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 .
This is in response to the preliminary amendment filed on 1/17/2025. Claims 1-15 have been canceled. Claims 16-35 have been added. Claims 16-35 are present for examination.
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 § 2146 et seq. 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 filing of a terminal disclaimer by itself is not a complete reply to a nonstatutory double patenting (NSDP) rejection. A complete reply requires that the terminal disclaimer be accompanied by a reply requesting reconsideration of the prior Office action. Even where the NSDP rejection is provisional the reply must be complete. See MPEP § 804, subsection I.B.1. For a reply to a non-final Office action, see 37 CFR 1.111(a). For a reply to final Office action, see 37 CFR 1.113(c). A request for reconsideration while not provided for in 37 CFR 1.113(c) may be filed after final for consideration. See MPEP §§ 706.07(e) and 714.13.
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Claims 16-35 are rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claims 1-20 of U.S. Patent No. 12,229,880.
19/028,347 claims
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19/028,347 Claim 16
12,229,880 Claim 1
A method for rendering a relighted 3D image, the method comprising:
A method for rendering a relighted 3D portrait, the method comprising:
capturing a sequence of frames via a camera;
capturing a sequence of frames by a camera with a blinking flash while moving the camera around a person;
obtaining a 3D information based on the sequence of frames;
generating a 3D point cloud based on the sequence of frames;
receiving an input regarding a camera viewpoint and lighting conditions;
receiving an input defining a camera viewpoint and lighting conditions;
obtaining feature information regarding the 3D information for the camera viewpoint;
obtaining feature information regarding the 3D point cloud for the camera viewpoint;
obtaining, via a neural network, at least one 2D image for the camera viewpoint based on the feature information; and
obtaining, via a neural network, at least one 2D image for the camera viewpoint based on the feature information; and
fusing the at least one 2D image into the relighted 3D image according to the lighting conditions.
fusing the at least one 2D image into the relighted 3D portrait according to the lighting conditions.
Although the claims at issue are not identical, they are not patentably distinct from each other because 12,229,880 Claim 1 teaches all the limitations of claim 16 of the current application.
Claims 16-35 are rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claims 1-15 of U.S. Patent No. 11,823,327.
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19/028,347 Claim 16
11,823,327 Claim 1
A method for rendering a relighted 3D image, the method comprising:
A method for rendering a relighted 3D portrait, the method comprising:
capturing a sequence of frames via a camera; obtaining a 3D information based on the sequence of frames; receiving an input regarding a camera viewpoint and lighting conditions; obtaining feature information regarding the 3D information for the camera viewpoint;
receiving an input defining a camera viewpoint and lighting conditions, rasterizing latent descriptors of a 3D point cloud at different resolutions based on the camera viewpoint to obtain rasterized images, wherein the 3D point cloud is generated based on a sequence of images captured by a camera with a blinking flash while moving the camera at least partly around an upper body of a person, the sequence of images comprising a set of flash images and a set of no-flash images,
obtaining, via a neural network, at least one 2D image for the camera viewpoint based on the feature information; and
processing the rasterized images with a deep neural network to predict albedo, normals, environmental shadow maps, and segmentation mask for the received camera viewpoint, and
fusing the at least one 2D image into the relighted 3D image according to the lighting conditions.
fusing the predicted albedo, normals, environmental shadow maps, and segmentation mask into a relighted 3D portrait based on the lighting conditions.
