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 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.
Claims 1, 2, 6, 8, 9, 10-13, and 15-17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102 (a)(1) as being anticipated by Whitman (US 20180088633 A1).
With respect to claims 1 and 10,
Whitman teaches,
a plurality of electrodes, including a first set of electrodes for performing absolute capacitance sensing for open/close detection, wherein the first set of electrodes is located proximate to an edge of the foldable device; (Para. [0056] “Obtain a self-capacitance value for each powered electrode of the plurality of powered electrodes based on a distance between each powered electrode of the plurality of powered electrodes and the at least one grounded electrode;” (i.e. self-capacitance is analogous to absolute capacitance. Para. [0026] teaches “the electrodes in the first portion 101 (e.g., electrode 104, etc.) may be active (e.g., powered, etc.) and the electrodes in the second portion 103 (e.g., electrode 105, etc.) may be grounded.” Fig. 1A shows that electrodes 104 and 105 approach the edge of the device.)
and a processing system, configured to: obtain at least one first absolute capacitance measurement via the first set of electrodes; (Para. [0003] teaches “at least one processor; and at least one memory comprising computer program code, the at least one memory and the computer program code configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the electronic device to at least.” Para. [0056] “Obtain a self-capacitance value for each powered electrode of the plurality of powered electrodes based on a distance between each powered electrode of the plurality of powered electrodes and the at least one grounded electrode;”)
and determine whether the foldable device is in an open state or a closed state based on the at least one first absolute capacitance measurement. (Para. [0053) teaches “self-capacitances of active electrodes with respect to grounded electrodes on the opposite side of the fold axis 602 may be used to calculate the fold angle at the fold axis.” Para. [0076] teaches “The defined formula may take the self-capacitance pattern of the pluralities of electrodes as input and provide a value associated with an opening state of the electronic device as an output.”)
With respect to claim 2,
Whitman further teaches,
The system according to claim 1, wherein the processing system is configured to obtain the at least one first absolute capacitance measurement and second absolute capacitance measurements via a second set of electrodes of the plurality of electrodes for performing absolute capacitance sensing for angle detection in a single sensing step. (Para. [0035] “The capacitance bar graph shows a capacitance pattern including the relative capacitances (e.g., mutual capacitances or self-capacitances, etc.) of five electrodes 206, 207, 208, 209, and 210 disposed in the electronic device, wherein each electrode is positioned progressively closer to the hinge element 202 from left to right. The three electrodes 206, 207, and 208 represented by the first three bars from the left may be disposed on or near the face of portion 201 and each is positioned progressively closer to the hinge element 202 from left to right. The electrode 209 represented by the bar that is second from the right may be disposed on the end of portion 201 toward the hinge. The electrode 210 represented by the bar that is farthest on the right may be positioned near the hinge element 202 and on the back surface of a portion 201 of the electronic device 200.” (i.e. Where the first set of electrodes are viewed as 206-208 and the second electrodes are viewed as 209 and 210.) Para. [0036] teaches “Device 200 may be asked by the electronic device, via a user interface, to fold the electronic device to different degrees and corresponding relative positions may be measured by the electrodes and/or processor.” (i.e. electrodes measured in the same step.))
With respect to claims 6 and 17,
Whitman further teaches,
The system according to claim 1, wherein in the closed state of the foldable device, each of the first set of electrodes is disposed across from a ground or reference electrode. (Para. [0026] teaches “(e.g., electrode 104, etc.) may be active (e.g., powered, etc.) and the electrodes in the second portion 103 (e.g., electrode 105, etc.) may be grounded.)”)
With respect to claims 8 and 15,
Whitman further teaches,
The system according to claim 1, wherein the first set of electrodes includes an electrode of the foldable device closest to an edge of the foldable device. (Fig. 1B shows that electrodes 104 and 105 approach an edge of the device)
With respect to claims 9 and 16,
Whitman further teaches,
The system according to claim 1, wherein the first set of electrodes does not include an electrode of the foldable device closest to an edge of the foldable device. (Fig. 1B shows that electrodes 104 and 105 do not approach the edge of the device that is farthest from the hinge.)
