DETAILED ACTION
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA . Claims 1-20 are pending under this Office action.
Double Patenting
The nonstatutory double patenting rejection is based on a judicially created doctrine grounded in public policy (a policy reflected in the statute) so as to prevent the unjustified or improper timewise extension of the “right to exclude” granted by a patent and to prevent possible harassment by multiple assignees. A nonstatutory double patenting rejection is appropriate where the conflicting claims are not identical, but at least one examined application claim is not patentably distinct from the reference claim(s) because the examined application claim is either anticipated by, or would have been obvious over, the reference claim(s). See, e.g., In re Berg, 140 F.3d 1428, 46 USPQ2d 1226 (Fed. Cir. 1998); In re Goodman, 11 F.3d 1046, 29 USPQ2d 2010 (Fed. Cir. 1993); In re Longi, 759 F.2d 887, 225 USPQ 645 (Fed. Cir. 1985); In re Van Ornum, 686 F.2d 937, 214 USPQ 761 (CCPA 1982); In re Vogel, 422 F.2d 438, 164 USPQ 619 (CCPA 1970); In re Thorington, 418 F.2d 528, 163 USPQ 644 (CCPA 1969).
A timely filed terminal disclaimer in compliance with 37 CFR 1.321(c) or 1.321(d) may be used to overcome an actual or provisional rejection based on nonstatutory double patenting provided the reference application or patent either is shown to be commonly owned with the examined application, or claims an invention made as a result of activities undertaken within the scope of a joint research agreement. See MPEP § 717.02 for applications subject to examination under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA as explained in MPEP § 2159. See MPEP §§ 706.02(l)(1) - 706.02(l)(3) for applications not subject to examination under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA . A terminal disclaimer must be signed in compliance with 37 CFR 1.321(b).
The USPTO Internet website contains terminal disclaimer forms which may be used. Please visit www.uspto.gov/patent/patents-forms. The filing date of the application in which the form is filed determines what form (e.g., PTO/SB/25, PTO/SB/26, PTO/AIA /25, or PTO/AIA /26) should be used. A web-based eTerminal Disclaimer may be filled out completely online using web-screens. An eTerminal Disclaimer that meets all requirements is auto-processed and approved immediately upon submission. For more information about eTerminal Disclaimers, refer to www.uspto.gov/patents/process/file/efs/guidance/eTD-info-I.jsp.
Claims 1-2, 5-8, 10-12, 15-18, and 20 are rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claims 1-20 of U.S. Patent No. 12,223,574. Although the claims at issue are not identical, they are not patentably distinct from each other because they can read on to each other, see the following mapping table.
Application No. 19/006,615 (Instant Application)
U.S. Patent No. 12,223,574
1. A computing platform comprising:
a network interface;
at least one processor;
non-transitory computer-readable medium; and
program instructions stored on the non-transitory computer-readable medium that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the computing platform to:
receive a two-dimensional (2D) image file comprising a construction drawing;
generate, via a first image processing technique, a first set of polygons corresponding to respective areas of the 2D image file;
generate, via a second image processing technique, a second set of polygons corresponding to respective areas of the 2D image file;
for each polygon from each set of polygons, determine a respective overlap with each polygon from each other set of polygons;
based on the determined overlap between polygons, determine a set of merged polygons corresponding to respective areas of the 2D image file;
cause a client station to display a visual representation of the 2D image file, wherein each merged polygon in the set of merged polygons is overlaid as one of a set of respective selectable regions of the 2D image file;
determine a quantity estimation for a construction project associated with the construction drawing based on at least one of the set of selectable regions of the 2D image file; and
cause the client station to display an indication of the quantity estimation for the construction project associated with the construction drawing.
