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 .
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 12/30/2025 has been placed in record and considered by the examiner.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC §112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(f):
(f) Element in Claim for a Combination. - An element in a claim for a combination may be expressed as a means or step for performing a specified function without the recital of structure, material, or acts in support thereof, and such claim shall be construed to cover the corresponding structure, material, or acts described in the specification and equivalents thereof.
The following is a quotation of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph:
An element in a claim for a combination may be expressed as a means or step for performing a specified function without the recital of structure, material, or acts in support thereof, and such claim shall be construed to cover the corresponding structure, material, or acts described in the specification and equivalents thereof.
Claim limitations “a driving module”, “power management module”, “clock management module”, and “display module”, has/have been interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, because it uses/they use a generic placeholder “module” coupled with functional language without reciting sufficient structure to achieve the function. Furthermore, the generic placeholder is not preceded by a structural modifier. Claim elements in this application that use the word “module” are presumed to invoke 35 U.S.C.112(f) except as otherwise indicated in an Office action. Similarly, claim elements that do not use the word “module” are presumed not to invoke 35 U.S.C. 112(f) except as otherwise indicated in an Office action.
Since the claim limitation(s) invokes 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, claim(s) 1-2 and 20 has/have been interpreted to cover the corresponding structure described in the specification that achieves the claimed function, and equivalents thereof.
If applicant wishes to provide further explanation or dispute the examiner’s interpretation of the corresponding structure, applicant must identify the corresponding structure with reference to the specification by page and line number, and to the drawing, if any, by reference characters in response to this Office action.
If applicant does not intend to have the claim limitation(s) treated under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, applicant may amend the claim(s) so that it/they will clearly not invoke 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, or present a sufficient showing that the claim recites/recite sufficient structure, material, or acts for performing the claimed function to preclude application of 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph.
For more information, see MPEP § 2173 et seq. and Supplementary Examination Guidelines for Determining Compliance With 35 U.S.C. 112 and for Treatment of Related Issues in Patent Applications, 76 FR 7162, 7167 (Feb. 9, 2011).
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 (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 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 1-4 and 19-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kim et al. (US 2016/0133223 hereinafter Kim) in view Hong (US 2023/0037207 hereinafter Hong).
Referring to claim 1, Kim discloses a driving module for display ([0030]; FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example electronic device including a display driver integrated circuit.), comprising:
a composite board (Fig. 7; communication module 720 and input device 750 are made of circuit boards are presented but not shown), configured to process a plurality of low-power signals ([0044]; The application 147 may, for example, include a video player, an image viewer, or a game application (hereinafter referred to as “high-power application”), which provides various images by supplying a power to almost all pixels on the panel 165, and an application (hereinafter referred to as “low-power application”), which provides the following specific information with fewer pixels driven: watch, weather, date, temperature, news, notification, lock pattern, personal identification number (PIN) input screen, short message service (SMS) or instant messenger (IM) message, missed call indication, and the like. In other words, the application 147 may include the high-power application, which transmits image data having a great OPR value to the panel 165, and the low-power application, which transmits image data having a small OPR value to the panel 165.);
a main board (Fig. 1; 120 or Fig. 7; 710) ([0028]; According to certain examples of the disclosure, the electronic devices may include at least one of furniture or buildings/structures, electronic boards, electronic signature receiving devices, projectors, or various measuring instruments (e.g., water meters, electricity meters, gas meters, or wave meters, and the like).), configured to process digital multimedia signals ([0044]; The application 147 may, for example, include a video player, an image viewer, or a game application (hereinafter referred to as “high-power application”), which provides various images by supplying a power to almost all pixels on the panel 165, and an application (hereinafter referred to as “low-power application”), which provides the following specific information with fewer pixels driven: watch, weather, date, temperature, news, notification, lock pattern, personal identification number (PIN) input screen, short message service (SMS) or instant messenger (IM) message, missed call indication, and the like. In other words, the application 147 may include the high-power application, which transmits image data having a great OPR value to the panel 165, and the low-power application, which transmits image data having a small OPR value to the panel 165.);
a driver board (Fig. 2; display driver integrated circuit 201 is within display module 760 of Fig. 7);
wherein the digital multimedia signals comprise a video format signal and the plurality of low-power signals ([0044]; The application 147 may, for example, include a video player, an image viewer, or a game application (hereinafter referred to as “high-power application”), which provides various images by supplying a power to almost all pixels on the panel 165, and an application (hereinafter referred to as “low-power application”), which provides the following specific information with fewer pixels driven: watch, weather, date, temperature, news, notification, lock pattern, personal identification number (PIN) input screen, short message service (SMS) or instant messenger (IM) message, missed call indication, and the like. In other words, the application 147 may include the high-power application, which transmits image data having a great OPR value to the panel 165, and the low-power application, which transmits image data having a small OPR value to the panel 165.); and
wherein driver board (Fig. 1; display driver integrated circuit 161 is part of the display module 760 of Fig. 7) is configured to forward the video format signal to a source driver board (Fig. 1-2 and 7; display driver integrated circuit 161 comprises a source driver board is presented but not shown), forward the plurality of low-power signals to the composite board ([0044]; The application 147 may, for example, include a video player, an image viewer, or a game application (hereinafter referred to as “high-power application”), which provides various images by supplying a power to almost all pixels on the panel 165, and an application (hereinafter referred to as “low-power application”), which provides the following specific information with fewer pixels driven: watch, weather, date, temperature, news, notification, lock pattern, personal identification number (PIN) input screen, short message service (SMS) or instant messenger (IM) message, missed call indication, and the like. In other words, the application 147 may include the high-power application, which transmits image data having a great OPR value to the panel 165, and the low-power application, which transmits image data having a small OPR value to the panel 165.), and perform power management (Fig. 7; power management module 795) and gamma voltage conversion (Fig. 2; gamma voltage generator 217).
