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 .
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, 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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or non-obviousness.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claims 1-2, 5-6 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over WALLACK et al. (US 2018/0253863 A1; WALLACK).
As of claim 1, WALLACK teaches a calibration method 200 [fig 2] comprising: projecting a first image including a phase shift pattern [figs. 1A, 1B] from a projector 204 [fig 2] onto a projection surface 210 [fig 2]; acquiring a first imaged image that includes the first image and is imaged by a camera (the projected pattern on the plane of interest 210 is captured by the one or more image capture devices 202) [fig 2] [0076]; generating a mask image based on the first imaged image (the 3D range estimation module 220 has computed a set of image pixel element positions and corresponding masks) [0164]; projecting a second image that includes a structured light pattern and is masked by the mask image (blurred image) [0015] from the projector onto the projection surface (the projector is configured to generate a first periodic projection pattern and a second periodic projection pattern, wherein the second periodic projection pattern is phase-shifted from the first periodic projection pattern) [0015]; acquiring a second imaged image that includes the second image and is imaged by the camera (the one or more image capture devices are configured to capture a first image of the first blurred periodic projection pattern and a second image of the second blurred periodic projection pattern) [0017]; and associating coordinates in an imaging coordinate system of the camera with coordinates in a display coordinate system of the projector based on the second imaged image (in order to estimate the 3D range image from information obtained from image capture devices, the structured light system may estimate the correspondence between coordinate systems of the image capture devices and the coordinate system of the projector. The process for determining the correspondence between coordinate systems of the image capture devices and the coordinate system of the projector is called calibration) [0069].
WALLACK teaches all the claimed limitations through prior art knowledge of through a variety of disclosed embodiments. It would have been obvious to those of ordinary skill that the various embodiments and known prior art could be combined without yielding unpredictable results. It has been held that “[t]he combination of familiar elements according to known methods is likely to be obvious when it does not more than yield predictable results.” KSR., 127 S. Ct. at 1739, 82 USPQ2d at 1395 (2007) (Citing Graham, 383 U.S. at 12).
As of claim 2, WALLACK teaches the structured light pattern is a phase shift pattern [figs. 1A, 1B] [0070].
As of claim 5, WALLACK teaches a system 200 [fig 2] comprising: a camera 202 [fig 2]; and a projector 204 [fig 2] communicably connected to the camera 202 [fig 2], wherein the projector 204 [fig 2] is configured to project a first image including a phase shift pattern [figs. 1A, 1B] onto a projection surface 210 [fig 2], acquire a first imaged image that includes the first image and is imaged by a camera (the projected pattern on the plane of interest 210 is captured by the one or more image capture devices 202) [fig 2] [0076]; generating a mask image based on the first imaged image (the 3D range estimation module 220 has computed a set of image pixel element positions and corresponding masks) [0164]; projecting a second image that includes a structured light pattern and is masked by the mask image (blurred image) [0015] from the projector onto the projection surface (the projector is configured to generate a first periodic projection pattern and a second periodic projection pattern, wherein the second periodic projection pattern is phase-shifted from the first periodic projection pattern) [0015]; acquire a second imaged image that includes the second image and is imaged by the camera (the one or more image capture devices are configured to capture a first image of the first blurred periodic projection pattern and a second image of the second blurred periodic projection pattern) [0017]; and associating coordinates in an imaging coordinate system of the camera with coordinates in a display coordinate system of the projector based on the second imaged image (in order to estimate the 3D range image from information obtained from image capture devices, the structured light system may estimate the correspondence between coordinate systems of the image capture devices and the coordinate system of the projector. The process for determining the correspondence between coordinate systems of the image capture devices and the coordinate system of the projector is called calibration) [0069].
