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
The applicant has amended their application as follows:
Amended: 1
Cancelled: None
Added: None
Therefore, claims 1-20 are currently pending in the instant application.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim(s) 1 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
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.
Claim 1-8 and 12-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hall (US 9,069,519 B1, hereinafter “Hall”) in view of Pan (US 2010/0114679 A1, hereinafter “Pan”) and Argott 9US 8,358,963 B2; hereinafter “Argott”).
As to claim 1, Hall (Fig 24A, 24B) a display system, configured for standalone operating (Col. 21 lines 25-58), the display system comprising:
a portable board (1620; Col. 21 lines 25-27);
an arrangement of a plurality of light-emitting elements (LED 1610; Col. 23 lines 3-5) on said portable board (Fig. 24A);
a light-emitting element drivers (Fig. 24B element 1653; Col. 22 lines 4-7; Fig. 29C element 1670) on said portable board (Fig. 24A), one of the light-emitting element drivers respective assigned to each of said plurality of light-emitting elements (1610);
a control system (Fig. 24B element 1625) on said portable board, the control system being configured to control said light-emitting element drivers (1653), and
Hall does not disclose wherein said control system comprises a data storage configured to store in advance to be displayed data such that the display system is configured to display content based on the to be displayed data in a standalone manner, and
a cable free power supply on said portable board for supplying power to both said plurality of light-emitting element drivers and said control system,
wherein said standalone display system is adapted to wirelessly transmit synchronization signals to at least one other of a multi-tile configuration comprising a plurality of such standalone displays,
wherein said standalone display system is adapted for operating as master tile
amongst the other of said plurality of such display systems being determined as slave tiles.
However, Pan (Fig. 4) wherein said control system comprises a data storage (408) configured to store in advance to be displayed data such that the display system is configured to display content based on the to be displayed data in a standalone manner (Para. 0058), and
a cable free power supply (412) on said portable board for supplying power to both said plurality of light-emitting element drivers and said control system (Para. 0054; Fig. 10).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to improve the base device of Hall. Pan, as discussed above, discloses a memory and a solar powered battery system in a billboard display that would be applicable to the base device of Hall. One of ordinary skill in the art would have recognized that such a combination would have yielded predictable results and resulted in an improved system of providing the power supply to the display system through the solar powered cells.
Furthermore, Argott (Fig. 1) teaches wherein said standalone display system (140) is adapted to wirelessly transmit synchronization signals (110a-11f) to at least one other of a multi-tile configuration comprising a plurality of such standalone displays (105a-105f, 160; Col. 8 lines 61-67 to Col. 9 lines 1-12),
wherein said standalone display system (140) is adapted for operating as master tile
amongst the other of said plurality of such display systems being determined as slave tiles (Col. 9 lines 4-12).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to combine the teaching of Argott to wirelessly transmit the synchronization signal in the system disclosed by Hall/Pan. The motivation would have been to synchronize the display contents on the plurality of display panels (Argott; Col. 4 lines 2-32).
As to claim 2, Hall (Fig. 24B) discloses the display system of claim 1, wherein said control system (1625) comprises a board communication system (1651) connectable to said plurality of light-emitting element drivers (1653, LED driver of each display panel 1350), a data storage (1655), and a controller (1657), adapted for controlling said board communication system (1651) and said data storage (Col. 21 lines 49-58; Col. 22 lines 54-60).
As to claim 3, Hall (Fig. 24B) discloses the display system of claim 1, wherein said board communication system (1651) comprises a board interface (interface circuit 1654), that passes the to be displayed data to said light-emitting element drivers (1653) and a buffer (1655) connected thereto, said buffer used to store the to be displayed data, as it moves from said controller (1625) to said board interface (1654).
As to claim 4, Hall (Fig. 29B) discloses the display system of claim 2, wherein said control system(1400) further comprises a communications interface (“wireless interface of the receiver circuit 1400”), providing wireless communications and said controller further being adapted for controlling said communications interface (Col. 25 lines 39-47, the controller in the receiver box, which is equivalent to the receiver box of figure 24B, receives and transmits the data).
