DETAILED ACTION
This Office action is in response to the communication filed on March 24, 2026. Claims 1-4, 6-12, and 14-20 are currently pending and claims 5 and 13 have been cancelled in this application. The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Priority
Applicant’s claim for foreign priority under 35 U.S.C. 119 (a)-(d) based on application filed in China on November 16, 2021 has been acknowledged and considered by Examiner. Receipt is acknowledged of papers submitted under 35 U.S.C. 119(a)-(d) that are placed on record in the application file.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to amended claims 1, 8 and 9 in the Remarks section (pages 11-16) have been fully considered but are not persuasive.
Applicant argues Chiang does not teach when a frequency abnormality of an oscillator in the LED driver or a speed abnormality of receiving data is detected, splitting at least one most-latter sub-frame among the plurality of sub-frames into a plurality of small small-sub frames, because an abnormality is not detected and the splitting was into shorter dimming data lengths not time shorter time lengths.
However, Chiang teaches the backlight controller and the timing controller are synchronized to the VSYNC (e.g., oscillate according to this signal). This signal sometimes beat (e.g., had interference) with other frequencies in the display system, producing abnormal results, generally detected in integer multiples of the power supply frequency. Therefore, LED zone brightness data was formatted according to a second VSYNC2, resulting in a higher frequency and resulting in smaller LED zone dimming. The perceived brightness is proportional to the amount of the time that the LEDs are on during a VSYNC period. See Col. 6, lines 39-51. Therefore, smaller LED zone dimming would result in shorter time dimming signals and different perceived brightnesses. This applied in the dimming images produced by Ophir in view of Zheng.
Further, Applicant argues Chiang does not teach wherein a total length of the small sub-frames is smaller than a total length of the at least one most-latter sub-frame, and a number of sub-frames split into small sub-frames is dynamically adjusted, because the data burst division are for identical data and passive performed instead of actively and dynamically.
Chiang teaches the backlight controller formats the LED zone brightness data received into a form that is compatible with LED sub-zone units. So, originally the dimming data to the backlight controller is converted into 3 bursts equivalent to original dimming data synchronized to the signal that had interference. So, the bursts are divided with the higher frequency into small LED zone dimming equivalent to the original frequency with interference. This is similar to a sub-frame split into small sub-frames would also have identical data. However, it is not always three bursts but the split into how many bursts is dependent dynamically on changes on VSYNC1, meaning it accounts for variations in VSYNC1. Similarly, the number of smaller sub-frames split from the latter-most sub-frame is changeable according to actual needs in specification paragraph [0082].
Applicant's arguments have been fully considered with respect to 2-4, 6-7, 14-20 in the Remarks section (page 16) but they are not persuasive as the claims depend upon the features recited in the amended independent claims.
Claim Objections
Claim 8 is objected to because of the following informalities:
a. “wherein in each sub-frame, the dimming image is displayed for part of the time, and an all-black image is displayed for part of the time” should be amended to:
“wherein in each sub-frame, the dimming image is displayed for part of a time, and an all-black image is displayed for part of the time” in last three lines of claim 8 to correct for antecedent basis.
b. Appropriate correction is required.
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 1-4, 7-12, and 14-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over U.S. Patent Publication 2021/0343254 A1 by Ophir et al. (“Ophir”) in view of Foreign Patent Publication CN 101315748 B by Zheng et al. (“Zheng,”) and further in view of U.S. Patent Publication 11,443,704 B1 by Chiang et al. (“Chiang.”)
Regarding claim 1, Ophir teaches a backlight control method (Figs. 3A-3C) , comprising:
acquiring a dimming image corresponding to a display frame sent by a controller, the dimming image matching a display image on a liquid crystal panel (Fig. 1; [0003]-[0004], While most LCDs utilize backlight modules that are always being uniformly lit as a single unit, some backlight units are known to be partially lit or locally dimmed, usually based on the data being inputted to the pixels array (frame) upon refresh by a processor as shown in Figure 1); and
splitting, according to the dimming image, one display frame into a plurality of dimming control frames to control light emitting diodes (LEDs) in a backlight module (Figs. 3A-3B, 330A-330C; [0026], As illustrated, 310A, 310B and 310C show different (split-up) stages of the backlight unit controlled to be dimmed or OFF along the refresh cycle of the pixels, while whereas 330A, 330B, and 330C show corresponding stages for the pixel array),
wherein an image corresponding to each dimming control frame is composed of a black image and a partial dimming image which are spliced (Figs. 3A-3B, 312A-316A to 312C-316C; [0026], Each stage shows which backlight units are dimmed (or OFF) when the pixels are refreshed. For example, in 310A, backlight unit 312A is dimmed and 314A and 316A are turned on since pixels 330A are being refreshed), and in the plurality of dimming control frames, positions of black images move in a preset direction(Figs. 3A-3C, black/OFF moved in the downward direction),
splitting each dimming control frame into a plurality of sub-frames (Figs. 3A-3C, [0026], Each stage shows which backlight units are dimmed (or OFF/black) when the pixels are refreshed. For example, in 310A, backlight unit 312A is dimmed and 314A and 316A are turned on since pixels 330A are being refreshed where the individual units are sub-frames such as 312A as OFF/black).
