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 .
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statements (IDS) were submitted on 05/14/25 & 07/01/2025. The submission are in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR § 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
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.
Claims 1-41 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over LAMEGO et al. (US 20230186636, hereinafter LAMEGO) in view of Park et al. (US 20210374426, hereinafter Park).
Regarding Claim 1, LAMEGO discloses a method comprising:
controlling, by one or more processors, each of one or more cameras to capture a respective video stream of a respective area ([0042], FIG. 2 & FIG. 3, Tenant admin user 120 then provides a user input selecting a camera, with a field of view that captures a zone of interest); and
for a first area in a first video stream captured by a first camera of the one or more cameras: defining, by the one or more processors, an entry boundary in the first area on the first video stream ([0042], FIG. 2 & FIG. 3, Tenant admin user 120 then provides a user input selecting a camera selecting a camera with a desired field of view that camera covers an entry/exit zone of the physical facility where the camera is positioned);
detecting, by the one or more processors and within the first video stream, a person crossing from a first side of the entry boundary to a second side of the entry boundary ([0031], FIGS. 1 & 2, AI image/video processing system 130 includes enter/exit event detector 178, line cross event detector 180, direction detector 182; [0033], use definition system 172 to define a line so that when a person crosses the line in one direction, they are deemed to have entered the location, and when a person crosses the line in another direction); and
updating, by the one or more processors, a counter ([0031], FIGS. 1 & 2, AI metric generation system 132 include event count aggregator 186. AI service modules 142 include traffic detection and control component 192, traffic flow (queue) detection and control component 194, dwell time detection; [0045], event count aggregator 186 aggregate footfalls (people count or occupancy of a person) in a zone of interest within a desired timeframe and aggregate line crossing if a line of interest has been defined in the camera field of view).
LAMEGO does not explicitly disclose updating a counter based on a person crossing from a first side of an entry boundary to a second side of an entry boundary.
Park teaches updating a counter based on a person crossing from a first side of an entry boundary to a second side of an entry boundary ([0031], FIG. 2, calculating the number of people in a room from the difference between an entry counter value and an exit counter value with an occupant number controller 230 includes an occupant number calculator 237 and that calculates the number of occupants from the difference between a count of the entering-people counter 211 and a counter of the exiting-people counter 213)
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the teachings of updating a counter based on a person crossing as taught by Park ([0031]) into the imaging system of LAMEGO in order to provide an automated technique for efficiently controlling the number of occupants and to allow a person who attempts to enter a space to be identified through a camera while an entrance is blocked, and the blocking of the entrance to be released to allow the person's entry into the space when the person is a registered person (Park, [0054]).
Regarding Claim 2, LAMEGO in view of Park discloses the method of claim 1,
LAMEGO discloses further comprising: defining, by the one or more processors, an exit area as being on the first side of the entry boundary; defining, by the one or more processors, an entry area as being on the second side of the entry boundary; and updating, by the one or more processors, the counter by increasing the counter based on the person crossing from the exit area to the entry area (claims 26, 29: "defining the selected portion of the field of view of the camera" and "classifying the given event as a zone entry or exit event indicative of a person entering or exiting the portion of the field of view, respectively").
Regarding Claim 3, LAMEGO in view of Park discloses the method of claim 1,
LAMEGO discloses further comprising: defining, by the one or more processors, an entry area as being on the first side of the entry boundary; defining, by the one or more processors, an exit area as being on the second side of the entry boundary; and updating, by the one or more processors, the counter by decreasing the counter based on the person crossing from the exit area to the entry area (claims 26, 29: "defining the selected portion of the field of view of the camera" and "classifying the given event as a zone entry or exit event indicative of a person entering or exiting the portion of the field of view, respectively").
Regarding Claim 4, LAMEGO in view of Park discloses the method of claim 1,
LAMEGO discloses further comprising: defining, by the one or more processors, an exit boundary in the first area on the first video stream; and detecting, by the one or more processors and within the first video stream, the person crossing from a first side of the exit boundary to a second side of the exit boundary (claims 26, 29: "defining the selected portion of the field of view of the camera" and "classifying the given event as a zone entry or exit event indicative of a person entering or exiting the portion of the field of view, respectively").
