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 .
Claim Objections
Claim 1 is objected to because of the following informalities: line 4 includes an additional space between the comma and word ‘period.’ Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 1-3, 5-10, 12-15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Independent claims 1 and 8 both now recite various time periods that are at odds with each other.
Each claim details in the following order, “a frame period”, “a display period of the frame period”, “a blank period of the frame period”, “[a] first time period being in the blank period”, “wherein the blank period comprises a first porch period between” the start of the frame period and the display period start, “a second porch period between” the immediate end of the display period and the frame period end, and “a second time period being in the blank period and immediately before the first porch period.”
When these various periods are mapped they would appear to be located similar to the below drawing:
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The concern arises in the newly added limitation which requires that the second time period be both “in the blank period” and “immediately before the first porch period.” This would seem to be impossible in a single frame as the first porch period starts at the beginning of the frame period. Any time period before the first porch period is then outside the frame period and thus not in the frame period’s blank period.
Review of the applicant’s arguments and specification appears to indicate that the above mocked up drawing of the ordering of the various periods is in fact correct, but as discussed this does not seem to align with the claim language which does not currently contemplate additional frame periods either before or after the frame period established in the independent claims.
Dependent claim 5 introduces additional ambiguity in that it now requires that the second time period in the second porch period of the first frame period.
The other dependent claims inherit the above concerns are rejected accordingly.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed October 21st, 2025 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
On pages 8-9 of the remarks, applicant argues that neither Zhong or Chen expressly disclose the newly added limitations. Specifically, the applicant argues that Chen does not disclose a second time period immediately before a first porch period of the blank period. As shown below in the updated rejections and annotated drawings of Chen, the Office does find that Chen does in fact disclose such an arrangement of time periods.
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 of this title, 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) 1-2, 5, 7-9, 12, and 14-15 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Zhong (US 2024/0153449 A1) in view of Chen (US 11829549).
With respect to claim 1: Zhong discloses a display device (figs. 1a-b) comprising:
a display panel comprising a plurality of pixels (201 in fig. 1a, for example; also see para. 96);
a display driver configured to display an image on the display panel in a unit of a frame period (paras. 96-97 detail frame periods), to display the image on the display panel in a display period of the frame period, and to not display the image in a blank period of the frame period (paras. 98-99 details blank periods and display periods during which the image is displayed or not);
a touch panel comprising touch electrodes (fig. 2; also see para. 106 details that the touch panel sensor includes a plurality of electrodes); and
a touch driver configured to sense a touch adjacent to the touch panel via the touch electrodes (touch IC chip in fig. 2; also see para. 110), and to transmit an uplink signal to an external device through the touch electrodes in a first time period (see wake-up signal in fig. 7; also note discussion in para. 33; in the parlance of Zhong, the “wake-up signal” is seen as the instant applicant’s ‘uplink signal’ as Zhong’s wake-up signal is the start of the handshake between touch driver and stylus, and also is transmitted from the touch driver to the stylus just as applicant’s uplink signal is), the first time period being in the blank period (paras. 33, 140-141, details that the wake-up signal from the touch driver to the stylus is sent during “a vertical back porch” of the frame. As discussed and referenced above, the vertical back porch is a blank period),
wherein the blank period comprises a first porch period between a time point when the frame period starts and a time point when the display period starts, and a second porch period between a time point when the display period ends and a time point when the frame period ends, the second porch period being immediately after the display period (Zhong discloses both a vertical back porch, VBP, which corresponds to applicant’s first porch period, and a vertical front porch, VFP, which corresponds to applicant’s second porch period. Between these two porches is the display period. See fig. 3; paras. 103-104), and
wherein the touch driver is configured to receive a downlink signal from the external device through the touch electrodes (stylus 100 [external device] transmits a uplink signal [downlink signal]; see paras. 144-147. As noted above Zhong’s frame of reference has led to labeling the signal from the touch driver to the stylus as a wake-up signal and the signal from the stylus to the touch driver as an uplink signal. Herein again Zhong’s “uplink signal” is sent in the same direction as applicant’s downlink signal and as such is seen as an equivalent signal).
Zhong does not expressly disclose the downlink signal is transmitted in a second time period being in the blank period and immediately before the first porch period.
