DETAILED ACTION
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 .
Application Status
This office action is responsive to the claim amendments filed on 11/18/2025.
Claims 1-11 and 21 are pending and presented for examination. Claims 12-16 are withdrawn and claims 17-20 are cancelled.
This action has been made NON-FINAL.
Examiner Remarks
In the spirit of compact prosecution, Applicant is requested to contact the Examiner for an interview to discuss the inventive concepts of the instant application. Applicant may optionally amend the claims to further direct the claims toward a particular inventive concept described in the specification without an interview.
Additionally, the prior art rejection (if applicable) cites particular paragraphs, columns, and/or line numbers in the references for the convenience of the applicant. Although the specified citations are representative of the teachings in the art and are applied to the specific limitations within the individual claim, other passages and figures may apply as well. It is respectfully requested that, in preparing responses, the applicant fully consider the references in their entirety as potentially teaching all or part of the claimed invention, as well as the context of the passage as taught by the prior art.
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. 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and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on 12/2/2025 has been entered.
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55. (Priority Date: 08/02/2022).
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 11/18/2025 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
Applicant alleged the following on pages 9-12: “Therefore, Parmar does not disclose, teach or suggest "wherein the controller performs or does not perform dithering on input image data, which is input thereto, based on a frame frequency corresponding to the input image data and controls the driving of the data driver based on one of dithered image data and the input image data, on which no dithering is performed, wherein when the controller performs the dithering on the input image data, the controller outputs the dithered image data to the data driver, and when the controller does not perform the dithering on the input image data, the controller outputs the input image data, on which no dithering is performed, to the data driver" as in independent claim 1, and similarly cited in independent claim 21. As a result, Parmar does not disclose all of the claimed elements arranged as in claims 1 and 21.”.
The examiner is not persuaded. Parmar discloses the Applicant’s claim language. More specifically, Parmar discloses “wherein the controller” in Paragraphs 0152; 0158. Parmar goes on to teach “performs or does not perform dithering on input image data” in Paragraph 0142. Moreover, Parmar discloses “which is input thereto, based on a frame frequency corresponding to the input image data” in Paragraphs 0142-0142. Additionally, Parmar discloses “and controls the driving of the data driver based on one of the dithered image data” in Paragraphs 0083; 0142; 0152; 0154. Parmar goes on to teach “and the input image data, on which no dithering is performed” in Figure 16; Paragraphs 0124-0127.
Additionally, Parmar teachings of “dynamic dither selection” in Paragraph 0142, in which, discloses the Applicant’s claim language of “wherein when the controller performs the dithering on the input image data.” Moreover, Parmar goes on to disclose in Paragraph 0158, “The driver controller 29 can take the raw image data generated by the processor 21 either directly from the processor 21 or from the frame buffer 28 and can re-format the raw image data appropriately for high-speed transmission to the array driver 22. In some implementations, the driver controller 29 can re-format the raw image data into a data flow having a raster-like format, such that it has a time order suitable for scanning across the display array 30. Then the driver controller 29 sends the formatted information to the array driver 22” in which is equivalent to the Applicant’s claim language of “the controller outputs the dithered image data to the data driver.” Parmar goes on to disclose the Applicant’s claim limitation of “and when the controller does not perform the dithering on the input image data, the controller outputs the input image data, on which no dithering is performed, to the data driver” in Paragraph 0158. It is noted the term “dithering” is not mentioned in paragraph 0158.
MPEP § 2106 states Office personnel are to give claims their broadest reasonable interpretation in light of the supporting disclosure. In re Morris, 127 F.3d 1048, 1054-55, 44 USPQ2d 1023, 1027-28 (Fed Cir. 1997). Accordingly, the examiner maintains the rejection.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim(s) 1-11 and 21 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a0(1) as being anticipated by Parmar, US Patent Application Publication No.: 20120236021.
Claim 1:
Parmar discloses a display device (See Abstract & Figure 15, Item 1550) comprising:
a display panel (See Figure 15, Item 1550) including a plurality of pixels (See Paragraph 0079; Figure9, Items 130a-130d);
a data driver connected to the plurality of pixels through data lines, wherein the data driver controls the plurality of pixels by driving the data lines (See Paragraph 0079; Figure9, Items 130a-130d);
and a controller which controls a driving of the data driver (See Paragraphs 0083; 0152; 0154) by processing image data input thereto at a variable refresh rate (See Paragraphs 0106; 0110; 0113),
wherein the controller (See Paragraphs 0152; 0158) performs or does not perform dithering on input image data (“dynamic dither selection” See Paragraph 0142), which is input thereto, based on a frame frequency corresponding to the input image data (See Paragraphs 0142-0142) and controls the driving of the data driver based on one of the dithered image data (See Paragraphs 0083; 0142; 0152; 0154) and the input image data, on which no dithering is performed (See Figure 16; Paragraphs 0124-0127),
wherein when the controller performs the dithering on the input image data (“dynamic dither selection” See Paragraph 0142), the controller outputs the dithered image data to the data driver (See Paragraph 01581),
and when the controller does not perform the dithering on the input image data, the controller outputs the input image data, on which no dithering is performed, to the data driver (See Paragraph 01582).