Regarding Claim 5, LAMEGO in view of Park discloses the method of claim 4,
Park discloses wherein the counter comprises a current population counter, and wherein the method further comprises: updating, by the one or more processors, the counter based on the person crossing from the first side of the exit boundary to the second side of the exit boundary ([0031], FIG. 2, calculating the number of people in a room from the difference between an entry counter value and an exit counter value with an occupant number controller 230 includes an occupant number calculator 237 and that calculates the number of occupants from the difference between a count of the entering-people counter 211 and a counter of the exiting-people counter 213). The same reason or rational of obviousness motivation applied as used above in claim 1.
Regarding Claim 6, LAMEGO in view of Park discloses the method of claim 4,
Park discloses wherein the counter comprises a total population counter, and wherein the method further comprises: refraining from updating, by the one or more processors, the counter based on the person crossing from the first side of the exit boundary to the second side of the exit boundary (Claim 1:comparing a calculated number of occupants with a standard value; and if the calculated number exceeds the standard value, sending an entry control instruction). The same reason or rational of obviousness motivation applied as used above in claim 1
Regarding Claim 7, LAMEGO in view of Park discloses the method of claim 4,
LAMEGO discloses wherein the exit boundary comprises a same boundary as the entry boundary (Claim 26: "defining the selected portion of the field of view of the camera").
Regarding Claim 8, LAMEGO in view of Park discloses the method of claim 4,
LAMEGO discloses wherein the exit boundary is distinct from the entry boundary, wherein the exit boundary is on the first side of the entry boundary, and wherein the entry boundary is on the first side of the exit boundary (Claim 26: "defining the selected portion of the field of view of the camera").
Regarding Claim 9, LAMEGO in view of Park discloses the method of claim 1,
Park discloses further comprising: determining, by the one or more processors, one or more characteristics of the person; comparing, by the one or more processors, the one or more characteristics of the person to entries in a database of persons having previously crossed the entry boundary within a predetermined time period; and in response to determining that the person is not present in the database of persons having previously crossed the entry boundary within the predetermined time period: adding, the by one or more processors, the person to the database of persons having previously crossed the entry boundary within the predetermined time period; and updating, by the one or more processors, the counter based on the person crossing from the first side of the entry boundary to the second side of the entry boundary and based on the determining that the person is not present in the database of persons having previously crossed the entry boundary within the predetermined time period (Claim 10: identifying anyone attempting to enter an entrance through the camera; and if they are a registered person, allowing them to enter). The same reason or rational of obviousness motivation applied as used above in claim 1
Regarding Claim 10, LAMEGO in view of Park discloses the method of claim 9, Park discloses wherein the one or more characteristics of the person include one or more of: apparel worn by the person; hair color of the person; hair length of the person; height of the person; weight of the person; audio characteristics of the person; motion characteristics of the person; and facial characteristics of the person ([0045]; and figure 5: recognizing and identifying a face by capturing a video frame from an input video). The same reason or rational of obviousness motivation applied as used above in claim 1.
Regarding Claim 11, LAMEGO in view of Park discloses the method of claim 9, Park discloses wherein the person comprises a first person, and wherein the method further comprises: in response to updating the counter based on the first person crossing from the first side of the entry boundary to the second side of the entry boundary and based on the determining that the first person is not present in the database of persons having previously crossed the entry boundary within the predetermined time period, updating, by the one or more processors, the database to include an indication of the first person and an indication of a presence of the first person on the second side of the entry boundary; detecting, by the one or more processors, that a second person crosses to a first side of an entry boundary in a second video stream from a second camera of the one or more cameras from a second side of the entry boundary; detecting, by the one or more processors, one or more characteristics of the second person in the second video stream; determining, by the one or more processors and based on the one or more characteristics of the second person, that the second person is the first person; updating, by the one or more processors, the counter; and updating, by the one or more processors, the database to change the entry for the first person to show an indication that the first person is no longer present on the second side of the entry boundary (Claim 10: identifying anyone attempting to enter an entrance through the camera; and if they are a registered person, allowing them to enter). The same reason or rational of obviousness motivation applied as used above in claim 1
Regarding Claim 12, LAMEGO in view of Park discloses the method of claim 1, LAMEGO discloses wherein the entry boundary comprises one or more of a line, a line segment, or an open arc (claims 21-23: "detecting events at the physical facility, wherein the events comprise person count events, wherein the events comprise one or more of: a person entering a zone of interest, a person exiting a zone of interest, or a person crossing a line of interest").
