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(s) 1 - 20 is pending for examination.
This Action is made NON-FINAL.
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.
Claim(s) 14 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.
The term “an area between a hand of a user and the face” in claim 14 is a relative term which renders the claim indefinite. The term “an area between a hand of a user and the face” is 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. It is unclear what the bounds of the area are. Is the area spherical, a block, or some other shape entirely? Is 5 inches to the side of the face still considered within the area? Is five feet, 5 yards, or 5 miles to the side still in the area? Thus the scope of the claim could not be determined.
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 USPTO Internet website contains terminal disclaimer forms which may be used. Please visit www.uspto.gov/patent/patents-forms. The filing date of the application in which the form is filed determines what form (e.g., PTO/SB/25, PTO/SB/26, PTO/AIA /25, or PTO/AIA /26) should be used. A web-based eTerminal Disclaimer may be filled out completely online using web-screens. An eTerminal Disclaimer that meets all requirements is auto-processed and approved immediately upon submission. For more information about eTerminal Disclaimers, refer to www.uspto.gov/patents/process/file/efs/guidance/eTD-info-I.jsp.
Claim(s) 1-16 and 18-20 are rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claim(s) 1-13 of Patent US 12372975 B2 (reference application).
A table has been created below to compare claims of the instant application and claims of Patent US 12372975 B2 side by side.
Instant Application 19/257,817
Patent US 12372975 B2
1. An apparatus of an drone comprising: at least one processor; and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, configure the at least one processor to perform operations comprising: receiving an indication of a selection of a fly instruction; capturing an image using an image capturing device of the drone; processing the image to determine an orientation of a face in the image; determining an initial flight plan based on the orientation of the face; and taking off, in accordance with the initial flight plan.
1. An apparatus of an autonomous drone comprising: a processor; and a memory storing instructions that, when executed by the processor, configure the autonomous drone to perform operations comprising: receiving an indication of a selection of a fly instruction; capturing an image using an image capturing device of the autonomous drone; processing the image to determine whether a face is present in the image; determining a distance of the face from the autonomous drone; and in response to the face being present in the image, the distance of the face from the autonomous drone not being greater than a first threshold distance, and the distance of the face from the autonomous drone not being less than a second threshold distance, taking off.
7. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein determining the face is present further comprises: determining whether an orientation of the face indicates the autonomous drone is within a field of vision of an eye of the face.
12. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein taking off further comprises: taking off based on an initial flight plan of a flight plan.
2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the operations further comprise: determining a distance of the face from the drone is not greater than a first threshold distance, and the distance of the face from the drone is not less than a second threshold distance.
1. An apparatus of an autonomous drone comprising: a processor; and a memory storing instructions that, when executed by the processor, configure the autonomous drone to perform operations comprising: receiving an indication of a selection of a fly instruction; capturing an image using an image capturing device of the autonomous drone; processing the image to determine whether a face is present in the image; determining a distance of the face from the autonomous drone; and in response to the face being present in the image, the distance of the face from the autonomous drone not being greater than a first threshold distance, and the distance of the face from the autonomous drone not being less than a second threshold distance, taking off.
3. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the first threshold distance is three feet to ten feet and the second threshold distance is one inch to four feet.
2. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the first threshold distance is three feet to ten feet and the second threshold distance is one inch to four feet.
4. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein the operations further comprise: determining the second threshold distance based on a wind speed, wherein the second threshold distance is increased based on a higher wind speed.
3. The apparatus of claim 2 wherein the operations further comprise: determining the second threshold distance based on a wind speed, wherein the second threshold distance is increased based on a higher wind speed.
5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the operations further comprise: determining the drone is right side up.
4. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the in response to the face being present in the image further comprises: in response to the face being present in the image and an orientation of the autonomous drone being right side up.
6. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the indication of the selection of the fly instruction is received from a user of the drone selecting a user interface item on the drone.
5. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the indication of the selection of the fly instruction is received from a user of the autonomous drone selecting a user interface item on the autonomous drone.
7. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein operations further comprise: determining the face is present if the face comprises at least a first threshold number of pixels of the image and the face comprises less than a second threshold number of pixels of the image.
6. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein determining the face is present further comprises: determining the face is present if the face comprises at least a first threshold number of pixels of an image sensor of the image capturing device and the face comprises no more than a second threshold number of pixels of the image sensor.
8. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the operations further comprise: determining the orientation of the face indicates the drone is within a field of vision of an eye of the face.
7. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein determining the face is present further comprises: determining whether an orientation of the face indicates the autonomous drone is within a field of vision of an eye of the face.
9. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the image capturing device is a first image capturing device and the image is a first image, and wherein the operations further comprise: capturing, using a second image capturing device of the drone, a second image; and determining a hand is within the second image.
8. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the image capturing device is a first image capturing device and the image is a first image, and wherein the operations further comprise: capturing, using a second image capturing device of the autonomous drone, a second image, wherein the in response to the face being present in the image further comprises: in response to the face being present in the image and the second image indicating the autonomous drone is on a hand.
10. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the first image capturing device is mounted horizontally relative to an axis of propellers of the drone and the second image capturing device is mounted vertically relative to the axis of the propellers and is directed downward.
9. The apparatus of claim 8 wherein the first image capturing device is mounted horizontally relative to an axis of propellers of the autonomous drone and the second image capturing device is mounted vertically relative to the axis of the propellers and is directed downward.
11. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the indication of the selection of the fly instruction is a first indication, and wherein the operations further comprise: turning propellers of the drone on a lower setting for a period of time and taking off if a second indication is not received to cancel taking off.
10. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the indication of the selection of the fly instruction is a first indication, and wherein the in response to the face being present in the image further comprises: turning propellers on a lower setting for a period of time and taking off if a second indication is not received to cancel taking off.
12. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the operations further comprise: determining the face is a specific face authorized to use the drone.
11. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the processing the image to determine whether the face is present in the image further comprises: determining whether a specific face of a user of the autonomous drone is present in the image.
13. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the operations further comprise: navigating the initial flight plan based on identifying the face in subsequent images captured by the image capturing device.
13. The apparatus of claim 12 wherein the operations further comprise: determining the flight plan based on a position of the face relative to the autonomous drone; and navigating the flight plan based on identifying the face in subsequent images captured by the image capturing device.
14. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the initial flight plan takes the drone to fly upwards to a height that is higher than the face in an area between a hand of a user and the face.
14. The apparatus of claim 12 wherein the initial flight plan takes the autonomous drone to fly upwards to a height that is higher than the face in an area between a hand of a user and the face.
15. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the operations further comprise: navigating, after the initial flight plan, is in accordance with a flight plan.
13. The apparatus of claim 12 wherein the operations further comprise: determining the flight plan based on a position of the face relative to the autonomous drone; and navigating the flight plan based on identifying the face in subsequent images captured by the image capturing device.
16. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the navigating is based on identifying the face in subsequent images captured by the image capturing device.
13. The apparatus of claim 12 wherein the operations further comprise: determining the flight plan based on a position of the face relative to the autonomous drone; and navigating the flight plan based on identifying the face in subsequent images captured by the image capturing device.
18. A method performed on an apparatus of a drone, the method comprising: receiving an indication of a selection of a fly instruction; capturing an image using an image capturing device of the drone; processing the image to determine an orientation of a face in the image; determining an initial flight plan based on the orientation of the face; and taking off, in accordance with the initial flight plan.
1. An apparatus of an autonomous drone comprising: a processor; and a memory storing instructions that, when executed by the processor, configure the autonomous drone to perform operations comprising: receiving an indication of a selection of a fly instruction; capturing an image using an image capturing device of the autonomous drone; processing the image to determine whether a face is present in the image; determining a distance of the face from the autonomous drone; and in response to the face being present in the image, the distance of the face from the autonomous drone not being greater than a first threshold distance, and the distance of the face from the autonomous drone not being less than a second threshold distance, taking off.
7. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein determining the face is present further comprises: determining whether an orientation of the face indicates the autonomous drone is within a field of vision of an eye of the face.
12. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein taking off further comprises: taking off based on an initial flight plan of a flight plan.
19. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium, the non-transitory computer-readable storage medium including instructions that, when executed by at least one processor of an apparatus of a drone, cause the at least one processor to perform operations comprising: receiving an indication of a selection of a fly instruction; capturing an image using an image capturing device of the drone; processing the image to determine an orientation of a face in the image; determining an initial flight plan based on the orientation of the face; and taking off, in accordance with the initial flight plan.
1. An apparatus of an autonomous drone comprising: a processor; and a memory storing instructions that, when executed by the processor, configure the autonomous drone to perform operations comprising: receiving an indication of a selection of a fly instruction; capturing an image using an image capturing device of the autonomous drone; processing the image to determine whether a face is present in the image; determining a distance of the face from the autonomous drone; and in response to the face being present in the image, the distance of the face from the autonomous drone not being greater than a first threshold distance, and the distance of the face from the autonomous drone not being less than a second threshold distance, taking off.
7. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein determining the face is present further comprises: determining whether an orientation of the face indicates the autonomous drone is within a field of vision of an eye of the face.
12. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein taking off further comprises: taking off based on an initial flight plan of a flight plan.
20. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 19, wherein the operations further comprise: determining a distance of the face from the drone is not greater than a first threshold distance, and the distance of the face from the drone is not less than a second threshold distance.
1. An apparatus of an autonomous drone comprising: a processor; and a memory storing instructions that, when executed by the processor, configure the autonomous drone to perform operations comprising: receiving an indication of a selection of a fly instruction; capturing an image using an image capturing device of the autonomous drone; processing the image to determine whether a face is present in the image; determining a distance of the face from the autonomous drone; and in response to the face being present in the image, the distance of the face from the autonomous drone not being greater than a first threshold distance, and the distance of the face from the autonomous drone not being less than a second threshold distance, taking off.
Although the claims at issue are not identical, they are not patentably distinct from each other because both inventions are directed to description of the invention. Claim(s) #-# are rejected based on claim(s) #-# of Patent US 12372975 B2. Minor differences can be seen and noted in the table above, however it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to use the statutory category (system apparatus method) of the copending application to produce the statutory category (system apparatus method) of the instant application.
Claim(s) 17 is rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claim(s) 1 of Patent US 12372975 B2 in view of Liu (US 20210405661 A1).
Table has been created below to compare claims of the instant application and claims of Patent US 12372975 B2 side by side.
Instant Application 19/257,817
Patent US 12372975 B2
17. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the operations further comprise: determining a pitch, a yaw, and a roll of the orientation of the face.
Patent US 12372975 B2 teaches The apparatus of claim 1
US 12372975 B2 does not teach, wherein the operations further comprise:determining a pitch, a yaw, and a roll of the orientation of the face.
However, Para [0014] of Liu teaches wherein the operations further comprise: determining a pitch, a yaw, and a roll of the orientation of the face.
It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to have modified US 12372975 B2 to incorporate the teachings of Liu to determine gaze direction using a 3-dimensional direction parameter (yaw, pitch, and roll) because it allows the drone to continuously capture a persons face even if they are about to change direction as discussed in para [0014] of Liu
Minor differences can be seen and noted in the table above, however it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to use The apparatus of the Patent US 12372975 B2 in view of Liu to produce the apparatus of the instant application because it allows the drone to continuously capture a person’s face even if they are about to change direction as discussed in para [0014] of Liu
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 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.
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim(s) 1, 6-7, 11-13, 15, and 18-19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Machine translation of Zheng (CN-109901612-A).
Regarding claim 1, Zheng teaches An apparatus of an drone comprising: at least one processor; and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, configure the at least one processor to perform operations comprising:
{Page 3 “In a third aspect, the invention also provides an unmanned aerial vehicle, comprising a processor, a memory connected with the processor, an image collecting device and a voice collecting device, stored in the memory can be executed by the machine, the processor-executable instructions, the processor executing
the machine executable instructions to implement the method.”
}
receiving an indication of a selection of a fly instruction;
{ Fig. 3 and Page 6 “step S301, when the power supply is connected to the unmanned aerial vehicle, capturing the current external scene image by the image collecting device.”
The power on can be considered as an indication of the selection of a fly instruction because ultimately leads to the drone flying in step s307 described on page 7
}
capturing an image using an image capturing device of the drone;
{ Fig. 3 and Page 6 “step S301, when the power supply is connected to the unmanned aerial vehicle, capturing the current external scene image by the image collecting device.”
}
processing the image to determine an orientation of a face in the image;
{ Fig. 3 and Page 6 “step S302, judging whether the external scene image captured is contained in the face image, if so, executing step S304, if not, execute step S303.
In order to enhance the accuracy of face recognition, avoiding the mistaking for unmanned aerial vehicle operator over the passerby in the far background, the external scene image judging whether the capturing is contained in the face image. If the current external situation image contained in an image region of the face recognition feature points, from the current of the external scene image with the identification characteristic point of face image area extraction; the area for calculating the image region occupied in the current external situation image ratio; if the area ratio value greater than the set, judging that the current in the external scene image comprises the human face image with human face recognition feature point. i.e. if the ratio of area of the face image area occupied in the external scene image is large, it indicates that the person is near from the unmanned aerial vehicle, it is believed that the person is the operator of the unmanned aerial vehicle.
In order to ensure the face image of human face image captured by the image acquisition device to the operator of the unmanned aerial vehicle in the process of the face recognition identity verification of steps may be added. For example, before sending out the prompting information, if the external scene image captured by the image acquisition device contained in the face image, then further judging whether the image is consistent with the pre-stored face image, if so, then executing step sends the prompt information. wherein the pre-stored face image is a face image of the user collected in advance, stored in the image library may be a face image of a user, and may also include face images of a plurality of users. If a plurality of face image in the image library, the face image captured by the image acquisition device and the plurality of facial image comparing the pre-stored one by one as long as there is one piece of face image matched with the face image of the external scene image may stop comparison, determining image collecting device included in the captured face image.”
