DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Response to Amendment
1. This action is in response to the amendment filed on 12/28/2025. Claims 1-6 have been amended. Claims 1-6 remain rejected in the application. Applicant’s amendment to the abstract has overcome the objection previously set forth in the Non-Final Office Action mailed 10/1/2025.
Response to Arguments
2. Applicant’s arguments are directed toward claim amendments filed on 12/28/2025. Regarding claim 1, with respect to the rejection under 35 U.S.C. 103 regarding that the prior art does not teach the limitation(s): “a deterioration compensation unit configured to generate control data, by transforming the shifted image data using the decompressed deterioration characteristic data, to compensate for the deterioration of each of the plurality of pixels that are located around the display region in a shifted region shifted by the display region shifting unit;” has been fully considered, but is moot because of new grounds for rejection. Claim 1 is now disclosed by Chung et al. (US-9773455-B2, hereinafter "Chung"), Lee et al. (US-10950207-B2, hereinafter "Lee-207"), and Lee (US-2022/0189392-A1, hereinafter "Lee-392").
3. Additionally, regarding claim 1, with respect to the rejection under 35 U.S.C. 103 regarding that the prior art does not teach the limitation(s): “a display region shifting unit configured to generate, from the input image data, shifted image data in which the display region is shifted along a display surface of the display panel” with the argument that Lee-207 does not describe “a display region formed by a part of the plurality of pixels” has been fully considered. In response, applicant argues against the Lee-207 reference individually. One cannot show nonobviousness by attacking references individually where the rejections are based on combinations of references. Chung discloses the following: “An organic light emitting display device includes a plurality of pixels in a display area ...” (Chung, Abstract) and additionally “Referring to FIG. 6, the data converter 600′ according to this embodiment accumulates and stores a stress data in a compressed or non-compressed state by distinguishing a specific area such as a logo area from the other area (e.g., the non-logo area) ...” (Chung, col. 9, lines 61-66). The new reference, Lee-392, necessitated by amendment also discloses: “The method includes generating shift-fixed data such that a first image is periodically shifted while being displayed in a display area of a display panel included in the display device.” (Lee-392, [0016]). The references in combination disclose the limitation: “a display region formed by a part of the plurality of pixels”.
4. Also, regarding claim 1, with respect to the rejection under 35 U.S.C. 103 regarding that the prior art does not teach the limitation(s): “a deterioration compensation unit configured to generate control data obtained by transforming the shifted image data using the deterioration characteristic data being decompressed, to compensate for the deterioration of each of the plurality of pixels;” has been fully considered. In response, applicant argues against the Lee-207 reference individually. One cannot show nonobviousness by attacking references individually where the rejections are based on combinations of references. Chung discloses the following: “The data converter may include a gray-stress converter configured to generate the stress data corresponding to the input image data; a first compressor configured to compress the stress data; a memory unit configured to accumulate and store the stress data compressed by the first compressor as an accumulated compression stress data; a first decompressor configured to generate an accumulation stress data by decompressing the accumulated compression stress data stored in the memory unit; and a data compensation unit configured to generate the correction image data obtained by correcting the input image data according to the accumulation stress data.” (Chung, col. 1, lines 56-67) and “An organic light emitting display device includes a plurality of pixels in a display area; a data driver configured to supply a data signal to the pixels ...” (Chung, Abstract) which reads on “a deterioration compensation unit”, “deterioration characteristic data being decompressed”, and “a drive unit configured to drive the display panel using the control data”. Chung in view of Lee-207 discloses the following: “The timing controller 130 may receive input image data IDATA1 from an external graphics source and the like or may receive the age compensation data ACDATA from the image sticking compensator 200. The timing controller 130 may control driving of the scan driver 110 and the data driver 120. The timing controller 130 may control the scan driver 110 and the data driver 120 by generating the first and second control signals SCS and DCS and providing the first and second control signals SCS and DCS to the scan driver 110 and the data driver 120. In an exemplary embodiment, the timing controller 130 may further control driving of the image sticking compensator 200 and the image shifter 300.” (Lee-207, col. 5, lines 21-33) and “After the image shifting, an image sticking compensator may determine and age compensation data and transmit the age compensation data to a timing controller to drive a display panel.” (Lee-207, col. 4, lines 39-43) and “In an exemplary embodiment, the image sticking compensator 200 may be implemented as an additional application processor. Alternatively, in another exemplary embodiment, the image sticking compensator 200 may be included in the timing controller 130. In another exemplary embodiment, the image sticking compensator 200 may be included in the data driver 120.” (Lee-207, col. 6, lines 13-19) which reads on “generat[ing] control data obtained by transforming the shifted image data”, “compensat[ing] for the deterioration of each of the plurality of pixels”, and “display region being shifted”. In combination, Chung in view of Lee-207 discloses the limitation of claim 1.
