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 .
DETAILED ACTION
Claims 1–15 have been submitted for examination.
Claims 1–4, 6, 9–10, and 15 have been examined and rejected.
Claims 5, 7–8, 11–14 are objected to.
Specification Objections
The title of the invention is not descriptive. A new title is required that is clearly indicative of the invention to which the claims are directed.
The following title is suggested: “GLOBAL INTEGRATED TUNER APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR CONTROLLING THE SAME”.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 5, 7–8, 11–14 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.
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 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 of this title, 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.
The factual inquiries set forth in Graham v. John Deere Co., 383 U.S. 1, 148 USPQ 459 (1966), that are applied for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claims 1, 6, 9, and 15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Naito et al. (US 2007/0242165) in view of Maruyama et al. (US 2011/0141377).
Regarding claims 1 and 15, Naito discloses:
A global integrated tuner apparatus comprising:
a plurality of connectors of different types (Naito, ¶ [0029], “including the antenna input terminals 42 and 52 therein, and FIG. 2(B) shows that but after being attached with the said distributors 130 and 140.”) for digital broadcast transmission standards; (Naito, ¶ [0001], “a broadcast receiving apparatus enabling to receive plural kinds of television signals broadcasted (for example, digital/analog terrestrial broadcastings, and digital/analog BC/CS broadcasting), in plural numbers thereof, simultaneously, as well as, the structures of a tuner and further a distributor for that.”, ¶ [0012], “each [tuner unit] being capable to receive broadcasted signals of plural kinds (i.e., three (3) kinds) corresponding to plural numbers of broadcasting methods”)
a switch device (“a switch (SW) circuit 190”) configured to selectively connect one of the plurality of connectors; (Naito, ¶ [0038], “digital signal processing circuit 180 are outputted, through a switch (SW) circuit 190, input/output circuits of which are exchanged through a control signal from a controller apparatus for controlling the apparatus as a whole (i.e., being construed with a CPU), for example, the PDP 11 and the speakers 12 thereof (see FIG. 1(A) mentioned above) building up the display panel 11,” Fig. 5, shows both terrestrial antenna 40 and parabolic antenna 50 feeding 190 by way of 180)
a tuner device (“single tuner model”) configured to tune a broadcast signal received through the connector selectively connected by controlling the switch device; (Naito, ¶ [0035], “the main tuner 110 […] is constructed to be as the three-in-one tuner capable to receive the three (3) kinds of broadcast signals, and for example, in the main tuner 110, the input signal from the input terminal 111 is outputted in the form of an IF signal after being inputted into a U/V tuner circuit 115 for the terrestrial broadcast signal.”, ¶ [0040], “since the tuner units having the same configuration can be used as the main tuner and the sub-tuner (i.e., enabling the common use), it is possible to deal with a single tuner model, depending on a situation on the market or the like, easily, by removing the lower-side tuner unit (i.e., the sub-tuner)”) and
a controller (“controller apparatus”) configured to control the tuner device, (Naito, ¶ [0038], “digital signal processing circuit 180 are outputted, through a switch (SW) circuit 190, input/output circuits of which are exchanged through a control signal from a controller apparatus for controlling the apparatus as a whole (i.e., being construed with a CPU), for example, the PDP 11 and the speakers 12 thereof (see FIG. 1(A) mentioned above) building up the display panel 11,”)
control the tuner device (Naito, ¶ [0038], “digital signal processing circuit 180 are outputted, through a switch (SW) circuit 190, input/output circuits of which are exchanged through a control signal from a controller apparatus for controlling the apparatus as a whole (i.e., being construed with a CPU), for example, the PDP 11 and the speakers 12 thereof (see FIG. 1(A) mentioned above) building up the display panel 11,”) such that the switch device is connected to a first connector (Naito, ¶ [0036], “the digital IF signal from the U/V tuner circuit 115 and the digital I/Q signal from the BS/CS tuner circuit 116 are further inputted into an OFDM circuit 151 and an 8 PSK (8 Phase Shift Keying) circuit 152 building up a digital modulation circuit 150, respectively, and after being modulated into predetermined digital signals, they are outputted to a digital signal processing circuit 180 for conducting digital signal processing”) of a type corresponding to a digital broadcast transmission standard, (Naito, ¶ [0028], “FIG. 1(B), a reference numeral 42 indicates an antenna input terminal for guiding a received signal supplied from an antenna 40 for receiving the terrestrial broadcast signal through a cable 41 to the tuner portion within the apparatus”)
