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 .
DETAILED ACTION
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 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.
(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.
Claims 1-2, 5-6, 9-11, 16-17 and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Strandborg et al (2023/0108922).
Consider claims 1 and 16, Strandborg et al teach a method and system, comprising: receiving, by a first host, image data based on a first image of an object captured by a first device in a first pose relative to the first host (par. 0149; “At step 302, a plurality of visible-light images of a real-world environment captured by at least one visible-light camera of the host device are received from a host device”); generating frame data representing an image frame, the frame data being based on the image data and the first pose relative to the first host (par. 0149; “the plurality of visible-light images are processed to generate a three-dimensional environment model of the real-world environment, wherein the three-dimensional environment model is generated in a global coordinate space”; and transmitting the frame data to a second host configured to define a second image of the object from a perspective of a second device situated at a second pose relative to the first host (par. 0149; “At step 308, the three-dimensional environment model is utilised to generate at least one reconstructed image and at least one reconstructed depth map from a perspective of the given pose of the client device. At 310, a position of each pixel of the at least one reconstructed image in the global coordinate space is determined, based on the at least one reconstructed depth map and the given pose of the client device. At 312, at least one current visible-light image of the real-world environment captured by the at least one visible-light camera or at least one other visible-light camera of the host device is received from the host device. At step 314, information indicative of a current pose of the host device from which the at least one current visible-light image is captured, is received from the host device, or the current pose of the host device from which the at least one current visible-light image is captured, is determined from the at least one current visible-light image and the three-dimensional environment model, wherein the current pose of the host device is in the global coordinate space”; i.e., the data from 2 or more camera are used to reconstruct 3D images).
Consider claim 2, Strandborg et al teach wherein the first image of the object includes a plurality of pixels; and wherein the image data includes a texture embedding based on the plurality of pixels, the texture embedding representing a texture of the object, the texture embedding including a vector of numbers representing the plurality of pixels (par. 0003; 0112; “the plurality of visible-light images (used to generate the 3D environment model) may comprise a visible-light image that represents a lamp in an off state present in the first real-world environment. Herein, when the at least one reconstructed image is generated using the 3D model, initial pixel values of pixels in the at least one reconstructed image corresponding to the lamp in the off state may be ‘710’ and such pixels would have a ‘beige’ colour. Further, the at least one current visible-light image may represent the same lamp in an on state present in the first real-world environment. Pixel values of pixels in the at least one current visible-light image corresponding to the lamp in the on state may be ‘510’ and such pixels would have a ‘yellow’ colour. In such a case, the initial pixel values of the pixels in the at least one reconstructed image are replaced with the pixel values of the pixels in the at least one current visible-light image”).
Consider claim 5, Strandborg et al teach wherein generating the frame data includes: reconstructing the first image of the object using the image data to form a reconstructed image of the object; and producing the frame data by compressing the reconstructed image of the object and data representing the first pose at which the first device is situated relative to the first host (par. 0088-0090; “It will be appreciated that each pixel of the at least one reconstructed image corresponds to a 3D real-world point or a 3D real-world region of the first real-world environment. In this regard, the at least one server is configured to utilize the given pose of the client device (from a perspective with which the real objects are visible in the at least one reconstructed image) and the at least one reconstructed depth map (which represents the optical depths of the real objects in the at least one reconstructed image from the perspective of the given pose of the client device), to ascertain the position of each pixel of the least one reconstructed image in the global coordinate space”).
Consider claim 6, Strandborg et al teach further comprising: determining the first pose at which the first device is situated relative to the first host (par. 0078; “Optionally, the at least one server is configured to process the information indicative of the given pose of the given device for determining the given pose of the given device in the global coordinate space, wherein the information indicative of the given pose of the given device comprises pose-tracking data of the given device”).
Consider claim 9, Strandborg et al teach wherein the image data is device image data and the first image is a device image, wherein the method further comprises generating host image data based on a host image of the object captured by the first host; and wherein the frame data is further based on the host image data (par. 0149; “a plurality of visible-light images of a real-world environment captured by at least one visible-light camera of the host device are received from a host device. At step 304, the plurality of visible-light images are processed to generate a three-dimensional environment model of the real-world environment, wherein the three-dimensional environment model is generated in a global coordinate space. At step 306, information indicative of a given pose of the client device in the global coordinate space, is received from a client device”).
Consider claim 10, Strandborg et al inherently teach further comprising: sending a preamble to the first device, the preamble including instructions for the first device to send the image data to the first host, wherein the image data is received after the preamble is sent to the first device (par. 0148; “The system 200 is communicably coupled to a host device 206 and a client device 208. At step S2.1, the host device 206 sends a plurality of visible-light images of a real-world environment captured by at least one visible-light camera (depicted as two visible-light cameras 210 and 212) of the host device 206, to the server 202. At step S2.2, the server 202 processes the plurality of visible-light images to generate a three-dimensional (3D) environment model 214 of the real-world environment, wherein the 3D environment model 214 is generated in a global coordinate space. At step S2.3, the client device 208 (or in particular, a pose-tracking means 216 of the client device 208) sends, to the server 204, information indicative of a given pose of the client device 208 in the global coordinate space”; inherent as cameras, host and server utilize instructions/messages/communication protocol (i.e., preamble) to for communications between devices).
Consider claims 11 and 20, Strandborg et al inherently teach further comprising: receiving a response to the preamble identifying the first device, wherein the frame data is generated in response to receipt of the response to the preamble (par. 0148; “The system 200 is communicably coupled to a host device 206 and a client device 208. At step S2.1, the host device 206 sends a plurality of visible-light images of a real-world environment captured by at least one visible-light camera (depicted as two visible-light cameras 210 and 212) of the host device 206, to the server 202. At step S2.2, the server 202 processes the plurality of visible-light images to generate a three-dimensional (3D) environment model 214 of the real-world environment, wherein the 3D environment model 214 is generated in a global coordinate space. At step S2.3, the client device 208 (or in particular, a pose-tracking means 216 of the client device 208) sends, to the server 204, information indicative of a given pose of the client device 208 in the global coordinate space”; inherent as cameras, host and server utilize instructions/messages/communication protocol (i.e., preamble) to for communications between devices).
Consider claim 17, Strandborg et al teach wherein the second device is the first host (par. 0148; “a plurality of visible-light images of a real-world environment captured by at least one visible-light camera of the host device are received from a host device”).
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 of this title, 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 15 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Strandborg et al (2023/0108922) in view of Sony Corporation (WO 2018/016316 A1 with English translation).
Consider claim 15, Strandborg et al suggested that the image generation and processing system applicable in technologies such as immersive extended-reality (XR) technologies which are being employed in various fields such as entertainment, real estate, training, medical imaging operations, simulators, navigation, and the like but did not explicitly suggest wherein the second host includes a telepresence videoconferencing system. In the same filed of endeavor, Sony Corporation suggested image processing device and method applicable to telepresence system (see technical field). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of the ordinary skills in the art before the effective filing date to incorporate the teaching of Sony Corporation into view of Strandborg et al in order to improve quality of image in various technologies such as telepresence.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 3-4, 7-8, 12-14 and 18-19 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.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
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/Quoc D Tran/
Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2691
October 7, 2026
