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 .
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of papers submitted under 35 U.S.C. 119(a)-(d), which papers have been placed of record in the file.
Drawings
The drawings filed 2-13-25 have been accepted by the examiner.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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 the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 1, 5, 10, 14, and 15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102a1 as being anticipated by Kubota (US 2010/0103386).
Regarding claim 1, Kubota (Fig. 4, 5, 9, and 10) discloses a projection device comprising:
a projector (156) configured to project an image (“enlarges and projects light modulated into the image light” discussed in [0066]);
memory (130) storing one or more instructions (“a control program stored in the memory 130” discussed in [0071]);
at least one processor (160) configured to execute the one or more instructions (160 “executing a control program” discussed in [0071]) to:
obtain information about a center of a screen onto which the image is to be projected by the projector (“measures a distance to the center of the screen SC” discussed in [0081]),
control a projection direction of the image such that a center of the image projected by the projector corresponds to the center of the screen (eg. as seen in Fig. 10B1, also “a center SCC (the white circle) of the screen SC1 and a center IC (the black circle) of an image display area PIG1 coincide” discussed in [0115], but see also Fig. 10B2-B4 which shows even when the screen center SCC and image center IC are not aligned, eg. due to movement of the screen, the screen center SCC and image center IC are realigned),
obtain positional relationship information about a position of the projection device with respect to the screen (eg. “calculates a tilt of the projector 100 with respect to the screen SC” as discussed in [0080]),
determine at least one of a size of the image (“calculates a keystone correction amount in accordance with the tilt of the projector 100” as discussed in [0080], while Fig. 10A1 more specifically shows the size of the image changing due to the keystone correction) or a brightness of the image (this limitation is not being examined due to the alternative language “or”), based on the positional relationship information (eg. “in accordance with the tilt of the projector 100” as discussed in above), and
control the projector to project the image onto the screen based on the at least one of the size or the brightness (“an image of which the keystone distortion has been corrected, and the focus has been adjusted is displayed on the screen SC” discussed in [0083]).
Regarding claim 10, Kubota (Fig. 4, 5, 9, and 10) discloses an operation method of a projection device, the operation method comprising:
obtaining information about a center of a screen onto which an image is to be projected (“measures a distance to the center of the screen SC” discussed in [0081]);
controlling a projection direction of the image such that a center of the image projected by the projector corresponds to the center of the screen (eg. as seen in Fig. 10B1, also “a center SCC (the white circle) of the screen SC1 and a center IC (the black circle) of an image display area PIG1 coincide” discussed in [0115], but see also Fig. 10B2-B4 which shows even when the screen center SCC and image center IC are not aligned, eg. due to movement of the screen, the screen center SCC and image center IC are realigned);
obtaining positional relationship information about a position of the projection device with respect to the screen (eg. “calculates a tilt of the projector 100 with respect to the screen SC” as discussed in [0080]);
determining at least one of a size of the image (“calculates a keystone correction amount in accordance with the tilt of the projector 100” as discussed in [0080], while Fig. 10A1 more specifically shows the size of the image changing due to the keystone correction) or a brightness of the image (this limitation is not being examined due to the alternative language “or”), based on the positional relationship information (eg. “in accordance with the tilt of the projector 100” as discussed in above); and
projecting the image onto the screen based on the at least one of the size or the brightness (“an image of which the keystone distortion has been corrected, and the focus has been adjusted is displayed on the screen SC” discussed in [0083]).
Regarding claim 5, Kubota discloses a projection device as discussed above, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to execute the one or more instructions to:
obtain reference point information about at least one reference point of the screen (“measures distances to a plurality of points on the screen SC” discussed in [0079]), and
obtain the positional relationship information about the position of the projection device with respect to the screen based on the information about the center of the screen (eg. positional information regarding the position of the lens, eg. “calculates a position of the focus lens in accordance with the distance to the center of the screen SC” discussed in [0082]) and the reference point information (“After the distances to the plurality of points on the screen SC have been measured (step S124), the keystone correction section 140, based on the distance to each measured point, calculates a tilt of the projector 100” discussed in [0080]).
Regarding claim 14, Kubota discloses an operation method as discussed above, wherein the obtaining the positional relationship information about the position of the projection device with respect to the screen comprises:
obtaining reference point information about at least one reference point of the screen (“measures distances to a plurality of points on the screen SC” discussed in [0079]), and
obtaining the positional relationship information about the position of the projection device with respect to the screen based on the information about the center of the screen (eg. positional information regarding the position of the lens, eg. “calculates a position of the focus lens in accordance with the distance to the center of the screen SC” discussed in [0082]) and the reference point information (“After the distances to the plurality of points on the screen SC have been measured (step S124), the keystone correction section 140, based on the distance to each measured point, calculates a tilt of the projector 100” discussed in [0080]).
