past for reference; page 2, col. right, para. 2, “Inside LAPAN-A2, there has been installed the matrix camera which provides imagery with 4 m spatial resolution and is able to view a swath 7 km wide”). Note that: (1) LAPAN-A2 Microsatellite is a mobile body that is equipped with an observation apparatus for observing the Earth's surface and moves along a path in a space above the Earth's surface; and (2) the target region quasi-image includes a target region.
generate, based on the target region quasi-image being selected by the operator, control instruction information that is used for controlling at least a timing when the mobile body observes the target region, a position at which the mobile body performs observation, and a direction in which the mobile body performs observation, wherein the control instruction information comprises information configured to control the mobile body to observe an actual observation image of the target region equivalent to the target region quasi-image, based on mobile body position information indicating the position of the mobile body and mobile body direction information indicating a direction of the mobile body that were used when the selected target region quasi-image was generated. (page 3, col. right, para. 1, “the target pointing maneuver is simplified by selecting the target that located in line with the satellite ground track. Hereby the satellite will focus on the pitch rotation without any disturbance in the roll and yaw axis. The target and the time execution will be determined by simulating LAPAN-A2 in AGI STK software. Afterward, the access data between the target and the satellite has been generated. These data consist of Azimuth, Elevation, and Range (AER), and angular rate during the time execution.”; page 4, col. left, para. 1, “AGI System Tool Kit (STK) were used to simulate the satellite orbit and placed the target. The calculation of the satellite access and angular rate are obtained during simulation”; page 4, col. right, para 1, “Based on the simulation, the target pointing maneuver would be executed on August 30th, 2021 starting from 02:23:38 UTC to 02:23:58 UTC, the target is located in 3,009o of latitude and 101.690o of longitude. Furthermore, elevation angle and angular rate also have been generated. By using (3), the pitch angle could be determined based on generated satellite-to-target elevation data at each second. Then, the angular rate from the simulation will be used as the profile of the angular rate on the target pointing maneuver”; page 4, col. right, para. 2, “The next step is arranging the satellite command schedule for the maneuver. The schedule consists of several commands contains specific order values for the camera system and the ADCS that the satellite system could execute the commands automatically. This process will produce two data, both are the captured image from the camera and the attitude data telemetry from the ADCS. The schematic diagram for the whole process of the research is shown in Fig. 10. Both data will be analyzed in the next section. The schedule that has already been arranged will be uploaded to the satellite by the operator when the satellite passes the ground stations before the time execution.”; page 1, Abstract, “AGI System Tool Kit (STK) is used for simulating satellite orbit and determining the angular rate profile, elevation, and azimuth angle by computing access from the satellite to the target.”). Note that: (1) It obvious to one having ordinary skills in the art that a set of images captured in the past for the target region can be candidates for an operator’s selection for the target region quasi-image. Once the target region quasi-image is selected, STK can be used to simulate the satellite orbit and place the target to the region corresponding to the target region quasi-image; (2) based on the simulation, the timing (“starting from 02:23:38 UTC to 02:23:58 UTC”) that the satellite pointing to the target (3,009o of latitude and 101.690o of longitude), the satellite / camera position that can be computed for simulating satellite orbit by STK (see Fig. 3 of Ribah above, “1”, “2”, or “3”), and attitude or direction of the satellite with the attached camera (elevation angle, angular rate, and the pitch angle) have been generated; and (3) the above information can be regarded as control instruction information as a schedule will be uploaded to the satellite by the operator.
However, Ribah fails to disclose, but in the same art of computer graphics, rjc287 discloses
wherein the generating the target region quasi-image comprises:
at a start of an operation, displaying a first image showing an entirety or a first portion of the Earth, (rjc287, page 2, paras. 1-4, “Landsat 8 was launched in 2013. It constantly takes pictures of Earth and can see the entire planet in 16 days. The two instruments on board, the Operational Land lmager (OLI) and Thermal Infrared Sensor (TIRS), Landsat 8 can record data from 11 different wavelength bands (discussed later) … demonstrate the process of creating an image from Landsat data … This will focus primarily on Landsat 8 data sets.”; page 2, para. 7, “lmageJ - This is a piece of open-source software used for scientific image analysis”; page 3, col. left, the upper portion of the picture “
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” is a portion of the Earth as a first image showing a first portion of the Earth; page 3, para. 1, “Consider a location that you'd like to produce an image of. Now, head on over to the Earth Explorer site from the United States Geological Survey https://earthexplorer.usgs.gov/)”). Note that: (1) one can review the original page by opening the link of rjc287 above for the Landsat 8 Satellite’s image of the Earth including the Northern America with a whole image. The first image is used for a person (operator) to search for a target region, showing “Search Criteria” pane; and (2) as a start operation, the first image is displayed using ImageJ or by opening the United States Geological Survey https://earthexplorer.usgs.gov/.