As to claim 5, Hall (Fig. 24A, 24B, 29B) discloses the display system of claim 2, wherein said
control system (Fig. 24B element 1625) is further adapted for being in communication via said communications interface (Fig. 24B element 1651 and Fig. 29B element 1400) with a remote control device (Fig. 29B element 1800) for receiving control data for use by said controller and/or for being stored into said data storage (Col. 25 lines 10-21, 48-57).
As to claim 6, Hall (Fig. 24B, 29B) discloses the display system of claim 2, wherein said control system, more in particular said controller thereof, being adapted for being temporarily in communication via said communications interface (Fig. 24B element 1651, Fig. 29B element 1400) with an external processing device (Fig. 29B element 1800) for loading data into said data storage, for storing the to be displayed data (Col. 21 lines 48-58, the connection can be disconnected).
As to claim 7, Hall (Fig. 29B) discloses the display system of claim 6, wherein said control system, even more particular said controller thereof, being adapted for handling such temporary communication when the external processing device is a general-purpose processing device (1850).
As to claim 8, Hall (Fig. 24A) discloses the display system of claim 1, wherein said power supply comprises an energy storage (1670), being all or not rechargeable (Col. 22 lines 4-31).
As to claim 12, Hall (Fig. 24A) discloses the display system of claim 1, wherein said plurality of light-emitting element drivers (1653) are mounted on the back of said portable board (1620); and
said control system (1625) and/or said cable free power supply are installed behind said portable board (1620).
As to claim 13, Hall (Fig. 1A) discloses a single-tile configuration (100) comprising:
a display system (Col. 6 lines 1-10, the display panels can be used a single panel display) in accordance with claim 4 and
a remote-control device (Fig. 29B element 1850) for providing control data to said display system, the display system being in wireless communication with said remote control device (Col. 25 lines 40-57).
As to claim 14, Hall (Fig. 1A) discloses the single-tile configuration (100) comprising:
a display system (Col. 6 lines 1-10, the display panels can be used a single panel display) in accordance with claim 4 and
an external processing device (Fig. 29B element 1850), wherein said display system being in wireless communication with said external processing device to wirelessly transmit video data and/or audio and/or control data to said data storage of said control system (Col. 25 lines 40-57).
As to claim 15, Hall (Fig. 1A) discloses the single-tile configuration (100) consisting of:
a display system (Col. 6 lines 1-10, the display panels can be used a single panel display) in accordance with claim 4, and
an external processing device (Fig. 29B element 1850), wherein said display system is in wireless communication with said external processing device to wirelessly transmit video data and/or audio, and/or control data to said data storage of said control system (Col. 25 lines 40-57).
As to claim 16, Hall (Fig. 29B) discloses a multiple-tile configuration (1300, upper 1300 and lower 1300) comprising:
multiple display systems (1350) in accordance with claim 2, and
remote control devices and/or external processing devices (1400), each being in wireless communication (Col. 25 lines 40-57).
As to claim 18, Hall in view of Pan disclose the display system of claim 1. Further, Pan teaches wherein data storage is a non-volatile data storage (Para. 0051).
As to claim 19, Hall in view of Pan disclose the display system of claim 1. Pan further teaches wherein the display system is a standalone display system configured to operate fully autonomously without requiring connections outside the display system while displaying the video and/or images due to the data to be displayed being directly stored in advance into the non-volatile data storage of the display system (Fig. 7; Para. 0057-0058).
As to claim 20, Hall in view of Pan disclose the display system of claim 1. Pan further teaches wherein the display system is configured to operate fully independently in terms of operational logic (Fig. 7; Para. 0058).
Claims 9-10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hall, Pan and Argott as applied to claim 18 above, and further in view of Sutherland et al. (US 2017/0032715 A1, hereinafter “Sutherland”).