However, Ophir does specifically equate a turned off backlight to a black image, the backlight module is controlled by a plurality of LED drivers through pulse width modulation (PWM) signals.
In the analogous art of backlight driving, Zheng teaches in the traditional technology, there are mainly two ways to improve the display quality of dynamic images, liquid crystal overdrive and black insertion. In terms of screen black insertion, there are mainly two types of data black insertion and dynamic backlight. The so-called data black insertion is to write the black screen data to the panel through the source driver to achieve the effect of black insertion, while the dynamic backlight uses the backlight to be turned off to achieve inserting black. In the driving device of the present invention, the above-mentioned backlight controller includes a pulse width modulation generating circuit and a backlight driving circuit, wherein the pulse width modulation generating circuit is used to generate a pulse modulation signal, and the backlight driving circuit is based on the pulse modulation signal. signal, adjust the brightness of the backlight or adjust the on/off time of the backlight (Zheng Page 1, last two paragraphs and Page 2, first paragraph). It would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the invention to have turned the backlight off to effect black insertion with pulse width modulation as taught by Zheng One having ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to have used black insertion to improved the display quality of dynamic (moving, video) images and compensate for the response time of liquid crystals (Zheng Page 1, last two paragraph and Page 2, first paragraph).
However, Ophir in view of Zheng does not teach when a frequency abnormality of an oscillator in the LED driver or a speed abnormality of receiving data from the controller is detected, splitting at least one most-latter sub-frame among the plurality of sub-frames into a plurality of small sub-frames; wherein a total length of the small sub-frames is smaller than a total length of the at least one most-latter sub-frame, and a number of sub-frames split into small sub-frames is dynamically adjusted.
However, in the analogous art of LED driving for a backlight, Chiang teaches the backlight controller 12 is used to format the LED zone brightness information from the scaler 10 into a form that is compatible with the LED drivers 14. Often the backlight zones 16 a are grouped together in sub-zones 20 a so the backlight controller 12 has the capacity to properly distribute the LED brightness control information to the proper subzones 20 a. Traditionally the backlight controller 12 and the timing controller 11 are synchronized to the VSYNC signal such as in Ophir for display refresh (Col. 2, lines 47-55). Every time a pulse occurs on VSYNC a new frame of video data is transmitted to the LCD panel 15 and the LED backlight array 16. The frequency of VSYNC is typically (but not necessarily) between 48-170 Hz. The frequency is important for video quality. With some notable exceptions, higher VSYNC frequency leads to higher video quality. In certain situations the VSYNC frequency can “beat” with another frequency in the system. When this happens the video image can display what is called a “falling water” pattern. The falling water pattern is not desirable (abnormal). This often happens when the VSYNC frequency is near integer multiples of the power supply frequency, which in most countries is 50 Hz to 60 Hz (Chiang Col. 2, lines 12-41). ). The backlight controller 120 is used to format the LED zone brightness data received from the scaler 100 at pulses of the VSYNC1 into a form that is compatible with the LED sub-zone units 140. The LED sub-zone units 140 operate synchronously VSYNC2 in order to receive serial LED data from the backlight controller 120. Therefore, the backlight operates at a second VSYNC2 frequency of 240Hz, resulting in smaller LED zone dimming, FIG. 11 shows the preceding concepts all put together in one figure. The scaler data output for a frame of LED and LCD data starts inside a large dashed line rectangle on the left (synchronous to the VSYNC1 signal). In the bottom trace that scaler LED data has been converted by the BCON/MCU into 3 bursts of identical brightness data synchronous to the VSYNC2 signal. Each burst of LED brightness data then produce an LED zone with a particular brightness when a corresponding “BL execute” signal occur, wherein the latter frame is smaller than the frame size from one VSYNC such as FRAM1 (Chiang Fig. 11, Col. 6, lines 13-28 and Col. 8, lines 7-17).
