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 02/06/2025 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 § 103
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claims 1-2, 6-7, 9-14 and 19-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Schauffler et al. US PG-Pub(US 20140127646 A1) in view of Taylor et al. US PG-Pub(US 20200121228 A1).
Regarding Claim 1, Schauffler teaches a calibration member(Fig. 1 shows paint or stain color selection device.) comprising an target surface(¶[0042] discloses a viewing aperture is surrounding by color representations around it.) including: a central region(¶[0051], “For the device shown in FIG. 1 through FIG. 3 the viewing aperture is centered in the frame and the frame has a constant width on all 4 sides.”, discloses a centered aperture.) a pair of first patch groups including a plurality of patches that extend in a first direction and facing each other with the central region interposed therebetween (¶[0042] discloses the viewing aperture 12 is surrounded by circular paint color representations 14a through 14j disposed on major surface 11a and distributed around viewing aperture 12. The claimed first patch groups is interpreted as a pair of first patch groups to include color representations 14d-14e (first patch group 1 which correspond to the top side of frame) and 14i-14j (first patch group 2 which correspond to the bottom side of frame). The patches extend in an x-axis/horizontal direction. The first pair of patch groups face each other, and the central region (12) is interposed therebetween.)
a pair of second patch groups including a plurality of patches that extend in a second direction intersecting the first direction and facing each other with the central region interposed therebetween(Fig. 1, ¶[0042] discloses the viewing aperture is surrounded by circular paint representations 14a – 14j disposed on major surface 11a and distributed around the viewing aperature 12. The second patch groups are 14a-14c which are left side of the frame and 14f-14h are the right side and they extend vertically as shown in figure 1.), a blank region disposed between a first patch group and a second patch group included in at least one of combinations of the first patch group and the second patch group that are adjacent to each other in a circumferential direction of the central region(Fig. 5 and ¶[0053]-¶[0054] disclose “rectangular paint color representations 54a through 54f disposed on the front-facing major surface of frame 51 and distributed around viewing aperture 52, interiorly-disposed edge portions 56a, 56b, 56c and 56d defining the perimeter of viewing aperture 52, and exteriorly-disposed edge portions 58a through 58d defining the perimeter of frame 51”)
Schauffler does not explicitly teach an imaging target surface and a figure disposed in the blank region, and the calibration member is for performing, by using the patches, calibration with respect to an image obtained by imaging the imaging target surface.
Taylor teaches an imaging target surface(¶[0055] discloses capturing an image of a subject) a figure disposed in the blank region(¶[0092] discloses fiducial markers are positioned at corners of the frame portions and ¶[0099] discloses horizontal/vertical known color regions run between the markers at the corners.), and the calibration member is for performing, by using the patches, calibration with respect to an image obtained by imaging the imaging target surface. (¶[0097] “When calibration frames are worn, a goal of the calibration data segmentation may be to identify the borders of the colored squares around the frame portions of the calibration frames and/or the reference portion so that the regions of known color can be located and used for color calibration.”, discloses colored squares around the frame are determined and used to perform color calibration and ¶[0103] disclose using a calibration matrix to color-calibrate image data.)
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to modify the claimed invention as taught by Schauffler with Taylor in order to perform color calibration of the image. One skilled in the art would have been motivated to modify Schauffler in this manner in order to facilitate bilirubin estimation, including sensor shields and calibration frames. (Taylor, Abstract)
Regarding Claim 2, the combination of Schauffler and Taylor teach the calibration member according to claim 1, where Schauffler further teaches wherein the blank region is a patch blank region where the patches are not present. (Fig. 5 shows spaced apart color representations where the patches are spaced apart and visual frame portions exist between them)
Regarding Claim 6, the combination of Schauffler and Taylor teach the calibration member according to claim 1, where Taylor further teaches wherein the first patch group and the second patch group include the plurality of patches having different colors. (¶[0093], “In the example of FIG. 4, each frame portion includes regions of the following colors: cyan, magenta, yellow, 17% gray, 33% gray, 50% gray, 67% gray, 83% gray, and black. In some examples, colors may be used which are found on color calibration target cards such as the Macbeth ColorChecker.”, discloses the frames include regions with different colors.)