However, Kim does not specifically disclose a driver board, connected to the main board and the composite board respectively.
In an analogous art, Hong discloses a driver board (Fig. 2; source printed circuit board SPCB), connected to the main board (Fig. 2; control printed circuit board CPCB) and the composite board (Fig. 2; 170) respectively (Fig. 2; driver board SPCB is connected to the main board CPCB and composite board 170).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to apply the technique of Kim to the system of Hong in order to allow the display device to effectively reduce the increase in temperature of a display panel regardless of the structure of the subpixels constituting the panel by detecting the variation in a gamma driving voltage applied to a data driving unit.
Referring to claim 2, Kim discloses wherein the driver board comprises:
a first interface, electrically connected to the main board (Fig. 1-2; display driver integrated circuit 161 of Fig. 1 or display driver integrated circuit 201 is part of the display module 760 of Fig. 7 which is connected to the main board 710 of Fig. 7);
two speaker interfaces, electrically connected to two speakers respectively (Fig. 7; speaker 782) (Kim discloses the claimed invention except for “two speaker interfaces, electrically connected to two speakers”. It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to “two speaker interfaces, electrically connected to two speakers” since it was known in the art that “two speaker interfaces, electrically connected to two speakers” are connected to audio module of Fig. 7.);
two second interfaces, electrically connected to two source driver boards respectively (Kim discloses the claimed invention except for “two second interfaces, electrically connected to two source driver boards respectively”. It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to “two second interfaces, electrically connected to two source driver boards respectively” since it was known in the art that “two second interfaces, electrically connected to two source driver boards respectively” are within the display module 760 of Fig. 7.);
a third interface, disposed between the two second interfaces, and electrically connected to the composite board (Fig. 7; communication module 720 and input device 750 are made of circuit boards that connected to main board 710 are disposed between other interfaces display module 760 and audio module 780);
a power management module (Fig. 7; power management module 795), configured to convert an input first power supply to a second power supply required by the source driver board ([0122]; The power management module 795 may manage, for example, power of the electronic device 701. According to an example of the disclosure, a power management integrated circuit (PMIC) a charger IC, or a battery or fuel gauge may be included in the power management module 795. The PMIC may have a wired charging method and/or a wireless charging method.); and
a clock management module, configured to convert an input first clock signal to a series of second clock signals required by the source driver board and provide the series of second clock signals to the source driver board ([0058]; Although not illustrated, the control module 211 may, for example, further include control logic, a timing controller module (T-con module), the frame rate (or a frame frequency) adjusting module, and the like.).
Referring to claim 3, Kim discloses wherein the driver board further comprises:
a fourth interface electrically connected to an external communication board, wherein the external communication board is configured to implement a function compatible with at least one of wifi or external Bluetooth ([0107]; The communication module 720 may be configured the same as or similar to a communication interface 170 of FIG. 1. The communication module 720 may include a cellular module 721, a wireless-fidelity (Wi-Fi) module 723, a Bluetooth (BT) module 725, a global positioning system (GPS) module 727, a near field communication (NFC) module 728, and a radio frequency (RF) module 729.).
Referring to claim 4, Kim as modified by Hong discloses further comprising:
a first flexible flat cable connected between the main board and the driver board;
a second flexible flat cable, connected between the source driver board and the driver board; and
a third flexible flat cable, connected between the composite board and the driver board (Hong- [0072]; At least one source printed circuit board SPCB and control printed circuit board CPCB may be circuit-connected through at least one connection member. The connection member may include, e.g., a flexible printed circuit (FPC) or a flexible flat cable (FFC). In this case, the connection member connecting the at least one source printed circuit board SPCB and control printed circuit board CPCB may be varied depending on the size and type of the display device 100. The at least one source printed circuit board SPCB and control printed circuit board CPCB may be integrated into a single printed circuit board.).
Referring to claim 19, Kim discloses further comprising:
a power supply board and a power supply electronic line;
wherein the power supply electronic line is connected between the power supply board and the main board, and the power supply board is configured to supply power to the main board and receive a control signal from the main board for the power supply board ([0122]; The power management module 795 may manage, for example, power of the electronic device 701. According to an example of the disclosure, a power management integrated circuit (PMIC) a charger IC, or a battery or fuel gauge may be included in the power management module 795. The PMIC may have a wired charging method and/or a wireless charging method.).
Referring to claim 20, Kim discloses a display apparatus, comprising:
a display module, comprising at least one source driving circuit; and
the driving module according to claim 1; wherein the driving module is electrically connected to the source driving circuit ([0036]; According to an example of the disclosure, the processor 120 may be configured to control a source (e.g., a pixel power supply module included in a display driver integrated circuit 161 or a pixel power supply circuit 163) of the pixel power to be supplied to the display 160 (the panel 165 thereof) based on the OPR value. An example in which the processor 120 is configured to determine the OPR value and to control a source of the pixel power will be described below with reference to FIG. 4.).
Claim Objections
Claims 5-18 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.
Referring to claim 5, the following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: the prior art fail to suggest limitation “wherein the first flexible flat cable comprises: a plurality of connection lines; and two connector interfaces connected to two ends of each of the plurality of connection lines respectively; wherein pin definitions are in reverse order between the two connector interfaces”.
Referring to claims 6-18 are objected upon dependent on the claim 5.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to SCOTT D AU whose telephone number is (571)272-5948. The examiner can normally be reached M-F. General 8am-5pm.
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/SCOTT D AU/Examiner, Art Unit 2624
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