Prosecution Insights
Last updated: October 02, 2026
Application No. 19/048,998

AMBIENT LIGHT CALIBRATION METHOD AND APPARATUS

Non-Final OA §103
Filed
Feb 10, 2025
Priority
Dec 30, 2022 — CN 202211734474.X +1 more
Examiner
BOCAR, DONNA V
Art Unit
2621
Tech Center
2600 — Communications
Assignee
Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd.
OA Round
3 (Non-Final)
58%
Grant Probability
Moderate
3-4
OA Rounds
12m
Est. Remaining
78%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 58% of resolved cases
58%
Career Allowance Rate
221 granted / 383 resolved
-4.3% vs TC avg
Strong +20% interview lift
Without
With
+20.1%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 7m
Avg Prosecution
24 currently pending
Career history
418
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
1.7%
-38.3% vs TC avg
§103
65.2%
+25.2% vs TC avg
§102
18.3%
-21.7% vs TC avg
§112
11.9%
-28.1% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 383 resolved cases

Office Action

§103
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 . Claims 1-2, 4-6, and 9 have been amended. Claims 3, 7-8, and 10-20 are cancelled. Claims 21-26 are newly added. Claims 1-2, 4-6, 9, and 21-26 are currently under review. Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114 A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on July 3, 2026 has been entered. Response to Arguments Applicant's arguments filed July 3, 2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive. The Applicant argues on page 6 of the remarks that independent claim 1 has been amended to further clarify the processor architecture and data flow of the claimed ambient light calibration technique and that neither Zhang or Feng teaches an AP core that, obtains location information of the ambient light sensor and first ambient light data detected by the ambient light sensor; determines an image matting region; obtains, from the display driver, layers of a displayed image frame; performs image matting on the layers; composites the matted images to obtain a screenshot image; calibrates the first ambient light data based on the screenshot image and screen brightness to obtain second ambient light data; and sends the second ambient light data to the sensor hub core for updating data detected by the ambient light sensor or verifying the calibrated data. The Office disagrees. Zhang teaches in paragraph 79 that “the processor 301 includes an application processor (AP) and a coprocessor, for example, a smart sensor hub”. Zhang teaches in paragraph 56 that “the system coprocessor may include an ambient light sensor, an ambient light sensor control center, a coprocessor, a memory, and the like. The coprocessor is a chip. The memory may be integrated with the coprocessor, or may be a separate memory” and in paragraph 80 that the “the sensor hub may include a plurality of drive programs for controlling sensors. For example, the sensor hub includes a drive program for controlling the ambient light sensor, and the sensor hub may control the ambient light sensor by using the drive program”. Zhang teaches “an AP core that, obtains location information of the ambient light sensor and first ambient light data detected by the ambient light sensor” in paragraph 104 which corresponds to “a coprocessor sends a first indication message to a target application before the integration period starts … The first indication message is used to indicate the target application to send a preset location of the ambient light detection area to a display engine”. Zhang teaches in paragraph 74 “The display engine is image processing software, and an image processing interface is encapsulated in the display engine. The display engine may be configured to process complex to-be-displayed content in the terminal device”, in paragraph 88 “the application framework layer may include a window manager, a content provider, a view system, a display engine, a drawing interface, a resource manager, a notification manager, and the like” which is executed by an application processor, and in paragraph 153 “functions of the target application, the drawing interface, and the display engine are integrated into a display control unit”. Zhang also teaches in paragraph 71 that a HWC composes and processes layers which is known to be executed by an application processor by those of ordinary skill in the art. Feng teaches in in paragraph 87 that an image processor performs matting processing and in paragraph 60 that a hardware compositor invokes a compositing thread. Therefore, the combination of Zhang and Feng teaches the limitations as argued. See below rejection. 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. Claims 1-2, 4-5, and 21 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Zhang (Pub. No.: US 2024/0135853 A1) in view of Feng et al. (Pub. No.: CN113889055A) hereinafter referred to as Feng as cited on the IDS dated August 14, 2025, in view of Posa (Pub. No.: US 2016/0269526 A1), in view of Choi et al. (Pub. No.: US 2023/00221760 A1) hereinafter referred to as Choi. With respect to Claim 1, Zhang teaches an ambient light calibration method (fig. 7; ¶100), applied to a terminal device (¶98), comprising: obtaining, by an application processor (AP) core (¶74 “The display engine is image processing software, and an image processing interface is encapsulated in the display engine. The display engine may be configured to process complex to-be-displayed content in the terminal device”, ¶88 “the application framework layer may include a window manager, a content provider, a view system, a display engine, a drawing interface, a resource manager, a notification manager, and the like” which is executed by an application processor; ¶79, “the processor 301 includes an application processor (AP) and a coprocessor, for example, a smart sensor hub”;) of the terminal device from a sensor hub core (¶56, “The system coprocessor may include an ambient light sensor, an ambient light sensor control center, a coprocessor, a memory, and the like. The coprocessor is a chip”; ¶80, “the sensor hub may include a plurality of drive programs for controlling sensors. For example, the sensor hub includes a drive program for controlling the ambient light sensor, and the sensor hub may control the ambient light sensor by using the drive program”, sensor hub core ~ coprocessor), location information of an ambient light sensor (fig. 7, item