control the tuner device (Naito, ¶ [0038], “digital signal processing circuit 180 are outputted, through a switch (SW) circuit 190, input/output circuits of which are exchanged through a control signal from a controller apparatus for controlling the apparatus as a whole (i.e., being construed with a CPU), for example, the PDP 11 and the speakers 12 thereof (see FIG. 1(A) mentioned above) building up the display panel 11,”) such that switch device is connected to a second connector (Naito, ¶ [0037], “at the same time, outputting the IF signal and the I/Q signal in the form of analog signal to digital signal processing circuit 180, through the digital demodulation circuit 160 which is also built up with the OFDM circuit 161 and the 8 PSK circuit 162”) of a different type from the first connector when the first connector is not normally connected. (Naito, ¶ [0028], “on the other hand a reference numeral 52 indicates an antenna input terminal for guiding a received signal supplied from a parabola-like antenna 50 for receiving the BS/CS broadcast signals through a cable 51 to the tuner within the apparatus”)
Naito does not explicitly teach “wherein the controller is configured to identify a set area when an external cable is connected to one of the plurality of connectors, control the tuner device such that the switch device is connected to a first connector of a type corresponding to a digital broadcast transmission standard of the set area, determine whether the first connector is normally connected by determining whether the tuner device has tuned the broadcast signal, and ”.
In a similar field of endeavor Maruyama teaches:
wherein the controller is configured to identify a set area (Maruyama teaches that antenna 104 is in a set area defined by the channels it receives, ¶ [0005], “In general, receivable channels are different from one area to another.”) when an external cable is connected to one of the plurality of connectors, (Maruyama, ¶ [0035], “The antennas 104 and 105 receive digital broadcast signals. The digital broadcast signals include video data, audio data, channel numbers, broadcast station names, program guides, and the like which are encrypted.”, ¶ [0067], “In step S101, the first tuner 106 receives digital broadcast on a certain channel.”)
control the tuner device such that the switch device is connected to a first connector (Maruyama teaches continuing to receive digital broadcast over antenna 104 as long as reception is above threshold, ¶ [0069], “If the reception level value of the currently-receiving channel is equal to or higher than the threshold, the reception of the digital broadcast on the certain channel by the first tuner 106 and the channel scanning by the second tuner 107 in step S101, continue.”) of a type corresponding to a digital broadcast transmission standard of the set area (Maruyama, ¶¶ [0006], “A controller performs receivabillty judgment and then rewrites the memory so that broadcast stations receivable in the judged area may be each associated with the corresponding station selection key with which broadcast stations in the same group are associated.”)
determine whether the first connector is normally connected (Maruyama teaches using antenna 104 while in the set area, ¶ [0068], “In step S102, the controller 102 generates currently-receiving channel information by associating, with one another, the reception level value, channel number, and broadcast station name of the channel currently received by the first tuner 106.”) by determining whether the tuner device has tuned the broadcast signal, and (Maruyama defaults to antenna 104, which is to say it is the connector normally connected, ¶ [0070], “If the reception level values of all the detected channels are lower than the threshold, the reception of the digital broadcast on the certain channel by the first tuner 106 and the channel scanning by the second tuner 107 in step S101, continue.”)
Therefore it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to combine the system for switching connectors to receive a plurality of digital broadcasts as taught by Naito with the system for input switching based on conditional logic as taught by Maruyama, the motivation is “allow broadcast reception to be restarted instantly when the digital broadcast receiver moves and the area changes” as taught by Maruyama (¶ [0008]).
