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 § 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 1-3, 5-7 and 10 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Sali et al. (US20100265316A1), hereinafter referred to as Sali, in view of Shor et al. (US20130202161A1), hereinafter referred to as Shor.
Regarding claim 1, Sali discloses an object information acquiring apparatus configured to acquire object information including type information and distance information related to an object, the object information acquiring apparatus comprising (See ¶¶ [0008]- [0009] and [0027]- [0030] disclosing an imaging apparatus configured to acquire depth and color image information to an object):
a light receiving module configured to capture light (See ¶ [0033] disclosing an image capture subassembly 32 comprising an objective optics 40 and an image sensor 48,);
a laser module configured to generate laser at an emission time (See ¶¶ [0032], [0034] and [0042] disclosing illumination subassembly 30 comprising a radiation source 34, such as a diode laser, light-emitting diode (LED) or other light source, along with optics for creating the pattern; and a projection optics 36 projects the pattern in a beam 38 onto object 28); and
a controller configured to (See ¶ [0034] disclosing a control processor 50):
acquire a first image by capturing light using the light receiving module during an emission time window, wherein the emission time window comprises at least one emission time (See ¶¶ [0040]- [0042] and FIG. 3 disclosing acquisition on an IR pattern image during an IR frame that includes synchronized laser emission pulse 64),
Sali does not explicitly disclose acquire type information related to the object represented in the second image based on pixel values of the second image.
However, Shor from the same or similar endeavor of image processing discloses acquire type information related to the object represented in the second image based on pixel values of the second image (See ¶¶ [0017], [0028], [0030], [0034] and [0037]- [0040] disclosing processing pixel content of two dimensional image to determine whether an object of an given type, such as face, hand, or traffic sign, is represented in that image).
It would have been obvious to the person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the teachings disclosed by Sali to add the teachings of Shor as above, in order to provide improved methods, apparatus and software for detection of particular types of features in an image (Shor, [0011]).
Regarding claim 2, Sali and Shor disclose all the limitations of claim 1, and is analyzed as previously discussed with respect to that claim.
Furthermore, Sali discloses the object information acquiring apparatus of claim 1, wherein during the emission time window, the laser module is configured to generate laser (See ¶¶ [0032] and [0039]- [0042] and fig. 3) and the light receiving module is configured to capture at least a portion of the laser reflected from the object (See ¶¶ [0032]- [0033] and [0039]- [0042]).
Regarding claim 3, Sali and Shor disclose all the limitations of claim 1, and is analyzed as previously discussed with respect to that claim.
Furthermore, Sali discloses the object information acquiring apparatus of claim 1, wherein a first power consumption of the apparatus during the emission time window is greater than a second power consumption of the apparatus during the non-emission time window (See ¶¶ [0032], [0034] and [0039]- [0042] and fig. 3 examiner submits that it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill that the apparatus consumes more power during the IR emission frame than during the color non-emission frame because the diode laser source is electrically energized during the IR emission frame and turn off during the color non-emission frame).
Regarding claim 5, Sali and Shor disclose all the limitations of claim 1, and is analyzed as previously discussed with respect to that claim.
Furthermore, Sali discloses the object information acquiring apparatus of claim 1, wherein a power of light emitted during the emission time window is greater than a power of light emitted during the non-emission time window. (See ¶¶ [0032], and [0040]- [0042] disclosing laser emission during the emission time window and no lase emission during the non-emission time window).
Regarding claim 6, Sali and Shor disclose all the limitations of claim 1, and is analyzed as previously discussed with respect to that claim.
Furthermore, Sali discloses the object information acquiring apparatus of claim 1, wherein the controller is configured to acquire the distance information based on a generation time of the signal generated by the light receiving module, wherein the signal is generated by receiving at least a portion of the laser generated by the laser module and reflected by the object (See ¶¶ [0032], [0040]- [0042]).
Regarding claim 7, Sali and Shor disclose all the limitations of claim 1, and is analyzed as previously discussed with respect to that claim.
Sali does not explicitly disclose the object information acquiring apparatus of claim 1, wherein the controller is configured to acquire the distance information based on time-of-flight (TOF).
However, Shor from the same or similar endeavor of image processing discloses the object information acquiring apparatus of claim 1, wherein the controller is configured to acquire the distance information based on time-of-flight (TOF) (See ¶ [0029]).
The motivation for combining Sali and Shor has been discussed in connection with claim 1, above.
Regarding claim 10, Sali and Shor disclose all the limitations of claim 1, and is analyzed as previously discussed with respect to that claim.
