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 .
Response to Amendment
Applicant’s amendments and remarks submitted 03/30/2016 have been entered and considered, no claim is amended. This action is made final.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments filed on 03/30/2016 have been fully considered but are not persuasive.
Regarding Claim 1 limitation “…a control signal generation module configured to shield an initial frame control signal based on an enabled underrun signal to generate a frame control signal which is disabled…”:
Applicant argues “Since the present disclosure states that "when the Underrun Flag is disabled, the frame control signal is the same as the initial frame control signal, and when the Underrun Flag is enabled, the frame control signal is different from the initial frame control signal, and the frame control signal remains disabled", the limitation "a control signal generation module configured to shield an initial frame control signal based on an enabled underrun signal" of claim 1 of the present disclosure is different from the description "the data enable signal DE is invalid in the line or frame blanking region" of Ye.”.
However, Ye, abstract, the invention describes A display controller having an automatic data underrun recovery function, comprising: … the image layer synthesizer coupled to a first-in first-out (FIFO) memory; a display timing generation circuit (OTC) coupled to the FIFO memory, the display timing generation circuit (OTC) being coupled to an external display device; and an underrun state machine separately coupled to the display timing generation circuit (OTC), an underload data counter, the OMA controller, the image data processor, the image layer synthesizer, and the FIFO memory. The provided display controller has an automatic data underrun recovery function.
[0013] Furthermore, the under run state machine executes the following steps when it is in the first under run state: sending a count increment instruction to the under run data counter if the FIFO_EMPTY signal is valid and the FIFO read request signal is valid; according to the value of the under run data logged by the under run data counter, when the data enable signal DE is invalid in the line blanking or frame blanking region, sending a FIFO read request instruction to the FIFO memory to read data, the number of which is equal to the value of the data logged by the under run data counter; the under run state machine sending a count decrement instruction to the under run data counter whenever a data item is read; the under run state machine exiting the first under run state and jumping to the normal state once the under run data counter counts to zero.
[0016] The display controller and the method thereof provided by the present invention have a display device data under run self-recovery function. Mainly by means of two different methods, the solution of the present invention ensures that the timing controller TCON can read correct display data from the FIFO at the start of display of the next frame, thereby effectively solves a problem of instantaneous data under run that leads to long-time of flickering or tearing on the display screen, which is incurred by greater peak bandwidth consumption of the display system.
When the display has an underrun signal, the data enable signal DE is invalid in the line blanking or frame blanking region. Data enable signal DE is similar to initial frame control signal. So when display has an underrun signal, the initial frame control signal is shielded (invalid). The display controller sends a FIFO read request instruction to the FIFO memory to read data. It is obvious to a person with ordinary skill in the art that when there is no frame data to read, there is no need to start initial frame control signal. Video data must be read from memory first in order for it to be synchronized to display on the external screen. Therefore, Ye still teaches the above mentioned limitations of Claim 1.
Regarding Claim 1 limitation “…a plurality of IP core modules coupled to the control signal generation module, and configured to receive the frame control signal, and perform image processing on image data of the same frame based on the frame control signal, so as to generate display image data corresponding thereto…”:
Applicant argues “In other words, Zhao discloses the scenarios where the frame rate of the display signal changes in LCD TVs using a 1-chip tconless chassis, which integrates many different IP cores from panel manufacturers, and states that a reset operation is performed on the register that generates the TCON timing control signal to solve the display abnormality problem such as screen distortion caused by the loss of the TCON timing control signal when the user switches signal sources.
The plurality of IP core modules of claim 1 of the present disclosure are configured to perform image processing, while the different IP cores in Zhao are for accurate control and display of different models of LCD screens, so the plurality of IP core modules of claim 1 are different from the different IP cores in Zhao. In addition, the limitation "perform image processing on image data of the same frame based on the frame control signal" of claim 1 is different from the description "a reset operation is performed on the register that generates the TCON timing control signal" of Zhao.”.