S600; ¶101; ¶104, “The first indication message is used to indicate the target application to send a preset location of the ambient light detection area to a display engine”; ¶105) and first ambient light data detected by the ambient light sensor (¶102); determining, by the AP core, an image region based on the location information of the ambient light sensor (fig. 7, item S601; ¶74; ¶109-112); obtaining, by the AP core, from a display driver of the terminal device, layers of a display image frame of the terminal device (¶71; ¶86-87 are executed by an application processor); performing, by the AP core, image processing on the layers of the displayed image frame of the terminal device based on the image region to obtain images corresponding to the layers (¶74, “The HWC composes and processes the layers in the to-be-displayed content into one frame of composite image, and sends the frame of composite image to a DSS” – AP executes HWC); the images corresponding to the layers is a composite image (¶74); compositing, by the AP core, the images corresponding to the layers to obtain a screenshot image (¶71; ¶74); and calibrating, by the AP core, the first ambient light data based on the screenshot image and screen brightness of the terminal device (¶71, “The HWC calculates noise by using a noise calculation method prestored in a codebase, where the noise is an impact value of both a color value of the image in the ambient light detection area and a preset screen brightness value on an ambient illumination intensity detected by an ambient light sensor”; ¶115; “determines an impact value of both a preset screen brightness value in the ambient light collection time window and the color value of the target color on an ambient illumination intensity” – the color value of the target color corresponds to the screenshot image), to obtain second ambient light data (¶122). Zhang does not teach an image region is an image matting region, that image processing is image matting on layers of a displayed image frame of the terminal device based on the image matting region to obtain matted images corresponding to the layers; nor does Zhang teach compositing, by the AP core, the matted images corresponding to the layers to obtain a screenshot image. Feng teaches a method (fig. 7; ¶107) for adjusting screen brightness comprising: determining, by an AP core (¶67, “The processor 110 may include one or more processing units, for example, the processor 110 may include an application processor (application processor, AP)”), an image matting region (¶87; ¶88, “the predetermined area in this embodiment of the present application refers to including all areas on the screen that have an impact on the ambient light detection performed by the ambient light sensor, and the predetermined area may be exactly all the areas on the screen that have an impact on the ambient light detection performed by the ambient light sensor” - predetermined area = image matting region; an application processor executes applications and a display synthesis system; ¶101, “the predetermined area is generally used as the matting area”); performing image matting on layers of a displayed image frame of a terminal device (¶52) based on the image matting region to obtain matted images corresponding to the layer (¶87, “the image processor can perform matting processing on the generated black image layer to obtain image information of a predetermined area”; ¶101, “the image can be analyzed and processed to obtain the RGB information of all pixels of the image in the matting area and the backlight intensity of the screen”); and compositing, by the AP core, the matted images corresponding to the layers to obtain a screenshot image (¶60, “The hardware compositor invokes a compositing thread to perform layer compositing on one or more drawn layers to obtain an image frame”). Therefore it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the ambient light calibration method of Zhang, such that an image region is an image matting region, that image processing is image matting on layers of a displayed image frame of the terminal device based on the image matting region to obtain matted images corresponding to the layers; compositing, by the AP core, the matted images corresponding to the layers to obtain a screenshot image, as taught by Feng, so as to perform matting processing on the image of the predetermined area to obtain the interference signal of the image in the predetermined area (¶18). Zhang and Feng combined do not explicitly teach performing, by the AP core, image matting. Posa teaches an application processor is operative to receive a program to perform the following functions: acquire a video of a user in front of background imagery using the first digital camera; perform an operation on the acquired video to extract a video of the user without the background imagery; acquire a new background scene; generate a composite video by inserting the video of the user into the new background scene; and display the composite video on the display device; wherein the applications processor is operative to perform a digital matting operation on the acquired video to extract the video of the user without the background imagery. Therefore it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the combined ambient light calibration method of Zhang and Feng, to comprise performing, by the AP core, image matting, as taught by Posa to provide alternative implementations for image matting. Zhang, Feng, and Posa combined do not teach and sending, by the AP core, the second ambient light data to the sensor hub core for updating data detected by the ambient light sensor or verifying calibrated data. Choi teaches an ambient light calibration method, applied to a terminal device (fig. 5, item 500: terminal device; ¶72) comprising: obtaining, by an application processor (AP) core (fig. 5, item 561: application processor; ¶93) of the terminal device from a sensor hub core (fig. 5, item 562: sensor hub core; ¶93), first ambient light data detected by the ambient light sensor (¶93); calibrating, by the AP core, the first ambient light data to obtain second ambient light data (¶70; ¶85); and sending, by the AP core, the second ambient light data to the sensor hub core for updating data detected by the ambient light sensor (¶90; ¶93). Therefore it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the combined