Orientation can be defined as relative position or relative direction in this case relative position of the face is being determined.
}
determining an initial flight plan based on the orientation of the face; and
{Fig. 3 and page 6 “step S302, judging whether the external scene image captured is contained in the face image, if so, executing step S304, if not, execute step S303.”
Where proceeding with the startup when the face is present can be considered as determining an initial flight plan based on the orientation of the face.
}
taking off, in accordance with the initial flight plan.
{page 7 “step S307, sending a starting signal, starting the motor of the unmanned aerial vehicle. when outdoor use unmanned machine is on the unmanned aerial vehicle, the unmanned aerial vehicle in the palm, so that the camera faces face, the face recognition. after a successful identification, head or tail lamp flashing prompt, then the user says "start", the unmanned aerial vehicle starting motor, 2 seconds after the user can remove the palm, the unmanned aerial vehicle to hover in the air. Then, the user can use the voice instruction to continue control during flight of the unmanned aerial vehicle, or gesture command using control during flight of the unmanned aerial vehicle.”
}
Regarding claim 6, Zheng teaches The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the indication of the selection of the fly instruction is received from a user of the drone selecting a user interface item on the drone.
{ Fig. 3 and Page 6 “step S301, when the power supply is connected to the unmanned aerial vehicle, capturing the current external scene image by the image collecting device.”
The power on can be considered as an indication of the selection of a fly instruction because ultimately leads to the drone flying in step s307 described on page 7
Any of a switch plug or button can be considered as a user interface element as it allows a user to interact with the drone and causes a reaction.
}
Regarding claim 7, Zheng teaches The apparatus of claim 1, wherein operations further comprise: determining the face is present if the face comprises at least a first threshold number of pixels of the image and the face comprises less than a second threshold number of pixels of the image.
{Page 6 “In order to enhance the accuracy of face recognition, avoiding the mistaking for unmanned aerial vehicle operator over the passerby in the far background, the external scene image judging whether the capturing is contained in the face image. If the current external situation image contained in an image region of the face recognition feature points, from the current of the external scene image with the identification characteristic
point of face image area extraction; the area for calculating the image region occupied in the current external situation image ratio; if the area ratio value greater than the set, judging that the current in the external scene image comprises the human face image with human face recognition feature point. i.e. if the ratio of area of the face image area occupied in the external scene image is large, it indicates that the person is near from the unmanned aerial vehicle, it is believed that the person is the operator of the unmanned aerial vehicle.”
The ratio can be considered as a first threshold number of pixels as first threshold number of pixels is merely the ratio multiplied by the total image pixels.
Where there is an inherent second threshold which is the maximum number of pixels of the image as the image cannot be an infinite number of pixels.
}
Regarding claim 11, Zheng teaches The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the indication of the selection of the fly instruction is a first indication, and wherein the operations further comprise: turning propellers of the drone on a lower setting for a period of time and taking off if a second indication is not received to cancel taking off.
{Page 6 “step S307, sending a starting signal, starting the motor of the unmanned aerial vehicle. when outdoor use unmanned machine is on the unmanned aerial vehicle, the unmanned aerial vehicle in the palm, so that the camera faces face, the face recognition. after a successful identification, head or tail lamp flashing prompt, then the user says "start", the unmanned aerial vehicle starting motor, 2 seconds after the user can remove the palm, the unmanned aerial vehicle to hover in the air. Then, the user can use the voice instruction to continue control during flight of the unmanned aerial vehicle, or gesture command using control during flight of the unmanned aerial vehicle.”
In the example no operation to cancel was received an the drone takes off. It should also be noted the ability to connect the power supply of the drone is given on page 6. Disconnecting the power supply can could be considered as a request to cancel and would result in the drone not taking off. However it should not be noted that “not taking off if a second indication is received to cancel taking off” is not actually claimed.
}
Regarding claim 12, Zheng teaches The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the operations further comprise: determining the face is a specific face authorized to use the drone.
{Page 6 “In order to ensure the face image of human face image captured by the image acquisition device to the operator of the unmanned aerial vehicle in the process of the face recognition identity verification of steps may be added. For example, before sending out the prompting information, if the external scene image captured by the image acquisition device contained in the face image, then further judging whether the
image is consistent with the pre-stored face image, if so, then executing step sends the prompt information. wherein the pre-stored face image is a face image of the user collected in advance, stored in the image library may be a face image of a user, and may also include face images of a plurality of users. If a plurality of face image in the image library, the face image captured by the image acquisition device and the plurality
of facial image comparing the pre-stored one by one as long as there is one piece of face image matched with the face image of the external scene image may stop comparison, determining image collecting device included in the captured face image.”