However, Zhao, abstract, the invention relates to the technical field of liquid crystal televisions, discloses a method for processing a TCON sequential control signal of a liquid crystal television, and solves the problem of abnormal display such as screen blurring caused by loss of the TCON sequential control signal transmitted by an SOC of a tconless liquid crystal television. The method comprises the following steps: when the SOC detects that the frame frequency change value of the display signal output to the liquid crystal screen exceeds delta F, an instruction is sent to the register generating the TCON time sequence control signal after T1 time when the current frame display signal is ended, the register is controlled to execute reset operation once, and the reset operation is completed within the duration T; the method is suitable for processing the TCON time sequence control signal loss of the liquid crystal display television.
[0005] Because different manufacturers, or even different series of LCD screens from the same manufacturer, use different signal processing protocols and timing controls, making them incompatible, the SOC chip used in tconless LCD TVs needs to integrate many different IP cores from the screen manufacturer to ensure accurate control and display of different models of LCD screens. Because the updates and iterations of each generation of SOC chips and LCD screens are not synchronized, SOC chips cannot perfectly embed all the IP cores added later. The TCON timing control signal output by the SOC must refer to the protocol in the corresponding screen manufacturer's IP core. When the SOC chip's connection to the screen manufacturer's IP core is not precise enough, the TCON timing control signal may be lost during the display signal frame rate switching, as shown in Figure 2. Once the TCON timing control signal is lost, the SOC can no longer effectively control the LCD screen's on/off state, resulting in noticeable display faults such as screen distortion on the entire LCD TV.
[0008] The technical problem to be solved by this invention is to propose a method for processing the TCON timing control signal of a liquid crystal television, so as to solve the display abnormality problem such as screen distortion caused by the loss of the TCON timing control signal transmitted by the SOC in a tconless liquid crystal television.
[0013] For LCD TVs using a 1-chip TCONless chassis, the frame rate of the display signal is detected in real time during normal playback. When the frame rate of the display signal changes by more than a certain amount, a reset operation is performed on the register that generates the TCON timing control signal. The start time and completion duration of the reset operation are clearly defined, thereby resending the TCON timing control signal. This ensures the integrity of the TCON timing control signal and solves the display abnormality problem such as screen distortion caused by the loss of the TCON timing control signal when the user switches signal sources.
Indeed, Zhao teaches TCON timing control signal for the multiple IP core in display control. However, such fact does not conflict with the image display control functionality implemented by the LCD TV integrating many different IP cores. It is because such integrity of the TCON timing control signal, the display screen image processing distortion can be solved. Therefore, the combination of Ye and Zhao still teaches the above-mentioned limitations of Claim 1.
CLAIM INTERPRETATION
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(f): (FP 7.30.03)
(f) ELEMENT IN CLAIM FOR A COMBINATION.—An element in a claim for a combination may be expressed as a means or step for performing a specified function without the recital of structure, material, or acts in support thereof, and such claim shall be construed to cover the corresponding structure, material, or acts described in the specification and equivalents thereof.
The following is a quotation of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph:
An element in a claim for a combination may be expressed as a means or step for performing a specified function without the recital of structure, material, or acts in support thereof, and such claim shall be construed to cover the corresponding structure, material, or acts described in the specification and equivalents thereof.
The claims in this application are given their broadest reasonable interpretation using the plain meaning of the claim language in light of the specification as it would be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art. The broadest reasonable interpretation of a claim element (also commonly referred to as a claim limitation) is limited by the description in the specification when 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, is invoked.
As explained in MPEP 2181, subsection I, claim limitations that meet the following three-prong test will be interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph:
(A) the claim limitation uses the term “means” or “step” or a term used as a substitute for “means” that is a generic placeholder (also called a nonce term or a non-structural term having no specific structural meaning) for performing the claimed function;
(B) the term “means” or “step” or the generic placeholder is modified by functional language, typically, but not always linked by the transition word “for” (e.g., “means for”) or another linking word or phrase, such as "configured to" or "so that"; and
(C) the term “means” or “step” or the generic placeholder is not modified by sufficient structure, material, or acts for performing the claimed function.
