DETAILED ACTION
1. This Office Action is sent in response to Applicant’s communication received on 01/24/2025 for application number 19/036,730. The Office herby acknowledges receipt of the following and placed of record in file: Specification, Drawings, Abstract, Oath/Declaration, and claims.
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
2. The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Preliminary Amendments
3. The preliminary amendments filed 04/10/2025 has been entered and made of record.
Double Patenting
4. 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).
5. `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 §§ 706.02(l)(1) - 706.02(l)(3) 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).
6. The USPTO Internet website contains terminal disclaimer forms which may be used. Please visit www.uspto.gov/patent/patents-forms. The filing date of the application in which the form is filed determines what form (e.g., PTO/SB/25, PTO/SB/26, PTO/AIA /25, or PTO/AIA /26) should be used. A web-based eTerminal Disclaimer may be filled out completely online using web-screens. An eTerminal Disclaimer that meets all requirements is auto-processed and approved immediately upon submission. For more information about eTerminal Disclaimers, refer to www.uspto.gov/patents/process/file/efs/guidance/eTD-info-I.jsp.
7. Claims 21, 31 and 35 are rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claims 1-20 of U.S. Patent No. 12,212,823. Although the claims at issue are not identical, they are not patentably distinct from each other: Table 1 shows comparison between the instant claims and the U.S. Patent 12,212,823 B1 claims.
Application: 19/036,730:
Re. Claim(s) 21, 31 and 35 An image capture device, comprising: a first image sensor;
a second image sensor;
a processor;
and a memory including instructions executable by the processor to: obtain, for the first image sensor, first inputs including first local luminance shading (LLS) radial profile information and first LLS and local exposure compensation (LEC) map information;
obtain, for the second image sensor, second inputs including second LLS radial profile information and second LLS and LEC map information;
determine, based on the first inputs and the second inputs, an average global luminance value for a spherical image;
update first auto exposure configurations of the first image sensor and second auto exposure configurations of the second image sensor according to the average global luminance value; and produce the spherical image using the updated first auto exposure configurations and the updated second auto exposure configurations.
Patent No.: 12,212,823:
1. An image capture device, comprising: a first image sensor;
a second image sensor;
a processor;
and a memory including instructions executable by the processor to produce a spherical image using the first image sensor and the second image sensor, wherein the instructions include instructions to: obtain a first image using the first image sensor and a second image using the second image sensor; obtain auto exposure control statistics for the first and second images;
determine luminance values for the first and second images using the auto exposure control statistics;
determine an average global luminance value for the spherical image to produce using the luminance values;
determine delta luminance values for the first and second images using the average global luminance value;
update the first and second images using the delta luminance values;
and produce the spherical image using the updated first and second images.
Allowable Subject Matter
8. Claim 21-40 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 HOWARD D BROWN JR whose telephone number is (571)272-4371. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday 7:30AM - 5:00PM EST.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Sathyanarayanan Perungavoor can be reached at 5712727455. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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HOWARD D. BROWN JR
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 2488
/HOWARD D BROWN JR/Examiner, Art Unit 2488