It would have been obvious before the effective filing invention to have addressed the falling water abnormality by using shorter sub-dimming values as taught by Chiang for the backlight control of Ophir in view of Zheng. One having ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to have accounted if the VSYNC frequency, emanating from the scaler 10 varies, then the backlight control signals from the scaler 10 into the backlight controller 12 and from the backlight controller 12 into the BLU 18 must change in the same fashion or else visual quality will be reduced (Chiang Col. 3, lines 8-16)
Regarding claim 2, Ophir of the combination of references teaches the method according to claim 1, wherein the backlight module is divided into a plurality of horizontal areas, and a number of the plurality of horizontal areas is the same as a number of the dimming control frames split from the one display frame (see Figs. 3A-3B, areas 330A-330C); the preset direction is determined by a scanning direction of the liquid crystal panel; in an i-th dimming control frame (Figs. 2 and 3A-3C; [0022], In operation, as the pixels are being updated (possibly as shown by the rolling direction of the arrow) the backlight units may be dimmed correspondingly), an i-th horizontal area is used for displaying a dimming image corresponding to the horizontal area, and remaining horizontal areas are used for displaying a black image, in an i-th dimming control frame, an i-th horizontal area is used for displaying a black image, and remaining horizontal areas are used for displaying a corresponding dimming image; wherein i takes a value from 1 to n, and n is the number of the plurality of horizontal areas (Figs. 3A-3C; first horizontal area 330A has first backlight unit 312A dimmed to OFF, second horizontal area 330B has second backlight 314B dimmed, and third backlight unit 330C has third backlight 316C dimmed).
Regarding claim 3, Ophir of the combination of references teaches the method according to claim 2, wherein the backlight module is controlled by a plurality of LED drivers ([0019], The LCD may further include a plurality of backlight units such as 130A, 130B, and 130C, forming a backlight surface 130 of LCD 100, being independently controllable, possibly via drivers 132A and 132B); and the splitting, according to the dimming image, the one display frame into the plurality of dimming control frames to control the LEDs in the backlight module ([0019], LCD 100 may further include a backlight control module 140 electrically connected to backlight surface 130 via drivers 132A and 132B and configured to dim backlight units such as 130A, 130B, and 130C that spatially overlap one or more of the transistor groups whenever the data (split) at the transistor groups is being refreshed by data refresh module 120 such as in Figs. 3A-3C), comprises: in each dimming control frame of the display frame, controlling a signal of an LED driver corresponding to the dimming control frame to be turned off, and controlling signals of remaining LED drivers to be turned on, to control, based on the turned-on signals, a part of the LEDs in the backlight module to display a corresponding dimming image; wherein the LED driver corresponding to the dimming control frame is an LED driver corresponding to an area in which a black image is located ([0026], Each stage shows which backlight units are dimmed (or OFF) when the pixels are refreshed. For example, in 310A, backlight unit 312A is dimmed and 314A and 316A are turned on since pixels 330A are being refreshed).
Regarding claim 4, Ophir of the combination of references teaches the method according to claim 3, further comprising: splitting each dimming control frame into a plurality of sub-frames; wherein in each sub-frame, an image corresponding to the dimming control frame is displayed for a part of time, and an all-black image is displayed for a part of the time (Figs. 3A-3C, [0026], Each stage shows which backlight units are dimmed (or OFF/black) when the pixels are refreshed. For example, in 310A, backlight unit 312A is dimmed and 314A and 316A are turned on since pixels 330A are being refreshed where the individual units are sub-frames such as 312A as OFF/black).
Regarding claim 6 Ophir in view of Zheng does not teach method according to claim 4, further comprising: determining a number of small sub-frames split from one sub-frame; and determining, according to the number of the small sub-frames from the splitting and a resolution of a PWM signal corresponding to the sub-frame, resolution of PWM signals corresponding to the small sub-frames.