With respect to claim 11,
Whitman further teaches,
The method according to claim 10, wherein determining whether the foldable device is in the open state or in the closed state comprises: obtaining, by the processing system, second absolute capacitance measurements via a second set of electrodes of the plurality of electrodes of the foldable device for angle detection; determining, by the processing system, a fold angle of the foldable device based on the second absolute capacitive measurements; (Para. [0035] “The capacitance bar graph shows a capacitance pattern including the relative capacitances (e.g., mutual capacitances or self-capacitances, etc.) of five electrodes 206, 207, 208, 209, and 210 disposed in the electronic device, wherein each electrode is positioned progressively closer to the hinge element 202 from left to right. The three electrodes 206, 207, and 208 represented by the first three bars from the left may be disposed on or near the face of portion 201 and each is positioned progressively closer to the hinge element 202 from left to right. The electrode 209 represented by the bar that is second from the right may be disposed on the end of portion 201 toward the hinge. The electrode 210 represented by the bar that is farthest on the right may be positioned near the hinge element 202 and on the back surface of a portion 201 of the electronic device 200.” (i.e. Where the first set of electrodes are viewed as 206-208 and the second electrodes are viewed as 209 and 210.) Para. [0075] teaches “In an example, the at least one electrode comprises a plurality of electrodes (e.g., 2 electrodes, 5 electrodes, 10 electrodes, etc.). Each of the plurality of electrodes may provide a signal such that a self-capacitance value is calculated for each of the plurality of electrodes. The plurality of self-capacitance values may be considered as a self-capacitance pattern (e.g., the set of capacitance values represented in the bar graphs of FIGS. 2A-2F, 7A-7F, etc.) for determining the opening state of the electronic device.” (i.e. opening state corresponds to fold angle.))
and in response to determining that the fold angle of the foldable device is 0° or below a predetermined value, confirming that the foldable device is in the closed state based on the at least one first absolute capacitance measurement. (Fig. 2b shows closed state at zero degrees.)
With respect to claim 12,
Whitman further teaches,
The method of claim 11, wherein determining the fold angle of the foldable device is in response to determining that the foldable device is in the open state based on the at least one first absolute capacitance measurement. (Para. [0079] teaches “In an example, a state change may be triggered when an opening state falls within a range of opening states. For instance, a state change to transform display interface to display multiple interfaces may be triggered when the determined opening state indicates that the electronic device has a fold angle between 10 degrees and 170 degrees. Alternatively, or additionally, a state change to display a single interface may be triggered when the opening state indicates that the electronic device has a fold angle between 170 degrees and 180 degrees. Alternatively, or additionally, a state change to deactivate a display may be triggered when the opening state indicates that the electronic device has a fold angle between 0 degrees and 10 degrees.”)
With respect to claim 13,
Whitman further teaches,
The method according to claim 11, wherein the at least one first absolute capacitance measurement and the second absolute capacitance measurements are obtained in a single sensing step. (Para. [0036] teaches “Device 200 may be asked by the electronic device, via a user interface, to fold the electronic device to different degrees and corresponding relative positions may be measured by the electrodes and/or processor.” (i.e. electrodes measured in the same step.))
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.
Claim 3 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Whitman (US 20180088633 A1) as applied to claim 2 above, and further in view of Shepelev (US 20170003778 A1).
With respect to claim 3,
Whitman dies not explicitly teach,
The system according to claim 2, wherein the processing system is configured to,
in the single sensing step, ground one or more electrodes disposed between the first and second
sets of electrodes and guard one or more electrodes disposed between the first and second sets of
electrodes.
