DETAILED ACTION
This Office action is in response to the communication filed on 31 March 2025. Claims 1-20 are currently pending in this application. The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Priority
Applicant’s claim for foreign priority under 35 U.S.C. 119 (a)-(d) based on application filed in Korea on June 4, 2024 has been acknowledged and considered by Examiner. Receipt is acknowledged of papers submitted under 35 U.S.C. 119(a)-(d) that are placed on record in the application file.
Specification
The title of the invention is not descriptive. A new title is required that is clearly indicative of the invention to which the claims are directed.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis 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 of this title, 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 1-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Foreign Patent Publication KR 202110014559 A by Kwon et al. (“Kwon”) in view of U.S. Patent Publication 2022/0037406 A1 by Kubota et al. (“Kubota”)
Regarding claim 1, Kwon teaches a display device comprising: a display panel (Fig. 1);
display pixels in a display area of the display panel; light sensing pixels in the display area together with the display pixels (Page 2, last two paragraphs, the display device includes a display unit formed of an array of unit pixels including a light source pixel and a detector pixel);
light emitting pixels in the display area together with the display pixels (Page 2, last two paragraphs, the light source pixel includes one or more light emitting diode (LED) pixels that irradiate light of one or more wavelengths);
a display scan driver to drive the display pixels and the light sensing pixels to emit light , a data driver connected to each light source pixel (Page 2, last two paragraphs, display device includes a light source driver and a data driver connected to each light source pixel where displaying of an image was by driving each light source of display unit through the light source driver and data driver), and a control driver including a detector driver connected to each detector pixel (Page 2, last two paragraphs, control driver including a detector driver connected to each detector pixel);
a light sensing scan driver to drive the light sensing pixels to detect light (Page 2, last two paragraphs, light source driver); and
a main driving circuit to detect pulse wave signals of a user utilizing light sensing signals received through the light sensing pixels and to measure biometric information (Page 30, last paragraph, In addition, the processor 920 determines a light source and a detector to be driven to obtain a second optical signal for estimating biometric information based on the analyzed contact position, and generates and displays second driving data including information on the determined light source and detector to the device 910.),
wherein the main driving circuit is configured to separate and to generate blood vessel image data from image data for a touch area during a user’s touch position detection period and to receive the light sensing signals of a light receiving area by distinguishing the light receiving area according to the blood vessel image data in the display area during a user’s biometric information detection period (Page 30, last paragraph, the processor 920 first generates first driving data to obtain a first optical signal for determining the contact position of the object, and transmits the first driving data to the display device 910, when the optical signal is acquired, the contact position of the object may be analyzed based on the first optical signal. In addition, the processor 920 determines a light source and a detector to be driven to obtain a second optical signal for estimating biometric information based on the analyzed contact position. The biometric information included blood vessel data as in Page 8, second to last paragraph).
Kwon did not specify the wavelengths of light emitting pixels to have specifically infrared wavelengths, but did teach light emitting diode (LED) pixels that irradiate light of one or more wavelengths.
However, in analogous art of image processing, Kubota teaches a display device according to one embodiment of the present invention includes a display element that displays visible light and a light receiving element (light receiving device) that receives infrared light (Kubota Fig. 1A; [0054]). There, when an object comes into contact with a surface (a surface opposite to the first substrate) of the light guide plate, infrared light is scattered at an interface between the light guide plate and the object, and a part of the scattered light enters the light receiving element, such as for a biometric identification function (Kubota [0018] and [0057]). It would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the invention to have used the infrared wavelength as the one or more wavelengths to determine biometric feature extraction in Kwon. One having ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to by using infrared light that is not visible to a user as light diffused inside the light guide plate, imaging or sensing using a light receiving element can be performed without reducing visibility for a display image (Kubota [0058]).
Regarding claim 2, Kwon of the combination of references further teaches the display device of claim 1, wherein the main driving circuit is configured to display a biometric information measurement area in the display area as an application program screen (Page 27, third paragraph, The processor 620 performs calibration to guide the object OBJ to contact the display device 610 multiple times, analyzes the contact pattern of the object, and analyzes the optimal size of the first area DA1 and the first optimum distance from the center point AC of the area DA1 to the light source and the detector may be determined), to drive the display pixels or the infrared light emitting pixels in the biometric information measurement area by controlling a scan signal output of the display scan driver and the light sensing scan driver, and to receive the light sensing signals through the light sensing pixels of the biometric information measurement area (Page 24, last paragraph, Referring to FIG. 8B, the display device 610 drives one light source 41 and a pair of detectors 77 in the first area DA1 contacted by the object OBJ to obtain a first optical signal. A plurality of light sources and detector pairs in the second area DA2 including the first area DA1 may be driven to obtain a plurality of second optical signals as a biometric measurement area).