Regarding Claim 13, LAMEGO in view of Park discloses the method of claim 1, LAMEGO discloses wherein the entry boundary comprises a closed geometric shape, wherein the first side of the entry boundary comprises an outside of the closed geometric shape, and wherein the second side of the entry boundary comprises an inside of the closed geometric shape (claims 21-23: "detecting events at the physical facility, wherein the events comprise person count events, wherein the events comprise one or more of: a person entering a zone of interest, a person exiting a zone of interest, or a person crossing a line of interest").
Regarding Claim 14, LAMEGO in view of Park discloses the method of claim 13, LAMEGO discloses wherein the closed geometric shape is surrounding an object (claim 26: "receiving a user input defining the selected portion of the field of view of the camera").
Regarding Claim 15, LAMEGO in view of Park discloses the method of claim 14, LAMEGO discloses wherein the object comprises a piece of playground equipment (claim 26: "receiving a user input defining the selected portion of the field of view of the camera").
Regarding Claim 16, LAMEGO in view of Park discloses the method of claim 13, LAMEGO discloses further comprising: in response to detecting the person crossing from the first side of the entry boundary to the second side of the entry boundary, starting, by the one or more processors, a timer that remains running as long as the person is within the second side of the entry boundary (claim 21: "aggregating the events to identify one or more metrics, over a timeframe, corresponding to the field of view of the camera").
Regarding Claim 17, LAMEGO in view of Park discloses the method of claim 15, LAMEGO discloses further comprising: starting, by the one or more processors, a play timer to detect how long the person is physically using the piece of playground equipment (claim 21: "aggregating the events to identify one or more metrics, over a timeframe, corresponding to the field of view of the camera").
Regarding Claim 18, LAMEGO in view of Park discloses the method of claim 13, LAMEGO discloses wherein the closed geometric shape of the entry boundary comprises a first zone, further comprising: for one or more other areas in one or more other video streams captured by one or more other cameras of the one or more cameras:
defining, by the one or more processors, a respective entry boundary in the respective area on the respective video stream as a respective closed geometric shape comprising a respective zone (claims 21, 26: "receiving, at an edge computing system deployed at a physical facility, image data from a camera deployed at the physical facility, the camera having a field of view" and "receiving a user input defining the selected portion of the field of view of the camera").
Regarding Claim 19, LAMEGO in view of Park discloses the method of claim 18, Park discloses further comprising: determining, by the one or more processors, an order that the person enters and exits one or more of the first zone and the one or more other zones (Claim 10: identifying anyone attempting to enter an entrance through the camera; and if they are a registered person, allowing them to enter). The same reason or rational of obviousness motivation applied as used above in claim 1
Regarding Claim 20, LAMEGO in view of Park discloses the method of claim 19, LAMEGO discloses wherein the order includes a first entered zone and a last entered zone (claim 31: "classifying the given event as a direction event indicative of a direction of movement of a person relative to the portion of the field of view").
Regarding Claim 21, LAMEGO in view of Park discloses the method of claim 18, Park discloses further comprising: determining, by the one or more processors, a number of times the person enters and exits each of the first zone and the one or more other zones (claim 1: calculating the entry counter value and the exit counter value). The same reason or rational of obviousness motivation applied as used above in claim 1
Regarding Claim 22, LAMEGO in view of Park discloses the method of claim 13, LAMEGO discloses further comprising: monitoring, by the one or more processors, a piece of equipment within the entry boundary in the first video stream; and based on the monitoring of the first video stream, determining, by the one or more processors, that the piece of equipment requires maintenance ( claim 35: "receiving a user service zone configuration input defining a service zone in the physical facility").
