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 .
Drawings
The drawings are objected to because the drawing is too small to read the printing in most of the boxes. Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. The figure or figure number of an amended drawing should not be labeled as “amended.” If a drawing figure is to be canceled, the appropriate figure must be removed from the replacement sheet, and where necessary, the remaining figures must be renumbered and appropriate changes made to the brief description of the several views of the drawings for consistency. Additional replacement sheets may be necessary to show the renumbering of the remaining figures. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
The drawings are objected to under 37 CFR 1.83(a). The drawings must show every feature of the invention specified in the claims. Therefore, the various steps must be shown or the feature(s) canceled from the claim(s). No new matter should be entered.
Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. The figure or figure number of an amended drawing should not be labeled as “amended.” If a drawing figure is to be canceled, the appropriate figure must be removed from the replacement sheet, and where necessary, the remaining figures must be renumbered and appropriate changes made to the brief description of the several views of the drawings for consistency. Additional replacement sheets may be necessary to show the renumbering of the remaining figures. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
Specification
The following guidelines illustrate the preferred layout for the specification of a utility application. These guidelines are suggested for the applicant’s use.
Arrangement of the Specification
As provided in 37 CFR 1.77(b), the specification of a utility application should include the following sections in order. Each of the lettered items should appear in upper case, without underlining or bold type, as a section heading. If no text follows the section heading, the phrase “Not Applicable” should follow the section heading:
(a) TITLE OF THE INVENTION.
(b) CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS.
(c) STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT.
(d) THE NAMES OF THE PARTIES TO A JOINT RESEARCH AGREEMENT.
(e) INCORPORATION-BY-REFERENCE OF MATERIAL SUBMITTED ON A READ-ONLY OPTICAL DISC, AS A TEXT FILE OR AN XML FILE VIA THE PATENT ELECTRONIC SYSTEM.
(f) STATEMENT REGARDING PRIOR DISCLOSURES BY THE INVENTOR OR A JOINT INVENTOR.
(g) BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION.
(1) Field of the Invention.
(2) Description of Related Art including information disclosed under 37 CFR 1.97 and 1.98.
(h) BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION.
(i) BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING(S).
(j) DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION.
(k) CLAIM OR CLAIMS (commencing on a separate sheet).
(l) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE (commencing on a separate sheet).
(m) SEQUENCE LISTING. (See MPEP § 2422.03 and 37 CFR 1.821 - 1.825). A “Sequence Listing” is required on paper if the application discloses a nucleotide or amino acid sequence as defined in 37 CFR 1.821(a) and if the required “Sequence Listing” is not submitted as an electronic document either on read-only optical disc or as a text file via the patent electronic system.
The disclosure is objected to because of the following informalities: The specification does not contain the proper section headings in the designated order.
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Objections
Claims 1-7 objected to because of the following informalities: The claims have more than one period. Appropriate correction is required.
Claim 7 objected to because of the following informalities: Claim 7 line 11 “angleis”. Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 101
35 U.S.C. 101 reads as follows:
Whoever invents or discovers any new and useful process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter, or any new and useful improvement thereof, may obtain a patent therefor, subject to the conditions and requirements of this title.
Claims 1-7 rejected under 35 U.S.C. 101 because the claimed invention is directed to an abstract idea without significantly more. For example, the claim(s) recite;
“real-time heading angle calculation method based on polarized light field vector”
“Vector Analysis and Polarization Parameter Calculation”
“…analyzing the vector characteristics”
“…compute polarization parameters such as the degree of polarization and polarization angle”
“Techniques like Stokes parameter measurement or Jones calculus may be employed to quantify…”
“Lens Model Calibration and Polarization Angle Correction”
“…polarization angles are adjusted”
“Solar Meridian Detection via Hough Transform”
“…using the Hough Transform technique”
“…edge detection algorithms, such as the Canny operator, are applied”
“Real-Time Heading Angle Calculation and Dynamic Correction”
“…solar meridian line is combined with solar azimuth information derived from solar vector inversion to compute the solar azimuth angle”
“…calculating the dot product between the solar azimuth vector and the detected meridian direction”
“…determines the heading angle”
“…real-time computation allows for dynamic correction of the heading angle”
This judicial exception is not integrated into a practical application because the mathematical equations, mathematical concepts and laws of nature are not used in meaningful patentable limitations. The claim(s) do not include additional elements that are sufficient to amount to significantly more than the judicial exception because the minimal nonabstract limitations do not amount to enough to be patentable. For example, few optical and polarization light components are mentioned performing any method action. Quoting from MPEP 2106.05 “an "inventive concept" is furnished by an element or combination of elements that is recited in the claim in addition to (beyond) the judicial exception, and is sufficient to ensure that the claim as a whole amounts to significantly more than the judicial exception itself. Alice Corp.,”.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of 35 U.S.C. 112(a):
(a) IN GENERAL.—The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor or joint inventor of carrying out the invention.