As of claim 6, WALLACK teaches a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium 214, 216, 218 [fig 2] storing a program causing a computer 206 [fig 2] to: the projector 204 [fig 2] is configured to project a first image including a phase shift pattern [figs. 1A, 1B] onto a projection surface 210 [fig 2]; acquire a first imaged image that includes the first image and is imaged by a camera (the projected pattern on the plane of interest 210 is captured by the one or more image capture devices 202) [fig 2] [0076]; generating a mask image based on the first imaged image (the 3D range estimation module 220 has computed a set of image pixel element positions and corresponding masks) [0164]; projecting a second image that includes a structured light pattern and is masked by the mask image (blurred image) [0015] from the projector onto the projection surface (the projector is configured to generate a first periodic projection pattern and a second periodic projection pattern, wherein the second periodic projection pattern is phase-shifted from the first periodic projection pattern) [0015]; acquire a second imaged image that includes the second image and is imaged by the camera (the one or more image capture devices are configured to capture a first image of the first blurred periodic projection pattern and a second image of the second blurred periodic projection pattern) [0017]; and associating coordinates in an imaging coordinate system of the camera with coordinates in a display coordinate system of the projector based on the second imaged image (in order to estimate the 3D range image from information obtained from image capture devices, the structured light system may estimate the correspondence between coordinate systems of the image capture devices and the coordinate system of the projector. The process for determining the correspondence between coordinate systems of the image capture devices and the coordinate system of the projector is called calibration) [0069].
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 3-4 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.
As of claim 3, the closest prior art WALLACK et al. (US 2018/0253863 A1; WALLACK) teaches a structured light system 200 which includes one or more image capture devices 202, a projector 204, a computing device 206, and a blur element 208. The projector 204 is configured to generate a binary projection pattern, which is blurred by the blur element 208 and projected onto a plane of interest 210. The projected pattern on the plane of interest 210 is captured by the one or more image capture devices 202. Subsequently, the one or more image capture devices 202 provide the captured image(s) to the computing device 206 to generate a 3D range image. In one sense, a structured light system 200 is a 3D sensor system configured to estimate 3D profile information of a static scene. The structured light system 200 is configured to project a known projection pattern onto a static scene using the projector 204 and acquire multiple images using the image capture device 202. Oftentimes, the projector 204 is configured to project a different projection pattern for each image captured by the image capture device 202. In some embodiments, the projection pattern can be monochromatic. In other embodiments, the projection pattern can be polychromatic. In some embodiments, the one or more image capture devices 202 can include an image sensor, such as a charge-coupled device (CCD) image sensor or a complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) image sensor, a line-scan sensor, a flying spot scanner, an electron microscope, and/or any type of sensor device that is capable of capturing the wavelengths projected by the projector 204. When the system 200 includes a plurality of image capture devices 202, the plurality of image capture devices 202 can be calibrated. In some embodiments, the one or more image capture devices 202 can include a smart camera that has a processing unit and a memory. The smart camera can be configured to process the captured image locally. WALLACK does not anticipate or render obvious, alone or in combination, generating the mask image includes generating an amplitude intensity image based on the first imaged image, and determining a shape of the mask image based on the amplitude intensity image.
Claim 4 would be allowed as being dependent on claim 3.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure:
- Prior Art YANAI (US 20220178681 A1) teaches an identification method including obtaining first information for each of first pixels constituting a first image obtained by imaging the first object with a first camera, the first information related to reflected light from a first object including a body, obtaining second information for each of the first pixels, the second information corresponding to a distance from the first object to the first camera, obtaining an index value as a result of a calculation using the first information and the second information for each of the first pixels, and identifying a first area of the first image corresponding to the body by judging whether each of the first pixels belong to the first area based on the index value;
- Prior Art Chen et al. (US 20210279448 A1) teaches a projector which projects a structured light and an image beam to a feature surface at different times. The structured light forms a structured light pattern on the feature surface, and the image beam forms an image on the feature surface. The camera photographs the structured light pattern and the image at different times. The controller is electrically connected to the projector and the camera, calculates a position of a feature point of the feature surface, and determines a difference between a position of a feature point of the image and the position of the feature point of the feature surface to determine whether to adjust the image beam. A projection method for a feature surface is also provided. The feature surface projection system provides an automatic alignment function between a projected content and the feature surface.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to SULTAN U. CHOWDHURY whose telephone number is (571)270-3336. The examiner can normally be reached on 5:30 AM-5:30 PM.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Minh-Toan Ton can be reached on 571-272-2303. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/SULTAN CHOWDHURY/
Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2882
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