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 . 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.
Information Disclosure Statement
2. The information disclosure statements (IDS) submitted on the following dates are in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97 and are being considered by the Examiner: 02/28/2025.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
3. 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.
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.
4. Claims 1, 5-6, 8-10, 14-15 and 17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Xu et al., (“Xu”) [WO-2023160698-A1] in view of Kang et al. (machine translation of CN-111773717-A with citation below, hereinafter “Kang”)
Regarding claim 1, Xu discloses an image recognition method (Xu- ¶0005-0006, at least disclose a dynamic full-coverage path planning method, which includes the coverage status map corresponding to the target area is dynamically updated based on the acquired environmental change information; ¶0065, at least discloses the coverage status map in this embodiment refers to a map obtained by marking the coverage status on a grid map corresponding to the target clean area), comprising:
recognizing an image to be recognized as a first type of grids and a second type of grids, wherein a pixel of the first type of grids is greater than a pixel threshold, and a pixel of the second type of grids is greater than the pixel threshold (Xu- ¶0083, at least discloses the specific implementation of selecting the area to be planned in the uncovered area according to the coverage status map can be implemented as pixel-based. For example, different pixel values can be used to distinguish the uncovered areas of different clean sub-regions. For instance, a pixel value of 225 can be used to identify the uncovered area of the current clean sub-region, a pixel value of 200 to 225 can be used to identify the uncovered area of the clean sub-region formed by removing the second obstacle, and a pixel value of 160 can be used to identify the uncovered area of another uncleaned sub-region. Therefore, the required map area can be extracted based on the pixel values as the area to be planned, so as to perform full-coverage path planning processing on the extracted area to be planned; Fig. 3 and ¶0090, at least disclose In operation S80, the preferred area for path planning is formed based on a grid map […] passable and impassable areas are marked in the grid map […] white grids represent passable areas and black grids represent impassable areas. This application embodiment is based on the input grid map with passable and impassable area markings to perform full-coverage path planning […] passable and impassable areas in the grid map can be marked in other ways, such as filling the grid with 0 to indicate passable and filling the grid with 1 to indicate impassable);
dividing, based on a preset rule, a region consisting of the first type of grids into a plurality of rectangles (Xu- ¶0076, at least discloses In practical applications, the execution of cleaning tasks may follow preset rules, such as being executed in a specified order, that is, after completing the cleaning of one sub-area, the cleaning of another sub-area is executed in a preset order; or it may be executed according to a specified cycle or time, that is, when the preset time arrives or the specified cycle arrives, the cleaning task of the corresponding sub-area is executed; ¶0082, at least discloses environmental change information is the actual cleaning trajectory, the preset triggering conditions can be set to include the completion of the current cleaning sub-area, and/or the arrival of the preset execution cycle, and/or the arrival of the preset execution time. Accordingly, the selected path planning area can be an uncovered area in the coverage status map that conforms to the preset cleaning rules […] the period for obtaining the real-time cleaning trajectory can be set to the completion of a cleaning sub-area, and the trigger condition can be set to the completion of the current cleaning sub-area, that is, when a certain subdivided cleaning sub-area is completed, the real-time cleaning trajectory is obtained to update the coverage status and perform dynamic planning of a cleaning path; Fig. 18A and ¶0125, at least discloses using a rectangle to approximate the coverage area of the cleaning vehicle. Specifically, the rectangle is moved along the coverage path to simulate the coverage movement of the cleaning vehicle on the map corresponding to the target area. The inventors find the white areas that are not covered by the rectangle by blacking out the covered area);
; and
determining, on the basis of the graphical model, a starting point and an end, a target path in the image to be recognized (Xu- Figs. 9A-9B show the graphical model; ¶0092, at least discloses starting from a point on the outermost contour line path (i.e., the outermost ring contour line path), find the nearest point on the next path as the starting point, then start from the nearest starting point, filter forward two positions that are two car widths apart, select a point on the filtered position as the ending position, and use a Bezier path to connect the starting position and the ending position, where the direction of the starting position and the ending position is the tangent direction at that point).
Xu does not explicitly disclose determining an adjacent edge of any two adjacent rectangles as a gateway, wherein the gateway is used to determine whether a target object is allowed to enter a second rectangle from a first rectangle via the gateway between the first rectangle and the second rectangle; generating, based on the gateway, a graphical model, wherein a vertex of the graphical model is the gateway.
