DETAILED ACTION
This action is responsive to 05/15/2025.
Claims 1-10 are pending.
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
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
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) 1-2, 4, and 10 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Asami (US Pub. 2012/0128315).
Regarding claim 1, Asami discloses a serial electronic label (see figs. 2-6 and [0039]-image reproduction devices 10 and management devices 20 attached to front surfaces of shelf boards 41 of a display rack 4, which is used for display of commercial goods), comprising: a plurality of energy saving displays arranged in a row (see figs. 1-4C with description in [0039]), wherein each of the plurality of energy saving displays has a frame update time when updating a display frame (an advertising video image of commercial goods is displayed on the whole of the display rack 4 (see fig. 3), by means of a succession of video frames-see [0042]-[0049] and, for example, figs. 4A-4C); and a controller (see [0041] and fig. 3-management device part 20), electrically connected to the plurality of energy saving displays, and configured to make the plurality of energy saving displays update the plurality of display frames in a sequence by a one-to-plurality control method (the management device part periodically sends synchronization data information 252 to the image reproduction devices 10a-10e, the synchronization information includes information specifying a frame number and a time stamp indicating a display time of the frame … the image reproduction devices 10 and the management device 20 can thereby display frames of the same frame number, as shown in fig. 4C-see [0049]), wherein the plurality of frame update times of any two energy saving displays adjacent in the sequence partially overlap each other (see figs. 4A-4C, which illustrate moving image data 500, moving direction of the image data, frame number, and state of synchronization).
Regarding claim 2, Asami discloses wherein the sequence is the same as an arrangement order of the plurality of energy saving displays from an end to another end (see figs. 4A-4C and [0030]-[0031]).
Regarding claim 4, Asami discloses wherein the plurality of energy saving displays are a plurality of reflective liquid crystal displays or a plurality of cholesteric liquid crystal displays (see fig. 5 and [0031]).
Regarding claim 10, Asami discloses wherein making the plurality of energy saving displays update the plurality of display frames in the sequence comprises updating a single color in the display frame or updating a partial area in the display frame (see fig. 4C-updating a partial area in a display frame).
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.
Claim(s) 3 and 7 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Asami in view of Nilsson et al. (US Pub. 2011/0128126), hereinafter Nilsson.
Regarding claim 3, Asami discloses using LCD displays for the plurality of energy saving displays (see fig. 5 and [0001]).
Asami does not appear to expressly disclose wherein the plurality of energy saving displays are a plurality of electrophoretic displays.
Nilsson is relied upon to teach wherein the plurality of energy saving displays are a plurality of electrophoretic displays (see, for example, [0168], which teaches using E-paper based bistable display for electronic shelf labeling).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effectively filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate the teachings of Nilsson with the invention of Asami by using electrophoretic displays for the plurality of displays, as taught by Nilsson, as a simple substitution of one known element for another to yield predictable results (i.e., using display technology that consume less power-see [0164]).
Regarding claim 7, Nilsson is further relied upon to teach further comprising a battery pack, electrically connected to the controller and the plurality of energy saving displays, wherein the battery pack provides a power to the plurality of energy saving displays by a single battery pack method (see [0164]-a 3V battery may be up-converted to 30V to be able to update the display).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effectively filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate the teachings of Nilsson with the invention of Asami by providing a battery pack that supplies power to the plurality of displays, as taught by Nilsson, which constitutes combining prior art elements according to known methods to yield predictable results.
Claim 5 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Asami in view of Zhang et al. (US Pub. 2019/0285962), hereinafter Zhang.
Regarding claim 5, Asami does not appear to expressly teach wherein a length of the frame update time of each of the plurality of energy saving displays is 10 seconds to 20 seconds.
Zhang is relied upon to teach wherein a length of the frame update time of each of the plurality of energy saving displays is 10 seconds to 20 seconds (see, for example, [0004], which teaches that refresh time for conventional electronic shelf labels (ESLs) is usually more than ten seconds).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effectively filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate the teachings of Zhang with the invention of Asami such that a length of frame update time of each of the plurality of energy saving displays is between 10 and 20 seconds, as taught by Zhang, which constitutes combining prior art elements according to known methods to yield predictable results.
Claim 6 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Asami in view of Chan et al. (US Pub. 2023/0213832), hereinafter Chan.
Regarding claim 6, Asami does not appear to expressly disclose wherein a length of the plurality of partially overlapped frame update times of any two energy saving displays adjacent in the sequence is X% of the length of the frame update time of each of the plurality of energy saving displays, wherein 5≤X<100.
Chan is relied upon to teach wherein a length of the plurality of partially overlapped frame update times of any two energy saving displays adjacent in the sequence is X% of the length of the frame update time of each of the plurality of energy saving displays, wherein 5≤X<100 (see, for example, fig. 3 with description in [0061]-[0062], which teaches pipelining image data, which enables a display controller to write to a frame or image memory while a prior image is still being updated to the display screen, thereby overlapping some portions of the image updating process, for example, first image A begins its update at 0 ms mark, and finishes at 250 ms mark, and image B subsequently starts incremental update at around 12 ms mark, and finishes updating at around 262 ms mark.).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effectively filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate the teachings of Chan with the invention of Asami by partially overlapping adjacent image frames, as taught by Chan, which makes it possible for electrophoretic displays (EPDs) to perform fast updates, which is useful for applications that take pen input, or for animation that does not have overlapping areas from one image to the next (see [0062]).
Claims 8-9 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Asami in view of Nilsson, and further in view of Rössl et al. (US Pub. 2021/0398506), hereinafter Rössl.
Regarding claim 8, Asami in view of Nilsson does not appear to expressly teach further comprising an external power supply unit, electrically connected to the battery pack.
Rössl is relied upon to teach further comprising an external power supply unit, electrically connected to the battery pack (electronic shelf radio module may, for their energy supply, have an energy store such as a battery or a solar panel coupled to a rechargeable battery-see [0015]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effectively filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate the teachings of Rössl with the inventions Asami and Nilsson such that the battery pack is connected to an external power supply unit, as taught by Rössl, in order to recharge the battery pack (see [0015]).
Regarding claim 9, Rössl is further relied upon to teach wherein the external power supply unit is a solar power supply module (see [0015]).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to SARDIS F AZONGHA whose telephone number is (571)270-7706. The examiner can normally be reached 10AM-7:00PM.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Ke Xiao can be reached at (571)272-7776. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/SARDIS F AZONGHA/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2627