Ex parte Shiau

Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences

May 12, 1999

08117591 (B.P.A.I. May. 12, 1999)

Application for patent filed September 7, 1993. 1
The amendment had the effect of overcoming the2
indefiniteness rejection of claims 1 and 17 (paper number 16).
THIS OPINION WAS NOT WRITTEN FOR PUBLICATION
The opinion in support of the decision being entered
today (1) was not written for publication in a law
journal and (2) is not binding precedent of the
Board.
Paper No. 29
UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE
____________
BEFORE THE BOARD OF PATENT APPEALS
AND INTERFERENCES
____________
Ex parte JENG-NAN SHIAU
____________
Appeal No. 96-0650
Application No. 08/117,5911
____________
HEARD: May 4, 1999
____________
Before HAIRSTON, JERRY SMITH and HECKER, Administrative Patent
Judges.
HAIRSTON, Administrative Patent Judge.
DECISION ON APPEAL
This is an appeal from the final rejection of claims 1
through 40. In an Amendment After Final (paper number 15),
claims 1 and 17 were amended.2
Appeal No. 96-0650
Application No. 08/117,591
2
The disclosed invention relates to a color copier that
processes marker data during a single pass scan of a document.
The color copier also performs a thinning operation on the
marker data during the single pass scan.
Claim 36 is illustrative of the claimed invention, and it
reads as follows:
36. A copier for thinning buffered marker data during a
single pass scanning of a document, comprising:
first analyzing means for analyzing, during the single
pass scanning of the document, buffered marker data associated
with pixels adjacent to a first pixel, the first pixel being a
pixel in a first scanline, the first scanline having been
scanned prior in time to a scanline being presently scanned in
the single pass scanning of the document, to determine a
connectivity relationship of a marker line, the connectivity
relationship being between the first pixel and pixels adjacent
the first pixel; and
thinning means for eliminating, during the single pass
scanning of the document, buffered marker data associated with
the first pixel when said first analyzing means determines
that elimination of the buffered marker data associated with
the first pixel maintains connectivity of the marker line.

The references relied on by the examiner are:
Matsunawa et al. (Matsunawa) 5,216,498 June
1, 1993
Hardy et al. (Hardy) 5,261,012 Nov. 9,
1993
(filed May 11, 1992)
Foley et al. (Foley), “Computer Graphics: Principles and
Practice,” Addison-Wesley, 1991, pages 33 and 34.
Appeal No. 96-0650
Application No. 08/117,591
3
Claims 1 through 3, 6 through 8, 17 through 19, 28, 31,
32 and 36 through 38 stand rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 103 as
being unpatentable over Matsunawa in view of Hardy.
Claims 4, 5, 9 through 16, 20 through 27, 29, 30, 33
through 35, 39 and 40 stand rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 103 as
being unpatentable over Matsunawa in view of Hardy and Foley.
Reference is made to the briefs and the answers for the
respective positions of the appellant and the examiner.
OPINION
The obviousness rejections are reversed.
Matsunawa discloses apparatus for detecting a marked
region during a single scan of a document. The examiner
acknowledges that Matsunawa is silent concerning thinning of
the marked region (Answer, page 4). For such a teaching, the
examiner turns to Hardy. According to the examiner (Answer,
pages 4 and 5):
Hardy et al discloses a system for thinning
images. Hardy teaches that thinning is performed by
examining the pixels adjacent to a given pixel, and
carried out until an image formed of only lines or
dots remains (column 2, lines 27-68). Hardy et al
further teaches that the system may be used to make
a zone of interest more easily recognizable (column
1, lines 23-38).
Appeal No. 96-0650
Application No. 08/117,591
4
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary
skill in the art to perform thinning, as taught by
Hardy et al, on a detected marked region in the
system of Matsunawa et al, in order to more
accurately delineate a region enclosed by a marking
line or a marking image, in order to facilitate
subsequent processing of pixels in the delineated
region, particularly in view of the teaching of
Hardy et al that such processing may make a zone of
interest more easily recognizable.
Appellant argues (Brief, page 6) that Hardy stores the
“entire image prior to thinning because the data must be
analyzed in a left to right direction, in a right to left
direction, in an up to down direction, and in a down to up
direction.”
Hardy discloses that during the thinning process an image
memory 28 (Figure 4) has image data stored therein, and that
“the image memory will have 512 by 512 pixels (i.e., storage
locations corresponding to pixels),” and that “[t]he image
data will be scanned in four different directions” (column 7,
lines 5 through 14). Figure 1 of Hardy illustrates the
scanning of the data in the four directions. Such four-
directional scanning can only be performed on data that has
been previously stored in memory.
Appeal No. 96-0650
Application No. 08/117,591
5
In summary, we agree with appellant’s argument (Reply
Brief, page 10) that Hardy “stores the entire image prior to
thinning.”
The obviousness rejection of claims 1 through 3, 6 through 8,
17 through 19, 28, 31, 32 and 36 through 38 is reversed
because the applied references neither teach nor would they
have suggested to one of ordinary skill in the art the claimed
thinning during the single pass scanning of the document. The
obviousness rejection of claims 4, 5, 9 through 16, 20 through
27, 29, 30, 33 through 35, 39 and 40 is reversed because Foley
does not cure the noted shortcomings in Matsunawa and Hardy.
Appeal No. 96-0650
Application No. 08/117,591
6
DECISION
The decision of the examiner rejecting claims 1 through
40 under 35 U.S.C. § 103 is reversed.
REVERSED
KENNETH W. HAIRSTON )
Administrative Patent Judge )
)
)
)
) BOARD OF PATENT
JERRY SMITH ) APPEALS
Administrative Patent Judge ) AND
) INTERFERENCES
)
)
)
STUART N. HECKER )
Administrative Patent Judge )
jrg
Appeal No. 96-0650
Application No. 08/117,591
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Ronald Zibelli
Xerox Corporation
Xerox Square 20A
Rochester, NY 14644