designating, based on input from an operator, the target region included in a second image showing a second portion of the Earth, (rjc287, page 4, paras. 1-3, “Find your location of interest. I would recommend just clicking and dragging around the map until you find the location you're interested in. You'll notice you can also type in address or place. A more advanced feature is searching by path/row … Each "square of land" had a path/row reference. You can find these by a simple Google search of something like "Landsat 8 path row map." Once you find the location you're interested in - for this example I chose the San Diego area - you need to bound it. Click on the map to select 4 corners of a polygon that will bound your region of interest. Red markers will land where you click and the coordinates of the red markers will show up on the left side of the screen”; page 3, col. right, picture at the upper-right corner as a second image, “
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”). Note that: (1) a person (operator) can enter the search location or drag around the map (the first image) as input from an operator to designate the target region to a location area (e.g., the San Diego area in red above); and (2) the target region (the San Diego area in red in the second image above) is included the second image that shows a second portion of the Earth.
generating the target region quasi-image comprising terrain and structures included in the target region corresponding to the designated target region; Note that: the second image above is generated after the query for the target region can be regarded as the target region quasi-image comprising terrain and structures (mountains and valleys in the San Diego area) seen in the satellite image portion.
based on the target region quasi-image not being selected by the operator, move the viewpoint on the path, based on a second input from the operator, and generate a new target region quasi-image as viewed from the moved viewpoint; and (rjc287, page 4, paras. 1-3, “Find your location of interest. I would recommend just clicking and dragging around the map until you find the location you're interested in. You'll notice you can also type in address or place. A more advanced feature is searching by path/row … Each "square of land" had a path/row reference … Each "square of land" had a path/row reference. You can find these by a simple Google search of something like "Landsat 8 path row map."). Note that: (1) if the generated target region quasi-image corresponding one location (the San Diego area) is not what the operator wants or is not selected by the operator, the operator can keep clicking and dragging around the map that is equivalent to move the viewpoint of Landsat 8’s Imagers on the path of the satellite; (2) when the operator clicks and drags as a second input from the operator to move the viewpoint on the first image to a second region (e.g., the New York City area), a new target region quasi-image can be generated for the New York City area in the same way as that for the San Diego area above; (3) the generated new target region quasi-image is equivalent to a image viewed from the moved viewpoint corresponding the New York City area.
Ribah and rjc287 are in the same field of endeavor, namely computer graphics and image processing. Before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious to apply generating target region quasi-image that shows a target region as an operator interact with the portion of the Earth image, as taught by rjc287 into Ribah in view of Peng. The motivation would have been “demonstrate the process of creating an image from Landsat data.” (rjc287, para. 3). The suggestion for doing so would allow to generate target region quasi-image that shows a target region. Therefore, it would have been obvious to combine Ribah and rjc287.
However, Ribah in view of rjc287 fails to disclose, but in the same art of computer graphics, Peng discloses
at least one memory storing instructions; and
at least one processor configured to execute the instructions to: (Peng, (Peng, para. [0006], “The electronic device includes at least one processor and a computer readable storage. The computer readable storage is coupled to the at least one processor and stores at least one computer executable instruction thereon which, when executed by the at least one processor, causes the at least one processor to:”).
Ribah in view of rjc287, and Peng, are in the same field of endeavor, namely computer graphics and image processing. Before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious to apply an apparatus with a memory and a processor, as taught by Peng into Ribah in view of rjc287. The motivation would have been “The electronic device includes at least one processor and a computer readable storage. The computer readable storage is coupled to the at least one processor and stores at least one computer executable instruction thereon which, when executed by the at least one processor” (Peng, para. [0006]). The suggestion for doing so would allow to use an apparatus with a memory and a processor to implement observation assistance. Therefore, it would have been obvious to combine Ribah, rjc287, and Peng.
