DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
1. The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA . It is responsive to the submission dated 03/20/2025. Claims 1-20 are presented for examination. Claims 1, 15 and 20 are independent claims.
Information Disclosure Statement
2. The information disclosure statements (IDSs) submitted on 03/20/2025 are in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97 and are being considered by the Examiner.
Claim Objections
3. Claim 1 is objected to because of the following informalities: to make clear the claimed invention, the Examiner suggests amending the preamble of the claim in line 1 to replace “A map editing method, comprising” with:
-A map editing method, implemented by a computing device with a processor, comprising steps of-. Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 101
4. 35 U.S.C. 101 reads as follows:
Whoever invents or discovers any new and useful process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter, or any new and useful improvement thereof, may obtain a patent therefor, subject to the conditions and requirements of this title.
5. Claim 20 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 101 because the claimed invention is directed to a storage medium that comprises computer readable storage instructions that covers forms of both transitory and non-transitory mediums.
The original disclosure defines the "storage medium” to encompass an open-ended form of media (e.g., the above computer-readable medium described in the present disclosure may be a computer-readable signal medium, a computer-readable storage medium, or any combination thereof. The computer-readable storage medium may be, for example but not limited to, electric, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor systems, apparatuses, or devices, or any combination thereof. See para. 125 of the corresponding USPGUB application No. 20250299398), which does not exclude ineligible signal embodiments.
According to MPEP § 2111.01, examiner is obligated to give the terms or phrases their broadest interpretation definition awarded by one of an ordinary skill in the art unless applicant has provided some indication of the definition of the claimed terms or phrases. Therefore, it is not clear that the claimed "storage medium” is non-transitory or not, and Examiner interprets the computer-readable storage medium to include any type of medium which includes a carrier wave medium such as signals. Signals are directed to a non-statutory subject matter.
Thus, each of claim 20 of the application are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 101 for being directed to a non-statutory subject matter.
“A claim drawn to such a computer readable medium that covers both transitory and non-transitory embodiments may be amended to narrow the claim to cover only statutory embodiments to avoid a rejection under 35 U.S.C. § 101 by adding the limitation ‘non-transitory’ to the claim.” Kappos 1351 OG 212 (Feb. 23, 2010)
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
6. 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.
7. Claims 1, 3, 6-7, 10, 12, 15-16 and 19-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Tan et al. (CN111617483 A). The full English version of this reference can be retrieved through Shophia search via Questel at Orbit Intelligence.
Considering claim 1, Tan discloses a map editing method (see abstract and para. 2 of Tan), comprising:
displaying a map to be edited in response to a map display operation (e.g., Tan discloses: receiving a map editing instruction, and acquiring a target map based on the map editing instruction., wherein the map editing instruction is an instruction sent by a user to start editing a map; and the target map is a map to be edited selected by a user through a map editing instruction. See paras. 72-74, wherein the acquisition of the map encompasses the display of the map to be edited);
converting a grid map corresponding to the map to be edited into an image to be edited in a preset format in response to a trigger operation for a target control (e.g., the area to be edited is divided into a plurality of sub-areas to be edited, including averagely dividing the region to be edited according to the preset number of sub-regions to obtain the sub-regions with the preset number. See paras. 16-17. In addition, Tan discloses the target map is divided into a plurality of regions in advance, and for example, the target map may be divided into a nine-grid pattern including nine equal-area regions or a twenty-five-grid pattern including twenty-five equal-area regions in advance; and the area editing instruction carries relevant information such as the type and the position of the area to be edited. See paras. 74 and 77, wherein the sub-areas to be edited correspond to the grid map and the region to be edited corresponds to the image to be edited, as claimed);
determining, in response to an editing operation for the image to be edited, an editing region of the editing operation in the map to be edited (e.g., determining a sub-area to be edited in the sub-areas based on the area editing instruction; see paras. 18 and 88); and
determining a target map corresponding to the map to be edited based on editing information of each grid in the editing region (e.g., Tan discloses updating and displaying the target map based on the attribute value adjusted by the sub-area to be edited. See para. 43. In addition, Tan discloses: The map editing method and device have the advantages that … the multiple sub-areas to be edited are obtained… by processing each sub-area to be edited, then the map is updated by processing each sub-area to be edited, the map editing fineness can be effectively improved, … the effect of carrying out processing and effect display at the same time is achieved. See para. 48, the updated and displayed target map corresponds to the determiner target map).
As per claim 3, Tan discloses the grid map comprises at least one grid, and a grid attribute of the at least one grid comprises a grid type of the grid (e.g., the target map is divided into a plurality of regions in advance, and for example, the target map may be divided into a nine-grid pattern including nine equal-area regions or a twenty-five-grid pattern including twenty-five equal-area regions in advance; and the area editing instruction carries relevant information such as the type and the position of the area to be edited. See paras. 74 and 77).