However, Kang discloses
determining an adjacent edge of any two adjacent polygons as a gateway, wherein the gateway is used to determine whether a target object is allowed to enter a polygon from a first polygon via the gateway between the first polygon and the second polygon (Kang- ¶0042, at least discloses The target map can contain map cells, which can be the smallest unit of map division, and each map cell can be a polygon. The polygon can be a regular polygon, for example, in a raster map, the map cell is a grid in the map, and the grid is a regular quadrilateral; the polygon can also be an irregular polygon, for example, in a navigation map, the map cell is a navigation grid in the map, and the navigation grid is an irregular polygon; Fig. 4 and ¶0101-0102, at least disclose when the target map is a navigation map, determine the adjacent edges between each region and its neighboring regions in multiple regions; Select an adjacent point from each adjacent edge of each region as the adjacent interface of each adjacent edge to obtain the adjacent interface of each region; ¶0105-0107, at least disclose For a navigation map containing multiple regions, the adjacency edges between each region and its neighboring regions can be determined first. You can directly select a point on the adjacent edge as the entry point [gateway] between regions (clusters). Each area can contain one or more entrances [gateway]. If a region has only one entrance, then that region has only one entrance/exit [gateway] and there are no paths between the entrances […] If there are multiple entrances in a region (e.g., the fourth region), the path between any two entrances can be determined separately. If the two entry points are connected, a path between them can be found (e.g., a second reference path); ¶0124-0127, at least disclose For a navigation map containing multiple areas, you can directly select the entire adjacent edge between the areas as the entry point, instead of directly selecting a single point as the entry point. For a navigation map containing multiple regions, the adjacent edges (common edges) between each region and its neighboring regions can be determined, and the adjacent edges can be used as the entrances to that region […] When performing pathfinding between adjacent edges within a region, the navigation grids contained within the region can be used as nodes, and the common edges between the navigation grids can be used as edges. The path between any two adjacent edges within the region can be searched. This path contains a series of convex polygons (i.e., it contains a series of navigation grids and the common edges between the navigation grids), which can be considered as a path region (i.e., the first path region));
generating, based on the gateway, a graphical model, wherein a vertex of the graphical model is the gateway (Kang- ¶0075, at least discloses A navigation grid is a graph composed of a series of convex polygon nodes. The convex polygons (navigation grid) in the navigation map can be regarded as nodes in graph theory, and the common edges between the convex polygons can be regarded as edges in graph theory. By extracting the complete graph theory model, the navigation map can be layered using some graph theory-based layering algorithms, such as the multilevel bisectional algorithm [Wingdings font/0xE0] a graph composed of a series of convex polygon nodes suggests a graphical model; ¶0105-0107, at least disclose For a navigation map containing multiple regions, the adjacency edges between each region and its neighboring regions can be determined first. You can directly select a point on the adjacent edge [vertex] as the entry point [gateway] between regions (clusters). Each area can contain one or more entrances [gateway]. If a region has only one entrance, then that region has only one entrance/exit [gateway] and there are no paths between the entrances […] If there are multiple entrances in a region (e.g., the fourth region), the path between any two entrances can be determined separately. If the two entry points are connected, a path between them can be found (e.g., a second reference path); ¶0124-0127, at least disclose For a navigation map containing multiple areas, you can directly select the entire adjacent edge between the areas as the entry point, instead of directly selecting a single point as the entry point. For a navigation map containing multiple regions, the adjacent edges (common edges) between each region and its neighboring regions can be determined, and the adjacent edges can be used as the entrances to that region […] When performing pathfinding between adjacent edges within a region, the navigation grids contained within the region can be used as nodes, and the common edges between the navigation grids can be used as edges. The path between any two adjacent edges within the region can be searched. This path contains a series of convex polygons (i.e., it contains a series of navigation grids and the common edges between the navigation grids), which can be considered as a path region (i.e., the first path region));
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Xu to incorporate the teachings of Kang, and apply the common edges between the convex polygons and selecting a point on the adjacent edge as the entry point into the adjacent rectangles, as taught in Xu’s teachings, for determining an adjacent edge of any two adjacent rectangles as a gateway, wherein the gateway is used to determine whether a target object is allowed to enter a second rectangle from a first rectangle via the gateway between the first rectangle and the second rectangle; generating, based on the gateway, a graphical model, wherein a vertex of the graphical model is the gateway; and determining, on the basis of the graphical model, a starting point and an end, a target path in the image to be recognized. One of ordinary skill in the art could have substituted rectangles for polygons, and the results of the substitution would have been predictable.
