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 .
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
Applicant amended independent claims to recite display device comprises a light-emitting display including a plurality of pixels controlled by a plurality of pixel drivers, the plurality of pixels being respectively connected to the pixel drivers by corresponding data lines, the pixel drivers driving said plurality of pixels by generating and outputting control signals to said corresponding data lines based on input signals received by the pixel drivers, the pixel drivers being constant-current pulse width modulation (PWM) drivers and applicant emphasized that non-linearities is caused by the pixel drivers while generating said control signals output to said corresponding data lines.
Applicant is emphasizing that non-linearities is caused by pixel driver while “generating said control signals output to said corresponding data lines” to differentiate from non-linearities resulting from voltage drop on supply lines as taught by prior art Piper. However, it is noted that the specification is completely silent with regard to the term “data lines” and lacks description of how such alleged “data line” is different from data lines in Piper reference which supply voltage to pixels. Corresponding claimed term of non-linearities caused by the pixel driver while generating said control signals output to said corresponding data lines constitute new matter.
It is further submitted as an alternative argument that all operation of causing LED pixel/sub-pixel to emit light is carried out by pixel driver circuit generating control signal for pixel/subpixels, hence supplying voltage to control light emission in prior art Piper, under reasonable interpretation, constitute output control signal on corresponding lines to control pixel driver.
In addition, new claims 21-25 further recite “wherein in step (v) of determining the deviation of the measured values from the corresponding calculated values due to non-linearities caused by the pixel drivers while generating said control signals output to said corresponding data lines, includes determining the deviation due to at least one of:
-a layout capacitance of a LED board on which the light-emitting display is provided;
-a temperature behavior of one or more of the plurality of pixel drivers;
-a speed of on/off switching of one or more of the plurality of pixel drivers; and
-a voltage and load dependence (DI/DV) of one or more of the plurality of pixel drivers.
It is noted, however, that the specification merely listed above factors as possible causation of deviation, and the specification is completely silent on how to separately determine deviation caused by different factors or provide any separate solution to individually determine separate cause of deviation. In other word, the solution provided instant application, which is taking measurement of actual light emitted by pixel via spectrometer or other luminance measurement mean, is a measurement of aggregated deviation caused by variety of factors, and is not capable distinguish whether deviation is caused by layout capacitance or temperature. The corresponding new claims, wherein the scope thereof covers instances where deviation due to different factors are singularity or separately determined apart from deviation caused by another factor, are not described in originally filed specification and constitute new matter. For the purpose of this office action, corresponding claimed limitation is considered met as long as aggregated deviation in real-world measurement may be partly contributed by the listed factors.
It appears that the applicant is attempt to differentiate claimed terms by emphasizing non-linearity is being caused by “non-linearities caused by the pixel drivers while generating control signals output to data lines” while non-linearity of prior art Piper is being caused by “shared supply-line voltage drops”.
Examiner respectfully submit, however, regardless of alleged causation of non-linearity, any non-linearity or non-uniformity in final display result as reflected in actual physical luminance of pixel in display is a result of aggregation of all real-world factor deviating from optimal theoretical value. The solution provided prior art is no different from solution as provided in pending application, which consist of steps of comparing real-world measurement value (resulting from non-uniformity caused by all different factors) with expected theoretical value and apply compensation. Such compensation would account for non-uniformity caused by all sources and simply would not differentiate one cause of non-linearity from another. In other words, the solution provided by pending application is the same solution as taught in prior art. Emphasizing that the problem of non-linearity is being caused by a different factor than the factor noted in prior art does not change the solution adopted to the fix the said problem, and does not distinguish the steps taken to solve the said problem.
It is well known from both cited reference as well as applicant’s own admission of prior art that none of PWM driver is perfectly linear (see specification of instant application, paragraphs 153: “It is known from the industry that perfect constant current drivers don't exist. Most of these have a dependency on current needed and also supply voltage and can be found in the data sheets”, paragraphs 147 list different reasons that may exist for non-linearities, it is evident that different causation of non-linearities is not invented by applicant, see cited references ). The solution as provided by Piper which measure real-world value of actual physical display device and compensating for real-world uniformity would account for non-linearity caused by any type of pixel driver. Since it is known that constant-current PWM pixel driver response is not perfectly linear, and that Piper provided solution to compensate for non-linearity in display device driving regardless of causation (by altering digital value of display data input, for example, Piper, paragraph 84), it would have been obvious to one or ordinary skill in the art at the time of filing to apply the solution provided by Piper into display device with constant-current PWM pixel driver to constitute the claimed solution of instant application, in order to improve display effect of display device.
Corresponding prior art rejection has been updated with prior reference disclosing LED display driver with constant-current PWM pixel and combination of application solution provided by Piper reference to said pixel drivers.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of 35 U.S.C. 112(a):
(a) IN GENERAL.—The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor or joint inventor of carrying out the invention.
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112:
The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor of carrying out his invention.
Claims 1-28 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), first paragraph, as failing to comply with the written description requirement. The claim(s) contains subject matter which was not described in the specification in such a way as to reasonably convey to one skilled in the relevant art that the inventor or a joint inventor, or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the inventor(s), at the time the application was filed, had possession of the claimed invention.
Claims 1, 17 and 28 recite, inter alia: “a light-emitting display including a plurality of pixels controlled by a plurality of pixel drivers, the plurality of pixels being respectively connected to the pixel drivers by corresponding data lines, the pixel drivers driving said plurality of pixels by generating and outputting control signals to said corresponding data lines based on input signals received by the pixel drivers, the pixel drivers being constant-current pulse width modulation (PWM) drivers” and applicant emphasized that non-linearities is caused by the pixel drivers while generating said control signals output to said corresponding data lines.
It appears that applicant is emphasizing that non-linearities is caused by pixel driver while “generating said control signals output to said corresponding data lines” to differentiate from non-linearities resulting from voltage drop on supply lines as taught by prior art Piper. However, it is noted that the specification is completely silent with regard to the term “data lines” and lacks description of how such alleged “data line” is different from data lines in Piper reference which supply voltage to pixels. Corresponding claimed term of non-linearities caused by the pixel driver while generating said control signals output to said corresponding data lines constitute new matter.
In addition, new claims 21-25 further recite “wherein in step (v) of determining the deviation of the measured values from the corresponding calculated values due to non-linearities caused by the pixel drivers while generating said control signals output to said corresponding data lines, includes determining the deviation due to at least one of:
-a layout capacitance of a LED board on which the light-emitting display is provided;
-a temperature behavior of one or more of the plurality of pixel drivers;
-a speed of on/off switching of one or more of the plurality of pixel drivers; and
-a voltage and load dependence (DI/DV) of one or more of the plurality of pixel drivers.
It is noted, however, that the specification merely listed above factors as possible causation of deviation, and the specification is completely silent on how to separately determine deviation caused by different factors or provide any separate solution to individually determine separate cause of deviation. In other word, the solution provided instant application, which is taking measurement of actual light emitted by pixel via spectrometer or other luminance measurement mean, is a measurement of aggregated deviation caused by variety of factors, and is not capable distinguish whether deviation is caused by layout capacitance or temperature. The corresponding new claims, wherein the scope thereof covers instances where deviation due to different factors are singularity or separately determined apart from deviation caused by another factor, are not described in originally filed specification and contain new matter.
Dependent claims 2-16, and 18-27 are rejected for dependency on rejected claims 1, 17 and 28.
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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claims 1, 4-7, 10-13, 16, 17, and 26-28 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Piper et al., US 20170032742 A1 (hereinafter “Piper”), in view of Kim et al., US 20230039449 A1 (hereinafter “Kim”), Ju et al, US 20070216628 A1 (hereinafter “Ju”), Svilainis, LED PWM dimming linearity investigation (hereinafter “Svilainis”), and Kawase et al., US 7227519 (hereinafter “Kawase”).