However, in the analogous art of LED driving for a backlight, Chiang teaches the backlight controller 12 is used to format the LED zone brightness information from the scaler 10 into a form that is compatible with the LED drivers 14. Often the backlight zones 16 a are grouped together in sub-zones 20 a so the backlight controller 12 has the capacity to properly distribute the LED brightness control information to the proper subzones 20 a. Traditionally the backlight controller 12 and the timing controller 11 are synchronized to the VSYNC signal such as in Ophir for display refresh (Col. 2, lines 47-55). Every time a pulse occurs on VSYNC a new frame of video data is transmitted to the LCD panel 15 and the LED backlight array 16. The frequency of VSYNC is typically (but not necessarily) between 48-170 Hz. The frequency is important for video quality. With some notable exceptions, higher VSYNC frequency leads to higher video quality. In certain situations the VSYNC frequency can “beat” with another frequency in the system. When this happens the video image can display what is called a “falling water” pattern. The falling water pattern is not desirable (abnormal). This often happens when the VSYNC frequency is near integer multiples of the power supply frequency, which in most countries is 50 Hz to 60 Hz (Chiang Col. 2, lines 12-41). The backlight controller 120 is used to format the LED zone brightness data received from the scaler 100 at pulses of the VSYNC1 into a form that is compatible with the LED sub-zone units 140. The LED sub-zone units 140 operate synchronously (resolution) to VSYNC2 in order to receive serial LED data from the backlight controller 120. Therefore, the backlight operates at a second VSYNC2 frequency of 240Hz, resulting in smaller LED zone dimming, FIG. 11 shows the preceding concepts all put together in one figure. The scaler data output for a frame of LED and LCD data starts inside a large dashed line rectangle on the left (synchronous to the VSYNC1 signal). In the bottom trace that scaler LED data has been converted by the BCON/MCU into 3 bursts of identical brightness data synchronous to the VSYNC2 signal. Each burst of LED brightness data then produce an LED zone with a particular brightness when a corresponding “BL execute” signal occur, wherein the latter frame is smaller than the frame size from one VSYNC such as FRAM1 (Chiang Fig. 11, Col. 6, lines 13-28 and Col. 8, lines 7-17).
It would have been obvious before the effective filing invention to have addressed the falling water abnormality by using shorter sub-dimming values as taught by Chiang for the backlight control of Ophir in view of Zheng. One having ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to have accounted if the VSYNC frequency, emanating from the scaler 10 varies, then the backlight control signals from the scaler 10 into the backlight controller 12 and from the backlight controller 12 into the BLU 18 must change in the same fashion or else visual quality will be reduced (Chiang Col. 3, lines 8-16)
Regarding claim 7, Ophir of the combination of references teaches the method according to claim 3, wherein the LED driver has a plurality of output channels, each output channel being used for controlling a plurality of LEDs, wherein phases of output channels corresponding to a same horizontal area are different; ([0026], As illustrated, 310A, 310B and 310C show different stages/channels of the backlight unit along the refresh cycle of the pixels, whereas 330A, 330B, and 330C show corresponding stages for the pixel array. Each stage shows which backlight units are dimmed (or OFF) while others are ON); and the method further comprises:
However, Ophir does not teach determining phases of PWM signals of the output channels, and outputting, according to the determined phases, the corresponding PWM signals through the plurality of output channels.
In the analogous art of backlight driving, Zheng teaches in the traditional technology, there are mainly two ways to improve the display quality of dynamic images, liquid crystal overdrive and black insertion. In terms of screen black insertion, there are mainly two types of data black insertion and dynamic backlight. The so-called data black insertion is to write the black screen data to the panel through the source driver to achieve the effect of black insertion, while the dynamic backlight uses the backlight to be turned off to achieve inserting black. In the driving device of the present invention, the above-mentioned backlight controller includes a pulse width modulation generating circuit and a backlight driving circuit, wherein the pulse width modulation generating circuit is used to generate a pulse modulation signal, and the backlight driving circuit is based on the pulse modulation signal. signal, adjust the brightness of the backlight or adjust the on/off time of the backlight corresponding to the stages taught by Ophir. The pulse width modulation generating circuit 140 in the backlight controller is used to generate the pulse wave modulation signal PWMS, and the backlight driving circuit 150 adjusts the brightness or on/off time of the backlight according to the pulse wave modulation signal PWMS (Zheng Page 1, last two paragraphs, Page 2, first paragraph, and Page 7, second last paragraph). It would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the invention to have turned the backlight off to effect black insertion with pulse width modulation as taught by Zheng One having ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to have used black insertion to improved the display quality of dynamic (moving, video) images and compensate for the response time of liquid crystals (Zheng Page 1, last two paragraph and Page 2, first paragraph).