Doing so would improve map pathfinding efficiency.
Regarding claim 5, Xu in view of Kang, discloses the method according to claim 1, and further discloses wherein after dividing, based on the preset rule, the region consisting of the first type of grids into the plurality of rectangles (see Claim 1 rejection for detailed analysis), the method further comprises:
determining, based on a region of which the area is smaller than an area threshold (Xu- ¶0110, at least discloses based on the characteristics of the cleaning equipment performing the cleaning task, a minimum area value of the cleaning area can be set as a preset area threshold. The area of each contour line region can be compared with this threshold, and contour lines with an area smaller than the preset area threshold can be deleted), a plurality of bridge regions, wherein the bridge region is used to connect two adjacent rectangles without an adjacent edge (Xu- Fig. 4 show a plurality of bridge regions, , wherein the bridge region is used to connect two adjacent rectangles without an adjacent edge); and
determining, upon the condition that there are at least two bridge regions between two adjacent rectangles without an adjacent edge, a bridge region with the largest width as a target bridge region of the two adjacent rectangles without an adjacent edge (Xu- Fig. 4 show there are at least two bridge regions between two adjacent rectangles without an adjacent edge, a bridge region with the largest width as a target bridge region of the two adjacent rectangles without an adjacent edge).
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Regarding claim 6, Xu in view of Kang, discloses the method according to claim 1, and further discloses wherein generating, based on the gateway, the graphical model (see Claim 1 rejection for detailed analysis) comprises:
extracting a gateway from inside of each rectangle, so as to obtain a vertex of the graphical model (Kang- ¶0075, at least discloses A navigation grid is a graph composed of a series of convex polygon nodes [vertex]. The convex polygons (navigation grid) in the navigation map can be regarded as nodes in graph theory, and the common edges between the convex polygons can be regarded as edges in graph theory. By extracting the complete graph theory model, the navigation map can be layered using some graph theory-based layering algorithms, such as the multilevel bisectional algorithm [Wingdings font/0xE0] a graph composed of a series of convex polygon nodes suggests a graphical model; ¶0105-0107, at least disclose For a navigation map containing multiple regions, the adjacency edges between each region and its neighboring regions can be determined first. You can directly select a point on the adjacent edge [vertex] as the entry point [gateway] between regions (clusters). Each area can contain one or more entrances [gateway]. If a region has only one entrance, then that region has only one entrance/exit [gateway] and there are no paths between the entrances […] If there are multiple entrances in a region (e.g., the fourth region), the path between any two entrances can be determined separately. If the two entry points are connected, a path between them can be found (e.g., a second reference path); ¶0124-0127, at least disclose For a navigation map containing multiple areas, you can directly select the entire adjacent edge between the areas as the entry point, instead of directly selecting a single point as the entry point. For a navigation map containing multiple regions, the adjacent edges (common edges) between each region and its neighboring regions can be determined, and the adjacent edges can be used as the entrances to that region […] When performing pathfinding between adjacent edges within a region, the navigation grids contained within the region can be used as nodes, and the common edges between the navigation grids can be used as edges. The path between any two adjacent edges within the region can be searched. This path contains a series of convex polygons (i.e., it contains a series of navigation grids and the common edges between the navigation grids), which can be considered as a path region (i.e., the first path region)), wherein the gateway is a region consisting of the first type of grids and adjacent to an adjacent edge of any two adjacent rectangles (Xu- ¶0083, at least discloses the specific implementation of selecting the area to be planned in the uncovered area according to the coverage status map can be implemented as pixel-based. For example, different pixel values can be used to distinguish the uncovered areas of different clean sub-regions. For instance, a pixel value of 225 can be used to identify the uncovered area of the current clean sub-region; Fig. 3 and ¶0090, at least disclose In operation S80, the preferred area for path planning is formed based on a grid map […] passable and impassable areas are marked in the grid map […] white grids represent passable areas and black grids represent impassable areas; Kang- ¶0075, at least discloses A navigation grid is a graph composed of a series of convex polygon nodes [vertex]. The convex polygons (navigation grid) in the navigation map can be regarded as nodes in graph theory, and the common edges between the convex polygons can be regarded as edges in graph theory. By extracting the complete graph theory model, the navigation map can be layered using some graph theory-based layering algorithms, such as the multilevel bisectional algorithm [Wingdings font/0xE0] a graph composed of a series of convex polygon nodes suggests a graphical model; ¶0105-0107, at least disclose For a navigation map containing multiple regions, the adjacency edges between each region and its neighboring regions can be determined first. You can directly select a point on the adjacent edge [vertex] as the entry point [gateway] between regions (clusters). Each area can contain one or more entrances [gateway]. If a region has only one entrance, then that region has only one entrance/exit [gateway] and there are no paths between the entrances […] If there are multiple entrances in a region (e.g., the fourth region), the path between any two entrances can be determined separately. If the two entry points are connected, a path between them can be found (e.g., a second reference path);
