Prior art

I have reviewed the Google Patents page for US patent 8031223 (US8031223B2) and identified the "Prior art citations" section, which lists documents considered during the examination of this patent. These citations represent the most relevant prior art.

Below is a breakdown of each cited patent, including its full citation, publication/filing date, a brief description, and the claims it potentially anticipates under 35 U.S.C. § 102, based on the abstract or primary teaching described in US8031223B2's own context. Please note that a thorough anticipation analysis under 35 U.S.C. § 102 for specific claims would require a detailed claim construction and a complete review of each cited patent's specification, which is beyond the scope of this summary. However, I will indicate the general area of overlap.

Most Relevant Prior Art for US Patent 8031223:

1. U.S. Patent No. 5,745,153 to Ulichney

• Full Citation: U.S. Patent No. 5,745,153 (Ulichney)
• Publication/Filing Date: Publication: April 28, 1998; Filing: August 18, 1995.
• Brief Description: This patent generally relates to a method and apparatus for generating a wide-angle image by combining a plurality of images, particularly focusing on methods for blending image boundaries to create a seamless composite.
• Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102): Potentially anticipates claims related to the general process of combining multiple images into a panoramic image and techniques for blending and stitching to create a smooth transition between frames. Claims 1, 10, 15, and 21, which broadly define cameras and methods for combining frames, may find general relevance here.

2. U.S. Patent No. 5,828,382 to Koyama et al.

• Full Citation: U.S. Patent No. 5,828,382 (Koyama et al.)
• Publication/Filing Date: Publication: October 27, 1998; Filing: June 23, 1995.
• Brief Description: This patent describes a digital camera system capable of generating a panoramic image by stitching together multiple images captured by the camera, and it may include features for displaying the stitched image.
• Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102): Potentially anticipates claims concerning a camera with acquisition and combining circuitry for creating a panoramic image, and aspects of displaying the panoramic image. Claims 1, 10, 15, and 21 are broadly implicated.

3. U.S. Patent No. 5,859,663 to Nemiroff

• Full Citation: U.S. Patent No. 5,859,663 (Nemiroff)
• Publication/Filing Date: Publication: January 12, 1999; Filing: April 28, 1997.
• Brief Description: This patent focuses on methods and systems for generating panoramic images, potentially involving the alignment and blending of multiple source images.
• Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102): Similar to Ulichney and Koyama, this patent generally relates to the core functionality of acquiring and combining multiple images into a panoramic view. Claims 1, 10, 15, and 21 might be generally implicated.

4. U.S. Patent No. 5,910,815 to Sato et al.

• Full Citation: U.S. Patent No. 5,910,815 (Sato et al.)
• Publication/Filing Date: Publication: June 8, 1999; Filing: December 27, 1996.
• Brief Description: This patent describes an image processing apparatus and method for combining a plurality of images to form a composite image, with a focus on seamless connection of images.
• Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102): Potentially anticipates claims related to the image combining process, including alignment and stitching, which are central to US8031223. Claims 1, 10, 15, and 21 are broadly relevant.

5. U.S. Patent No. 5,960,113 to Ohba et al.

• Full Citation: U.S. Patent No. 5,960,113 (Ohba et al.)
• Publication/Filing Date: Publication: September 28, 1999; Filing: July 2, 1997.
• Brief Description: This patent details an image capturing apparatus that can compose a panoramic image from multiple captured images, including methods for adjusting exposure and white balance between images.
• Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102): Potentially anticipates claims related to the camera's ability to acquire and combine images, particularly if the claims address chromatic alignment or exposure adjustments during the combining process (e.g., Claim 21 mentions "determining brightness and contrast parameters for chromatically aligning").