1. A computing platform comprising:
a network interface;
at least one processor;
at least one non-transitory computer-readable medium; and
program instructions stored on the at least one non-transitory computer-readable medium that are executable by the at least one processor such that the computing platform is configured to:
receive a two-dimensional (2D) image file comprising a construction drawing;
generate, using a first supervised image processing model, (i) a first set of polygons corresponding to respective areas of the 2D image file and (ii) a respective confidence score for each polygon in the first set of polygons;
generate, using a second supervised image processing model, (i) a second set of polygons corresponding to respective areas of the 2D image file and (ii) a respective confidence score for each polygon in the second set of polygons;
generate, using an unsupervised image processing model, (i) a third set of polygons corresponding to respective areas of the 2D image file and (ii) a respective confidence score for each polygon in the third set of polygons;
for each polygon from each set of polygons, determine a respective overlap with each polygon from the other sets of polygons;
based on (i) the determined overlap between polygons and (ii) the respective confidence scores for each of the overlapping polygons, determine a set of merged polygons corresponding to respective areas of the 2D image file; and
based on (i) the 2D image file and (ii) the set of merged polygons corresponding to the respective areas of the 2D image file, train one or both of the first supervised image processing model and the second supervised image processing model.
2. The computing platform of claim 1, further comprising program instructions stored on the at least one non-transitory computer-readable medium that are executable by the at least one processor such that the computing platform is configured to:
cause a client station to display a visual representation of the 2D image file, wherein each merged polygon in the set of merged polygons is overlaid as a respective selectable region of the 2D image file.
5. The computing platform of claim 1, further comprising program instructions stored on the at least one non-transitory computer-readable medium that are executable by the at least one processor such that the computing platform is configured to:
cause a client station to display a visual representation of the 2D image file, wherein each merged polygon in the set of merged polygons is overlaid as a respective selectable region of the 2D image file; and
determine a quantity estimation for a construction project associated with the construction drawing based on at least one selectable region of the 2D image file.
2. The computing platform of claim 1, further comprising program instructions stored on the non-transitory computer-readable medium that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the computing platform to:
receive, from the client station, an indication that a user has selected the at least one of the set of selectable regions of the 2D image file, and
wherein the program instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the computing platform to determine the quantity estimation for the construction project associated with the construction drawing based on the at least one of the set of selectable regions of the 2D image file comprise program instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the computing platform to:
based on the indication that the user has selected the at least one of the set of selectable regions of the 2D image file, determine the quantity estimation for the construction project associated with the construction drawing based on the at least one of the set of selectable regions of the 2D image file.
7. The computing platform of claim 5, wherein the quantity estimation is a labor quantity estimation based on at least one selectable region of the 2D image file.
5. The computing platform of claim 1, further comprising program instructions stored on the at least one non-transitory computer-readable medium that are executable by the at least one processor such that the computing platform is configured to:
cause a client station to display a visual representation of the 2D image file, wherein each merged polygon in the set of merged polygons is overlaid as a respective selectable region of the 2D image file; and
determine a quantity estimation for a construction project associated with the construction drawing based on at least one selectable region of the 2D image file.
5. The computing platform of claim 1, wherein the quantity estimation is a material quantity estimation based on at least one selectable region of the 2D image file.
6. The computing platform of claim 5, wherein the quantity estimation is a material quantity estimation based on at least one selectable region of the 2D image file.
6. The computing platform of claim 1, wherein the quantity estimation is a labor quantity estimation based on at least one selectable region of the 2D image file.
7. The computing platform of claim 5, wherein the quantity estimation is a labor quantity estimation based on at least one selectable region of the 2D image file.
7. The computing platform of claim 1, further comprising program instructions stored on the non-transitory computer-readable medium that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the computing platform to:
generate, via the first image processing technique, a respective confidence score for each polygon in the first set of polygons; and
generate, via the second image processing technique, a respective confidence score for each polygon in the second set of polygons; and
wherein the program instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the computing platform to determine a set of merged polygons corresponding to respective areas of the 2D image file comprise program instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the computing platform to:
based on (i) the determined overlap between polygons and (ii) the respective confidence scores for each of the overlapping polygons, determine a set of merged polygons corresponding to respective areas of the 2D image file.