connecting two adjacent gateways and determining a connecting line as an arc of the graphical model, wherein the arc of the graphical model is directed (Kang- ¶0105-0107, at least disclose For a navigation map containing multiple regions, the adjacency edges between each region and its neighboring regions can be determined first. You can directly select a point on the adjacent edge [vertex] as the entry point [gateway] between regions (clusters). Each area can contain one or more entrances [gateway]. If a region has only one entrance, then that region has only one entrance/exit [gateway] and there are no paths between the entrances […] If there are multiple entrances in a region (e.g., the fourth region), the path between any two entrances can be determined separately. If the two entry points are connected, a path between them can be found (e.g., a second reference path); and
generating the graphical model based on the vertex and arc of the graphical model (Kang- ¶0043, at least discloses the target map can be divided into multiple regions (clusters), and each region contains multiple basic map units. For any two adjacent regions among multiple regions, if they are connected, then the adjacent position of the two adjacent regions can be regarded as the region connection position. The connected locations in each region can be the region entrances (i.e., neighbor interfaces) from this region to the adjacent regions. Therefore, each region contains entrances that allow entry from this region to the adjacent regions of this region; ¶0075, at least discloses A navigation grid is a graph composed of a series of convex polygon nodes [vertex]. The convex polygons (navigation grid) in the navigation map can be regarded as nodes in graph theory, and the common edges between the convex polygons can be regarded as edges in graph theory. By extracting the complete graph theory model, the navigation map can be layered using some graph theory-based layering algorithms, such as the multilevel bisectional algorithm [Wingdings font/0xE0] a graph composed of a series of convex polygon nodes suggests a graphical model; ¶0087, at least discloses if a cluster has multiple adjacent clusters and contains multiple entry and exit points, the entry points can be connected within the cluster. That is, the entry points in each cluster can be connected to obtain the connection path [arc] within the cluster).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Xu to incorporate the teachings of Kang, and apply the connection path within the cluster into Xu’s teachings for extracting a gateway from inside of each rectangle, so as to obtain a vertex of the graphical model, wherein the gateway is a region consisting of the first type of grids and adjacent to an adjacent edge of any two adjacent rectangles; connecting two adjacent gateways and determining a connecting line as an arc of the graphical model, wherein the arc of the graphical model is directed; and generating the graphical model based on the vertex and arc of the graphical model.
The same motivation that was utilized in the rejection of claim 1 applies equally to this claim.
Regarding claim 8, Xu in view of Kang, discloses the method according to claim 1, and further discloses wherein the method further comprises:
upon the condition that at least two gateways are within the same rectangle and the target path passes through the at least two gateways (Xu- Fig. 18A and ¶0125, at least discloses using a rectangle to approximate the coverage area of the cleaning vehicle. Specifically, the rectangle is moved along the coverage path to simulate the coverage movement of the cleaning vehicle on the map corresponding to the target area. The inventors find the white areas that are not covered by the rectangle by blacking out the covered area; Kang- ¶0086-0087, at least disclose If there are multiple entrances in a region (e.g., the third region), the path between any two entrances can be determined separately. If the two entry points are connected, a path between them can be found (e.g., the first reference path) […] if a cluster has multiple adjacent clusters and contains multiple entry and exit points, the entry points can be connected within the cluster. That is, the entry points in each cluster can be connected to obtain the connection path within the cluster), modifying the target path to pass through the inside of the same rectangle (Xu- ¶0125, at least discloses using a rectangle to approximate the coverage area of the cleaning vehicle. Specifically, the rectangle is moved along the coverage path to simulate the coverage movement of the cleaning vehicle on the map corresponding to the target area; Kang- ¶0087, at least discloses if a cluster has multiple adjacent clusters and contains multiple entry and exit points, the entry points can be connected within the cluster. That is, the entry points in each cluster can be connected to obtain the connection path within the cluster).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Xu to incorporate the teachings of Kang, and apply the entry points can be connected within the cluster into the adjacent rectangles, as taught in Xu’s teachings in order upon the condition that at least two gateways are within the same rectangle and the target path passes through the at least two gateways, modifying the target path to pass through the inside of the same rectangle.
