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 .
Claim Objections
Claim 16 is objected to because of the following informalities: line 1 recites “The display device of claim 4” which appears to be “The display device of claim 14”. Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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.
Claim(s) 1-3, 7-13 and 17-20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102 (a) (1) as being anticipated by Kang KR102090607B1 (See English Translation, hereinafter Kang).
Consider claim 1, Kang teaches a source driver (Figure 6, 12), comprising: a first latch unit configured to store first image data for each channel (Figure 8, 1st latch); a second latch unit configured to store second image data input through the first latch unit (Figure 8 and [0011], 2nd latch); a charge-sharing controller configured to: acquire a first predefined bit of the first image data of the first latch unit and a second predefined bit of the second image data of the second latch unit for a target channel among channels having the same polarity (Figure 7 and figure 11, polarity. [0034], MSB, 1st latch, 2nd latch, CH1 and CH3), acquire a third predefined bit of the first image data of the first latch unit and a fourth predefined bit of the second image data of the second latch unit for an adjacent channel (Figure 7 and figure 11, polarity. [0034], MSB, 1st latch, 2nd latch, CH1 and CH3), and generate and output a multiplexer operation control signal according to a determination of data change based on the acquired first through fourth predefined bits ([0031], charge share mode and hi-z mode. [0035] and figure 8, charge share control unit 121); and a multiplexer configured to perform a charge-sharing operation according to the output multiplexer operation control signal (Figure 8 and [0035], charge share unit 120. Figure 10 and [0037], SW1-2 make the multiplexer functionality).
Consider claim 2, Kang teaches all the limitations of claim 1. In addition, Kang teaches wherein the charge- sharing controller is configured to group a preset number of channels among the channels (Figure 8 and [0034]) and generate multiplexer operation control signals for the grouped channels (Figure 8, 120. Figure 10, SW1-2).
Consider claim 3, Kang teaches all the limitations of claim 2. In addition, Kang teaches wherein the multiplexer is disposed between the target channel and an adjacent channel among the channels having the same polarity with the target channel (Figure 10, SW1 and +; SW2 and -).
Consider claim 7, Kang and Cho teach all the limitations of claim 1. In addition, Chang teaches wherein the charge- sharing controller is configured to: generate an operation control signal for each multiplexer arranged in a unit channel according to the determination of the data change (Figure 14, Hi-z mode or operation), and wherein the operation control signal does not include an operation control signal to control all multiplexers in the unit channel to operate (Figure 14 and [0036, 0040], Hi-Z mode and SW1-SW2).
Consider claim 8, Kang and Cho teach all the limitations of claim 1. In addition, Chang teaches wherein the charge- sharing controller is configured to generate an operation control signal for all multiplexers in a unit channel according to the determination of the data change (Figure 14, Hi-z mode or operation), and wherein the operation control signal includes an operational control signal to control all multiplexers in the unit channel not to operate (Figure 14 and [0036, 0040], Hi-Z mode and SW1-SW2).
Consider claim 9, Kang and Cho teach all the limitations of claim 1. In addition, Chang teaches wherein the adjacent channel is one of the channels having the same polarity with the target channel (Figures 8, 10, CH1 and CH3).
Consider claim 10, Kang and Cho teach all the limitations of claim 1. In addition, Chang teaches wherein the first through fourth predefined bits include the most significant bit (MSB) of each image data of each channel ([0034] and figure 9).
Consider claim 11, Kang teaches a display device comprising (Figure 6): a panel configured to define a pixel (Figure 6, 10); a gate driver configured to drive a gate line for the pixel (Figure 6, 13); and a source driver configured to drive a data line for the pixel (Figure 6, 12), wherein the source driver is configured to include: a first latch unit configured to store first image data for each channel (Figure 8, 1st latch); a second latch unit configured to store second image data input through the first latch unit (Figure 8 and [0011], 2nd latch); a charge-sharing controller configured to: acquire a first predefined bit of the first image data of the first latch unit and a second predefined bit of the second image data of the second latch unit for a target channel among channels having the same polarity (Figure 7 and figure 11, polarity. [0034], MSB, 1st latch, 2nd latch, CH1 and CH3), acquire a third predefined bit of the first image data of the first latch unit and a fourth predefined bit of the second image data of the second latch unit for an adjacent channel (Figure 7 and figure 11, polarity. [0034], MSB, 1st latch, 2nd latch, CH1 and CH3), and generate and output a multiplexer operation control signal according to a determination of data change based on the acquired first through fourth predefined bits ([0031], charge share mode and hi-z mode. [0035] and figure 8, charge share control unit 121); and a multiplexer configured to perform a charge-sharing operation according to the output multiplexer operation control signal (Figure 8 and [0035], charge share unit 120. Figure 10 and [0037], SW1-2 make the multiplexer functionality).
