DETAILED ACTION
Status of Claims
Applicant's amendments filed on 7 February 2026 have been entered. No claims have been amended. No claims have been canceled. No claims have been added. Claims 1-16 are still pending in this application, with claims 1 and 9 being independent.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 7 February 2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
Applicant argues, with respect to independent claims 1 and 9, that “a careful review of Boshra-Riad reveals that it fails to disclose the active modification ("replacing") of EDID data by the display device…cited portions merely describe a standard reading process where the source device reads the fixed properties provided by the display. This is fundamentally different from Claim 1, which requires the display to actively alter the data stored at the resolution storage address.”
Examiner respectfully disagrees with Applicant’s interpretation, noting that the replacing is done by way of upscaling the data prior to transfer, as is described in cited paragraph [0036]: “Display detector 362 retrieves EDID information from display 341 over an associated display interface and extracts properties/information from the EDID to determine which display is connected and corresponding scaling preferences from display information 364 or record 410. In this example, display 341 corresponds to a 4k display that has upscaling preferred using the ‘pixel doubling’ scaling algorithm. Video scaler 363 generates upscaled video for transfer to display 341. The upscaled video increases a pixel quantity from a base resolution of graphics/video generated by software of SoC 310 or by graphics cores 312 of SoC 310,” (and further context provided in cited Paragraph [0029]: Each display can have a different associated native display resolution, such as in liquid crystal (LCD) displays or organic light-emitting diode (OLED) displays, among others. This native display resolution of the display can also correspond to a number of pixels that are present in the display for rendering graphics/video. However, SoC 310 might have a resolution associated with output from a game, user application, operating system, or other software element which is used when rendering graphics for display by graphics cores 312. The resolution of the display and the resolution of the user application might not match, and commonly the resolution of the user application is lower than the native resolution of the display. For example, a native or internal resolution for graphics/video of SoC 310 might be “high definition” or HD at 1,920×1,080 pixels (referred to as 1080p), among other resolutions. A connected display might have a desired or native resolution of 4096×2160 pixels (referred to as 4k) or higher. Thus, an upscaling process can be employed to scale the 1,920×1,080 pixels produced by graphics cores 312 to the 4096×2160 pixels of a 4k display). Examiner notes that the upscaling indeed corresponds to the claimed replacing, as this is then the data which is transferred on form the microcontroller (SoC). Thus, Examiner maintains that Boshra-Riad indeed reads on the aforementioned limitations, as currently claimed.
For the remaining claims, Applicant argues for their allowance for the reasons above, as these claims depend from one of the above independent claims, either directly or indirectly.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 2, 3, 5, 6, 10, 11, 13, and 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.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
Claims 2 and 10 are allowable over the prior art of record since the cited references taken individually or in combination fails to particularly disclose or suggest a method or device, comprising: setting the first resolution to the target resolution when the first resolution is not greater than the native resolution; and setting the native resolution to the target resolution when the first resolution is greater than the native resolution, as presented in the environment of the remaining limitations of claim 2 (and substantially similar limitations in claim 10). It is noted that the closest prior art, Boshra-Riad, shows wherein the ratio data command includes a value used to indicate a scaling ratio and the ratio reduction operation further comprises: dividing the native resolution by the value and performing a round-down operation to generate a first resolution. However, Boshra-Riad fails to disclose or suggest setting the first resolution to the target resolution when the first resolution is not greater than the native resolution; and setting the native resolution to the target resolution when the first resolution is greater than the native resolution.
Claims 3 and 11 depend from claims 2 and 10, respectively, and are indicated as allowable accordingly.
Claims 5 and 13 are allowable over the prior art of record since the cited references taken individually or in combination fails to particularly disclose or suggest a method or device, comprising: wherein a display command is sent to the display screen when the screen resolution is lower than the native resolution, wherein the display command is used to instruct the display screen to display the image data in the center of the display screen and turn off driving power corresponding to edge area exceeding the screen resolution or display colors with low power consumption in the edge area, as presented in the environment of the remaining limitations of claim 5 (and substantially similar limitations in claim 13). It is noted that the closest prior art, Boshra-Riad, shows the limitations of claims 4 and 12 (from which claims 5 and 13 depend, respectively). However, Boshra-Riad fails to disclose or suggest wherein a display command is sent to the display screen when the screen resolution is lower than the native resolution, wherein the display command is used to instruct the display screen to display the image data in the center of the display screen and turn off driving power corresponding to edge area exceeding the screen resolution or display colors with low power consumption in the edge area.