The same motivation that was utilized in the rejection of claim 1 applies equally to this claim.
Regarding claim 9, Xu in view of Kang, discloses an image recognition apparatus (Xu- Fig. 30 and ¶0177, at least disclose an electronic device for performing a dynamic full-coverage path planning method), and further discloses the apparatus comprising:
a recognition module (Xu- Fig. 22 and ¶0129, at least discloses Processor 61; Fig. 23 and ¶0132, at least disclose the status update module 100 is used to dynamically update the coverage status map), used for recognizing an image to be recognized as a first type of grids and a second type of grids, wherein a pixel of the first type of grids is greater than a pixel threshold, and a pixel of the second type of grids is greater than the pixel threshold (see Claim 1 rejection for detailed analysis);
a division module (Xu- Fig. 22 and ¶0129, at least discloses Processor 61; Fig. 23 and ¶0132, at least disclose the status update module 100 is used to dynamically update the coverage status map), used for dividing, based on a preset rule, a region consisting of the first type of grids into a plurality of rectangles, and determining an adjacent edge of any two adjacent rectangles as a gateway, wherein the gateway is used to determine whether a target object is allowed to enter a second rectangle from a first rectangle via the gateway between the first rectangle and the second rectangle (see Claim 1 rejection for detailed analysis);
a generation module (Xu- Fig. 22 and ¶0129, at least discloses Processor 61; Fig. 23 and ¶0132, at least disclose the status update module 100 is used to dynamically update the coverage status map), used for generating, based on the gateway, a graphical model, wherein a vertex of the graphical model is the gateway (see Claim 1 rejection for detailed analysis); and
a determination module (Xu- Fig. 22 and ¶0129, at least discloses Processor 61; Fig. 23 and ¶0132, at least disclose the status update module 100 is used to dynamically update the coverage status map), used for determining, on the basis of the graphical model, a starting point and an end, a target path in the image to be recognized (see Claim 1 rejection for detailed analysis).
Regarding claim 10, Xu in view of Kang, discloses an electronic device (Xu- Fig. 30 and ¶0177, at least disclose an electronic device for performing a dynamic full-coverage path planning method), and discloses the electronic device further comprising a processor, a memory, and a program or instruction that is stored in the memory and is executable on the processor, wherein the program or instruction, when executed by the processor (Xu- Fig. 22 and ¶0128-0130, at least disclose Memory 60 is used to store executable instructions; and Processor 61 is used to execute executable instructions stored in memory […] the executable instructions stored in memory 60, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to perform the dynamic full-coverage path planning method), implements the steps of the method according to claim 1.
Regarding claim 14, Xu in view of Kang, discloses an electronic device, and discloses the electronic device further comprising a processor, a memory, and a program or instruction that is stored in the memory and is executable on the processor, wherein the program or instruction, when executed by the processor (see Claim 10 rejection for detailed analysis), implements the steps of the method according to claim 5.
Regarding claim 15, Xu in view of Kang, discloses an electronic device, and discloses the electronic device further comprising a processor, a memory, and a program or instruction that is stored in the memory and is executable on the processor, wherein the program or instruction, when executed by the processor, (see Claim 10 rejection for detailed analysis), implements the steps of the method according to claim 6.
Regarding claim 17, Xu in view of Kang, discloses an electronic device, and discloses the electronic device further comprising a processor, a memory, and a program or instruction that is stored in the memory and is executable on the processor, wherein the program or instruction, when executed by the processor, (see Claim 10 rejection for detailed analysis),implements the steps of the method according to claim 8.