Regarding claim 8, Ophir teaches a backlight control apparatus (Figs. 3A-3C) , comprising:
acquiring a dimming image corresponding to a display frame sent by a controller, the dimming image matching a display image on a liquid crystal panel (Fig. 1; [0003]-[0004], While most LCDs utilize backlight modules that are always being uniformly lit as a single unit, some backlight units are known to be partially lit or locally dimmed, usually based on the data being inputted to the pixels array (frame) upon refresh by a processor as shown in Figure 1); and
splitting, according to the dimming image, the display frame into a plurality of sub-frames, and controlling light emitting diodes (LEDs) in a backlight module (Figs. 3A-3B, 330A-330C; [0026], As illustrated, 310A, 310B and 310C show different (split-up) stages of the backlight unit controlled to be dimmed or OFF along the refresh cycle of the pixels, while whereas 330A, 330B, and 330C show corresponding stages for the pixel array),
wherein in each sub-frame, the dimming image is displayed for part of time, and an all-black image is displayed for part of the time (Figs. 3A-3B, 312A-316A to 312C-316C; [0026], Each stage shows which backlight units are dimmed (or OFF) when the pixels are refreshed. For example, in 310A, backlight unit 312A is dimmed and 314A and 316A are turned on since pixels 330A are being refreshed),
splitting each dimming control frame into a plurality of sub-frames (Figs. 3A-3C, [0026], Each stage shows which backlight units are dimmed (or OFF/black) when the pixels are refreshed. For example, in 310A, backlight unit 312A is dimmed and 314A and 316A are turned on since pixels 330A are being refreshed where the individual units are sub-frames such as 312A as OFF/black).
However, Ophir does specifically equate a turned off backlight to a black image, the backlight module is controlled by a plurality of LED drivers through pulse width modulation (PWM) signals.
In the analogous art of backlight driving, Zheng teaches in the traditional technology, there are mainly two ways to improve the display quality of dynamic images, liquid crystal overdrive and black insertion. In terms of screen black insertion, there are mainly two types of data black insertion and dynamic backlight. The so-called data black insertion is to write the black screen data to the panel through the source driver to achieve the effect of black insertion, while the dynamic backlight uses the backlight to be turned off to achieve inserting black. In the driving device of the present invention, the above-mentioned backlight controller includes a pulse width modulation generating circuit and a backlight driving circuit, wherein the pulse width modulation generating circuit is used to generate a pulse modulation signal, and the backlight driving circuit is based on the pulse modulation signal. signal, adjust the brightness of the backlight or adjust the on/off time of the backlight (Zheng Page 1, last two paragraphs and Page 2, first paragraph). It would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the invention to have turned the backlight off to effect black insertion with pulse width modulation as taught by Zheng One having ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to have used black insertion to improved the display quality of dynamic (moving, video) images and compensate for the response time of liquid crystals (Zheng Page 1, last two paragraph and Page 2, first paragraph).
However, Ophir in view of Zheng does not teach when a frequency abnormality of an oscillator in the LED driver or a speed abnormality of receiving data from the controller is detected, splitting at least one most-latter sub-frame among the plurality of sub-frames into a plurality of small sub-frames; wherein a total length of the small sub-frames is smaller than a total length of the at least one most-latter sub-frame, and a number of sub-frames split into small sub-frames is dynamically adjusted.