Claim 5 reciting “An observation assistance method to be performed by a computer, comprising:” is corresponding to the apparatus of claim 1. Therefore, claim 5 is rejected for the same rationale for claim 1.
In addition, the combination of Ribah, rjc287, and Peng discloses An observation assistance method (Ribah, Abstract, “AGI System Tool Kit (STK) is used for simulating satellite orbit and determining the angular rate profile, elevation, and azimuth angle by computing access from the satellite to the target.”). Note that: (1) simulating satellite orbit and determining the angular rate profile, elevation, and azimuth angle can be regarded as an observation assistance method; and (2) the method can be implemented to be performed by a computer, comprising: (Peng, para. [0006], “The electronic device includes at least one processor and a computer readable storage. The computer readable storage is coupled to the at least one processor and stores at least one computer executable instruction thereon which, when executed by the at least one processor, causes the at least one processor to:”). Note that: the electronic device can be regarded as a computer.
The motivation to combine Ribah, rjc287, and Peng given in claim 1 is incorporated here.
Claim 9 reciting “A non-transitory computer-readable recording medium that includes a program recording thereon, the program including instructions that cause a computer to carry out:” is corresponding to the apparatus of claim 1. Therefore, claim 9 is rejected for the same rationale for claim 1.
In addition, the combination of Ribah, rjc287, and Peng discloses A non-transitory computer-readable recording medium that includes a program recording thereon, the program including instructions that cause a computer to carry out: (Peng, para. [0007], “a non-transitory computer readable storage medium is provided. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium is configured to store a computer program which, when executed by a processor, causes the processor to carry out following actions”).
Ribah in view of rjc287, and Peng, are in the same field of endeavor, namely computer graphics. Before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious to apply non-transitory computer readable media comprising computer readable instructions which, when executed, configure a data processing system to perform operations, as taught by Peng into Ribah in view of rjc287. The motivation would have been “a non-transitory computer readable storage medium is provided. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium is configured to store a computer program which, when executed by a processor, causes the processor to carry out following actions” (Peng, para. [0007]). The suggestion for doing so would allow to use one or more non-transitory computer readable media to perform computer graphics operations. Therefore, it would have been obvious to combine Ribah, rjc287 and Peng.
Claims 2, 6 and 10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ribah in view of rjc287, Peng and Archive_1 (3D Sun-Path, Archive.org, https://web.archive.org/web/20211216212217 /http://andrewmarsh.com/software/sunpath3d-web/, hereinafter “Archive_1”).
Regarding claim 2, the combination of Ribah, rjc287, and of Peng discloses The observation assistance apparatus according to claim 1,
wherein the one or more processors further:
However, the combination of Ribah, rjc287, and of Peng fails to discloses, but in the same art of computer graphics, Archive_1 discloses
adds a shadow image to the target region quasi-image using a timing when it is possible to observe the generated target region quasi-image, insolation information indicating an altitude and an amplitude of the sun in the target region, and three- dimensional map information of the target region. (Archive_1, page 1, para. 1, “This app demonstrates the relationship between geographic location and solar position throughout the year. You can use the map to drag the location around and interactively see how the Sun-path diagram and shadow projections change. You can also directly relate location and the 30 Sun-path to day-length and a range of different 20 Sun-path projections.”; page 1, Figure 1: “A screenshot of the 3D Sun-Path Diagram app running inside a web browser”, “
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”, adding shadow image to the target region quasi-image showing the building blocks of the target region indicated by “GEOGRAPHIC LOCATION” and corresponding shadows according to the solar information, when seeing the generated target region quasi-image, “solar information”, “azi / alt” (an altitude and an amplitude of the sun in the target region at time point “OATEAND TIME”, “Rise / Set” of the sun, and 3D map of the building blocks).
the combination of Ribah, rjc287, and of Peng, and Archive_1, are in the same field of endeavor, namely computer graphics. Before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious to apply adding shadows to the target region quasi-image, as taught by Archive_1 into the combination of Ribah, rjc287, and of Peng. The motivation would have been “You can use the map to drag the location around and interactively see how the Sun-path diagram and shadow projections change” (Archive_1, page 1, para. 1). The suggestion for doing so would allow to add shadow image to the target region quasi-image dynamically according to the target region quasi-image, sun-path, and 3D map information. Therefore, it would have been obvious to combine Ribah, rjc287, Peng, and Archive_1.