Regarding claim 15, Kubota discloses one or more non-transitory computer-readable recording media (memory 130) storing a program (“a control program stored in the memory 130” discussed in [0071]) that is executable by a processor (processor 160 “executing a control program” discussed in [0071]) to perform the method discussed above.
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 2 and 11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kubota as applied to claims 1 and 10 above, and further in view of Krogstad (US 2009/0091623).
Regarding claim 2, Kubota discloses a projection device of claim as discussed above, however fails to teach or suggest the device further comprising a communication interface configured to receive the information about the center of the screen from an external device.
Krogstad (Fig. 1 and 2) discloses a projection device (eg. including 20 and 21, as seen in Fig. 2a) comprising a communication interface (corresponding to “cable 19,” also called “connection 19” in [0055]) configured to receive the information about the center of the screen (eg. measurement data about point 6, as seen in Fig. 1) from an external device (18, called a “data collecting unit” in [0055], and shown external to the projection device in Fig. 2A).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Kubota to include a communication interface configured to receive the information about the center of the screen from an external device as taught by Krogstad because this allows for “correcting for screen geometry” (see [0056]).
Regarding claim 11, Kubota discloses an operation method as discussed above, however fails to teach or suggest wherein the obtaining the information about the center of the screen comprises receiving the information about the center of the screen from an external device.
Krogstad (Fig. 1 and 2) discloses an operation method for a projection device (eg. including 20 and 21, as seen in Fig. 2a) comprising obtaining information about the center of the screen (eg. measurement data about point 6, as seen in Fig. 1) from an external device (18, called a “data collecting unit” in [0055], and shown external to the projection device in Fig. 2A, connected via “cable 19,” also called “connection 19” in [0055]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Kubota so obtaining the information about the center of the screen comprises receiving the information about the center of the screen from an external device as taught by Krogstad because this allows for “correcting for screen geometry” (see [0056]).
Claims 3 and 12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kubota as applied to claims 1 and 10 above, and further in view of Yoshimura et al. (US 2013/0083298).
Regarding claim 3, Kubota discloses a projection device as discussed above, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to execute the one or more instructions to, based on the positional relationship information, determine the size of the image such that the size of the image is smaller the farther the projection device is from the center of the screen (eg. as seen in Fig. 9A, the top of the screen SC1 is farther from the projection device 100 than the center of the screen, while in Fig. 10A1, the top of the image IG1 is seen being smaller).
However, Kubota fails to teach or suggest also determining the size of the image such that the size of the image is larger the closer the projection device is to the center of the screen.
Yoshimura (Fig. 1 and 10) discloses a projection device comprising:
a projector (10) configured to project an image (“projects and displays the image light” discussed in [0067]);
determine a size of the image (using 33, “33 corrects curved distortion produced, for example, when an image is projected on a curved projection surface S” discussed in [0077]), and
determine the size of the image such that the size of the image is smaller the farther the projection device is from the center of the screen (eg. similar to as seen in Fig. 10D and 10F, the corners of the image that are far from the center of the screen have been shrunk), and determine the size of the image such that the size of the image is larger the closer the projection device is to the center of the screen (eg. similar to as seen in Fig. 10D and 10F, the central region of the image is larger when compared to the corner regions, see also “to correct the distortion, an image formation region 12e having a shape distorted oppositely to the projected image Ao is set in the pixel region 12a” discussed in [0142], and “a distorted image formation region H having a barrel shape can also be formed in the pixel region P” discussed in [0107], with the examiner interpreting the added “barrel distortion” as reading upon the claimed “image is smaller the farther the projection device is from the center” and “the image is larger the closer the projection device is to the center”).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Kubota so based on the positional relationship information, both determine the size of the image such that the size of the image is smaller the farther the projection device is from the center of the screen and determine the size of the image such that the size of the image is larger the closer the projection device is to the center of the screen as taught by Yoshimura because Yoshimura teaches that a projector can use both keystone correction (eg. corresponding to the shape correction of Kubota, and seen in Fig. 9 of Yoshimura) as well as barrel distortion for correcting and image based on the shape of the screen (eg. different screen shapes also seen in Fig. 10 of Yoshimura), which allows the projector to display on a wider variety of surfaces.
Regarding claim 12, Kubota discloses an operation method as discussed above, wherein the determining the at least one of the size of the image or the brightness of the image comprises, based on the positional relationship information, determining the size of the image such that the size of the image is smaller the farther the projection device is from the center of the screen (eg. as seen in Fig. 9A, the top of the screen SC1 is farther from the projection device 100 than the center of the screen, while in Fig. 10A1, the top of the image IG1 is seen being smaller).
