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 .
Claim Comment
Claim 9 recites “(700;800)”. It appears that the limitation was meant to have been deleted in the amendment to the claims, similar to how other reference numerals were deleted.
Claim 14 recites “(702;200)”. It appears that the limitation was meant to have been deleted in the amendment to the claims, similar to how other reference numerals were deleted.
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 8-12 and 13-15 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 8 recites the limitation "the first iteration". There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Claim 9 recites the limitation "the characterization phase". There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Claims 10-12 and 14 depend on claim 8 and therefore are rejected.
Claim 13 recites “a matrix” after claim 1 previously recited “at least one matrix”. It is unclear whether the recitations are related or not. The claim also recites “at least one aberration matrix” after claim 1 previously recited “aberration matrix”. It is unclear whether the recitations are related or not.
Claim 14 recites “a camera module”, “an optical lens”, “an image sensor”, “at least one matrix”, “aberration matrix”, “optical aberrations”, and “an image”. As these limitations were recited in claim 1 it is unclear whether the limitations in claim 14 are related or not.
Claim 14 recites the limitation "said apparatus”. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Claim 15 recites “a camera module”, “an optical lens”, “an image sensor”. As these limitations were recited in claim 1 it is unclear whether the limitations in claim 15 are related or not.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim(s) 1, 2, 4-8, 11, 12, 14, and 15 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Cote et al. (U.S. Pub. No. 20120051730).
Regarding claim 1, Cote discloses:
A method for image acquisition with an apparatus including a camera module (imaging devices 30, such as a digital camera, par. 108, 122, and Fig. 7) having an optical lens associated with an image sensor (camera 30 may include a lens and one or more image sensors configured to capturing and converting light into electrical signals, par. 122), said method including at least one iteration of a phase of image acquisition by said apparatus comprising the following steps:
capturing an image with said camera module (image data captured by the image sensor, par. 140); and
correcting said captured image as a function of at least one correction matrix (image data is provided from front-end logic 80 to the ISP pipe logic 82 (output signal 109) for additional processing, where ISP pipeline logic 82 uses control parameters 106 such as color correction matrix (CCM) coefficients for auto-white balance and color adjustment (e.g., during RGB processing), as well as lens shading correction, which are determined based on white point balance parameters for processing, par. 143, 144, and 279-281) calculated, directly or indirectly, from at least one matrix, called aberration matrix, determined for said optical lens, and representative of optical aberrations introduced by said optical lens into an image (imaging device 30 may be calibrated using multiple different reference illuminants (imaging through the lens), where the white point of the current scene may be determined by selecting the color correction coefficients corresponding to a reference illuminant that most closely matches the illuminant of the current scene, and when the color temperature of the light source is estimated the estimated color temperature is used to adjust color gain values and/or determine/adjust coefficients of a color correction matrix, and where AF (auto-focus) statistics (from auto-focus over focal lengths) are used to control the color correction matrix coefficients and the auto-focus statistics may also be determined based on each color of the Bayer RGB even in the presence of chromatic aberrations, par. 10, 143, 144, 277-281, 284, and 382).
Regarding claim 2, Cote further discloses:
the image acquisition phase comprises a step of determining a distance, LSD, between the optical lens and the image sensor, the at least one correction matrix being a function of said LSD distance (AF statistics (from auto-focus over focal lengths) are used to control the color correction matrix coefficients and the auto-focus statistics may also be determined based on each color of the Bayer RGB even in the presence of chromatic aberrations, par. 10, 143, 144, 277-281, 284, and 382).
Regarding claim 4, Cote further discloses:
calculating at least one correction matrix within said apparatus (ISP pipeline 82 performed additional processing of image date using color correction matrix with adjusted coefficients of a color correction matrix, par. 10, 143, 144, 277-281, 284, and 382).
Regarding claim 5, Cote further discloses:
the at least one correction matrix is carried out during the acquisition phase so that said at least one correction matrix is calculated on the fly for each captured image (ISP pipeline 82 performs additional processing of image date using color correction matrix with adjusted coefficients of a color correction matrix which are based on previous color correction coefficients during calibration, par. 10, 143, 144, 277-281, 284, and 382).
Regarding claim 6, Cote further discloses:
calculating the at least one correction matrix is performed prior to the acquisition phase so that said calculating step is common to multiple iterations of the image acquisition phase (ISP pipeline 82 performs additional processing of image date using color correction matrix with adjusted coefficients of a color correction matrix which are based on previous color correction coefficients during calibration, and the techniques are used for moving images/video, par. 10, 105, 143, 144, 277-281, 284, and 382).
