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 .
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 1, 6 and 8-10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Aoki et al (US 2022/0417480; hereinafter referred to as Aoki).
Regarding Claims 1 and 10, Aoki teaches a projection display device (Figure 1; Projector 1) comprising:
an image projection unit (Figure 1; Projection Optical System 60) configured to project image light obtained by modulating illumination light according to image data on a screen (Figure 1; Screen 80) as a projection image (see Paragraph [0041]);
a position adjustment unit (Figure 1; Optical Path Shifting Element 100) configured to adjust a display position of the projection image displayed on the screen (see Paragraph [0045]; wherein it is disclosed that the optical path shifting element 100 causes the optical path of incident light to deviate to shift the position of the pixel displayed on the projection surface 80);
a timing unit (Figure 6; Timing Control Circuit 13) configured to time a time at or after an operation start time when power of the projection display device (Figure 1; Projector 1) is turned on and the projection display device (Figure 1; Projector 1) starts an operation (see Paragraphs [0171] or [0181]);
an image shift correction amount storage unit (Inherent component of the timing control circuit 13) configured to store an elapsed time at or after the operation start time timed by the timing unit (Figure 6; Timing Control Circuit 13) when a user uses the position adjustment unit (Figure 1; Optical Path Shifting Element 100) to adjust an image shift amount in which the display position of the projection image displayed on the screen (Figure 1; Screen 80) is shifted, in association with an image shift correction amount which is an adjustment amount in which the image shift amount of the projection image is adjusted (see Paragraphs [0171] and [0181]; wherein it is disclosed that when a natural image is displayed by the projector 1 in the embodiment, a projection position while the state of the optical path shifting element 100 is a transition state is switched as illustrated in FIG. 18 according to the time that has elapsed after the projector 1 started image display and that the trajectory of the projection positions by the optical path shifting element 100 is switched according to the time that has elapsed after the projector 1 started image display); and
a controller (Figure 6; Image Processing Circuit 11) configured to cause the image shift correction amount storage unit to store the elapsed time and the image shift correction amount (see Paragraphs [0171] and [0181]; wherein it is disclosed that when a natural image is displayed by the projector 1 in the embodiment, a projection position while the state of the optical path shifting element 100 is a transition state is switched as illustrated in FIG. 18 according to the time that has elapsed after the projector 1 started image display and that the trajectory of the projection positions by the optical path shifting element 100 is switched according to the time that has elapsed after the projector 1 started image display), configured to interpolate an image shift correction amount at an elapsed time during which the image shift amount of the projection image is not adjusted, from the elapsed time and the image shift correction amount stored in the image shift correction amount storage unit, to store the image shift correction amount in the image shift correction amount storage unit, configured to update the image shift correction amount stored in the image shift correction amount storage unit when the image shift amount is corrected at one or more elapsed times, and configured to control the position adjustment unit to adjust the display position of the projection image displayed on the screen by the image shift correction amount corresponding to the elapsed time (see Paragraph [0121]; wherein it is disclosed that when an image to be expressed with pixels separated from each other is to be displayed, the timing control circuit 13 changes a position at which light is projected by the optical path shifting element 100 from the projection position (A) to the projection position (B) and when an image with unclear boundaries between pixels is to be displayed, the timing control circuit 13 changes a position at which light is projected by the optical path shifting element 100 from the projection position (A) to the projection position (a) or from the projection position (a) to the projection position (B). That is, the projector 1 according to the embodiment is capable of controlling the amount of change in the state of the optical path shifting element 100 in the transition periods in which the element transitions from the first unit period f1 to the second unit period f2).
Regarding Claim 6, Aoki teaches the limitations of claim 1 as detailed above.
