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 .
Priority
2. Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers submitted under 35 U.S.C. 119(a)-(d), which papers have been placed of record in the file.
Specification
3. 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 § 101
4. 35 U.S.C. 101 reads as follows:
Whoever invents or discovers any new and useful process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter, or any new and useful improvement thereof, may obtain a patent therefor, subject to the conditions and requirements of this title.
5. Claim 11 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 101 because “a recording medium” defined by the specification provides only open-ended examples of media embodiments, e.g., “may be,” and “for example” ([0137], lines 1-6).
A claim drawn to such a computer readable medium covers both transitory and non-transitory embodiments may be amended to narrow the claim to cover only statutory embodiments to avoid a rejection under 35 U.S.C. 101 by adding the limitation ‘non-transitory’ to the claim. (Kappos 1351 OG 212 (Feb. 23, 2010))
the claimed invention is directed to non-statutory subject matter.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
6. 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.
7. Claims 1-3 and 6-11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Inoue (U.S. Pub. No. US 2010/0188325 A1).
As to claim 1, Inoue (Figs. 1-21) teaches a display apparatus (an LCD device; Fig. 14) comprising:
a display (a liquid-crystal display 1407) (Fig. 14);
an acquirer (a detection unit for surrounding illuminance 0702) that acquires external factors (surrounding illuminance) (the surrounding illuminance detected by the detection unit for illuminance (0702)) (Fig. 7); and
a controller (variation unit that a variation restriction means dependent on illuminance 0705c and a variation means for luminance range rule 0705b; Fig. 7) that displays, in response to a signal inputted (image data; Fig. 14), a video on the display (in accordance with the display luminance calculated in step S1206, the display unit is operated (step S1207), so that display of image at display luminance, which is adjusted to the surrounding illuminance of environment, and suits the user's taste, is carried out; [0112], lines 24-27; Fig. 12) by restricting a variation range of luminance or saturation of the video based on the external factors (the surrounding illuminance) acquired (the variation range of the maximum or the minimum value of the luminance range rule is restricted in accordance with the surrounding illuminance detected in step S1202 (step S1203); [0112], lines 8-12) (Figs. 7, 12 and 14).
As to claim 2, Inoue teaches the display apparatus according to claim 1,
wherein the controller (the variation restriction means dependent on illuminance 0705c and the variation means for luminance range rule 0705b; Fig. 7) assesses each of the external factors (the surrounding illuminance; Figs. 7-8 and 10), and thus determines and sets a setting value for restricting the
variation range (the variation range of the maximum (+16) or the minimum value (-1) of the luminance range rule is restricted in accordance with the surrounding illuminance detected in step S1202 (step S1203); [0112], lines 8-12) (Figs. 7-8 and 10).
As to claim 3, Inoue teaches the display apparatus according to claim 2,
wherein the controller (the variation restriction means dependent on illuminance 0705c and the variation means for luminance range rule 0705b; Fig. 7) assesses each of the external factors (the surrounding illuminance; Figs. 7-8 and 10) using a threshold defined on a per-external factor basis (e.g., 300 lux or 200 lux), and thus determines the setting value (+16 for maximum value setting and -1 for minimum value setting) (Figs. 7-8 and 10).
As to claim 6, Inoue teaches the display apparatus according to claim 2, wherein
the acquirer acquires broadcast program information (the identification information regarding the genre of the image such as ‘movie’ or ‘sports’) and on-screen text information (BML (Broadcast Markup Language) format for on-screen text information) pertaining to the video as the external factors ([0091], lines 1-12) (Fig. 16), and
the controller (the variation restriction means dependent on illuminance 0705c and the variation means for luminance range rule 0705b; Fig. 7) assesses the broadcast program information (the identification information regarding the genre of the image such as ‘movie’ or ‘sports’) and the on-screen text information (BML (Broadcast Markup Language) format for on-screen text information), and thus determines the setting value (the luminance setting value, e.g., +16 to -16 for dynamic (Sports)) (Figs. 16-17).