Claim 2:
Parmar discloses wherein the controller triggers (See Paragraphs 0083; 0152; 0154) performance of the dithering (“dynamic dither selection” See Paragraph 0142) based on a change value of the frame frequency (See Paragraphs 0142-0142).
Claim 3:
Parmar discloses wherein the input image data includes a first image frame and a second image frame (See Paragraphs 0005-0009), which are sequentially input, the first image frame corresponds to a first frame frequency (See Paragraphs 0005-0009; 0131-0136; 0142-0142), the second image frame corresponds to a second frame frequency, and the controller triggers performance of the dithering (“dynamic dither selection” See Paragraph 0142) based on a difference value between the first and second frame frequencies (See Paragraphs 0131-0136; 0142-0142).
Claim 4:
Parmar discloses wherein the second frame frequency is lower than the first frame frequency, and the controller triggers the performance of the dithering (“dynamic dither selection” See Paragraph 0142) when the difference value between the first and second frame frequencies is greater than a threshold value (“frequency when the frame update rate is below a threshold” See Paragraphs 0049; 0063).
Claim 5:
Parmar discloses wherein the input image data further includes a third image frame input after the second image frame (See Paragraphs 0005-0009; 0131-0136; 0142-0142), the third image frame corresponds to a third frame frequency higher than the second frame frequency (“frequency when the frame update rate is below a threshold” See Paragraphs 0049; 0063), and the controller (See Paragraphs 0083; 0152; 0154) deactivates the performance of the dithering (See Paragraphs 0140-0143) when the third frame frequency is higher than a predetermined reference frequency (“frequency when the frame update rate is below a threshold” See Paragraphs 0049; 0063).
Claim 6:
Parmar discloses wherein the frame frequency changes between a first frequency and a second frequency higher than the first frequency (“frequency when the frame update rate is below a threshold” See Paragraphs 0049; 0063), the controller controls (See Paragraphs 0083; 0152; 0154) the driving of the data driver by selectively performing the dithering (See Paragraphs 0140-0143) based on a change value of the frame frequency when the frame frequency is higher than a third frequency and lower than the second frequency (“frequency when the frame update rate is below a threshold” See Paragraphs 0049; 0063), and the third frequency is in a range between the first and second frequencies (See Paragraphs 0005-0009; 0131-0136; 0142-0142).
Claim 7:
Parmar discloses wherein the controller (See Paragraphs 0083; 0152; 0154) comprises:
a dithering circuit which performs the dithering on the input image data (See Paragraphs 0140-0143);
and a signal selector which outputs the one of the dithered image data and the input image data (See Paragraphs 0140-0143).
Claim 8:
Parmar discloses wherein the controller (See Paragraphs 0083; 0152; 0154) further comprises a dithering controller (See Paragraphs 0140-0143) which activates or deactivates (“the image pipeline stops” See Paragraph 0148) the dithering circuit based on a change value of the frame frequency (See Paragraphs 0005-0009; 0131-0136; 0142-0142).
Claim 9:
Parmar discloses wherein the controller (See Paragraphs 0083; 0152; 0154) comprises a frequency sensor which generates a signal indicating the frame frequency (See Paragraphs 0005-0009; 0131-0136; 0142-0142) based on at least one selected from the input image data and a control signal associated with the input image data, and provides the signal to the dithering controller (See Paragraphs 0140-0143).
Claim 10:
Parmar discloses wherein the dithering controller generates a selection signal (“dynamic dither selection” See Paragraphs 0140-0143) which is enabled when the dithering circuit is activated and disabled when the dithering circuit is deactivated (“the image pipeline stops” See Paragraph 0148), and the signal selector selects and outputs one of the dithered image data and the input image data in response to the selection signal (“dynamic dither selection” See Paragraph 0142).
Claim 11:
Parmar discloses wherein the controller comprises a timing controller (See Paragraph 0115) which receives the input image data from an external graphic processor (See Paragraphs 0050-0052).
Claim 21:
Claim 21 is rejected on the same basis as claim 1.
Pertinent Art
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
US Patent Application Publication No.: 20080224976 relate to a dithering method and apparatus for dispersing an energy spectrum that otherwise would concentrate in a predetermined frequency band.
Contact Information
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to SHEREE N BROWN whose telephone number is (571)272-4229. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 5:30-2:00 PM EST.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, SAID BROOME can be reached at (571) 272-2931. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/SHEREE N BROWN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2612 February 11, 2026
1 Paragraph 0158 of Parmar recites, “The driver controller 29 can take the raw image data generated by the processor 21 either directly from the processor 21 or from the frame buffer 28 and can re-format the raw image data appropriately for high-speed transmission to the array driver 22. In some implementations, the driver controller 29 can re-format the raw image data into a data flow having a raster-like format, such that it has a time order suitable for scanning across the display array 30. Then the driver controller 29 sends the formatted information to the array driver 22” in which is equivalent to the Applicant’s claim language of “the controller outputs the dithered image data to the data driver.”
2 The examiner notes the term “dithering” is not mentioned in paragraph 0158.