Use of the word “means” (or “step”) in a claim with functional language creates a rebuttable presumption that the claim limitation is to be treated in accordance with 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph. The presumption that the claim limitation is interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, is rebutted when the claim limitation recites sufficient structure, material, or acts to entirely perform the recited function.
Absence of the word “means” (or “step”) in a claim creates a rebuttable presumption that the claim limitation is not to be treated in accordance with 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph. The presumption that the claim limitation is not interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, is rebutted when the claim limitation recites function without reciting sufficient structure, material or acts to entirely perform the recited function.
Claim limitations in this application that use the word “means” (or “step”) are being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, except as otherwise indicated in an Office action. Conversely, claim limitations in this application that do not use the word “means” (or “step”) are not being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, except as otherwise indicated in an Office action. (FP 7.30.05)
This application includes one or more claim limitations that do not use the word “means,” but are nonetheless being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, because the claim limitation(s) uses a generic placeholder that is coupled with functional language without reciting sufficient structure to perform the recited function and the generic placeholder is not preceded by a structural modifier. Such claim limitation(s) (Claims 1-20) is/are:
control signal generation module configured to shield an initial frame control signal in claims 1 & 2;
IP core module configured to receive the frame control signal in claims 1-3, 9, 11 & 13;
Initial frame control signal generation unit configured to generate an initial frame start signal in claim 2;
Status signal generation unit configured to generate a core module status signal in claims 2-3;
Underrun signal generation unit configured to enable an underrun signal in claims 2, 4-5;
Frame control signal generation unit configured to shield the initial frame start signal in claims 2, 6;
Because this/these claim limitation(s) is/are being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, it/they is/are being interpreted to cover the corresponding structure described in the specification as performing the claimed function, and equivalents thereof.
If applicant does not intend to have this/these limitation(s) interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, applicant may: (1) amend the claim limitation(s) to avoid it/them being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph (e.g., by reciting sufficient structure to perform the claimed function); or (2) present a sufficient showing that the claim limitation(s) recite(s) sufficient structure to perform the claimed function so as to avoid it/them being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph. (FP 7.30.06).
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.
Claims 1, 9 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ye (US20240105101) in view of Zhao et al (CN110459188).
Regarding Claim 1. Ye teaches A display control module of a display device, comprising:
a control signal generation module configured to shield an initial frame control signal based on an enabled underrun signal to generate a frame control signal which is disabled (Ye, abstract, the invention describes A display controller having an automatic data underrun recovery function, comprising: a direct memory access (OMA) controller coupled to an image data processor; the image data processor coupled to an image layer synthesizer; the image layer synthesizer coupled to a first-in first-out (FIFO) memory; a display timing generation circuit (OTC) coupled to the FIFO memory, the display timing generation circuit (OTC) being coupled to an external display device; and an underrun state machine separately coupled to the display timing generation circuit (OTC), an underload data counter, the OMA controller, the image data processor, the image layer synthesizer, and the FIFO memory. The provided display controller has an automatic data underrun recovery function.
[0012] The present invention further provides a display control method with data under run self-recovery function, which comprises the following steps: a display timing circuit OTC accessing a FIFO memory, to acquire the image data stored in the FIFO memory; the display timing circuit OTC receiving a display trigger signal from an external display device and generating four types of control signals according to the image data stored in the FIFO memory, i.e., frame synchronization signal VSYNC, data enable signal DE, line synchronization signal HSYNC and display clock signal PCLK; the display timing circuit OTC converting the image data into display data PDATA, according to the frame synchronization signal VSYNC and the line synchronization signal HSYNC; when the data enable signal DE is valid, the display timing circuit OTC sending the display data PDATA to the external display device for image display according to the display clock signal PCLK; receiving the frame synchronization signal VSYNC and the line synchronization signal HSYNC sent by the display timing circuit DTC and a FIFO empty signal FIFO_EMPTY returned by the FIFO memory; when the data enable signal DE is valid, judging the FIFO empty signal FIFO_EMPTY returned by the FIFO memory, if the FIFO_EMPTY signal is valid, it indicates that the timing controller TCON has encountered a data under run problem when reading the FIFO memory; the display timing circuit DTC judging that a data under run problem in the first state or the second state has occurred, through comparison between the data under run time length and a preset time length value; the display timing circuit DTC carrying out corresponding data under run processing, according to the judgment result.