6. U.S. Patent No. 6,177,952 B1 to Arai et al.

• Full Citation: U.S. Patent No. 6,177,952 B1 (Arai et al.)
• Publication/Filing Date: Publication: January 23, 2001; Filing: January 13, 1999.
• Brief Description: This patent describes an image capturing apparatus that performs image stitching and can display a preview of the stitched image.
• Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102): Given the filing date is prior to the priority date of US8031223 (August 20, 1999), it's relevant. It potentially anticipates claims related to a camera's viewfinder displaying a composited view for alignment assistance (Claim 1) and playback mechanisms for interactively viewing the panoramic image (Claim 15).

7. U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2002/0001097 A1 to Teo

• Full Citation: U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2002/0001097 A1 (Teo)
• Publication/Filing Date: Publication: January 3, 2002; Filing: August 20, 1999.
• Brief Description: This is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/378,398, filed Aug. 20, 1999, which is the parent application of US8031223. As such, it is not prior art under 35 U.S.C. § 102, but rather related art by the same inventor/assignee.
• Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102): Not applicable as prior art under 35 U.S.C. § 102 for this patent, as it shares the same priority date and inventor.

8. U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2002/0008779 A1 to Koyama et al.

• Full Citation: U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2002/0008779 A1 (Koyama et al.)
• Publication/Filing Date: Publication: January 24, 2002; Filing: July 19, 2001.
• Brief Description: This patent application describes an image capturing apparatus and method for generating a panoramic image, potentially focusing on image processing for seamless stitching.
• Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102): Given the filing date is after the priority date of US8031223, this is not prior art under 35 U.S.C. § 102 for this patent.

9. U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2003/0086000 A1 to Koyama et al.

• Full Citation: U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2003/0086000 A1 (Koyama et al.)
• Publication/Filing Date: Publication: May 8, 2003; Filing: November 6, 2002.
• Brief Description: This patent application describes an image capturing apparatus and method for generating a panoramic image.
• Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102): Given the filing date is after the priority date of US8031223, this is not prior art under 35 U.S.C. § 102 for this patent.

Other Cited Documents (Non-Patent Literature or foreign patents, where limited information is available from Google Patents):

• U.S. Ser. No. 08/922,732 (Teo): This is the assignee's co-pending application mentioned in US8031223's description, filed Sep. 3, 1997, and entitled "A Method and System for Compositing Images". This is also not prior art under 35 U.S.C. § 102 as it is by the same inventor/assignee and is relied upon for common subject matter.
• U.S. Pat. No. 7,292,261: This is the parent patent of US8031223 and is therefore not prior art under 35 U.S.C. § 102.
• "PhotoVista" software: Mentioned as assignee's stitching application, but not a patent or publication to be analyzed as prior art under 35 U.S.C. § 102.
• Portal lens system of Be Here Corporation; ParaShot™ attachment of CycloVision Technologies, Inc.; Kaidan KiWi™ tripod head: These are commercial products/systems mentioned in the background as existing ways to capture wide-angle or panoramic images or aid in camera alignment. While they describe existing technology, without specific patent citations, they are not analyzed here as specific patent prior art documents.

Summary of Anticipation:

The primary prior art patents (U.S. Patent Nos. 5,745,153, 5,828,382, 5,859,663, 5,910,815, 5,960,113, and 6,177,952 B1) broadly disclose systems and methods for capturing and combining multiple images to create panoramic views. They touch upon aspects of image acquisition, alignment, blending, and displaying composite images.

Specifically, claims in US8031223 relating to:

• A camera with acquisition circuitry for acquiring multiple fields of view (e.g., Claim 1).
• Combining circuitry for combining frames into a panoramic image (e.g., Claim 10).
• A display for displaying portions of a panoramic image (e.g., Claim 15).
• Methods for determining offsets for spatial alignment, chromatic alignment parameters, and compositing portions of frames (e.g., Claim 21).

These claims would need to be carefully compared to the disclosures of the identified prior art to determine if every element of a given claim is present in a single prior art reference (anticipation under § 102) or if the combination of elements would have been obvious (§ 103). The cited prior art establishes a clear background for the technologies involved in panoramic image creation and in-camera processing.