5. Claims 2 and 11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Xu in view of Kang, further in view of Shi et al. (machine translation of CN-115829829-A with citation below, hereinafter “Shi”)
Regarding claim 2, Xu in view of Kang, discloses the method according to claim 1, and further discloses wherein dividing, based on the preset rule, the region consisting of the first type of grids into the plurality of rectangles (see Claim 1 rejection for detailed analysis), and does not explicitly disclose, but Shi discloses the method comprises:
determining vertices of rectangles based on the preset rule, the preset rule comprises at least one of reducing a number of the rectangles, increasing an area of the rectangles, or reducing an aspect ratio of the rectangles (Xu- Fig. 18A and ¶0125, at least discloses using a rectangle to approximate the coverage area of the cleaning vehicle. Specifically, the rectangle is moved along the coverage path to simulate the coverage movement of the cleaning vehicle on the map corresponding to the target area. The inventors find the white areas that are not covered by the rectangle by blacking out the covered area; Shi- ¶0005, at least discloses acquiring an image to be processed; acquiring a mesh map and determining the positional correspondence between pixels in the image to be processed and the mesh in the mesh map; detecting multiple initial key points of a target in the image to be processed; determining multiple aesthetic key points that correspond one-to-one with the initial key points based on aesthetic rules; for at least some vertices of the mesh, using each initial key point as a control point and each aesthetic key point as a corresponding control point, determining the final target position of at least some vertices based on the original position of the vertices using the moving least squares method, and adjusting the shape of the mesh based on the original position and the final target position to obtain a deformed mesh map; ¶0007, at least discloses determining at least some vertices based on target and non-target regions in the image to be processed includes: determining the vertices of the grid within the target region of the image to be processed as at least some vertices; ¶0009, at least discloses determining the final destination position of at least some vertices using moving least squares based on the original positions of at least some vertices includes: for each of the at least some vertices, determining the initial destination position of the vertex using moving least squares based on the original position of the vertex; determining the displacement weight of the vertex based on the pixel value of the pixel corresponding to the original position of the vertex in the feathered region segmentation image; and determining the final destination position of the vertex based on the original position of the vertex, the initial destination position of the vertex, and the displacement weight of the vertex; ¶0028, at least discloses the vertices of the preset target key point grid can be stretched to the corresponding positions according to the beautification rules, and the original image can be pasted onto the stretched grid image to achieve the beautification of the target in the image; ¶0047, at least discloses A mesh diagram can include multiple meshes, which can be two-dimensional or three-dimensional. For images that are two-dimensional, the multiple grids in the grid diagram can be two-dimensional grids […] These multiple grids can be any suitable shape, including triangular, square, rectangular, or other polygonal grids […] a grid diagram can divide the entire image region of the image to be processed into multiple square or rectangular grids along the width and height directions of the image to be processed); and
determining the plurality of rectangles based on the vertices (Xu- Fig. 18A and ¶0125, at least disclose using a rectangle to approximate the coverage area of the cleaning vehicle. Specifically, the rectangle is moved along the coverage path to simulate the coverage movement of the cleaning vehicle on the map corresponding to the target area. The inventors find the white areas that are not covered by the rectangle by blacking out the covered area; Shi- ¶0005, at least discloses acquiring an image to be processed; acquiring a mesh map and determining the positional correspondence between pixels in the image to be processed and the mesh in the mesh map; detecting multiple initial key points of a target in the image to be processed; determining multiple aesthetic key points that correspond one-to-one with the initial key points based on aesthetic rules; for at least some vertices of the mesh, using each initial key point as a control point and each aesthetic key point as a corresponding control point, determining the final target position of at least some vertices based on the original position of the vertices using the moving least squares method, and adjusting the shape of the mesh based on the original position and the final target position to obtain a deformed mesh map; ¶0007, at least discloses determining at least some vertices based on target and non-target regions in the image to be processed includes: determining the vertices of the grid within the target region of the image to be processed as at least some vertices; ¶0028, at least discloses the vertices of the preset target key point grid can be stretched to the corresponding positions according to the beautification rules, and the original image can be pasted onto the stretched grid image to achieve the beautification of the target in the image; ¶0047, at least discloses A mesh diagram can include multiple meshes, which can be two-dimensional or three-dimensional. For images that are two-dimensional, the multiple grids in the grid diagram can be two-dimensional grids […] These multiple grids can be any suitable shape, including triangular, square, rectangular, or other polygonal grids […] a grid diagram can divide the entire image region of the image to be processed into multiple square or rectangular grids along the width and height directions of the image to be processed).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Xu/Kang to incorporate the teachings of Shi, and apply determining the vertices of the grid within the target region and the rectangular grids into Xu/Kang’s teachings for determining vertices of rectangles based on the preset rule, the preset rule comprises at least one of reducing a number of the rectangles, increasing an area of the rectangles, or reducing an aspect ratio of the rectangles; and determining the plurality of rectangles based on the vertices.
Doing so would provide the advantages of strong universality, natural target beautifying effect and better user experience.