ambient light calibration method Zhang, Feng, and Posa, to comprise sending, by the AP core, the second ambient light data to the sensor hub core for updating data detected by the ambient light sensor, as taught by Choi, so as to provide an electronic device capable of configuring screen brightness using a calibrated illuminance value (¶8). With respect to Claim 2, claim 1 is incorporated, Zhang does not teach wherein the determining the image matting region based on the location information of the ambient light sensor comprises: determining, by the AP core based on the location information of the ambient light sensor, a display region that is on a screen of the terminal device and that corresponds to the location information of the ambient light sensor; and determining, by the AP core based on the display region, the image matting region that is in the displayed image frame of the terminal device and that corresponds to the display region. Feng teaches a method (fig. 7; ¶107) for adjusting screen brightness comprising: determining, by an AP core (¶67, “The processor 110 may include one or more processing units, for example, the processor 110 may include an application processor (application processor, AP)”), an image matting region (¶87; ¶88, “the predetermined area in this embodiment of the present application refers to including all areas on the screen that have an impact on the ambient light detection performed by the ambient light sensor, and the predetermined area may be exactly all the areas on the screen that have an impact on the ambient light detection performed by the ambient light sensor” - predetermined area = image matting region; an application processor executes applications and a display synthesis system; ¶101, “the predetermined area is generally used as the matting area”); performing image matting on layers of a displayed image frame of a terminal device (¶52, “mobile phones, notebooks or tablet computers”) based on the image matting region to obtain matted images corresponding to the layer (¶87, “the image processor can perform matting processing on the generated black image layer to obtain image information of a predetermined area”; ¶101, “the image can be analyzed and processed to obtain the RGB information of all pixels of the image in the matting area and the backlight intensity of the screen”); and compositing the matted images corresponding to the layers to obtain a screenshot image (¶60, “The hardware compositor invokes a compositing thread to perform layer compositing on one or more drawn layers to obtain an image frame”); wherein the determining the image matting region based on the location information of the ambient light sensor comprises: determining, based on the location information of the ambient light sensor, a display region that is on a screen of the terminal device and that corresponds to the location information of the ambient light sensor (¶101, “the temporary memory is used to store the image information displayed on the screen corresponding to the cutout area, that is, the image information of the cutout, wherein the cutout area is greater than or equal to the predetermined area. , the predetermined area is generally used as the matting area”; ¶103, “The predetermined area can be displayed, and at this time, the ambient light sensor located below the predetermined area detects the surrounding ambient light after receiving the detection instruction”); and determining, based on the display region, the image matting region that is in the displayed image frame of the terminal device and that corresponds to the display region (¶101, “the image can be analyzed and processed to obtain the RGB information of all pixels of the image in the matting area and the backlight intensity of the screen”; ¶103). Therefore it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the ambient light calibration method of Zhang, Posa, and Choi, wherein the determining the image matting region based on the location information of the ambient light sensor comprises: determining, based on the location information of the ambient light sensor, a display region that is on a screen of the terminal device and that corresponds to the location information of the ambient light sensor; and determining, based on the display region, the image matting region that is in the displayed image frame of the terminal device and that corresponds to the display region, as taught by Feng, resulting in determining, by the AP core based on the location information of the ambient light sensor, a display region that is on a screen of the terminal device and that corresponds to the location information of the ambient light sensor; and determining, by the AP core based on the display region, the image matting region that is in the displayed image frame of the terminal device and that corresponds to the display region, so as to perform matting processing on the image of the predetermined area to obtain the interference signal of the image in the predetermined area (¶18). With respect to Claim 4, claim 1 is incorporated, Zhang does not mention wherein the compositing the matted images corresponding to the layers to obtain the screenshot image comprises: superimposing and compositing, by the AP core according to a composition rule, the matted images corresponding to the layers, to obtain the screenshot image, wherein the composition rule is a composition rule used for compositing the layers to obtain the image frame. Feng teaches a method (fig. 7; ¶107) for adjusting screen brightness comprising: determining, by an AP core (¶67, “The processor 110 may include one or more processing units, for example, the processor 110 may include an application processor (application processor, AP)”), an image matting region (¶87; ¶88, “the predetermined area in this embodiment of the present application refers to including all areas on the screen that have an impact on the ambient light detection performed by the ambient light sensor, and the predetermined area may be exactly all the areas on the screen that have an impact on the ambient light detection performed by the ambient light sensor” - predetermined area = image matting region; an application processor executes applications and a display synthesis system; ¶101, “the predetermined area is generally used as the matting area”); performing image matting on layers of a displayed image frame of a terminal