1. generate, using a first supervised image processing model, (i) a first set of polygons corresponding to respective areas of the 2D image file and (ii) a respective confidence score for each polygon in the first set of polygons;
generate, using a second supervised image processing model, (i) a second set of polygons corresponding to respective areas of the 2D image file and (ii) a respective confidence score for each polygon in the second set of polygons;
generate, using an unsupervised image processing model, (i) a third set of polygons corresponding to respective areas of the 2D image file and (ii) a respective confidence score for each polygon in the third set of polygons;
for each polygon from each set of polygons, determine a respective overlap with each polygon from the other sets of polygons;
based on (i) the determined overlap between polygons and (ii) the respective confidence scores for each of the overlapping polygons, determine a set of merged polygons corresponding to respective areas of the 2D image file;
8. The computing platform of claim 7, further comprising program instructions stored on the non-transitory computer-readable medium that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the computing platform to:
generate, via a third image processing technique, (i) a third set of polygons corresponding to respective areas of the 2D image file and (ii) a respective confidence score for each polygon in the third set of polygons.
1. generate, using an unsupervised image processing model, (i) a third set of polygons corresponding to respective areas of the 2D image file and (ii) a respective confidence score for each polygon in the third set of polygons;
10. The computing platform of claim 1, wherein:
the first image processing technique comprises an unsupervised image processing technique; and
the second image processing technique comprises a supervised image processing technique.
1. generate, using a second supervised image processing model, (i) a second set of polygons corresponding to respective areas of the 2D image file and (ii) a respective confidence score for each polygon in the second set of polygons;
generate, using an unsupervised image processing model, (i) a third set of polygons corresponding to respective areas of the 2D image file and (ii) a respective confidence score for each polygon in the third set of polygons;
(note that if the third unsupervised image processing model is mapped to the first image processing technique, then, it is same as the instant application 19/006,615).
11. A non-transitory computer-readable medium having stored thereon program instructions that, when executed by at least one processor, cause a computing platform to:
receive a two-dimensional (2D) image file comprising a construction drawing;
generate, via a first image processing technique, a first set of polygons corresponding to respective areas of the 2D image file;
generate, via a second image processing technique, a second set of polygons corresponding to respective areas of the 2D image file;
for each polygon from each set of polygons, determine a respective overlap with each polygon from each other set of polygons;
based on the determined overlap between polygons, determine a set of merged polygons corresponding to respective areas of the 2D image file;
cause a client station to display a visual representation of the 2D image file, wherein each merged polygon in the set of merged polygons is overlaid as one of a set of respective selectable regions of the 2D image file;
determine a quantity estimation for a construction project associated with the construction drawing based on at least one of the set of selectable regions of the 2D image file; and
cause the client station to display an indication of the quantity estimation for the construction project associated with the construction drawing.
13. A non-transitory computer-readable medium, wherein the non-transitory computer-readable medium is provisioned with program instructions that, when executed by at least one processor, cause a computing platform to:
receive a two-dimensional (2D) image file comprising a construction drawing;
generate, using a first supervised image processing model, (i) a first set of polygons corresponding to respective areas of the 2D image file and (ii) a respective confidence score for each polygon in the first set of polygons;
generate, using a second supervised image processing model, (i) a second set of polygons corresponding to respective areas of the 2D image file and (ii) a respective confidence score for each polygon in the second set of polygons;
generate, using an unsupervised image processing model, (i) a third set of polygons corresponding to respective areas of the 2D image file and (ii) a respective confidence score for each polygon in the third set of polygons;
for each polygon from each set of polygons, determine a respective overlap with each polygon from the other sets of polygons;
based on (i) the determined overlap between polygons and (ii) the respective confidence scores for each of the overlapping polygons, determine a set of merged polygons corresponding to respective areas of the 2D image file; and
based on (i) the 2D image file and (ii) the set of merged polygons corresponding to respective areas of the 2D image file, train one or both of the first supervised image processing model and the second supervised image processing model.
16. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 13, wherein the non-transitory computer-readable medium is also provisioned with program instructions that, when executed by at least one processor, cause the computing platform to:
cause a client station to display a visual representation of the 2D image file, wherein each merged polygon in the set of merged polygons is overlaid as a respective selectable region of the 2D image file; and
determine a quantity estimation for a construction project associated with the construction drawing based on at least one selectable region of the 2D image file.