However, in the analogous art of LED driving for a backlight, Chiang teaches the backlight controller 12 is used to format the LED zone brightness information from the scaler 10 into a form that is compatible with the LED drivers 14. Often the backlight zones 16 a are grouped together in sub-zones 20 a so the backlight controller 12 has the capacity to properly distribute the LED brightness control information to the proper subzones 20 a. Traditionally the backlight controller 12 and the timing controller 11 are synchronized to the VSYNC signal such as in Ophir for display refresh (Col. 2, lines 47-55). Every time a pulse occurs on VSYNC a new frame of video data is transmitted to the LCD panel 15 and the LED backlight array 16. The frequency of VSYNC is typically (but not necessarily) between 48-170 Hz. The frequency is important for video quality. With some notable exceptions, higher VSYNC frequency leads to higher video quality. In certain situations the VSYNC frequency can “beat” with another frequency in the system. When this happens the video image can display what is called a “falling water” pattern. The falling water pattern is not desirable (abnormal). This often happens when the VSYNC frequency is near integer multiples of the power supply frequency, which in most countries is 50 Hz to 60 Hz (Chiang Col. 2, lines 12-41). ). The backlight controller 120 is used to format the LED zone brightness data received from the scaler 100 at pulses of the VSYNC1 into a form that is compatible with the LED sub-zone units 140. The LED sub-zone units 140 operate synchronously VSYNC2 in order to receive serial LED data from the backlight controller 120. Therefore, the backlight operates at a second VSYNC2 frequency of 240Hz, resulting in smaller LED zone dimming, FIG. 11 shows the preceding concepts all put together in one figure. The scaler data output for a frame of LED and LCD data starts inside a large dashed line rectangle on the left (synchronous to the VSYNC1 signal). In the bottom trace that scaler LED data has been converted by the BCON/MCU into 3 bursts of identical brightness data synchronous to the VSYNC2 signal. Each burst of LED brightness data then produce an LED zone with a particular brightness when a corresponding “BL execute” signal occur, wherein the latter frame is smaller than the frame size from one VSYNC such as FRAM1 (Chiang Fig. 11, Col. 6, lines 13-28 and Col. 8, lines 7-17).
It would have been obvious before the effective filing invention to have addressed the falling water abnormality by using shorter sub-dimming values as taught by Chiang for the backlight control of Ophir in view of Zheng. One having ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to have accounted if the VSYNC frequency, emanating from the scaler 10 varies, then the backlight control signals from the scaler 10 into the backlight controller 12 and from the backlight controller 12 into the BLU 18 must change in the same fashion or else visual quality will be reduced (Chiang Col. 3, lines 8-16)
Regarding claim 9, Ophir teaches a backlight control apparatus (Figs. 3A-3C) , comprising: a memory and at least one processor; wherein the memory stores a computer executable instruction; and the at least one processor executes the computer executable instruction stored in the memory, to cause the at least one processor to ([0049]-[0050], Additionally, the method described in the present disclosure can be stored as instructions in a non-transitory computer readable medium, such as storage devices which may include hard disk drives, solid state drives, flash memories, and the like. In order to implement the method according to some embodiments of the present invention, a computer processor may receive instructions and data from a read-only memory or a random-access memory or both):
acquire a dimming image corresponding to a display frame sent by a controller, the dimming image matching a display image on a liquid crystal panel (Fig. 1; [0003]-[0004], While most LCDs utilize backlight modules that are always being uniformly lit as a single unit, some backlight units are known to be partially lit or locally dimmed, usually based on the data being inputted to the pixels array (frame) upon refresh by a processor as shown in Figure 1); and
split, according to the dimming image, one display frame into a plurality of dimming control frames to control light emitting diodes (LEDs) in a backlight module (Figs. 3A-3B, 330A-330C; [0026], As illustrated, 310A, 310B and 310C show different (split-up) stages of the backlight unit controlled to be dimmed or OFF along the refresh cycle of the pixels, while whereas 330A, 330B, and 330C show corresponding stages for the pixel array),
wherein an image corresponding to each dimming control frame is composed of a black image and a partial dimming image which are spliced (Figs. 3A-3B, 312A-316A to 312C-316C; [0026], Each stage shows which backlight units are dimmed (or OFF) when the pixels are refreshed. For example, in 310A, backlight unit 312A is dimmed and 314A and 316A are turned on since pixels 330A are being refreshed), and in the plurality of dimming control frames, positions of black images move in a preset direction(Figs. 3A-3C, black/OFF moved in the downward direction).
splitting each dimming control frame into a plurality of sub-frames (Figs. 3A-3C, [0026], Each stage shows which backlight units are dimmed (or OFF/black) when the pixels are refreshed. For example, in 310A, backlight unit 312A is dimmed and 314A and 316A are turned on since pixels 330A are being refreshed where the individual units are sub-frames such as 312A as OFF/black).
However, Ophir does specifically equate a turned off backlight to a black image, the backlight module is controlled by a plurality of LED drivers through pulse width modulation (PWM) signals.