However, Kubota fails to teach or suggest also determining the size of the image such that the size of the image is larger the closer the projection device is to the center of the screen.
Yoshimura (Fig. 1 and 10) discloses an operation method for a projection device comprising:
determining a size of the image (using 33, “33 corrects curved distortion produced, for example, when an image is projected on a curved projection surface S” discussed in [0077]), and
determining the size of the image such that the size of the image is smaller the farther the projection device is from the center of the screen (eg. similar to as seen in Fig. 10D and 10F, the corners of the image that are far from the center of the screen have been shrunk), and determining the size of the image such that the size of the image is larger the closer the projection device is to the center of the screen (eg. similar to as seen in Fig. 10D and 10F, the central region of the image is larger when compared to the corner regions, see also “to correct the distortion, an image formation region 12e having a shape distorted oppositely to the projected image Ao is set in the pixel region 12a” discussed in [0142], and “a distorted image formation region H having a barrel shape can also be formed in the pixel region P” discussed in [0107], with the examiner interpreting the added “barrel distortion” as reading upon the claimed “image is smaller the farther the projection device is from the center” and “the image is larger the closer the projection device is to the center”).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Kubota so based on the positional relationship information, both determining the size of the image such that the size of the image is smaller the farther the projection device is from the center of the screen and determining the size of the image such that the size of the image is larger the closer the projection device is to the center of the screen as taught by Yoshimura because Yoshimura teaches that a projector can use both keystone correction (eg. corresponding to the shape correction of Kubota, and seen in Fig. 9 of Yoshimura) as well as barrel distortion for correcting and image based on the shape of the screen (eg. different screen shapes also seen in Fig. 10 of Yoshimura), which allows the projector to display on a wider variety of surfaces.
Claims 4 and 13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kubota as applied to claims 1 and 10 above, and further in view of Lee et al. (US 2001/0020983).
Regarding claim 4, Kubota discloses a projection device as discussed above, however fails to teach or suggest wherein the at least one processor is further configured to execute the one or more instructions to, based on the positional relationship information, determine the brightness of the image such that the brightness of the image increases the farther the projection device is from the center of the screen, and determine the brightness of the image such that the brightness of the image decreases the closer the projection device is to the center of the screen.
Lee (Fig. 6) discloses a projection device comprising:
a projector configured to project an image (“video displayed on a screen of a projection television” discussed in [0034]);
obtain information about a center of a screen onto which the image is to be projected by the projector (eg. the location of “the center coordinates Xc and YC of the screen” discussed in [0047]),
determine a brightness of the image (using the brightness compensator 302, see 302 is used to “generate a digital video signal having brightness compensated depending on the positions on the screen” discussed in [0049]),
control the projector to project the image onto the screen based on the brightness (“the resultant value of FIG. 6b or 6c is used to obtain uniform brightness on the screen” discussed in [0055]), and
determine the brightness of the image such that the brightness of the image increases the farther the projection device is from the center of the screen (as seen in Fig. 6, the farther from the center, the brighter the image, with “the distance farthest away from the center is normalized at `1`” discussed in [0050]), and determine the brightness of the image such that the brightness of the image decreases the closer the projection device is to the center of the screen (as seen in Fig. 6, the screen is darkest near the center).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Kubota so the at least one processor is further configured to execute the one or more instructions to, based on the positional relationship information, determine the brightness of the image such that the brightness of the image increases the farther the projection device is from the center of the screen, and determine the brightness of the image such that the brightness of the image decreases the closer the projection device is to the center of the screen as taught by Lee because this compensates for “a brightness difference of 30% or greater occurs at the center of the screen and the corner portion thereof” (see [0014]).
Regarding claim 13, Kubota discloses an operation method as discussed above, however fails to teach or suggest wherein the determining the at least one of the size of the image or the brightness of the image comprises, based on the positional relationship information, determining the brightness of the image such that the brightness of the image increases the farther the projection device is from the center of the screen, and determining the brightness of the image such that the brightness of the image decreases the closer the projection device is moved closer to the center of the screen.
