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 § 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 1-5, 7-10 and 12-15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kaneko, US PGPUB 20180268782 in view of Yang, US PGPUB 20190087146.
As to claim 1, Kaneko discloses a master display unit of a large screen display, comprising: an image data receiving unit configured for receiving image data (e.g., master display device 101-M, fig. 1; wherein The master display device 101-M receives an image signal to be displayed by the multi-screen display system 100 from an external source via the network for example, and transfers it to the slave display devices 101-S);
at least one sensing element disposed on at least one edge of the master display unit, and the at least one sensing element configured for sensing at least one contact of at least one slave display unit and configured for providing contact data of the master display unit ([0063] The search unit 112 executes device searching (discovery) targeting the slave display devices 101-S in the following positions connected by daisy chaining);
at least one contact data receiving unit configured for receiving at least one contact data of at least one slave display unit ([0078] the identifier control unit 117 sets to each of the plurality of slave display devices 101-S, via the network formed by daisy chaining, the identifiers determined for each of the slave display devices 101-S);
a control unit communicatively coupled to the image data receiving unit, the at least one sensing element and the at least one contact data receiving unit, and the control unit configured for receiving the contact data of the master display unit and configured for processing the image data provided by the image data receiving unit based on the contact data of the master display unit and the at least one contact data of the at least one slave display unit ([0064] The cumulative transmission and reception initiation control unit 113 instructs the plurality of slave display devices 101-S, via the network formed by daisy chaining, to initiate cumulative transmission and reception);
a display element communicatively coupled to the control unit, the display element configured for displaying an image according to the processed image data (e.g., multi-screen display system 100, fig. 1); and
an image data providing unit communicatively coupled to the control unit, the image data providing unit configured for providing the image data to the at least one slave display unit ([0052] the master display device 101-M transmits the received image signal to the first slave display device 101-S1, which is in the next position).
Kaneko does not specifically disclose at least one sensing element disposed on at least one edge of the master display unit.
However, in the same endeavor, Yang discloses at least one sensing element disposed on at least one edge of the master display unit ([0019] The wireless communicators may perform wireless communication by transmitting and receiving data using infrared sensors).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to modify the disclosure of Kaneko to further include Yang’s wireless communicators arrangement method, in order to provide a high-speed and multifunctional communication device.
As to claim 7, Kaneko discloses a slave display unit of a large screen display, comprising: an image data receiving unit configured for receiving image data (e.g., master display device 101-M, fig. 1; wherein The master display device 101-M receives an image signal to be displayed by the multi-screen display system 100 from an external source via the network for example, and transfers it to the slave display devices 101-S);
at least one sensing element disposed on at least one edge of the slave display unit, the at least one sensing element configured for sensing at least one contact of at least one of a master display unit and at least one other slave display unit and configured for providing contact data of the slave display unit ([0063] The search unit 112 executes device searching (discovery) targeting the slave display devices 101-S in the following positions connected by daisy chaining);
a control unit communicatively coupled to the image data receiving unit and the at least one sensing element, the control unit configured for processing the image data based on the contact data of the slave display unit ([0064] The cumulative transmission and reception initiation control unit 113 instructs the plurality of slave display devices 101-S, via the network formed by daisy chaining, to initiate cumulative transmission and reception);
a display element configured for displaying an image according to the processed image data (e.g., multi-screen display system 100, fig. 1); and
a contact data providing unit configured for providing the contact data of the slave display unit to the master display unit ([0064] The cumulative transmission and reception initiation control unit 113 instructs the plurality of slave display devices 101-S, via the network formed by daisy chaining, to initiate cumulative transmission and reception).
Kaneko does not specifically disclose at least one sensing element disposed on at least one edge of the master display unit.
However, in the same endeavor, Yang discloses at least one sensing element disposed on at least one edge of the master display unit ([0019] The wireless communicators may perform wireless communication by transmitting and receiving data using infrared sensors).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to modify the disclosure of Kaneko to further include Yang’s wireless communicators arrangement method, in order to provide a high-speed and multifunctional communication device.