Regarding claim 1, Piper discloses a method for determining non-linear display pixel driver compensation performed by a processing system of a light-emitting display having one or more colors (paragraph 2, “The described embodiments relate generally to display panels. More particularly, the present embodiments relate to systems, methods, and apparatus for reducing non-uniform luminance occurring at an organic light emitting diode (OLED) display panel.” paragraph 41, “a unique calibration constant can be calculated for each sub-pixel, pixel, pixel color, group of pixels, and/or supply line in order to improve the uniformity of luminance for the entire OLED display panel”), the method comprising:
Providing said light-emitting display including a plurality of pixels controlled by a plurality of pixel drivers, the plurality of pixels being respectively connected to the pixel drivers by corresponding data lines (paragraph 45, “The OLED array 104 of FIG. 1B can include any suitable number of OLEDs 118 … Each OLED 118 can receive a supply signal from a column driver 106 and a supply line 110. During operation of the OLED array 104, a scan driver 108 can provide a signal to a gate of a first transistor 116, which allows for a signal to be provided from the column driver 106 to a gate of a second transistor 114. The second transistor 114 can be coupled to a capacitor 112 that is charged by the supply line 110 and provides a charge for the OLED 118”)
(ii) measuring values for at least one of the one or more colors (paragraph 47, “During calibration, a luminance measurement is taken at one or more different measurement points simultaneous to the predetermined display pattern being displayed at the OLED display panel 308. A measurement of luminance can thereafter be used to determine a calibration constant. For example, the measurement of luminance can be compared to an expected amount of luminance in order to estimate the amount of voltage drop occurring across the OLED display panel 308. The voltage drop can thereafter be used to derive a suitable calibration constant that can be stored by the OLED display panel 308 and used to improve luminance uniformity during later operations of the OLED display panel 308”, paragraph 48, “calibration of the OLED display panel 308 can be performed by measuring luminance of the OLED display panel 308 when the OLED display panel 308 is outputting one or more solid white image, solid red images, solid green images, and/or solid blue images, and/or any combination thereof. In this way, a calibration constant can be calculated for each of the one or more solid white images, the solid red images, the solid green images, and/or the solid blue images. Thereafter, one or more of the calibration constants can be used to compensate a signal for charging one or more red pixels, green pixels, and/or blue pixels”);
(iii) calculating values for the at least one of the one or more colors;
(iv) comparing measured and corresponding calculated values;
(paragraphs 49-54, calculation method of expected change in luminance of pixel of at least one color, paragraph 55, “Once an expected change in luminance for a supply line, group of pixels, and/or individual pixel is calculated, the expected change in luminance can be compared to the measured luminance that is taken during the calibration. Because the expected change in luminance is based on essentially pixel data that is converted into pixel currents that are summed for a given display panel section 306, the expected change in luminance is an estimated or ideal change in luminance. This expected change in luminance can be compared to the measured luminance of one or more portions of the display panel section 306”);
(v) observing a deviation in the measured values due to non-linearities, and determining said deviation as the non-linear pixel driver compensation.
(paragraph 40, “the luminance of the OLED display at one or more measurement points can be measured and used to calculate a luminance error. The luminance error is a value corresponding to a difference in the measured luminance and an expected luminance for a measurement point. For example, when the OLED display is outputting an all-white pattern, each pixel in the OLED display should ideally receive an equal amount of voltage or current corresponding to the expected luminance. However, because of the depletion of charge or voltage that occurs at the capacitors of each supply line and the number of pixels in each supply line, current will vary linearly across a supply line and the voltage will vary non-linearly across the supply line, leading to an inadequate charging of pixels. Additionally, the current consumption of other supply lines can affect the voltage drop of a supply line because on the interconnectivity of each supply line in the OLED display, further exacerbating the issue of non-uniformity”, paragraphs, paragraphs 56-58, calculating measured voltage drop from comparison result, and calculating calibration constant from measured voltage drop, “the measured voltage drop fs (n) for a row n, can be multiplied by a square root of a diode luminance and the resulting product can be used to calculate the calibration constant C, according to Equation (9) … The resulting value for C for one or more rows and/or pixels can thereafter be stored by a computer per forming the calibration or by the display panel that is being calibrated. The display panel can store one or more calibration constants C, and associate each calibration constant with a row, a group of pixels, an individual pixel, and/or an entire display panel. In this way, the calibration constant C. can be used by the display panel to perform real time adjustments to a signal provided to one or more rows, columns, and/or Supply lines of the display panel to improve luminance uniformity, as discussed herein”).
Piper does not explicitly outline the pixel drivers driving said plurality of pixels by generating and output control signals to said corresponding data lines based on input signals received by the pixel drivers, the pixel drivers being constant-current pulse width modulation (PWM) drivers, determining a deviation of the measured values from the corresponding calculated values due to non-linearities caused by the pixel drivers while generating said control signal output to said corresponding data lines (that is not due to difference in supply line voltage), and determining the non-linear display pixel driver compensation using said determined deviation as the non-linear pixel driver compensation.
Kim discloses providing a light-emitting display including a plurality of pixels controlled by pixel drivers, the plurality of pixels being respectively connected to the pixel driver by corresponding data lines, the pixel driver driving said plurality of pixels by generating and output control signals to said corresponding data lines based on input signals received by the pixel drivers, the pixel drivers being constant-current pulse width modulation (PWM) drivers (see Kim, abstract: “In a display panel, pixels each including a plurality of sub-pixels are arranged in a matrix form, wherein each of the plurality of sub-pixels includes: an inorganic light-emitting element; a constant current generator circuit that provides a driving current to the inorganic light-emitting element on the basis of a constant current generator data voltage; and a PWM circuit for controlling the time for the driving current to flow through the inorganic light-emitting element on the basis of a PWM data voltage” fig. 2, paragraphs 51, 52, “Referring to FIG. 2, a display panel 100 includes a plurality of pixels 10 disposed or arranged in a matrix form, that is, a pixel array. The pixel array includes a plurality of row lines or a plurality of column lines. The row line may also be called a horizontal line, a scan line, or a gate line, and the column line may also be called a vertical line or a data line. Paragraphs 71-73: “The sub-pixel circuit 110 may provide a driving current to the inorganic light-emitting element 120. The sub-pixel circuit 110 may provide a driving current with controlled magnitude and duration to the inorganic light-emitting element 120 based on a data voltage (e.g., a constant current generator voltage, a PWM data voltage), a driving voltage (e.g., VDD_CCG, VDD_PWM), and various control signals applied from the driver (for example, data driver, gate driver, etc.). The sub-pixel circuit 110 may drive the inorganic light-emitting element 120 by PAM and PWM driving, to control brightness of light emitted by the inorganic light-emitting element 120. The sub-pixel circuit 110 may include a constant current generator circuit 112 for providing a constant current of a constant magnitude to the inorganic light-emitting element 120 based on the applied constant current data voltage, and the PWM circuit 111 for providing the constant current to the inorganic light-emitting element 120 for a time corresponding to the applied PWM data voltage. The constant current provided to the inorganic light-emitting element 120 becomes the driving current.”, paragraphs 217, 219, “The display panel 100 may be formed in a matrix shape so that the gate lines (G1 to Gx) and the data lines (D1 to Dy) intersect each other, and each pixel may be formed in a region provided by the intersection. The data lines (D1 to Dy) are lines for applying a data voltage (e.g., a constant current data voltage, a PWM data voltage) to each sub-pixel included in the display panel 100, and the gate lines (G1 to Gx) are lines for selecting pixels (or sub-pixels) included in the display panel 100 by lines. The data voltage applied through the data lines (D1 to Dy) may be applied to the pixel (or sub-pixel) of the selected row line through the gate signal”, paragraph 226: “The data driver 220 (or source driver) provides the constant current data voltage or PWM data voltage to each sub-pixel circuit 110 of the display panel 100. To this end, the data driver 220 generates a data signal (in particular, PWM data voltage), and may generate the data signal by being forwarded with the image data of the R/G/B component from the processor 900. The data driver 220 may apply the generated data signal to each sub-pixel circuit 110 of the display panel 100 through the data lines (D1 to Dy)”).