device (¶52, “mobile phones, notebooks or tablet computers”) based on the image matting region to obtain matted images corresponding to the layer (¶87, “the image processor can perform matting processing on the generated black image layer to obtain image information of a predetermined area”; ¶101, “the image can be analyzed and processed to obtain the RGB information of all pixels of the image in the matting area and the backlight intensity of the screen”); and compositing the matted images corresponding to the layers to obtain a screenshot image (¶60, “The hardware compositor invokes a compositing thread to perform layer compositing on one or more drawn layers to obtain an image frame”); wherein the compositing the matted images corresponding to the layers to obtain the screenshot image comprises: superimposing and compositing, by the AP core (superimposing is layering, where compositing is a more technical term that includes superimposing – therefore compositing includes superimposing; ¶60, “The hardware compositor invokes a compositing thread to perform layer compositing on one or more drawn layers to obtain an image frame”; ¶97, “the hardware synthesizer will call the synthesis thread Perform layer composition compression on one or more drawn layers to obtain image frames”), according to a composition rule (¶29-30 – program codes and storage mediums have instructions which comprise a composition rule), the matted images corresponding to the layers, to obtain the screenshot image (¶60; ¶97 –image frame comprises a screenshot), wherein the composition rule is a composition rule used for compositing the layers to obtain the image frame (¶29-30 – program codes and storage mediums have instructions which comprise a composition rul). Therefore it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the combined ambient light calibration method of Zhang, Posa, and Choi, wherein the compositing the matted images corresponding to the layers to obtain the screenshot image comprises: superimposing and compositing, by the AP core according to a composition rule, the matted images corresponding to the layers, to obtain the screenshot image, wherein the composition rule is a composition rule used for compositing the layers to obtain the image frame, as taught by Feng, so as to perform matting processing on the image of the predetermined area to obtain the interference signal of the image in the predetermined area (¶18). With respect to Claim 5, claim 1 is incorporated, Zhang teaches wherein the calibrating the first ambient light data based on the screenshot image and screen brightness of the terminal device, to obtain second ambient light data comprises: determining, by the AP core based on the screenshot image and the screen brightness of the terminal device, an error in the first ambient light data caused by screen backlight (¶71 ,” The HWC calculates noise by using a noise calculation method prestored in a codebase, where the noise is an impact value of both a color value of the image in the ambient light detection area and a preset screen brightness value on an ambient illumination intensity detected by an ambient light sensor”; ¶82, “The display panel may be a liquid crystal display (LCD)” – since the display is a LCD, the preset screen brightness is caused by the screen backlight); and obtaining, by the AP core the second ambient light data based on the first ambient light data and the error in the first ambient light data caused by the screen backlight (¶71, “The HWC sends the calculated noise to an ambient light sensor control center. The noise is used by the ambient light sensor control center to correct the detected ambient illumination intensity, and a corrected ambient illumination intensity is an ambient illumination intensity determined by the terminal device”). With respect to Claim 21, claim 1 is incorporated, Zhang, Feng, and Posa combined do not teach the method further comprising: sending, by the AP core, an error in the first ambient light data caused by screen backlight to the sensor hub core for updating the data detected by the ambient light sensor and verifying the calibrated data. Choi teaches an ambient light calibration method, applied to a terminal device (fig. 5, item 500: terminal device; ¶72) comprising: obtaining, by an application processor (AP) core (fig. 5, item 561: application processor; ¶93) of the terminal device from a sensor hub core (fig. 5, item 562: sensor hub core; ¶93), first ambient light data detected by the ambient light sensor (¶93); calibrating, by the AP core, the first ambient light data to obtain second ambient light data (¶70; ¶85); and sending, by the AP core, the second ambient light data to the sensor hub core for updating data detected by the ambient light sensor (¶90; ¶93); the method further comprising: sending, by the AP core, an error in the first ambient light data caused by screen backlight to the sensor hub core for updating the data detected by the ambient light sensor and verifying the calibrated data (¶91; ¶93). Therefore it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the combined ambient light calibration method Zhang, Feng, and Posa, the method further comprising: sending, by the AP core, an error in the first ambient light data caused by screen backlight to the sensor hub core for updating the data detected by the ambient light sensor and verifying the calibrated data, as taught by Choi, so as to provide an electronic device capable of configuring screen brightness using a calibrated illuminance value (¶8). Claims 9, 22-24, and 26 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Zhang, in view of Feng, in view of Choi. With respect to Claim 9, Zhang teaches a terminal device (¶98), comprising: an application processing core (fig. 11, item 1101A: target application & item 1101C: display engine; ¶74 “The display engine is image processing software, and an image processing interface is encapsulated in the display engine. The display engine may be configured to process complex to-be-displayed content in the terminal device”, ¶88 “the application framework layer may include a window manager, a content provider, a view system, a display engine, a drawing interface, a resource manager, a notification manager, and the like” which is executed by an application processor; ¶79, “the processor 301 may include an application processor (AP), a modem processor, a