5. cause a client station to display a visual representation of the 2D image file, wherein each merged polygon in the set of merged polygons is overlaid as a respective selectable region of the 2D image file; and
12. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 11, further having stored thereon program instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the computing platform to:
receive, from the client station, an indication that a user has selected the at least one of the set of selectable regions of the 2D image file, and
wherein the program instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the computing platform to determine the quantity estimation for the construction project associated with the construction drawing based on the at least one of the set of selectable regions of the 2D image file comprise program instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the computing platform to:
based on the indication that the user has selected the at least one of the set of selectable regions of the 2D image file, determine the quantity estimation for the construction project
associated with the construction drawing based on the at least one of the set of selectable regions of the 2D image file.
7. The computing platform of claim 5, wherein the quantity estimation is a labor quantity estimation based on at least one selectable region of the 2D image file.
5. The computing platform of claim 1, further comprising program instructions stored on the at least one non-transitory computer-readable medium that are executable by the at least one processor such that the computing platform is configured to:
cause a client station to display a visual representation of the 2D image file, wherein each merged polygon in the set of merged polygons is overlaid as a respective selectable region of the 2D image file; and
determine a quantity estimation for a construction project associated with the construction drawing based on at least one selectable region of the 2D image file.
15. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 11, wherein the quantity estimation is a material quantity estimation based on at least one selectable region of the 2D image file.
6. The computing platform of claim 5, wherein the quantity estimation is a material quantity estimation based on at least one selectable region of the 2D image file.
16. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 11, wherein the quantity estimation is a labor quantity estimation based on at least one selectable region of the 2D image file.
7. The computing platform of claim 5, wherein the quantity estimation is a labor quantity estimation based on at least one selectable region of the 2D image file.
17. A method carried out by a computing platform, the method comprising:
receiving a two-dimensional (2D) image file comprising a construction drawing;
generating, via a first image processing technique, a first set of polygons corresponding to respective areas of the 2D image file;
generating, via a second image processing technique, a second set of polygons corresponding to respective areas of the 2D image file;
for each polygon from each set of polygons, determining a respective overlap with each polygon from each other set of polygons;
based on the determined overlap between polygons, determining a set of merged polygons corresponding to respective areas of the 2D image file;
causing a client station to display a visual representation of the 2D image file, wherein each merged polygon in the set of merged polygons is overlaid as one of a set of respective selectable regions of the 2D image file;
determining a quantity estimation for a construction project associated with the construction drawing based on at least one of the set of selectable regions of the 2D image file; and
causing the client station to display an indication of the quantity estimation for the construction project associated with the construction drawing.
17. A method carried out by a computing platform, the method comprising:
receiving a two-dimensional (2D) image file comprising a construction drawing;
generating, using a first supervised image processing model, (i) a first set of polygons corresponding to respective areas of the 2D image file and (ii) a respective confidence score for each polygon in the first set of polygons;
generating, using a second supervised image processing model, (i) a second set of polygons corresponding to respective areas of the 2D image file and (ii) a respective confidence score for each polygon in the second set of polygons;
generating, using an unsupervised image processing model, (i) a third set of polygons corresponding to respective areas of the 2D image file and (ii) a respective confidence score for each polygon in the third set of polygons;
for each polygon from each set of polygons, determining a respective overlap with each polygon from the other sets of polygons;
based on (i) the determined overlap between polygons and (ii) the respective confidence scores for each of the overlapping polygons, determining a set of merged polygons corresponding to respective areas of the 2D image file; and
based on (i) the 2D image file and (ii) the set of merged polygons corresponding to the respective areas of the 2D image file, train one or both of the first supervised image processing model and the second supervised image processing model.
20. The method of claim 17, further comprising: causing a client station to display a visual representation of the 2D image file, wherein each merged polygon in the set of merged polygons is overlaid as a respective selectable region of the 2D image file; and
determining a quantity estimation for a construction project associated with the construction drawing based on at least one selectable region of the 2D image file.
5. cause a client station to display a visual representation of the 2D image file, wherein each merged polygon in the set of merged polygons is overlaid as a respective selectable region of the 2D image file; and
18. The method of claim 17, further comprising:
receiving, from the client station, an indication that a user has selected the at least one of the set of selectable regions of the 2D image file, and
wherein determining the quantity estimation for the construction project associated with the construction drawing based on the at least one of the set of selectable regions of the 2D image file comprises:
based on the indication that the user has selected the at least one of the set of selectable regions of the 2D image file, determining the quantity estimation for the construction project associated with the construction drawing based on the at least one of the set of selectable regions of the 2D image file.