Regarding Claim 23, LAMEGO in view of Park discloses the method of claim 13, LAMEGO discloses further comprising: determining, by the one or more processors, that the person entered the entry boundary in the first video stream with a particular object; determining, by the one or more processors, that the person exited the entry boundary in the first video stream without the particular object; and outputting, by the one or more processors, a notification to an output device that the person left the particular object in the first area ( claim 21: "sending the one or more metrics to a remote server that is remote from the edge computing system over a communication network").
Regarding Claim 24, LAMEGO in view of Park discloses the method of claim 13, LAMEGO discloses wherein a plurality of cameras are each pointed at the first area ( claim 21: "a camera deployed at the physical facility").
Regarding Claim 25, LAMEGO in view of Park discloses the method of claim 13, Park discloses further comprising: detecting, by the one or more processors, initial facial characteristics of the person in the first video stream as they enter the entry boundary; detecting, by the one or more processors, a change in the facial characteristics of the person in the first video stream as they remain in the entry boundary; and determining, by the one or more processors, that the person is experiencing a change in heart rate based at least in part on the change in the facial characteristics ([0045]; and figure 5: recognizing and identifying a face by capturing a video frame from an input video). The same reason or rational of obviousness motivation applied as used above in claim 1
Regarding Claim 26, LAMEGO in view of Park discloses the method of claim 25, Park discloses wherein the facial characteristics comprise one or more of: a color; a sweat level; and a breathing rate ( [0045]; and figure 5: recognizing and identifying a face by capturing a video frame from an input video). The same reason or rational of obviousness motivation applied as used above in claim 1
Regarding Claim 27, LAMEGO in view of Park discloses the method of claim 13, LAMEGO discloses further comprising: while the person is stationary in a particular spot within the first area at a first time, determining, by the one or more processors, one or more physical characteristics of the person and one or more baseline activity characteristics of the person; tracking, by the one or more processors, activity of the person within the entry boundary while the person is stationary in the particular spot within the first area at a second time after the first time, determining, by the one or more processors, one or more updated activity characteristics of the person; and based on the one or more physical characteristics of the person, the one or more baseline activity characteristics of the person, the activity of the person, and the one or more updated activity characteristics of the person, determining, by the one or more processors, a caloric burn of the person (claim 31: "classifying the given event as a direction event indicative of a direction of movement of a person relative to the portion of the field of view").
Regarding Claim 28, LAMEGO in view of Park discloses the method of claim 27, Park discloses wherein the one or more physical characteristics of the person comprise one or more of: a height of the person; a weight of the person; a guessed gender of the person; a race of the person; and an age of the person ( [0045]; and figure 5: recognizing and identifying a face by capturing a video frame from an input video).
Regarding Claim 29, LAMEGO in view of Park discloses the method of claim 27, LAMEGO discloses wherein the one or more baseline activity characteristics of the person and the one or more updated activity characteristics of the person each comprise one or more of: a heart rate of the person; a breathing rate of the person; a motion speed of the person; and a sweat level of the person (claim 31: "classifying the given event as a direction event indicative of a direction of movement of a person relative to the portion of the field of view"). The same reason or rational of obviousness motivation applied as used above in claim 1
Regarding Claim 30, LAMEGO in view of Park discloses the method of claim 1, Park discloses further comprising: determining, by the one or more processors, one or more characteristics of apparel worn by the person; in response to determining that the apparel worn by the person comprises an employee uniform to be worn by an employee of the first area, activating, by the one or more processors, facial recognition for only the person to identify the person within an employee database. ([0045]; and figure 5: recognizing and identifying a face by capturing a video frame from an input video). The same reason or rational of obviousness motivation applied as used above in claim 1
Regarding Claim 31, LAMEGO in view of Park discloses the method of claim 1, Park discloses further comprising: after receiving explicit approval from the person to perform facial recognition techniques on the person, performing, by the one or more processors, the facial recognition techniques on the person within the first video stream; identifying, by the one or more processors, the person as an approved person to access a locked restricted area; and in response to identifying the person as the approved person to access the locked restricted area, unlocking, by the one or more processors, a lock associated with the locked restricted area such that the person can access the locked restricted area (Claim 10: identifying anyone attempting to enter an entrance through the camera; and if they are a registered person, allowing them to enter). The same reason or rational of obviousness motivation applied as used above in claim 1
Regarding Claim 32, LAMEGO in view of Park discloses the method of claim 1, LAMEGO discloses further comprising: detecting, by the one or more processors and based on the first video stream, undesirable activity in the first area; and outputting, by the one or more processors and to an output device, a notification of the undesirable activity ( claim 21: "sending the one or more metrics to a remote server that is remote from the edge computing system over a communication network").
