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 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) 1-6, 12-18 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over DE 10 2017 210 558 B3 in view of CN 102680487.
Claim 1
DE 10 2017 210 558 B3 discloses a vehicle tunnel entrance area (See Fig. 1, vehicle Ref. 5 enter tunnel Ref. 1, 4); a vehicle tunnel exit area (See Fig. 1, vehicle Ref. 5 exit tunnel Ref. 1, 4 with arrow pointing to direction of vehicle enter and exit); and a plurality of uniform lighting pattern panels (Fig. 2, Ref. 8a-8c; module) corresponding to an interior surface of the vehicle tunnel (See Fig. 2), the plurality of uniform lighting pattern panels (Fig. 2, Ref. 8a-8c) configured to illuminate a plurality of vehicle (Fig. 1, Ref. 5) surfaces of a vehicle passing through the vehicle tunnel (Fig. 2, Ref. 4), wherein a plurality of dark lines are formed in a plurality of gaps between the plurality of uniform lighting pattern panels(See Fig. 2; Page 6 of translation), wherein the plurality of dark lines (See Fig. 2) and the plurality of uniform lighting pattern panels (Fig. 2, Ref. 8a-8c) project lighting onto the plurality of vehicle surfaces (Fig. 1, Ref. 5) of the vehicle passing through the vehicle tunnel (Fig. 2, Ref. 4), wherein projected lighting forms alternating light and dark geometric patterns (See Page 6) on the plurality of vehicle surfaces (Fig. 1, Ref. 5) wherein widths of the plurality of gaps (dark lines) are determined based on an inverse relationship with the frame rate of the camera (Fig. 2, Ref. 10; It is known that the gaps are within the frame rate of the camera to ensure the pattern are captured clearly and consistently across multiple vehicle surfaces); wherein a plurality of vehicle tunnel cameras (Fig. 2, Ref. 10) are configured to capture a plurality of vehicle surface (Fig. 1, Ref. 5) images when illuminated by the plurality of uniform lighting pattern panels (Fig. 2, Ref. 8a-8c) with the plurality of gaps (See Fig. 2), wherein the plurality of vehicle surface images are analyzed to detect vehicle imperfections (See Page 7).
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DE 10 2017 210 558 B3 substantially teaches the claimed invention except that it does not show a camera having a frame rate of more than 120 frames per second. CN 102680487 shows that it is known to provide a camera having a frame rate of more than 120 frames per second (See Page 4 of translation) for projection of striped lighting on car body parts. It would have been obvious to modify the device of DE 10 2017 210 558 B3 with the frame rate of CN 102680487 before the effective filing date of the claimed invention for the purpose of providing clear, high-fidelity capture of fast-moving patterns, enables real-time defect detection, and maintains precise synchronization between the projector and camera. This combination is critical for accurate, reliable, and high-speed inspection in industrial and quality control applications.
Claim 2
CN 102680487 when modified by DE 10 2017 210 558 B3 discloses the claimed invention except for widths of the plurality of gaps are determined based on the frame rate, lighting intensity, and a sensor size and resolution of the camera. It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the effective filing date of the claimed invention was made to modify DE 10 2017 210 558 B3 and CN 102680487 with the width of the gaps since it was well known in the art that the gap is set so that the lack of light reflection is confined between edges that do reflect light. This ensures that the edge recognition algorithm can accurately locate the gap boundaries which ensures that the imaging system can accurately capture and measure the gaps without motion blur. The examiner takes Official Notice that the elements listed above are well-known, or to be common knowledge in the art are capable of instant and unquestionable demonstration as being well-known.
Claims 3-5
DE 10 2017 210 558 B3 when modified with CN 102680487 discloses the claimed invention except for narrow gaps are used to detect fine scratches, paint chips, and minor dents; narrow gaps are between .25cm to .95cm; the plurality of gaps are configured to have varying widths to aid in detecting different types of defects. It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the effective filing date of the claimed invention was made to modify DE 10 2017 210 558 B3 and CN 102680487 with the different gap sizes since it was well known in the art that narrow gaps are used because they are sensitive enough to detect very small surface defects, and varying gap widths allow inspection systems to adapt to different defect sizes, ensuring comprehensive quality control in vehicle bodywork. Also see WO 2020/025086. The examiner takes Official Notice that the elements listed above are well-known, or to be common knowledge in the art are capable of instant and unquestionable demonstration as being well-known.
Claim 6
DE 10 2017 210 558 B3 when modified by CN 102680487 discloses the claimed invention except for a dark, non-reflective material is placed in the plurality of gaps. It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the effective filing date of the claimed invention was made to modify DE 10 2017 210 558 B3 and CN 102680487 with the non-reflective material since it was well known in the art that the non-reflective material in the gaps acts as a light-absorbing background that reduces stray light, enhances contrast, and ensures that only the intended light reaches the sensors, therefore is essential for reliable, high-contrast defect detection in vehicle inspections, especially on reflective or complex surfaces. The examiner takes Official Notice that the elements listed above are well-known, or to be common knowledge in the art are capable of instant and unquestionable demonstration as being well-known.
Claim 12
DE 10 2017 210 558 B3 discloses images captured by the plurality of uniform lighting pattern panels (Fig. 2, Ref. 8a-8c) are used to detect damage to a first component of the vehicle (See Page 7).
