DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 3 and 5 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Claim 3 recites the limitation "the first feature quantity". There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Claim 5 recites the limitation "the second feature quantity". There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
Claims 1-5 and 7 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ito et al. (US 2007/0262002) in view of Niwakawa et al. (JP 2021021664). English translations of Niwakawa et al. (JP 2021021664) have been provided herein.
Regarding claim 1, Ito et al. (US 2007/0262002) teaches a measurement apparatus for measuring a feature about shape and/or dimension with respect to a whole and/or part of a target (Paragraph 0002 lines 1-4), the measurement apparatus comprising:
a conveyance part (Fig. 1 #3) configured to convey the target (Paragraph 0027 lines 9-15);
an electromagnetic wave irradiation source (Fig. 1 #7) configured to irradiate the target with an electromagnetic wave while the target is conveyed due to an action of the conveyance part (Paragraph 0028 lines 1-9);
a line sensor (Fig. 1 #8) including a plurality of electromagnetic wave detection elements (Paragraph 0031 lines 1-6) linearly arranged in a first direction (Fig. 3b direction along #16, 17) intersecting with a conveyance direction of the target (Fig. 3b see direction along #16, 17 intersecting conveying direction of ‘K’), the line sensor being configured to detect at least one of a reflected electromagnetic wave emitted from the electromagnetic wave irradiation source and reflected on the target and a transmitted electromagnetic wave emitted from the electromagnetic wave irradiation source and transmitted through the target (Paragraph 0032 lines 1-7); and
a controller (Fig. 1 #18),
the controller is configured to:
determine the feature of the target based on an image acquired by the line sensor (Paragraph 0038 line 1-Paragraph 0039 line 11).
Ito et al. (US 2007/0262002) lacks teaching the controller configured to: detect a conveyance velocity in a predetermined direction with respect to the target in transit; and determine the feature of the target based on an image acquired by the line sensor and the conveyance velocity in the predetermined direction.
Niwakawa et al. (JP 2021021664) teaches a measurement apparatus for measuring a feature about shape and/or dimension with respect to a whole and/or part of a target (Paragraph 0001 lines 1-3), wherein the controller (Fig.1 #12) is configured to: detect a conveyance velocity in a predetermined direction with respect to the target in transit (Paragraph 0022 lines 1-5); and determine the feature of the target based on an image acquired by the line sensor and the conveyance velocity in the predetermined direction (Paragraph 0041 lines 1-8).
Niwakawa et al. (JP 2021021664) explains that when there is a difference in the speed of the target, the images captured by the line sensor camera may appear stretched or compressed, potentially resulting in discrepancies in the measurement (Paragraph 0040 lines 1-7). Niwakawa et al. (JP 2021021664) performs measurement value correction on the captured image data based on the rope speed detected (Paragraph 0041 lines 1-2).
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Ito et al. (US 2007/0262002) to include the controller configured to: detect a conveyance velocity in a predetermined direction with respect to the target in transit; and determine the feature of the target based on an image acquired by the line sensor and the conveyance velocity in the predetermined direction as taught by Niwakawa et al. (JP 2021021664) in order to correct discrepancies in an image due to variance in conveyance speed.
Regarding claim 2, Ito et al. (US 2007/0262002) teaches the measurement apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the feature includes a first feature quantity with respect to the whole and/or part of the target (Paragraph 0045 lines 1-12).
Ito et al. (US 2007/0262002) lacks teaching the controller is further configured to correct the image acquired by the line sensor based on the conveyance velocity in the predetermined direction and determine the first feature quantity based on the corrected image, or configured to determine the first feature quantity by correcting, based on the conveyance velocity in the predetermined direction, a second feature quantity which is determined based on the image acquired by the line sensor.
Niwakawa et al. (JP 2021021664) teaches a measurement apparatus for measuring a feature about shape and/or dimension with respect to a whole and/or part of a target (Paragraph 0001 lines 1-3), wherein the controller (Fig. 1 #12) is further configured to correct the image acquired by the line sensor based on the conveyance velocity in the predetermined direction (Paragraph 0041 lines 1-2) and determine the first feature quantity based on the corrected image (Paragraph 0042 lines 1-8), or configured to determine the first feature quantity by correcting, based on the conveyance velocity in the predetermined direction, a second feature quantity which is determined based on the image acquired by the line sensor.
Niwakawa et al. (JP 2021021664) explains that when there is a difference in the speed of the target, the images captured by the line sensor camera may appear stretched or compressed, potentially resulting in discrepancies in the measurement (Paragraph 0040 lines 1-7). Niwakawa et al. (JP 2021021664) performs measurement value correction on the captured image data based on the rope speed detected (Paragraph 0041 lines 1-2).
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Ito et al. (US 2007/0262002) to include wherein the controller is further configured to correct the image acquired by the line sensor based on the conveyance velocity in the predetermined direction and determine the first feature quantity based on the corrected image, or configured to determine the first feature quantity by correcting, based on the conveyance velocity in the predetermined direction, a second feature quantity which is determined based on the image acquired by the line sensor as taught by Niwakawa et al. (JP 2021021664) in order to correct discrepancies in an image due to variance in conveyance speed.