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to modify the claimed invention as taught by Schauffler with Taylor in order to perform color calibration of the image. One skilled in the art would have been motivated to modify Schauffler in this manner in order to facilitate bilirubin estimation, including sensor shields and calibration frames. (Taylor, Abstract)
Regarding Claim 7, the combination of Schauffler and Taylor teach the calibration member according to claim 1, where Taylor further teaches wherein the first patch group and the second patch group include the plurality of patches having the same hue and different densities. (¶[0093], “FIG. 4, each of two frame portions may include a mirror image arrangement of regions of known color. For example, the same known colors may be placed closest the nose in each frame portion. In some examples, each of multiple frame portions may include a different arrangement of regions of known color…. a frame portion may additionally or instead include multiple gray regions of varying saturation” ¶[0093] discloses the frame portions may have the same hue and different saturations/densities.)
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to modify the claimed invention as taught by Schauffler with Taylor in order to perform color calibration of the image. One skilled in the art would have been motivated to modify Schauffler in this manner in order to facilitate bilirubin estimation, including sensor shields and calibration frames. (Taylor, Abstract)
Regarding Claim 9, the combination of Schauffler and Taylor teach the calibration member according to claim 1, where Schauffler further teaches wherein a color of at least one patch included in the first patch group is the same as a color of at least one patch included in the second patch group. (¶0056] discloses individual paint color representation may appear more than once on a frame or more than once in an array.)
Regarding Claim 10, the combination of Schauffler and Taylor teach the calibration member according to claim 1, where Schauffler further teaches wherein the number of the patches included in the first patch group and the number of the patches included in the second patch group are different from each other. (Fig. 1- Fig. 5, Schauffler teaches the viewing aperture 12 is surrounded by generally circular paint color representations 14a through 14j disposed on major surface 11a and distributed around viewing aperture 12. As shown in Fig. 1, if we take the "first patch group" to include the pair of patches on the top and bottom sides of the frame, the number of patches in the first group is 4. Next, if we take the "second patch group" to include the pair of patches on the left and right sides of the frame, the number of patches in the second group is 6.)
Regarding Claim 11, the combination of Schauffler and Taylor teach the calibration member according to claim 1, where Schauffler further teaches wherein the plurality of patches are the same as each other in at least one of size, shape, or angle. (¶[0042] discloses circular paint representations and Fig. 5 shows that the paint representations are all rectangular in shape.)
Regarding Claim 12, the combination of Schauffler and Taylor teach the calibration member according to claim 1, where Schauffler further teaches wherein each of the plurality of patches has a rectangular shape. (¶[0043] discloses the frame is rectangular.)
Regarding Claim 13, claim 13 is considered an apparatus claim substantially corresponding to claim 1. Please see the discussion of claim 1 above for a discussion of similar limitations. Furthermore, Schauffler teaches a calibration apparatus(See, Fig. 1) comprising: at least one processor that is configured to ([0042] Referring to FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, paint color selection device 10, figure 3 shows a user holding a handheld device which inherently would have a processor.)
Regarding Claim 14, the combination of Schauffler and Taylor teach the calibration apparatus according to claim 13, where Taylor further teaches wherein the at least one processor is configured to perform calibration by using a part of the plurality of patches included in the first patch group and the second patch group included in the image. (¶[0097] “When calibration frames are worn, a goal of the calibration data segmentation may be to identify the borders of the colored squares around the frame portions of the calibration frames and/or the reference portion so that the regions of known color can be located and used for color calibration.”, discloses colored squares around the frame are determined and used to perform color calibration and ¶[0103] disclose using a calibration matrix to color-calibrate image data.)