As to claim 7, Inoue teaches the display apparatus according to claim 1,
wherein the controller (the variation restriction means dependent on illuminance 0705c and the variation means for luminance range rule 0705b; Fig. 7) restricts the variation range (the variation range of the maximum or the minimum value of the luminance range rule is restricted in accordance with the surrounding illuminance detected in step S1202 (step S1203); [0112], lines 8-12) by controlling backlight luminance (adjusting backlight luminance of a backlight (1806); [0097], lines 14-15) (Figs. 7, 12 and 18).
As to claim 8, Inoue teaches the display apparatus according to claim 1,
wherein the controller (the variation restriction means dependent on illuminance 0705c and the variation means for luminance range rule 0705b; Fig. 7) restricts the variation range (the variation range of the maximum or the minimum value of the luminance range rule is restricted in accordance with the surrounding illuminance detected in step S1202 (step S1203); [0112], lines 8-12) by controlling a luminance signal (adjusting backlight luminance of a backlight (1806); [0097], lines 14-15; a control circuit for backlight 1804) or a color difference signal (Figs. 1, 12 and 18).
As to claim 9, Inoue teaches the display apparatus according to claim 1, wherein
a lighting apparatus (a backlight 1806) is connected to the display apparatus (the liquid-crystal display 1807) (Fig. 18), and
the controller (the variation restriction means dependent on illuminance 0705c and the variation means for luminance range rule 0705b; Fig. 7) restricts brightness (by the control circuit for backlight 1804)of the lighting apparatus (the backlight 1806) (Fig. 18).
As to claim 10, this claim differs from claim 1 in that claim 1 is a display apparatus claim whereas claim 10 is a method claim thereof. Thus, claim 10 is analyzed as previously discussed in claim 1.
As to claim 11, this claim differs from claim 1 in that claim 1 is a display apparatus claim whereas claim 11 is a recording medium claim thereof. Thus, claim 11 is analyzed as previously discussed in claim 1.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
8. .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.
9. Claim 4 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable Inoue in view of Yoon (U.S. Pub. No. US 2018/0012561 A1).
As to claim 4, Inoue teaches the display apparatus according to claim 3,
wherein the controller (the variation restriction means dependent on illuminance 0705c and the variation means for luminance range rule 0705b; Fig. 7) assesses illuminance as the external factors (the surrounding illuminance) using the respective thresholds (e.g., 300 lux or 200 lux), and thus determines the setting value (+16 for maximum value setting and -1 for minimum value setting) (Figs. 7-8 and 10).
Inoue does not expressly teach viewing distance.
Yoon (Figs. 2-10) teaches
viewing distance (within a predetermined distance) (Figs. 2-3).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have used a predetermined distance as taught by Yoon in an LCD device of Inoue because the display apparatus may decrease the brightness and the grayscale within a predetermined distance so that at least a partial area of the image can be used as a mirror.
Allowable Subject Matter
10. Claim 5 is 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.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: The prior art of record, Inoue, Yoon, Yata, and Takanashi, either individually or in combination, does not teach a limitation “wherein in a case where a plurality of users are viewing the video, the controller determines the setting value based on the viewing distance of a user, of the users, who is closest to the display apparatus” of claim 5 in combination with other limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Conclusion
11. The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Yata (U.S. Pub. No. US 2016/0171955 A1) is cited to teach a display device including: an image display unit in which pixels each including a plurality of sub-pixels are arranged in a matrix, the sub-pixels displaying a plurality of color components; and a signal processing unit that performs color conversion on an input video signal and outputs the resultant signal to a drive circuit that controls drive of the image display unit.
Takanashi (U.S. Pub. No. US 2017/0323618 A1) is cited to teach a display apparatus including: a display unit that displays an image based on an input image; a conversion unit that converts the input image to generate a converted image based on a display range as a dynamic range; and a control unit that controls the display unit based on the display range and a maximum value of luminance for display.
Inquiry
12. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Kwang-Su Yang whose telephone number is (571)270-7307. The examiner can normally be reached on Mon-Fri during 9:00am-6:00pm EST.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Chanh Nguyen, can be reached on (571)272-7772. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/KWANG-SU YANG/
Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2623