5. Regarding arguments with respect to claims 2-6, they are dependent on independent claim 1. Applicant does not argue anything other than independent claim 1. The limitations in those claims, in conjunction with their combination, has previously been established and explained.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
6. 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.
7. Claims 1 and 4-5 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Chung et al. (US-9773455-B2, hereinafter "Chung") in view of Lee et al. (US-10950207-B2, hereinafter "Lee-207"), and further in view of Lee (US-2022/0189392-A1, hereinafter "Lee-392").
8. As per claim 1, Chung discloses: A display device comprising:
a display panel including a plurality of pixels and configured to display an input image corresponding to input image data, in a display region formed by a part of the plurality of pixels; (Chung, Abstract, “An organic light emitting display device includes a plurality of pixels in a display area; a data driver configured to supply a data signal to the pixels ...” and col. 11, lines 58-64, “By way of summation and review, according to an embodiment an organic light emitting display device includes a plurality of pixels ... Each pixel has an organic light emitting diode which emits light with a luminance corresponding to a data signal, thereby displaying an image in a pixel unit.”)
a deterioration characteristic acquisition unit configured to acquire deterioration characteristic data indicating a degree of deterioration of each of the plurality of pixels; (Chung, col. 6, lines 40-49, “The GS converter 610 generates a stress data, corresponding to the input image data Data1. The input image data Data1 includes gray information (e.g., gray level information) of each pixel, and the GS converter 610 generates a stress data obtained by converting the degree of stress applied to each pixel, using (or utilizing) the gray information (e.g., gray level information). For example, the GS converter 610 may detect a stress data corresponding to the input image data Data1 through mapping between the input image data Data1 and the stress data.” and col. 5, lines 23-26, “As time elapses, the organic light emitting diode OLED may become degraded, and therefore, the emission efficiency of the organic light emitting diode OLED may be lowered.” and col. 1, lines 39-43, “Aspects of embodiments are directed toward an organic light emitting display device and a driving method thereof, which can compensate for degradation of pixels by more efficiently storing a stress data corresponding to the emission amount of each pixel.”)
a deterioration characteristic storage unit configured to compress the deterioration characteristic data, store the deterioration characteristic data that is compressed, and decompress the deterioration characteristic data that is stored to obtain decompressed deterioration characteristic data; (See Chung, col. 1, lines 56-64 rejection below.)
a deterioration compensation unit configured to [[generate control data, by transforming the shifted image data]] using the decompressed deterioration characteristic data, [[to compensate for the deterioration of each of the plurality of pixels that are located around the display region in a shifted region shifted by the display region shifting unit;]] and (Chung, col. 1, lines 56-64, “The data converter may include a gray-stress converter configured to generate the stress data corresponding to the input image data; a first compressor configured to compress the stress data; a memory unit configured to accumulate and store the stress data compressed by the first compressor as an accumulated compression stress data; a first decompressor configured to generate an accumulation stress data by decompressing the accumulated compression stress data stored in the memory unit ...”)
a drive unit configured to drive the display panel, using the control data, to display the input image [[in the shifted display region.]] (Chung, col. 4, lines 10-15, “First, referring to FIG. 1, the organic light emitting display device according to this embodiment includes a plurality of pixels 200 disposed in a display area 100, a scan driver 300 and a data driver 400, which are configured to drive the pixels 200, and a timing controller 500 configured to drive the scan driver 300 and the data driver 400.” and col. 11, lines 62-64, “Each pixel has an organic light emitting diode which emits light with a luminance corresponding to a data signal, thereby displaying an image in a pixel unit.”)