Claims 6 and 10 are corresponding to the apparatus of claim 2. Therefore, claims 6 and 10 are rejected for the same rationale for claim 2.
Claims 3, 7 and 11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over the combination of Ribah, Peng, rjc287, Archive_1, and Mattila et al. (WO 2015107263 A1, hereinafter “Mattila”).
Regarding claim 3, the combination of Ribah, rjc287, Peng, and Archive_1 discloses The observation assistance apparatus according to claim 1,
wherein the one or more processors further:
adds a shadow image to the target region quasi-image using a timing when it is possible to observe the generated target region quasi-image, (Archive_1, page 1, para. 1, “This app demonstrates the relationship between geographic location and solar position throughout the year. You can use the map to drag the location around and interactively see how the Sun-path diagram and shadow projections change. You can also directly relate location and the 30 Sun-path to day-length and a range of different 20 Sun-path projections.”; page 1, Figure 1: “A screenshot of the 3D Sun-Path Diagram app running inside a web browser”, “
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”, adding shadow image to the target region quasi-image showing the building blocks of the target region indicated by “GEOGRAPHIC LOCATION” and corresponding shadows according to the solar information, when seeing the generated target region quasi-image, “solar information”, “azi / alt” (an altitude and an amplitude of the sun in the target region at time point “OATEAND TIME”, “Rise / Set” of the sun, and 3D map of the building blocks).
However, the combination of Ribah, rjc287, Peng, and Archive_1 fails to disclose, but in the same art of computer graphics, Mattila discloses
… weather information indicating weather in the target region (Mattila, para. [0066], “the shadows on the building facades with or without reflective materials can produce useful features, such as, high scores and/or better rankings, if they are consistent with the weather and/or the time of the day and/or the position of the camera and/or the position of the sun etc … a high-contrast pattern of the shadows on a building facade with no features (uniform color and/or a flat surface with no texture) may generate useful features for detection and tracking … the display platform 109 may cause an accurate environmental lighting based, at least in part, on the time of the day, the position of the sun, the weather, and 3D geometry of the objects in the environment (i.e. buildings, trees, statutes etc.)”). Note that: (1) the shadows on the building can produce useful features for detection and tracking; (2) the display platform 109 may cause an accurate environmental lighting based, weather and other factors on the time of the day, the position of the sun, the weather, and 3D geometry of the objects in the environment to deal with shadows; and (3) weather information in the target region can substitute the position of sun to be observed or used to add shadow to the target region quasi-image.
The combination of Ribah, rjc287, Peng, and Archive_1, and Mattila, are in the same field of endeavor, namely computer graphics. Before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious to apply adding shadows to the target region quasi-image observing or using weather information, as taught by Mattila into the combination of of Ribah, rjc287, Peng, and Archive_1. The motivation would have been “the shadows on the building facades with or without reflective materials can produce useful features, such as, high scores and/or better rankings, if they are consistent with the weather and/or the time of the day and/or the position of the camera and/or the position of the sun etc” (Mattila, para. [0066]). The suggestion for doing so would allow to add shadow image to the target region quasi-image observing or using weather information. Therefore, it would have been obvious to combine Ribah, rjc287, Peng, Archive_1, and Mattila.
Claims 7 and 11 are corresponding to the apparatus of claim 3, respectively. Therefore, claims 7 and 11 are rejected for the same rationale for claim 3, respectively.
Claims 4, 8 and 12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over the combination of Ribah, rjc287, Peng, and Mattila.
Regarding claim 4, the combination of Ribah, rjc287, and Peng discloses The observation assistance apparatus according to claim 1,
wherein the target region quasi-image and the control instruction information (Ribah, page 4, col. left, Fig. 7: “LAPAN-A2 simulation in AGI STK 3D view”, “
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”). Note that: Fig. 7 as an image shows both the target region quasi-image and the control instruction information (timing / position / directions or attitude).