Although the claims at issue are not identical, they are not patentably distinct from each other because 11,823,327 Claim 1 teaches all the limitations of claim 16 of the current application. For example, 11,823,327 Claim 1 recites “rasterizing latent descriptors of a 3D point cloud at different resolutions based on the camera viewpoint to obtain rasterized images, wherein the 3D point cloud is generated based on a sequence of images captured by a camera…” The 3D point cloud can correspond to the 3D information recited in claim 16 of the current application, and the rasterized images can correspond to feature information regarding the 3D information for the camera viewpoint recited in claim 16 of the current application. Also, the step of “fusing the predicted albedo, normal, environmental shadow maps, and segmentation masks into a relighted 3D portrait based on the lighting conditions” recited in 11,823,327 Claim 1 can correspond to “fusing the at least one 2D image into the relighted 3D portrait according to the lighting conditions” recited in claim 16 of the current application because the maps and segmentation masks are obtained with a deep neural network and can include at least one 2D image. In fact, claim 17 of the current application further limits the at least one 2D image to include at least one of such maps and segmentation masks.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 16-35 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Regarding claim 16, it recites A method for rendering a relighted 3D image, the method comprising: capturing a sequence of frames via a camera; obtaining a 3D information based on the sequence of frames; receiving an input regarding a camera viewpoint and lighting conditions; obtaining feature information regarding the 3D information for the camera viewpoint; obtaining, via a neural network, at least one 2D image for the camera viewpoint based on the feature information; and fusing the at least one 2D image into the relighted 3D image according to the lighting conditions.
It is not clear where “the relighted 3D image” comes from. The only other place mentions “a relighted 3D image” is the preamble, i.e., “A method for rendering a relighted 3D image”. However, throughout the claim limitations, nowhere discloses how a relighted 3D image is obtained so that the at least one 2D image can be fused into the relighted 3D image. For rendering a relighted 3D image, there should be an original 3D image before the relighting. However, the claim is silent on how “the relighted 3D image” is obtained before the fusing step. It is not clear whether the fusing step is to generate a relighted 3D image or to further relight a relighted 3D image again.
Therefore, claim 16 is indefinite.
Claims 17-34 depend from claim 16 but fail to cure the deficiencies of claim 16.
Claim 35 recites a computer-readable non-transitory storage medium having stored therein instructions that, when executed, cause the electronic device to perform the method of claim 16. Therefore, claim 35 is also indefinite.
For examination purposes, the “relighted 3D image” has been interpreted as a 3D image already being relighted.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 16-35 would be allowable if rewritten or amended to overcome the rejection(s) under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), 2nd paragraph, and the non-statutory double patenting rejections set forth in this Office action.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
Regarding claim 16, the closest prior art references the examiner could find are Chen (Chen et al., A Neural Rendering Framework for Free-Viewpoint Relighting), US Patent Publication No. 2013/0286161 to Lv et al., and Nam (Nam et al., Practical SVBRDF Acquisition of 3D Objects with Unstructured Flash Photography, which disclose A method for rendering a relighted 3D image (Chen, Abstract), the method comprising: capturing a sequence of frames via a camera (Lv, Fig. 1, a sequence of frames at positions 106.1-106.j, Nam, Section 5, 1st para., obtaining SVBRDF and normal information from input photographs, captured from different light/view directions); obtaining a 3D information based on the sequence of frames (Lv, Figure 5B, the sequence of frames is sued to generate the 3D model); receiving an input regarding a camera viewpoint and lighting conditions (Nam, Figure 6, columns c and d, input is received for a novel viewpoint and novel lighting conditions); obtaining feature information regarding the 3D information for the camera viewpoint (Chen, Figure 2, obtaining normal map from 3D mesh of a view direction); obtaining, via a neural network, at least one 2D image for the camera viewpoint based on the feature information (Chen, Figure 2, obtaining normal map for the view direction as a 2D image with a Global Geometric Feature Extractor neural network).
However, none of the prior art references, alone or in combination, discloses fusing the at least one 2D image into the relighted 3D image according to the lighting conditions.
Claims 17-34 depend from claim 16 with respective additional limitations. Claim 35 recites a computer-readable non-transitory storage medium having stored therein instructions that, when executed, cause the electronic device to perform the method of claim 16.
Therefore, claims 16-35 are allowable over prior arts.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
US Patent Publication No. 20170084068 A1 to Son et al., which discloses a method for adjusting brightness of an image by extracting feature points of object from input image, matching object model to object based on extracted feature points, generating surface normal map and shadow information based on the object model, and applying shadow information to input image.
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/HAIXIA DU/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2611
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