Regarding Claim 33, LAMEGO in view of Park discloses the method of claim 32, LAMEGO discloses wherein the undesirable activity comprises one or more of:
a presence of a pet in a no-animal area; a presence of a firearm; a presence of a non-firearm weapon; a fight between two or more people; an unusual circumstance in the area; and a person in need of medical attention ( claim 21: "sending the one or more metrics to a remote server that is remote from the edge computing system over a communication network").
Regarding Claim 34, LAMEGO in view of Park discloses the method of claim 1, LAMEGO discloses further comprising: outputting, by the one or more processors and on a display device, a graphical user interface that includes a graphical presentation of the counter ( claim 33: "displaying a user configurable boundary display element").
Regarding Claim 35, LAMEGO in view of Park discloses the method of claim 34, LAMEGO discloses wherein the graphical presentation of the counter comprises one or more of: a textual indication of the counter; a graph representation of the counter over an hour; a graph representation of the counter over an event; a graph representation of the counter over a day; a graph representation of the counter over a week; a graph representation of the counter over a month; and a graph representation of the counter over a year ( claim 33: "displaying a user configurable boundary display element").
Regarding Claim 36, LAMEGO in view of Park discloses the method of claim 1, Park discloses further comprising: comparing, by the one or more processors, the counter to a population capacity; and in response to the counter meeting or exceeding the population capacity, outputting, by the one or more processors and to an output device, a notification that a venue has reached maximum capacity (Claim 1:comparing a calculated number of occupants with a standard value; and if the calculated number exceeds the standard value, sending an entry control instruction). The same reason or rational of obviousness motivation applied as used above in claim 1
Regarding Claim 37, LAMEGO in view of Park discloses the method of claim 1, LAMEGO discloses further comprising: for a second area in a second video stream captured by a second camera of the one or more cameras, the second area being different than the first area, wherein a venue comprises the first area and the second area:
defining, by the one or more processors, an entry boundary in the second area on the second video stream; detecting, by the one or more processors and within the second video stream, a second person crossing from a first side of the entry boundary in the second area to a second side of the entry boundary in the second area; and updating, by the one or more processors, the counter based on the person crossing from the first side of the entry boundary in the second area to the second side of the entry boundary in the second area, wherein the counter represents a total number of people present in the venue (Claim 26: "defining the selected portion of the field of view of the camera").
Regarding Claim 38, LAMEGO in view of Park discloses the method of claim 1, LAMEGO discloses further comprising: receiving, by the one or more processors, a request to add a second camera to the one or more cameras; receiving, by the one or more processors, one or more images that includes the respective area; mapping, by the one or more processors, each of the one or more cameras to portions in the one or more images covered by other cameras of the one or more cameras; determining, by the one or more processors, that a particular sector in the one or more images is not covered by any of the one or more cameras; generating, by the one or more processors, a graphical user interface that includes at least a first image of the one or more images and a graphical indication of the particular sector not covered by any of the one or more cameras; and outputting, by the one or more processors and to a display device, the graphical user interface (Claim 26: "defining the selected portion of the field of view of the camera").
Regarding Claim 39, LAMEGO in view of Park discloses the method of claim 38, LAMEGO discloses wherein the one or more images comprise an aerial image ( claim 21: "image data from a camera deployed at the physical facility, the camera having a field of view").
Regarding Claim 40, System claim 40 of using the corresponding method claimed in claims 1, and the rejections of which are incorporated herein for the same reasons as used above.
Regarding Claim 41, Computer-readable claim 40 of using the corresponding method claimed in claims 1, and the rejections of which are incorporated herein for the same reasons as used above.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Samuel D Fereja whose telephone number is (469)295-9243. The examiner can normally be reached 8AM-5PM.
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/SAMUEL D FEREJA/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2487