Regarding claim 3, Ito et al. (US 2007/0262002) teaches the measurement apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the feature includes a quality with respect to the whole and/or part of the target (Paragraph 0045 lines 1-12),
the controller is configured to determine the quality based on the first feature quantity with respect to the whole and/or part of the target (Paragraph 0045 lines 1-12).
Ito et al. (US 2007/0262002) lacks teaching the controller is further configured to correct the image acquired by the line sensor based on the conveyance velocity in the predetermined direction and acquire the first feature quantity based on the corrected image, or configured to acquire the first feature quantity by correcting, based on the conveyance velocity in the predetermined direction, a second feature quantity which is determined based on the image acquired by the line sensor.
Niwakawa et al. (JP 2021021664) teaches a measurement apparatus for measuring a feature about shape and/or dimension with respect to a whole and/or part of a target (Paragraph 0001 lines 1-3), wherein the controller (Fig.1 #12) is further configured to correct the image acquired by the line sensor based on the conveyance velocity in the predetermined direction (Paragraph 0041 lines 1-2) and acquire the first feature quantity based on the corrected image (Paragraph 0042 lines 1-8), or configured to acquire the first feature quantity by correcting, based on the conveyance velocity in the predetermined direction, a second feature quantity which is determined based on the image acquired by the line sensor.
Niwakawa et al. (JP 2021021664) explains that when there is a difference in the speed of the target, the images captured by the line sensor camera may appear stretched or compressed, potentially resulting in discrepancies in the measurement (Paragraph 0040 lines 1-7). Niwakawa et al. (JP 2021021664) performs measurement value correction on the captured image data based on the rope speed detected (Paragraph 0041 lines 1-2).
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Ito et al. (US 2007/0262002) to include wherein the controller is further configured to correct the image acquired by the line sensor based on the conveyance velocity in the predetermined direction and acquire the first feature quantity based on the corrected image, or configured to acquire the first feature quantity by correcting, based on the conveyance velocity in the predetermined direction, a second feature quantity which is determined based on the image acquired by the line sensor as taught by Niwakawa et al. (JP 2021021664) in order to correct discrepancies in an image due to variance in conveyance speed.
Regarding claim 4, Ito et al. (US 2007/0262002) teaches the measurement apparatus according to claim 1, the feature includes a quality with respect to the whole and/or part of the target (Paragraph 0045 lines 1-12), and
the controller (Fig. 1 #18) is further configured to determine the quality by comparing a feature quantity determined based on the image acquired by the line sensor and a threshold value (Paragraph 0045 lines 1-12).
Ito et al. (US 2007/0262002) lacks teaching wherein the predetermined direction includes a second direction orthogonal to the first direction, the controller is further configured to determine the quality by comparing a feature quantity determined based on the image acquired by the line sensor and a threshold value determined based on the conveyance velocity in the second direction.
Niwakawa et al. (JP 2021021664) teaches a measurement apparatus for measuring a feature about shape and/or dimension with respect to a whole and/or part of a target (Paragraph 0001 lines 1-3), wherein the predetermined direction includes a second direction orthogonal to the first direction (Fig. 9 see direction of ‘R’ orthogonal to direction of #13), the controller is further configured to determine the quality by comparing a feature quantity determined based on the image acquired by the line sensor and a threshold value (Paragraph 0019 lines 1-7) determined based on the conveyance velocity in the second direction (Paragraph 0018 lines 1-7, Paragraph 0042 lines 1-8).
Niwakawa et al. (JP 2021021664) explains that when there is a difference in the speed of the target, the images captured by the line sensor camera may appear stretched or compressed, potentially resulting in discrepancies in the measurement (Paragraph 0040 lines 1-7). Niwakawa et al. (JP 2021021664) performs measurement value correction on the captured image data based on the rope speed detected (Paragraph 0041 lines 1-2).
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Ito et al. (US 2007/0262002) to include wherein the predetermined direction includes a second direction orthogonal to the first direction, the controller is further configured to determine the quality by comparing a feature quantity determined based on the image acquired by the line sensor and a threshold value determined based on the conveyance velocity in the second direction as taught by Niwakawa et al. (JP 2021021664) in order to correct discrepancies in an image due to variance in conveyance speed.
Regarding claim 5, Ito et al. (US 2007/0262002) lacks teaching the measurement apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the predetermined direction includes a second direction orthogonal to the first direction, and the controller is further configured to correct the image by correcting a size of the image in the second direction based on the conveyance velocity in the second direction, or correct the second feature quantity by correcting, based on the conveyance velocity in the second direction, a feature quantity component in the second direction that is contained in the second feature quantity.
Niwakawa et al. (JP 2021021664) teaches a measurement apparatus for measuring a feature about shape and/or dimension with respect to a whole and/or part of a target (Paragraph 0001 lines 1-3), wherein the predetermined direction includes a second direction orthogonal to the first direction (Fig. 1 see direction of ‘R’ orthogonal to direction of #13), and the controller (Fig. 1 #12) is further configured to correct the image by correcting a size of the image in the second direction based on the conveyance velocity in the second direction (Paragraph 0041 lines 1-2, Paragraph 0042 lines 1-8), or correct the second feature quantity by correcting, based on the conveyance velocity in the second direction, a feature quantity component in the second direction that is contained in the second feature quantity.
