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 .
Double Patenting
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).
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 § 2146 et seq. 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).
The filing of a terminal disclaimer by itself is not a complete reply to a nonstatutory double patenting (NSDP) rejection. A complete reply requires that the terminal disclaimer be accompanied by a reply requesting reconsideration of the prior Office action. Even where the NSDP rejection is provisional the reply must be complete. See MPEP § 804, subsection I.B.1. For a reply to a non-final Office action, see 37 CFR 1.111(a). For a reply to final Office action, see 37 CFR 1.113(c). A request for reconsideration while not provided for in 37 CFR 1.113(c) may be filed after final for consideration. See MPEP §§ 706.07(e) and 714.13.
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Claims 1 – 20 are rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claims 1 – 20 of U.S. Patent No. 12,320,981. Although the claims at issue are not identical, they are not patentably distinct from each other because the claims in the instant application overlap in scope with the claims in patent 12,9320,981 but the conflicting claims cannot be said to anticipate the examined claims.
Instant Application
Patent ‘981
Differences
1. One or more hardware storage devices that store instructions that are executable by one or more processors of a system to configure the system to: capture, using an image sensor comprising a plurality of image sensing pixels, a plurality of partial image frames including at least a first partial image frame and a second partial image frame, the first partial image frame being captured at a first timepoint using a first subset of image sensing pixels of the plurality of image sensing pixels of the image sensor, the second partial image frame being captured at a second timepoint using a second subset of image sensing pixels of the plurality of image sensing pixels of the image sensor, the second subset of image sensing pixels comprising different image sensing pixels than the first subset of image sensing pixels, the second timepoint being temporally subsequent to the first timepoint; generate aligned partial image frames by using motion data associated with the image sensor to spatially align the first partial image frame captured using the first subset of image sensing pixels with the second partial image frame captured using the second subset of image sensing pixels; and generate a composite image frame by compositing each of the aligned partial image frames with one another.
1.A method for power efficient image acquisition, the method comprising: capturing, using an image sensor comprising a plurality of image sensing pixels, a plurality of partial image frames including at least a first partial image frame and a second partial image frame, the first partial image frame being captured at a first timepoint using a first subset of image sensing pixels of the plurality of image sensing pixels of the image sensor, the second partial image frame being captured at a second timepoint using a second subset of image sensing pixels of the plurality of image sensing pixels of the image sensor, the second subset of image sensing pixels comprising different image sensing pixels than the first subset of image sensing pixels, the second timepoint being temporally subsequent to the first timepoint; generating aligned partial image frames by using motion data associated with the image sensor to spatially align the first partial image frame captured using the first subset of image sensing pixels with the second partial image frame captured using the second subset of image sensing pixels; and generating a composite image frame by compositing each of the aligned partial image frames with one another.
Instant application is hardware storage device; ‘981 is a method. The dependent claims 2 - 12 have the same differences.
13. One or more hardware storage devices that store instructions that are executable by one or more processors of a system to configure the system to: obtain a runtime conditions measurement; and in response to the runtime conditions measurement, selectively activate a pixel subset image acquisition mode for image acquisition, wherein the pixel subset image acquisition mode configures a system to utilize a subset of image sensing pixels of a plurality of image sensing pixels arranged in a pixel array of an image sensor to capture image frames, the subset of image sensing pixels comprising fewer than all image sensing pixels of the plurality of image sensing pixels of the image sensor.
13. A method for power efficient image acquisition, the method comprising: obtaining a runtime conditions measurement; and in response to the runtime conditions measurement, selectively activating a pixel subset image acquisition mode for image acquisition, wherein the pixel subset image acquisition mode configures a system to utilize a subset of image sensing pixels of a plurality of image sensing pixels arranged in a pixel array of an image sensor to capture image frames, the subset of image sensing pixels comprising fewer than all image sensing pixels of the plurality of image sensing pixels of the image sensor.
Instant application is hardware storage device; ‘981 is a method. The dependent claims 13 - 17 have the same differences.
19. One or more hardware storage devices that store instructions that are executable by one or more processors of a system to configure the system to: capture, using an image sensor comprising a plurality of image sensing pixels, an image frame using a subset of image sensing pixels of the plurality of image sensing pixels of the image sensor while refraining from utilizing remaining image sensing pixels of the plurality of image sensing pixels to capture the image frame; and generate an output image frame by performing super-resolution processing on the image frame, wherein the output image frame comprises a higher image resolution than the image frame, wherein the super-resolution processing refrains from utilizing (i) image data captured by the remaining image sensing pixels of the plurality of image sensing pixels and (ii) image data captured by a second image sensor.
19. A method for power efficient image acquisition, the method comprising: capturing, using an image sensor comprising a plurality of image sensing pixels, an image frame using a subset of image sensing pixels of the plurality of image sensing pixels of the image sensor while refraining from utilizing remaining image sensing pixels of the plurality of image sensing pixels to capture the image frame; and generating an output image frame by performing super-resolution processing on the image frame, wherein the output image frame comprises a higher image resolution than the image frame, wherein the super-resolution processing refrains from utilizing (i) image data captured by the remaining image sensing pixels of the plurality of image sensing pixels and (ii) image data captured by a second image sensor.
Instant application is hardware storage device; ‘981 is a method. The dependent claim 20 have the same differences.
Contact
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ANTOINETTE SPINKS whose telephone number is (571)270-3749. The examiner can normally be reached M-Th 7am - 5pm EST.
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/ANTOINETTE T SPINKS/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2639
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