9. Chung doesn't explicitly disclose but Lee-207 discloses: a display region shifting unit configured to generate, from the input image data, shifted image data in which the display region is shifted along a display surface of the display panel; (Lee-207, col. 6, lines 42-48, “Depending on the shifting path, a shifting direction of an image according to the input image data IDATA1 in the display panel 100 may be determined. An image according to the input image data IDATA1 may be shifted along a direction determined by the shifting path within the image shifting range in the display panel 100 (e.g., the x-axis direction or y-axis direction).” and col. 4, line 12-17, “When a display device (e.g., an organic light emitting display (OLED) device) continuously outputs a specific image or character for a long time, specific pixels may become degraded. For example, an image may become burned-in or become subject to image sticking. The pixel degradation may also be referred to as age or stress.”)
[[a deterioration compensation unit configured to]] generate control data, by transforming the shifted image data [[using the decompressed deterioration characteristic data,]] to compensate for the deterioration of each of the plurality of pixels [[that are located around the display region in a shifted region shifted by the display region shifting unit; and]] (See Lee-207, col. 5, lines 21-33, col. 4, lines 39-43, and col. 6, lines 13-19 rejection below.)
[[a drive unit configured to drive the display panel, using the control data, to display the input image]] in the shifted display region. (Lee-207, col. 5, lines 21-33, “The timing controller 130 may receive input image data IDATA1 from an external graphics source and the like or may receive the age compensation data ACDATA from the image sticking compensator 200. The timing controller 130 may control driving of the scan driver 110 and the data driver 120. The timing controller 130 may control the scan driver 110 and the data driver 120 by generating the first and second control signals SCS and DCS and providing the first and second control signals SCS and DCS to the scan driver 110 and the data driver 120. In an exemplary embodiment, the timing controller 130 may further control driving of the image sticking compensator 200 and the image shifter 300.” and col. 4, lines 39-43, “After the image shifting, an image sticking compensator may determine and age compensation data and transmit the age compensation data to a timing controller to drive a display panel.” and col. 6, lines 13-19, “In an exemplary embodiment, the image sticking compensator 200 may be implemented as an additional application processor. Alternatively, in another exemplary embodiment, the image sticking compensator 200 may be included in the timing controller 130. In another exemplary embodiment, the image sticking compensator 200 may be included in the data driver 120.”)
10. Before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art to modify the display device of Chung to include the disclosure of using and controlling a shifting unit to shift image data on a display panel in order to compensate for the deterioration of pixels of Lee-207. The motivation for this modification could have been to give the display panel an additional method to help prevent an image from being burned-in or subject to image sticking. This helps keep image quality and clarity while also helping to prolong the life of the display.
11. Chung in view of Lee-207 doesn't explicitly disclose but Lee-392 discloses: [[a deterioration compensation unit configured to generate control data, by transforming the shifted image data using the decompressed deterioration characteristic data, to compensate for the deterioration of each of the plurality of pixels]] that are located around the display region in a shifted region shifted by the display region shifting unit; [[and]] (Lee-392, Figs. 4A-B; [0006], “According to an embodiment of the inventive concept, a display device includes a display panel that includes a display area in which an image that includes a first image and a second image is displayed, and a driver which receives external image signals and transmits data signals to the display panel. The driver includes an image sticking compensator that converts the external image signals such that the first image is periodically shifted while being displayed. The image sticking compensator includes an extractor which extracts compensation area data corresponding to a compensation area of the display panel from the external image signals, a calculator which receives the compensation area data from the extractor and calculates fixed data based on the compensation area data, and a shifter which receives the fixed data from the calculator and generates shift-fixed data based on the fixed data. The compensation area includes a first area in which the first image is displayed and a second area in which a peripheral image included in the second image is displayed. The peripheral image at least partially surrounds the first image, and the fixed data corresponds to the first image.” and [0062], ”Referring to FIGS. 3 and 4A to 4B, the extractor EXP may extract compensation area data CAD from the image signals RGB corresponding to first and second compensation areas CA_a and CA_b including pixels PX through which at least a portion of the first image FIM and at least a portion of the second image NFIM may be displayed. ... The first and second peripheral areas FBA_a and FBA_b may respectively surround the first and second fixed areas FA_a and FA_b, and the first and second peripheral images FBIM_a and FBIM_b may be included in the second image NFIM (refer to FIG. 1).” and [0016], “The method includes generating shift-fixed data such that a first image is periodically shifted while being displayed in a display area of a display panel included in the display device. The generating of the shift-fixed data includes receiving, by a driver included in the display device, external image signals, extracting compensation area data corresponding to a first image displayed in a compensation area of the display area from external image signals ...”; Examiner’s note: Figs. 4A-B and [0062] of Lee-392 disclose that the “second area” of a “peripheral image” can fully surround the first image. In Figs. 4A-B, labeled areas FBA_a and FBA_b demonstrate “plurality of pixels that are located around the display region in a shifted region”.)