As to claim 14, Kaneko discloses a method applied to a large screen display comprising: communicatively coupling a master display unit and at least one slave display unit; receiving image data by an image data receiving unit of the master display unit (e.g., master display device 101-M, fig. 1; wherein The master display device 101-M receives an image signal to be displayed by the multi-screen display system 100 from an external source via the network for example, and transfers it to the slave display devices 101-S);
sensing at least one contact of at least one slave display unit on at least one edge of the master display unit and providing contact data by at least one sensing element of the master display unit ([0063] The search unit 112 executes device searching (discovery) targeting the slave display devices 101-S in the following positions connected by daisy chaining);
sensing at least one contact of at least one of the master display unit and at least one other slave display unit and providing contact data of the slave display unit by the at least one sensing element of the slave display unit ([0019] for example, fig. 3 is a diagram showing a display device ID setting procedure for a multi-screen display system in which display devices are connected by daisy chaining by RS232C);
receiving at least one contact data from a contact data providing unit of the at least one slave display unit by a contact data receiving unit of the master display unit ([0064] The cumulative transmission and reception initiation control unit 113 instructs the plurality of slave display devices 101-S, via the network formed by daisy chaining, to initiate cumulative transmission and reception);
processing the image data based on the contact data of the master display unit and the at least one contact data of the at least one slave display unit by a control unit of the master display unit ([0169] The flowchart in FIG. 16 represents a processing sequence example executed by the master display device 101-M according to the first exemplary embodiment in order to set the display device IDs);
displaying an image according to the processed image data by a display element of the master display unit (e.g., multi-screen display system 100, fig. 1);
providing the image data by an image data providing unit of the master display unit to the at least one slave display unit ([0052] the master display device 101-M transmits the received image signal to the first slave display device 101-S1, which is in the next position);
receiving the image data by an image data receiving unit of the slave display unit; processing, by a control unit of the at least one slave display unit, the image data based on the contact data of the slave display unit ([0143] The distance recognition unit 115 of the master display device 101-M compares the transmission times appended to the ACKs that are respectively received from the first slave display device 101-S1 to the eighth slave display device 101-S8); and
displaying an image according to the processed image data by a display element of the slave display unit ([0052] The master display device 101-M receives an image signal to be displayed by the multi-screen display system 100 from an external source via the network for example, and transfers it to the slave display devices 101-S).
Kaneko does not specifically disclose sensing at least one contact of at least one slave display unit on at least one edge of the master display unit.
However, in the same endeavor, Yang discloses sensing at least one contact of at least one slave display unit on at least one edge of the master display unit ([0019] The wireless communicators may perform wireless communication by transmitting and receiving data using infrared sensors).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to modify the disclosure of Kaneko to further include Yang’s wireless communicators arrangement method, in order to provide a high-speed and multifunctional communication device.
As to claim 2, the combination of Kaneko and Yang discloses the master display unit according to claim 1. The combination further discloses the at least one sensing element is a button, a magnetic detector, a tactile sensor, or an optical sensor; and/or the at least one sensing element comprises four sensing elements, 1 each of the four sensing elements is arranged on each one of the edges (Yang, [0052] The wireless communicators 3, 4, 5, and 6 may be provided at four sides of the display apparatus 100 and may, for example, be arranged in center portions of the four sides).
As to claim 3, the combination of Kaneko and Yang discloses the master display unit according to claim 1. The combination further discloses the control unit is further configured for determining position data of the master display unit and position data of the at least one slave display unit based on the contact data of the master display unit and the at least one contact data of the at least one slave display unit; and wherein the image data providing unit is configured for providing the image data or processed image data with the determined position data to the at least one slave display unit (Kaneko, [0078] the identifier control unit 117 sets to each of the plurality of slave display devices 101-S, via the network formed by daisy chaining, the identifiers determined for each of the slave display devices 101-S).
As to claim 4, the combination of Kaneko and Yang discloses the master display unit according to claim 1. The combination further discloses the contact data of the master display unit and the at least one contact data of the at least one slave display unit are IDs, each one of the IDs includes 4 bits (Kaneko, [0092] When the master display device 101-M sets the display device IDs, as represented by steps S6-1 to S6-3 in FIG. 3, it firstly transmits via the daisy chain connection an automatic ID execution command with respect to the plurality of slave display devices 101-S in the following positions).
As to claim 5, the combination of Kaneko and Yang discloses the master display unit according to claim 1. The combination further discloses a contact data request providing unit communicatively coupled to the control unit, the contact data request providing unit configured for generating a contact data request and for transmitting the contact data request to the at least one slave display unit (Kaneko, [0094] Moreover, each of the slave display devices 101-S, as represented by steps S7-1 to S7-3 in FIG. 4, transmits an ID request with respect to the master display device 101-M via the communication path in the direction of the previous position in the daisy chain).
As to claim 8, the combination of Kaneko and Yang discloses the slave display unit according to claim 7. The combination further discloses the at least one sensing element is a button, a magnetic detector, a tactile sensor, or an optical sensor and/or the at least one sensing element comprises four sensing elements, each of the four sensing elements is arranged on each one of the edges (Yang, [0052] The wireless communicators 3, 4, 5, and 6 may be provided at four sides of the display apparatus 100 and may, for example, be arranged in center portions of the four sides).
As to claim 9, the combination of Kaneko and Yang discloses the slave display unit according to claim 7. The combination further discloses the contact data of the slave display unit are an ID which comprises 4 bits (Kaneko, [0092] When the master display device 101-M sets the display device IDs, as represented by steps S6-1 to S6-3 in FIG. 3, it firstly transmits via the daisy chain connection an automatic ID execution command with respect to the plurality of slave display devices 101-S in the following positions).