It is well known from both cited reference as well as applicant’s own admission of prior art that none of PWM driver is perfectly linear, see specification of instant application, paragraphs 153: “It is known from the industry that perfect constant current drivers don't exist. Most of these have a dependency on current needed and also supply voltage and can be found in the data sheets”, paragraphs 147 list different reasons that may exist for non-linearities, it is evident that different causation of non-linearities is not invented by applicant and it is desirable to compensate nonlinearity, see also non-patent literature, Svilainis, LED PWM dimming linearity investigation, abstract: “The LED response time skew introduces the nonlinearity for PWM dimming. For LED response time skew estimation, a method is suggested that has been successfully applied to measure some of today’s market representative LEDs.”, section 3.1 “LED response time will influence the LED intensity obtainable with PWM. It could be assumed that if LED
response speed for turn-on (specified by time tR) and turn-off (tF) process is asymmetrical, this will introduce the nonlinearity for LED PWM dimming. Measuring this
nonlinearity, LED response time can be estimated”, section 3.2 “For initial investigation, PWM linearity was tested with 32 steps PWM at repetition frequency of 2.5 MHz. This results in 400 ns PWM period and a 12.5ns shortest PWM duration. A full-scale normalized nonlinearity error (calculated applying Eq. (5)) versus pulse duration for three different color LEDs is plotted in Fig. 5 … As Fig. 6 demonstrates, the nonlinearity error value variation is the greatest at 50% duty”.
Ju also discloses that a response to input of PWM driver of display and actual display characteristic may be non-linear, and it is desirable to correct for such non-linearity (paragraphs 7, 8, “the drive circuit 24 can drive the LCD panel 22 according to the PWM signal generated by the PWM signal generator 20. Please note that, N+1 levels gray scale changes in a linear relationship between the color scale change of a pixel color and the pulse width (i.e., the gray scale volume) of a PWM signal can be represented by 0/N, 1/N, 2/N, . . . , N /N, however, there is no linear relationship between the pulse width (i.e., the gray scale voltage) of the PWM signal and the actual display characteristics (i.e., the display luminance) of the LCD panel 22. Please refer to FIG. 4. FIG. 4 illustrates a corresponding relationship diagram of the pulse width (i.e., the gray scale voltage) of a PWM signal and the actual display characteristics (i.e., the display luminance) of an LCD panel 22. From the figure, we can see that there is no linear relationship between the pulse width (i.e., the gray scale voltage) of the PWM signal and the actual display characteristics (i.e., the display luminance) of the LCD panel 22”, “FIG. 5 illustrates a corresponding relationship diagram of the display characteristics of the LCD panel 22 with a gamma correction function. If a relationship of an image signal value and a pulse width (i.e., a gray scale voltage) of the PWM signal is being adjusted to a non-linear relationship in curve A as illustrated in FIG. 5 through the gamma correction, the curve A is then paired up with a non-linear relationship of liquid crystal characteristics in the LCD panel 22 represented by curve B, and the color scale value of the image signal and the display color scale presented in the actual LCD panel 22 can be presented as a linear relationship in curve C to achieve the objective of the gamma correction.”)
Additionally, in similar field of endeavor, Kawase discloses specific compensation method to calibrate a non-linear input/output response of display pixel to linear input/output response by taking multiple measurements along non-linear response curve, compare with expected value, and providing compensation to make input/output response linear (col. 16, ln 59 – col. 17, ln. 49, “The correction value arithmetic unit 6 performs comparison operations between the measured values related to luminance and target luminance values to determine amounts of deviation or the like and stores correction values for making each of the pixels reach target luminance to the correction value memory 5. A corrector 4 retrieves correction values from the correction value memory 5, the correction values corresponding to the pixel positions to be driven, and a time series of video signals Luminance signals) are corrected … To carry out this correction, first luminance information from all the pixels is captured by the luminance capturing means 57 and is compared with target luminance. When there is a deviation from the target luminance, driving voltage is changed and luminance is measured again. By repeating this process, a voltage value that converges to the target luminance is determined. In addition, in cases of measuring element characteristics in advance, a driving voltage that realizes a target value can be used. This value that realizes target luminance is written to a correction value table.”), wherein the pixel drivers are pulse width modulation (PWM) drivers (Kawase, input grayscale image signal output may be carried out via signal driver using pulse-width modulation method to drive light emitting elements or pixels and output corresponding video, col. 11, ln. 42 – col. 12, ln. 44, ”The signal driver 7 has the function of outputting gray scale information to the display panel in accordance with video signals. FIG. 4(b) shows output pulse width control where the amplitude value is constant and the pulse width is changed in accordance to video information”, col. 3, ln. 25-34, “creating a LUT for correction value data after production and the like of an image formation device is described. At a timing generation circuit 602, various timing signals that correspond to the data creation procedure are generated when LUT creation instruction signals are received. In accordance with these signals, a correction data creation circuit 613 sends a signal so that a PWM/driver circuit 609 generates a drive signal having a specific driving voltage and a specific pulse width for the SCE element of a specific pixel”).
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Piper discloses a system for conducting measurement of a pixel driven by pixel driver, determining if the measured value deviate from calculated/expected value for individual pixel, and performing compensation accordingly.
It is noted that as when the actual display luminance of various pixels of display system of Piper is measured, since the pixel are driven with pixel drivers, any real-world deviation caused by any non-linearity of pixel drivers will be also reflected in actual display luminance.
Kim discloses providing a light-emitting display including a plurality of pixels controlled by pixel drivers, the plurality of pixels being respectively connected to the pixel driver by corresponding data lines, the pixel driver driving said plurality of pixels by generating and output control signals to said corresponding data lines based on input signals received by the pixel drivers, the pixel drivers being constant-current pulse width modulation (PWM) drivers.
Svilainis, Ju, and Kawase are cited for recognition of non-linearity in PWM pixel drivers as well as motivation for application of non-linear compensation via measuring actual pixel luminance values.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of filing to adopt the concept of recognizing non-linear response of display driver to input versus actual output luminance, such as disclosed by Ju, Svilainis and Kawase, into the display device with constant current PWM pixel driver of Kim, such that the method to compensate for non-linearity in display device by measuring actual displayed value with expected value as taught by Piper is applied to display device with constant current PWM pixel driver of Kim, in order to correct for non-linear response to achieve desirable output luminance, the result would have been predictable and would constitute the pixel drivers driving said plurality of pixels by generating and output control signals to said corresponding data lines based on input signals received by the pixel drivers, the pixel drivers being constant-current pulse width modulation (PWM) drivers, determining a deviation of the measured values from the corresponding calculated values due to non-linearities caused by the pixel drivers while generating said control signal output to said corresponding data lines, and determining the non-linear display pixel driver compensation using said determined deviation as the non-linear pixel driver compensation, as the solution to problem as implemented by Piper and Kawase to measure the actual brightness of pixel driver response is not affected by whether the causation of non-linearity is result of PWM driving or other means.
Regarding claim 4, Piper in view of Kim, Ju, Svilainis, and Kawase discloses the method of claim 1, wherein the light-emitting display is characterized by at least three colors (Piper, paragraphs 46, 48, 50, fig. 3B, the display comprises red, blue and green color pixels).