Niwakawa et al. (JP 2021021664) explains that when there is a difference in the speed of the target, the images captured by the line sensor camera may appear stretched or compressed, potentially resulting in discrepancies in the measurement (Paragraph 0040 lines 1-7). Niwakawa et al. (JP 2021021664) performs measurement value correction on the captured image data based on the rope speed detected (Paragraph 0041 lines 1-2).
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Ito et al. (US 2007/0262002) to include wherein the predetermined direction includes a second direction orthogonal to the first direction, and the controller is further configured to correct the image by correcting a size of the image in the second direction based on the conveyance velocity in the second direction, or correct the second feature quantity by correcting, based on the conveyance velocity in the second direction, a feature quantity component in the second direction that is contained in the second feature quantity as taught by Niwakawa et al. (JP 2021021664) in order to correct discrepancies in an image due to variance in conveyance speed.
Regarding claim 7, Ito et al. (US 2007/0262002) teaches a sorter (Paragraph 0002 lines 1-4) comprising:
the measurement apparatus according to claim 1 (see claim 1 above); and
a sorting part (Fig. 1 #6a) configured to sort the target based on the feature determined by the controller (Paragraph 0033 lines 1-19).
Claim 6 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ito et al. (US 2007/0262002) in view of Niwakawa et al. (JP 2021021664) and further in view of Gruna et al. (US 9833815).
Regarding claim 6, Ito et al. (US 2007/0262002) lacks teaching the measurement apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined direction includes the first direction, and the controller is further configured to correct the image by correcting, based on the conveyance velocity in the first direction, coordinate values in the first direction at a plurality of pixels forming the image, and determine the feature of the target based on the corrected image.
Niwakawa et al. (JP 2021021664) teaches a measurement apparatus for measuring a feature about shape and/or dimension with respect to a whole and/or part of a target (Paragraph 0001 lines 1-3), wherein the controller (Fig. 1 #12) is further configured to correct the image by correcting, based on the conveyance velocity, coordinate values at a plurality of pixels forming the image, and determine the feature of the target based on the corrected image (Paragraph 0041 lines 1-2, Paragraph 0042 lines 1-8).
Niwakawa et al. (JP 2021021664) explains that when there is a difference in the speed of the target, the images captured by the line sensor camera may appear stretched or compressed, potentially resulting in discrepancies in the measurement (Paragraph 0040 lines 1-7). Niwakawa et al. (JP 2021021664) performs measurement value correction on the captured image data based on the rope speed detected (Paragraph 0041 lines 1-2).
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Ito et al. (US 2007/0262002) to include the controller is further configured to correct the image by correcting, based on the conveyance velocity, coordinate values at a plurality of pixels forming the image, and determine the feature of the target based on the corrected image as taught by Niwakawa et al. (JP 2021021664) in order to correct discrepancies in an image due to variance in conveyance speed.
Gruna et al. (US 9833815) teaches a measurement apparatus for measuring a feature about shape and/or dimension with respect to a whole and/or part of a target (Col. 2 lines 13-21), wherein the predetermined direction includes the first direction (Col. 4 lines 9-17, Col. 9 lines 38-55), and
the controller is further configured to inspect the image, based on the conveyance velocity in the first direction, coordinate values in the first direction at a plurality of pixels forming the image, and determine the feature of the target based on the inspected image (Col. 10 lines 27-44, 53-62).
Gruna et al. (US 9833815) explains that the movement path of objects can be affected by the geometric features of the object (Col. 3 lines 59-67), and the positional determination of the objects can be provided by 3 dimensional measurements of the objects in space (Col. 6 lines 1-8). Gruna et al. (US 9833815) explains that the movement path of objects is influenced by the geometric properties and also the weight of objects (Col. 10 lines 53-62). Gruna et al. (US 9833815) further explains that uncooperative objects may have additional intrinsic movement and therefore are presented in different three-dimensional situations to the cameras for the image features of different objects to be accumulated over the observation times (Col. 10 lines 27-44).
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to further modify Ito et al. (US 2007/0262002) to include wherein the predetermined direction includes the first direction as taught by Gruna et al. (US 9833815) in order to detect movement of objects in multiple directions due to the geometric or weight properties of the objects, such that the controller is further configured to correct the image by correcting, based on the conveyance velocity in the first direction, coordinate values in the first direction at a plurality of pixels forming the image, and determine the feature of the target based on the corrected image in order to correct discrepancies in an image due to variance in conveyance speed in different directions.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Peterson (US 2016/0065912) teaches a vision system coupled to a motion controller, wherein comparison of an acquired image to a model can be used to determine if the image does not capture some aspects of the objects and therefore inform post-processing of the acquired image.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Molly K Devine whose telephone number is (571)270-7205. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Fri 7:00-4:00.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Michael McCullough can be reached at (571) 272-7805. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/MOLLY K DEVINE/ Examiner, Art Unit 3653
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