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112:
The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor of carrying out his invention.
Claims 1-7 rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), first paragraph, as failing to comply with the enablement requirement. The claim(s) contains subject matter which was not described in the specification in such a way as to enable one skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and/or use the invention.
There are several (there may be more) terms and phrases that are not discussed or even mentioned in the specification. The claim reader would have to assume that he knows what the applicant is trying to limit. For example;
“optical components” or even the words optical or optic
“Canny operator”, according to technical dictionaries this phrase can also mean Canny edge detector, none of these are mentioned in the specification.
“grayscale conversion” nor even the words grayscale nor conversion
Evaluating these non-enabled terms and phrase using the Wands factors
The breadth of the claims;
The breadth is within high level calculations for real time detection of solar meridian.
The nature of the invention;
Navigation using solar meridian.
(C) The state of the prior art;
Since the claims are ineligible under U.S.C. 101 the examiner is not sure if there is any prior art readable on the claims.
The level of one of ordinary skill;
Higher level engineering and science.
The level of predictability in the art;
A standard level of predictability.
The amount of direction provided by the inventor;
Some necessary direction is missing.
The existence of working examples; and
Examiner knows of no working examples other than the cited prior art.
The quantity of experimentation needed to make or use the invention based on the content of the disclosure.
Experimentation would be necessary because of the missing or confusing information and the higher engineering and science required.
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 1-7 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.
Claims 1-7 recite numerous limitations that are an antecedent basis problem, regarding claim 1 for example:
Lines 6-7 “the polarization state of the light field”
Lines 8-9 “the imaging system's lens model”
Line 11 “the optical components”
Line 21 “the Canny operator”
Regarding claims 1 & 4, the phrase "such as" renders the claim indefinite because it is unclear whether the limitations following the phrase are part of the claimed invention. See MPEP § 2173.05(d).
Claim 1 “polarization parameters such as the degree of polarization and polarization angle”.
Claim 1 “edge detection algorithms, such as the Canny operator”.
Claim 4 “such as AoP…”.
Regarding claim 1, the phrase "or the like" renders the claim(s) indefinite because the claim(s) include(s) elements not actually disclosed (those encompassed by "or the like"), thereby rendering the scope of the claim(s) unascertainable. See MPEP § 2173.05(d). See claim 1 lines 5-6 “Techniques like”.
The phrase “improving the accuracy and reliability of the navigation system” at the end of claim 1 is a relative term which renders the claim indefinite. The terms “improving”, “accuracy” and “reliability” are not defined by the claim, the specification does not provide a standard for ascertaining the requisite degree, and one of ordinary skill in the art would not be reasonably apprised of the scope of the invention. The specification does not give a quantifiable standard to gage this phrase that is acceptable for claim language. The words “improving” and “reliability” are not even found in the specification.
Prior Art
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
CN-111307140-B Atmospheric Polarized Light Orientation Method For Cloudy Weather Condition
CN-115597586-A A Course Angle Extracting Method Based On Atmospheric Polarization Mode Symmetry
CN-117906590-A A Tight Coupling Locating Method And System Based On Multi-sensor
“Robust Azimuth Measurement Method Based on Polarimetric Imaging for Bionic Polarization Navigation” IEEE doc
“Underwater positioning method based on polarization characteristics” IEEE doc
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Michael C Zarroli whose telephone number is (571)272-2101. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 9-5 ET IFP.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Ramon Mercado can be reached at 5712705744. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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MICHAEL C. ZARROLI
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 3658B
/MICHAEL C ZARROLI/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3658 /M.C.Z/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3658
Prosecution Insights