As per claim 6, Tan discloses the editing region is displayed distinctly in the map to be edited, and at least one grid located in the editing region is adjusted to be in an editable state (e.g., Tan discloses updating and displaying the target map based on the attribute value adjusted by the sub-area to be edited. See para. 43. In addition, Tan discloses: The map editing method and device have the advantages that … the multiple sub-areas to be edited are obtained… by processing each sub-area to be edited, then the map is updated by processing each sub-area to be edited, the map editing fineness can be effectively improved, … the effect of carrying out processing and effect display at the same time is achieved. See para. 48. The area to be edited is an area which needs to be edited in the target map specified in the area editing instruction, the number of the area to be edited may be one or multiple, and a brush tool may be invoked based on the region editing instructions; and selecting an area to be edited in the target map through the brush tool. See paras. 78-79).
As per claim 7, Tan discloses the determining the target map corresponding to the map to be edited based on the editing information of each grid in the editing region comprises: in response to that the grid is in an editable state, editing a grid attribute of the grid to fill a data content corresponding to a grid type of the grid; and determining the target map based on the editing information of the each grid in the editing region in response to a target operation (e.g., Tan discloses: The area editing instruction is an instruction sent by a user to begin editing an area to be edited in the map, and the area editing instruction carries relevant information such as the type and the position of the area to be edited …. and the number of the area to be edited may be one or multiple See paras 77-78. Further, a brush tool may be invoked based on the region editing instructions; and selecting an area to be edited in the target map through the brush tool, and the selected area of the brush tool may be in any shape, such as a circle, a square, a rectangle, and the like. .. When the target map has a plurality of areas to be edited, all the areas to be edited can be selected at one time by the brush tool, and each area to be edited can be selected one by one. See paras. 79-80. The editing processing can be performed on partial areas in the target map in a targeted mode. See para. 82. Further, the attribute value of the sub-area to be edited can be adjusted based on the area editing instruction; and updating and displaying the target map based on the attribute value adjusted by the sub-area to be edited. The attribute value of the sub-region to be edited may be a terrain height, a terrain type, a terrain condition, and the like of the sub-region to be edited, which may be determined according to a specific situation. See paras. 92-93).
As per claim 10, Tan discloses the grid attribute comprises a grid type of the grid, and the grid type comprises a passable type, a non-passable type, a wait point type, and a non-wait point type (e.g., Tan discloses: The map editing device provided by the application, through treating the regional division of editing, obtain a plurality of subregion of waiting to edit, the subregion is edited and is handled every to wait to edit again respectively, the processing procedure is by little and big, treat every subregion of waiting to edit and obtain the subregion of waiting to edit, handle the renewal map to every subregion of waiting to edit again, can effectively improve the fineness of map editing. See para. 145).
The subject-matter of independent claims 15 and 20 corresponds in terms of a device and a computer-readable storage medium, respectively, to that of independent method claim 1, and the rationale raised above to reject the later also apply, mutatis mutandis, to the former. In addition, Tan discloses an electronic device, comprising: one or more processors; and a storage apparatus configured to store one or more programs to be executed by the one or more processors to implement a map editing method. See paras. 46-48.
Claim 16 is rejected under the same rationale as claim 3.
Claim 19 is rejected under the same rationale as claim 10.
Allowable Subject Matter
8. Claims 2, 4-5, 8-9, 11-14, and 17-18 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, because the prior art of record fail to teach the method according to claim 1, wherein converting the grid map corresponding to the map to be edited into the image to be edited in the preset format in response to the trigger operation for the target control comprises: in response to that the trigger operation for the target control is detected, creating the grid map corresponding to the map to be edited, and processing the grid map into the preset format; and using the grid map converted into the preset format as a background image of the map to be edited, to obtain the image to be edited (as recited in claim 2), wherein the editing operation comprises an operation of editing a region coordinate in a region selection control and/or an operation of performing a box selection on the image to be edited based on a box selection tool, and determining the editing region of the editing operation in the map to be edited comprises: determining a target position of the region coordinate in the map to be edited, and determining the editing region based on the target position; and/or using a start position of the box selection tool in the map to be edited as a first coordinate of the editing region, using an end position of the box selection tool in the map to be edited as a second coordinate of the editing region, and determining the editing region based on the first coordinate and the second coordinate (as recited in claims 5 and 17), wherein in a process of determining the editing region, the method further comprises: determining grid data in the editing region to provide a message prompt in response to that a total number of grids reaches a preset quantity threshold (as recited in claim 8), and wherein the method further comprises: creating at least one hash table based on a grid type of the grid; and updating a data content in a corresponding hash table based on a grid identifier of each grid and a data content corresponding to the grid type (as recited in claim 9).
Conclusion
9. The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Lin et al. (US 12164032) discloses a method and an apparatus for creating an occupancy grid map, as well as a processing apparatus. The method includes: creating a current occupancy grid map based on a location of the vehicle and a previous occupancy grid map; and determining a current probability that each grid in the current occupancy grid map belongs to each of occupancy categories based on last environment perception information received from the sensors and updating an occupancy category to which each grid in the current occupancy grid map belongs based on the current probability that the grid belongs to each of the occupancy categories, in accordance with an asynchronous updating policy.
10. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to WESNER SAJOUS whose telephone number is (571) 272-7791. The examiner can normally be reached on M-F 10:00 TO 7:30 (ET).
Examiner interviews are available via telephone 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 or email the Examiner directly at wesner.sajous@uspto.gov.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Said Broome can be reached on 571-272-2931. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/WESNER SAJOUS/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2612
WS
07/10/2026
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