Regarding claim 6, the combination of Naito and Maruyama teaches:
The global integrated tuner apparatus of claim 1, wherein the controller is configured to identify pre-stored tuner setting information and identify a set area included in the tuner setting information (Maruyama, ¶ [0050], “The ROM 114 stores, on per-channel basis, a priority list indicating priority of switching-target-candidate channels for the channel as a switching source. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of the priority list. The priority list shown in FIG. 4 is formed of a broadcast station name of a switching-source channel and broadcast station names of switching-target-candidate channels. The broadcast station names of switching-target-candidate channels are arranged in the order of priority. Here, the priority can be set by the user. The controller 102 generates a priority list according to an operation made by the user through the operation unit 118, and stores the generated priority list in the ROM 114.”) when an external cable for receiving a broadcast signal is connected to one of the plurality of connectors of different types in identifying the set area. (Naito, ¶ [0029], “including the antenna input terminals 42 and 52 therein, and FIG. 2(B) shows that but after being attached with the said distributors 130 and 140.”)
Regarding claim 9, the combination of Naito and Maruyama teaches:
The global integrated tuner apparatus of claim 1, wherein the controller is configured to determine whether the tuner device has tuned the broadcast signal when the switch device is connected to a first connector having a connector type (Maruyama, ¶ [0035], “The antennas 104 and 105 receive digital broadcast signals. The digital broadcast signals include video data, audio data, channel numbers, broadcast station names, program guides, and the like which are encrypted.”, ¶ [0067], “In step S101, the first tuner 106 receives digital broadcast on a certain channel.”) corresponding to the digital broadcast transmission standard of the set area (Maruyama teaches that antenna 104 is in a set area defined by the channels it receives, ¶ [0005], “In general, receivable channels are different from one area to another.”) in determining whether the first connector is normally connected, (Maruyama teaches continuing to receive digital broadcast over antenna 104 as long as reception is above threshold, ¶ [0069], “If the reception level value of the currently-receiving channel is equal to or higher than the threshold, the reception of the digital broadcast on the certain channel by the first tuner 106 and the channel scanning by the second tuner 107 in step S101, continue.”) determine that the external cable is normally connected (Maruyama defaults to antenna 104, which is to say it is the connector normally connected, ¶ [0070], “If the reception level values of all the detected channels are lower than the threshold, the reception of the digital broadcast on the certain channel by the first tuner 106 and the channel scanning by the second tuner 107 in step S101, continue”) to a first connector having a connector type corresponding to the digital broadcast transmission standard of the set area (Maruyama, ¶¶ [0006], “A controller performs receivabillty judgment and then rewrites the memory so that broadcast stations receivable in the judged area may be each associated with the corresponding station selection key with which broadcast stations in the same group are associated.”) when the tuner device has normally tuned the broadcast signal, .(Maruyama teaches using antenna 104 while in the set area, ¶ [0068], “In step S102, the controller 102 generates currently-receiving channel information by associating, with one another, the reception level value, channel number, and broadcast station name of the channel currently received by the first tuner 106.”) and determine that the external cable is not connected to the first connector when the tuner device has not tuned the broadcast signal. (Maruyama, ¶¶ [0071–2], “On the other hand, if the reception level value of any of the detected channels is equal to or higher than the threshold, the controller 102 judges whether the channel switching mode is the priority mode in step S105. If the channel switching mode is the priority mode, the controller 102 specifies a switching-target channel on the basis of the currently-receiving channel information, the detected channel information, and the corresponding priority list in step S106. In step S108, the controller 102 performs control of switching the channel received by the first tuner 106 to the switching-target channel thus specified.”)
Claims 2, 4, and 10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Naito et al. (US 2007/0242165) in view of Maruyama et al. (US 2011/0141377), and further in view of Fujino et al. (US 2020/0352040).
Regarding claim 2, the combination of Naito and Maruyama teaches:
The global integrated tuner apparatus of claim 1, wherein the plurality of connectors include a plurality of reception jacks of different types, and (Naito, ¶ [0029], “including the antenna input terminals 42 and 52 therein, and FIG. 2(B) shows that but after being attached with the said distributors 130 and 140.”)
The combination does not explicitly teach “wherein the plurality of reception jacks include a first type jack for receiving broadcast signals of ATSC (Advanced Television System Committee) standard and a second type jack for receiving broadcast signals of DVB (Digital Video Broadcasting) standard.”.
