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 .
DETAILED ACTION
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
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.
Claim(s) 1-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Sameer Kalathil (US 2021/0339130 A1) in view of Zhu (US 2018/0167449 A1).
1. Sameer Kalathil discloses a display apparatus, comprising: a communication interface; a display; a memory storing at least one instruction; and at least one processor operatively connected with the communication interface, the display, and the memory, wherein the at least one processor is configured to execute the at least one instruction to (Fig. 1, 14):
transmit, through the communication interface, available range information to an external server, the available range information comprising a minimum refresh rate and a maximum refresh rate of a variable refresh rate (VRR), (i.e. server receives an adaptive refresh rate range (e.g. minimum/maximum limits) of a display device at a client computing device), [0022], [0214], (1710 to 1720: Fig. 17),
receive content from the external server, through the communication interface, the content comprising a variable frequency image rendered based on the available range information and variable frame rate information that corresponds to the variable frequency image [0214]-[0217], (1720 to 1730: Fig. 17) and
control, based on the received content, the display to display the variable frequency image based on the variable frame rate information [0217], (1738: Fig. 17).
Sameer Kalathil does not explicitly detail how to dynamically adjust the rendered frame rate in response to fluctuating network bandwidth; however, Zhu expressly teaches adapting refresh rates, frame rates, and resolution in a cloud/edge-cloud environment based on measured bandwidth and QoS to reduce latency and jitter while preserving visual quality (Fig. 10), [0003], [0027]-[0028], [0047]. It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skilled in the art to modify Sameer Kalathil with Zhu and would have been motivated to do so to produce a more reliable, tear-free, low-latency cloud-gaming experience.
2. Sameer Kalathil and Zhu disclose the display apparatus of claim 1, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to execute the at least one instruction to: control the display to be set in a VRR output mode based on an info frame in the received content, Sameer Kalathil [0211], [0217].
3. Sameer Kalathil and Zhu disclose the display apparatus of claim 1, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to execute the at least one instruction to: identify at least one of the minimum refresh rate or the maximum refresh rate needing change, based on at least one of a stream buffer state or a network state; and transmit adjusted available range information to the external server, the adjusted available range information comprising at least one of a changed minimum refresh rate or a changed maximum refresh rate, Zhu (Fig. 10), [0027]-[0028], [0047].
4. Sameer Kalathil and Zhu disclose the display apparatus of claim 1, wherein the external server is configured to provide a cloud gaming service, Sameer Kalathil [0022], and the at least one processor is further configured to execute the at least one instruction to: transmit a request for a game content to the external server; receive a signal verifying VRR operability, from the external server, based on the request for the game content; and transmit the available range information to the external server based on the signal verifying VRR operability, Sameer Kalathil [0214]-[0217], (Fig. 17).
5. Sameer Kalathil and Zhu disclose a server apparatus, comprising: a communication interface; a memory storing at least one instruction; and at least one processor operatively connected with the communication interface and the memory, wherein the at least one processor is configured to execute the at least one instruction to: receive, through the communication interface, available range information from a client apparatus, the available range information comprising a minimum refresh rate and a maximum refresh rate of a variable refresh rate (VRR), render a variable frequency image based on the available range information and network bandwidth information, and transmit content to the client apparatus, through the communication interface, the content comprising the rendered variable frequency image, and variable frame rate information corresponding to the variable frequency image as similarly discussed above.
6. Sameer Kalathil and Zhu disclose the server apparatus of claim 5, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to execute the at least one instruction to: identify a resolution to render the variable frequency image, based on the network bandwidth information; identify a frame rate to render the variable frequency image, based on the available range information; and render the variable frequency image based on the identified resolution and the identified frame rate, Zhu (Fig. 10), [0027]-[0028], [0047].
7. Sameer Kalathil and Zhu disclose the server apparatus of claim 6, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to execute the at least one instruction to: render the variable frequency image by varying the frame rate while maintaining the resolution, based on the network bandwidth information, Zhu (Fig. 10), [0027]-[0028], [0047]-[0048].
