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 .
Priority
Acknowledgment is made of applicant’s claim for foreign priority under 35 U.S.C. 119 (a)-(d). The certified copy has been filed in parent Application No. 10-2022-0110856, filed on 09/01/2022; and 10-2022-0139392, filed on 10/26/2022 in Korea.
Information Disclosure Statement
The IDS filed on 02/18/2025; and 03/06/2025 have been considered and made of record.
Oath/Declaration
The oath/declaration filed on 02/18/2025 is acceptable.
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, 10-11 and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by SO et al. [US 2022/0174445].
Regarding claim 1, SO et al., disclose a display device (100, figures 1-15) comprising:
a display (120, figures 4-6) operable in a landscape mode (a horizontal state of the display 120, figure 5(2)) and in a portrait mode (a vertical state of the display 120, figures 5-(1) and 5(3));
a stand (30, figure 5) supporting the display;
a connection assembly (10, figures 4-5) connecting the display and the stand;
a speaker (130, figures 2-5, paragraph 0069) on the rear surface of the display; and
a wave guide (at least one audio channel coupled to a corresponding speaker, figures 2 and 5, paragraphs 0014 and 0018-0020) in the speaker on the rear surface of the display, wherein the wave guide comprises:
a first wave guide (sound output from a pair of speakers 130-3 and 130-1, figure 5(2)) on the rear surface of the display; and
a second wave guide (sound output from a pair of speakers 130-2 & 130-4, figures 5(1) or 5(3)) on the rear surface of the display,
wherein, in the landscape mode, the first wave guide is configured to output a sound of the speaker therethrough (sound output from a pair of speakers 130-3 and 130-1, figure 5(2)), and
wherein, in the portrait mode, the second waveguide is configured to output the sound of the speaker therethrough (sound output from a pair of speakers 130-2 & 130-4, figures 5(1) or 5(3)).
Regarding claim 10, SO et al., disclose one or more processors (140, figure 2, paragraphs 0084-0085) configured to, based on the display being in the landscape mode, amplify an output level of sound output by at least one speaker to be more than the output level of sound output when the display is in the portrait mode.
Regarding claim 11, SO et al., disclose a method of controlling a display device (100, figures 1-15), wherein the display device comprises:
a display operable in a landscape mode (a horizontal state of the display 120, figure 5(2)) and in a portrait mode (a vertical state of the display 120, figures 5-(1) and 5(3));
a stand (30, figure 5) supporting the display;
a connection assembly (10, figures 4-5) connecting the display and the stand;
a speaker (130, figures 2-5, paragraph 0069) on the rear surface of the display; and
a wave guide (at least one audio channel coupled to a corresponding speaker, figures 2 and 5, paragraphs 0014 and 0018-0020) in the speaker on the rear surface of the display, and comprising a first wave guide (sound output from a pair of speakers 130-3 and 130-1, figure 5(2)) corresponding to the landscape mode and a second wave guide (sound output from a pair of speakers 130-2 & 130-4, figures 5(1) or 5(3)) corresponding to the portrait mode, wherein the method comprising:
outputting a sound output by the speaker through the first wave guide in the landscape mode (sound output from a pair of speakers 130-3 and 130-1, figure 5(2)); and
outputting the sound output by the speaker through the second wave guide in the portrait mode (sound output from a pair of speakers 130-2 & 130-4, figures 5(1) or 5(3)).
Regarding claim 20, SO et al. disclose a non-transitory computer readable recording medium storing computer instructions that when executed by a processor (140, figure 2) of a display device (100, figures 1-15), causes the display device to perform an operation, wherein the display device comprises:
a display (120, figures 4-6) operable in a landscape mode (a horizontal state of the display 120, figure 5(2)) and in a portrait mode (a vertical state of the display 120, figures 5-(1) and 5(3));
a stand (30, figure 5) supporting the display;
a connection assembly (10, figures 4-5) connecting the display and the stand;
a speaker (130, figures 2-5, paragraph 0069) on the rear surface of the display; and
a wave guide (at least one audio channel coupled to a corresponding speaker, figures 2 and 5, paragraphs 0014 and 0018-0020) in the speaker on the rear surface of the display, and comprising a first wave guide (sound output from a pair of speakers 130-3 and 130-1, figure 5(2)) corresponding to the landscape mode and a second wave guide (sound output from a pair of speakers 130-2 & 130-4, figures 5(1) or 5(3)) corresponding to the portrait mode, wherein the method comprising:
outputting a sound output by the speaker through the first wave guide in the landscape mode (sound output from a pair of speakers 130-3 and 130-1, figure 5(2)); and
outputting the sound output by the speaker through the second wave guide in the portrait mode (sound output from a pair of speakers 130-2 & 130-4, figures 5(1) or 5(3)).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 2-9 and 12-19 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:
The claim 2 discloses the combination features of “wherein the connection assembly comprises a first connection part on the rear surface of the display and configured to rotate when the display rotates; and a second connection part on the front surface of the stand and configured to remain fixed when the display rotates, wherein the first connection part comprises a first plurality of holes corresponding to the landscape mode and a second plurality of holes corresponding to the portrait mode, and wherein the second connection part comprises a first hole corresponding to a first direction with respect the speaker and a second hole corresponding to a second direction with respect for the speaker.” These features, in conjunction with other features, as claimed in the claim 1, were neither found to be disclosed, nor suggested by the prior art of records. Claims 3-9 depend on the allowed claim 2.
The claim 12 discloses the combination features of “wherein the connection assembly comprises a first connection part on the rear surface of the display that rotates when the display rotates; and a second connection part on the front surface of the stand and configured to remain fixed when the display rotates, wherein the first connection part comprises a first plurality of holes corresponding to the landscape mode and a second plurality of holes corresponding to the portrait mode, and wherein the second connection comprises a first hole corresponding to a first direction with respect to the speaker and a second hole corresponding to a second direction with respect to the speaker.” These method steps, in conjunction with other method steps, as claimed in the method claim 11, were neither found to be disclosed, nor suggested by the prior art of records. Claims 13-19 depend on the allowed claim 12.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure:
Park [US 2017/0150244] discloses speaker module, electronic device;
Farrell et al. [US 2022/0062736] disclose display mounting systems and methods; and
Torigoe et al. [US 10,863,268] disclose display device with peripherally surrounding audio trench.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Hung S. Bui whose telephone number is (571)272-2102. The examiner can normally be reached on M-F: 8am-5pm.
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/HUNG S. BUI/Primary Patent Examiner, 2841/2800
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