In a similar field of endeavor Fujino teaches:
wherein the plurality of reception jacks (Fujino, Figs. 11 & 12, input connectors 13, 113, and 213, ¶ [0075], “The third embodiment adopts a triaxial configuration obtained by adding an input connector 213 between the input connector 13 and the input connector 113 in the configuration in the second embodiment.”) include a first type jack for receiving broadcast signals of ATSC (Advanced Television System Committee) standard (Fujino teaches F connector typically used in countries adhering to ATSC, ¶ [0038], “It should be noted, however, that the input connector 13 may have another configuration, and may be an F connector, for example. One type of F connectors is connected to one end of a coaxial cable, and is called an F connector plug or the like. Another type of F connectors is an F connector that receives the center conductor (hereinafter, referred to as the core wire) of a coaxial cable projecting from an F connector plug, and is called an F connector receptacle or the like.”) and a second type jack for receiving broadcast signals of DVB (Digital Video Broadcasting) standard. (Fujino teaches Belling-Lee connector (PAL connector, IEC connector) typically used in countries adhering to DVB, ¶ [0038], “The input connector 13 is a coaxial connector used for supplying an output of an antenna to a tuner, for example, and is an IEC (International Electrotechnical Commission) connector, for example.”)
Therefore it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to combine the system for switching connectors to receive a plurality of digital broadcasts as taught by Naito with the system for input switching based on conditional logic as taught by Maruyama further with the explicit teaching of both F connectors and Belling-Lee connectors as taught by Fujino, the motivation is “for supplying an output of an antenna to a tuner” as taught by Fujino (¶ [0038]).
Regarding claim 4, the combination of Naito and Maruyama teaches:
The global integrated tuner apparatus of claim 1, disposed between the switch device and the connector (Naito teaches an amplifier disposed between switch and connector, ¶ [0034], “As is apparent from this figure, each the distributors (i.e., the antenna splitters) 130 or 140 comprises an amplifier within an inside thereof, and thereby amplifying a very weak signal received by means of the antenna 40 or 50 up to a predetermined level.”)
The combination does not explicitly teach “wherein a noise filter is to remove noise occurring from wiring connecting the connector and the switch device.”.
In a similar field of endeavor Fujino teaches:
wherein a noise filter is to remove noise occurring from wiring connecting the connector and the switch device. (Fujino explicitly teaches a filter in conjunction with low noise amplifier for noise reduction, ¶ [0095], “A first system of the receiving device includes a reception antenna, an antenna connector, a filter, a low-noise amplifier (Low Noise Amplifier: LNA), a tuner section, and a demodulating section. In addition, a second system of the receiving device includes a reception antenna, an antenna connector, a filter, a low-noise amplifier (LNA), a tuner section, and a demodulating section.”)
Therefore it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to combine the system for switching connectors to receive a plurality of digital broadcasts as taught by Naito with the system for input switching based on conditional logic as taught by Maruyama further with the explicit teaching of a filter in conjunction with low noise amplifier for noise reduction as taught by Fujino, the motivation is “for supplying an output of an antenna to a tuner” as taught by Fujino (¶ [0038]).
Regarding claim 10, the combination of Naito and Maruyama teaches:
The global integrated tuner apparatus of claim 1, wherein the controller is configured to determine whether the second connector is normally connected by determining whether the tuner device has tuned the broadcast signal, (Maruyama, ¶¶ [0071–2], “On the other hand, if the reception level value of any of the detected channels is equal to or higher than the threshold, the controller 102 judges whether the channel switching mode is the priority mode in step S105. If the channel switching mode is the priority mode, the controller 102 specifies a switching-target channel on the basis of the currently-receiving channel information, the detected channel information, and the corresponding priority list in step S106. In step S108, the controller 102 performs control of switching the channel received by the first tuner 106 to the switching-target channel thus specified.”) determine that the external cable is normally connected to the second connector (Maruyama, ¶¶ [0006], “A controller performs receivabillty judgment and then rewrites the memory so that broadcast stations receivable in the judged area may be each associated with the corresponding station selection key with which broadcast stations in the same group are associated.”) having a connector type corresponding to a digital broadcast transmission standard of the set area when the second connector is normally connected, (Naito, ¶ [0028], “on the other hand a reference numeral 52 indicates an antenna input terminal for guiding a received signal supplied from a parabola-like antenna 50 for receiving the BS/CS broadcast signals through a cable 51 to the tuner within the apparatus”) and terminate control of the tuner device. (Naito, ¶ [0038], “digital signal processing circuit 180 are outputted, through a switch (SW) circuit 190, input/output circuits of which are exchanged through a control signal from a controller apparatus for controlling the apparatus as a whole (i.e., being construed with a CPU), for example, the PDP 11 and the speakers 12 thereof (see FIG. 1(A) mentioned above) building up the display panel 11,”)