As to claim 10, the combination of Kaneko and Yang discloses the slave display unit according to claim 7. The combination further discloses a contact data request receiving unit communicatively coupled to the control unit, the contact data request receiving unit configured for receiving a contact data request from the master display unit (Kaneko, [0094] Moreover, each of the slave display devices 101-S, as represented by steps S7-1 to S7-3 in FIG. 4, transmits an ID request with respect to the master display device 101-M via the communication path in the direction of the previous position in the daisy chain).
As to claim 12, the combination of Kaneko and Yang discloses the master display unit according to claim 1 and the slave display unit according to claim 7 (Kaneko, [0092] When the master display device 101-M sets the display device IDs, as represented by steps S6-1 to S6-3 in FIG. 3, it firstly transmits via the daisy chain connection an automatic ID execution command with respect to the plurality of slave display devices 101-S in the following positions).
As to claim 13, the combination of Kaneko and Yang discloses the large screen display according to claim 12. The combination further discloses the large screen display is one of a 1x2, a 2x1, a 2x2, a 2x3, a 3x2 and a 3x3 large screen display; and/or the master display unit and the at least one slave display unit are connected in a serial daisy chain or the master display unit is respectively connected to each one of a plurality of slave display units (Kaneko, The multi-screen display system in fig. 1 is a 3x3 large screen).
As to claim 15, the combination of Kaneko and Yang discloses the method according to claim 14. The combination further discloses the step of: generating a contact data request by a contact data request providing unit of the master display unit; transmitting the contact data request to the at least one slave display unit; and receiving the contact data request from the master display unit by a contact data request receiving unit of the slave display unit (Kaneko, [0094] Moreover, each of the slave display devices 101-S, as represented by steps S7-1 to S7-3 in FIG. 4, transmits an ID request with respect to the master display device 101-M via the communication path in the direction of the previous position in the daisy chain).
Claims 6 and 11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kaneko and Yang as applied to claims 1 and 7 above respectively, and further in view of Ma et al., US PGPUB 20170286045 hereinafter referenced as Ma.
As to claim 6, the combination of Kaneko and Yang does not specifically disclose the master display unit according to claim 1, further comprising: at least one gravitational sensor communicatively coupled to the control unit, the at least one gravitational sensor configured for providing orientation data indicating the orientation of the master display unit, wherein the control unit is further configured for processing the image data based on the contact data of the master display unit, the at least one contact data of at least one slave display unit and the orientation data.
However, in the same endeavor, Ma discloses at least one gravitational sensor communicatively coupled to the control unit, the at least one gravitational sensor configured for providing orientation data indicating the orientation of the master display unit, wherein the control unit is further configured for processing the image data based on the contact data of the master display unit, the at least one contact data of at least one slave display unit and the orientation data ([0021] An embodiment of the present disclosure provides an image display device, as shown in FIG. 2 which comprises: a plurality of display screens 1 spliced together, a respective gravity sensor 2 integrated in each display screen 1).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to modify the disclosure of Kaneko and Yang to further include Ma’s gravity sensor, in order to improve the quality of the images displayed by the display screens.
As to claim 11, the combination of Kaneko and Yang does not specifically disclose the slave display unit according to claim 7, further comprising: at least one gravitational sensor communicatively coupled to the control unit, the at least one gravitational sensor configured for providing orientation data indicating the orientation of the slave display unit, wherein the control unit is further configured for processing the image data based on the contact data of the slave display unit and the orientation data.
However, in the same endeavor, Ma discloses at least one gravitational sensor communicatively coupled to the control unit, the at least one gravitational sensor configured for providing orientation data indicating the orientation of the slave display unit, wherein the control unit is further configured for processing the image data based on the contact data of the slave display unit and the orientation data ([0021] An embodiment of the present disclosure provides an image display device, as shown in FIG. 2 which comprises: a plurality of display screens 1 spliced together, a respective gravity sensor 2 integrated in each display screen 1).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to modify the disclosure of Kaneko and Yang to further include Ma’s gravity sensor, in order to improve the quality of the images displayed by the display screens.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Furukawa et al., US PGPUB 20170316761 discloses a display system displays, on each of a plurality of display devices arranged side by side, among image data of a plurality of pages, each of image data of the number of display devices, and reflects input information, which indicates information input by a user, on image data displayed on a master display device among the plurality of display devices. Moreover, the display system displays, on each of the plurality of display devices, among the image data of the plurality of pages, each of image data which is obtained by shifting the image data of the number of display devices in accordance with an operation on a page operation unit. Thereby, a viewer is able to view image data of several pages at once, and it is possible to reflect information input by a user even when image data of a target page is shifted backward or forward.
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/SAHLU OKEBATO/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2625
9/3/2025