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 .
DETAILED ACTION
This action is responsive to the application filed April 23, 2025, claims 1-2 are presented for examination. Claim 1 is an independent claim.
Priority
Acknowledgment is made of applicant’s claim for foreign priority under 35 U.S.C. 119(a)-(d), and based on application # 2016-173343 filed in Japan on September 6, 2016 which papers have been placed of record in the file.
Oath/Declaration
The Office acknowledges receipt of a properly signed Oath/Declaration submitted April 23, 2025.
Information Disclosure Statement
The Applicant’s Information Disclosure Statement filed (July 10, 2025 and October 9, 2025) has been received, entered into the record, and considered.
Drawings
The drawings filed April 23, 2025 are accepted by the examiner.
Abstract
The abstract filed April 23, 2025 is accepted by the examiner.
Double Patenting
The nonstatutory double patenting rejection is based on a judicially created doctrine grounded in public policy (a policy reflected in the statute) so as to prevent the unjustified or improper timewise extension of the "right to exclude" granted by a patent and to prevent possible harassment by multiple assignees. A nonstatutory obviousness-type double patenting rejection is appropriate where the conflicting claims are not identical, but at least one examined application claim is not patentably distinct from the reference claim(s) because the examined application claim is either anticipated by, or would have been obvious over, the reference claim(s). See, e.g., In re Berg, 140 F.3d 1428,46 USPQ2d 1226 (Fed. Cir. 1998); In re Goodman, 11 F.3d 1046,29 USPQ2d 2010 (Fed. Cir. 1993); In re Longi, 759 F.2d 887, 225 USPQ 645 (Fed. Cir. 1985); In re Van Omum, 686 F.2d 937, 214 USPQ 761 (CCPA 1982); In re Vogel, 422 F.2d 438, 164 USPQ 619 (CCPA 1970); and In re Thorington, 418 F.2d 528, 163 USPQ 644 (CCPA 1969). A timely filed terminal disclaimer in compliance with 37 CFR 1.321(c) or 1.321(d) may be used to overcome an actual or provisional rejection based on a nonstatutory double patenting ground provided the conflicting application or patent either is shown to be commonly owned with this application, or claims an invention made as a result of activities undertaken within the scope of a joint research agreement. Effective January 1, 1994, a registered attorney or agent of record may sign a terminal disclaimer. A terminal disclaimer signed by the assignee must fully comply with 37 CPR 3.73(b).
Claims 1-2 are rejected on the ground of nonstatutory obviousness-type double patenting as being unpatentable over claims 1-2 of application No. 18408766 (PAT 12287937 B2). Although the conflicting claims are not identical, they are not patentably distinct from each other because the claims recite a first housing comprising a first display portion; a second housing comprising a second display portion; a control portion; and a viewpoint detection portion, wherein the first display portion or the second display portion comprises a first region at which a user looks fixedly and a second region outside the first region, wherein the viewpoint detection portion is configured to detect the first region at which the user looks fixedly and output positional data of the first region to the control portion, wherein a frame frequency of the second region is lower than a frame frequency of the first region, and wherein the first housing and the second housing are joined together to be capable of deforming in a mode of being folded with the first display portion and the second display portion overlapping with each other and in a mode of being opened with the first display portion and the second display portion exposed, therefore the same limitations as claimed in application No. 18408766 (PAT 12287937 B2).
This is an obviousness-type double patenting rejection.
Application 19186730
Application 18408766 (PAT 12287937 B2).
An electronic device comprising: a first housing comprising a first display portion; a second housing comprising a second display portion; a control portion; and a viewpoint detection portion, wherein the first display portion or the second display portion comprises a first region at which a user looks fixedly and a second region outside the first region, wherein the viewpoint detection portion is configured to detect the first region at which the user looks fixedly and output positional data of the first region to the control portion, wherein a frame frequency of the second region is lower than a frame frequency of the first region, and wherein the first housing and the second housing are joined together to be capable of deforming in a mode of being folded with the first display portion and the second display portion overlapping with each other and in a mode of being opened with the first display portion and the second display portion exposed.
An electronic device comprising: a first housing comprising a first display portion; a second housing comprising a second display portion; a control portion; and a viewpoint detection portion, wherein the first display portion or the second display portion comprises a first region at which a user looks fixedly and a second region outside the first region, wherein the control portion is configured to make the first display portion and the second display portion individually display two or more of a first image, a second image, and a third image at the same time, wherein the first image is displayed with reflective light, wherein the second image is displayed with emitted light, wherein the third image is displayed with both the reflective light and the emitted light, wherein the viewpoint detection portion is configured to detect the first region at which the user looks fixedly and output positional data of the first region to the control portion, wherein a frame frequency of the second region is lower than a frame frequency of the first region, and wherein the first housing and the second housing are joined together to be capable of deforming in a mode of being folded with the first display portion and the second display portion overlapping with each other and in a mode of being opened with the first display portion and the second display portion exposed.