graphics process unit, an image signal processor (ISP)”; ¶163), configured to: obtain, from a sensor hub core (¶56, “The system coprocessor may include an ambient light sensor, an ambient light sensor control center, a coprocessor, a memory, and the like. The coprocessor is a chip”; ¶80, “the sensor hub may include a plurality of drive programs for controlling sensors. For example, the sensor hub includes a drive program for controlling the ambient light sensor, and the sensor hub may control the ambient light sensor by using the drive program”, sensor hub core ~ coprocessor), location information of an ambient light sensor (fig. 7, item S600; ¶101; ¶104, “The first indication message is used to indicate the target application to send a preset location of the ambient light detection area to a display engine”; ¶105) and first ambient light data detected by the ambient light sensor (¶102; ¶165); determine an image region based on the location information of the ambient light sensor (fig. 7, item S601; ¶74; ¶109-112); obtain, from a display driver of the terminal device, layers of a displayed image frame of the terminal device (¶71; ¶86-87 are executed by an application processor); perform image processing on layers of a displayed image frame of the terminal device based on the image region to obtain images corresponding to the layers (¶74, “The HWC composes and processes the layers in the to-be-displayed content into one frame of composite image, and sends the frame of composite image to a DSS”); the images corresponding to the layers is a composite image (¶74); composite the images corresponding to the layers to obtain a screenshot image (¶71; ¶74); calibrate first ambient light data detected by the ambient light sensor based on the screenshot image and screen brightness of the terminal device (¶71, “The HWC calculates noise by using a noise calculation method prestored in a codebase, where the noise is an impact value of both a color value of the image in the ambient light detection area and a preset screen brightness value on an ambient illumination intensity detected by an ambient light sensor”; ¶115; “determines an impact value of both a preset screen brightness value in the ambient light collection time window and the color value of the target color on an ambient illumination intensity” – the color value of the target color corresponds to the screenshot image), to obtain second ambient light data (¶122). Zhang does not teach an image region is an image matting region, that image processing is image matting on layers of a displayed image frame of the terminal device based on the image matting region to obtain matted images corresponding to the layers; nor does Zhang teach composite the matted images corresponding to the layers to obtain a screenshot image. Feng teaches a terminal device (¶52), comprising: an application processing core (¶67, “[67] The processor 110 may include one or more processing units, for example, the processor 110 may include an application processor (application processor, AP), a modem processor, a graphics processor (graphics processing unit, GPU), an image signal processor ( image signal processor (ISP)”) is configured to: determine an image matting region (¶88, “the predetermined area in this embodiment of the present application refers to including all areas on the screen that have an impact on the ambient light detection performed by the ambient light sensor, and the predetermined area may be exactly all the areas on the screen that have an impact on the ambient light detection performed by the ambient light sensor” - predetermined area = image matting region; ¶101, “the predetermined area is generally used as the matting area”); perform image matting on layers of a displayed image frame of a terminal device based on the image matting region to obtain matted images corresponding to the layer (¶87, “the image processor can perform matting processing on the generated black image layer to obtain image information of a predetermined area”; ¶101, “the image can be analyzed and processed to obtain the RGB information of all pixels of the image in the matting area and the backlight intensity of the screen”); and composite the matted images corresponding to the layers to obtain a screenshot image (¶60, “The hardware compositor invokes a compositing thread to perform layer compositing on one or more drawn layers to obtain an image frame”). Therefore it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the terminal device of Zhang, such that an image region is an image matting region, that image processing is image matting on layers of a displayed image frame of the terminal device based on the image matting region to obtain matted images corresponding to the layers; composite the matted images corresponding to the layers to obtain a screenshot image, as taught by Feng, so as to perform matting processing on the image of the predetermined area to obtain the interference signal of the image in the predetermined area (¶18). Zhang and Feng combined do not teach and send the second ambient light data to the sensor hub core for updating data detected by the ambient light sensor or verifying calibrated data. Choi teaches a terminal device (fig. 5, item 500: terminal device; ¶72), comprising: an application processor (AP) core (fig. 5, item 561: application processor; ¶93); and a sensor hub core (fig. 5, item 562: sensor hub core; ¶93), the terminal device to obtain first ambient light data detected by the ambient light sensor (¶93); calibrating, by the AP core, the first ambient light data to obtain second ambient light data (¶70; ¶85); and sending the second ambient light data to the sensor hub core for updating data detected by the ambient light sensor (¶90; ¶93). Therefore it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the combined terminal device of Zhang and Feng, such that the application processing core is configured to: send the second ambient light data to the sensor hub core for updating data detected by the ambient light sensor, as taught by Choi, so as to provide an electronic device capable of configuring screen brightness using a calibrated illuminance value (¶8). With respect to Claim 22, claim is incorporated, Zhang does not teach wherein the AP core is configured to: determine, based on the location information of the ambient light sensor, a display region that is on a screen