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 .
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.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claims 1-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over LIN et al (20230133948) in view of HIRO et al (KR 20140146061 A) and BRIJESH et al (US 20140168233).
As per claim 1, Lin teaches the claimed “digital display device” comprising: “a video scaler hardware controller formed on a scaler board; a timing controller (TCON), a display, and a non-volatile calibration settings and calibration data memory device formed on a display panel” (Lin, Figure 3, [0035]-[0038] - The external display device 302 may include a display panel 320… the external display device 302 may include a scaler board 322 coupled to the display panel 320… the external display device 302 may include a power delivery PD controller 324…; [0053] - The scaler board may adjust the display setting of a display panel (not shown) of the external display device 302; [0031] – The non-volatile memory NVM 314 may store a device information table and application information. The device information table may include device type information mapped to USB device information. The device information table may be used to obtain information pertaining to the external display device. The application information may include information on whether an application is to be accessed for controlling the external display device, an application type, and an address of a server for obtaining the application; [0060] - In an example, the PD controller may communicate with a controller, such as an embedded controller, of the computing device to obtain the display setting of the display device of the computing device… The display setting may include a brightness setting, a sharpness setting, a language setting, a timer setting, or a combination thereof; [0062] - to store the display setting of the external display device in a non-volatile memory (NVM) of the computing device, upon adjustment of the display setting of the external display device) (see also Brijesh, [0033]-[0034] - In computer system 200, motherboard 201 is coupled to display panel 202 through display port 211. Motherboard 201 includes video processor 203, and display panel 202 includes display controller 209 and display 210; and display controller 209 may correspond to processor 102 of computer system 100 as illustrated in FIG. 1… Video processor 203 includes display port source physical layer (PHY) 204 and timing generator 212, and display controller 209 includes display port sink PHY 208 and timing generator 213) (see also for the display setting units and controllers for display, Hiro, page 4, 3rd paragraph to page 6, 9th paragraph - the control unit 170 controls the control unit 170 to change the operation content of the operation object on the basis of the contact size (detection size) of the object (e.g., the user's finger) on the display surface of the input / output unit 150 . That is, the control unit 170 changes the operation contents of at least some of the plurality of operation objects based on the contact size (detection size) of the object on the display surface of the input / output unit 150. For example, the control unit 170 changes the operation contents of the operation object by making the operation input of the operation object impossible based on the contact size (detection size) of the object on the display surface of the input / output unit 150… The display control unit 180 is a unit for outputting each image to the display unit 152 under the control of the control unit 170. [ For example, the display control unit 180 may display a setting screen (e.g., a menu screen 300 shown in Fig. 3) for performing various settings when performing an imaging operation, (so-called “ through image”) on the display unit 152. For example, the display control unit 180 causes the display unit 152 to display a content (for example, still image content or animation content) stored in the recording medium 140); “a power supply unit (PSU) to provide power to the video scaler hardware controller, the TCON, the display, and the nonvolatile non-volatile calibration settings and calibration data memory device” (Lin, [0049] - Referring to FIG. 4, at step 402, a power delivery (PD) controller 318 of the computing device 304 may establish a connection with the external display device 302. In an example, the external display device 302 may be a docking monitor and the PD controller 318 may establish the connection based with the external display device 302 based on a PD protocol. During establishment of the connection, the PD controller 318 may communicate with a PD controller (not shown) of the external display device 302 to perform power negotiations; [0060] - In an example, the PD controller may communicate with a controller, such as an embedded controller, of the computing device to obtain the display setting of the display device of the computing device… The display setting may include a brightness setting, a sharpness setting, a language setting, a timer setting, or a combination thereof); “the video scaler hardware controller formed on a scaler board operatively coupled to the display panel of the digital display device via a data communication bus; the non-volatile calibration settings and calibration data memory device formed on the display panel to store embedded calibration settings and calibration data defining color and brightness levels at the display on the display panel” (Lin, [0031] – The non-volatile memory NVM 314 may store a device information table and application information. The device information table may include device type information mapped to USB device information. The device information table may be used to obtain information pertaining to the external display device. The application information may include information on whether an application is to be accessed for controlling the external display device, an application type, and an address of a server for obtaining the application; [0047] - Accordingly, the present subject matter may facilitate adjustment of display settings of the external display device 302 from the computing device 304 with which