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) was filed with the application on 1/8/2025. The submission is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
Specification
The title of the invention is not descriptive. A new title is required that is clearly indicative of the invention to which the claims are directed.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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 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.
Claims 1-4, 7, 8, 11, and 12 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Shimada (US Patent Pub. # 2023/0247279).
As to claim 1, Shimada (Fig. 1, 2, 4, and 18) teaches an imaging system (imaging apparatus 10) comprising:
an imaging sensor (imaging unit 14) (Para 64);
a plurality of output interfaces capable (connection unit 20) of respectively outputting a plurality of output images based on an original image captured by the imaging sensor (14) to an outside (external device (for example, an external display device or an external recording device))(Para 71);
one or more processors (CPU 24) (Para 73); and
one or more memories (ROM 26) storing one or more programs (programs) which, when executed by the one or more processors (24) (Para 75),
cause the imaging system (10) to
execute setting processing (140) of setting a setting value (magnification and focus) to an area (tracking magnification display function and selects a subject A as a target to be magnified) selected from a plurality of areas (Subject A-F) in the original image (normal live view) respectively corresponding to the plurality of output images (portion (B) in FIG. 2) (Para 81), and
execute adjustment processing (magnification and focus) of adjusting entire of the original image using the setting value (magnification and focus) of the selected area (subject A) (Para 81-85),
wherein in the setting processing, in a case where a transition is performed from a state where a first area (subject A) is selected to a state where a second area (subject B) is selected, a setting value of the first area (subject A) is stored (storage unit 18), and in a case where the first area (subject A) is selected again, the stored setting value of the first area (subject A) is set (Para 90-94 and 186).
As to claim 2, Shimada teaches wherein in the setting processing (tracking magnification display function and selects a subject A as a target to be magnified), a setting value of the first area (subject A) is stored at a timing of transition (defined time) from a state where the first area (subject A) is selected to a state where the second area (subject B) is selected (Para 93).
As to claim 3, Shimada teaches wherein in the setting processing, a setting value (magnification and focus) of the first area (subject A) is stored at a timing (defined time) when a duration of a state where the first area (subject A) is selected reaches a first time (defined time) (Para 93). Shimada teaches in a case in which the selection is not performed within the defined time, the original display is restored (Para 93).
As to claim 4, Shimada (Fig. 18) teaches wherein in the setting processing, in a state where the first area (subject A) is selected, a setting value (magnification and focus) of the first area is stored (storage unit 18) in response to an instruction from a user (user) (Para 186 and 187).
As to claim 7, Shimada (Fig. 3) teaches wherein in the setting processing, a setting value of the first area (Subject A) is not stored while the entire of the original image is being adjusted (in a case in which the change being equal to or more than the predetermined amount has occurred in at least one of the position, the size, or the subject distance of the subject being imaged, the magnification is released) using the setting value of the first area (Subject A) (Para 88).
As to claim 8, Shimada teaches wherein the setting value includes a setting value related to autofocus (auto focus) (Para 73).
As to claims 11 and 12, these claims differ from claim 1 only in that the claim 1 is an imaging system claim whereas claims 11 and 12 are a control method and a non-transitory computer readable medium claim. Thus claim 11 and 12 are analyzed as previously discussed with respect to claim 1 above.
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.
Claim 5 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Shimada (US Patent Pub. # 2023/0247279) in view of Lim (US Patent Pub. # 2019/0035047).
As to claim 5, note the discussion above in regards to claim 1. Shimada does not teach wherein in the setting processing, in a case where it is determined that image quality of an output image of the first area is poor, a setting value of the first area is not stored. Lim teaches a case where it is determined that image quality (image/video quality metric) of an output image of the first area is poor (poor quality), a setting value of the first area is not stored (prevent analyzing and/or saving) (Para 56). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have provided an image/video quality metric as taught by Lim to the imaging apparatus of Shimada, to provide an effective tool to reject images that are very likely to be thrown away (Para 56 of Lim).
Claims 9 and 10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Shimada (US Patent Pub. # 2023/0247279) in view of Cote (US Patent Pub. # 2012/0050567).
As to claim 9, Shimada teaches wherein the setting value (magnification and focus) related to the autofocus (auto focus) includes at least one of information for identifying a target object of the autofocus (auto focus) (Para 73) , information indicating a type of the target object (subject A-F) (Para 81), information indicating an object distance (subject distance) to the target object (Para 112 and 113), information indicating a size (magnification) of a target area of the autofocus in the original image (Para 81), information indicating a color (different colors) of the target area (Para 222 and 223). Shimada does not teach information indicating a texture of the target area, and information indicating a histogram of the target area. Cote teaches information indicating a texture (high-texture areas) of the target area (Para 422 and 427), and information indicating a histogram (histogram collection in specific areas)of the target area (Para 315 and 317). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have provided an high-texture areas and histogram collection as taught by Cote to the imaging apparatus of Shimada, to improve the appearance of the resulting image (Para 7 of Cote).
As to claim 10, Cote teaches wherein the setting value includes at least one of a setting value related to exposure and a setting value related to white balance (auto-white balance) (Para 240).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 6 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.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to CHRISTOPHER K PETERSON whose telephone number is (571)270-1704. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 7AM-4PM.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Sinh N Tran can be reached at 571-2727564. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/CHRISTOPHER K PETERSON/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2637 9/19/2026
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