7. The computing platform of claim 5, wherein the quantity estimation is a labor quantity estimation based on at least one selectable region of the 2D image file.
5. The computing platform of claim 1, further comprising program instructions stored on the at least one non-transitory computer-readable medium that are executable by the at least one processor such that the computing platform is configured to:
cause a client station to display a visual representation of the 2D image file, wherein each merged polygon in the set of merged polygons is overlaid as a respective selectable region of the 2D image file; and
determine a quantity estimation for a construction project associated with the construction drawing based on at least one selectable region of the 2D image file.
20. The method of claim 17, further comprising:
generating, via the first image processing technique, a respective confidence score for each polygon in the first set of polygons; and
generating, via the second image processing technique, a respective confidence score for each polygon in the second set of polygons; and
wherein determining a set of merged polygons corresponding to respective areas of the 2D image file comprises:
based on (i) the determined overlap between polygons and (ii) the respective confidence scores for each of the overlapping polygons, determining a set of merged polygons corresponding to respective areas of the 2D image file.
17. generating, using a first supervised image processing model, (i) a first set of polygons corresponding to respective areas of the 2D image file and (ii) a respective confidence score for each polygon in the first set of polygons;
generating, using a second supervised image processing model, (i) a second set of polygons corresponding to respective areas of the 2D image file and (ii) a respective confidence score for each polygon in the second set of polygons;
generating, using an unsupervised image processing model, (i) a third set of polygons corresponding to respective areas of the 2D image file and (ii) a respective confidence score for each polygon in the third set of polygons;
for each polygon from each set of polygons, determining a respective overlap with each polygon from the other sets of polygons;
based on (i) the determined overlap between polygons and (ii) the respective confidence scores for each of the overlapping polygons, determining a set of merged polygons corresponding to respective areas of the 2D image file; and
Claim 1 of the instant application is drawn to a computing platform comprising: a network interface; at least one processor; non-transitory computer-readable medium; and program instructions stored on the non-transitory computer-readable medium that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the computing platform to: receive a two-dimensional (2D) image file comprising a construction drawing; generate, via a first image processing technique, a first set of polygons corresponding to respective areas of the 2D image file; generate, via a second image processing technique, a second set of polygons corresponding to respective areas of the 2D image file; for each polygon from each set of polygons, determine a respective overlap with each polygon from each other set of polygons; based on the determined overlap between polygons, determine a set of merged polygons corresponding to respective areas of the 2D image file; cause a client station to display a visual representation of the 2D image file, wherein each merged polygon in the set of merged polygons is overlaid as one of a set of respective selectable regions of the 2D image file; determine a quantity estimation for a construction project associated with the construction drawing based on at least one of the set of selectable regions of the 2D image file; and cause the client station to display an indication of the quantity estimation for the construction project associated with the construction drawing.
While the exact wordings of claim 1 of the ‘574 patent may not be the same as that of claim 1 of the instant application, but there is no significant difference in scope between the claim 1 of the instant application and the claim 1 of the patent ‘574. Therefore, claim 1 of the instant application cannot be considered patentably distinct over claim 1 of the ‘574 patent.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 3-4, 13-14, and 19 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. The best arts searched do not teach the claimed limitation of “the computing platform of claim 2, further comprising program instructions stored on the non-transitory computer-readable medium that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the computing platform to:
based on the indication that the user has selected the at least one of the set of selectable regions of the 2D image file, cause the client station to present an area callout associated with the at least one of the set of selectable regions of the 2D image file.”
Claim 9 is 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. The best arts searched do not teach the claimed limitation of “the computing platform of claim 8, wherein: the first image processing technique comprises semantic segmentation, the second image processing technique comprises instance segmentation, and the third image processing technique comprises an unsupervised image processing technique.”
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Tiwart, etc. (US 20180075168 A1) and Impas, etc. (US 20210142564 A1).
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to GORDON G LIU whose telephone number is (571)270-0382. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday 8:00-5:00.
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, Devona E Faulk can be reached at 571-272-7515. 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.
/GORDON G LIU/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2618
Prosecution Insights