Regarding claim 3, Kwon of the combination of references further teaches the display device of claim 2, wherein the main driving circuit is configured to convert the light sensing signals of the light sensing pixels received through the light sensing pixels of the biometric information measurement area into digital light sensing signal data and to generate image data for the biometric information measurement area in units of multiple frames by arranging the light sensing signal data (Page 25, first paragraph, display device 610 continuously simultaneously drives or time-divisions the pair of light sources 41 and detectors 77 in the first area DA1 for a predetermined time while the plurality of light sources and detector pairs in the second area DA2 are being driven such as when being guided for contact multiple times as in Page 27, third paragraph).
Regarding claim 4, Kwon of the combination of references further teaches the display device of claim 3, wherein the main driving circuit is configured to separate and to divide the image data into fingerprint image data and blood vessel image data by comparing and analyzing a gray value or luminance value of the light sensing signal data of each light sensing pixel of the light sensing pixels included in the image data with that of at least one adjacent light sensing pixel of the light sensing pixels (Page 28, second paragraph, As described above, the processor 620 may process requests for biometric information estimation, fingerprint authentication, document scanning, and image scanning, based on the first optical signal where fingerprint data may be obtained using a distribution of the amount of light received by the display device).
Regarding claim 5, Kwon of the combination of references further teaches the display device of claim 4, wherein the main driving circuit is configured to separate and to distinguish light sensing signal data reflected by blood vessels and a placement area of the light sensing signal data from the blood vessel image data and to generate a pulse wave detection pattern area comprising only gray values of the light sensing signal data and corresponding to the placement area of the light sensing signal data and pulse wave detection pattern image data corresponding to the pulse wave detection pattern area (Page 24, last paragraph and Page 33, last paragraph, As another example, referring to FIG. 8B, the display device 610 drives one light source 41 and a pair of detectors 77 in the first area DA1 contacted by the object OBJ to obtain a first optical signal. A plurality of light sources and detector pairs in the second area DA2 including the first area DA1 may be driven to obtain a plurality of second optical signals. For example, FIG. 10B shows an optical signal, such as a pulse wave signal. An oscillometric envelope OW may be obtained by plotting the amplitude of the extracted peak-to-peak point at each measurement point based the processor 920 may obtain biometric information, for example, a characteristic for estimating blood pressure, from the obtained oscillometric envelope OW. on the contact pressure at the same measurement point vs distribution of light.
Regarding claim 6, Kwon of the combination of references further teaches the display device of claim 5, wherein the main driving circuit is configured to set the pulse wave detection pattern area in the display area or the biometric information measurement area by detecting coordinate information about positions of the light sensing signal data from the pulse wave detection pattern image data and to separately store the pulse wave detection pattern image data and the coordinate information about the positions of the light sensing signal data in a built-in memory or a biometric information storage memory (Page 34, last paragraph, Page 35, first paragraph, and Page 37, last paragraph, the amplitude value (MA) of the maximum peak point in the oscillometric envelope (OW) compared to a preset ratio (for example, 0.5 Contact pressure values (SP, DP) corresponding to the left and right time pointscorresponding to ~0.7) can be obtained as features. When the feature is extracted, the processor 920 may estimate the biometric information by applying a predefined biometric information estimation model. The storage unit 1330 may store a result of processing by the processor 1320. Also, the storage unit 1330 may store various reference information necessary for analysis of an object such as for fingerprint or biometrics.)
Regarding claim 7, Kwon of the combination of references further teaches the display device of claim 6, wherein the main driving circuit is configured to compare the pulse wave detection pattern image data and the coordinate information about the positions of the light sensing signal data with pulse wave detection pattern image data and coordinate information about positions of light sensing signal data for users which are stored separately in the built-in memory or the biometric information storage memory and to analyze and recognize a user based on whether there is a match according to a comparison result (Page 37, last paragraph, The storage unit 1330 may store a result of processing by the processor 1320. Also, the storage unit 1330 may store various reference information necessary for analysis of an object including biometric information estimation. For example, the reference information may include user characteristic information such as the user's age, gender, and health status).
Regarding claim 8, Kwon of the combination of references further teaches the display device of claim 6, wherein the main driving circuit is configured to divide the pulse wave detection pattern area into a light receiving area and a light emitting area (Page 33, second paragraph and Page 34, first paragraph, For example, FIG. 10B shows an optical signal, such as a pulse wave signal, measured by the display device 910 when a user contacts the display device 910 with a finger and gradually increases the contact pressure. the time and amplitude of the points related to the forward wave and the reflected wave, and a combination of the acquired values can be obtained as additional features through the waveform analysis of the optical signal), to calculate position coordinates of the light sensing pixels to correspond to the light receiving area, to calculate position coordinates of the display pixels or the infrared light emitting pixels to correspond to the light emitting area, and to separately store position coordinate information of the display pixels or the infrared light emitting pixels to correspond to the light emitting area and position coordinate information of the light sensing pixels to correspond to the light receiving area in the built-in memory or the biometric information storage memory (Page 34, last paragraph, Page 35, first paragraph, and Page 37, last paragraph, the amplitude value (MA) of the maximum peak point in the oscillometric envelope (OW) compared to a preset ratio (for example, 0.5 Contact pressure values (SP, DP) corresponding to the left and right time pointscorresponding to ~0.7) can be obtained as features. When the feature is extracted, the processor 920 may estimate the biometric information by applying a predefined biometric information estimation model. The storage unit 1330 may store a result of processing by the processor 1320. Also, the storage unit 1330 may store various reference information necessary for analysis of an object such as for fingerprint or biometrics.)