Regarding claim 5, Piper in view of Kim, Ju, Svilainis, and Kawase discloses the method of claim 1, wherein the determining the non-linear display pixel driver compensation is performed for each display pixel or cluster of display pixels (Piper, paragraphs 50, 51, 54, 55, 58, “The display panel can store one or more calibration constants CLUM and associate each calibration constant with a row, a group of pixels, an individual pixel and/or an entire display panel”).
Regarding claim 6, Piper in view of Kim, Ju, Svilainis, and Kawase discloses a method for implementing non-linear display pixel driver compensation, performed by a processing system of a light-emitting display having one or more colors (Piper, paragraph 2, “The described embodiments relate generally to display panels. More particularly, the present embodiments relate to systems, methods, and apparatus for reducing non-uniform luminance occurring at an organic light emitting diode (OLED) display panel.” paragraph 41, “a unique calibration constant can be calculated for each sub-pixel, pixel, pixel color, group of pixels, and/or supply line in order to improve the uniformity of luminance for the entire OLED display panel”), said light-emitting display comprising of pixels being controlled by pixel drivers, the method comprising (Piper, paragraph 45, “The OLED array 104 of FIG. 1B can include any suitable number of OLEDs 118 … Each OLED 118 can receive a supply signal from a column driver 106 and a supply line 110. During operation of the OLED array 104, a scan driver 108 can provide a signal to a gate of a first transistor 116, which allows for a signal to be provided from the column driver 106 to a gate of a second transistor 114. The second transistor 114 can be coupled to a capacitor 112 that is charged by the supply line 110 and provides a charge for the OLED 118”): determining the non-linear display pixel driver compensation based on the method of claim 1, or reading, loading or inputting the non-linear display pixel driver compensation, determined based on the method of claim 1, and compensating for said deviation determined as the non-linear pixel driver compensation (see analysis in rejection of claim 1 addressing relevant claimed elements of determining non-linear compensation and compensating said pixel driver, in addition, see also Piper, fig. 4, paragraphs 60-63, display system for implementing the determined calibration constants, fig. 5, 6, 8, paragraphs 63-78, method for calculating correction value and compensating a signal to display panel, paragraphs 70, 71, determine a correction on a pixel by pixel basis, modifies, on the pixel-by-pixel basis in at least the row, at least one of: a supply voltage applied to the pixel array; a digital representation of the image data in the current frame that correspond to the pixels; and pixel drive signals corresponding to the image data in the current frame).
Regarding claim 7, Piper in view of Kim, Ju, Svilainis, and Kawase discloses the method of claim 6, wherein said compensating is based on the brightness defined by a mathematical formula (Piper, paragraphs 48-58, mathematical formula used determine correction factors based on luminance/brightness, “Equation (1) can be used to determine an expected luminance for a predetermined display pattern … In order to determine a calibration constant for each supply line, group of pixels, and/or individual pixels, a change in expected voltage drop vDD(n) can be converted to an expected change in luminance according to Equation (6) … Because of the relationship between luminance and pixel current, the measured luminance can be converted into the measured voltage drop for purposes of determining one or more calibration constants).
Regarding claim 10, Piper in view of Kim, Ju, Svilainis, and Kawase discloses the method of claim 6, wherein said compensating is performed for each display pixel or cluster of display pixels (Piper, paragraphs 50, 51, 54, 55, 58, “The display panel can store one or more calibration constants CLUM and associate each calibration constant with a row, a group of pixels, an individual pixel and/or an entire display panel”).
Regarding claim 11, Piper in view of Kim, Ju, Svilainis, and Kawase discloses a method for displaying an image on a light-emitting display (Piper, paragraph 2, “The described embodiments relate generally to display panels. More particularly, the present embodiments relate to systems, methods, and apparatus for reducing non-uniform luminance occurring at an organic light emitting diode (OLED) display panel.” paragraph 41, “a unique calibration constant can be calculated for each sub-pixel, pixel, pixel color, group of pixels, and/or supply line in order to improve the uniformity of luminance for the entire OLED display panel”, paragraph 45, “The OLED array 104 of FIG. 1B can include any suitable number of OLEDs 118 … Each OLED 118 can receive a supply signal from a column driver 106 and a supply line 110. During operation of the OLED array 104, a scan driver 108 can provide a signal to a gate of a first transistor 116, which allows for a signal to be provided from the column driver 106 to a gate of a second transistor 114. The second transistor 114 can be coupled to a capacitor 112 that is charged by the supply line 110 and provides a charge for the OLED 118”) with non-linear display pixel driver compensation, the method comprising:
determining the non-linear display pixel driver compensation, or reading, loading or inputting the non-linear display pixel driver compensation, determined based on the method of claim 1; implementing the non-linear display pixel driver compensation compensating for said deviation determined as the non-linear pixel driver compensation; and displaying the image on the display (see analysis in rejection of claim 1 addressing relevant claimed elements of determining non-linear compensation and compensating said pixel driver, in addition, see also Piper, fig. 4, paragraphs 60-63, display system for implementing the determined calibration constants, fig. 5, 6, 8, paragraphs 63-78, method for calculating correction value and compensating a signal to display panel, paragraphs 70, 71, determine a correction on a pixel by pixel basis, modifies, on the pixel-by-pixel basis in at least the row, at least one of: a supply voltage applied to the pixel array; a digital representation of the image data in the current frame that correspond to the pixels; and pixel drive signals corresponding to the image data in the current frame).
Regarding claim 12, Piper in view of Kim, Ju, Svilainis, and Kawase discloses the method of claim 11, wherein an additional temperature correction is applied (see Piper, paragraph 72, “The correction may be determined based at least on: a location in the pixel array; a geometry of the pixel array (such as a geometry and/or an aspect ratio of the pixel array); and physical parameters of the pixel array (such as resistances). In some embodiments, the correction is determined based at least on a scan direction (such as top-to-bottom or left-to-right) during refresh of the pixel array. In general, the correction may depend on the location of a pixel relative to a supply voltage and how the state of the display panel is changed, i.e., the scan direction or the column drivers. Moreover, the correction may depend on a temperature of the pixel array (which may modify the physical parameters and, thus, the voltage drops). For example, a temperature sensor (such as a resistive temperature sensor, a diode, etc.) in or proximate to the display panel may determine or measure the temperature of the pixel array, and the temperature measurement may be used to modify the calculation of the correction”).
