Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
DETAILED ACTION
INFORMATION DISCLOSURE STATEMENT
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 09/15/2024 & 10/29/2024 is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
ALLOWABLE SUBJECT MATTER
Claims 10-13 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
CLAIM REJECTIONS - 35 USC § 101
Claim 16 is rejected under 35 USC 101 as being directed to non-statutory subject matter. Claim 16 recites a program without the recitation of a non-transitory computer readable medium.
The USPTO “Interim Guidelines for Examination of Patent Applications for Patent Subject Matter Eligibility” (Official Gazette notice of 22 November 2005), Annex IV, reads as follows:
Descriptive material can be characterized as either "functional descriptive material" or "nonfunctional descriptive material." In this context, "functional descriptive material" consists of data structures and computer programs which impart functionality when employed as a computer component. (The definition of "data structure" is "a physical or logical relationship among data elements, designed to support specific data manipulation functions." The New IEEE Standard Dictionary of Electrical and Electronics Terms 308 (5th ed. 1993).) "Nonfunctional descriptive material" includes but is not limited to music, literary works and a compilation or mere arrangement of data.
When functional descriptive material is recorded on some computer-readable medium it becomes structurally and functionally interrelated to the medium and will be statutory in most cases since use of technology permits the function of the descriptive material to be realized. Compare In re Lowry, 32 F.3d 1579, 1583-84, 32 USPQ2d 1031, 1035 (Fed. Cir. 1994) (claim to data structure stored on a computer readable medium that increases computer efficiency held statutory) and Warmerdam, 33 F.3d at 1360-61, 31 USPQ2d at 1759 (claim to computer having a specific data structure stored in memory held statutory product-by-process claim) with Warmerdam, 33 F.3d at 1361, 31 USPQ2d at 1760 (claim to a data structure per se held nonstatutory).
In contrast, a claimed computer-readable medium encoded with a computer program is a computer element which defines structural and functional interrelationships between the computer program and the rest of the computer which permit the computer program's functionality to be realized, and is thus statutory. See Lowry, 32 F.3d at 1583-84, 32 USPQ2d at 1035.
For example, Claim 16 recites merely a program without the recitation of encoding such program in a computer-readable medium. Without such medium, the program is nothing more than just functional descriptive material or data structure, thus, claim 16 is directed to a program per se. Program per se does not fall within any of the statutory categories. Therefore, it is non-statutory under 35 USC 101. For amendment involving computer-readable medium, please see the Patents’ Official Gazette notice published February 23, 2010 (1351 OG 212).
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 of this title, 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 1-2, 6-7 & 15-16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over
Hubert et al. (U.S. Publication 2018/0308248) in view of Endo (U.S. Publication 2022/0001795)
As to claims 1, 6 & 15-16, Hubert discloses a computer system for detecting a position in a real space in an image ([0002-0003, 0096, 0100] & Fig. 1A-1B discloses detecting a fiducial marker displayed on a display device in a real world.), the computer system comprising: a memory for storing a program code ([0093, 0171-0172] & Fig. 6 discloses the marker manager device 3 comprises a non-volatile memory 63 (e.g. a read-only memory ROM or a hard disk, a volatile memory 61 and a processor 62); and a processor ([0093, 0171-0172, 0177] & Fig. 6 discloses the marker manager device 3 comprises a non-volatile memory 63 (e.g. a read-only memory ROM or a hard disk, a volatile memory 61 and a processor 62) for executing operation in accordance with the program code, the operation including transmitting a control signal for displaying a pattern that appears as a shape having a size in the image, to a marker apparatus disposed in the real space
([0006, 0097-0098, 0133-0134] & Fig. 1A , 2B discloses that fiducial markers are displayed on display device 2 ), wherein the pattern includes a first pattern including spatial luminance change ([0006, 0053, 0057-0060, 0103] & Fig. 1A-1B discloses the fiducial marker has one or several attributes of the dynamic marker are modifiable. Fiducial markers displayed contain a color, a luminance, a contrast, a pattern. A pattern of the displayed fiducial marker in the displayed image is displayed.])
and the operation further includes transmitting, to the marker apparatus, a control signal for displaying the first pattern and the second pattern with switching between the first pattern and the second pattern ([0038-0039, 0041-0042, 0045-0046, 0133-0138] & Fig. 2B discloses changing the current value of said at least one modifiable attribute to a second new value. See Step 223, Fig. 2B wherein in which it changes the current value of one, several or all of the modifiable attributes to a new value and obtain new attribute information representative of the new values. Step 224 discloses in which it transmits the new attribute information to the portable device 1. Step 225 discloses in which it manages the display of the fiducial marker on the display device 2, according to the new attribute information; and goes back to the step 222.).
Hubert is silent to and a second pattern in which spatial luminance change is less than the spatial luminance change in the first pattern or spatial luminance change does not exist.
However, Endo discloses a second pattern in which spatial luminance change is less than the spatial luminance change in the first pattern or spatial luminance change does not exist. ([0028, 0037, 0039, 0051-0053, 0056-0057, 0059-0060, 0065] discloses the marker may include a display device that is capable of changing at least one from among the shape, spatial pattern, temporal pattern, luminance and layout. See wherein Endo discloses a display type marker has multiple light emitting elements that can turn on and off to control the shape to be displayed.)
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of effective filing to modify Hubert’s disclosure to include the above limitations in order to improve Hubert’s marker detection efficiency by changing marker attributes and adapting the displayed marker to the image captured by the camera.
As to claim 2, Hubert in view of Endo current modification discloses everything as disclosed in claim 1 but is silent to wherein the pattern includes a linear or planar pattern.
However, Endo discloses wherein the pattern includes a linear or planar pattern. ([0028, 0037, 0051, 0056-0057])
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of effective filing to modify Hubert in view of Endo current modification’s disclosure to include the above limitations in order to provide a displayed marker pattern whose shaped or
As to claim 7, Hubert in view of Endo discloses everything as disclosed in claim 6. In addition, Hubert and Endo both disclose wherein the pattern includes a linear or planar pattern. (Hubert’s [0006, 0053-0060, 0103-0110] & Endo’s [0028, 0037, 0051, 0056-0057])
Claim 9 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hubert et al. (U.S. Publication 2018/0308248) in view of Endo (U.S. Publication 2022/0001795)
as applied in claim 6 above further in view of Noboru (U.S. Publication 2016/0335525)
As to claim 9, Hubert in view of Endo discloses everything as disclosed in claim 6 but is silent to wherein the operation further includes recognizing a texture of a background of the marker apparatus by analysis of the image, and deciding the pattern according to the texture.
However, Noboru discloses wherein the operation further includes recognizing a texture of a background of the marker apparatus by analysis of the image, and deciding the pattern according to the texture. ([0122-0128, 0131-0135, 0178])
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of effective filing to modify Hubert in view of Endo current modification’s disclosure to include the above limitations in order to improve marker detection reliability and reduce confusion between the marker and background patterns.
CONCLUSION
No prior art has been found for claims 10-13 in their current form.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Stephen P Coleman whose telephone number is (571)270-5931. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Thursday 8AM-5PM.
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Stephen P. Coleman
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 2675
/STEPHEN P COLEMAN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2675
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