Shepelev teaches,
wherein the processing system is configured to, in the single sensing step, ground one or more electrodes disposed between the first and second sets of electrodes and guard one or more electrodes disposed between the first and second sets of electrodes. (Para. [0059] teaches “The sensor module 244 is also configured to operate the grid electrode 122 as a shield electrode. Processing system 110 is configured to operate the grid electrode 122 as a shield electrode that may shield the sensor electrodes 120 from the electrical effects of nearby conductors. In one embodiment, processing system is configured to operate the grid electrode 122 as a shield electrode that may shield sensor electrodes 120 from the electrical effects of nearby conductors and guard the sensor electrodes 120 from grid electrode 122, at least partially reducing the parasitic capacitance between the grid electrode 122 and the sensor electrodes 120. In one embodiment, a shielding signal is driven onto the grid electrode 122. The shielding signal may be a ground signal, such as the system ground or other ground, or any other constant voltage (i.e., non-modulated) signal.” (i.e. the grid electrode caries a shielding that is a ground signal therefore the electrode represents a grounded and guarded electrode.))
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Whitman wherein the processing system is configured to, in the single sensing step, ground one or more electrodes disposed between the first and second sets of electrodes and guard one or more electrodes disposed between the first and second sets of electrodes such as that of Shepelev.
One of ordinary skill would have been motivated to modify Whitman, because it would allow the electrodes to be shielded from nearby conductors as taught in Para. [0059] Shepelev leading to a more accurate measurement.
Claims 4 and 14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Whitman (US 20180088633 A1) as applied to claims 2 and 11 above, and further in view of Palmor (US 20220075427 A1).
With respect to claim 4,
Whitman does not explicitly teach,
The system according to claim 2, wherein the processing system is configured to obtain the at least one first absolute capacitance measurement in a first sensing step and the second absolute capacitance measurements in a second sensing step different from the first sensing step.
Palmor teaches,
wherein the processing system is configured to obtain the at least one first absolute capacitance measurement in a first sensing step and the second absolute capacitance measurements in a second sensing step different from the first sensing step. (Para. [0059] teaches “substeps of step 406 are provided. In a touch-free state, step 406 includes at 416, measuring a first background capacitance at a selected set of a plurality of electrodes of the first capacitive touch sensor. At 418, step 406 includes measuring a second background capacitance at a selected set of a plurality of electrodes of the second capacitive touch sensor.”)
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Whitman wherein the processing system is configured to obtain the at least one first absolute capacitance measurement in a first sensing step and the second absolute capacitance measurements in a second sensing step different from the first sensing step such as that of Palmor.
One of ordinary skill would have been motivated to modify Whitman, because it would allow the device to calibrate both sides of the hinge in order to get more accurate capacitance measurements by accounting for interference with respect to the angle and distance between the screens as seen in Para. [0059] of Palmor.
With respect to claim 14,
Whitman does not explicitly teach,
The method according to claim 11, wherein the at least one first absolute capacitance measurement are obtained in a first sensing step and the second absolute capacitance measurements are obtained in a second sensing step different from the first sensing step.
Palmor teaches,
wherein the at least one first absolute capacitance measurement are obtained in a first sensing step and the second absolute capacitance measurements are obtained in a second sensing step different from the first sensing step. (Para. [0059] teaches “substeps of step 406 are provided. In a touch-free state, step 406 includes at 416, measuring a first background capacitance at a selected set of a plurality of electrodes of the first capacitive touch sensor. At 418, step 406 includes measuring a second background capacitance at a selected set of a plurality of electrodes of the second capacitive touch sensor.”)
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Whitman wherein the at least one first absolute capacitance measurement are obtained in a first sensing step and the second absolute capacitance measurements are obtained in a second sensing step different from the first sensing step such as that of Palmor.
One of ordinary skill would have been motivated to modify Whitman, because it would allow the device to calibrate both sides of the hinge in order to get more accurate capacitance measurements by accounting for interference with respect to the angle and distance between the screens as seen in Para. [0059] of Palmor.
Claim 5 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Whitman (US 20180088633 A1) as applied to claim 2 above, and further in view of Seger Jr. (US 20230039953 A1).