Regarding claim 13, Piper in view of Kim, Ju, Svilainis, and Kawase discloses a system for driving light-emitting elements or pixels of a light-emitting display (Piper, paragraph 2, “The described embodiments relate generally to display panels. More particularly, the present embodiments relate to systems, methods, and apparatus for reducing non-uniform luminance occurring at an organic light emitting diode (OLED) display panel.” paragraph 41, “a unique calibration constant can be calculated for each sub-pixel, pixel, pixel color, group of pixels, and/or supply line in order to improve the uniformity of luminance for the entire OLED display panel”), the light-emitting display comprising an input protocol for receiving input (Piper, paragraph 45, “The OLED array 104 of FIG. 1B can include any suitable number of OLEDs 118 … Each OLED 118 can receive a supply signal from a column driver 106 and a supply line 110. During operation of the OLED array 104, a scan driver 108 can provide a signal to a gate of a first transistor 116, which allows for a signal to be provided from the column driver 106 to a gate of a second transistor 114. The second transistor 114 can be coupled to a capacitor 112 that is charged by the supply line 110 and provides a charge for the OLED 118”) and a PWM generating module for transferring said input into signals to be delivered to pixel drivers, herewith defining and controlling the light-emitting elements or pixels in the output to be emitted by them (see combination as made in rejection of claim 1, Kim, paragraph 226: “The data driver 220 (or source driver) provides the constant current data voltage or PWM data voltage to each sub-pixel circuit 110 of the display panel 100. To this end, the data driver 220 generates a data signal (in particular, PWM data voltage), and may generate the data signal by being forwarded with the image data of the R/G/B component from the processor 900. The data driver 220 may apply the generated data signal to each sub-pixel circuit 110 of the display panel 100 through the data lines (D1 to Dy)”, Kawase, col. 11, ln. 42 – col. 12, ln. 44, ”The signal driver 7 has the function of outputting gray scale information to the display panel in accordance with video signals. FIG. 4(b) shows output pulse width control where the amplitude value is constant and the pulse width is changed in accordance to video information”, col. 3, ln. 25-34, “creating a LUT for correction value data after production and the like of an image formation device is described. At a timing generation circuit 602, various timing signals that correspond to the data creation procedure are generated when LUT creation instruction signals are received. In accordance with these signals, a correction data creation circuit 613 sends a signal so that a PWM/driver circuit 609 generates a drive signal having a specific driving voltage and a specific pulse width for the SCE element of a specific pixel”), the system comprising:
a module for determining and implementing non-linear display pixel driver compensation according to the method of claim 1 (see analysis in rejection of claim 1 addressing relevant claimed elements of determining non-linear compensation and compensating said pixel driver, in addition, see also Piper, fig. 4, paragraphs 60-63, display system for implementing the determined calibration constants, fig. 5, 6, 8, paragraphs 63-78, method for calculating correction value and compensating a signal to display panel, paragraphs 70, 71, determine a correction on a pixel by pixel basis, modifies, on the pixel-by-pixel basis in at least the row, at least one of: a supply voltage applied to the pixel array; a digital representation of the image data in the current frame that correspond to the pixels; and pixel drive signals corresponding to the image data in the current frame).
Regarding claim 16, Piper in view of Kim, Ju, Svilainis, and Kawase discloses a system comprising: a light-emitting display including light-emitting elements or pixels (Piper, paragraph 2, “The described embodiments relate generally to display panels. More particularly, the present embodiments relate to systems, methods, and apparatus for reducing non-uniform luminance occurring at an organic light emitting diode (OLED) display panel.” paragraph 41, “a unique calibration constant can be calculated for each sub-pixel, pixel, pixel color, group of pixels, and/or supply line in order to improve the uniformity of luminance for the entire OLED display panel”), the light-emitting display comprising an input protocol for receiving input (Piper, paragraph 45, “The OLED array 104 of FIG. 1B can include any suitable number of OLEDs 118 … Each OLED 118 can receive a supply signal from a column driver 106 and a supply line 110. During operation of the OLED array 104, a scan driver 108 can provide a signal to a gate of a first transistor 116, which allows for a signal to be provided from the column driver 106 to a gate of a second transistor 114. The second transistor 114 can be coupled to a capacitor 112 that is charged by the supply line 110 and provides a charge for the OLED 118”); and a PWM generating module for transferring said input into signals to be delivered to pixel drivers, herewith defining and controlling the light-emitting elements or pixels in the output to be emitted by them, wherein the pixel drivers are pulse width modulation (PWM) drivers (see combination as made in rejection of claim 1 above, Kawase, col. 11, ln. 42 – col. 12, ln. 44, ”The signal driver 7 has the function of outputting gray scale information to the display panel in accordance with video signals. FIG. 4(b) shows output pulse width control where the amplitude value is constant and the pulse width is changed in accordance to video information”, col. 3, ln. 25-34, “creating a LUT for correction value data after production and the like of an image formation device is described. At a timing generation circuit 602, various timing signals that correspond to the data creation procedure are generated when LUT creation instruction signals are received. In accordance with these signals, a correction data creation circuit 613 sends a signal so that a PWM/driver circuit 609 generates a drive signal having a specific driving voltage and a specific pulse width for the SCE element of a specific pixel”), and
a module for determining and implementing non-linear display pixel driver compensation according to the method of claim 1 (Piper, see analysis in rejection of claim 1 addressing relevant claimed elements of determining non-linear compensation and compensating said pixel driver, in addition, see also Piper, fig. 4, paragraphs 60-63, display system for implementing the determined calibration constants, fig. 5, 6, 8, paragraphs 63-78, method for calculating correction value and compensating a signal to display panel, paragraphs 70, 71, determine a correction on a pixel by pixel basis, modifies, on the pixel-by-pixel basis in at least the row, at least one of: a supply voltage applied to the pixel array; a digital representation of the image data in the current frame that correspond to the pixels; and pixel drive signals corresponding to the image data in the current frame).
Regarding claim 17, this is a non-transitory computer-readable medium (Piper, paragraph 96, “the described embodiments can also be embodied as computer readable code on a computer readable storage medium. The computer readable storage medium can be any data storage device that can store data, which can thereafter be read by a computer system. Examples of the computer readable storage medium include read-only memory, random-access memory, CD-ROMs, HDDs, DVDs, magnetic tape, and optical data storage devices”, see analysis in rejection of claim 1 addressing relevant claimed elements of determining non-linear compensation and compensating said pixel driver) claim counterpart of method claim as in claim 1, with all other claimed element being disclosed in Piper in view of Kim, Ju, Svilainis, and Kawase as addressed in claim 1, hence, claim 17 is rejected for same reasons as in rejection of claim 1.
Regarding claim 26, Piper in view of Kim, Ju, Svilainis, and Kawase discloses the method of claim 1, wherein each of said plurality of drivers drives a corresponding cluster of said plurality of pixels (Kim, fig. 10, paragraphs 219, 220, The data lines (D1 to Dy) are lines for applying a data voltage (e.g., a constant current data voltage, a PWM data voltage) to each sub-pixel included in the display panel 100, each data line (D1 to Dy) may be applied with the data voltage to be applied to the pixel associated with each data line, herein each data line and associated pixel may be interpreted as a cluster of pixel corresponding to their own data line driver).
Regarding claim 27, Piper in view of Kim, Ju, Svilainis, and Kawase discloses the method of claim 1, wherein the pixel drivers are integrated LED pixel drivers (Kim, fig. 10, paragraphs 222-226, data driver 220 as a pixel driver integrated into display device).
Regarding claim 28, this is display system claim counterpart of method claim as in claim 1, with all other claimed element being disclosed in Piper in view of Kim, Ju, Svilainis, and Kawase as addressed in claim 1, hence, claim 28 is rejected for same reasons as in rejection of claim 1.
Claims 2, 3 and 14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Piper in view of Kim, Ju, Svilainis, and Kawase, as applied in rejection of claims 1, 13 above, and in further view of Beon et al., US 20180342224 A1 (hereinafter “Beon”).
Regarding claim 2, Piper in view of Kim, Ju, Svilainis, and Kawase discloses the method of claim 1.
Piper in view of Ju and Kawase does not disclose in particular wherein prior to steps (ii) to (vi), calibration is performed by means of
(a) reading, loading or inputting the values measured for the one or more colors of the display;
(b) reading, loading or inputting the target values for the one or more colors of the display; and
(c) for the one or more colors, computing corresponding calibration matrices based on the measured and target values; and when calculating values in step (iii) the calibration matrices being used.
Piper in view of Kim, Ju, Svilainis, and Kawase discloses however, that the luminance compensation applied as addressed in rejection of claim 1 may not be the only correction applied to image on display device (see for example Piper, paragraph 79, performing additional correction to drive signals).