The combination fails to explicitly teach “when the switch device is connected to a second connector of a different type from the first connector in controlling the tuner device to be connected to the second connector of the different type from the first connector”
In a similar field of endeavor Fujino teaches:
when the switch device is connected to a second connector of a different type (Fujino teaches Belling-Lee connector (PAL connector, IEC connector) typically used in countries adhering to DVB, ¶ [0038], “The input connector 13 is a coaxial connector used for supplying an output of an antenna to a tuner, for example, and is an IEC (International Electrotechnical Commission) connector, for example.”) from the first connector in controlling the tuner device to be connected (Fujino, Figs. 11 & 12, input connectors 13, 113, and 213, ¶ [0075], “The third embodiment adopts a triaxial configuration obtained by adding an input connector 213 between the input connector 13 and the input connector 113 in the configuration in the second embodiment.”) to the second connector of the different type from the first connector (Fujino teaches F connector typically used in countries adhering to ATSC, ¶ [0038], “It should be noted, however, that the input connector 13 may have another configuration, and may be an F connector, for example. One type of F connectors is connected to one end of a coaxial cable, and is called an F connector plug or the like. Another type of F connectors is an F connector that receives the center conductor (hereinafter, referred to as the core wire) of a coaxial cable projecting from an F connector plug, and is called an F connector receptacle or the like.”)
Therefore it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to combine the system for switching connectors to receive a plurality of digital broadcasts as taught by Naito with the system for input switching based on conditional logic as taught by Maruyama further with the explicit teaching of both F connectors and Belling-Lee connectors as taught by Fujino, the motivation is “for supplying an output of an antenna to a tuner” as taught by Fujino (¶ [0038]).
Claim 3 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Naito et al. (US 2007/0242165) in view of Maruyama et al. (US 2011/0141377), and further in view of Majid et al. (US 2016/0353152).
Regarding claim 3, the combination of Naito and Maruyama teaches:
The global integrated tuner apparatus of claim 1, wherein the switch device is electrically connected to one of the plurality of connectors and the tuner device, (Naito, ¶ [0038], “digital signal processing circuit 180 are outputted, through a switch (SW) circuit 190, input/output circuits of which are exchanged through a control signal from a controller apparatus for controlling the apparatus as a whole (i.e., being construed with a CPU), for example, the PDP 11 and the speakers 12 thereof (see FIG. 1(A) mentioned above) building up the display panel 11,” Fig. 5, shows both terrestrial antenna 40 and parabolic antenna 50 feeding 190 by way of 180)
The combination does not explicitly teach “and is configured to perform switching to selectively connect one of the plurality of connectors in response to a control signal from the tuner device.”.
In a similar field of endeavor Majid teaches:
and is configured to perform switching to selectively connect one of the plurality of connectors (Majid, ¶ [0032], “the device control command may instruct the television signal tuner device to play a channel, change a channel, change a volume control, go to a menu, change output mode (e.g., switch to digital terrestrial, cable, or satellite television signals, Miracast, online streaming, DVR, etc.), or navigate a menu.”) in response to a control signal from the tuner device. (Majid, ¶ [0032], “the television signal tuner device may send a device control command to control the display device, such as to adjust a volume setting, turn the display device on or off, change the input of the display device (e.g., to or from the television signal tuner device output), activate or deactivate a user interface, change an audio output device or format, change a video display format, or the like.”)
Therefore it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to combine the system for switching connectors to receive a plurality of digital broadcasts as taught by Naito with the system for input switching based on conditional logic as taught by Maruyama further with the explicit teaching of switching commands coming from the tuner as taught by Majid, the motivation is “communicating using HDMI/MHL device control” as taught by Majid (¶ [0032]).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MICHAEL B PIERORAZIO whose telephone number is (571)270-3679. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday - Thursday, 8am - 5pm.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Nasser Goodarzi can be reached on 5712704195. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/MICHAEL B. PIERORAZIO/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2426