In the analogous art of backlight driving, Zheng teaches in the traditional technology, there are mainly two ways to improve the display quality of dynamic images, liquid crystal overdrive and black insertion. In terms of screen black insertion, there are mainly two types of data black insertion and dynamic backlight. The so-called data black insertion is to write the black screen data to the panel through the source driver to achieve the effect of black insertion, while the dynamic backlight uses the backlight to be turned off to achieve inserting black. In the driving device of the present invention, the above-mentioned backlight controller includes a pulse width modulation generating circuit and a backlight driving circuit, wherein the pulse width modulation generating circuit is used to generate a pulse modulation signal, and the backlight driving circuit is based on the pulse modulation signal. signal, adjust the brightness of the backlight or adjust the on/off time of the backlight (Zheng Page 1, last two paragraphs and Page 2, first paragraph). It would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the invention to have turned the backlight off to effect black insertion with pulse width modulation as taught by Zheng One having ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to have used black insertion to improved the display quality of dynamic (moving, video) images and compensate for the response time of liquid crystals (Zheng Page 1, last two paragraph and Page 2, first paragraph).
However, Ophir in view of Zheng does not teach when a frequency abnormality of an oscillator in the LED driver or a speed abnormality of receiving data from the controller is detected, splitting at least one most-latter sub-frame among the plurality of sub-frames into a plurality of small sub-frames; wherein a total length of the small sub-frames is smaller than a total length of the at least one most-latter sub-frame, and a number of sub-frames split into small sub-frames is dynamically adjusted.
However, in the analogous art of LED driving for a backlight, Chiang teaches the backlight controller 12 is used to format the LED zone brightness information from the scaler 10 into a form that is compatible with the LED drivers 14. Often the backlight zones 16 a are grouped together in sub-zones 20 a so the backlight controller 12 has the capacity to properly distribute the LED brightness control information to the proper subzones 20 a. Traditionally the backlight controller 12 and the timing controller 11 are synchronized to the VSYNC signal such as in Ophir for display refresh (Col. 2, lines 47-55). Every time a pulse occurs on VSYNC a new frame of video data is transmitted to the LCD panel 15 and the LED backlight array 16. The frequency of VSYNC is typically (but not necessarily) between 48-170 Hz. The frequency is important for video quality. With some notable exceptions, higher VSYNC frequency leads to higher video quality. In certain situations the VSYNC frequency can “beat” with another frequency in the system. When this happens the video image can display what is called a “falling water” pattern. The falling water pattern is not desirable (abnormal). This often happens when the VSYNC frequency is near integer multiples of the power supply frequency, which in most countries is 50 Hz to 60 Hz (Chiang Col. 2, lines 12-41). ). The backlight controller 120 is used to format the LED zone brightness data received from the scaler 100 at pulses of the VSYNC1 into a form that is compatible with the LED sub-zone units 140. The LED sub-zone units 140 operate synchronously VSYNC2 in order to receive serial LED data from the backlight controller 120. Therefore, the backlight operates at a second VSYNC2 frequency of 240Hz, resulting in smaller LED zone dimming, FIG. 11 shows the preceding concepts all put together in one figure. The scaler data output for a frame of LED and LCD data starts inside a large dashed line rectangle on the left (synchronous to the VSYNC1 signal). In the bottom trace that scaler LED data has been converted by the BCON/MCU into 3 bursts of identical brightness data synchronous to the VSYNC2 signal. Each burst of LED brightness data then produce an LED zone with a particular brightness when a corresponding “BL execute” signal occur, wherein the latter frame is smaller than the frame size from one VSYNC such as FRAM1 (Chiang Fig. 11, Col. 6, lines 13-28 and Col. 8, lines 7-17).
It would have been obvious before the effective filing invention to have addressed the falling water abnormality by using shorter sub-dimming values as taught by Chiang for the backlight control of Ophir in view of Zheng. One having ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to have accounted if the VSYNC frequency, emanating from the scaler 10 varies, then the backlight control signals from the scaler 10 into the backlight controller 12 and from the backlight controller 12 into the BLU 18 must change in the same fashion or else visual quality will be reduced (Chiang Col. 3, lines 8-16)
Regarding claim 10, Ophir in view of Zheng and Chiang renders obvious the claim limitations in consideration of the grounds of rejection of claim 2 above.
Regarding claim 11, Ophir in view of Zheng and Chiang renders obvious the claim limitations in consideration of the grounds of rejection of claim 3 above.
Regarding claim 12, Ophir in view of Zheng and Chiang renders obvious the claim limitations in consideration of the grounds of rejection of claim 4 above.
Regarding claim 14, Ophir in view of Zheng and Chiang renders obvious the claim limitations in consideration of the grounds of rejection of claim 6 above.