}
Regarding claim 13, Zheng teaches The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the operations further comprise: navigating the initial flight plan based on identifying the face in subsequent images captured by the image capturing device.
{Page 6 “step S302, judging whether the external scene image captured is contained in the face image, if so, executing step S304, if not, execute step S303.”… “step S303, adjust the shooting angle of the image collecting device through the angle adjusting mechanism, then, returning to carry out step S201.”
Fig. 4 Where if a face isn’t in the initial image the camera angle is adjusted and images are retaken in order to proceed with the takeoff process.
Applicant has not stated that the navigating the flight plane occurs after takeoff or the subsequent images are captured after takeoff
}
Regarding claim 15, Zheng teaches The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the operations further comprise: navigating, after the initial flight plan, is in accordance with a flight plan.
{Page 7 “when outdoor use unmanned machine is on the unmanned aerial vehicle, the unmanned aerial vehicle in the palm, so that the camera faces face, the face recognition. after a successful identification, head or tail lamp flashing prompt, then the user says "start", the unmanned aerial vehicle starting motor, 2 seconds after the
user can remove the palm, the unmanned aerial vehicle to hover in the air. Then, the user can use the voice instruction to continue control during flight of the unmanned aerial vehicle, or gesture command using control during flight of the unmanned aerial vehicle.”
}
Regarding claim 18, it recites A method having limitations similar to those of claim 1 and therefore is rejected on the same basis.
Regarding claim 19, it recites A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having limitations similar to those of claim 1 and therefore is rejected on the same basis.
Additionally Zheng teaches A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium, the non-transitory computer-readable storage medium including instructions that, when executed by at least one processor of an apparatus of a drone, cause the at least one processor to perform operations comprising:
{Page 3 “In a third aspect, the invention also provides an unmanned aerial vehicle, comprising a processor, a memory connected with the processor, an image collecting device and a voice collecting device, stored in the memory can be executed by the machine, the processor-executable instructions, the processor executing
the machine executable instructions to implement the method.”
}
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 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.
Claim(s) 2, 16, and 20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Machine translation of Zheng (CN-109901612-A) in view of Lee et al. (US 20190023395 A1, hereinafter known as Lee)
Regarding Claim 2, Zheng teaches The apparatus of claim 1
Zheng does not teach, determining a distance of the face from the drone is not greater than a first threshold distance, and the distance of the face from the drone is not less than a second threshold distance.
However, Lee teaches determining a distance of the face from the drone is not greater than a first threshold distance, and the distance of the face from the drone is not less than a second threshold distance.
{Para [0079] “According to an embodiment, the processor 250 may move the UAV 20 to a location suitable for capturing an image of a subject among locations corresponding to a specified distance range and a specified heading angle range when controlling movement of the UAV 20. For example, when a specified subject is a person, the processor 250 may move the UAV 20 to a location suitable for capturing an image of a portion of the subject (e.g., a face of the person) among locations corresponding to a specified distance range and a specified heading angle range. The location suitable for capturing the image of the portion of the subject may include, for example, a location where a specified feature point of an external object is able be captured to be relatively larger.”
}
It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Zheng to incorporate the teachings of Lee to Have the drone move within a distance range of a face because it allows for a suitable image of the face to be captured as discussed in para [0079] of Lee.
Regarding Claim 16, Zheng teaches The apparatus of claim 1
Zheng does not teach, wherein the navigating is based on identifying the face in subsequent images captured by the image capturing device.
However, Lee teaches wherein the navigating is based on identifying the face in subsequent images captured by the image capturing device.
{Para [0079] “According to an embodiment, the processor 250 may move the UAV 20 to a location suitable for capturing an image of a subject among locations corresponding to a specified distance range and a specified heading angle range when controlling movement of the UAV 20. For example, when a specified subject is a person, the processor 250 may move the UAV 20 to a location suitable for capturing an image of a portion of the subject (e.g., a face of the person) among locations corresponding to a specified distance range and a specified heading angle range. The location suitable for capturing the image of the portion of the subject may include, for example, a location where a specified feature point of an external object is able be captured to be relatively larger.”
}
It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Zheng to incorporate the teachings of Lee to navigate based on identifying the face so it can capture the face larger as discussed in para [0079] of Lee. (it is well known that drones are used for capturing footage for entertainment and surveillance programs)
Regarding claim 20, it recites A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having limitations similar to those of claim 1 and therefore is rejected on the same basis.