Chen discloses a touch driver (502 in fig. 5) is configured to receive a downlink signal (pen/touch in fig. 6; col. 5, lines 24-31) from the external device during a second time period in a blank period (fig. 6; col. 5, lines 32-37, detail that the downlink signals are transmitted alternately with the display periods) and immediately before the first porch period (The last pen/touch period of the first frame of fig. 6 is seen as the second time period. This last pen/touch period in the first frame occurs immediately prior to the first porch period in the second frame. Do note the above concerns about 112(b) concerns with the timing specifics of the current claim language. The mappings herein are made in light of applicant’s arguments and the specification as best understood by the Office .
Chen and Zhong are analogous art because they are from the same field of endeavor namely stylus detection devices.
At the time of filing it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to have transmitted/received the downlink signal of Zhong during a blanking period as taught by Chen. The motivation for doing so would have been to achieve a higher signal to noise ratio and reduce parasitic capacitance (Chen; col. 5, lines 40-49).
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See the below annotated drawing of figure 6/7 of Chen for additional clarity to the mapping:
With respect to claim 2, Zhong in view of Chen disclose the display device according to claim 1 (see above).
Zhong further discloses, wherein the first time period is in the first porch period (fig. 7 and para. 143 disclose that the wake-up signal is supplied during h1-h2 which is the vertical back porch, which occurs at the beginning of a frame prior to display).
With respect to claim 5, Zhong in view of Chen disclose the display device according to claim 1 (see above).
Zhong further discloses, wherein the first time period is part of a first frame period among a plurality of frame periods formed by repetition of the frame period (clear from fig. 7, that the frames are repeated),
wherein the first time period is in the first porch period of the first frame period (fig. 7 and para. 143 disclose that the wake-up signal is supplied during h1-h2 which is the vertical back porch, which occurs at the beginning of a frame prior to display).
Chen further discloses, wherein the second time period is in the second porch period of the first frame period (the downlink signal, DL in Chen, transmitted/received at the end of the frame in fig. 7 after display has ended).
See the below annotated fig. 7 of Chen for clarity.
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With respect to claim 7, Zhong in view of Chen disclose the display device according to claim 1 (see above).
Zhong further discloses, wherein the downlink signal comprises at least one of a position coordinate of the active pen, button state information of the active pen, tilt information of the active pen, and battery state information of the active pen (paras. 115-116 details inclination angle [seen as equivalent to tilt information]; additionally noted that based on applicant’s specification this claim is being interpreted disjunctively (to require only one of the options) despite use of “at least one of X, Y, and Z.”).
With respect to claim 8, Zhong discloses, a method of driving a display device comprising a display panel (display panel in fig. 2) and a touch panel (touch panel in fig. 2), the method comprising:
sensing a touch adjacent to the touch panel (fig. 4b);
generating an uplink signal (wake-up signal in fig. 6b, for example) by encoding data associated with the sensed touch (fig. 6b); and
transmitting the uplink signal to an external device through touch electrodes of the touch panel in a first time period (S601 and para. 140 detail that the uplink signal is transmitted to an external device (Zhong’s stylus) via the touch panel sensors during the VBP time period); and
receiving a downlink signal from the external device through the touch electrodes of the touch panel in a second time after the first time period (stylus 100 [external device] transmits a uplink signal [downlink signal]; see paras. 144-147. As noted above Zhong’s frame of reference has led to labeling the signal from the touch driver to the stylus as a wake-up signal and the signal from the stylus to the touch driver as an uplink signal. Herein again Zhong’s “uplink signal” is sent in the same direction as applicant’s downlink signal and as such is seen as an equivalent signal),
wherein the first time period is in a blank period in which the display panel does not display an image (paras. 98-99 details blank periods and display periods during which the image is displayed or not),
wherein the display panel displays the image in a frame period unit (paras. 98-99 details blank periods and display periods during which the image is displayed or not),
wherein the frame period comprises a display period in which the display panel displays the image and the blank period (paras. 98-99 details blank periods and display periods during which the image is displayed or not), and
wherein the blank period comprises a first porch period between a time point when the frame period starts and a time point when the display period starts, and a second porch period between a time point when the display period ends and a time point when the frame period ends, the second porch period being immediately after the display period (Zhong discloses both a vertical back porch, VBP, which corresponds to applicant’s first porch period, and a vertical front porch, VFP, which corresponds to applicant’s second porch period. Between these two porches is the display period. See fig. 3; paras. 103-104).