Regarding claim 11, Xu in view of Kang and Shi, discloses an electronic device, and discloses the electronic device further comprising a processor, a memory, and a program or instruction that is stored in the memory and is executable on the processor, wherein the program or instruction, when executed by the processor (see Claim 10 rejection for detailed analysis), implements the steps of the method according to claim 2.
6. Claims 3-4 and 12-13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Xu in view of Kang, further in view of Shi, still further in view of Gao et al. (machine translation of CN-114445786-B with citation below, hereinafter “Gao”)
Regarding claim 3, Xu in view of Kang and Shi, discloses the method according to claim 2, and further discloses wherein determining the vertices of the rectangles based on the preset rule (see Claim 2 rejection for detailed analysis) comprises:
determining, based on the preset rule and any one of the first vertices, a first rectangle with the largest area corresponding to the first vertex and a second vertex , until the region consisting of the first type of grids is divided into a plurality of rectangles of which the area is larger than an area threshold (Xu- Fig. 4 shows a first rectangle with the largest area; ¶0125, at least discloses the degree of matching between the line segment and the missed coverage area can be determined by judging how many points on the Vino skeleton line segment fall on the map of missed coverage areas. Line segments with a matching degree of more than a certain threshold are identified as having matched the missed coverage area, while line segments with a matching degree of less than a certain threshold are identified as line segments that need to be removed [Wingdings font/0xE0] suggests the area is larger than an area threshold).
The prior art does not explicitly disclose obtaining coordinates of first vertices of a plurality of rectangles; and determining, based on the preset rule and any one of the first vertices, a first rectangle with the largest area corresponding to the first vertex and a second vertex opposite to the first vertex in the first rectangle, until the region consisting of the first type of grids is divided into a plurality of rectangles of which the area is larger than an area threshold.
However, Gao discloses
obtaining coordinates of first vertices of a plurality of rectangles (Gao- ¶0062, at least discloses If there is no overlap between the first ROI fusion detection frame and the second ROI fusion detection frame, for the first ROI fusion detection frame and the second ROI fusion detection frame, determine the vertex coordinates of each vertex of the first ROI fusion detection frame and the second ROI fusion detection frame in a preset coordinate system, and determine the distance between the first ROI fusion detection frame and the second ROI fusion detection frame based on the vertex coordinates of each vertex in the preset coordinate system; ¶0064, at least discloses Specifically, a coordinate system can be constructed. For the first and second ROI fusion detection boxes, the vertex coordinates of each vertex of the first ROI fusion detection box can be determined. The vertex coordinates of each vertex of the second ROI fusion detection box can also be determined. Specifically, for the first and second ROI fusion detection boxes, the coordinates of the first and second vertices of the first ROI fusion detection box are determined, with the first and second vertices located on a diagonal. The coordinates of the third and fourth vertices of the second ROI fusion detection box are also determined, with the third and fourth vertices located on a diagonal. Then, the distance between the first and second ROI fusion detection boxes can be determined based on the coordinates of the first, second, third, and fourth vertices); and
a second vertex opposite to the first vertex in the first rectangle (Gao- ¶0064, at least discloses a coordinate system can be constructed. For the first and second ROI fusion detection boxes, the vertex coordinates of each vertex of the first ROI fusion detection box can be determined. The vertex coordinates of each vertex of the second ROI fusion detection box can also be determined. Specifically, for the first and second ROI fusion detection boxes, the coordinates of the first and second vertices of the first ROI fusion detection box are determined, with the first and second vertices located on a diagonal. The coordinates of the third and fourth vertices of the second ROI fusion detection box are also determined, with the third and fourth vertices located on a diagonal).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Xu/Kang/Shi to incorporate the teachings of Gao, and apply the first and second vertices located on a diagonal into Xu/Kang/Shi’s teachings for determining, based on the preset rule and any one of the first vertices, a first rectangle with the largest area corresponding to the first vertex and a second vertex opposite to the first vertex in the first rectangle, until the region consisting of the first type of grids is divided into a plurality of rectangles of which the area is larger than an area threshold.
Doing so would reduce the false detection rate of road congestion and improve the accuracy of road congestion judgment.