Claim(s) 3 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Machine translation of Zheng (CN-109901612-A) in view of Lee et al. (US 20190023395 A1, hereinafter known as Lee) and design choice
Regarding Claim 3, Zheng in view of Lee teaches The apparatus of claim 2
Zheng in view of lee does not teach does not teach, wherein the first threshold distance is three feet to ten feet and the second threshold distance is one inch to four feet.
However, However, It would have been an obvious matter of design choice to have the first threshold distance be three feet to ten feet and the second threshold distance be one inch to four feet since applicant has not disclosed that this specific range solves any stated problem or is for any particular purpose and it appears that the invention would perform equally as well when the thresholds are set at alternate distances.
Claim(s) 4 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Machine translation of Zheng (CN-109901612-A) in view of Lee et al. (US 20190023395 A1, hereinafter known as Lee), Design Choice, and Wang et al. (US 20200209895 A1, hereinafter known as Wang)
Regarding Claim 4, Zheng in view of Lee and Design Choice teaches The apparatus of claim 3.
Zheng in view of Lee and Design Choice does not teach, wherein the operations further comprise: determining the second threshold distance based on a wind speed, wherein the second threshold distance is increased based on a higher wind speed.
However, Lee teaches determining a distance of the face from the drone is not greater than a first threshold distance, and the distance of the face from the drone is not less than a second threshold distance.
{Para [0055] “The safe operation distance may depend on environmental conditions, e.g. weather. For instance if the UAV is operating in an environment with high wind conditions, a greater safe operation distance may be provided due to the possible erratic nature of the UAV's flight. For instance if the UAV is operating in a foggy or similar low-visibility environment, a greater safe operation distance may be provided due to the possible unreliable operation of sensors or the possible unreliable detection of the operating object.”
}
It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Zheng in view of Lee and Design Choice to incorporate the teachings of Wang to have a larger safe distance when there is wind because it improves safety as discussed in para [0055] of Wang.
Claim(s) 5 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Machine translation of Zheng (CN-109901612-A) in view of Machine translation of Yuan (CN-109476372-A)
Regarding Claim 5, Zheng teaches The apparatus of claim 1
Zheng does not teach, wherein the operations further comprise: determining the drone is right side up.
However, Yuan teaches wherein the operations further comprise: determining the drone is right side up.
{ page 2 “because such as bad weather conditions, with another object or terrain collision, or unmanned aerial vehicle fault and so on all kinds of factors, drone orientation may be subjected to interference. This may cause the unmanned aerial vehicle in flight or after crashing in the upside down position. in most cases, unmanned aerial vehicle may not be from an upside down position or inclined position flight and/or takeoff. user may require manual orientation of the unmanned aerial vehicle to change to a face up position to allow unmanned aerial vehicle takeoff.”)
Page 32 “when the unmanned aerial vehicle is in the frontal orientation (i.e., the top side of the unmanned aerial vehicle is upwards), two propulsion units 1 and 3 can rotate clockwise, and the other two propulsion units 2 and 4 can rotate counterclockwise”
}
It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Zheng to incorporate the teachings of Yuan to determine that the drone is right side up because it may be upside making takeoff impossible/difficult as discussed on page 2 of Yuan.
Claim(s) 8 and 17 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Machine translation of Zheng (CN-109901612-A) in view of Liu. (US 20210405661 A1)
Regarding Claim 8, Zheng teaches The apparatus of claim 1
Zheng does not teach, wherein the operations further comprise: determining the orientation of the face indicates the drone is within a field of vision of an eye of the face.
However, Liu teaches wherein the operations further comprise: determining the orientation of the face indicates the drone is within a field of vision of an eye of the face.
{Para [0014] “FIG. 1 illustrates a system 100 for multi-view imaging of an environment according to some embodiments. System 100 includes a first plurality of drones 102 (just two are shown, for simplicity, but there may be many more), each drone 102 being equipped with a drone camera 104 (just one is indicated, for simplicity). Each drone 102 in the first plurality moves along its own trajectory to track movement of a target 106, shown here as a person, although, as noted above, the target may be an animal of another species. The drones 102 are positioned in front of the target, in this case the person, in relation to the direction the person is facing, with their cameras 104 oriented to be able to capture a first plurality of images of the person's face. Any one of various well-known image processing techniques may be used on the captured images, in combination with data on the spatial distribution of the drones, to allow real time determinations of the person's head pose, which may be taken as indicative of intended movement direction, and gaze (a 3-dimensional direction parameter) to be made, either within drones 102 or at a camera control station if the communication bandwidth is sufficient. These determinations are used to guide subsequent movements and orientations of the drones 102 so that these drones may maintain positions ahead of the person and their cameras 104 can adjust their orientations as necessary to capture images of the person's face even if the person changes direction, slows down or speeds up etc. These subsequently captured images allow correspondingly updated head pose and gaze determinations to be made, guiding further movements and image capture, and so on.”
