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 .
Reopened Prosecution after Notice of Allowance
Prosecution is reopened in light of newly found art, cited below, that necessitates a double patenting rejection.
Double Patenting
The nonstatutory double patenting rejection is based on a judicially created doctrine grounded in public policy (a policy reflected in the statute) so as to prevent the unjustified or improper timewise extension of the “right to exclude” granted by a patent and to prevent possible harassment by multiple assignees. A nonstatutory double patenting rejection is appropriate where the conflicting claims are not identical, but at least one examined application claim is not patentably distinct from the reference claim(s) because the examined application claim is either anticipated by, or would have been obvious over, the reference claim(s). See, e.g., In re Berg, 140 F.3d 1428, 46 USPQ2d 1226 (Fed. Cir. 1998); In re Goodman, 11 F.3d 1046, 29 USPQ2d 2010 (Fed. Cir. 1993); In re Longi, 759 F.2d 887, 225 USPQ 645 (Fed. Cir. 1985); In re Van Ornum, 686 F.2d 937, 214 USPQ 761 (CCPA 1982); In re Vogel, 422 F.2d 438, 164 USPQ 619 (CCPA 1970); In re Thorington, 418 F.2d 528, 163 USPQ 644 (CCPA 1969).
A timely filed terminal disclaimer in compliance with 37 CFR 1.321(c) or 1.321(d) may be used to overcome an actual or provisional rejection based on nonstatutory double patenting provided the reference application or patent either is shown to be commonly owned with the examined application, or claims an invention made as a result of activities undertaken within the scope of a joint research agreement. See MPEP § 717.02 for applications subject to examination under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA as explained in MPEP § 2159. See MPEP § 2146 et seq. for applications not subject to examination under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA . A terminal disclaimer must be signed in compliance with 37 CFR 1.321(b).
The filing of a terminal disclaimer by itself is not a complete reply to a nonstatutory double patenting (NSDP) rejection. A complete reply requires that the terminal disclaimer be accompanied by a reply requesting reconsideration of the prior Office action. Even where the NSDP rejection is provisional the reply must be complete. See MPEP § 804, subsection I.B.1. For a reply to a non-final Office action, see 37 CFR 1.111(a). For a reply to final Office action, see 37 CFR 1.113(c). A request for reconsideration while not provided for in 37 CFR 1.113(c) may be filed after final for consideration. See MPEP §§ 706.07(e) and 714.13.
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Claim 29 is rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claim 1 of U.S. Patent No. 12449898 in view of Hao, US 20240111150 A1. Claims 30-40 are rejected as dependent upon claim 29.
Application 18697595
Claim 29. An electronic device comprising:
a display apparatus comprising:
a functional circuit; and
a display portion comprising a plurality of sub-display portions;
a gaze detection portion configured to
detect a gaze of a user;
a distance detection portion configured to detect a distance from the electronic device to the user; and
an arithmetic portion configured:
to determine an area of a first section on the basis of a detection result by the distance detection portion; and
to distribute each of the plurality of
sub-display portions into the first section or a second section on the basis of a detection result by the gaze detection portion and the determination result of the area of the first section,
wherein the first section has a first
driving frequency,
wherein the second section has a second driving frequency, and
wherein the functional circuit is configured to set the second driving frequency to be lower than the first driving frequency.
US Pat. 12449898
Claim 1. An electronic device comprising a display apparatus, a gaze detection portion, and an arithmetic portion,
wherein the display apparatus comprises a display portion divided into a plurality of sub-display portions and a functional circuit comprising a luminance conversion circuit,
wherein the gaze detection portion is
configured to detect a user's gaze,
wherein the arithmetic portion is configured to allocate the plurality of sub-display portions to a first section or a second section with the use of a detection result of the gaze detection portion,
wherein the functional circuit is configured to perform display on the sub-display portion included in the first section with a first driving frequency and perform display on the sub-display portion included in the second section with a second driving frequency lower than the first driving frequency,
wherein the sub-display portion included in the first section performs display based on first image data and black image data in one frame period,
wherein the sub-display portion included in the second section performs display based on second image data in one frame period,
wherein the luminance conversion circuit is configured to convert input image data into image data with reduced luminance to be displayed in the sub-display portion,
Claim 29 requires a terminal disclaimer to overcome a rejection on the ground of
nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claim 1 of
U.S. Patent No. 12449898 in view of Hao, US 20240111150 A1. 12449898 discloses all the limitations of claim 1 except:
a distance detection portion configured to detect a distance from the electronic device to the user; and
an arithmetic portion configured to determine an area of a first section on the basis of a detection result by the distance detection portion.
In a similar field of endeavor, Hao suggests a distance detection portion configured to detect a distance from the electronic device to the user ([0048] calculating a distance d between the pupil 202 [i.e., user] and the gaze point 203 according to the spatial position coordinates of the pupil 202 and the coordinates of the gaze point 203 [i.e., device]; and determining an area range 204 that the pupil 202 of the user is gazing in the display area 200 according to the distance d and a preset visual angle 8. Here, the area range 204 is the area between two dotted lines extending along a row direction (i.e., the X direction) in FIG. 2.) and determine an area of a first section on the basis of a detection result by the distance detection portion ([0120] the area determination circuit 704 is configured to calculate a distance between the pupil and the gaze point according to the spatial position coordinates of the pupil and the coordinates of the gaze point, and determine the area range that the pupil of the user is gazing in the display area according to the distance and the preset visual angle.)
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the
effective filing date of the claimed invention to apply the teachings of Hao with the
patent to improve the display effect of the OLED display screen. Hao at [0003].
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to NATHAN P BRITTINGHAM whose telephone number is (571)270-7865. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Thursday, 10 AM - 6 PM, EST.
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/NATHAN P BRITTINGHAM/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2629
Prosecution Insights