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 .
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 11/26/2024 is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
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.
Claims 1-7,10, 12, 14-15 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Sarofim et al. (Pub. No.: CN113406042A, machine translation included), hereafter Sarofim
Regarding claim 1, Sarofim teaches a data obtaining device (FIG. 1 & 2, control device 5, and paragraph [0057], “first image 30, mask 33, second image 34, background image 36 and reference image 50 may be stored in the memory of the control device 5 or in a memory accessible to the control device 5”) comprising:
a controller (FIG. 1 & 2, control device 5) capable of controlling an illumination panel (FIG. 1 & 2, background lighting device 2 and paragraph [0042], the background lighting device 2 may be provided with: a self-emissive lighting panel”) and capable of obtaining at least one captured image of an illumination surface of the illumination panel (paragraph [0044], “During the image acquisition process, the control device 5 controls the illumination of the detection device 4 and the scene through at least one of the background lighting device 2”),
wherein the controller generates mask data for a target located in front of the illumination panel on a basis of (FIG. 1 & 2, and paragraph [0050], “A mask 33 is provided for sample dish 31 or multiple sample dishes 32, the mask 33 representing the outline or contour of sample dish 31 or multiple sample dishes 32”), among the at least one captured image, a captured image of the illumination panel and the target with the illumination panel emitting light (paragraph [0050], “The mask 33 is generated by performing image data analysis or processing on the first image 30. The mask 33 includes a region 33a that is related to the sample vessels 31 and 32 and a region 33b that is unrelated to the sample vessels 31 and 32 but is related to the background”).
Regarding claim 2, Sarofim further teaches the controller determines a color of the light emitted from the illumination panel on a basis of a color of the target (paragraph [0009], “: defining an object based on a silhouette obtained from a backlit image; and performing color analysis using a foreground image segmented from the backlit image”).
Regarding claim 3, Sarofim further teaches wherein the controller causes the illumination panel to emit light in a plurality of colors, and wherein the controller generates the mask data for the target using a plurality of pieces of mask data corresponding to the plurality of colors of the light emitted from the illumination panel based on captured images at times when the illumination panel is emitting the light in the plurality of colors (paragraph [0052], “A mask 33 is applied to a second image 34 to process a mask image 35, which includes image data from a subset of image data in the second image 34, wherein the subset of image data is defined by the mask 33.
The result of the described process is that the (tube) images of sample vessel 31/multiple sample vessels 32 depicted by a subset of image data are clearly separated from the background, are full-color”).
Regarding claim 4, Sarofim further teaches wherein the controller generates the mask data for the target on a basis of, among the at least one captured image, a captured image obtained by capturing an image of the illumination panel without the target located in front of the illumination panel (FIG. 1 & 2, and paragraph [0050], “The mask 33 is generated by performing image data analysis or processing on the first image 30. The mask 33 includes a region 33a that is related to the sample vessels 31 and 32 and a region 33b that is unrelated to the sample vessels 31 and 32 but is related to the background”)
Regarding claim 5, Sarofim further teaches the controller generates the mask data for the target on a basis of a differential image between a captured image at a time when the illumination panel is emitting light and a captured image at a time when the illumination panel is not emitting light (FIG. 1 & 2, and paragraph [0050], “The mask 33 is generated by performing image data analysis or processing on the first image 30. The mask 33 includes a region 33a that is related to the sample vessels 31 and 32 and a region 33b that is unrelated to the sample vessels 31 and 32 but is related to the background”).
Regarding claim 6, Sarofim further teaches the controller obtains a captured image without the target and the illumination panel illuminated by ambient light (paragraph [0021], “the second lighting condition being selected from the group of: no background lighting; non-background lighting that is only different from background lighting, such as at least one of top lighting or front lighting; and a combination of background lighting and non-background lighting.One or more of the lighting conditions from this group can be applied”).
Regarding claim 7, Sarofim further teaches the controller sets luminance of the light emitted from the illumination panel such that luminance of the illumination panel becomes higher than luminance of the target in the at least one captured image (paragraph [0021]).
Regarding claim 10, Sarofim teaches a data obtaining method (FIG. 1 & 2, control device 5, and paragraph [0057], “first image 30, mask 33, second image 34, background image 36 and reference image 50 may be stored in the memory of the control device 5 or in a memory accessible to the control device 5”) comprising:
causing an illumination panel to emit light; and
generating mask data for a target located in front of the illumination panel (FIG. 1 & 2, background lighting device 2 and paragraph [0042], the background lighting device 2 may be provided with: a self-emissive lighting panel”) on a basis of a captured image of the target and the illumination panel (FIG. 1 & 2, and paragraph [0050], “A mask 33 is provided for sample dish 31 or multiple sample dishes 32, the mask 33 representing the outline or contour of sample dish 31 or multiple sample dishes 32; The mask 33 is generated by performing image data analysis or processing on the first image 30. The mask 33 includes a region 33a that is related to the sample vessels 31 and 32 and a region 33b that is unrelated to the sample vessels 31 and 32 but is related to the background”).
Regarding claim 12, Sarofim teaches a data obtaining stage (FIG. 1 & 2, control device 5, and paragraph [0057], “first image 30, mask 33, second image 34, background image 36 and reference image 50 may be stored in the memory of the control device 5 or in a memory accessible to the control device 5”) comprising:
an illumination panel (FIG. 1 & 2, background lighting device 2 and paragraph [0042], the background lighting device 2 may be provided with: a self-emissive lighting panel”) that emits light in certain colors; and a light transmission member located between a target disposed in front of the illumination panel and the illumination panel (paragraph [0044], “During the image acquisition process, the control device 5 controls the illumination of the detection device 4 and the scene through at least one of the background lighting device 2”).
Regarding claim 14, Sarofim teaches a lighting device capable of illuminating the target (paragraph [0042], “an LED (LED-light-emitting diode) or OLED (LED-organic light-emitting diode) lighting panel”).
Regarding claim 15, Sarofim teaches the illumination panel emits light in one of the certain colors (paragraph [0042], “Simple presence detection can use narrow-bandwidth light, such as light from a colored LED. Determining the color of the bottle cap may require white light”).
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.
Claims 13 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Sarofim as applied to claim 12 above, and further in view of Zheng et al. (Pub. No.: CN 106384737 A, machine translation included), hereafter Zheng.
Regarding claim 13, Sarofim teaches limitations of claim 12 but does not disclose a darkroom storing the illumination panel and the light transmission member.
Zheng teaches a darkroom storing the illumination panel and the light transmission member (paragraph [0015], “flexible memory imaging display panels can preserve images for more than 24 hours if stored in a dark room”)
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Sarofim in view of Zheng to incorporate a darkroom be protected from light (Zheng, paragraph [0015]).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 8-9, 11 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.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
Regarding claim 8, prior arts whether stand alone or in combination fail to teach or reasonably suggest data obtaining device according to Claim 1, comprising “on a basis of the mask data for the target, image data regarding the target from an image of the target captured at a same position as when the at least one captured image has been captured”, as required in combination with the other limitations of the claim.
Dependent claim 9 is also objected by virtue of its dependency.
Regarding claim 11, prior arts whether stand alone or in combination fail to teach or reasonably suggest data obtaining method according to Claim 1, comprising “on a basis of the mask data for the target, image data regarding the target from an image of the target at a same position as when the at least one captured image has been captured”, as required in combination with the other limitations of the claim.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to SYED M KAISER whose telephone number is (571)272-9612. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9 a.m.-6 p.m..
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/SYED M KAISER/Examiner, Art Unit 2831 /ABDULLAH A RIYAMI/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2831