Claims 6 and 14 are allowable over the prior art of record since the cited references taken individually or in combination fails to particularly disclose or suggest a method or device, comprising: replacing the target resolution in the resolution storage address with the native resolution when the source device cannot read the target resolution, as presented in the environment of the remaining limitations of claim 6 (and substantially similar limitations in claim 14). It is noted that the closest prior art, Boshra-Riad, shows storing the native resolution in another storage location in the EDID. However, Boshra-Riad fails to disclose or suggest replacing the target resolution in the resolution storage address with the native resolution when the source device cannot read the target resolution.
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 (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
The following is a quotation of 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, 4, 7, 9, 12, and 15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Boshra-Riad (US Pub. 2018/0108114).
Regarding claim 1, Boshra-Riad discloses a method for dynamically adjusting resolution, wherein the method is implemented by a display device and comprises: performing, by a microcontroller of the display device, a ratio reduction operation on a native resolution of a display screen of the display device according to a ratio data command to obtain a target resolution when receiving the ratio data command (Fig. 3; Paragraph [0029]: display can have a different associated native display resolution, such as in liquid crystal (LCD) displays or organic light-emitting diode (OLED) displays, among others. This native display resolution of the display can also correspond to a number of pixels that are present in the display for rendering graphics/video. However, SoC 310 might have a resolution associated with output from a game, user application, operating system, or other software element which is used when rendering graphics for display by graphics cores 312. The resolution of the display and the resolution of the user application might not match, and commonly the resolution of the user application is lower than the native resolution of the display. For example, a native or internal resolution for graphics/video of SoC 310 might be “high definition” or HD at 1,920×1,080 pixels (referred to as 1080p), among other resolutions. A connected display might have a desired or native resolution of 4096×2160 pixels (referred to as 4k) or higher. Thus, an upscaling process can be employed to scale the 1,920×1,080 pixels produced by graphics cores 312 to the 4096×2160 pixels of a 4k display); replacing, by the microcontroller, the native resolution at a resolution storage address in an extended display identification data (EDID) with the target resolution to allow the target resolution to be read by a source device (Paragraph [0015]: Based at least in part on this connection or coupling, user system 110 determines (202) properties from the display device. These properties can be requested, read, or otherwise provided by the display device to user system 110, such as over link 150. These properties can include display model information, display type information, display descriptors, display identifiers, supported display resolutions, status information, display settings, color gamut information, or other information, including combinations thereof. In some examples, such as when link 150 carries High-Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI) or DisplayPort links, the properties can include Extended Display Identification Data (EDID). EDID includes data structures provided by a coupled digital display to describe associated capabilities to a display source, such as user system 110. EDID can indicate various properties of the display device, such as display make and model, display manufacturer name, display product codes, display year-of-manufacture, serial numbers, or other display identifiers or display identities; Paragraph [0036]: Display detector 362 retrieves EDID information from display 341 over an associated display interface and extracts properties/information from the EDID to determine which display is connected and corresponding scaling preferences from display information 364 or record 410. In this example, display 341 corresponds to a 4k display that has upscaling preferred using the ‘pixel doubling’ scaling algorithm. Video scaler 363 generates upscaled video for transfer to display 341. The upscaled video increases a pixel quantity from a base resolution of graphics/video generated by software of SoC 310 or by graphics cores 312 of SoC); receiving, by the microcontroller, image data, wherein the image data is generated by the source device according to the target resolution (Paragraph [0024]: Video display devices 130 can each comprise video monitors, televisions, projectors, touchscreens, transported video interfaces, virtualized interfaces, or other video or graphics viewing elements, including combinations thereof. Each display device can have one or more input interfaces for receiving graphics or video from a source, such as from user system 110 over link 150. Some examples of video display devices 130 can include video or graphics scaling features in addition to those of user system; Paragraphs [0063]-[0064]: method of Examples 1-6, where the selected target scaling process comprises an upscaling process performed in the user device that upscales video data generated at a base resolution in the user device to an upscaled resolution for transfer as the display output, where the upscaled resolution comprises a greater resolution than the base resolution….method of Examples 1-7, where the selected target scaling process comprises an upscaling process performed in the user device that upscales video data generated at a base resolution using a selected scaling algorithm associated in the display record with the one or more display properties); performing, by the microcontroller, a ratio increase operation on the target resolution according to the ratio data command to obtain a screen resolution (Paragraph [0010]: Due to differences between the maximum supported resolutions by a display device, such as a television, and the resolution for video rendered by a user device or user system, video scaling might