Aoki further teaches the projection image is smaller than a projection range of light projected on the screen by the image projection unit, and the position adjustment unit adjusts the display position of the projection image by adjusting a position of the projection image within the projection range (see Paragraphs [0043] and [0045]; wherein it is disclosed that the optical path shifting element 100 is driven based on an output signal of an optical path shifting element drive circuit 12, and causes the optical path of incident light to deviate to shift the position of the pixel displayed on the projection surface 8 and that the projection lens system 62 causes the light emitted from the optical path shifting element 100, specifically, the combined image to expand and to be projected on a projection surface 80).
Regarding Claim 8, Aoki teaches the limitations of claim 1 as detailed above.
Aoki further teaches the projection image of which the display position is adjusted is an image having a predetermined pattern (see Paragraph [0007]).
Regarding Claim 9, Aoki teaches the limitations of claim 1 as detailed above.
Aoki further teaches the image shift correction amount stored in the image shift correction amount storage unit is constituted by an image shift correction amount in a horizontal direction and an image shift correction amount in a vertical direction (see Paragraph [0067]; wherein it is disclosed that the control signal CTL1 includes a control signal CTL1_X for causing a projection position to shift vertically and a control signal CTL1_Y for causing a projection position to shift horizontally on the projection surface 80 of the projector 1).
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, 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 7 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Aoki et al (US 2022/0417480; hereinafter referred to as Aoki) as applied to claim 1, in view of O’Donnell (US 2007/0035806).
Regarding Claim 7, Aoki teaches the limitations of claim 1 as detailed above.
Aoki does not expressly disclose that the image projection unit includes a movable projection lens, a size of the projection image is the same as a size of a projection range of light projected on the screen by the image projection unit, and the position adjustment unit adjusts the display position of the projection image by moving the projection lens.
O’Donnell discloses an image projection unit (Figure 1; Image Display Unit 10) includes a movable projection lens (Figure 1; Projecting Lens 28), a size of the projection image is the same as a size of a projection range of light projected on the screen by the image projection unit (see Figure 1), and an position adjustment unit (Figure 1; Actuator 26) adjusts the display position of the projection image by moving the projection lens (see Paragraph [0021]; wherein it is disclosed that the projecting lens 28 may also be coupled to an actuator 26 capable of shifting the projecting lens 28 about an axis).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the instant invention to modify the projection display device of Aoki such that the image projection unit includes a movable projection lens, a size of the projection image is the same as a size of a projection range of light projected on the screen by the image projection unit, and the position adjustment unit adjusts the display position of the projection image by moving the projection lens, as taught by O’Donnell, because doing so would allow for the image display unit to display multiple video formats (see O’Donnell Paragraph [0028]).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 2-5 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter.
Regarding Claim 2, the prior art of record, whether taken alone or in combination, fails to teach, suggest or render obvious the limitations which require a temperature sensor attached to any part in the projection display device, configured to detect a temperature inside or outside the projection display device; and a table holding unit configured to hold a table that associates a temperature index based on the temperature detected by the temperature sensor when the projection display device starts the operation, with an estimated elapsed time until the temperature index is reached assuming that the projection display device starts an operation at a preset room temperature, wherein the controller acquires the temperature index based on the temperature detected by the temperature sensor when the power of the projection display device is turned on and the projection display device starts the operation, acquires the estimated elapsed time associated with the acquired temperature index by referring to the table, reads out the elapsed time and the image shift correction amount stored in the image shift correction amount storage unit, and adjusts the display position of the projection image displayed on the screen by an image shift correction amount corresponding to a correction elapsed time that is obtained by adding the acquired estimated elapsed time to an actual elapsed time at or after the operation start time timed by the timing unit.
These limitations in combination with the limitations of claim 1 would render the claim non-obvious over the prior art of record if rewritten in independent form.
Claims 3-5 would likewise be non-obvious over the prior art of record if the abovementioned amendment were made.
Inquiry
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to CHRISTOPHER A LAMB II whose telephone number is (571)270-0648. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 10am - 5pm EST.
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/CHRISTOPHER A LAMB II/Examiner, Art Unit 2882
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