Regarding claim 7, Cote further discloses:
at least one correction matrix is calculated from:
at least one aberration matrix;
at least one previously calculated correction kernel matrix comprising coefficients for deducing said at least one correction matrix;
or
at least one previously calculated aberration kernel matrix, comprising coefficients enabling said at least one correction matrix to be deduced (AF (auto-focus) statistics (from auto-focus over focal lengths) are used to control the color correction matrix coefficients and the auto-focus statistics may also be determined based on each color of the Bayer RGB even in the presence of chromatic aberrations, par. 10, 143, 144, 277-281, 284, and 382).
Regarding claim 8, Cote further discloses:
prior to the first iteration of the acquisition phase, a characterization phase comprising a determination of at least one aberration matrix (white point of the current scene may be determined by selecting the color correction coefficients corresponding to a reference illuminant that most closely matches the illuminant of the current scene, and where AF (auto-focus) statistics (from auto-focus over focal lengths) are used to control the color correction matrix coefficients and the auto-focus statistics may also be determined based on each color of the Bayer RGB even in the presence of chromatic aberrations, par. 10, 143, 144, 277-281, 284, and 382).
Regarding claim 10, Cote further discloses:
at least one aberration matrix is determined by optical measurement, on the actual optical lens, with an optical measuring apparatus (imaging device 30 may be calibrated using multiple different reference illuminants and the white point of the current scene may be determined by selecting the color correction coefficients (for color correction matrix) corresponding to a reference illuminant that most closely matches the illuminant of the current scene, par. 280).
Regarding claim 11, Cote further discloses:
said at least one aberration matrix is determined by simulation in a digital simulator on a digital model of the optical lens (imaging device 30 may be calibrated (simulation) using multiple different reference illuminants and the white point of the current scene may be determined by selecting the color correction coefficients (for color correction matrix) corresponding to a reference illuminant that most closely matches the illuminant of the current scene, and note that the processing and matrix are digital, par. 280).
Regarding claim 12, Cote further discloses:
said at least one aberration matrix is:
a matrix, called PSF matrix, of Point Spread Function (PSF) values, and/or
a matrix, called OTF matrix, of Optical Transfer Function (OTF) values,
and/or
a matrix of values obtained by wavefront analysis (white point of the current scene may be determined by selecting the color correction coefficients corresponding to a reference illuminant that most closely matches the illuminant of the current scene, and where AF (auto-focus) statistics (from auto-focus over focal lengths) are used to control the color correction matrix coefficients and the auto-focus statistics may also be determined based on each color of the Bayer RGB even in the presence of chromatic aberrations, par. 10, 143, 144, 277-281, 284, and 382).
Regarding claim 14, see the rejection of claims 10, 8, and 1 and note that the limitations of claim 14 were shown and that in Cote a processor (claimed calculating unit) performs the functions (par. 115 and 116).
Regarding claim 15, see the rejection of claim 1 and note that the limitations of claim 15 were shown and that in Cote a processor (claimed calculating unit) performs the functions (par. 115 and 116).
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) 3 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Cote et al. (U.S. Pub. No. 20120051730) in view of Kim (U.S. Pub. No. 20230070184).
Regarding claim 3, Cote is silent with regards to image acquisition phase further comprises a step of determining a distance, OD, between the optical lens and the scene, the at least one correction matrix being a function of said OD distance. Kim discloses image acquisition phase further comprises a step of determining a distance, OD, between the optical lens and the scene, the at least one correction matrix being a function of said OD distance (information for image correction related to the camera may include a value for adjusting a CCM where the camera setting related to the camera may include a camera setting value (e.g., information on a position of a lens set differently according to a distance between a subject and a camera for auto focus, where the CCM is adjusted using a first adjustment value and a second adjustment value, par. 83, 99, 110, 121, 135). As can be seen in par. 99 this is advantageous in that correcting an aberration of the lens can be done. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to include image acquisition phase further comprises a step of determining a distance, OD, between the optical lens and the scene, the at least one correction matrix being a function of said OD distance.
Conclusion
Regarding claim(s) 9 and 13, taking into consideration the indefiniteness described in the 35 USC 112 rejection(s) above, no prior art could be found and applied as a prior art rejection.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to NICHOLAS G GILES whose telephone number is (571)272-2824. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 6:45AM-3:15PM EST (HOTELING).
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/NICHOLAS G GILES/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2639