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to modify the claimed invention as taught by Schauffler with Taylor in order to perform color calibration of the image. One skilled in the art would have been motivated to modify Schauffler in this manner in order to facilitate bilirubin estimation, including sensor shields and calibration frames. (Taylor, Abstract)
Regarding Claim 19, claim 19 is considered an method claim substantially corresponding to claim 1. Please see the discussion of claim 1 above for a discussion of similar limitations.
Regarding Claim 20, claim 20 is considered an storage medium claim substantially corresponding to claim 1. Please see the discussion of claim 1 above for a discussion of similar limitations. Furthermore, Taylor teaches a non-transitory storage medium storing a program that causes a computer to execute calibration processing, the calibration processing (See, ¶[0046])
Claims 3-5 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Schauffler et al. US PG-Pub(US 20140127646 A1) in view of Taylor et al. US PG-Pub(US 20200121228 A1) in view of Fukase et al. US PG-Pub(US 20190132454 A1).
Regarding Claim 3, the combination of Schauffler and Taylor teach the calibration member according to claim 1, where Schauffler further teaches wherein the imaging target surface includes four blank regions each of which is disposed between the first patch group and the second patch group that are adjacent to each other in the circumferential direction of the central region (¶[0042] discloses having a visible first major surface labelled 11a in Figure 1 which shows 4 regions with blank spaces in the corners of the frame.),
However, Schauffler and Taylor do not explicitly teach four figures that are respectively disposed at the four blank regions.
Fukase teaches four figures that are respectively disposed at the four blank regions. (¶[0083]-¶[0084] discloses shape grasping markers arranged at 4 blank regions shown in figure 5b.)
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to modify the claimed invention as taught by Schaeffer and Taylor with Fukase in order to add markers in the blank regions (corners) of the color calibration card. One skilled in the art would have been motivated to modify Schaeffer and Taylor in this manner in order to identify the positions of the corners of the color calibration card so that calculation of correction parameters can be performed, such as a magnification, positional variation, or a rotation (Fukase, Paragraph [0084]).
Regarding Claim 4, the combination of Schauffler, Taylor and Fukase teach the calibration member according to claim 3, where Schauffler further teaches wherein shapes of the four figures are similar to each other. (¶[0042] discloses the shapes of the patches are similar to each other and Fig. 5 shows that the paint representations are all rectangular in shape.)
Regarding Claim 5, the combination of Schauffler, Taylor and Fukase teach the calibration member according to claim 3,
where Taylor further teaches line segments disposed on extension lines of outer edges of the pair of first patch groups and the pair of second patch groups. (¶[0099], “ the same vertical and horizontal axes as where the missing fiducial should be, the corners of the missing fiducial can be estimated by using the intersections of those lines. If there are not enough known fiducials to use interpolation, the known relative dimensions of the calibration frames may be used to estimate the fiducial position.
¶[0100], The positions of the fiducials may be used (e.g., by computer system 106 of FIG. 1) to check the positions of the regions of known color. The relationship between the fiducial locations and the regions of known color may be known. For example, referring to the calibration frames 400 of FIG. 4, the regions of known color are provided along straight vertical and/or horizontal lines between the fiducial marks at the corners.”, discloses the horizontal and vertical lines run between the fiducial marks of the corners.)
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to modify the claimed invention as taught by Schauffler with Taylor in order to perform color calibration of the image. One skilled in the art would have been motivated to modify Schauffler in this manner in order to facilitate bilirubin estimation, including sensor shields and calibration frames. (Taylor, Abstract)
Fukase further teaches wherein the four figures are figures respectively showing four corners of a rectangle that has, as parts of sides thereof, (¶[0083]-¶[0084] discloses FIG. 5B shape grasping markers C121 are arranged and the markers show the four corners of the rectangle.)