}
It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Zheng to incorporate the teachings of Liu to determine gaze direction and if the drone is within it because it allows the drone to continuously capture a persons face even if they are about to change direction as discussed in para [0014] of Liu
Regarding Claim 17, Zheng teaches The apparatus of claim 1
Zheng does not teach, wherein the operations further comprise: determining a pitch, a yaw, and a roll of the orientation of the face.
However, Liu teaches wherein the operations further comprise: determining a pitch, a yaw, and a roll of the orientation of the face.
{Para [0014] “FIG. 1 illustrates a system 100 for multi-view imaging of an environment according to some embodiments. System 100 includes a first plurality of drones 102 (just two are shown, for simplicity, but there may be many more), each drone 102 being equipped with a drone camera 104 (just one is indicated, for simplicity). Each drone 102 in the first plurality moves along its own trajectory to track movement of a target 106, shown here as a person, although, as noted above, the target may be an animal of another species. The drones 102 are positioned in front of the target, in this case the person, in relation to the direction the person is facing, with their cameras 104 oriented to be able to capture a first plurality of images of the person's face. Any one of various well-known image processing techniques may be used on the captured images, in combination with data on the spatial distribution of the drones, to allow real time determinations of the person's head pose, which may be taken as indicative of intended movement direction, and gaze (a 3-dimensional direction parameter) to be made, either within drones 102 or at a camera control station if the communication bandwidth is sufficient. These determinations are used to guide subsequent movements and orientations of the drones 102 so that these drones may maintain positions ahead of the person and their cameras 104 can adjust their orientations as necessary to capture images of the person's face even if the person changes direction, slows down or speeds up etc. These subsequently captured images allow correspondingly updated head pose and gaze determinations to be made, guiding further movements and image capture, and so on.”
}
It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Zheng to incorporate the teachings of Liu to determine gaze direction using a 3-dimensional direction parameter (yaw, pitch, and roll) because it allows the drone to continuously capture a person’s face even if they are about to change direction as discussed in para [0014] of Liu
Claim(s) 9-10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Machine translation of Zheng (CN-109901612-A) in view of Hehn et al. (US 20240135703 A1, hereinafter known as Hehn)
Regarding Claim 9, Zheng teaches The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the image capturing device is a first image capturing device and the image is a first image, and wherein the operations further comprise: capturing, using a
{Page 7 “when outdoor use unmanned machine is on the unmanned aerial vehicle, the unmanned aerial vehicle in the palm, so that the camera faces face, the face recognition. after a successful identification, head or tail lamp flashing prompt, then the user says "start", the unmanned aerial vehicle starting motor, 2 seconds after the user can remove the palm, the unmanned aerial vehicle to hover in the air. Then, the user can use the voice instruction to continue control during flight of the unmanned aerial vehicle, or gesture command using control during flight of the unmanned aerial vehicle.”
Where its is known in the art that gesture control is performed using hand gestures.
}
Zheng does not teach, wherein the operations further comprise: capturing, using a second image capturing device of the drone, a second image;
However, Hehn teaches wherein the operations further comprise: capturing, using a second image capturing device of the drone, a second image;
{Para [0048] “A drone or a mobile land-based robot are exemplary embodiments of a localizing apparatus. A normal movement condition of such a localizing apparatus is horizontal movement with respect to a ground surface of the scene of interest, either in air (as in case of a drone) or on the ground surface itself (as in case of a land-based robot). The N pre-arranged landmarks may be arranged on a ceiling in the scene of interest. In such a normal movement condition, the camera may be arranged on the localizing apparatus in such a way that the first camera's camera axis points towards the ceiling of the indoor environment. The first camera may be positioned in such a way on the localizing apparatus that during the capturing of the first image by the first camera a dot (inner) product between the first camera's camera axis and a vector of gravity provides a negative result; the first camera's camera axis may be within a cone of 45 degrees (an axis of the cone may be aligned with a vector of gravity and may be pointing in an opposite direction—the axis of the cone points from the cone's apex to its base—compared to the vector of gravity, i.e., the axis of the cone may point away from a ground of the indoor environment) around the vector of gravity at the time of the capturing of the first image by the first camera. SLAM landmarks, on the other hand, may typically be found within the scene of interest itself, as typical SLAM features may be determined based on strong local contrasts, for example. A ceiling of a room, for example, the ceiling of a room being a scene of interest, is on the other hand typically quite homogeneous: few SLAM features would therefore typically be detected on a ceiling of an indoor room. The first camera may therefore be positioned in such a way on the localizing agent that during the normal movement condition the first camera points upward towards the ceiling, i.e., that it mostly captures images of the ceiling. The second camera may be positioned in such a way on the localizing agent that it mostly captures images of the interior of the indoor environment. A camera axis of the second camera may therefore be oriented in a substantially orthogonal way to the first camera's camera axis.”