12. Before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art to modify the display device of Chung in view of Lee-207 to include the disclosure of compensating for the deterioration of each of the plurality of pixels that are located around the display region in a shifted region shifted by the display region shifting unit, of Lee-392. The motivation for this modification could have been to help prevent an image on a display panel from being burned-in or subject to image sticking, particularly surrounding display regions of pixels. This helps keep image quality and clarity while also helping to prolong the life of the display.
13. As per claim 4, Chung in view of Lee-207, and further in view of Lee-392 discloses: The display device according to claim 1, wherein the deterioration characteristic storage unit:
compresses the deterioration characteristic data by transforming the deterioration characteristic data into frequency domain data and removing a high-frequency component from the frequency domain data, (Chung, col. 6, lines 54-61, “The first compressor 620 generates a compression stress data by compressing the stress data, and supplies the generated compression stress data to the memory unit 630. For example, in this embodiment, the first compressor 620 may compress the stress data through a linear compression method using (or utilizing) discrete cosine transform (hereinafter, referred to as DCT), Hadamard transform, Haar transform, etc.” and col. 7, lines 4-11, “For example, the first compressor 620 may perform DCT for each block of the pixels so that the stress data Sij is reconfigured as a signal in a frequency domain from a signal in a spatial domain. Subsequently, the first compressor 620 obtains only major values through truncation as shown in FIG. 4B, so that it is possible to generate a compression stress data Caibk by compressing the linear-transformed stress data.”)
stores the compressed deterioration characteristic data by storing the frequency domain data from which the high-frequency component is removed, and (Chung, col. 7, lines 4-11, “For example, the first compressor 620 may perform DCT for each block of the pixels so that the stress data Sij is reconfigured as a signal in a frequency domain from a signal in a spatial domain. Subsequently, the first compressor 620 obtains only major values through truncation as shown in FIG. 4B, so that it is possible to generate a compression stress data Caibk by compressing the linear-transformed stress data.” and col. 8, lines 20-22, “Referring back to FIG. 3, the stress data compressed by the first compressor 620 is supplied to the memory unit 630 to be accumulated and stored.”)
decompresses the stored compressed deterioration characteristic data, by inversely transforming the stored frequency domain data into the deterioration characteristic data. (Chung, col. 7, lines 17-20, “In case of a linear compression method using (or utilizing) linear transform such as the DCT, the original data can be reconfigured as a preferred (or desired) approximate value when the compressed data is inversely transformed.” and col. 1, lines 56-64, “The data converter may include a gray-stress converter configured to generate the stress data corresponding to the input image data; a first compressor configured to compress the stress data; a memory unit configured to accumulate and store the stress data compressed by the first compressor as an accumulated compression stress data; a first decompressor configured to generate an accumulation stress data by decompressing the accumulated compression stress data stored in the memory unit ...”)
