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 .
Priority
Acknowledgment is made of applicant’s claim for foreign priority under 35 U.S.C. 119 (a)-(d).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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 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 25-45 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Liu (US Patent Publication No. 2021/0366366) in view of Cohen (US Patent Publication No. 2020/0225903).
With reference to claim 25, Liu discloses method for mapping a display wall (10) comprising a plurality of display modules (10a-i) (see paragraphs 15-16; Figs. 1-2), each display module (10a-i) comprising a display module controller (102, 104) and a port (110, 112a-d) on each side of the module (10) connected to the controller (102, 104) (see paragraphs 17-18, 20-21; Fig. 3), each display module (10) further being connected to a at least one direct neighbor display module through a respective side port (see paragraphs 16, 21; Figs. 3-4), the display wall having a reference display module (10a) with reference coordinates and an incremental direction for the coordinates of the display modules (in teaching layout table; see paragraphs 27, 31; Table 1; Fig. 4), the method comprising the steps of:
powering up the display wall such that all display module controllers are turned on (see paragraphs 29-30; Fig. 6),
setting all display module coordinates to an initial setting wherein all display module coordinates have a same default value coordinate corresponding to the coordinates of the reference display module (see paragraphs 31-32),
each display module continuously communicating with its direct neighbor display module via a corresponding side port (110) by sending tile-to-tile packets comprising information on at least the coordinates of said display module, and by receiving tile-to-tile packets from each direct neighbor display module comprising information on at least the coordinates of said direct neighbor display module (see paragraphs 20, 22, 27-28, Table 1-2, Figs. 4, 8).
While Liu discloses continuously communicating with neighboring display modules, there fails to be specific disclosure of continuously updating the display modules as recited.
Cohen discloses a display system comprising a display tiles array wherein each display tile is connected electrically to at least one other of the plurality of display tiles (see abstract; Figs. 1-3), wherein after sending and receiving the tile-to-tile packets, for each display module, continuously updating the display module coordinates by comparing its coordinates to the coordinates of each of its neighbors and following the incremental direction with respect to the coordinates of each of its neighbors (see paragraphs 167, 173, 175; Figs. 14, 17, 18B).
Therefore it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to allow the usage of continuously updating the display module coordinates similar to that which is taught by Cohen to be carried out in a system similar to that which is taught by Liu such that particular display tiles may receive and display information intended by the respective tile (see Cohen; abstract).
With reference to claim 26, Liu and Cohen disclose the method according to claim 25, wherein Cohen further discloses that the step of updating the coordinates by comparing the coordinates of the two neighboring display modules (see paragraphs 167, 173, 175; Figs. 14, 17, 18B) is performed as follows: if the coordinate of a first display module of the two neighboring display modules is higher than, lower than, or equal to the coordinate of a second display module of the two neighboring display modules, incrementing, decrementing, or keeping as is the coordinate of the first display module as a function of the coordinate of the second display module and incremental direction of the display wall (in teaching display tile (DT) ID request “DT IDReq” queue, wherein the ID may be a unique string of numbers and/or characters; see paragraphs 167-168; Fig. 14).
With reference to claim 27, Liu and Cohen disclose the method according to claim 25, wherein Cohen further discloses that the default value of the coordinates of the plurality of display modules are coordinate of a reference position in the display wall (see paragraph 167; Fig. 14).
With reference to claim 28, Liu and Cohen disclose the method according to claim 25, wherein Cohen further discloses that wherein tile to tile packets further comprise information on the display module unique ID of said display module (see paragraph 167; Fig. 14).
With reference to claim 29, Liu and Cohen disclose the method according to claim 25, wherein Cohen further discloses wherein the step of continuously communicating with a direct neighbor display module is performed at a bandwidth which is compatible with the bandwidth of the link cable connecting two display modules (see paragraph 152).
With reference to claim 30, Liu and Cohen disclose the method according to claim 25, wherein Liu further discloses that the method further comprising the step of dividing the display wall into at least one section, or at least two sections (D1-D3) and/or further comprising the step of connecting at least one display module of a section to a display wall processor (104) (see paragraphs 31-32; Fig. 7).
With reference to claim 31, Liu and Cohen disclose the method according to claim 25, wherein Cohen further discloses that further comprising, for each display module, the step of: a display module receiving a packet from a corresponding display wall processor and selecting a port receiving the packet as upstream port (1416) (see paragraph 167; Fig. 14), setting the other ports to downstream ports (1430) (see paragraph 167; Fig. 14); the corresponding display wall processor receiving a reply packet (1424) from the display module comprising information on the display module (see paragraph 167; Fig. 14), the display module is a connected display module (DT), further comprising, for the display wall, the step of; when all the display modules of that section are connected to the display wall processor, the display wall processor completing a list of connected display modules with their information (1432) (see paragraph 167; Fig. 14); each of the connected display modules forwarding said packet on at least one downstream port when available (see paragraph 168; Fig. 15).