With respect to claim 5,
Whitman further teaches
The system according to claim 2, wherein the processing system is further configured to: obtain touch sensing measurements via the first and second sets of electrodes; (Para, [0030] teaches “The display may be a touch sensitive display. In an implementation, the electronic device 100 is a mobile device, and the display is a touch sensitive display. At least one characteristic of a graphical user interface presented on the display may be transformed based on a calculated fold angle and/or change in the fold angle between the first portion 101 and the second portion 103. In an example, the display of the electronic device 100 is a touch sensitive display and the active electrodes (at least one of the electrodes disposed in the first portion 101 and/or the second portion 103 (e.g., electrode 104, electrode 105, etc.)) of the electronic device 100 comprise capacitive sensors of the touch sensitive display.”)
Whitman does not explicitly teach,
and determine, based on the touch sensing measurements, a position of an input object in a sensing region corresponding to the plurality of electrodes.
Seger Jr. teaches,
and determine, based on the touch sensing measurements, a position of an input object in a sensing region corresponding to the plurality of electrodes. (Para. [0143] teaches “A change in the impedance is indicative of a touch. For example, an increase in self-capacitance (e.g., the capacitance of the electrode with respect to a reference (e.g., ground, etc.)) is indicative of a touch on the electrode.)” Para. [0143] teaches “The method continues at step 106 where the processing module interprets the change in the impedance to indicate a touch of the touch screen display in an area corresponding to the electrode”
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Whitman with determining, based on the touch sensing measurements, a position of an input object in a sensing region corresponding to the plurality of electrodes such as that of Seger Jr.
One of ordinary skill would have been motivated to modify Whitman, because knowing the position of the touch would allow the device more functionality and applications than just detecting if there is a touch anywhere on the device.
Claims 7, 18, and 19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Whitman (US 20180088633 A1) as applied to claims 1 and 10 above, and further in view of Weinerth (US 20170364184 A1).
With respect to claims 7 and 18,
Whitman does not explicitly teach,
The system according to claim 1, wherein in the closed state of the foldable device, at least one electrode of the first set of electrodes is disposed across from a ground or reference electrode, and at least one other electrode of the first set of electrodes is disposed across from a guarding electrode.
Weinerth teaches,
The system according to claim 1, wherein in the closed state of the foldable device, at least one electrode of the first set of electrodes is disposed across from a ground or reference electrode, and at least one other electrode of the first set of electrodes is disposed across from a guarding electrode. (Fig. 4 shows shielding and guarding electrodes across from electrodes X1-Y5. Para. [0060] teaches “In one or more embodiments an optional electrode B (depicted in FIG. 3B but not in FIG. 3A) may be disposed between the sensor electrodes and system ground electrode. Electrode B may be driven with a shielding signal, which may be a substantially constant voltage or a varying voltage (i.e., guard signal).” Para. [0149] teaches “The OLED display device A (1000) may be a white OLED, a foldable OLED, a transparent OLED, a passive-matrix or active-matrix OLED, a top-emitting OLED, or among various other types of OLED device” Where the state showed in Fig.4 is viewed as the closed state.)
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Whitman wherein in the closed state of the foldable device, at least one electrode of the first set of electrodes is disposed across from a ground or reference electrode, and at least one other electrode of the first set of electrodes is disposed across from a guarding electrode such as that of Weinerth.
One of ordinary skill would have been motivated to modify Whitman, because it would reduce noise and interference between the electrodes as taught in Para. [0066] of Weinerth.
With respect to claim 19,
Whitman teaches,
a plurality of electrodes, including a first set of electrodes for performing absolute capacitance sensing and a second set of electrodes; (Para. [0026] teaches “the electrodes in the first portion 101 (e.g., electrode 104, etc.) may be active (e.g., powered, etc.) and the electrodes in the second portion 103 (e.g., electrode 105, etc.) may be grounded.” (i.e. electrodes in the second portion are viewed as grounded))
and a processing system, configured to: obtain absolute capacitance measurements via the first set of electrodes; (Para. [0056] “Obtain a self-capacitance value for each powered electrode of the plurality of powered electrodes based on a distance between each powered electrode of the plurality of powered electrodes and the at least one grounded electrode;” (i.e. self-capacitance is analogous to absolute capacitance.))