14. As per claim 5, Chung in view of Lee-207, and further in view of Lee-392 discloses: The display device according to claim 1, further comprising:
an average degree-of-deterioration calculation unit configured to calculate an average degree of deterioration of the plurality of pixels using the deterioration characteristic data acquired by the deterioration characteristic acquisition unit, or the decompressed deterioration characteristic data decompressed by the deterioration characteristic storage unit, (Chung, col. 7, lines 49-59, “A 2D-HT recovery data refers to (or means) a recovery data obtained by decompressing a stress data (or accumulated compression stress data) compressed through 2D Hadamard transform, and a 2D-DCT recovery data refers to (or means) a recovery data obtained by decompressing a stress data (or accumulated compression stress data) compressed through 2D DCT transform. In addition, a block average recovery data refers to (or means) a recovery data obtained by decompressing a stress data (or accumulated compression stress data) compressed as a representative value (e.g., an average value) of stress data for each block.” and Lee-207, col. 14, lines 33-37, “Then the compensator 240 corrects block weight values of any one pixel block and block weight values of neighboring blocks of the pixel block by using an average of age values of pixels included in the pixel block.” Lee-207, and col. 9, lines 4-9, “In this case, the shift range determiner 310 may determine an image shift range by considering an age value of the pixel block PB4 corresponding to the input image data ODATA1. In this case, the shift range determiner 310 may determine an image shift range by using an average aging value of pixels included in a pixel block.”)
wherein as the average degree of deterioration increases, the display region shifting unit increases a shift distance of the display region. (Lee-207, col. 8, line 62-col. 9, line 9, “In FIG. 5, (a), (b), and (c) show an increase of an image shift range according to an increase of an age value of a pixel block PB4 (e.g., an age value of a pixel is increased as Age=0, Age=30, and Age=60). It is assumed that the image shift direction in this example is a shift in the negative x-axis direction. Referring to (a) of FIG. 5, a data signal according to a grayscale for the input image data IDATA1 is input to the pixel block PB4 to achieve a light emission with a corresponding luminance. In this case, the shift range determiner 310 may determine an image shift range by considering an age value of the pixel block PB4 corresponding to the input image data ODATA1. In this case, the shift range determiner 310 may determine an image shift range by using an average aging value of pixels included in a pixel block.”)
15. Before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art to modify the display device of claim 1 according to Chung in view of Lee-392 to include the disclosure of determining the average degree-of-deterioration of pixels such that when the average increases, the display region shifting unit increases the shift distance of the display of Lee-207. The motivation for this modification could have been to allow a display with a shifting unit to dynamically adjust the shifting range in order to compensate for pixels according to their deterioration degree. This ensures that the shifting is done according to the need for pixel compensation instead of using a static and unchanging shifting process.
16. Claim 2 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Chung et al. (US-9773455-B2, hereinafter "Chung") in view of Lee et al. (US-10950207-B2, hereinafter "Lee-207"), further in view of Lee (US-2022/0189392-A1, hereinafter "Lee-392"), and further in view of Park (US-11087681-B2, hereinafter "Park-681").
17. As per claim 2, Chung in view of Lee-207, and further in view of Lee-392 discloses: The display device according to claim 1, wherein the deterioration characteristic storage unit uses, as the deterioration characteristic data that is compressed and stored in the deterioration characteristic storage unit, [[a difference between two degrees of deterioration corresponding, respectively, to two pixels, among the plurality of pixels, that are adjacent to each other.]] (See rejection for claim 1 above.)
18. Chung in view of Lee-207, and further in view of Lee-392 doesn't explicitly disclose but Park-681 discloses: [[The display device according to claim 1, wherein the deterioration characteristic storage unit uses, as the deterioration characteristic data that is compressed and stored in the deterioration characteristic storage unit,]] a difference between two degrees of deterioration corresponding, respectively, to two pixels, among the plurality of pixels, that are adjacent to each other. (Park-681, col. 3, lines 29-44, “According to some example embodiments of the present invention, there is provided a method of compensating pixel degradation of a display device including a first pixel that emits light with a first luminance that is lower than target luminance and a second pixel that emits light with a second luminance that is higher than the target luminance, the method including: measuring a first characteristic of a first light emitting element in the first pixel and a second characteristic of a second light emitting element in the second pixel; and calculating a degradation amount of the second pixel based on the first characteristic and the second characteristic. In an embodiment, the second pixel is adjacent to the first pixel, and a luminance difference between the target luminance and the first luminance are compensated based on the second luminance.”)