Consider claim 12, Kang teaches all the limitations of claim 2 and thus rejected by the same reasoning.
Consider claim 13, Kang teaches all the limitations of claim 3 and thus rejected by the same reasoning.
Consider claim 17, Kang teaches all the limitations of claim 7 and thus rejected by the same reasoning.
Consider claim 18, Kang teaches all the limitations of claim 8 and thus rejected by the same reasoning.
Consider claim 19, Kang teaches all the limitations of claims 9-10 and thus rejected by the same reasoning.
Consider claim 20, Kang teaches all the limitations of claim 1 and thus rejected by the same reasoning.
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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claim(s) 4-6, 14-16 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kang as applied to claim 3 and 13 above, and further in view of Cho et al. U.S. Patent Publication No. 2016/0180776 (hereinafter Cho).
Consider claim 4, Kang teaches all the limitations of claim 2. In addition, Kang teaches wherein the charge- sharing controller is configured to: generate the multiplexer operation control signal that the multiplexer performs the charge-sharing operation when a difference between the predefined bit of the received second image data of the second latch unit and the predefined bit of the received first image data of the first latch unit for a predetermined channel is greater than or equal to a threshold (Figure 8, 1st and 2nd latch. [0034-0035], For example, as shown in FIG. 9, when one channel group is composed of six output channels, each of the six comparison units COP may include the first digital video data stored in the first latch of the output channel to which it is connected. The most significant bit (MSB) and the most significant bit (MSB) of the second digital video data stored in the second latch of the output channel to which it is connected can be compared with each other) and a difference between the predefined bit of the received second image data of the second latch unit and the predefined bit of the received first image data of the first latch unit for the adjacent channels of the predetermined channel is greater than the threshold (Figure 8, 1st and 2nd latch. [0034-0035], For example, as shown in FIG. 9, when one channel group is composed of six output channels, each of the six comparison units COP may include the first digital video data stored in the first latch of the output channel to which it is connected. The most significant bit (MSB) and the most significant bit (MSB) of the second digital video data stored in the second latch of the output channel to which it is connected can be compared with each other).
Kang does not appear to specifically disclose charge-sharing operation only when a difference.
However, in a related field of endeavor, Cho teaches a display device (abstract) and further teaches charge-sharing operation only when a difference ([0091], the charge-sharing control block CSCB(1) may turn off the charge-sharing control switch TR(1) in the charge-sharing period when at least one of a bit (e.g., the most significant bit MSB(1)) of the first adjacent data signal DIG(1) and a bit (e.g., the most significant bit MSB(2)) of the second adjacent data signal DIG(2) is not changed and/or these bits of the first adjacent data signal DIG(1) and the second adjacent data signal DIG(2) have the same logic levels).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of the ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to charge-sharing operation only when a difference as taught by Cho with the benefit that power consumption increases in data lines carrying data voltages that do not change as suggested in [0006].
Consider claim 5, Kang and Cho teach all the limitations of claim 4. In addition, Kang teaches wherein whether the difference between the predefined bit of image data of each latch unit of each channel is greater than or equal to the threshold is determined that a data value of a corresponding bit is changed from 0 to 1 or from 1 to 0 (Figure 9 and [0034-0035], 1st and 2nd latch).
Consider claim 6, Kang and Cho teach all the limitations of claim 4. In addition, Kang teaches wherein whether the difference between the predefined bit of the image data of each latch unit of each channel is greater than or equal to the threshold is determined (Figure 9 and [0034-0035]) that a value of an output channel after the charge-sharing operation is different from the value of the output channel before the charge- sharing operation ([0005], power consumption is reduced because of charge-sharing).
Consider claim 14, Kang teaches all the limitations of claim 4 and thus rejected by the same reasoning.
Consider claim 15, Kang teaches all the limitations of claim 5 and thus rejected by the same reasoning.
Consider claim 16, Kang teaches all the limitations of claim 6 and thus rejected by the same reasoning.
Conclusion
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/ROBERTO W FLORES/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2621