With reference to claim 32, Liu and Cohen disclose the method according to claim 30, wherein Liu further disclosing for each display module (10) belonging to a same section when the display wall have at least two sections (D1-D3), and each section having a corresponding display wall processor (102, 104) (see paragraphs 17-18, 31; Fig. 3), the step of, the display wall processor of said section receiving a packet from a display module to connect containing its information, thereby adding said display module to the list of connected display modules of said section (see paragraph 27-28; Table 1; Fig. 2), the display wall processor sending a section packet to the connected display module in said section, comprising information on the display module and the information of the other display modules of said section (see paragraphs 31-33, Table 2; Figs. 6-7).
While disclosing transmitting data information, Liu fails to specifically teach sending packets and verifying a connection list as recited.
Cohen further discloses that the display module receiving the section packet from the display wall processor and verifying if display module information is connected and is in the list (1422, 1506) (see Figs. 14-15), if in the list, the display module selecting a port of the display module receiving the section packet as upstream port (1412) (see paragraph 167; Fig. 14), and the remaining ports as downstream ports (1430) (see paragraph 167; Fig. 14), the display wall processor receiving a reply packet (1424) from each connected display modules containing the display module information and neighbor display module information, further comprising, for each section (see paragraph 167; Fig. 14), the step of, when all the display modules have been connected, completing the list of connected display modules with their information (see paragraph 167; Fig. 14), each of the connected display modules forwarding said section packet on at least one downstream port when available (see paragraph 168; Fig. 15).
With reference to claim 33, Liu and Cohen disclose the method according to claim 31, wherein Liu further discloses that wherein the display module information comprises at least the display module coordinates (see paragraphs 27-28; Table 1; Fig. 2).
With reference to claim 34, Liu and Cohen disclose the method according to claim 31, wherein Cohen further discloses that the step of selecting the upstream port for each display module is based on selecting the port having the highest priority which is operable (in teaching first display tile connected to the MPU; see paragraph 167).
With reference to claim 35, Liu and Cohen disclose the method according to claim 25, wherein Liu further discloses that the step of defining, by the display wall processor, the coordinate of a display module to a predefined coordinate (see paragraphs 27-28; Table 1; Fig. 2).
While disclosing coordinates of the display module, there fails to be disclosure of updating as recited.
Cohen discloses that the step of updating the coordinates of the display modules (DT) of the display wall other than the display module having the predefined coordinate with respect to the predefined coordinate (see paragraphs 171-172; Figs. 16A-B).
With reference to claim 36, Liu and Cohen disclose the method according to claim 25, wherein a display module autonomously selects a new upstream port when its current upstream port fails (see paragraph 171; Fig. 16A).
With reference to claim 37, Liu and Cohen disclose the method according to claim 25, wherein further comprising the step of connecting the same or a second display wall processor to the first or to a second display module of the at least one section (1610-1612) (see paragraphs 171; Fig. 16A).
With reference to claim 38, Liu and Cohen disclose the method according to claim 25, wherein the display modules are at least one of rectangular, hexagonal, and wherein the display wall follows a matrix arrangement, honeycomb arrangement, accordingly (see paragraph 76).
With reference to claim 39, Liu and Cohen disclose the method according to claim 25, wherein Liu further discloses that the display modules are LED, OLED, micro-LED, LCD, e-Ink, display modules, or (rear) projection display (see paragraph 15). Cohen further discloses the usage of micro-LED (see paragraph 116).
With reference to claim 40, Liu and Cohen disclose the method according to claim 25, wherein Cohen further discloses that wherein each display module (1200) comprises a controller (1210) and a port (1215, 1231) on each side of the module (see paragraph 148, 152; Fig. 12), each port comprising a port ID specifying the location of the port on the display module (see paragraphs 110, 167).
With reference to claim 41, Liu and Cohen disclose the method according to claim 25, wherein Cohen further comprising the step of using a Port ID to detect a wrong cabling connection (see paragraph 167).
With reference to claim 42, Liu and Cohen disclose the method of claim 25, wherein Cohen further disclose a method for installing a display wall comprising a plurality of display modules to generate a display wall having the desired configuration, each display module comprising a display module controller and a port on each side of the module connected to the controller (see paragraph 148, 152; Fig. 12), the method further comprising the steps of: installing each display module until the display wall has the desired configuration (see paragraph 78; Figs. 2-3), connecting each display module to its direct neighbor at each side port (see paragraph 167), performing the method of such that the display module coordinates are updated (see paragraphs 173-174).
With reference to claim 43, Liu and Cohen disclose the method of claim 42, wherein Cohen further disclose further comprising the step of: adding, removing, or replacing display modules in the display wall, repeating the step of performing the method for mapping a display wall comprising a plurality of display modules such that the display module coordinates are updated (see paragraphs 167-168, 171-173; Figs. 14-16).
With reference to claim 44, Liu and Cohen disclose the method according to claim 43, wherein Liu further discloses that further comprising the step of dividing the display wall into at least one or a plurality of sections (D1-D3) (see paragraphs 31-32; Fig. 7), and/or further comprising the step of providing at least one display wall controller (104) and connecting at least one display module (10) per section to the at least one display wall controller (see paragraphs 31-32).