be employed to provide the user with an improved viewing experience or for optimal rendering of video on a display device. For example, when the end user device is a gaming system coupled to a television, matching the display output resolution of the gaming system to the native or maximum resolution of the television can be challenging. Scaling a display output from a native resolution of generated graphics can provide a better user viewing experience in some cases; Paragraph [0029]: Each display can have a different associated native display resolution, such as in liquid crystal (LCD) displays or organic light-emitting diode (OLED) displays, among others. This native display resolution of the display can also correspond to a number of pixels that are present in the display for rendering graphics/video. However, SoC 310 might have a resolution associated with output from a game, user application, operating system, or other software element which is used when rendering graphics for display by graphics cores 312. The resolution of the display and the resolution of the user application might not match, and commonly the resolution of the user application is lower than the native resolution of the display. For example, a native or internal resolution for graphics/video of SoC 310 might be “high definition” or HD at 1,920×1,080 pixels (referred to as 1080p), among other resolutions. A connected display might have a desired or native resolution of 4096×2160 pixels (referred to as 4k) or higher. Thus, an upscaling process can be employed to scale the 1,920×1,080 pixels produced by graphics cores 312 to the 4096×2160 pixels of a 4k display); and setting, by the microcontroller, the native resolution of the display screen to the screen resolution to display the image data (Paragraph [0020]: the scaled display output is an upscaled display output. Upscaling produces a higher resolution output based on an upscaling process applied to video/graphics in an input resolution. This upscaling process can employ various algorithms or functions to derive a higher resolution output than natively provided as an input to the upscaling process. A pixel doubling algorithm can be employed, or various interpolation functions can be employed to produce a desired output resolution. For example, a native or internal resolution for graphics/video of user system 110 might be “high definition” or HD at 1,920×1,080 pixels (referred to as 1080p), among other resolutions. A display device might have a desired or native resolution of 4096×2160 pixels (referred to as 4k) or 7,680×4,320 pixels (referred to as 8k). Thus, an upscaling process can be employed to scale the 1,920×1,080 pixels produced by an HD graphics subsystem of user system 110 to the 4096×2160 pixels of a 4k display device. As mentioned herein, at times the specific display device might have sufficient upscaling features and user system 110 can output the unscaled or native graphics over link 150 for upscaling by the display device. In other examples, user system 110 might have superior upscaling features, and user system 110 can produce the upscaled output for transfer over link 150. Once the selected scaling process has been applied, then user system 110 transfers the display output for display on the display device).
Regarding claim 4, Boshra-Riad discloses the method for dynamically adjusting resolution as claimed in claim 1, wherein the ratio data command comprises a value used to indicate the scaling ratio, and the ratio increase operation further comprises: performing a round-down operation on the value to generate a first value (Paragraph [0029]: display can have a different associated native display resolution, such as in liquid crystal (LCD) displays or organic light-emitting diode (OLED) displays, among others. This native display resolution of the display can also correspond to a number of pixels that are present in the display for rendering graphics/video. However, SoC 310 might have a resolution associated with output from a game, user application, operating system, or other software element which is used when rendering graphics for display by graphics cores 312. The resolution of the display and the resolution of the user application might not match, and commonly the resolution of the user application is lower than the native resolution of the display. For example, a native or internal resolution for graphics/video of SoC 310 might be “high definition” or HD at 1,920×1,080 pixels (referred to as 1080p), among other resolutions. A connected display might have a desired or native resolution of 4096×2160 pixels (referred to as 4k) or higher. Thus, an upscaling process can be employed to scale the 1,920×1,080 pixels produced by graphics cores 312 to the 4096×2160 pixels of a 4k display); and multiplying the target resolution by the first value to generate the screen resolution (Paragraph [0020]: the scaled display output is an upscaled display output. Upscaling produces a higher resolution output based on an upscaling process applied to video/graphics in an input resolution. This upscaling process can employ various algorithms or functions to derive a higher resolution output than natively provided as an input to the upscaling process. A pixel doubling algorithm can be employed, or various interpolation functions can be employed to produce a desired output resolution. For example, a native or internal resolution for graphics/video of user system 110 might be “high definition” or HD at 1,920×1,080 pixels (referred to as 1080p), among other resolutions. A display device might have a desired or native resolution of 4096×2160 pixels (referred to as 4k) or 7,680×4,320 pixels (referred to as 8k). Thus, an upscaling process can be employed to scale the 1,920×1,080 pixels produced by an HD graphics subsystem of user system 110 to the 4096×2160 pixels of a 4k display device. As mentioned herein, at times the specific display device might have sufficient upscaling features and user system 110 can output the unscaled or native graphics over link 150 for upscaling by the display device. In other examples, user system 110 might have superior upscaling features, and user system 110 can produce the upscaled output for transfer over link 150. Once the selected scaling process has been applied, then user system 110 transfers the display output for display on the display device).
