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 .
An imaging device and an optical axis changing assembly are clearly recited as structures in the specification as an imaging device 11 and rotation drive 63 and base 61 (optical axis changing assembly, figs. 1 and 2) and are not being interpreted under 112 sixth Paragraph.
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) 19 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Aoki et al. (US PGPUB 20120236153) in view of Wang et al. (US PGPUB 20220070357).
[Claim 19]
Aoki teaches an imaging system comprising
an imaging device (camera 11) disposed in a mobile object (Paragraph 45, The camera 11 may be moved in arbitrarily selected manner. The camera 11 is carried and moved on a moving device, such as a car);
an optical axis changing assembly that, when the imaging device performs imaging while the mobile object is moving in a first direction (Paragraph 45, The camera 11 may pick up the image of the object by scanning the object in a direction which crosses the direction in which the moving device is moving. The direction which crosses the direction in which the moving device is moving is, for example, perpendicular to the moving direction. For example, the object may be scanned by picking up images by the camera 11 which is rotated such that a straight line between a sensor of the camera 11 and the object is rotated about a straight line extending in the moving direction), changes an optical axis of the imaging device to state of k optical axes, k being an integer of two or more (Paragraph 45, The scanning linear sensor camera picks up an image of object a sensor that acquires image generation data (camera 21, Paragraph 21); and
a conversion circuit (111, fig. 1) that converts the image generation data based on a predetermined interface or data format acquired by the sensor into image generation data based on another interface or data format compatible with a processor (Paragraph 27, The image acquisition unit 111 uses the data format determination function 1111 to detect and determine the physical wiring from the imaging device 20 based on, for example, voltage fluctuation of the I / O pin of the connector 114 and the image acquisition part 111 determines the data format of the image data from the imaging device 20 from the voltage fluctuation period input into an I / O pin and Paragraph 28, The image acquisition unit 111 receives image data from the imaging device 20 via the connector 114, and converts the data format of the image data by the data format conversion function 1112. The image acquisition unit 111 outputs the image data after the data format conversion to the image processing unit 12 at a bit rate based on the clock signal generated by the crystal oscillator 113).
extending in the moving direction of the moving device, so that the optical axis of the imaging device changes from a state of a first optical axis of the imaging device at a time of capturing a first image to a state of a second optical axis displaced in a second direction intersecting the first direction at a time of capturing a second image, to sequentially change the optical axis of the imaging device in the second direction (Paragraph 66, FIG. 8 illustrates the wall surface 31 and a cross section perpendicular to the X-axis direction of the camera 11. Each time the camera 11 is rotated by .theta.v about a line in the X-axis direction passing through the camera 11, a still image is picked up and the image frame y and the image frame y+1 are acquired sequentially);
a controller (CPU 140, fig. 27) that operates the optical axis changing assembly (Paragraph 119, The CPU 140 is connected with ROM 150 and RAM 160 via a bus 180. The computer 110 is connected with the camera 11, the distance acquisition unit 13, the amount of movement acquisition unit 12 and the image storing device 16. The operation of the entire image processing apparatus 100 is collectively controlled by the CPU 140. The computer 110 performs the normalization process (i.e., the expansion and contraction process and the movement processing) and the combination process described above.).
Aoki fails to teach a blur correction assembly that corrects a blur in the first direction when the imaging device performs imaging while the mobile object is moving, wherein the controller calculates a subject distance from the imaging device to an imaging target region based on an optical axis change angle changed by the optical axis changing assembly, the subject distance being changed before and after the optical axis changes, and sets a blur correction amount for correcting the blur in the first direction, based on the subject distance.
However Wang teaches a control circuit that receives, from an image sensor, a first image of a scene captured from a first location (block 1005). It is noted that the first image can be captured with or without the user actually pressing a shutter button. Next, the control circuit receives, from one or more movement and/or orientation sensors, indication(s) of camera movement subsequent to the first image being captured (block 1010). Then, at a later point in time, the control circuit receives, from the image sensor, a second image of the scene captured from a second location (block 1015). It is noted that the second image can be captured with or without the user actually pressing a shutter button. Also, the control circuit calculates a first distance between the first location and the second location based on the indication(s) of camera movement from the one or more movement and/or orientation sensors (block 1020)(Paragraph 43). Next, a distance estimation unit (e.g., distance estimation unit 726 of FIG. 7) of the control circuit calculates a second distance to an object in the scene, detected by an object detection unit (e.g., object detection unit 724 of FIG. 7), from the second location based on the first distance and angles between the first and second locations and the scene (block 1025). Then, the control circuit causes a lens position to be adjusted to bring the object into focus (blur correction) based on the second distance (block 1030). After block 1030, method 1000 ends. It is noted that method 800 can be repeated for subsequent images being captured as the camera continues to move (Paragraph 44).
Therefore taking the combined teachings of Aoki and Wang, it would be obvious to one skilled in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to have been motivated to have a blur correction assembly that corrects a blur in the first direction when the imaging device performs imaging while the mobile object is moving, wherein the controller calculates a subject distance from the imaging device to an imaging target region based on an optical axis change angle changed by the optical axis changing assembly, the subject distance being changed before and after the optical axis changes, and sets a blur correction amount for correcting the blur in the first direction, based on the subject distance in order to allow the scene to be brought into focus, an in-focus image can be captured quickly without a long delay caused by a traditional auto-focus mechanism.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1-18 and 20 are allowed.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: The prior art fails to teach or suggest as recited in claim 1, “wherein the imaging device is installed with an installation inclination so that a predetermined optical axis among the k optical axes is inclined at a predetermined angle smaller than an optical axis change angle of the optical axis changing assembly with respect to a direction from an installation position of the imaging device to an imaging target region in a plane including the k optical axes”.
Claim 18, “a first mode in which the optical axis changing assembly is operated between a timing of capturing the first image and a timing of capturing the second image and between a timing of capturing an rth image and a timing of capturing an (r+1)th image, after the imaging device captures the rth image, r satisfying a condition that 2 ≤ r ≤ n in a total number n of captured images, and the imaging device performs imaging, and a second mode in which the imaging device performs imaging without operating the optical axis changing assembly”.
Claims 2-17 and 20 are allowed because they are dependent from allowed claim 1.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to YOGESH K AGGARWAL whose telephone number is (571)272-7360. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday 9:30-6.
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/YOGESH K AGGARWAL/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2637