[0013] Furthermore, the under run state machine executes the following steps when it is in the first under run state: sending a count increment instruction to the under run data counter if the FIFO_EMPTY signal is valid and the FIFO read request signal is valid; according to the value of the under run data logged by the under run data counter, when the data enable signal DE is invalid in the line blanking or frame blanking region, sending a FIFO read request instruction to the FIFO memory to read data, the number of which is equal to the value of the data logged by the under run data counter; the under run state machine sending a count decrement instruction to the under run data counter whenever a data item is read; the under run state machine exiting the first under run state and jumping to the normal state once the under run data counter counts to zero.
[0016] The display controller and the method thereof provided by the present invention have a display device data under run self-recovery function. Mainly by means of two different methods, the solution of the present invention ensures that the timing controller TCON can read correct display data from the FIFO at the start of display of the next frame, thereby effectively solves a problem of instantaneous data under run that leads to long-time of flickering or tearing on the display screen, which is incurred by greater peak bandwidth consumption of the display system.
Therefore, when the display has an underrun signal and the data enable signal DE is invalid in the line blanking or frame blanking region, the display controller sends a FIFO read request instruction to the FIFO memory to read data. It is obvious to a person with ordinary skill in the art that when there is no frame data to read, there is no need to start initial frame control signal. Video data must be read from memory first in order for it to be synchronized to display on the external screen.); and
Ye fails to explicitly teach, however, Zhao teaches a plurality of IP core modules coupled to the control signal generation module, and configured to receive the frame control signal, and perform image processing on image data of the same frame based on the frame control signal, so as to generate display image data corresponding thereto (Zhao, abstract, the invention relates to the technical field of liquid crystal televisions, discloses a method for processing a TCON sequential control signal of a liquid crystal television, and solves the problem of abnormal display such as screen blurring caused by loss of the TCON sequential control signal transmitted by an SOC of a tconless liquid crystal television. The method comprises the following steps: when the SOC detects that the frame frequency change value of the display signal output to the liquid crystal screen exceeds deltaF, an instruction is sent to the register generating the TCON time sequence control signal after T1 time when the current frame display signal is ended, the register is controlled to execute reset operation once, and the reset operation is completed within the durationT; the method is suitable for processing the TCON time sequence control signal loss of the liquid crystal display television.
[0005] Because different manufacturers, or even different series of LCD screens from the same manufacturer, use different signal processing protocols and timing controls, making them incompatible, the SOC chip used in tconless LCD TVs needs to integrate many different IP cores from the screen manufacturer to ensure accurate control and display of different models of LCD screens. Because the updates and iterations of each generation of SOC chips and LCD screens are not synchronized, SOC chips cannot perfectly embed all the IP cores added later. The TCON timing control signal output by the SOC must refer to the protocol in the corresponding screen manufacturer's IP core. When the SOC chip's connection to the screen manufacturer's IP core is not precise enough, the TCON timing control signal may be lost during the display signal frame rate switching, as shown in Figure 2. Once the TCON timing control signal is lost, the SOC can no longer effectively control the LCD screen's on/off state, resulting in noticeable display faults such as screen distortion on the entire LCD TV.
[0008] The technical problem to be solved by this invention is to propose a method for processing the TCON timing control signal of a liquid crystal television, so as to solve the display abnormality problem such as screen distortion caused by the loss of the TCON timing control signal transmitted by the SOC in a tconless liquid crystal television.
[0013] For LCD TVs using a 1-chip TCONless chassis, the frame rate of the display signal is detected in real time during normal playback. When the frame rate of the display signal changes by more than a certain amount, a reset operation is performed on the register that generates the TCON timing control signal. The start time and completion duration of the reset operation are clearly defined, thereby resending the TCON timing control signal. This ensures the integrity of the TCON timing control signal and solves the display abnormality problem such as screen distortion caused by the loss of the TCON timing control signal when the user switches signal sources.).