Regarding claim 15, Ophir in view of Zheng and Chiang renders obvious the claim limitations in consideration of the grounds of rejection of claim 7 above.
Regarding claim 16, Ophir of the combination of references teaches a backlight control apparatus, comprising: a memory and at least one processor; wherein the memory stores an computer executable instruction; and the at least one processor executes the computer executable instruction stored in the memory, to cause the at least one processor to execute the method according to claim 8 ([0049]-[0050], Additionally, the method described in the present disclosure can be stored as instructions in a non-transitory computer readable medium, such as storage devices which may include hard disk drives, solid state drives, flash memories, and the like. In order to implement the method according to some embodiments of the present invention, a computer processor may receive instructions and data from a read-only memory or a random-access memory or both).
Regarding claim 17, Ophir of the combination of references teaches an electronic device (Fig. 1), comprising a light emitting diode (LED) driver (Fig. 1, backlight control module), a controller (Fig. 1, processor), a backlight module (Fig. 1, backlighting surface 130) and a liquid crystal panel (Fig. 1, pixel array 110); wherein the controller is connected to the LED driver (see Fig. 1), and is configured to determine, according to a display image corresponding to the liquid crystal panel, a corresponding dimming image and send the corresponding dimming image to the LED driver; the backlight module is connected to the LED driver, and is configured to provide backlight brightness for the liquid crystal panel under control of the LED driver; the liquid crystal panel is connected to the controller, and is configured to acquire the display image from the controller and display the display image; and the LED driver is configured to execute the method according to claim 1 ([0019], Additionally, to the data refresh module whose functionality is present in any currently available electronic display, LCD 100 may further include a backlight control module 140 electrically connected to backlight surface 130 via drivers 132A and 132B and configured to dim backlight units such as 130A, 130B, and 130C that spatially overlap one or more of the transistor groups whenever the data at the transistor groups is being refreshed by data refresh module).
Regarding claim 18, Ophir of the combination of references teaches an electronic device (Fig. 1), comprising a light emitting diode (LED) driver (Fig. 1, backlight control module), a controller (Fig. 1, processor), a backlight module (Fig. 1, backlighting surface 130) and a liquid crystal panel (Fig. 1, pixel array 110); wherein the controller is connected to the LED driver (see Fig. 1), and is configured to determine, according to a display image corresponding to the liquid crystal panel, a corresponding dimming image and send the corresponding dimming image to the LED driver; the backlight module is connected to the LED driver, and is configured to provide backlight brightness for the liquid crystal panel under control of the LED driver; the liquid crystal panel is connected to the controller, and is configured to acquire the display image from the controller and display the display image; and the LED driver is configured to execute the method according to claim 8 ([0019], Additionally, to the data refresh module whose functionality is present in any currently available electronic display, LCD 100 may further include a backlight control module 140 electrically connected to backlight surface 130 via drivers 132A and 132B and configured to dim backlight units such as 130A, 130B, and 130C that spatially overlap one or more of the transistor groups whenever the data at the transistor groups is being refreshed by data refresh module).
Regarding claim 19, Ophir of the combination of references teaches a non-transitory computer readable storage medium storing a computer executable instruction, wherein when the computer executable instruction is executed by a processor, the method according to claim 1 is implemented ([0049]-[0050], Additionally, the method described in the present disclosure can be stored as instructions in a non-transitory computer readable medium, such as storage devices which may include hard disk drives, solid state drives, flash memories, and the like. In order to implement the method according to some embodiments of the present invention, a computer processor may receive instructions and data from a read-only memory or a random-access memory or both).
Regarding claim 20, Ophir of the combination of references teaches a non-transitory computer readable storage medium storing a computer executable instruction, wherein when the computer executable instruction is executed by a processor, the method according to claim 8 is implemented ([0049]-[0050], Additionally, the method described in the present disclosure can be stored as instructions in a non-transitory computer readable medium, such as storage devices which may include hard disk drives, solid state drives, flash memories, and the like. In order to implement the method according to some embodiments of the present invention, a computer processor may receive instructions and data from a read-only memory or a random-access memory or both).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
U.S. Patent 7,773,065 B2 by Kumamoto teaches pulse width modulated dimming pulses divided by frequency and including black insertion pulse width modulated pulses.
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/MAHEEN I JAVED/Examiner, Art Unit 2621
/AMR A AWAD/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2621
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