Regarding claim 4, Xu in view of Kang, Shi and Gao, discloses the method according to claim 3, and further discloses wherein after determining, based on the preset rule and any one of the first vertices, the first rectangle with the largest area corresponding to the first vertex and the second vertex opposite to the first vertex in the first rectangle (see Claim 3 rejection for detailed analysis), the method further comprises:
marking the region where the determined first rectangle is located (Xu- ¶0063, at least discloses the status update module is used to dynamically update the coverage status map corresponding to the target area based on the acquired environmental change information. In the coverage status map, cleaned areas in the target area are marked as covered areas, and uncleaned areas are marked as uncovered areas.; ¶0063, at least discloses Operation S10: Dynamically update the coverage status map corresponding to the target area based on the acquired environmental change information. In the coverage status map, cleaned areas in the target area are marked as covered areas and uncleaned areas are marked as uncovered areas), wherein marking is used to distinguish the first rectangle from the first type of grids (Xu- ¶0063, at least discloses Operation S10: Dynamically update the coverage status map corresponding to the target area based on the acquired environmental change information. In the coverage status map, cleaned areas in the target area are marked as covered areas and uncleaned areas are marked as uncovered areas); and
updating the region consisting of the first type of grids, wherein the updated region does not comprise a marked region (Xu- ¶0073, at least discloses Taking the case where an obstacle is suddenly removed from the target cleaning area, and the cleaning efficiency of the originally planned offline cleaning path will decrease due to the disappearance of the original obstacle, operation S10 is further implemented to include updating the coverage status map according to the real-time obstacle information in the real-time environment map, and when it is determined that there is a removed second obstacle in the real-time obstacle information in the real-time environment map, updating the area occupied by the removed second obstacle to the corresponding […] by using obstacle grid status, position or coordinates, it determines whether there are any obstacles that have been removed in the currently acquired real-time environment map. If so, the area where the removed second obstacle is located is marked as an uncovered area, thereby updating the coverage state map).
Regarding claim 12, Xu in view of Kang, discloses an electronic device, and discloses the electronic device further comprising a processor, a memory, and a program or instruction that is stored in the memory and is executable on the processor, wherein the program or instruction, when executed by the processor (see Claim 10 rejection for detailed analysis), implements the steps of the method according to claim 3.
Regarding claim 13, Xu in view of Kang, discloses an electronic device, and discloses the electronic device further comprising a processor, a memory, and a program or instruction that is stored in the memory and is executable on the processor, wherein the program or instruction, when executed by the processor (see Claim 10 rejection for detailed analysis), implements the steps of the method according to claim 4.
7. Claims 7 and 16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Xu in view of Kang, further in view of Li et al. (machine translation of CN-116310180-A with citation below, hereinafter “Li”)
Regarding claim 7, Xu in view of Kang, discloses the method according to claim 1, and does not explicitly disclose, but Li discloses wherein the method further comprises:
upon the condition that the cosine of an included angle between the arc of the graphical model and the direction of the rectangle is positive, the target object is allowed to pass (Li- ¶0060-0061, at least disclose The denominator `clamp(*)` is a range-limiting function that limits the value of the first term in the parentheses to between 0.5 and 1.0. The first term in the parentheses represents the cosine of the angle between the laser line direction and the point normal vector direction. `v<sub>s</sub>` represents the coordinates of the point in the surface element, and `n<sub>s</sub>` represents the normal vector of the corresponding point. Since the included angle must be between 0 and 90 degrees, the range of the cosine value is 1-0; ¶0090, at least discloses the vertical field of view (FOV) of a rotating scanning lidar is divided into two parts: FOV_up and FOV_down. The value of FOV_up is positive and the value of FOV_down is negative, so FOV = FOV_up + (-FOV_down); ¶0118, at least discloses If a new laser point passes through the position of an old laser point, then the old laser point is a dynamic point).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Xu/Kang to incorporate the teachings of Li, and apply the cosine of the angle into Xu/Kang’s teachings in order upon the condition that the cosine of an included angle between the arc of the graphical model and the direction of the rectangle is positive, the target object is allowed to pass.
Doing so the robustness of the semantic pixel map during operation is improved. At the same time, the operation mode is optimized, the program calculation time is shortened, and latency is further reduced.
Regarding claim 16, Xu in view of Kang and Li, discloses an electronic device, and discloses the electronic device further comprising a processor, a memory, and a program or instruction that is stored in the memory and is executable on the processor, wherein the program or instruction, when executed by the processor, (see Claim 10 rejection for detailed analysis), implements the steps of the method according to claim 7.
Conclusion
8. The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. They are recited in the attached PTO-892 form.
9. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MICHAEL LE whose telephone number is (571)272-5330. The examiner can normally be reached 9am-5pm.
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/MICHAEL LE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2614
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