the external display device 302 is coupled. A user of the computing device 304 may access the GSD menu of the docking monitor from the interface 308 to adjust the display settings of the docking monitor; [0059] - Referring to FIG. 5, in an example, upon connection of an external display device to the computing device through a Universal Serial Bus (USB) Type-C port, the non-transitory computer-readable medium may include instructions 508 to automatically obtain a display setting of a display device of the computing device. In an example, a power delivery (PD) controller of the computing device may automatically obtain the display setting of the display device of the computing device. The PD controller may manage connections and messaging at the USB Type-C port of the computing device; [0060] - For example, the current display setting may be a current value of display brightness, a current value of display sharpness, a current display language, and so on, that may be configured for the display device of the computing device. In another example, the display setting may be pre-defined by a user of the computing device. The display setting may include a brightness setting, a sharpness setting, a language setting, a timer setting, or a combination thereof) (see also Park, [0139] - As described above, according to various exemplary embodiments, when performing color calibration of the display device by using a photographed image which is generated by photographing the display device, color calibration is performed in consideration of the effect of ambient light so that accuracy of the color calibration may be increased); and “the video scaler hardware controller to access the embedded calibration settings and calibration data from the non-volatile calibration settings and calibration data memory device to process video data received from an information handling system to accurately display image and video at the display of the digital display device” (Lin, [0036] - The scaler board 322 may process the digital signals to provide analog video signals to the display panel 320. The processing performed by the scaler board 322 may include image processing, such as scaling, resolution controlling, backlight controlling, and other processing of digital data). Thus, it would have been obvious, in view of Brijesh, Hiro and Park, to configure Lin’s display device as claimed by combining all display setting units (e.g., scaler, timer, display unit, image/color calibration settings, …) in the display panel (as in Lin’s external display device 302 or Brijesh’s display panel 202). The motivation is to improve the flexibility of data representation device with adaptable display unit.
Claim 2 adds into claim 1 “the data communication bus is an embedded DisplayPort (eDP) connection formed between the TCON on the display panel and the video scaler hardware controller on the scaler board, where the video scaler hardware controller requests and receives the embedded calibration settings and calibration data from the non-volatile calibration settings and calibration data memory device via the TCON and the eDP connection” (Lin, [0037] - the external display device 302 may be coupled to the computing device 304 through the USB cable 310. The external display device 302 may include a USB Type-C port (not shown) for being coupled to a corresponding USB Type-C port of the computing device 304 for exchanging data. The corresponding USB Type-C ports may be connected together by the USB cable 310. Further, the external display device 302 may include a PD controller 324. The PD controller 324 may be associated with the USB Type-C port of the external display device 302 and may be similar to the PD controller 318).
Claim 3 adds into claim 2 “a scaler memory device operatively coupled to the video scaler hardware controller on the scaler board to store scaler firmware executing to define request timing for when and how often the video scaler hardware controller requests the embedded calibration settings and calibration data from the display panel; and the scaler memory device storing the embedded calibration settings and calibration data during operation of the digital display device” (Lin, [0027] - For example, the display settings may include, but are not limited to, a brightness setting, a contrast setting, a language setting, a sharpness setting, and a position setting, a timer setting; [0044] - the DC 326 may be coupled to the scaler board 322, such that the DC 326 may provide any data pertaining to the display panel 320 to the scaler board 322 over an Inter-Integrated Circuit (I2C) serial interface portion of a video signal cable, Universal Asynchronous Receiver/Transmitter circuit (UART), Recommended Standard (RS) 232, or Universal Serial Bus (USB) connection; Brijesh, [0051] - The output of VCO 304 may be buffered and used a clock or timing reference within a functional block such as video processor 203 or display controller 209 as illustrated in FIG. 2. In some embodiments, the frequency of the output of VCO 304 may be divided by frequency divider 305, and input to phase frequency detector 301; [0078] - In various embodiments, the components may adjust their respective transceivers to adopt the data rate received during the exchange of parameters. Power consumption mode settings may also be adjusted in response to exchanged parameters; [0094] - In some embodiments, the synchronization signal may be a vertical synchronization signal, and may be employed by the display controller to adjust the phase and/or frequency of a timing reference circuit such as a PLL, for example. The phase and/or frequency of the timing circuit may be adjusted to match the phase and/or frequency of a timing reference circuit within the processor such as, e.g., a PLL or crystal oscillator). Thus, it would have been obvious, in view of Brijesh, Hiro and Park, to configure Lin’s display device as claimed by combining all display setting units (e.g., video scaler, timer, image/color calibration settings, …) in the display panel (as in Lin’s external display device 302 or Brijesh’s display panel 202). The motivation is to improve the flexibility of data representation device with adaptable display unit.