2. The electronic device according to claim 1, wherein at least one of the first display portion and the second display portion comprises a transistor, and wherein the transistor comprises a channel formation region comprising an oxide semiconductor.
2. The electronic device according to claim 1, wherein at least one of the first display portion and the second display portion comprises a transistor, and wherein the transistor comprises a channel formation region comprising an oxide semiconductor.
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 1-2 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Endo et al. (US 20150261259 Al) in view of Kim et al. (IDS prior art US 20150220299 A1).
As to Claim 1:
Endo et al. discloses an electronic device (Endo, see Abstract, where Endo discloses an electronic device with high portability and/or high browsability. The electronic device includes first and second support bodies, a first hinge, and a flexible display panel. The first hinge has a first rotation axis and connects the first and second support bodies to each other, and the first and second support bodies are capable of relatively rotating on the first rotation axis. The display panel includes at least first and second portions supported by the first and second support bodies, respectively; the first rotation axis and a first plane including the display surface overlapping with the first portion or a second plane including the display surface overlapping with the second portion are parallel to each other; and each of a distance between the first rotation axis and the first plane or the second plane is greater than zero) comprising: a first housing comprising a first display portion (Endo, see paragraph [0011], where Endo discloses an electronic device which includes a first support body, a second support body, a first hinge, and a display panel, characterized in that the display panel has flexibility; the display panel includes a first display surface and a second display surface; the first hinge has a function of being capable of rotating on a
first rotation axis; the first hinge has a function of being capable of connecting the first support body and the second support body to each other; the first support body and the second support body have a function of being capable of relatively rotating on the first rotation axis; the display panel includes a first portion, a second portion, and a third portion; the first portion includes a portion supported by the first support body); a second housing comprising a second display portion (Endo, see paragraph [0011], where Endo discloses an electronic device which includes a first support body, a second support body, a first hinge, and a display panel, characterized in that the display panel has flexibility; the display panel includes a first display surface and a second display surface; the first hinge has a function of being capable of rotating on a first rotation axis; the first hinge has a function of being capable of connecting the first support body and the second support body to each other; the first support body and the second support body have a function of being capable of relatively rotating on the first rotation axis; the display panel includes a first portion, a second portion, and a third portion; the first portion includes a portion supported by the first support body); a control portion (Endo, see paragraphs [0394]-[0396], where Endo discloses that the control circuit 910 is a circuit that controls the whole touch panel 90 and includes a circuit that generates control signals for circuits included in the touch panel 90. In addition, the control circuit 910 controls the output of an image signal (Video), which is input from the outside of the touch panel 90 to the source driver 903); wherein a frame frequency of the second region is lower than a frame frequency of the first region (Endo, see paragraph [0402], where Endo discloses that the control circuit 910 can control display in the display portion 901 by switching between a first mode for displaying images with motion (moving image display) and a second mode for displaying images without motion (still image display), depending on determination by the motion detection portion 911. The first mode is a mode where when the vertical synchronization signal (Vsync) is 60 Hz, for example, the frame frequency is set to 60 Hz or higher. The second mode is a mode where when the vertical synchronization signal (Vsync) is 60 Hz, for example, the frame frequency is set to lower than 60 Hz), and wherein the first housing (Endo, see 101 and 102a in figures 5A and 5B) and the second housing (Endo, see 101 and 102b in figures 5A and 5B) are joined together to be capable of deforming in a mode of being folded (Endo, see 101 in figures 5A and 5B) with the first display portion and the second display portion overlapping with each other (Endo, see figures 5A through 5B) and in a mode of being opened with the first display portion and the second display portion exposed (Endo, see 102a and 102b in figure 4B).
PNG
media_image1.png
850
796
media_image1.png
Greyscale
PNG
media_image2.png
930
1032
media_image2.png
Greyscale
Endo differs from the claimed subject matter in that Endo does not explicitly disclose a viewpoint detection portion, wherein the first display portion or the second display portion comprises a first region at which a user looks fixedly and a second region outside the first region, wherein the viewpoint detection portion is configured to detect the first region at which the user looks fixedly and output positional data of the first region to the control portion.
