DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application, filed on or after 16 March 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA . This Office action is in response to the application received on 14 October 2024. Claims 1-20 are pending.
Priority
The claim for the benefit of a prior-filed application under 35 U.S.C. 119(e) or under 35 U.S.C. 120, 121, 365(c), or 386(c) is acknowledged.
The claim for foreign priority under 35 U.S.C. 119 (a)-(d) is acknowledged. A certified copy of the priority application has been received.
Information Disclosure Statement
The IDSes received on 28 October 2024 and 24 June 2025 have been considered.
Specification
The title of the invention is objected to because it is not descriptive of the invention to which the claims are directed. The title "Crosswalk Image Processing Method and Related Device" is offered for consideration but is not strictly required.
Claim Interpretation
Where it appears in the claims, the term "and/or" is interpreted as equivalent to "or" under a broadest reasonable standard.
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, 6, 9-11, 16, and 19-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by KR 2016-0102846 A (Jeong et al.). A computer-generated English translation of Jeong is relied upon below and has been appended to the document.
As to claim 1, Jeong discloses an image processing method, wherein the method is performed by an electronic device, the electronic device is configured to obtain a plurality of frames of images of a front angle of view of a user (para [0031] - "The image acquisition unit 201 may be a camera module", para [0082] - "The method according to the embodiment may be implemented in the form of program instructions that can be executed by various computer means and stored in a computer readable medium"), and the method comprises:
determining a first route if a crosswalk is detected in the plurality of frames of images, wherein the first route is a safe walking route on the crosswalk (para [0021] - "the pedestrian guide device 101 periodically acquires an image and extracts a crosswalk and a traffic light from the acquired image", para [0023] - "the walking guide apparatus 101 may guide not to deviate from the pedestrian crossing when it is determined that the pedestrian crossing is entered, in the state where it is possible to enter the pedestrian crossing based on the acquired image");
obtaining, based on the plurality of frames of images, a second route that the user is taking (para [0023] - "if it is determined that the current position is out of the crosswalk, the first warning sound is generated, thereby causing departure from the crosswalk. You can prevent it"); and
outputting a first indication information to the user if an included angle between the first route and the second route in a same reference system is greater than or equal to a preset angle, wherein the first indication information indicates that the second route is abnormal (para [0043] - "the processor 207 may set a region corresponding to the right side as a safety region based on a virtual axis centered vertically with respect to the line in the crosswalk, and the current position may be a safety region within the set crosswalk. If it is determined that the deviation is outside, the first warning sound is generated, and the right walking rule can be induced to be practiced").
As to claim 6, Jeong discloses the method of claim 1, and further discloses wherein a movement route in which the electronic device captures the plurality of frames of images is the second route, and the movement route is parallel to a ground on which the crosswalk is located (Fig 5, para [0062] - "the walking guide apparatus extracts a stripe pattern from the acquired image, recognizes the crosswalk, and if it is determined that the crosswalk is entered, checks whether the current position of the safety area is included in the crosswalk. And, if it is determined that the current position is out of the safe area in the crosswalk, it may generate a warning sound").
As to claim 9, Jeong discloses the method of claim 1, and further discloses wherein before the determining a first route, the method further comprises:
starting a first application based on an operation of the user, wherein the first application is used by the electronic device to obtain the plurality of frames of images of the front angle of view of the user (para [0082] - "The hardware device described above may be configured to operate as one or more software modules to perform the operations of the embodiments").
As to claim 10, Jeong discloses the method of claim 1, and further discloses wherein a representation form of the first indication information comprises a voice and/or mark information (para [0051] - "The output unit 211 may be, for example, a speaker, and may output a warning sound or a message as a voice").
As to claim 11, the claim recites limitations that correspond to the limitations of claim 1, and therefore claim 11 is rejected on the same grounds as claim 1.
As to claim 16, the claim recites limitations that correspond to the limitations of claim 6, and therefore claim 16 is rejected on the same grounds as claim 6.
As to claim 19, the claim recites limitations that correspond to the limitations of claim 9, and therefore claim 19 is rejected on the same grounds as claim 9.
As to claim 20, the claim recites limitations that correspond to the limitations of claim 1 and 11, and therefore claim 11 is rejected on the same grounds as claim 1 and 11.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 2-5, 7-8, 12-15, and 17-18 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. Alternatively, the respective independent claims may be amended to recite subject matter indicated as allowable, including the limitations of any intervening claims.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: whether alone or in combination, the prior art of record does not disclose or teach every limitation recited by claims 2, 5, 7-8, 12, 15, and 17-18. Claims 3-4 and 13-14 are allowable at least for their dependence from an allowable claim.
KR 2016-0102846 A (Jeong et al.), the closest prior art, discloses an electronic device that assists a user to navigate a crosswalk using images obtained by a camera of the electronic device, but does not disclose or suggest using the camera to cover a particular range of angles, determining from a series of images that less of the crosswalk is visible than before, informing the user that the end of the crosswalk has been reached, or providing the user with information about nearby vehicles.
Conclusion
The additional prior art made of record on Form 892 (Notice of References Cited) is considered relevant to the present application. The cited art generally relates to methods of using a smartphone to inform a vision-impaired user that they are properly aligned with a crosswalk before entering the crosswalk.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Todd Melton whose telephone number is (571)270-3871. The examiner can normally be reached weekdays, 9:30am - 6:00pm (Eastern time). Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice. If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Navid Mehdizadeh can be reached at 571-272-7691. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/TODD MELTON/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3669