and determine whether the foldable device is in an open state or a closed state based on the absolute capacitance measurements; (Para. [0053) teaches “self-capacitances of active electrodes with respect to grounded electrodes on the opposite side of the fold axis 602 may be used to calculate the fold angle at the fold axis.” Para. [0076] teaches “The defined formula may take the self-capacitance pattern of the pluralities of electrodes as input and provide a value associated with an opening state of the electronic device as an output.”)
wherein in the closed state of the foldable device, at least one electrode of the first set of electrodes is disposed across from a ground or reference electrode of the second set of electrodes, (Para. [0026] teaches “the electrodes in the first portion 101 (e.g., electrode 104, etc.) may be active (e.g., powered, etc.) and the electrodes in the second portion 103 (e.g., electrode 105, etc.) may be grounded.” (i.e. electrodes in the second portion are viewed as grounded) Fig. 2A shows a closed state.)
Whitman does not explicitly teach,
and at least one other electrode of the first set of electrodes is disposed across from a guarding electrode of the second set of electrodes.
Weinerth teaches,
and at least one other electrode of the first set of electrodes is disposed across from a guarding electrode of the second set of electrodes. (Fig. 4 shows shielding and guarding electrodes across from electrodes X1-Y5. Para. [0060] teaches “In one or more embodiments an optional electrode B (depicted in FIG. 3B but not in FIG. 3A) may be disposed between the sensor electrodes and system ground electrode. Electrode B may be driven with a shielding signal, which may be a substantially constant voltage or a varying voltage (i.e., guard signal).” Para. [0149] teaches “The OLED display device A (1000) may be a white OLED, a foldable OLED, a transparent OLED, a passive-matrix or active-matrix OLED, a top-emitting OLED, or among various other types of OLED device” Where the state showed in Fig.4 is viewed as the closed state.)
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Whitman with at least one other electrode of the first set of electrodes is disposed across from a guarding electrode of the second set of electrodes such as that of Weinerth.
One of ordinary skill would have been motivated to modify Whitman, because it would reduce noise and interference between the electrodes as taught in Para. [0066] of Weinerth.
Claim 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Whitman (US 20180088633 A1) and Weinerth (US 20170364184 A1) as applied to claim 19 above, and further in view of Suzuki (US 20180039367 A1).
With respect to claim 20,
The combination of Whitman and Weinerth does not explicitly teach,
The system according to claim 19, wherein the second set of electrodes includes at least one ground or reference electrode and two guarding electrodes, wherein the at least one ground or reference electrode is disposed between the two guarding electrodes.
Suzuki teaches,
wherein the second set of electrodes includes at least one ground or reference electrode and two guarding electrodes, wherein the at least one ground or reference electrode is disposed between the two guarding electrodes. (Para. [0270] teaches “the first intermediate electrode 71 of the intermediate electrode block Ec is supplied with the reference potential (for example, the ground potential). When the guard signal is supplied to the second intermediate electrodes 72 of the intermediate electrode block Ec, a potential difference is generated between the second intermediate electrodes 72 and the conductive film 60, and the capacitance C.sub.2 is generated, because the conductive film 60 is supplied with the reference potential (for example, the ground potential)” See Fig. 29.)
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the combination of Whitman and Weinerth wherein the second set of electrodes includes at least one ground or reference electrode and two guarding electrodes, wherein the at least one ground or reference electrode is disposed between the two guarding electrodes such as that of Suzuki.
One of ordinary skill would have been motivated to modify the combination of Whitman and Weinerth, because utilizing the electrode arrangement as seen in Suzuki would allow for force to be detected by the display as highlighted in Para. [0009] which would lead to increased functionality and an increase in the number of applications for the device.
Conclusion
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should be directed to JOSHUA L FORRISTALL whose telephone number is 703-756-4554. The examiner
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/JOSHUA L FORRISTALL/Examiner, Art Unit 2857
/ANDREW SCHECHTER/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2857