With reference to claim 45, Liu and Cohen disclose the method according to claim 44, wherein Liu further discloses that further comprising the step of performing the method for mapping a display wall comprising a plurality of display modules (10), further comprising the step of dividing the display wall into at least one section, or at least two sections (D1-D3), and further comprising the step of the display wall processor to send video packets to each display module of each section, to display images with the display wall, wherein the video packets comprise for each display module its video data and corresponding display module unique ID (see paragraphs 31-32; Fig. 7).
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 02/25/2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive. With reference to claim 25, the applicant argues that Liu and Cohen fail to disclose or suggest a method that enables the display modules to generate their coordinates automatically, without the use of an external process, thereby providing a display wall that is self-updating including when modules are added or removed. The applicant also argues that Liu fails to teach setting of all display module coordinates to an initial setting in which all display module coordinates have a same default value coordinate corresponding to the coordinates of the reference display module, and continuously communicating with its direct neighbor display module via a corresponding side port by sending tile-to-tile packets comprising information on at least the coordinates of the display module as recited in claim 25. The applicant also argues that Cohen fails to disclose updating coordinates by comparing with coordinates of neighboring display modules. The applicant therefore concludes that the references fail to disclose features of the claims, and further adds that there is no indication of any reason that would have prompted one having ordinary skill in the art to have modified the teachings of Liu in view of Cohen.
With reference to the applicant arguments that the references fail to disclose display modules that generate their coordinates automatically, without the use of an external process, the examiner does not find the limitation recited in the claim. The claim recites that each display module comprises a controller and a port connected to the controller, wherein the display module continuously communicates with its neighboring display module via a corresponding side port. However, the claim does not recite that the controller of the display module is responsible for the communication.
The examiner finds that Liu discloses setting of all display module coordinates to an initial setting in which all display module coordinates have a same default value coordinate corresponding to the coordinates of the reference display module in teaching establishment of the display layout table. Liu discloses that at initial power source is transmitted to a display module of the display wall, which then determines surrounding display modules therefore establishing the location off each display within the display wall (10) (see paragraphs 27-28, 30-32; Figs. 6-8). The teachings of Liu describes that the coordinates of all display devices is (0,0) as the layout table has not been established. Therefore the examiner finds that Liu discloses the initial coordinate value as recited. Further the examiner finds that Liu discloses continuously communicating with its direct neighbor display module via a corresponding side port by sending tile-to-tile packets comprising information on at least the coordinates of the display module in teaching that a display module receives ID input of display modules that are adjacent neighbor displays to determine the display wall layout (see paragraphs 20, 22, 27-28; Tables 1-2; Figs. 3-8). Therefore the examiner finds that Liu discloses continuously communicating with its direct neighbor display module as recited.
With reference to Cohen, the examiner finds that the reference discloses updating coordinates by comparison to neighboring display modules in teaching that the display tiles informs the MPU of changes in neighboring connected display tiles including the addition of a new connected display tile or a removal of a connected display tile (see paragraphs 159, 166-168, steps 1424-1428; Figs. 13-14, 17-18). The applicant argues that Cohen discloses a one-time discovery process, however the examiner disagrees in disclosing the addition and/or removal of display tiles. Cohen teaches that the MPU create IDreq for every neighboring display tile and adds them to the processing queue, in which the queue is then checked again for display tiles and the process repeats itself (see paragraph 167; Fig. 17). Therefore the examiner finds that Cohen discloses continuously communicating with neighboring display modules in order to continuously update the display wall coordinates as recited.
Further as to the combination of references, the examiner does not suggest removing a processor of the disclosed system and maintaining coordinate assignments across the display wall as argued by the applicant. The examiner finds that one of ordinary skill in the art would find it obvious to adopt the updating of display modules similar to that which is taught by Cohen to be carried out in a system similar to that which is taught by Liu to thereby continuously providing updates to the display capabilities of the display wall. For these reasons the rejection has been maintained.
Pertinent Prior Art
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
HOCHMAN et al. (USPub 2022/0254317) discloses displaying video content on video walls in which a controller can tell the tile which stream is of higher priority for transmitting packet streams (see abstract; paragraphs 27-44; Figs. 1-3).
OGINO et al. (US6,593,902) discloses an extending type display by connecting a plurality of display units, wherein each display unit includes a controller that executes, when a plurality of display units are connected to each other, signal transaction with controllers of any other display units adjacent to the controller through signal transmitting sections to recognize size of the screen as well as a position of the screen (see abstract; column 3, line 61-column 5, line 36; Figs. 1-2).
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 ALECIA DIANE ENGLISH whose telephone number is (571)270-1595. The examiner can normally be reached Mon.-Fri. 7:00am-3:00am.
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/ADE/Examiner, Art Unit 2625
/WILLIAM BODDIE/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2625
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