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to modify the claimed invention as taught by Schaeffer and Taylor with Fukase in order to add markers in the blank regions (corners) of the color calibration card. One skilled in the art would have been motivated to modify Schaeffer and Taylor in this manner in order to identify the positions of the corners of the color calibration card so that calculation of correction parameters can be performed, such as a magnification, positional variation, or a rotation (Fukase, Paragraph [0084]).
Claim 8 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Schauffler et al. US PG-Pub(US 20140127646 A1) in view of Taylor et al. US PG-Pub(US 20200121228 A1) in view of Klassen et al. US PG-Pub(US 20040165199 A1).
Regarding Claim 8, while the combination of Schauffler and Taylor teach the calibration member according to claim 1, they do not explicitly teach wherein colors and the number of the patches included in one of the pair of first patch groups are the same as colors and the number of the patches included in the other of the pair of first patch groups, and colors and the number of the patches included in one of the pair of second patch groups are the same as colors and the number of the patches included in the other of the pair of second patch groups.
Klassen teaches wherein colors and the number of the patches included in one of the pair of first patch groups are the same as colors and the number of the patches included in the other of the pair of first patch groups(¶[0059] and Table I show columns A-I, and row 1 has 9 patches and row 13 has 9 patches as well with similar colors.) and colors and the number of the patches included in one of the pair of second patch groups are the same as colors and the number of the patches included in the other of the pair of second patch groups. (¶[0060] discloses column A and I are a group of pateches that have the same color value.)
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to modify the claimed invention as taught by Schauffler and Taylor with Klassen in order to have the patch groups have similar numbers of patches and color. One skilled in the art would have been motivated to modify Schauffler and Taylor in this manner in order to have an improved method of creating a tone reproduction curve for an image printing device. (Klassen, ¶[0001])
Claims 15-18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Schauffler et al. US PG-Pub(US 20140127646 A1) in view of Taylor et al. US PG-Pub(US 20200121228 A1) in view of Shigyo et al (JP 2015215291 A).
Regarding Claim 15, while the combination of Schauffler and Taylor teach the calibration apparatus according to claim 13, wherein the central region in the image includes a color forming member, which forms a color with density distribution corresponding to an amount of energy applied thereto.
Shigyo teaches wherein the central region in the image includes a color forming member, which forms a color with density distribution corresponding to an amount of energy applied thereto. (Page 2, Paragraph 1-2 disclose determining a density distribution based on the amount of energy applied.)
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to modify the claimed invention as taught by Schauffler and Taylor with Shigyo in order to measure density distribution based on the amount of energy applied. One skilled in the art would have been motivated to modify Schauffler and Taylor in this manner in order to provide an energy measurement system capable of measuring pressure on a desired point by confirming a wide range. (Shigyo, Abstract)
Regarding Claim 16, the combination of Schauffler, Taylor and Shigyo teach the calibration apparatus according to claim 15, where Taylor further teaches wherein the first patch group and the second patch group include the plurality of patches having different colors(See ¶[0093] for the patches having different colors.), and the at least one processor is configured to perform calibration of a color of the color forming member included in the image based on colors of the first patch group and the second patch group included in the image. (¶[0097] “When calibration frames are worn, a goal of the calibration data segmentation may be to identify the borders of the colored squares around the frame portions of the calibration frames and/or the reference portion so that the regions of known color can be located and used for color calibration.”, discloses colored squares around the frame are determined and used to perform color calibration and ¶[0103] disclose using a calibration matrix to color-calibrate image data.)