Regarding claim 7, Boshra-Riad discloses the method for dynamically adjusting resolution as claimed in claim 1, wherein the image data has the target resolution (Paragraph [0020]: the scaled display output is an upscaled display output. Upscaling produces a higher resolution output based on an upscaling process applied to video/graphics in an input resolution. This upscaling process can employ various algorithms or functions to derive a higher resolution output than natively provided as an input to the upscaling process. A pixel doubling algorithm can be employed, or various interpolation functions can be employed to produce a desired output resolution. For example, a native or internal resolution for graphics/video of user system 110 might be “high definition” or HD at 1,920×1,080 pixels (referred to as 1080p), among other resolutions. A display device might have a desired or native resolution of 4096×2160 pixels (referred to as 4k) or 7,680×4,320 pixels (referred to as 8k). Thus, an upscaling process can be employed to scale the 1,920×1,080 pixels produced by an HD graphics subsystem of user system 110 to the 4096×2160 pixels of a 4k display device. As mentioned herein, at times the specific display device might have sufficient upscaling features and user system 110 can output the unscaled or native graphics over link 150 for upscaling by the display device. In other examples, user system 110 might have superior upscaling features, and user system 110 can produce the upscaled output for transfer over link 150. Once the selected scaling process has been applied, then user system 110 transfers the display output for display on the display device).
Regarding claim 9, the limitations of this claim substantially correspond to the limitations of claim 1 (except for the memory and processor, which are disclosed by Boshra-Riad, Paragraph [0026]: Environment 300 includes a system-on-a-chip (SoC) element along with other associated elements. Specifically, environment 300 includes SoC 310, video scaling system 320, external operational elements 330-334, physical displays 340, and virtual displays 341. SoC 310 further includes internal operational elements 311-315 comprising processing cores 311, graphics cores 312, video interface 313, communication interfaces 315, and memory interface 315. Video scaling system 320 includes control processor 321, firmware 322, storage system 323, and communication interface 324); thus they are rejected on similar grounds.
Regarding claim 12, the limitations of this claim substantially correspond to the limitations of claim 4; thus they are rejected on similar grounds.
Regarding claim 15, the limitations of this claim substantially correspond to the limitations of claim 7; thus they are rejected on similar grounds.
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.
Claims 8 and 16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Boshra-Riad, in view of Sivertsen et al. (US Pub. 2017/0229093), hereinafter Sivertsen.
Regarding claim 8, Boshra-Riad discloses the method for dynamically adjusting resolution as claimed in claim 1.
Boshra-Riad does not explicitly disclose wherein after the native resolution is replaced with the target resolution, transmission channels between the source device and the display device are reset by the microcontroller.
However, Sivertsen teaches dynamically adjusting resolution utilizing EDID (Abstract), further comprising wherein after the native resolution is replaced with the target resolution, transmission channels between the source device and the display device are reset by the microcontroller (Paragraph [0028]: Operation of the system is described in the description of FIG. 5 below. In summary, the graphics card 110 operates in conjunction with the adapter 140 to retrieve EDID information from the display 160, store the EDID information in EEPROM 122, and use this emulated EDID information in operation of the display. The emulated EDID information in EEPROM 122 may be altered such that non-native resolutions of the display 160 are removed. Furthermore, upon initial power-up of a system containing graphics card 110, dummy EDID information will be stored in emulated EDID EEPROM 122, even with no display connected to the system. Upon a Hot Plug Detect (HPD) high signal, the actual display information is fetched and replaces the dummy EDID information in EEPROM 122. If the display 160 becomes disconnected from the graphics card 110, the system continues to operate as if the display 160 was connected, because the system uses the emulated EDID information in EEPROM 122, rather than the actual EDID information in a display. This system facilitates consistent placement of displays relative to each other, as will be described in the following paragraphs; Paragraph [0056]: controller 624 is connected to the EDID (EEPROM) 622 and both sides of the magnetics 618. It is also connected to serial port 626. The controller 624 may be a digital signal processor, a processor, a microprocessor, or a microcomputer on a chip. From the local area network 630, the controller 624 receives and stores an EDID of a display 660 as an emulated EDID in the memory 622 (such as EEPROM) of the graphics card 610. A PC connected to the Display Port interface 612 or the HDMI interface 615 reads the emulated EDID in the memory 622 of the graphics card 610 as if reading from the display 660. In some embodiments, the EDID 622 of the graphics card 610 for storing emulated EDID is initialized with default EDID during manufacture. In some embodiments, in order to facilitate reset operation, a jumper or switch may be configured to reset the emulated EDID). Sivertsen teaches that this will allow for flexibility in storage of EDID information (Paragraph [0020]). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Boshra-Riad with the features of above as taught by Sivertsen so as to allow for increased flexibility in storage of EDID information as presented by Sivertsen.
Regarding claim 16, the limitations of this claim substantially correspond to the limitations of claim 8; thus they are rejected on similar grounds.
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 MATTHEW D SALVUCCI whose telephone number is (571)270-5748. The examiner can normally be reached M-F: 7:30-4:00PT.
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/MATTHEW SALVUCCI/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2613