Furthermore, Sali discloses the object information acquiring apparatus of claim 1, wherein the controller includes a distance calculation unit configured to acquire the distance information related to the object represented in the first image (See ¶¶ [0029] and [0034]- [0035])
Sali does not explicitly disclose and an object recognition unit configured to acquire the type information related to the object represented in the second image.
However, Shor from the same or similar endeavor of image processing discloses and an object recognition unit configured to acquire the type information related to the object represented in the second image (See ¶¶ [0028]- [0030]).
The motivation for combining Sali and Shor has been discussed in connection with claim 1, above.
Claim 4 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Sali, in view of Shor, and further, in view of Hanna (US20140112550A1), hereinafter referred to as Hanna.
Regarding claim 4, Sali and Shor disclose all the limitations of claim 1, and is analyzed as previously discussed with respect to that claim.
Furthermore, Sali discloses the object information acquiring apparatus of claim 1.
Sali does not explicitly disclose the wherein the apparatus further includes a light emitting diode (LED) module.
However, Shor or Hanna from the same or similar endeavor of image processing discloses the wherein the apparatus further includes a light emitting diode (LED) module (See ¶ [0029] and Fig. 3).
It would have been obvious to the person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the teachings disclosed by Sali and Shor to add the teachings of Hanna as above, in order to rapidly acquiring two biometric images from the same person while changing sensor and/or illumination settings between captures so each image is optimized for a different biometric target (Hanna, [0014]- [0016]).
Claims 8 and 9 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Sali, in view of Shor, and further, in view of Lipson (US20150219764A1), hereinafter referred to as Lipson.
Regarding claim 8, Sali and Shor disclose all the limitations of claim 1, and is analyzed as previously discussed with respect to that claim.
Sali does not explicitly disclose the object information acquiring apparatus of claim 1, wherein the light receiving module includes a plurality of sensing units, and wherein the laser module includes a plurality of laser emitting units.
However, Lipson from the same or similar endeavor of image processing discloses the object information acquiring apparatus of claim 1, wherein the light receiving module includes a plurality of sensing units (See ¶¶ [0032]- [003 and FIG. 6]), and wherein the laser module includes a plurality of laser emitting units (See ¶¶ [0026]- [0028] and FIG. 2).
It would have been obvious to the person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the teachings disclosed by Sali and Shor to add the teachings of Lipson as above, in order to directs the beam of the particular laser in the array that is illuminated in a desired direction so that turning on and off of the lasers in each array creates a scanning effect (Lipson, [0012]).
Regarding claim 9, Sali, Shor and Lipson disclose all the limitations of claim 8, and is analyzed as previously discussed with respect to that claim.
Sali does not explicitly disclose the object information acquiring apparatus of claim 8, wherein the plurality of sensing units include a plurality of single photon avalanche diodes (SPADs), and
wherein the plurality of laser emitting units include a plurality of vertical cavity surface emitting lasers (VCSELs)
However, Shor or Lipson from the same or similar endeavor of image processing discloses the object information acquiring apparatus of claim 8, wherein the plurality of sensing units include a plurality of single photon avalanche diodes (SPADs) (See ¶¶ [0032] and [0034] and Figs. 6 and 7)., and
wherein the plurality of laser emitting units include a plurality of vertical cavity surface emitting lasers (VCSELs) (See ¶ [0027] and [0034] and Figs. 2 and 7).
The motivation for combining Sali, Shor and Lipson has been discussed in connection with claim 8, above.
Claim 11 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Sali, in view of Shor, and further, in view of Pankanti (US 20170286809 A1), hereinafter referred to as Pankanti.
Regarding claim 11, Sali and Shor disclose all the limitations of claim 1, and is analyzed as previously discussed with respect to that claim.
Sali does not explicitly disclose the object information acquiring apparatus of claim 10, wherein the object recognition unit includes an artificial neural network.
However, Pankanti from the same or similar endeavor of image processing discloses the object information acquiring apparatus of claim 10, wherein the object recognition unit includes an artificial neural network (See ¶¶ [0015], [0016], [0021] and [0041]- [0042]).
It would have been obvious to the person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the teachings disclosed by Sali and Shor to add the teachings of Pankanti as above, in order to improve the training of such neural networks by increasing the efficiency of the training (Pankanti, [0024]).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. See PTO-892 for additional references.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to FABIO S LIMA whose telephone number is (571)270-0625. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday through Friday, 7:30 AM - 4:00 PM (EST).
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, JAMIE ATALA can be reached on (571)272-7384. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/FABIO S LIMA/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2486
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