In similar field of endeavor of compensating / correcting LED display driving, Beon discloses the method of compensating for LED pixel deterioration (paragraphs 3-6, “when time is elapsed after an LED display device of which brightness and color are corrected is installed, deterioration occurs to the LED device constituting the LED display panel device and brightness and color change. In this case, the degree of brightness and color change can vary according to the characteristics of each LED device … brightness and color irregularities occur in the LED display panel device over time, and a method for calibrating the LED display panel device at a site (on-site) where the device is installed is required”), performed by the means of
(a) reading, loading or inputting the values measured for the one or more colors of the display (paragraph 16, “The image which takes the display panel may be an image which is taken using a colorimeter and at least one of brightness and color is measured”, paragraph 38, “the measuring device 200 can measure the brightness and color of the pixels of the display panel device 300 by photographing the display panel in the same driving state as the driving state of the display panel at the time when the reference data is measured. Specifically, the measuring device 200 photographs an image of a predetermined display pattern (for example, a pattern in which red, green, and blue are displayed in a full color) on a display panel, and brightness and color per each measured pattern can be measured, paragraph 76, The processor 120 may receive an image from the measuring device 200 using the communication module 111 and transmit the calculated correction data to the display panel device 300);
(b) reading, loading or inputting the target values for the one or more colors of the display (paragraph 38, “the electronic device 100 can calculate the correction data by comparing the brightness and color measured by the measuring device 200 with the reference data”, paragraph 40, “the electronic device 100 may compare the reference brightness and the reference color corresponding to the image obtained by photographing the image on which the red color is displayed on the display panel, compare the reference brightness and the reference color corresponding to the image obtained by photographing the image on which the green color is displayed on the display panel, and compare the reference brightness and the reference color corresponding to the image obtained by photographing the image on which the blue color is displayed on the display panel to calculate correction data”, paragraph 41, “the electronic device 100 compares the captured image of the predetermined image displayed on the display panel device 300 by the measuring device 200 with the reference data stored in the storage”); and
(c) for the one or more colors, computing corresponding calibration matrices based on the measured and target values (paragraph 42, “the electronic device 100 may measure the brightness and color of the pixel in the photographed image, and if a value of the measured brightness and color is different from a value of the prestored reference brightness and reference color for more than a predetermined value, may determine that a pixel requires correction”, paragraph 56, “The processor 120 may compare the image of the predetermined image displayed on the display panel device 300 with the reference data stored in the storage 110 and calculate a target pixel area that needs to be corrected among the pixel areas constituting the display panel. Specifically, the processor 120 compares the subpixel value extracted from the image captured in the preset image displayed on the display panel device 300 with the subpixel value included in the previously stored reference data, and if the difference of the value is greater than the preset value, it can be determined that the area corresponds to the target pixel area”, paragraph 57, “The processor 120 may calculate correction data for the target pixel area if the target pixel area is determined. Specifically, the correction data can be calculated based on the measured brightness and color of the target pixel area, the target brightness, and the target color. Here, the correction data can generally have the form of a 3×3 color matrix as shown”).
Both Piper in view of Kim, Ju, Svilainis, and Kawase as well as Beon discloses compensating pixel brightness / color of LED display device due to deficiencies, Piper discloses compensating for voltage and current drop, while also disclosing compensation is not limited to current / voltage drop, while Beon additionally disclose compensating for light emitting element deterioration. As Beon discloses a correction matrix to be applied to pixels to correct display image to an ideal target luminance/color value, and Piper in view of Kim, Ju, Svilainis, and Kawase discloses calculating an expected ideal target value of pixel luminance/color value before comparing measured luminance to expected luminance for calculating of non-linear deviation, it would have been obvious one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of fling to incorporate the concept of Beon’s generation of calibration matrix to correct pixel to target value, into the display device of Piper in view of Kim, Ju, Svilainis, and Kawase, such that the calibration matrix are applied in calculating expected target value of pixel during calculating values for one or more pixels in step (iii) of claim 1, to account for light emitting element deterioration in the calibration process, the result would have been predictable and would constitute wherein prior to all steps (ii) to (vi), calibration is performed by means of (a) reading, loading or inputting the values measured for the one or more colors of the display; (b) reading, loading or inputting the target values for the one or more colors of the display; and (c) for the one or more colors, computing corresponding calibration matrices based on the measured and target values; and when calculating values in step (iii) the calibration matrices being used, and would provide the benefit of allowing the compensation process of LED display device to correct for voltage/current deficiency as well as LED aging and irregularity.
Regarding claim 3, Piper in view of Kim, Ju, Svilainis, Kawase and Beon discloses the method of claim 2, wherein the calibration matrices are based on display content contexts and/or display set-ups (Beon, paragraph 56, Specifically, the processor 120 compares the subpixel value extracted from the image captured in the preset image displayed on the display panel device 300 with the subpixel value included in the previously stored reference data, herein the preset image displayed constitute the claimed display set-ups for calculation of calibration matrix).
Claim 14 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Piper in view of Kim, Ju, Svilainis, and Kawase, as applied in rejection of claim 13 above, and in further view of in further view of Beon.
Regarding claim 14, Piper in view of Kim, Ju, Svilainis, and Kawase discloses the system of claim 13, further comprising a module for performing calibration (see rejection of claim 13).
Piper in view of Kim, Ju, Svilainis, and Kawase does not specifically disclose the module herewith determining calibration matrices to be used in defining the output to be emitted by the light-emitting elements or pixels.
Piper in view of Kim, Ju, Svilainis, and Kawase discloses however, that the luminance compensation applied as addressed in rejection of claim 13 may not be the only correction applied to image on display device (see for example Piper, paragraph 79, performing additional correction to drive signals).
In similar field of endeavor of compensating / correcting LED display driving, Beon discloses the method of compensating for LED pixel deterioration (paragraphs 3-6, “when time is elapsed after an LED display device of which brightness and color are corrected is installed, deterioration occurs to the LED device constituting the LED display panel device and brightness and color change. In this case, the degree of brightness and color change can vary according to the characteristics of each LED device … brightness and color irregularities occur in the LED display panel device over time, and a method for calibrating the LED display panel device at a site (on-site) where the device is installed is required”), performed by the means of
(a) reading, loading or inputting the values measured for the one or more colors of the display (paragraphs 16, 38, “The image which takes the display panel may be an image which is taken using a colorimeter and at least one of brightness and color is measured”) (b) reading, loading or inputting the target values for the one or more colors of the display (paragraphs 38, 40, “the electronic device 100 can calculate the correction data by comparing the brightness and color measured by the measuring device 200 with the reference data”); and (c) for the one or more colors, computing corresponding calibration matrices based on the measured and target values (paragraphs 42, 56, 57, “the electronic device 100 may measure the brightness and color of the pixel in the photographed image, and if a value of the measured brightness and color is different from a value of the prestored reference brightness and reference color for more than a predetermined value, may determine that a pixel requires correction”, “The processor 120 may calculate correction data for the target pixel area if the target pixel area is determined. Specifically, the correction data can be calculated based on the measured brightness and color of the target pixel area, the target brightness, and the target color. Here, the correction data can generally have the form of a 3×3 color matrix as shown”).
Both Piper in view of Kim, Ju, Svilainis, and Kawase as well as Beon discloses compensating pixel brightness / color of LED display device due to deficiencies, Piper in view of Kim, Ju, Svilainis, and Kawase discloses compensating for voltage and current drop, while also disclosing compensation is not limited to current / voltage drop, while Beon additionally disclose compensating for light emitting element deterioration. As Beon discloses a correction matrix to be applied to pixels to correct display image to an ideal target luminance/color value, and Piper in view of Kim, Ju, Svilainis, and Kawase discloses calculating an expected ideal target value of pixel luminance/color value before comparing measured luminance to expected luminance for calculating of non-linear deviation, it would have been obvious one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of fling to incorporate the concept of Beon’s generation of calibration matrix to correct pixel to target value, into the display device of Piper in view of Kim, Ju, Svilainis, and Kawase, such that the calibration matrix are applied in calculating expected target value of pixel during calculating values for one or more pixels, to account for light emitting element deterioration in the calibration process, the result would have been predictable and would constitute a module for performing calibration and herewith determining calibration matrices to be used in defining the output to be emitted by the light- emitting elements or pixels, and would provide the benefit of allowing the compensation process of LED display device to correct for voltage/current deficiency as well as LED aging and irregularity.
