DETAILED ACTION
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 7-13, and 15 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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 (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) 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.
The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 1, 19, and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Song et al., US 2023/0140006.
Claims 1, 19, 20. Song teaches a method and device comprising:
one or more memories configured to store one or more images [e.g. frame buffers, 301, 311, Fig. 3, paras. 184, 191; and
one or more processors coupled to the one or memories [processor 120, Fig. 2, paras. 65-68], the one or more processors configured to:
obtain contextual data and determine if a contextual data change exceeds a threshold [motion vector is obtained and compared to a threshold, Fig. 18, para. 441]; and
when the contextual data change exceeds the threshold, switch from stereo vision processing to a modified stereo vision processing [when motion is above a threshold, processing is changed to obtaining down-sampled frames, Figs. 3, 9-12, 18, paras. 108-113, 340-346, 441; also see paras. 438-447; note the display (and thus image data) may be 3D (stereo vision), para. 159].
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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 (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) 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.
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 2-6, 14 and 16-18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Song as cited above in view of Jung et al., US 2017/0118450.
2. Song is silent on multiple cameras. Jung teaches a system comprising a plurality of cameras configured to capture a plurality of images, the contextual data being based on the images [cameras, 22a, 22b, Fig. 1; [contextual data is based on image frames, Figs. 1, 7, 11, paras. 39-43, 73, 74; images may be 3D, para. 35].
Before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious to one skilled in the art to combine the references, using multiple cameras so that different camera configurations and settings can be used for each image. This takes advantage of different camera parameters to optimize the quality of the resulting image under different lighting conditions. When more light is available, higher resolution settings can be used, illumination is low, quality can be maintained by choosing the camera with the optimal settings.
3. Song teaches the device of claim 2, wherein, obtaining contextual data from the plurality of images includes obtaining a first contextual data at a first time and a second contextual data at a second time [motion data detected using first and second frames, paras. 340, 343, 438, 440, 441].
4. Song teaches the device of claim 3, wherein, determining if the contextual data change exceeds the threshold includes comparing the image of the first contextual data at the first time and the image of the second contextual data at the second time, and determining if the threshold is exceeded [motion is detected using successive frames to determine if it exceeds a threshold, Figs. 3, 9-12, 18, paras. 108-113, 340-346, 441; also see paras. 438-447].
5. Song teaches the device of claim 4, wherein, the contextual data change exceeding the threshold is based upon a motion change of the first and second images based upon at least one of a speed or direction [threshold applies to “degree of motion,” i.e. speed, paras. 108-112, 340, 441].
6. Song teaches the device of claim 5, further comprising a motion sensor, wherein the motion sensor contributes data to determining whether the contextual change exceeds the threshold [a camera is a sensor that creates the image data used to detect motion compared to a threshold, para. 16; also see Figs. 3, 9-12, 18, paras. 108-113, 340-346, 441].
14 (from 1). Jung teaches a system comprising an image sensor [cameras, 22a, 22b, Fig. 1], wherein, the contextual data change is a change in a lighting condition measured by the image sensor, and when the lighting condition change exceeds the threshold, the one or more processors are configured to switch from stereo vision processing to modified stereo vision processing [when illumination is equal or greater than threshold, image processing is changed by turning first camera off and outputting second image, Figs. 1, 7, 11, paras. 39-43, 73, 74; images may be 3D, para. 35].
16. Song teaches the device of claim 14, wherein, when the condition change exceeds the threshold for a first patch of the image, but not a second patch of the image, the one or more processors are further configured to switch from stereo vision processing to modified stereo vision processing for the first patch of the image but not the second patch of the image [image processing is modified only for targeted or partial area of frames, paras. 109-112, 340-344].
Jung teaches the modification of image processing based on changes in lighting conditions specifically [Figs. 1, 7, 11, paras. 73, 74; also see paras. 39-43; images may be 3D, para. 35].
17. Jung teaches the device of claim 14, wherein, the lighting condition change is determined to exceed the threshold based on decreased lighting [e.g. below threshold, para. 39-42, 73, 74].
18. Jung teaches the device of claim 14, wherein, the lighting condition change is determined to exceed the threshold based on increased sunlight [e.g. illumination is greater than threshold, paras. 39-42, 73. 74].
Relevant Prior Art
Other prior art considered relevant but not cited in a rejection includes Zhu, US 10,715,820 [cols. 7-8, ll 63-15; claim 1].
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Timothy R Newlin whose telephone number is (571)270-3015. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8-5 Mountain Time.
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, Benjamin Bruckart can be reached at 571-272-3982. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/TIMOTHY R NEWLIN/Examiner, Art Unit 2424
Prosecution Insights