of the terminal device and that corresponds to the location information of the ambient light sensor; and determine, based on the display region, the image matting region that is in the displayed image frame of the terminal device and that corresponds to the display region. Feng teaches a terminal device (¶52), comprising an application processing core (fig. 4, item 110; ¶64; ¶67, “The processor 110 may include one or more processing units, for example, the processor 110 may include an application processor (application processor, AP)”), a memory (fig. 4, item 120 and 121; ¶64), an ambient light sensor (fig. 4, item 180L; ¶65), and a display screen (fig. 4, item 194; ¶64), the ambient light sensor is configured to detect ambient light data of the terminal device (¶79), the application processing core (¶67-69) is configured to: determining an image matting region (¶88, “the predetermined area in this embodiment of the present application refers to including all areas on the screen that have an impact on the ambient light detection performed by the ambient light sensor, and the predetermined area may be exactly all the areas on the screen that have an impact on the ambient light detection performed by the ambient light sensor” - predetermined area = image matting region; ¶101, “the predetermined area is generally used as the matting area”); performing image matting on layers of a displayed image frame of a terminal device (¶52, “mobile phones, notebooks or tablet computers”) based on the image matting region to obtain matted images corresponding to the layer (¶87, “the image processor can perform matting processing on the generated black image layer to obtain image information of a predetermined area”; ¶101, “the image can be analyzed and processed to obtain the RGB information of all pixels of the image in the matting area and the backlight intensity of the screen”); and compositing the matted images corresponding to the layers to obtain a screenshot image (¶60, “The hardware compositor invokes a compositing thread to perform layer compositing on one or more drawn layers to obtain an image frame”); wherein the determining the image matting region based on the location information of the ambient light sensor comprises: determining, based on the location information of the ambient light sensor, a display region that is on a screen of the terminal device and that corresponds to the location information of the ambient light sensor (¶101, “the temporary memory is used to store the image information displayed on the screen corresponding to the cutout area, that is, the image information of the cutout, wherein the cutout area is greater than or equal to the predetermined area. , the predetermined area is generally used as the matting area”; ¶103, “The predetermined area can be displayed, and at this time, the ambient light sensor located below the predetermined area detects the surrounding ambient light after receiving the detection instruction”); and determining, based on the display region, the image matting region that is in the displayed image frame of the terminal device and that corresponds to the display region (¶101, “the image can be analyzed and processed to obtain the RGB information of all pixels of the image in the matting area and the backlight intensity of the screen”; ¶103). Therefore it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the combined terminal device of Zhang and Choi, wherein the AP core is configured to: determine, based on the location information of the ambient light sensor, a display region that is on a screen of the terminal device and that corresponds to the location information of the ambient light sensor; and determine, based on the display region, the image matting region that is in the displayed image frame of the terminal device and that corresponds to the display region, as taught by Feng, so as to perform matting processing on the image of the predetermined area to obtain the interference signal of the image in the predetermined area (¶18). With respect to Claim 23, claim 9 is incorporated, Zhang does not teach wherein the AP core is configured to: superimpose and composite, according to a composition rule, the matted images corresponding to the layers, to obtain the screenshot image, wherein the composition rule is a composition rule used for compositing the layers to obtain the image frame. Feng teaches a terminal device (¶52), wherein the terminal device comprises an application processing core (fig. 4, item 110; ¶64; ¶67, “The processor 110 may include one or more processing units, for example, the processor 110 may include an application processor (application processor, AP)”), a memory (fig. 4, item 120 and 121; ¶64), a memory (fig. 4, item 120 and 121; ¶64), an ambient light sensor (fig. 4, item 180L; ¶65), and a display screen (fig. 4, item 194; ¶64), the ambient light sensor is configured to detect ambient light data of the terminal device (¶79), the application processing core (¶67-69) is configured to execute computer-readable instructions stored in the memory to enable the terminal device to perform: determining an image matting region (¶88, “the predetermined area in this embodiment of the present application refers to including all areas on the screen that have an impact on the ambient light detection performed by the ambient light sensor, and the predetermined area may be exactly all the areas on the screen that have an impact on the ambient light detection performed by the ambient light sensor” - predetermined area = image matting region; ¶101, “the predetermined area is generally used as the matting area”); performing image matting on layers of a displayed image frame of a terminal device (¶52, “mobile phones, notebooks or tablet computers”) based on the image matting region to obtain matted images corresponding to the layer (¶87, “the image processor can perform matting processing on the generated black image layer to obtain image information of a predetermined area”; ¶101, “the image can be analyzed and processed to obtain the RGB information of all pixels of the image in the matting area and the backlight intensity of the screen”); and compositing the matted images corresponding to the layers to obtain a screenshot image (¶60, “The hardware compositor invokes a compositing thread to perform layer compositing on one or more drawn layers to obtain an image frame”); wherein