Regarding claim 9, Kwon of the combination of references further teaches display device of claim 8, wherein, during the user’s biometric information detection period, the main driving circuit drives the display pixels or the infrared light emitting pixels to correspond to the light emitting area, receives light sensing signals through the light sensing pixels to correspond to the light receiving area, generates a pulse wave signal, which reflects blood changes according to heartbeat, utilizing the light sensing signals received through the light sensing pixels to correspond to the light receiving area, and measures biometric information (Page 33, second paragraph and Page 34, first paragraph, For example, FIG. 10B shows an optical signal, such as a pulse wave signal, measured by the display device 910 when a user contacts the display device 910 with a finger and gradually increases the contact pressure. Referring to FIG. 10C, the processor 920 may obtain biometric information, for example, a characteristic for estimating blood pressure systolic/heart contract and diastolic/heart relax, from the obtained oscillometric envelope OW. Processor 720 is the amplitude value of the maximum peak point (MA), the contact pressure value (MP) of the maximum peak point, the amplitude value (MA) of the maximum peak point in the oscillometric envelope (OW) compared to a preset ratio (for example, 0.5 Contact pressure values (SP, DP) corresponding to the left and right time points corresponding to ~0.7) can be obtained as features. For example, an average blood pressure, a diastolic blood pressure, and a systolic blood pressure may be obtained by inputting the extracted feature value MP as in Page 35, first paragraph).
Regarding claim 10, Kwon of the combination of references further teaches the display device of claim 8, wherein the main driving circuit is configured to compare the position coordinates of the light sensing pixels corresponding to the light receiving area and the position coordinates of the display pixels or the infrared light emitting pixels corresponding to the light emitting area with position coordinates of light sensing pixels and position coordinates of infrared light emitting pixels for each user which are stored separately in the built-in memory or the biometric information storage memory and to analyze and recognize a user based on whether there is a match according to a comparison result (Page 34, last paragraph, Page 35, first paragraph, and Page 37, last paragraph, the amplitude value (MA) of the maximum peak point in the oscillometric envelope (OW) compared to a preset ratio (for example, 0.5 Contact pressure values (SP, DP) corresponding to the left and right time pointscorresponding to ~0.7) can be obtained as features. When the feature is extracted, the processor 920 may estimate the biometric information by applying a predefined biometric information estimation model. The storage unit 1330 may store a result of processing by the processor 1320. Also, the storage unit 1330 may store various reference information necessary for analysis of an object such as for fingerprint or biometrics.)
Regarding claim 11, Kwon teaches a display device comprising: a display panel (Fig. 1);
display pixels in a display area of the display panel; light sensing pixels in the display area together with the display pixels (Page 2, last two paragraphs, the display device includes a display unit formed of an array of unit pixels including a light source pixel and a detector pixel);
light emitting pixels in the display area together with the display pixels (Page 2, last two paragraphs, the light source pixel includes one or more light emitting diode (LED) pixels that irradiate light of one or more wavelengths);
a display scan driver to drive the display pixels and the light sensing pixels to emit light , (Page 2, last two paragraphs, display device includes a light source driver and a data driver connected to each light source pixel where displaying of an image was by driving each light source of display unit through the light source driver and data driver),
a light sensing scan driver to drive the light sensing pixels to detect light (Page 2, last two paragraphs, light source driver); and
a main driving circuit to detect pulse wave signals of a user utilizing light sensing signals received through the light sensing pixels and to measure biometric information (Page 30, last paragraph and Page 33, last paragraph, In addition, the processor 920 determines a light source and a detector to be driven to obtain a second optical signal for estimating biometric information based on the analyzed contact position, and generates and displays second driving data including information on the determined light source and detector to the device 910. For example, FIG. 10B shows an optical signal, such as a pulse wave signal, an oscillometric envelope OW may be obtained based the processor 920 may obtain biometric information),
wherein the main driving circuit is configured to display a biometric information measurement area as an application program screen in the display area, to drive the display pixels or the light emitting pixels in the biometric information measurement area by controlling a scan signal output of the display scan driver and the light sensing scan driver, and to receive the light sensing signals through the light sensing pixels of the biometric information measurement area. (Page 27, third paragraph, The processor 620 performs calibration to guide the object OBJ to contact the display device 610 multiple times, analyzes the contact pattern of the object, and analyzes the optimal size of the first area DA1 and the first optimum distance from the center point AC of the area DA1 to the light source and the detector may be determined. A plurality of light sources and detector pairs in the second area DA2 including the first area DA1 may be driven to obtain a plurality of second optical signals as a biometric measurement area as in Page 24, last paragraph).