As to claim 9, Hall does not expressly disclose the display system of claim 1, further comprises an other technology system used in combination with lighting and/or display functionality of said display system, said controller being adapted for operating said other technology system.
However, Sutherland teaches further comprises an other technology system used in combination with lighting and/or display functionality of said display system, said controller being adapted for operating said other technology system (Para. 0007, 0156-0157).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to combine the teaching of Sutherland to include an audio technology in the device disclosed by Hall/Pan/Argott. The motivation would have been to play audio tracks also (Sutherland; Para. 0151).
As to claim 10, Hall does not disclose the display system of claim 9, wherein said other technology system is an audio system, said data storage being further adapted for storing digital audio files.
However, Sutherland teaches wherein said other technology system is an audio system (Para. 0007, speakers), said data storage being further adapted for storing digital audio files (Para. 0013, 0094, 0151, a digital display/projector necessarily require digital video/audio signals).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to combine the teaching of Sutherland to include an audio technology in the device disclosed by Hall/Pan/Argott. The motivation would have been to play audio tracks also (Sutherland; Para. 0151).
Claim(s) 11 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hall, Pan and Argott as applied to claim 9 above, and further in view of Capoferri et al. (US 2007/0053151 A1, hereinafter “Capoferri”).
As to claim 11, Hall does not disclose the display system of claim 9, wherein said other technology system is a robotics or motorized system and said data storage being further adapted for storing motor control data, and said controller being adapted for controlling the movement of a robotic arm or motor to manipulate said display system to thereby move said display system in 3D space while using said motor control data in coordination with video or image data and/or audio playing, from said data storage running on said display system.
However, Capoferri (Fig. 6) teaches wherein said other technology system is a robotics or motorized system (605; Para. 0050) and said data storage being further adapted for storing motor control data (Para. 0050), and said controller being adapted for controlling the movement of a robotic arm (Fig. 5 element 105) or motor to manipulate said display system to thereby move said display system (243) in 3D space while using said motor control data in coordination with video or image data and/or audio playing (Para. 0049-0050, the display could be moved while playing video for better view of the video playing on the display), from said data storage running on said display system (Para. 0005).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to combine the teaching of Capoferri to include a display panel adjusting system in the system disclosed by Hall/Pan/Argott. The motivation would have been to provide an optimal viewing angle (Capoferri; Para. 0006).
Claim(s) 17 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hall, Pan and Argott as applied to claim 16 above, and further in view of Suzuki et al. (US 2019/0043446 A1, hereinafter “Suzuki”).
As to claim 17, Hall does not expressly disclose the multiple-tile configuration of claim 16, wherein at least one of said multiple display systems is adapted to wirelessly transmit synchronization signals to at least one other of said multiple display systems that is further adapted to wirelessly receive such synchronization signals,
wherein said at least one of said multiple display systems is adapted for operating as master tile
amongst the other of said multiple display systems being determined as slave tiles.
However, Suzuki (Fig. 1) teaches wherein at least one of said multiple display systems (140) is adapted to wirelessly transmit synchronization signals (145) to at least one other of said multiple display systems (150) that is further adapted to wirelessly receive such synchronization signals (Para. 0031, 0041),
wherein said at least one of said multiple display systems is adapted for operating as master tile (140) amongst the other of said multiple display systems (150, 160) being determined as slave tiles (Para. 0029).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to combine the teaching of Suzuki to operate the display panels in master-slave configuration in the system disclosed by Hall/Pan/Argott. The motivation would have been to synchronize the display rate of the display panels (Suzuki; Para. 0011).
Conclusion
The prior at made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant‘s disclosure.
Nimmer et al. (7,777,691 B1) discloses a plurality of display unit with a plurality of drivers (Fig. 1)
Takada (US 2011/0317763 A1) discloses storing the image data in advance (Para. 0164).
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.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to BIPIN GYAWALI whose telephone number is (571)272-1597. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8:00-4:30 PM.
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BIPIN GYAWALI
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 2625
/BIPIN GYAWALI/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2625