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to modify the claimed invention as taught by Schauffler and Shigyo with Taylor in order to perform color calibration of the image. One skilled in the art would have been motivated to modify Schauffler and Shigyo in this manner in order to facilitate bilirubin estimation, including sensor shields and calibration frames. (Taylor, Abstract)
Regarding Claim 17, the combination of Schauffler, Taylor and Shigyo teach the calibration apparatus according to claim 16, where Taylor further teaches wherein the at least one processor is configured to perform calibration by using a part of the plurality of patches included in the first patch group and the second patch group included in the image, the part of the plurality of patches being determined in advance in accordance with a type of the color forming member included in the image. (¶[0097] “When calibration frames are worn, a goal of the calibration data segmentation may be to identify the borders of the colored squares around the frame portions of the calibration frames and/or the reference portion so that the regions of known color can be located and used for color calibration.”, discloses colored squares around the frame are determined and used to perform color calibration and ¶[0103] disclose using a calibration matrix to color-calibrate image data.)
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to modify the claimed invention as taught by Schauffler and Shigyo with Taylor in order to perform color calibration of the image. One skilled in the art would have been motivated to modify Schauffler and Shigyo in this manner in order to facilitate bilirubin estimation, including sensor shields and calibration frames. (Taylor, Abstract)
Regarding Claim 18, the combination of Schauffler, Taylor and Shigyo teach the calibration apparatus according to claim 16, where Shigyo further teaches wherein the at least one processor is configured to derive the amount of energy applied to the color forming member based on the color of the color forming member after the calibration by using data in which a relationship between the amount of energy applied to the color forming member and the color of the color forming member included in the image is determined in advance. (Page 3, Paragraph 3-4, “Subsequently, the image of the ring marker 50 in the captured image and the density value in the ring marker 50 are detected, and the density value is converted into a pressure value. The conversion from the concentration value to the pressure value is performed by a function using the least square method or a conversion table including correlation data between the concentration value and the pressure value. Here, the concentration value may be converted into the pressure value at a point designated by the operator in the ring marker 50. Since the density of the captured image has an error due to the surrounding environment, correction processing is performed by each correction unit as follows”, discloses deriving density and pressure from the image converting the data into a conversion table for image correction.)
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to modify the claimed invention as taught by Schauffler and Taylor with Shigyo in order to measure density distribution based on the amount of energy applied. One skilled in the art would have been motivated to modify Schauffler and Taylor in this manner in order to provide an energy measurement system capable of measuring pressure on a desired point by confirming a wide range. (Shigyo, Abstract)
Claims 21-24 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Schauffler et al. US PG-Pub(US 20140127646 A1) in view of Taylor et al. US PG-Pub(US 20200121228 A1) in view of Tsai et al. US Patent (US 9600878 B2).
Regarding Claim 21, while the combination of Schauffler and Taylor teach the calibration member according to claim 1, they do not explicitly teach wherein the central region is a region on which a color forming member is placed.
Tsai teaches wherein the central region is a region on which a color forming member is placed. (Col. 6, lines 8-13, Col. 3, lines 53-58, Col. 1, lines 38-48, Fig. 5 discloses a specimen test strip arrangement which includes a reaction area 502 and a color calibration area 504. The specimen sample is placed on the reaction area 502. Color calibration area 504 surrounds reaction area 502. Reaction area 502 has a rectangular shape and color calibration area 504 has a rectangular ring shape. See Fig. 5.).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to modify the claimed invention as taught by Schauffler and Taylor with Tsai in order to determine the color of the reaction area under different lighting conditions and also enable correction the detected color of the reaction area to remove the effects of the lighting condition. One skilled in the art would have been motivated to modify Schauffler and Taylor in this manner in order to correlate the color of the reaction area to a value. (Tsai, Abstract)
Regarding Claim 22, it is substantially similar to claim 21 respectively, and is rejected in the same manner, the same art, and reasoning applying.
Regarding Claim 23, it is substantially similar to claim 21 respectively, and is rejected in the same manner, the same art, and reasoning applying.
Regarding Claim 24, it is substantially similar to claim 21 respectively, and is rejected in the same manner, the same art, and reasoning applying.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to HAN D HOANG whose telephone number is (571)272-4344. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 8-5.
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, JOHN M VILLECCO can be reached at 571-272-7319. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/HAN HOANG/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2661