8. Sameer Kalathil and Zhu disclose the server apparatus of claim 5, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to execute the at least one instruction to: identify a frame rate of the variable frequency image within an available range comprising the minimum refresh rate and the maximum refresh rate of VRR, based on a frequency of a user control command received from the client apparatus, Sameer Kalathil [0214]-[0221].
9. Sameer Kalathil and Zhu disclose the server apparatus of claim 5, wherein the server apparatus is configured to provide a cloud gaming service, Sameer Kalathil [0022], and the at least on processor is further configured to execute the at least one instruction to: receive, from the client apparatus, a request for a game content; transmit, to the client apparatus, a signal verifying VRR operability based on the request for the game content; receive available range information from the client apparatus, based on the signal verifying VRR operability, Sameer Kalathil [0214]-[0217], (Fig. 17).
10-13. Sameer Kalathil and Zhu disclose a method of controlling a display apparatus, comprising: transmitting available range information to an external server, the available range information comprising a minimum refresh rate and a maximum refresh rate of a variable refresh rate (VRR); receiving content from the external server, the content comprising a variable frequency image rendered based on the available range information, network bandwidth information, and variable frame rate information that corresponds to the variable frequency image; and outputting the variable frequency image on a display, based on the variable frame rate information as similarly discussed above.
14-17. Sameer Kalathil and Zhu disclose a method of controlling a server apparatus, the method comprising: receiving available range information from a client apparatus, the available range formation comprising a minimum refresh rate and a maximum refresh rate of a variable refresh rate (VRR); rendering a variable frequency image based on the available range information and network bandwidth information; and transmitting content to the client apparatus, the content comprising the rendered variable frequency image and variable frame rate information corresponding to the variable frequency image as similarly discussed above.
18. Sameer Kalathil and Zhu disclose the method of claim 14, further comprising: receiving, from the client apparatus, adjusted available range information, the adjusted available range information comprising at least one of a changed minimum refresh rate or a changed maximum refresh rate of the VRR; and rendering the variable frequency image based on the adjusted available range information and the network bandwidth information, wherein the variable frequency image is rendered in a first frequency at a first time based on the available range information and the network information, and the variable frequency image is rendered in a second frequency at a second time based on the adjusted available range information and the network information, Sameer Kalathil [0214]-[0221].
19. Sameer Kalathil and Zhu disclose the display apparatus of claim 1, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to execute the at least on instruction to: control the display to display the variable frequency image in a first frequency at a first time, based on the variable frame rate information; and control the display to display the variable frequency image in a second frequency at a second time, based on the variable frame rate information, Sameer Kalathil [0214]-[0221].
20. Sameer Kalathil and Zhu disclose a non-transitory computer readable medium for storing computer readable program code or instructions which are executable by a processor to perform a method for controlling a server apparatus, the method comprising: receiving available range information from a client apparatus, the available range information comprising a minimum refresh rate and a maximum refresh rate of a variable refresh rate (VRR); rendering a variable frequency image based on the available range information and network bandwidth information; and transmitting content to the client apparatus, the content comprising the rendered variable frequency image and variable frame rate information corresponding to the variable frequency image as similarly discussed above.
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Please see attached USPTO form PTO-892.
Filing of New or Amended Claims
The examiner has the initial burden of presenting evidence or reasoning to explain why persons skilled in the art would not recognize in the original disclosure a description of the invention defined by the claims. See Wertheim, 541 F.2d at 263, 191 USPQ at 97 (“[T]he PTO has the initial burden of presenting evidence or reasons why persons skilled in the art would not recognize in the disclosure a description of the invention defined by the claims.”). However, when filing an amendment an applicant should show support in the original disclosure for new or amended claims. See MPEP § 714.02 and § 2163.06 (“Applicant should specifically point out the support for any amendments made to the disclosure.”). Please see MPEP 2163 (II) 3. (b)
Correspondence
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to SENG H LIM whose telephone number is (571)270-3301. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday (9-5).
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, David L. Lewis can be reached at (571) 272-7673. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/Seng H Lim/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3715