Kwon did not specify the wavelengths of light emitting pixels to have specifically infrared wavelengths, but did teach light emitting diode (LED) pixels that irradiate light of one or more wavelengths.
However, in analogous art of image processing, Kubota teaches a display device according to one embodiment of the present invention includes a display element that displays visible light and a light receiving element (light receiving device) that receives infrared light (Kubota Fig. 1A; [0054]). There, when an object comes into contact with a surface (a surface opposite to the first substrate) of the light guide plate, infrared light is scattered at an interface between the light guide plate and the object, and a part of the scattered light enters the light receiving element, such as for a biometric identification function (Kubota [0018] and [0057]). It would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the invention to have used the infrared wavelength as the one or more wavelengths to determine biometric feature extraction in Kwon. One having ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to by using infrared light that is not visible to a user as light diffused inside the light guide plate, imaging or sensing using a light receiving element can be performed without reducing visibility for a display image (Kubota [0058]).
Regarding claim 12, Kwon of the combination of references further teaches the display device of claim 11, wherein the main driving circuit is configured to separate and to generate blood vessel image data from image data for a touch area during a user’s touch position detection period and receive the light sensing signals of a light receiving area by distinguishing the light receiving area according to the blood vessel image data in the display area during a user’s biometric information detection period side (Page 36, first paragraph, For example, when the fingerprint image FI is acquired, the processor 1120 may acquire the fingerprint feature point FP and generate driving data for driving a light source and a detector within a predetermined range around the acquired fingerprint feature point FP. have. As another example, if the fingerprint feature point FP is too skewed toward one side as shown in (2) of FIG. 12, the processor 1120 allows the user to contact the object again instead of driving a light source and a detector near the fingerprint feature point FP. Guide information may be displayed through the display device 1110. Referring to FIG. 10C, the processor 920 may obtain biometric information, for example, a characteristic for estimating blood pressure, from the obtained oscillometric envelope OW as in Page 33, last paragraph.).
Regarding claim 13, Kwon in view of Kubota renders obvious the claim limitations in consideration of the grounds of rejection of claims 3 and 4 above.
Regarding claim 14, Kwon in view of Kubota renders obvious the claim limitations in consideration of the grounds of rejection of claim 5 above.
Regarding claim 15, Kwon in view of Kubota renders obvious the claim limitations in consideration of the grounds of rejection of claim 6 above.
Regarding claim 16, Kwon in view of Kubota renders obvious the claim limitations in consideration of the grounds of rejection of claim 7 above.
Regarding claim 17, Kwon in view of Kubota renders obvious the claim limitations in consideration of the grounds of rejection of claim 8 above.
Regarding claim 18, Kwon in view of Kubota renders obvious the claim limitations in consideration of the grounds of rejection of claim 10 above.
Regarding claim 19, the above rejection of the display device stands for the corresponding electronic device comprising a display device.
Regarding claim 20, Kwon of the combination of references further teaches the electronic device of claim 19, wherein the electronic device comprises a mobile phone, a smartphone, a tablet personal computer, a mobile communication terminal, an electronic notebook, an e-book, a portable multimedia player, a navigation system, an ultramobile personal computer, a television, a laptop, a monitor, a billboard, a smart watch, a watch phone, a glasses-type display, a head mounted display, or a car display (Page 10, second paragraph, The display device of the present embodiments has a light sensing function and can be mounted on various electronic devices. Electronic devices include various types of wearable devices such as a smart watch worn on the wrist, a smart band type, a headphone type, and a hair band type, a mobile device such as a smartphone or tablet PC, a desktop PC, a notebook PC, a navigation device and a television).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MAHEEN I JAVED whose telephone number is (571)272-0825. The examiner can normally be reached on Mon-Fri 9:00 am-5:00 pm ET.
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 AWAD can be reached on 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 an application may be obtained from the Patent Application Information Retrieval (PAIR) system. Status information for published applications may be obtained from either Private PAIR or Public PAIR. Status information for unpublished applications is available through Private PAIR only. For more information about the PAIR system, see http://pair-direct.uspto.gov. Should you have questions on access to the Private PAIR system, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative or access to the automated information system, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/MAHEEN I JAVED/Examiner, Art Unit 2621
/AMR A AWAD/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2621
Prosecution Insights