Claim 4 adds into claim 1 “the video scaler hardware controller further executing a scaler bootloader to initiate the request for the embedded calibration settings and calibration data from the non-volatile calibration settings and calibration data memory device upon initiation of the digital display device” which would have been obvious because a bootloader initializes essential communication peripherals like Lin’s external display device 302 or Brijesh’s display panel 202 during the initial hardware bring-up.
Claim 5 adds into claim 1 “an inter-integrated circuit (I2C) operatively coupling the non-volatile calibration settings and calibration data memory device to the TCON on the display panel to transmit the embedded calibration settings and calibration data to the TCON upon request by the video scaler hardware controller” (Lin, [0031] – The non-volatile memory NVM 314 may store a device information table and application information. The device information table may include device type information mapped to USB device information. The device information table may be used to obtain information pertaining to the external display device. The application information may include information on whether an application is to be accessed for controlling the external display device, an application type, and an address of a server for obtaining the application; [0044] - The PD controller 324 may forward the VDM command containing the display setting to the DC 326. The DC 326 may parse through the VDM command and forward the display setting mentioned in the VDM command to the scaler board 322. In an example, the DC 326 may be coupled to the scaler board 322, such that the DC 326 may provide any data pertaining to the display panel 320 to the scaler board 322 over an Inter-Integrated Circuit (I2C) serial interface portion of a video signal cable, Universal Asynchronous Receiver/Transmitter circuit (UART), Recommended Standard (RS) 232, or Universal Serial Bus (USB) connection; [0037] - the external display device 302 may be coupled to the computing device 304 through the USB cable 310. The external display device 302 may include a USB Type-C port (not shown) for being coupled to a corresponding USB Type-C port of the computing device 304 for exchanging data. The corresponding USB Type-C ports may be connected together by the USB cable 310; Park, [0139] - As described above, according to various exemplary embodiments, when performing color calibration of the display device by using a photographed image which is generated by photographing the display device, color calibration is performed in consideration of the effect of ambient light so that accuracy of the color calibration may be increased). Thus, it would have been obvious, in view of Brijesh, Hiro and Park, to configure Lin’s display device as claimed by combining all display setting units (e.g., video scaler, timer, image/color calibration settings, …) in the display panel (as in Lin’s external display device 302 or Brijesh’s display panel 202). The motivation is to improve the flexibility of data representation device with adaptable display unit.
Claim 6 adds into claim 1 “the video scaler hardware controller to access a new set of embedded calibration settings and calibration data stored on the non-volatile calibration settings and calibration data memory device after the display has been replaced during refurbishment with a new, replacement display” which is obvious in the teaching of Lin’s external display device 302 or Brijesh’s display panel 202 which includes the display setting units (scaler, calibration, timer, …) in the display unit.
Claim 7 adds into claim 1 “the video scaler hardware controller to access a new set of embedded calibration settings and calibration data after the display panel has been replaced during refurbishment, wherein the new set of embedded calibration settings and calibration data is generated for a new, replacement display on a new, replacement display panel and is stored on a new, non-volatile calibration settings and calibration data memory device of the new, replacement display panel” which is obvious in the teaching of Lin’s external display device 302 or Brijesh’s display panel 202 which includes the display setting units (scaler, calibration, timer, …) in the display unit.
Claims 8-14 claim a method based on the device of claims 1-7; therefore, they are rejected under a similar rationale.
Claim 15 adds into claim 8 “accessing, via a new replacement video scaler hardware controller when the video scaler hardware controller is determined to be defective and is replaced, the embedded calibration settings and calibration data from the non-volatile calibration settings and calibration data memory device on the display panel after initiation of the digital display device after refurbishment” which is obvious in the teaching of Lin’s external display device 302 or Brijesh’s display panel 202 which includes the display setting units (scaler, calibration, timer, …) in the display unit.
Claims 16-20 claim a device based on the method of claims 8-15; therefore, they are rejected under a similar rationale.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to PHU K NGUYEN whose telephone number is (571)272-7645. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8-5pm.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Daniel F. Hajnik can be reached at (571) 272-7642. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/PHU K NGUYEN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2616
Prosecution Insights