Ye and Zhao are analogous art because they both teach method of display control for handling display underrun. Zhao further teaches display with plurality of IP cores during unsynchronized frame rate between different displays and the SOC chips. Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person with ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify the display underrun control method (taught in Ye), to further apply on display with different screen IP cores (taught in Zhao), so as to prevent noticeable display faults such as screen distortion on the entire LCD TV (Zhao, [0001-0008]).
Claim 9 is similar in scope as Claim 1, and thus is rejected under same rationale.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 2-8, 10-14 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Claims 15-20 are allowed.
The following is a statement of reason for the indication of allowable subject matter:
Regarding Claim 2, it recites “The display control module of the display device according to claim 1, wherein the control signal generation module comprises:
an initial frame control signal generation unit configured to generate an initial frame start signal and an initial frame end signal of the initial frame control signal at a fixed frequency;
a status signal generation unit configured to generate a core module status signal corresponding to statuses of the plurality of IP core modules;
an underrun signal generation unit configured to enable an underrun signal based on an image data volume indication signal, and disable the underrun signal based on the core module status signal; and
a frame control signal generation unit configured to shield the initial frame start signal and the initial frame end signal based on the enabled underrun signal, so as to generate a frame start signal and a frame end signal of the frame control signal.” in the context of Claim 2.
The prior arts of record either alone or in combination fails to teach or suggest the above quoted limitation of Claim 2. Therefore, Claim 2 is allowable over prior art.
Claims 3-8 depend from Claim 2 with respective additional limitations. Therefore, Claims 3-8 are allowable over prior art.
Regarding Claim 10, it recites “The display control method of the display device according to claim 9, wherein the NAND operation is performed on the initial frame control signal based on the enabled underrun signal to generate the frame control signal.” in the context of Claim 10.
The prior arts of record either alone or in combination fails to teach or suggest the above quoted limitation of Claim 10. Therefore, Claim 10 is allowable over prior art.
Regarding Claim 11, it recites “The display control method of the display device according to claim 9, further comprising:
enabling an underrun signal based on an image data volume indication signal;
generating a core module status signal corresponding to statuses of the plurality of IP core modules; and
disabling the underrun signal based on the core module status signal.” in the context of Claim 11.
The prior arts of record either alone or in combination fails to teach or suggest the above quoted limitation of Claim 11. Therefore, Claim 11 is allowable over prior art.
Claims 12-14 depend from Claim 11 with respective additional limitations. Therefore, Claims 12-14 are allowable over prior art.
Regarding Claim 15, it recites “A display control method for a display device, wherein the display device includes an image frame streaming path and an image frame stream transmitted on the image frame streaming path, the image frame stream comprises a plurality of image frame, a plurality of processing units are sequentially arranged on the image frame streaming path, the plurality of processing units perform different processing on the same image frame of the image frame stream, each of the plurality of the processing unit receives an image frame frequency signal to sequentially process the plurality of image frames of the image frame stream, each of the plurality of processing units processes a current image frame of the plurality of image frames at a first time point, and the display control method comprises:
after the first time point, generating a prompt signal when transmission of the image frame stream is uncoordinated on the image frame streaming path;
generating an image frame frequency disabling signal based on a combination of the image frame frequency signal and the prompt signal; and
for each of the plurality of the processing units, receiving the image frame frequency disabling signal after the first time point, and keeping processing the current image frame based on the image frame frequency disabling signal.” in the context of Claim 15.
The prior arts of record either alone or in combination fails to teach or suggest the above quoted limitation of Claim 15. Therefore, Claim 15 is allowed over prior art.
Claims 16-20 depend from Claim 15 with respective additional limitations. Therefore, Claims 16-20 are allowable over prior art.
Conclusion
THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to XIN SHENG whose telephone number is (571)272-5734. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9:30AM-3:30PM 6:00PM-8:30PM.
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/Xin Sheng/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2619
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