the compositing the matted images corresponding to the layers to obtain the screenshot image comprises: superimposing and compositing (superimposing is layering, where compositing is a more technical term that includes superimposing – therefore compositing includes superimposing; ¶60, “The hardware compositor invokes a compositing thread to perform layer compositing on one or more drawn layers to obtain an image frame”; ¶97, “the hardware synthesizer will call the synthesis thread Perform layer composition compression on one or more drawn layers to obtain image frames”), according to a composition rule (¶29-30 – program codes and storage mediums have instructions which comprise a composition rule), the matted images corresponding to the layers, to obtain the screenshot image (¶60; ¶97 –image frame comprises a screenshot), wherein the composition rule is a composition rule used for compositing the layers to obtain the image frame (¶29-30 – program codes and storage mediums have instructions which comprise a composition rule). Therefore it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the combined terminal device of Zhang and Posa, wherein the AP core is configured to: superimpose and composite, according to a composition rule, the matted images corresponding to the layers, to obtain the screenshot image, wherein the composition rule is a composition rule used for compositing the layers to obtain the image frame, as taught by Feng, so as to perform matting processing on the image of the predetermined area to obtain the interference signal of the image in the predetermined area (¶18). With respect to Claim 24, claim 9 is incorporated, Zhang teaches wherein the AP core is configured to: determine, based on the screenshot image and the screen brightness of the terminal device, an error in the first ambient light data caused by screen backlight (¶71 ,” The HWC calculates noise by using a noise calculation method prestored in a codebase, where the noise is an impact value of both a color value of the image in the ambient light detection area and a preset screen brightness value on an ambient illumination intensity detected by an ambient light sensor”; ¶82, “The display panel may be a liquid crystal display (LCD)” – since the display is a LCD, the preset screen brightness is caused by the screen backlight); and obtaining the second ambient light data based on the first ambient light data and the error in the first ambient light data caused by the screen backlight (¶71, “The HWC sends the calculated noise to an ambient light sensor control center. The noise is used by the ambient light sensor control center to correct the detected ambient illumination intensity, and a corrected ambient illumination intensity is an ambient illumination intensity determined by the terminal device”). With respect to Claim 26, claim 9 is incorporated, Zhang and Feng combined do not teach wherein the AP core is further configured to: send an error in the first ambient light data caused by screen backlight to the sensor hub core for updating the data detected by the ambient light sensor and verifying the calibrated data. Choi teaches a terminal device (fig. 5, item 500: terminal device; ¶72), comprising: an application processor (AP) core (fig. 5, item 561: application processor; ¶93); and a sensor hub core (fig. 5, item 562: sensor hub core; ¶93), the terminal device to obtain first ambient light data detected by the ambient light sensor (¶93); calibrating, by the AP core, the first ambient light data to obtain second ambient light data (¶70; ¶85); and sending the second ambient light data to the sensor hub core for updating data detected by the ambient light sensor (¶90; ¶93); wherein the AP core is further configured to: send an error in the first ambient light data caused by screen backlight to the sensor hub core for updating the data detected by the ambient light sensor and verifying the calibrated data (¶91; ¶93). Therefore it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the combined terminal device of Zhang and Feng, wherein the AP core is further configured to: send an error in the first ambient light data caused by screen backlight to the sensor hub core for updating the data detected by the ambient light sensor and verifying the calibrated data, as taught by Choi, so as to provide an electronic device capable of configuring screen brightness using a calibrated illuminance value (¶8). Claim 6 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Zhang, Feng, Posa, and Choi as applied to claim 5 above, and further in view of Cote et al. (Pub. No.: US 2017/0092228 A1) hereinafter referred to as Cote. With respect to Claim 6, claim 5 is incorporated, Zhang teaches wherein the determining, by the AP core based on the screenshot image and the screen brightness of the terminal device, the error in the first ambient light data caused by screen backlight comprises: calculating, by the AP core luminous intensity of each pixel in the screenshot image based on displayed content of the screenshot image and the screen brightness of the terminal device (¶71, “The HWC calculates noise by using a noise calculation method prestored in a codebase, where the noise is an impact value of both a color value of the image in the ambient light detection area and a preset screen brightness value on an ambient illumination intensity detected by an ambient light sensor”; ¶115; “determines an impact value of both a preset screen brightness value in the ambient light collection time window and the color value of the target color on an ambient illumination intensity” – the color value of the target color corresponds to the screenshot image; ¶116, “the terminal device reads the impact value corresponding to both the preset screen brightness value and the color value of the target color from a plurality of stored first correspondences”). Zhang, Feng, Posa, and Choi combined not mention determining, by the AP core based on a distance between each pixel in the screenshot image and the ambient light sensor, an impact weight, on the ambient light sensor, of each pixel in the screenshot image when emitting light; determining, by the AP core based on the luminous intensity of each pixel in the screenshot image and the impact weight, noise generated by each pixel in the screenshot image; and determining, by the AP core based on the noise of each pixel in the screenshot