DETAILED ACTION
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.
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim(s) 1-4, 6 and 8 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by KATSUYAMA( JP-H1063776).
Regarding claim 1, KATSUYAMA teaches an information processing apparatus comprising:
processing circuitry configured to:
extract an image feature from a character image(Abstract, (b) a black pixel combining area in the document picture is obtained and a circumscribed rectangle is extracted); and
estimate a character string from a writing direction and the image feature(Abstract, (k) the character string direction is decided from thus obtained accumulated total value).
Regarding claim 2, KATSUYAMA teaches the information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to estimate and output the writing direction from the image feature(Abstract, (c) linear density features in the vertical/ horizontal directions of the circumscribed rectangle are extracted), and then estimate the character string( Abstract, (d), and the estimation of the number of character strings in the vertical direction and the horizontal direction is performed from the linear density features).
Regarding claim 3, KATSUYAMA teaches the information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to estimate and output a number of characters from the writing direction and the image feature, and then estimate the character string( Abstract, (d), and the estimation of the number of character strings in the vertical direction and the horizontal direction is performed from the linear density features).
Regarding claim 4, KATSUYAMA teaches the information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to estimate and output a number of characters and the writing direction from the image feature, and then estimate the character string( Abstract, (d), and the estimation of the number of character strings in the vertical direction and the horizontal direction is performed from the linear density features).
Claims 6 and 8 recite the computer method and medium for the apparatus of claim 1. Since KATSUYAMA teaches processors and medium ( FIG. 2; [0016], 3 is a processor, 4 is a processor A memory for storing data, programs, and the like), those claims are also rejected.
Conclusion
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JIANGENG SUN
Examiner
Art Unit 2661
/Jiangeng Sun/Examiner, Art Unit 2671
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