Zhong does not expressly disclose the downlink signal is transmitted in a second time period being in the blank period and immediately before the first porch period.
Chen discloses a touch driver (502 in fig. 5) is configured to receive a downlink signal (pen/touch in fig. 6; col. 5, lines 24-31) from the external device during a second time period in a blank period (fig. 6; col. 5, lines 32-37, detail that the downlink signals are transmitted alternately with the display periods) and immediately before the first porch period (The last pen/touch period of the first frame of fig. 6 is seen as the second time period. This last pen/touch period in the first frame occurs immediately prior to the first porch period in the second frame. Do note the above concerns about 112(b) concerns with the timing specifics of the current claim language. The mappings herein are made in light of applicant’s arguments and the specification as best understood by the Office .
Chen and Zhong are analogous art because they are from the same field of endeavor namely stylus detection devices.
At the time of filing it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to have transmitted/received the downlink signal of Zhong during a blanking period as taught by Chen. The motivation for doing so would have been to achieve a higher signal to noise ratio and reduce parasitic capacitance (Chen; col. 5, lines 40-49).
With respect to claim 9, Zhong in view of Chen disclose the method according to claim 8 (see above).
Zhong further discloses, wherein the first time period is in the first porch period (fig. 7 and para. 143 disclose that the wake-up signal is supplied during h1-h2 which is the vertical back porch, which occurs at the beginning of a frame prior to display).
With respect to claim 12, Zhong in view of Chen disclose the method according to claim 8 (see above).
Zhong further discloses, wherein the first time period is part of a first frame period among a plurality of frame periods formed by repetition of the frame period (clear from fig. 7, that the frames are repeated),
wherein the first time period is in the first porch period of the first frame period (fig. 7 and para. 143 disclose that the wake-up signal is supplied during h1-h2 which is the vertical back porch, which occurs at the beginning of a frame prior to display).
Chen further discloses, wherein the second time period is in the second porch period of the first frame period (the downlink signal, DL in Chen, transmitted/received at the end of the frame in fig. 7 after display has ended).
See the below annotated fig. 7 of Chen for clarity.
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With respect to claim 14, Zhong in view of Chen disclose the method according to claim 8 (see above).
Zhong further discloses, wherein the external device is an active pen (abstract) the downlink signal comprises at least one of a position coordinate of the active pen, button state information of the active pen, tilt information of the active pen, and battery state information of the active pen (paras. 115-116 details inclination angle [seen as equivalent to tilt information]; additionally noted that based on applicant’s specification this claim is being interpreted disjunctively (to require only one of the options) despite use of “at least one of X, Y, and Z.”).
As to claim 15: Zhong in view of Chen disclose the method according to claim 8 (see above).
Zhong further discloses, transmitting state information of the external device (pars. 268-277 detail sleep status of the stylus being transmitted) to a host (Bluetooth controller in fig. 6A) via a wireless connection (paras. 268-277 detail this transmission being performed via the wireless Bluetooth protocol).
Chen further discloses, transmitting a position coordinate corresponding to the touch extracted from the uplink signal received by the external device (col. 1, lines 30-38), and state information of the external device from the external device to a host via a wireless connection (Figs. 1-10; ¶0015, 0080-0088).
At the time of filing it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to have transmitted position coordinates as taught by Chen in the device of Zhong. Such an improvement would have had predictable results and allowed for transmission of additional information for use by the device.
Claim(s) 3 and 10 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Zhong(US 2024/0153449 A1) in view of Chen (US 11829549) and further in view of Jung (US 20170285771).
With respect to claim 3, Zhong in view of Chen disclose the display device according to claim 1 (see above).
Neither Zhong nor Chen expressly disclose, wherein the first time period is in the second porch period.
Jung discloses, wherein the first time period is in the second porch period (Jung discloses an uplink and downlink signal occurring during the end of a display frame which is seen as equivalent to applicant’s second porch period. See fig. 15 and period Tt2; also see fig. 20 detailing uplink signal).