However, the combination of Ribah, rjc287, and Peng fails to disclose, but in the same art of computer graphics, Mattila discloses
are displayed on a display device (Mattila, para. [0075], “Other external devices coupled to bus 1010, used primarily for interacting with humans, include a display device 1014, such as a cathode ray tube (CRT), a liquid crystal display (LCD), a light emitting diode (LED) display, an organic LED (OLED) display, a plasma screen, or a printer for presenting text or images”). Note that: the image combining both the target region quasi-image and the control instruction information can be displayed on a display device (e.g., a liquid crystal display (LCD), a light emitting diode (LED) display).
The combination of Ribah, rjc287, and Peng, and Mattila, are in the same field of endeavor, namely computer graphics. Before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious to apply displaying images on a display device, as taught by Mattila into the combination of Ribah, rjc287, and Peng. The motivation would have been “Other external devices coupled to bus 1010, used primarily for interacting with humans, include a display device 1014, such as a cathode ray tube (CRT), a liquid crystal display (LCD), a light emitting diode (LED) display, an organic LED (OLED) display, a plasma screen, or a printer for presenting text or images” (Mattila, para. [0075]). The suggestion for doing so would allow to display images on a display device. Therefore, it would have been obvious to combine Ribah, rjc287, Peng, and Mattila.
Claims 8 and 12 are corresponding to the apparatus of claim 4, respectively. Therefore, claims 8 and 12 are rejected for the same rationale for claim 4, respectively.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
Applicant alleges, “Ribah fails to disclose the particular generation process recited by claim I "wherein generating the target region quasi-image comprises: at a start of an operation, displaying a first image showing an entirety or a first portion of the Earth, designating, based on input from an operator, the target region included in a second image showing a second portion of the Earth, generating the target region quasi-image comprising terrain and structures included in the target region corresponding to the designated target region." , and “Furthermore, Applicant respectfully submits the cited art fails to disclose or suggest "based on the target region quasi-image not being selected by the operator, move the viewpoint on the path, based on a second input from the operator, and generate a new target region quasi-image as viewed from the moved viewpoint." (page 9, lines 8-10). Examiner agrees that Ribah fails to disclose the amended limitations of claim 1. However, Examiner respectfully disagrees about the respective allegations as whole because: (1) rjc287 discloses the amended limitations above. Please see the corresponding citations and explanations above; and (2) the motivation to combine Ribah, rjc287, and Peng are specified above for the rejection of claim 1. The arguments are not persuasive.
Applicant alleges, “Ribah entirely fails to contemplate the scenario where an image is not selected and allowing the operator to move the viewpoint as desired. Accordingly, Ribah cannot be said to disclose or suggest "based on the target region quasi-image not being selected by the operator, move the viewpoint on the path, based on a second input from the operator, and generate a new target region quasi-image as viewed from the moved viewpoint." The remaining cited art fails to cure the above deficiencies of Ribah. As the cited art fails to disclose or suggest all elements of claim 1, Applicant respectfullysubmits that claim 1, and all claims dependent therefrom, are patentable." (page 9 / line 23 – page 10 / line 7). Examiner agrees that Ribah fails to disclose the amended limitations of claim 1 above. However, Examiner respectfully disagrees about the respective allegations as whole because: (1) rjc287 discloses the amended limitations above. Please see the corresponding citations and explanations above; (2) the motivation to combine Ribah rjc287, and Peng are specified above for rejection of claim 1; (3) other references except Ribah rjc287, and Peng have nothing to do with the rejection of claim 1; and (4) all claims dependent are rejected for the respective rationale above. The arguments are not persuasive.
Applicant alleges, “As claims 5 and 9 contain similar elements to claim 1, Applicant respectfully submits that claims 5 and 9, as well as claims dependent therefrom, are patentable for at least similar reasons to claim 1." (page 10, lines 8–10). However, Examiner respectfully disagrees about the respective allegations as whole because: (1) Claims 5 and 9 corresponds to claim 1. Therefore, claims 5 and 9 are rejected for the same rational for claim 1; and (2) the dependent claims from claims 5 and 9 are rejected for the respective rationale. The arguments are not persuasive.
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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/Biao Chen/
Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2611
/KEE M TUNG/ Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2611
Prosecution Insights