19. Before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art to modify the display device of claim 1 according to Chung in view of Lee-207, and further in view of Lee-392 to include the disclosure of determining a difference of deterioration between two adjacent pixels of Park-681. The motivation for this modification could have been to enable a display to determine if there are irregularities between two adjacent pixels. For example, if a pixel’s brightness is deficient compared to an adjacent pixel, the display may be able to compensate for the brightness difference.
20. Claim 3 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Chung et al. (US-9773455-B2, hereinafter "Chung") in view of Lee et al. (US-10950207-B2, hereinafter "Lee-207"), further in view of Lee (US-2022/0189392-A1, hereinafter "Lee-392"), and further in view of Kwun et al. (US-11749150-B2, hereinafter "Kwun").
21. As per claim 3, Chung in view of Lee-207, and further in view of Lee-392 discloses: The display device according to claim 1, wherein the deterioration characteristic storage unit:
compresses the deterioration characteristic data by thinning out the deterioration characteristic data to generate thinned-out deterioration characteristic data, (Chung, col. 6, lines 54-61, “The first compressor 620 generates a compression stress data by compressing the stress data, and supplies the generated compression stress data to the memory unit 630. For example, in this embodiment, the first compressor 620 may compress the stress data through a linear compression method using (or utilizing) discrete cosine transform (hereinafter, referred to as DCT), Hadamard transform, Haar transform, etc.” and col. 7, lines 4-11, “For example, the first compressor 620 may perform DCT for each block of the pixels so that the stress data Sij is reconfigured as a signal in a frequency domain from a signal in a spatial domain. Subsequently, the first compressor 620 obtains only major values through truncation as shown in FIG. 4B, so that it is possible to generate a compression stress data Caibk by compressing the linear-transformed stress data.”; Examiner’s note: A person having ordinary skill in the art would have knowledge that a discrete cosine transform (DCT) is often used for lossy image compression, such as JPEG compression. As part of the compression process, data is "thinned-out" using truncation, particularly high-frequency components of the data in order to achieve greater compression.)
stores the compressed deterioration characteristic data, by storing the thinned-out deterioration characteristic data being thinned out, and (See Chung, col. 1, lines 56-64 and col. 7, lines 4-11 rejection below.)
decompresses the stored compressed deterioration characteristic data, [[by interpolating the thinned-out deterioration characteristic data.]] (Chung, col. 1, lines 56-64, “The data converter may include a gray-stress converter configured to generate the stress data corresponding to the input image data; a first compressor configured to compress the stress data; a memory unit configured to accumulate and store the stress data compressed by the first compressor as an accumulated compression stress data; a first decompressor configured to generate an accumulation stress data by decompressing the accumulated compression stress data stored in the memory unit ...” and col. 7, lines 4-11, “For example, the first compressor 620 may perform DCT for each block of the pixels so that the stress data Sij is reconfigured as a signal in a frequency domain from a signal in a spatial domain. Subsequently, the first compressor 620 obtains only major values through truncation as shown in FIG. 4B, so that it is possible to generate a compression stress data Caibk by compressing the linear-transformed stress data.”)
22. Chung in view of Lee-207, and further in view of Lee-392 doesn't explicitly disclose but Kwun discloses: [[decompresses the stored compressed deterioration characteristic data,]] by interpolating the thinned-out deterioration characteristic data. (Kwun, col. 29, lines 4-10, “Referring to FIG. 16 , the decoding operation S1510 may include an operation S1610 of performing an inverse discrete cosine transform (IDCT) to the DCT-processed fixed compensation data B2 and an operation S1620 of performing interpolation to the IDCT-processed fixed compensation data B″ and outputting the decoding-processed fixed compensation data B2′.”)
23. Before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art to modify the display device of claim 1 according to Chung in view of Lee-207, and further in view of Lee-392 to include the disclosure of interpolating the deterioration characteristic data being thinned out of Kwun. The motivation for this modification could have been to help create a more continuous or “smoothed out” data set after “thinning out” the data in a compression process. The interpolation process could help generate data that is closer in representation to the data prior to compression. Without the interpolation, the data could be “rougher,” or having sudden changes in values, particularly after data has been removed.
