Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application is being examined under the pre-AIA first to invent provisions.
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114 was filed in this application after a decision by the Patent Trial and Appeal Board, but before the filing of a Notice of Appeal to the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit or the commencement of a civil action. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114 and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the appeal has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114 and prosecution in this application has been reopened pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant’s submission filed on 6/23/26 has been entered.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The following is a quotation of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 103(a) which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
(a) A patent may not be obtained though the invention is not identically disclosed or described as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the subject matter sought to be patented and the prior art are such that the subject matter as a whole would have been obvious at the time the invention was made to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which said subject matter pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
Claim 1 is/are rejected under pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 103(a) as being unpatentable over Migos (20090100474) in view of Matsuura et al. (5,818,541).
Regarding claim 1, Migos discloses a method performed by a switching device (Fig. 2) having a plurality of audio/video (AV) ports (I/O interface 108) and a switch circuit (I/O selector module 220) that is operable to selectively connect any one of a plurality of source devices (clients devices 104) to a sink device (display device 102) wherein each of the plurality of source devices and the sink device is connected to a corresponding one of the plurality of AV ports and each of the plurality of source devices and the sink device has wireless control signal detector that responds to a command signal transmitted using a corresponding one of a plurality of different wireless command transmission formats (in par. 28, Migos states the plurality of remote control devices 106 may communicate commands, instructions, data, identifiers, and other inputs which may be processed to control operation of the plurality of client devices 104…the plurality of remote control devices 106 may communicate according to a variety of communication protocols such as radio frequency (RF), infrared (IR), Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc. (IEEE) 802.11 wireless standards, and/or other suitable communication protocols…in par. 22, Migos states the plurality of remote control devices 106 is depicted as including: a set-top box remote 106(1), a game pad 106(2), a keyboard 106(3), a DVD remote 106(4), a DVR remote 106(5)…other 106(6) remote control devices corresponding to other devices 104(6) are also contemplated…each of the plurality of remote control devices 106 corresponds to a respective one of the plurality of client devices 104…game device 104(2) has a corresponding gamepad 106(2) to operate the game device 104(2); PC 104(3) has a corresponding keyboard 106(3); and so forth; in par. 43, Migos states the client device data 222 is representative of data which may describe the plurality of client devices 104 and their arrangement one to another…the client device data 222 may be configured to include a variety of different data such as remote identifiers, device identifiers, manufacturer identifiers, remote control codes, input/output connection data, and so forth…client device data 222 may describe associations between the plurality of remote control devices 106 and the plurality of client devices 104…the client device data 222 may match each of the plurality of remote control devices 106 to a respective one of the plurality of client devices 104; in addition, the television described in par. 16 and 23 inherently includes a remote control), the method comprising:
detecting, by a switching device wireless control signal detector of the switching device, which is operable to receive wireless control signals sent using each of the plurality of different wireless command transmission formats utilized by the plurality of source devices, a transmission of a wireless control signal having a first one the plurality of different command transmission formats (in par. 41, Migos states that Detection module 218 represents functionality to determine when one of the plurality of remote control devices 106 is being manipulated by the user and/or to identify the remote control device. I/O selector module 220 represents functionality to cause sending of selected A/V output to the display device 102…the selection of A/V output may be based on which of the plurality of remote control devices 106 is detected via the detection module 218); and
using the first one of the plurality of different command transmission formats of the wireless control signal detected by the switching device wireless control signal detector to automatically connect a first AV port from among the plurality of AV ports to a second AV port from among the plurality of AV ports (in par. 44, Migos states that the client device data 222 may also describe connections of the plurality of client devices 104 one to another and/or to the I/O interface 108…the client device data 222 may describe how the I/O interface 108 is connected to the plurality of client devices 104 and how the outputs from the I/O interface 108 are connected to the display device 102…the client device data 222 may match the plurality of client devices 104 to particular inputs and outputs in the system 200…the client device data 222 may be referenced to configure the I/O interface 108 to send a selected A/V output from one of the plurality of client devices 104 to the display device 102…detection module 218 and/or the I/O selector module 220 may reference the client device data 222 to identify a manipulated remote control device and to cause presentation of corresponding A/V output on the display device 102). Migos does not disclose detecting, by a switching device wireless control signal detector of the switching device, which is operable to receive wireless control signals sent using wireless command transmission format utilized by the sink device as claimed. However, Migos teaches that a single A/V output (to the display device 102) may be presented in a "full-screen" and/or multiple A/V outputs (e.g., sources) may be presented simultaneously, such as using picture-in-picture, picture-by-picture, overlays and so forth (par. 23).
Matsuura, from the similar field of endeavor, teaches a picture-in-picture television receiver, which includes a switching device (sw1 and sw2) for selecting multiple client input devices (note col. 5, lines 5-37) based on the control of a remote control 14 (col. 6, lines 11-29; col. 8, lines 1-36). This television receiver can be used as the picture-in-picture display device 102 in Migos.
Therefore, in view the teaching of Migos, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to include Matsuura into Migos so that the picture-in-picture function could be carried out.
Claims 4-7 is/are rejected under pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 103(a) as being unpatentable over Migos (20090100474) in view of Mui (7,042,366).
Regarding claim 4, Migos does not explicitly disclose the switching device wireless control signal detector comprises a universal infrared receiver as claimed. However, according to par. 41 and 44 as aforementioned, the detection module 218 has the capability of detecting different remote control codes from different brands or manufacturers. Such feat is known to be performed by universal infrared receivers. Mui, from the similar field of endeavor, teaches such known universal infrared receiver (note the universal infrared decoder 47 as described in col. 5, lines 43-53, and col. 6, lines 21-39). (Mui is also admitted by the applicant in page 12 of the specification.) Therefore, knowing that a universal infrared receiver is needed in Migos, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time that the invention was made to include Mui into Migos to perform the well known functions as claimed.
Regarding claim 5, Migos discloses each of the plurality of source devices is of a different device type (note the client devices 104 as shown in Fig. 1 or Fig. 2).
Regarding claim 6, Migos discloses each of the plurality of source devices is of a different device manufacture (note the client devices 104 as shown in Fig. 1 and Fig. 2 and the manufacturer identifiers for the client devices 104 as described in par. 43).
Regarding claim 7, Migos discloses each source device wireless control signal detector comprises an infrared receiver (note the infrared (IR) remote control as described in par. 28).
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments filed on 6/23/26, with respect to the rejection(s) of claim(s) 1 and 4-7 under Migos have been fully considered and are persuasive. Therefore, the rejection has been withdrawn. However, upon further consideration, a new ground(s) of rejection is made in view of Matsuura et al..
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MICHAEL LEE whose telephone number 571-272-7349. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday through Thursday from 9:00 am to 6:00 pm.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner's supervisor, John Miller, can be reached on 571-272-7353. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/MICHAEL LEE/ Primary Examiner,
Art Unit 2422
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