Jung, Chen and Zhong are analogous art because they are from the same field of endeavor namely stylus detection devices.
At the time of filing it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to have transmitted/received the uplink signal of Zhong during the second porch period as taught by Jung. The combination would have had predictable results with merely rearranging the timing of uplink signals to occur at a different time point.
With respect to claim 10, Zhong in view of Chen disclose the method according to claim 8 (see above).
Neither Zhong nor Chen expressly disclose, wherein the first time period is in the second porch period.
Jung discloses, wherein the first time period is in the second porch period (Jung discloses an uplink and downlink signal occurring during the end of a display frame which is seen as equivalent to applicant’s second porch period. See fig. 15 and period Tt2; also see fig. 20 detailing uplink signal).
Jung, Chen and Zhong are analogous art because they are from the same field of endeavor namely stylus detection devices.
At the time of filing it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to have transmitted/received the uplink signal of Zhong during the second porch period as taught by Jung. The combination would have had predictable results with merely rearranging the timing of uplink signals to occur at a different time point.
Claim(s) 6 and 13 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Zhong(US 2024/0153449 A1) in view of Chen (US 11829549) and further in view of Park (US 20180188836).
With respect to claim 6, Zhong in view of Chen disclose the display device according to claim 1 (see above).
Zhong further discloses, wherein the first time period is part of a first frame period among a plurality of frame periods formed by repetition of the frame period (clear from fig. 7, that the frames are repeated).
Zhong additionally discloses that blank porch periods occur both at the end of a frame in a VFP and immediately after the first frame period in a VBP of the subsequent frame (see fig. 3 and 7).
While neither Zhong nor Chen expressly disclose, wherein the first time period is in the second porch period of the first frame period, and
wherein the second time period is in the first porch period of a second frame period immediately after the first frame period among the plurality of frame periods.
wherein the first time period is in the second porch period of the first frame period, and
wherein the second time period is in the first porch period of a second frame period immediately after the first frame period among the plurality of frame periods.
Park discloses uplink signals during a first time period and downlink signals immediately after the first time period in a second time period (see figure 10, which details insertion of uplink/downlink pair of signals between display driving sections during a blank time).
As discussed above, Zhong discloses a single continuous blank time period extending from the end of a first frame into the immediately subsequent second frame (figs. 3, 7).
Park, Chen and Zhong are analogous art because they are from the same field of endeavor namely stylus detection devices.
At the time of filing it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to have shifted the transmitted/received the uplink/downlink signals of Zhong and Chen to occur across two frames during a combined blanking period as taught by Park. The combination would have yielded predictable results with uplink/downlink signals merely at different time d locations during display pen sensing.
With respect to claim 13, Zhong in view of Chen disclose the method according to claim 8 (see above).
Zhong further discloses, wherein the first time period is part of a first frame period among a plurality of frame periods formed by repetition of the frame period (clear from fig. 7, that the frames are repeated).
Zhong additionally discloses that blank porch periods occur both at the end of a frame in a VFP and immediately after the first frame period in a VBP of the subsequent frame (see fig. 3 and 7).
While neither Zhong nor Chen expressly disclose, wherein the first time period is in the second porch period of the first frame period, and
wherein the second time period is in the first porch period of a second frame period immediately after the first frame period among the plurality of frame periods.
wherein the first time period is in the second porch period of the first frame period, and
wherein the second time period is in the first porch period of a second frame period immediately after the first frame period among the plurality of frame periods.
Park discloses uplink signals during a first time period and downlink signals immediately after the first time period in a second time period (see figure 10, which details insertion of uplink/downlink pair of signals between display driving sections during a blank time).
As discussed above, Zhong discloses a single continuous blank time period extending from the end of a first frame into the immediately subsequent second frame (figs. 3, 7).
Park, Chen and Zhong are analogous art because they are from the same field of endeavor namely stylus detection devices.
At the time of filing it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to have shifted the transmitted/received the uplink/downlink signals of Zhong and Chen to occur across two frames during a combined blanking period as taught by Park. The combination would have yielded predictable results with uplink/downlink signals merely at different time d locations during display pen sensing.
Conclusion
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/WILLIAM BODDIE/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2625