However in an analogous art, Kim discloses a viewpoint detection portion (Kim, see paragraph [0340], where Kim discloses that referring to FIG. l0J, the display control module 170 of the electronic device 1001 may determine a display for displaying information from a plurality of displays (for example, the display 1002 and the display 1012) according to a user's position. The display control module 170 may determine a user's position or gaze of a display and may display specified information through a display (for example, the display 1012) corresponding to the user's position or gaze among the plurality of displays), wherein the first display portion or the second display portion comprises a first region at which a user looks fixedly (Kim, see 1070 and 1012 in figure 10J and paragraphs [0340] through [0342], where Kim discloses that Referring to FIG. l0J, the display control module 170 of the electronic device 1001 may determine a display for displaying information from a plurality of displays (for example, the display 1002 and the display 1012) according to a user's position. The display control module 170 may determine a user's position or gaze of a display and may display specified information through a display (for example, the display 1012) corresponding to the user's position or gaze among the plurality of displays. The display control module 170 may display a variety of information through the surface corresponding to a user's position or gaze among the both surfaces ( for example, a back 1015 and a front 1016) of the transparent display area 1014 in the display 1012. When the back 1015 of the display 1012 is disposed toward the user direction (for example, the front 1016 of the display 1002 faces the user at the same time), the display control module 170 performs a control on the transparent display 1012 to allow an object 1070 (for example, another user or object) positioned at the outside of the electronic device 1001 to be transmitted through the back 1015 and seen or the information 1072 (for example, watch information or schedule information) to be displayed. When the front 1016 of the transparent display area 1014 is disposed toward the user direction (for example, the back of the display 1002 is opened toward the user at the same time), the display control module 1014 performs a control on the transparent display 1012 to allow the object 1070 (for example, another user or object) positioned at the outside of the electronic device 1001 to be transmitted through the front 1016 and seen or information 1074 (for example, at least part of information displayed on the display 1002 or additional information relating thereto) different from the information 1072 displayed through the back 1015 to be displayed. According to an embodiment, the display control module 170 may determine a user's position or gaze direction through at least one sensor 1004 (for example, a front camera sensor an ambient light sensor, or a motion recognition sensor (for example, a 3D depth sensor, a gesture sensor, an acceleration sensor, a gyro sensor, and an earth magnetic sensor)) and a second region outside the first region (Kim, see 1002 in figure 10J), wherein the viewpoint detection portion is configured to detect the first region at which the user looks fixedly (Kim, see 1015 in figure 10J paragraph [0340], where Kim discloses that referring to FIG. l0J, the display control module 170 of the electronic device 1001 may determine a display for displaying information from a plurality of displays (for example, the display 1002 and the display 1012) according to a user's position. The display control module 170 may determine a user's position or gaze of a display and may display specified information through a display (for example, the display 1012) corresponding to the user's position or gaze among the plurality of displays) and output positional data of the first region to the control portion (Kim, see 1702, 1703 and 1704 in figure 17 where Kim discloses obtaining user’s gaze or face recognition information and adjusting display position of first information or second information on the basis of gaze or face recognition information and paragraph [0342], where Kim discloses that according to an embodiment, the display control module 170 may determine a user's position or gaze direction through at least one sensor 1004 (for example, a front camera sensor an ambient light sensor, or a motion recognition sensor (for example, a 3D depth sensor, a gesture sensor, an acceleration sensor, a gyro sensor, and an earth magnetic sensor).
PNG
media_image3.png
742
614
media_image3.png
Greyscale
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to modify the invention of Endo with Kim. One would be motivated to modify Endo by disclosing viewpoint detection portion, wherein the first display portion or the second display portion comprises a first region at which a user looks fixedly and a second region outside the first region, wherein the viewpoint detection portion is configured to detect the first region at which the user looks fixedly and output positional data of the first region to the control portion as taught by Kim, and thereby providing a user interface with improved user convenience (Kim, see paragraph [0003]).
As to Claim 2:
Endo in view of Kim discloses that the electronic device according to claim 1, wherein at least one of the first display portion and the second display portion comprises a transistor (Endo, see paragraphs [0358], [0365] and [0366], where Endo discloses that FIG. 19A illustrates a passive-matrix touch sensor in which only the capacitor 603 is provided as a touch sensor at the intersection of wirings, an active-matrix touch sensor including a transistor and a capacitor may also be used. FIG. 20 illustrates an example of a sensor circuit included in an active-matrix touch sensor. The sensor circuit includes the capacitor 603, a transistor 611, a transistor 612, and a transistor 613. The driving method of a touch panel is applicable to a display panel), and wherein the transistor comprises a channel formation region comprising an oxide semiconductor (Endo, see paragraph [0370], where Endo discloses that it is preferable that transistors in which an oxide semiconductor is used for a semiconductor layer where a channel is formed be used as the transistor 611, the transistor 612, and the transistor 613).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to
applicant's disclosure. Okano (US 9142593 B2) discloses suppressing a loss of data in a semiconductor device. To provide a display device including a capacitor storing data, a display element performing display in accordance with the data, and switching elements connected to electrodes of the capacitor. In the display device, the voltage is held between the electrodes of the capacitor by turning the switching elements off; thus, the data can be stored even when supplying the power supply is stopped
Contact Information
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to NELSON ROSARIO whose telephone number is (571)270-1866. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday through Friday, 7:30am- 5:00pm EST. If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Matthew Eason can be reached on (571) 270-7230. 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.
/NELSON M ROSARIO/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2624