Claims 8, 9, and 15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Piper in view of Kim, Ju, Svilainis, and Kawase, as applied in rejection of claims 1, 13 above, and in further view of Marcu, US 20200098333 A1 (hereinafter “Marcu”).
Regarding claims 8 and 9, Piper in view of Kim, Ju, Svilainis, and Kawase discloses the method of claim 6.
Piper in view of Kim, Ju, Svilainis, and Kawase does not specifically discloses (from claim 8) wherein said compensating is based on the use of one or more lookup tables, in particular on what is stored in the one or more lookup tables, each comprising of input values and corresponding output values taking into account the non-linearities, and (from claim 9) wherein said compensating is based on what is stored in a plurality of lookup tables having reduced bit-representation, in particular said compensating being defined from interpolation computations performed amongst these.
In similar field of endeavor for providing compensation performed by a processing system of a light-emitting display having one or more colors, Marcu discloses implementing compensation value in the form of one or more lookup tables, , in particular on what is stored in the one or more lookup tables, each comprising of input values and corresponding output values taking into account the non-linearities (paragraph 40, “Based on the color response values measured by measurement unit 230, color calibration pipeline 220 implemented by computer system 210 may perform color calibration to generate one or more look up tables (LUTs) 250 for later use by display 240 during normal operation … LUTs 250 may include RGB adjustment values output from color calibration pipeline 220. The RGB adjustment values may be used for color correction so that a standard color or image signal that is supplied to display 240 will be rendered more faithfully by accounting for the unique characteristics of display 240 … The adjustment values in LUTs 250 may provide for color correction so that the output colors displayed by display 240 more closely match the corresponding input color signals … the measured color response values are converted to RGB adjustment values that are then sent to and/or utilized by display 240 to produce and display the corrected colors. Input values for display 240 are thereby mapped into an output space that represents all the corrected color values. The information for making the color corrections is stored in and provided by LUTs 250”). In addition, Marcu further discloses that the lookup table may be implemented in reduced resolution, i.e. reduced bit-representation, by interpolating values not defined in lookup table (paragraph 48, “To accurately provide color correction for display 240, color calibration system 200 may need to perform color calibration for every point within cubic color output space 700 (e.g., measure color response values for every point in cubic color output space 700 and store corresponding RGB adjustment values). However, that would be a daunting task, requiring approximately 256×256×256 measurements and corresponding 256×256×256 adjustment value sets in an 8-bit system (and exponentially more in 10-bit or 12-bit systems). Each adjustment value set would have three values for the respective RGB compensation (or adjustment) values for each such point. This is a well-recognized conundrum, and there are numerous solutions that are well known to those skilled in the art. Many solutions utilize interpolation to reduce the number of measurements required, whereby a reduced set of measurements is made within cubic color output space 700 of display 240. When omitted values are then needed, they are interpolated from the actually measured data values or points. Various known interpolation methods include linear interpolation, bi-linear interpolation, tri-linear interpolation, geometric interpolation, prism interpolation, pyramid interpolation, tetrahedral interpolation, and barycentric interpolation”).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art the time of filing to incorporate the concept of utilizing lookup table to store correction values corresponding to various input image signal, as well as using a reduced sized lookup table supplemented by interpolation to generate correction values for input falling between measured data points, such as disclosed by Marcu, into the display device of Piper in view of Kim, Ju, Svilainis, and Kawase with compensation method to generate non-linear correction value for input signal, such that correction values corresponding each various level of input signal for pixels are stored in reduced bit-representation lookup table to be applied, to constitute (from claim 8) wherein said compensating is based on the use of one or more lookup tables, in particular on what is stored in the one or more lookup tables, each comprising of input values and corresponding output values taking into account the non-linearities, and (from claim 9) wherein said compensating is based on what is stored in a plurality of lookup tables having reduced bit-representation, in particular said compensating being defined from interpolation computations performed amongst these, such is incorporation of a known concept into know device to achieve the predictable result, the result would have been predictable and would provide the benefit of balancing between reduced real-time computational stress and memory size requirement to generate correction values, while at the same time achieve the intended function of compensating for deficiencies in pixel display quality based on measured correction values.
Regarding claim 15, Piper in view of Kim, Ju, Svilainis, and Kawase discloses the system of claim 13. Piper in view of Kim, Ju, Svilainis, and Kawase as applied in rejection of claim 13 does not specifically discloses wherein said compensating of the method for implementing non-linear display pixel driver compensation, is particularly based on the use of one or more lookup tables and the data for this one or more lookup tables being stored in and hence to be fetched from a non-volatile memory of the processing system, said one or more lookup tables each comprising of input values and corresponding output values taking into account the non-linearities to be incorporated in the signals for the pixel drivers.
In similar field of endeavor for providing compensation performed by a processing system of a light-emitting display having one or more colors, Marcu discloses implementing compensation value is particularly based on the use of one or more lookup tables and the data for this one or more lookup tables being stored in and hence to be fetched from a non-volatile memory of the processing system, said one or more lookup tables each comprising of input values and corresponding output values taking into account the non-linearities to be incorporated in the signals for the pixel drivers (paragraph 57, “Calibration data uploaded from calibration computing equipment 42 to device 10 during calibration operations may be stored on device 10 using storage and processing circuitry 12 (FIG. 1). Uploading calibration data from calibration computing equipment 42 to device 10 may include storing the calibration data in volatile or non-volatile memory for access by software running on circuitry 12 and/or hard coding calibration data into firmware associated with display 14 (e.g., display driver circuitry 20)”, paragraph 40, “Based on the color response values measured by measurement unit 230, color calibration pipeline 220 implemented by computer system 210 may perform color calibration to generate one or more look up tables (LUTs) 250 for later use by display 240 during normal operation … LUTs 250 may include RGB adjustment values output from color calibration pipeline 220. The RGB adjustment values may be used for color correction so that a standard color or image signal that is supplied to display 240 will be rendered more faithfully by accounting for the unique characteristics of display 240 … The adjustment values in LUTs 250 may provide for color correction so that the output colors displayed by display 240 more closely match the corresponding input color signals … the measured color response values are converted to RGB adjustment values that are then sent to and/or utilized by display 240 to produce and display the corrected colors. Input values for display 240 are thereby mapped into an output space that represents all the corrected color values. The information for making the color corrections is stored in and provided by LUTs 250”).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art the time of filing to incorporate the concept of utilizing lookup table to store correction values corresponding to various input image signal, such as disclosed by Marcu, into the display device of Piper in view of Kim, Ju, Svilainis, and Kawase with compensation method to generate non-linear correction value for input signal, such that correction values corresponding each various level of input signal for pixels are stored in lookup table to be fetched from non-volatile memory, to constitute wherein said compensating of the method for implementing non-linear display pixel driver compensation, is particularly based on the use of one or more lookup tables and the data for this one or more lookup tables being stored in and hence to be fetched from a non-volatile memory of the processing system, said one or more lookup tables each comprising of input values and corresponding output values taking into account the non-linearities to be incorporated in the signals for the pixel drivers, such is incorporation of a known concept into know device to achieve the predictable result, the result would have been predictable and would provide the benefit of reduced real-time computational stress to generate correction values, while at the same time achieve the intended function of compensating for deficiencies in pixel display quality based on measured correction values.
Claim 18 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Piper in view of Kim, Ju, Svilainis, and Kawase, as applied in rejection of claim 1 above, and in further view of Thielemans et al., US 20200286424 A1 (hereinafter “Thielemans”).
Regarding claim 18, Piper in view of Kim, Ju, Svilainis, and Kawase discloses the method of claim 1.