24. Claim 6 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Chung et al. (US-9773455-B2, hereinafter "Chung") in view of Lee et al. (US-10950207-B2, hereinafter "Lee-207"), further in view of Lee (US-2022/0189392-A1, hereinafter "Lee-392"), and further in view of Park (US-10043438-B2, hereinafter "Park-438").
25. As per claim 6, Chung in view of Lee-207, and further in view of Lee-392 discloses: The display device according to claim 1, further comprising:
an average degree-of-deterioration calculation unit configured to calculate an average degree of deterioration of the plurality of pixels using the deterioration characteristic data acquired by the deterioration characteristic acquisition unit, or the decompressed deterioration characteristic data decompressed by the deterioration characteristic storage unit, (Chung, col. 7, lines 49-59, “A 2D-HT recovery data refers to (or means) a recovery data obtained by decompressing a stress data (or accumulated compression stress data) compressed through 2D Hadamard transform, and a 2D-DCT recovery data refers to (or means) a recovery data obtained by decompressing a stress data (or accumulated compression stress data) compressed through 2D DCT transform. In addition, a block average recovery data refers to (or means) a recovery data obtained by decompressing a stress data (or accumulated compression stress data) compressed as a representative value (e.g., an average value) of stress data for each block.” and Lee-207, col. 14, lines 33-37, “Then the compensator 240 corrects block weight values of any one pixel block and block weight values of neighboring blocks of the pixel block by using an average of age values of pixels included in the pixel block.” Lee-207, and col. 9, lines 4-9, “In this case, the shift range determiner 310 may determine an image shift range by considering an age value of the pixel block PB4 corresponding to the input image data ODATA1. In this case, the shift range determiner 310 may determine an image shift range by using an average aging value of pixels included in a pixel block.”)
wherein as the average degree of deterioration increases, the display region shifting unit [[increases an interval between timings of shifting the display region.]] (Lee-207, col. 8, lines 62-65, “In FIG. 5, (a), (b), and (c) show an increase of an image shift range according to an increase of an age value of a pixel block PB4 (e.g., an age value of a pixel is increased as Age=0, Age=30, and Age=60).”
26. Chung in view of Lee-207, and further in view of Lee-392 doesn't explicitly disclose but Park-438 discloses: [[wherein as the average degree of deterioration increases, the display region shifting unit]] increases an interval between timings of shifting the display region. (Park-438, col. 8, line 60-col. 9, line 9, “The pixel shifting unit 320 pixel shifts the received compensation data by a pixel movement amount (e.g., a predetermined pixel movement amount) at a speed (e.g., a predetermined speed) and may transmit the value to the compensator 310. Then, the compensator 310 compensates for the input image data by using the pixel shifted compensation data and may output the compensated input image data as the output image data. At this time, the pixel shifting speed and the pixel movement amount of the compensation data may vary in accordance with the display device and the display unit. For example, the pixel shifting of the compensation data may be set so that pixels move one by one per one minute, by twos per one minute, or one by one per 30 seconds. In addition, according to an embodiment, the pixel shifting speed and the pixel movement amount of the compensation data may change in accordance with setting of a user.”)
27. Before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art to modify the display device of claim 1 according to Chung in view of Lee-207, and further in view of Lee-392 to include the disclosure of increasing the interval between timings of image shifting on a display when the average degree-of-deterioration increases of Park-438. The motivation for this modification could have been to allow a display with a shifting unit to dynamically adjust the timing interval of the shifting process in order to compensate for pixels according to their deterioration degree. This ensures that the shifting is done according to the need for pixel compensation instead of using a static and unchanging shifting process.
Conclusion
28. Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). 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.
29. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MATTHEW CLOTHIER whose telephone number is (571)272-4667. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Fri 8:00am-4:00pm.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Kent Chang can be reached at (571)272-7667. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/MATTHEW CLOTHIER/Examiner, Art Unit 2614
/KENT W CHANG/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2614
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