Lee (Fig. 6) discloses an operation method for a projection device comprising:
obtaining information about a center of a screen onto which the image is to be projected by the projector (eg. the location of “the center coordinates Xc and YC of the screen” discussed in [0047]),
determining a brightness of the image (using the brightness compensator 302, see 302 is used to “generate a digital video signal having brightness compensated depending on the positions on the screen” discussed in [0049]),
projecting the image onto the screen based on the brightness (“the resultant value of FIG. 6b or 6c is used to obtain uniform brightness on the screen” discussed in [0055]), and
determining the brightness of the image such that the brightness of the image increases the farther the projection device is from the center of the screen (as seen in Fig. 6, the farther from the center, the brighter the image, with “the distance farthest away from the center is normalized at `1`” discussed in [0050]), and determining the brightness of the image such that the brightness of the image decreases the closer the projection device is to the center of the screen (as seen in Fig. 6, the screen is darkest near the center).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Kubota so determining the at least one of the size of the image or the brightness of the image comprises, based on the positional relationship information, determining the brightness of the image such that the brightness of the image increases the farther the projection device is from the center of the screen, and determining the brightness of the image such that the brightness of the image decreases the closer the projection device is to the center of the screen as taught by Lee because this compensates for “a brightness difference of 30% or greater occurs at the center of the screen and the corner portion thereof” (see [0014]).
Claim 9 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kubota as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Lantz (US 2004/0017608).
Regarding claim 9, Kubota discloses a projection device of claim as discussed above, however fails to teach or suggest the device further comprising a fish-eye lens through which the image is projected.
Lantz (Fig. 2 and 3) discloses a projection device comprising a fish-eye lens (17) through which the image is projected (eg. “the image projected onto one portion of the screen” discussed in [0004]), and
determine correction data (eg. a scaling factor Sb or Sf) for correcting distortion of the image projected onto the screen through the fish-eye lens (“the source image is specially mapped to correct for distortion” discussed in [0018]) based on the positional relationship information (the scaling factor for the image changes based on the displacement distance from the center of the dome “dr,” for example see “factor Sf, where Sf=(r-dr)/r” and “factor Sb, where Sb=(r+dr)/r” discussed in [0025]), and apply the determined correction data to the image (“the size of the pixels in the front 18' of the theater will be scaled down by a factor Sf” and “the size of the pixels at the rear 20' of the theater will be scaled up by a factor Sb” discussed in [0025]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Kubota so the at least one processor is further configured to execute the one or more instructions to determine correction data for correcting distortion of the image projected onto the screen through the fish-eye lens based on the positional relationship information, and apply the determined correction data to the image as taught by Lantz because this allows for correcting “distortion created by parallax in the projector” (see [0018]) which improves image quality.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 6-8 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
Regarding claim 6, Kubota discloses a projection device as discussed above, and additionally discloses determining the size of the image based on a first angle and a second angle (“keystone correction amount is defined by the heretofore described pitch angle and yaw angle” discussed in [0078]).
However, the first and second angles of Kubota are tilt angles of the device (eg. see Fig. 2), and not angles between reference points of the screen and a center point.
Yajim (US 2007/0046902) discloses a projection device comprising:
using a first angle between a first reference point of the screen and a center point of the screen with respect to the projection device (eg. the angle θ between L and L2, seen in Fig. 4, used to determine the distance L2), and a second angle between a second reference point of the screen and the center point of the screen with respect to the projection device (eg. the angle -θ between L and L1, seen in Fig. 4, used to determine the distance L1, see the similar “the rotation angle of the sensor 105 is set to ±θ1” discussed in [0021]), and
determine the size of the image (eg. the keystone correction, called “automatic trapezoidal distortion correction” in [0006]) based on an angle (eg. based on tilt angle α of the screen, seen in Fig. 4, see “perform the auto key stone in accordance with the detection angle” discussed in [0028]).
However, while Yajim discloses measuring a first reference point, a second reference point, and a center of the screen (“measured distances to three points in total: two points on the opposite ends of the projected video on the screen; and the video center” discussed in [0031]), Yajim uses preset angles (eg. using the rod attached to the sensor, as seen in Fig. 2), and does not “determine” a first or second angle. Yajim also uses a third angle to determine the size of the image (angle α) and fails to teach or suggest the size of the image is based on “the first angle and the second angle.”
Therefore, each of the currently cited references of record fails to teach or suggest “wherein the at least one processor is further configured to execute the one or more instructions to:
determine a first angle between a first reference point of the screen and a center point of the screen with respect to the projection device, and a second angle between a second reference point of the screen and the center point of the screen with respect to the projection device, and
determine the at least one of the size of the image or the brightness of the image based on the first angle and the second angle” when combined with each of the other claim limitations.
Claims 7 and 8 are dependent upon claim 6 and so would be allowable for the same reasons as discussed above.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Shinozaki (US 2014/0111536) discloses (Fig. 7) a projection device comprising controlling a projection direction of the image such that a center of the image projected by the projector corresponds to the center of the screen.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JONATHAN M BLANCHA whose telephone number is (571)270-5890. The examiner can normally be reached Monday to Friday, 9-5.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Chanh Nguyen can be reached at 5712727772. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/JONATHAN M BLANCHA/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2623
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