image, the error in the first ambient light data caused by the screen backlight. Cote teaches a method for adjusting a display (fig. 8; ¶45), comprising: determining, based on a distance between each pixel in the screenshot image and the ambient light sensor, an impact weight, on the ambient light sensor, of each pixel in the screenshot image when emitting light (¶45); determining, based on the luminous intensity of each pixel in the screenshot image and the impact weight, noise generated by each pixel in the screenshot image (¶45, “Using the weighted brightness values, compensate for the brightness values of the display pixels to determine a compensated ambient light reading (block 68). The compensated ambient light reading may reduce or eliminate display noise from the display pixels to determine ambient light data” – compensated ambient light reading is based on noise generated by each pixel in the screenshot image/captured image); and determining, based on the noise of each pixel in the screenshot image, the error in the first ambient light data caused by the screen backlight (¶45, the noise corresponds to the error and the amount of compensation required for elimination). Therefore it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the combined ambient light calibration method of Zhang, Feng, Posa, and Choi, to comprise: determining, by the AP core based on a distance between each pixel in the screenshot image and the ambient light sensor, an impact weight, on the ambient light sensor, of each pixel in the screenshot image when emitting light; determining, by the AP core based on the luminous intensity of each pixel in the screenshot image and the impact weight, noise generated by each pixel in the screenshot image; and determining, by the AP core based on the noise of each pixel in the screenshot image, the error in the first ambient light data caused by the screen backlight, as taught by Cote, so as to provide more accurate ambient light readings that are not affected by the brightness of displayed content (¶26). Claim 25 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Zhang, Feng, and Choi as applied to claim 24 above, and further in view of Cote. With respect to Claim 25, claim 24 is incorporated, Zhang teaches wherein the AP core is configured to: calculate luminous intensity of each pixel in the screenshot image based on displayed content of the screenshot image and the screen brightness of the terminal device (¶116, “the terminal device reads the impact value corresponding to both the preset screen brightness value and the color value of the target color from a plurality of stored first correspondences”). Zhang, Feng, and Choi combined do not mention determine, based on a distance between each pixel in the screenshot image and the ambient light sensor, an impact weight, on the ambient light sensor, of each pixel in the screenshot image when emitting light; determine, based on the luminous intensity of each pixel in the screenshot image and the impact weight, noise generated by each pixel in the screenshot image; and determine, based on the noise of each pixel in the screenshot image, the error in the first ambient light data caused by the screen backlight. Cote teaches a terminal device (figs. 1-6), wherein the terminal device comprises: a processor (fig. 1, item 12; ¶30; ¶45), a memory (fig. 1, item 26), an ambient light sensor (fig. 1, item 19), and a display screen (fig. 1, item 18), the ambient light sensor is configured to detect ambient light data of the terminal device (¶31), the processor is configured to execute computer-readable instructions store in the memory to enable the terminal device to perform: determining, based on a distance between each pixel in the screenshot image and the ambient light sensor, an impact weight, on the ambient light sensor, of each pixel in the screenshot image when emitting light (¶45); determining, based on the luminous intensity of each pixel in the screenshot image and the impact weight, noise generated by each pixel in the screenshot image (¶45, “Using the weighted brightness values, compensate for the brightness values of the display pixels to determine a compensated ambient light reading (block 68). The compensated ambient light reading may reduce or eliminate display noise from the display pixels to determine ambient light data” – compensated ambient light reading is based on noise generated by each pixel in the screenshot image/captured image); and determining, based on the noise of each pixel in the screenshot image, the error in the first ambient light data caused by the screen backlight (¶45, the noise corresponds to the error and the amount of compensation required for elimination). Therefore it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the combined termina device of Zhang, Feng, and Choi, wherein the AP core is configured to: determine, based on a distance between each pixel in the screenshot image and the ambient light sensor, an impact weight, on the ambient light sensor, of each pixel in the screenshot image when emitting light; determine, based on the luminous intensity of each pixel in the screenshot image and the impact weight, noise generated by each pixel in the screenshot image; and determine, based on the noise of each pixel in the screenshot image, the error in the first ambient light data caused by the screen backlight, as taught by Cote, so as to provide more accurate ambient light readings that are not affected by the brightness of displayed content (¶26). Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to DONNA V Bocar whose telephone number is (571)272-0955. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday 8:30am to 5pm EST. 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, Amr A Awad can be reached at (571)272-7764. 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. /DONNA V Bocar/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2621
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Prosecution Timeline

Feb 10, 2025
Application Filed
Nov 18, 2025
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §103
Feb 12, 2026
Response Filed
Apr 07, 2026
Final Rejection mailed — §103
Jul 03, 2026
Request for Continued Examination
Jul 06, 2026
Response after Non-Final Action
Sep 22, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §103 (current)

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