}
It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Zheng to incorporate the teachings of Hehn to use two cameras because it ensures that A SLAM algorithm can effective be used if one camera is pointing at an area with not many features. As discussed in para [0048]
Regarding Claim 10, Zheng in view of Hehn teaches The apparatus of claim 9.
Hehn teaches wherein the first image capturing device is mounted horizontally relative to an axis of propellers of the drone and the second image capturing device is mounted vertically relative to the axis of the propellers and is directed downward.
{Para [0014] “A drone or a mobile land-based robot are exemplary embodiments of a localizing apparatus. A normal movement condition of such a localizing apparatus is horizontal movement with respect to a ground surface of the scene of interest, either in air (as in case of a drone) or on the ground surface itself (as in case of a land-based robot). The N pre-arranged landmarks may be arranged on a ceiling in the scene of interest. In such a normal movement condition, the camera may be arranged on the localizing apparatus in such a way that the first camera's camera axis points towards the ceiling of the indoor environment. The first camera may be positioned in such a way on the localizing apparatus that during the capturing of the first image by the first camera a dot (inner) product between the first camera's camera axis and a vector of gravity provides a negative result; the first camera's camera axis may be within a cone of 45 degrees (an axis of the cone may be aligned with a vector of gravity and may be pointing in an opposite direction—the axis of the cone points from the cone's apex to its base—compared to the vector of gravity, i.e., the axis of the cone may point away from a ground of the indoor environment) around the vector of gravity at the time of the capturing of the first image by the first camera. SLAM landmarks, on the other hand, may typically be found within the scene of interest itself, as typical SLAM features may be determined based on strong local contrasts, for example. A ceiling of a room, for example, the ceiling of a room being a scene of interest, is on the other hand typically quite homogeneous: few SLAM features would therefore typically be detected on a ceiling of an indoor room. The first camera may therefore be positioned in such a way on the localizing agent that during the normal movement condition the first camera points upward towards the ceiling, i.e., that it mostly captures images of the ceiling. The second camera may be positioned in such a way on the localizing agent that it mostly captures images of the interior of the indoor environment. A camera axis of the second camera may therefore be oriented in a substantially orthogonal way to the first camera's camera axis.”
Where the first camera as described may point between 45 and 90 degrees where 90 degrees is straight up. 60 degrees can be considered as horizontal to the axis of propellers which are at 90 degrees.
The second camera is orthogonal to the second camera thus it would be pointing downwards at -30 degrees.
}
Claim(s) 14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Machine translation of Zheng (CN-109901612-A) in view of official notice.
Regarding Claim 14, Zheng teaches The apparatus of claim 13
Zheng does not explicitly teach, wherein the initial flight plan takes the drone to fly upwards to a height that is higher than the face in an area between a hand of a user and the face.
Official notice teaches wherein the initial flight plan takes the drone to fly upwards to a height that is higher than the face in an area between a hand of a user and the face. Applicant has not claimed that the drone stops at a height higher than the face in an area between a hand of a user and the face. Thus the drone may merely be flying through that space. Additionally it is not claimed that the drone is flying through that space based on capturing the position of the face and hand. Thus under broadest reasonable interpretation the drone merely has to fly through the space that is higher than the face and through an area between the hand and the face without necessarily being aware of the hand and face. Thus, this scenario could very easily happen circumstantially, and is well within the capabilities of a standard drone.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure: Huang et al. (US 20210018935 A1) teaches in the abstract “An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) includes one or more motors configured to drive one or more propellers of the UAV, a motion sensor configured to determine a motion parameter of the UAV, a memory storing instructions, and a processor coupled to the one or more motors, the motion sensor, and the memory. The processor is configured to execute the instructions to cause the UAV to determine whether a hand thrown mode is selected for the UAV and whether the one or more motors are turned off; responsive to a determination that the hand thrown mode is selected, receive a motion parameter from the motion sensor; and activate the one or more motors when the motion parameter is greater than a threshold value.”
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/A.G.M./Examiner, Art Unit 3668
/ABDHESH K JHA/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3668
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