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 .
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 03/07/2024 is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
Objection/s to the Specification
The title of the invention, “PROJECTION DEVICE AND CONTROL METHOD THEREOF,” is not descriptive. A new title is required that is clearly indicative of the invention to which the claims are directed.
Claim Rejections – 35 USC § 102
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.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
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.
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 1-3, 7-9, 11-13, 17, 18, and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1)/(a)(2) as being anticipated by Li (US 20220091362 A1).
Regarding claim 1, Li teaches a projection device (40), comprising: an optical engine module (44), configured to provide an image beam; a projection lens module (46), disposed on a transmission path of the image beam and configured to project the image beam out of the projection device (40); a sensor (42), configured to obtain position information of the projection device (40); a driving member (43; [0057]), coupled to the projection lens module (46); and at least one processor (401), coupled to the sensor (42) and the driving member (43), wherein the at least one processor (401) is configured to generate a first moving signal according to the position information and transmit the first moving signal to the driving member (43), and the driving member (43) is configured to control the projection lens module (46) to move relative to the projection device (40) according to the first moving signal ([0057], [0067]-[0071]).
Regarding claim 12, Li teaches a control method of a projection device (40), wherein the projection device (40) comprises a sensor (42), a driving member (43), at least one processor (401), and a projection lens module (46) configured to project an image beam, and the control method comprises: obtaining position information of the projection device (40) by the sensor (42); generating a first moving signal by the at least one processor (401) according to the position information; and according to the first moving signal, controlling the projection lens module (46) by the driving member (43) to move relative to the projection device (40; ([0067], [0068], [0078], [0087], [0095]).
Regarding claims 2 and 13, Li further teaches a storage medium (402), coupled to the at least one processor (401) and configured to store a lookup table ([0067], [0068], [0078], [0087], [0095]), wherein the at least one processor (401) is configured to obtain a moving range of the projection lens module (46) according to the position information and the lookup table, and the at least one processor (401) is configured to generate the first moving signal according to a minimum value of the moving range ([0067], [0068], [0078], [0087], [0095]).
Regarding claim 3, Li further teaches the minimum value of the moving range corresponds to a minimum projection size of an image projected by the projection device (40), and a maximum value of the moving range corresponds to a maximum projection size of the image projected by the projection device (40; [0067], [0068], [0078], [0087], [0095]).
Regarding claims 7 and 17, Li further teaches the at least one processor (401) is configured to: determine whether the storage medium (402) stores a mapping relationship between the position information and a second moving signal ([0062]); and in response to determining that the storage medium (402) does not store the mapping relationship, obtain the moving range of the projection lens module (46) according to the position information and the lookup table ([0069]-[0071], [0100], [0107]).
Regarding claims 8 and 18, Li further teaches a storage medium (402), coupled to the at least one processor (401), wherein the at least one processor (401) is configured to: determine whether the storage medium (402) stores a mapping relationship between the position information and the first moving signal; and in response to determining the storage medium (402) stores the mapping relationship, generate the first moving signal according to the mapping relationship ([0065]-[0068], [0071], [0076]-[0099]).
Regarding claim 9, Li further teaches the sensor (42) comprises a time of flight sensor ([0055]), and the position information comprises a distance between the projection device (40) and a projection target ([0065]).
Regarding claims 11 and 20, Li further teaches inherently, a housing (i.e., lens barrel), wherein the projection lens module (46) is embedded in the housing, and when the projection lens module (46) moves, the projection lens module (46) protrudes from the housing (i.e., to telescope, [0057]).
Claim Rejections - AIA 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.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
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.
Claims 4-6 and 14-16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Li in view of Matsuno (US 20160044289 A1).
Regarding claims 4 and 14, Li does not explicitly teach an input device, coupled to the at least one processor (401), wherein the at least one processor (401) is configured to receive an user command through the input device and generate a second moving signal according to the user command and the moving range, wherein the at least one processor (401) is configured to transmit the second moving signal to the driving member (43), and the driving member (43) is configured to control the projection lens module (46) to move relative to the projection device (40) according to the second moving signal.
Matsuno teaches an input device (4), coupled to the at least one processor (10), wherein the at least one processor (10) is configured to receive an user command through the input device (4) and generate a second moving signal according to the user command and the moving range, wherein the at least one processor (10) is configured to transmit the second moving signal to the driving member (MPU+motor), and the driving member (MPU+motor) is configured to control the projection lens module (19) to move relative to the projection device (1) according to the second moving signal (Fig. 6; [0043], [0053], [0054], [0061], [0064]).
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skills in the art at the time of the invention to combine Li with Matsuno; because it allows user to control the size of the projection image.
Regarding claims 5 and 15, the combination of Li and Matsuno consequently results in the at least one processor (10 of Matsuno) is configured to project an on-screen display menu (64 of Matsuno) having a range of the projection size corresponding to the moving range through the projection lens module (19 of Matsuno), and the at least one processor (10 of Matsuno) is configured to receive the user command in response to projecting the on-screen display menu (Fig. 6; [0043], [0053], [0054], [0061], [0064] of Matsuno).
Regarding claims 6 and 16, the combination of Li and Matsuno consequently results in the at least one processor (10 of Matsuno) is configured to record a mapping relationship between the position information and the second moving signal in the storage medium (16; Fig. 1, 6; [0052]-[0054] of Matsuno).
Claims 10 and 19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Li in view of Ichieda (US 20210109428 A1).
Regarding claims 10 and 19, Li further teaches in response to the change of the position information, the at least one processor (401) generates a second moving signal according to the changed position information and transmits the second moving signal to the driving member (43), and the driving member (43) controls the projection lens module (46) to move relative to the projection device (40) according to the second moving signal ([0065]-[0068]).
Li does not explicitly teach the at least one processor (401) is configured to periodically detect whether the position information changes.
Ichieda teaches to periodically detect whether the position information changes ([0149]; Fig. 22).
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skills in the art at the time of the invention to combine Li with Ichieda; because it ensures the changes in position is detected so that the correction can be applied timely.
Conclusion
The prior art references cited in PTO-892 are made of record and considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Patent documents, US 20250225897 A1, US 20220096025 A1, US 20180033123 A1, US 20160295185 A1, US 20160173843 A1, US 20160094821 A1, US 20170034491 A1, US 20140104582 A1, US 20110007227 A1, and US 20060187184 A1, disclose different automatic zooming methods.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to BAO-LUAN Q LE whose telephone number is (571)270-5362. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday-Friday; 9:00AM-5:00PM.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Minh-Toan Ton can be reached on (571) 272 230303. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/BAO-LUAN Q LE/
Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2882