Piper in view of Kim, Ju, Svilainis, and Kawase does not specifically disclose the method further comprising a calibration step that produces calibrated color data, wherein the output of the calibration step is the input for steps (ii) to (vi).
In similar field of display art, Thielemans discloses it may be advantageous to calibrate display data to produce calibrated color data (e.g. to account for human eye factor, paragraphs 41-46, “saturated colours are adjusted independently of mixed white, such that the adjusted white point does not change with changing saturated colours. The main advantage is to overcome herewith visual perception issues that are not documented yet by the CIE colour standards while not assuming brightness variations … two calibration matrices instead of one are proposed for defining the final calibration, and providing herewith a solution to the visual perception problems as described above. One calibration matrix, further referred to as MixMatrix, is defined as the matrix to be used when more colours are shown simultaneously”).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of filing to incorporate the concept of Thielemans to calibrate color data to account for human eye perception into the display system of Piper in view of Kim, Ju, Svilainis, and Kawase, such that color calibration on display data is performed before display data is provided to display driver for displaying on screen to further improve display experience, to result would have been predictable and would constitute the method further comprising a calibration step that produces calibrated color data, wherein the output of the calibration step is the input for steps (ii) to (vi).
Claim 19 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Piper in view of Kim, Ju, Svilainis, Kawase, and Thielemans, as applied in rejection of claim 18 above, and in further view of Inoue, US 20220005880 A1 (hereinafter “Inoue”).
Regarding claim 19, Piper in view of Kim, Ju, Svilainis, Kawase, and Thielemans discloses the method of claim 1.
Piper in view of Kim, Ju, Svilainis, Kawase, and Thielemans does not specifically disclose the method further comprising a gamma correction step that produces gamma-corrected data, wherein the output of the gamma correction step is the input for the calibration step.
In similar field of display art, Inoue discloses it may be advantageous to gamma correct display data to produce gamma-corrected data before other display operation in order to make subsequent display operation easy (paragraphs 72-74, “The linear gamma converting section 201 performs signal processing for converting a video signal (a signal including 10-bit for each of RGB) in which an output has a gamma characteristic relative to an input, so as to have a linear characteristic from the gamma characteristic. The linear gamma converting section 201 supplies the video signal after the conversion to the APL calculating section 202 and the ABL control section 204. In this connection, in the linear gamma converting section 201, by performing the signal processing such that an output has a linear characteristic relative to an input, a video signal is handled in a linear space. Accordingly, various kinds of processing for a video image to be displayed on the display panel 104 constituted as an organic EL display panel, become easy.”)
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of filing to incorporate the concept of Inoue to gamma-correct display data to facilitate easement in subsequent display data operation, into the display system of Piper in view of Kim, Ju, Svilainis, Kawase, and Thielemans, such that display data is gamma-corrected prior to other operations, the result would have been predictable and would constitute the method further comprising a gamma correction step that produces gamma-corrected data, wherein the output of the gamma correction step is the input for the calibration step.
Claim 20 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Piper in view of Kim, Ju, Svilainis, and Kawase, as applied in rejection of claim 1 above, and in further view of Inoue.
Regarding claim 20, Piper in view of Kim, Ju, Svilainis, and Kawase discloses the method of claim 1.
Piper in view of Kim, Ju, Svilainis, and Kawase does not specifically disclose the method further comprising a gamma correction step that produces gamma-corrected data, wherein the output of the gamma correction step is either directly or indirectly, the input for steps (ii) to (vi).
In similar field of display art, Inoue discloses it may be advantageous to gamma correct display data to produce gamma-corrected data before other display operation in order to make subsequent display operation easy (paragraphs 72-74, “The linear gamma converting section 201 performs signal processing for converting a video signal (a signal including 10-bit for each of RGB) in which an output has a gamma characteristic relative to an input, so as to have a linear characteristic from the gamma characteristic. The linear gamma converting section 201 supplies the video signal after the conversion to the APL calculating section 202 and the ABL control section 204. In this connection, in the linear gamma converting section 201, by performing the signal processing such that an output has a linear characteristic relative to an input, a video signal is handled in a linear space. Accordingly, various kinds of processing for a video image to be displayed on the display panel 104 constituted as an organic EL display panel, become easy.”)
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of filing to incorporate the concept of Inoue to gamma-correct display data to facilitate easement in subsequent display data operation, into the display system of Piper in view of Ju and Kawase, such that display data is gamma-corrected prior to other operations, the result would have been predictable and would constitute further comprising a gamma correction step that produces gamma-corrected data, wherein the output of the gamma correction step is either directly or indirectly, the input for steps (ii) to (vi).
Claims 21-25 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Piper in view of Kim, Ju, Svilainis, and Kawase, as applied in claim 1 above, and in further view of Nadershahi, US 20200349881 A1 (hereinafter “Nadershahi”).
Regarding claims 21 – 25, Piper in view of Kim, Ju, Svilainis, and Kawase discloses the method of claim 1 with step (v) of determining the deviation of the measured values from the corresponding calculated values due to non-linearities caused by the pixel drivers while generating said control signals output to said corresponding data lines.
Piper in view of Kim, Ju, Svilainis, and Kawase does not expressly state that the deviation is due to (at least one or multiple of):
(claim 21 and 25) -a layout capacitance of a LED board on which the light-emitting display is provided;
(claim 22 and 25) -a temperature behavior of one or more of the plurality of pixel drivers;
(claim 23 and 25) -a speed of on/off switching of one or more of the plurality of pixel drivers; and
(claim 24 and 25) -a voltage and load dependence (DI/DV) of one or more of the plurality of pixel drivers.
However, it is well known both from applicant’s own acknowledge of prior art, as well as cited references that driving of LED pixels will deviate from expected value due to variety of factors, see specification of instant application, paragraphs 153: “It is known from the industry that perfect constant current drivers don't exist. Most of these have a dependency on current needed and also supply voltage and can be found in the data sheets”, paragraphs 147 list different reasons that may exist for non-linearities, and Nadershahi, paragraph 5: “One of the performance characteristics of an LED is the time it takes (latency) for it to illuminate after its corresponding scan switch is actuated. Deviations from the expected or nominal latency are caused by various components in an LED display and associated circuitry introducing load variations between LED devices due to scale and density of the components. The load variations are, for example, attributable to variations in process, voltage, and temperature (PVT) as well as load impedance variations and parasitic conditions to which the LED may be subjected during its operation. For example, impedance differences arise from differences in traces, vias, cross connections, noise, and other features introducing parasitic capacitance prevalent on printed circuit boards (PCBs). More specifically, from the perspective of different output terminals of an output stage, each LED is subjected to a different amount of capacitance (parasitic conditions). Likewise, different scanline selections establish different capacitances on the same channel.”
It is further noted that the solution as provided by Piper in view of Kim, Ju, Svilainis, and Kawase, which measure real-world value of actual physical display device and compensating for real-world uniformity would account for non-linearity caused by aggregation of varieties of factors. Since it is known that constant-current PWM pixel driver response is not perfectly linear, and that Piper in view of Kim, Ju, Svilainis provided solution to compensate for non-linearity in display device driving regardless of causation (by altering digital value of display data input, for example, Piper, paragraph 84), it would have been obvious to one or ordinary skill in the art at the time of filing to apply the solution provided by Piper in view of Kim, Ju, Svilainis into display device with deviations caused by above listed factors, to constitute wherein the deviation is due to (at least one or multiple of): a layout capacitance of a LED board on which the light-emitting display is provided; a temperature behavior of one or more of the plurality of pixel drivers; a speed of on/off switching of one or more of the plurality of pixel drivers; and a voltage and load dependence (DI/DV) of one or more of the plurality of pixel drivers.
Conclusion
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/PEIJIE SHEN/Examiner, Art Unit 2622
/PATRICK N EDOUARD/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2622