Claim 13
DE 10 2017 210 558 B3 discloses a plurality of uniform lighting pattern panels (Fig. 2, Ref. 8a-8c; module) corresponding to an interior surface of the vehicle tunnel (See Fig. 2), the plurality of uniform lighting pattern panels (Fig. 2, Ref. 8a-8c) configured to illuminate a plurality of vehicle (Fig. 1, Ref. 5) surfaces of a vehicle passing through the vehicle tunnel (Fig. 2, Ref. 4), wherein a plurality of dark lines are formed in a plurality of gaps between the plurality of uniform lighting pattern panels(See Fig. 2; Page 6 of translation), wherein the plurality of dark lines (See Fig. 2) and the plurality of uniform lighting pattern panels (Fig. 2, Ref. 8a-8c) project lighting onto the plurality of vehicle surfaces (Fig. 1, Ref. 5) of the vehicle passing through the vehicle tunnel (Fig. 2, Ref. 4), wherein projected lighting forms alternating light and dark geometric patterns (See Page 6) on the plurality of vehicle surfaces (Fig. 1, Ref. 5) wherein widths of the plurality of gaps (dark lines) are determined based on an inverse relationship with the frame rate of the camera (Fig. 2, Ref. 10; It is known that the gaps are within the frame rate of the camera to ensure the pattern are captured clearly and consistently across multiple vehicle surfaces); wherein a plurality of vehicle tunnel cameras (Fig. 2, Ref. 10) are configured to capture a plurality of vehicle surface (Fig. 1, Ref. 5) images when illuminated by the plurality of uniform lighting pattern panels (Fig. 2, Ref. 8a-8c) with the plurality of gaps (See Fig. 2), wherein the plurality of vehicle surface images are analyzed to detect vehicle imperfections (See Page 7).
DE 10 2017 210 558 B3 substantially teaches the claimed invention except that it does not show a camera having a frame rate of more than 120 frames per second. CN 102680487 shows that it is known to provide a camera having a frame rate of more than 120 frames per second (See Page 4 of translation) for projection of striped lighting on car body parts. It would have been obvious to modify the device of DE 10 2017 210 558 B3 with the frame rate of CN 102680487 before the effective filing date of the claimed invention for the purpose of providing clear, high-fidelity capture of fast-moving patterns, enables real-time defect detection, and maintains precise synchronization between the projector and camera. This combination is critical for accurate, reliable, and high-speed inspection in industrial and quality control applications.
Claim 14
CN 102680487 when modified by DE 10 2017 210 558 B3 discloses the claimed invention except for widths of the plurality of gaps are determined based on the frame rate, lighting intensity, and a sensor size and resolution of the camera. It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the effective filing date of the claimed invention was made to modify DE 10 2017 210 558 B3 and CN 102680487 with the width of the gaps since it was well known in the art that the gap is set so that the lack of light reflection is confined between edges that do reflect light. This ensures that the edge recognition algorithm can accurately locate the gap boundaries which ensures that the imaging system can accurately capture and measure the gaps without motion blur. The examiner takes Official Notice that the elements listed above are well-known, or to be common knowledge in the art are capable of instant and unquestionable demonstration as being well-known.
Claims 15-17
DE 10 2017 210 558 B3 when modified with CN 102680487 discloses the claimed invention except for narrow gaps are used to detect fine scratches, paint chips, and minor dents; narrow gaps are between .25cm to .95cm; the plurality of gaps are configured to have varying widths to aid in detecting different types of defects. It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the effective filing date of the claimed invention was made to modify DE 10 2017 210 558 B3 and CN 102680487 with the different gap sizes since it was well known in the art that narrow gaps are used because they are sensitive enough to detect very small surface defects, and varying gap widths allow inspection systems to adapt to different defect sizes, ensuring comprehensive quality control in vehicle bodywork. Also see WO 2020/025086. The examiner takes Official Notice that the elements listed above are well-known, or to be common knowledge in the art are capable of instant and unquestionable demonstration as being well-known.
Claim 18
DE 10 2017 210 558 B3 when modified by CN 102680487 discloses the claimed invention except for a dark, non-reflective material is placed in the plurality of gaps. It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the effective filing date of the claimed invention was made to modify DE 10 2017 210 558 B3 and CN 102680487 with the non-reflective material since it was well known in the art that the non-reflective material in the gaps acts as a light-absorbing background that reduces stray light, enhances contrast, and ensures that only the intended light reaches the sensors, therefore is essential for reliable, high-contrast defect detection in vehicle inspections, especially on reflective or complex surfaces. The examiner takes Official Notice that the elements listed above are well-known, or to be common knowledge in the art are capable of instant and unquestionable demonstration as being well-known.
Claim(s) 7-11, 19-20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over DE 10 2017 210 558 B3 in view of CN 102680487 and in further view of WO 2002170327.
Claims 7-11, 19-20
DE 10 2017 210 558 B3 when modified by CN 102680487 substantially teaches the claimed invention except that it does not show images captured by the plurality of uniform lighting pattern panels are used to generate a Multiview Interactive Digital Media Representation (MVIDMR); a plurality of MVIDMRs are generated for a plurality of different components of the vehicle; each of the plurality of MVIDMRs is user navigable along at least two different axes; a plurality of MVIDMRs are generated for a plurality of vehicle components including damaged components; the damaged components are navigable along at least two different axes. WO 2002170327 shows that it is known to provide a navigable Multiview Interactive Digital Media Representation of damage to a vehicle for a multi-view interactive representation. It would have been obvious to modify the device of DE 10 2017 210 558 B3 and CN 102680487 with the Multiview Interactive Digital Media Representation of WO 2002170327 before the effective filing date of the claimed invention for the purpose of providing completeness, accuracy, and robustness of inspections by leveraging multiple viewpoints, and interactive data handling. Therefore, making it a powerful solution for ensuring high-quality vehicle surfaces and reliable quality controls.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MICHAEL PATRICK STAFIRA whose telephone number is (571)272-2430. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 6:30am-3pm.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Tarifur Chowdhury can be reached at 571-272-2287. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/MICHAEL P STAFIRA/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2877 July 31, 2026
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