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 .
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 05/12/2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive. With regards to independent claims 1 and 18 Applicant argues that the cited reference does not teach or disclose “determining, at a first data processor unit, that an image comprising one or more inactive pixels is required to be displayed to meet one or more desired properties of the displayed image”. Applicant argues that the cited reference Chan only describes a mechanism for achieving its screen saver goal, which is not a “desired display property”. Examiner respectfully disagrees as paragraph 0007 of Chan specifically discloses “When a CPSS method is implemented, the screen content may be displayed at a relatively lower resolution, such as half resolution or some other fraction of full resolution, by deactivating some of the display pixels or subpixels. In one half-resolution example, every other pixel of the display is turned off when the CPSS is activated. After another predetermined period of time, all pixels may be "flipped": pixels that were on may be turned off, and pixels that were off may be turned on. In alternative implementations, more or fewer than half of the pixels may be initially (or subsequently) switched off to achieve other partial resolution states, such as 75% resolution, 2/3 resolution, 1/3 resolution, etc.”. Paragraph 0039 specifically discloses that this method of reducing the resolution of the display is to prevent “burn-in”, thus the reduced resolution of the display is a “desired display property”. The rejections of claims 1 and 18 are sustained.
With regards to claim 14 Applicant argues that Chan does not teach or disclose “performing one or more mitigation techniques to mitigate a visual effect in the displayed image responsive to the inactive pixels”. Applicant argues that Chan discloses mitigating the effects of “burn-in” and that this is a long term hardware effect from prolonged static use and that mitigation technique disclosed in Applicant’s invention solves a different “real-time” problem. Examiner respectfully disagrees as the claim language of claim 14 does not disclose anything about mitigating a “real-time” problem and only discloses “performing one or more mitigation techniques to mitigate a visual effect in the displayed image responsive to the inactive pixels”. The method of preventing burn-in disclosed in Chan can read on the claim language given broadest reasonable interpretation. The rejection of claim 14 is sustained.
With regards to claim 6 Applicant argues that Chan does not teach or disclose “where the image to be displayed comprises a plurality of sub-portions”. Examiner respectfully disagrees as Chan in at least Fig. 10B and paragraph 0082 discloses that the odd-numbered pixels have been switched off and the even-numbered pixels are activated, thus the even and odd numbered pixels can read on a plurality of sub-portions and the pixels in one of those sub-portions are inactive. The rejection of claim 6 is sustained.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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 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, 6-10, and 12-20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Chan (pub # 20130265349).
Consider claim 1. Chan teaches A method for generating image data at a data processing system (abstract).
comprising:
determining, at a first data processor unit, that an image comprising one or more inactive pixels is required to be displayed to meet one or more desired properties of the displayed image; (paragraph 0007, When a CPSS method is implemented, the screen content may be displayed at a relatively lower resolution, such as half resolution or some other fraction of full resolution, by deactivating some of the display pixels or subpixels. The CPSS may be activated, for example, if no response (such as user input) is received for a predetermined period of time.).
providing first control data configured to cause the first or a further processor unit to generate image data which when displayed comprises the one or more inactive pixels. (paragraph 0007, When a CPSS method is implemented, the screen content may be displayed at a relatively lower resolution, such as half resolution or some other fraction of full resolution, by deactivating some of the display pixels or subpixels. The CPSS may be activated, for example, if no response (such as user input) is received for a predetermined period of time.).
Consider claim 18. Chan teaches A data processor system to provide image data for display, (abstract). the data processor system operable to:
determine that an image comprising one or more inactive pixels is required to be displayed to meet one or more desired properties of the displayed image; (paragraph 0007, When a CPSS method is implemented, the screen content may be displayed at a relatively lower resolution, such as half resolution or some other fraction of full resolution, by deactivating some of the display pixels or subpixels. The CPSS may be activated, for example, if no response (such as user input) is received for a predetermined period of time.).
providing first control data to cause a processor unit to generate image data, which when displayed comprises the one or more inactive pixels. (paragraph 0007, When a CPSS method is implemented, the screen content may be displayed at a relatively lower resolution, such as half resolution or some other fraction of full resolution, by deactivating some of the display pixels or subpixels. The CPSS may be activated, for example, if no response (such as user input) is received for a predetermined period of time.).
Consider claim 2. Chan further teaches The method of claim 1 comprising: generating, responsive to the control data, image data which, when displayed, comprises the one or more inactive pixels to meet one or more desired properties of the displayed image. (paragraph 0007, more or fewer than half of the pixels may be initially (or subsequently) switched off to achieve other partial resolution states, such as 75% resolution, 2/3 resolution, 1/3 resolution, etc.).
Consider claim 3. Chan further teaches The method of claim 2, where generating the image data for display comprises:
obtaining, from storage, previously generated image data which when displayed comprises a plurality of active pixels; (paragraph 0110, the network interface 27 can be replaced by an image source, which can store or generate image data to be sent to the processor 21. The processor 21 can control the overall operation of the display device 40. The processor 21 receives data, such as compressed image data from the network interface 27 or an image source, and processes the data into raw image data or into a format that is readily processed into raw image data).
modifying, at the first or further processor unit, the previously generated image data to generate image data which when displayed comprises the one or more active pixels and further comprises the one or more inactive pixels to meet the one or more desired properties of the displayed image. (paragraph 0007, more or fewer than half of the pixels may be initially (or subsequently) switched off to achieve other partial resolution states, such as 75% resolution, 2/3 resolution, 1/3 resolution, etc.).
Consider claim 6. Chan further teaches The method of claim 1, where the image to be displayed comprises a plurality of sub-portions, the method comprising: providing inactive pixels in one or more of the sub-portions of the image to be displayed to meet one or more desired properties of the displayed image, (Fig. 10B and paragraph 0082, In this example, the even-numbered pixels 1010a within the image 1005 are activated, whereas the odd-numbered pixels 1010b within the image 1005 have been switched off.).
wherein the inactive pixels provided in a first sub-portion of the displayed image are to control one or more first properties of the first sub-portion, or wherein inactive pixels in a second sub-portion of the displayed image are to control one or more second properties of the second sub-portion. (paragraph 0007, more or fewer than half of the pixels may be initially (or subsequently) switched off to achieve other partial resolution states, such as 75% resolution, 2/3 resolution, 1/3 resolution, etc.).
Consider claim 7. Chan further teaches The method of claim 1, where providing the inactive pixels comprises providing the inactive pixels in the image to be displayed in a pattern, or wherein a pattern of the inactive pixels in the first sub-portion is different to a pattern of the inactive pixels in the second sub-portion. (Fig. 10B and paragraph 0082, In this example, the even-numbered pixels 1010a within the image 1005 are activated, whereas the odd-numbered pixels 1010b within the image 1005 have been switched off.).
Consider claim 8. Chan further teaches The method of claim 1, where the image data comprises one or more frames to be displayed. (See at least Figs. 10A-10C, display times T0-T2).
Consider claim 9. Chan further teaches The method of claims 2 further comprising: storing the generated image data for display; (paragraph 0110, the network interface 27 can be replaced by an image source, which can store or generate image data to be sent to the processor 21.).
obtaining, by a display controller, the stored image data for display; (paragraph 0110, The processor 21 receives data, such as compressed image data from the network interface 27 or an image source, and processes the data into raw image data or into a format that is readily processed into raw image data).
controlling, by the display controller, the display of the image data at a display, or where the display comprises a digital screen or a surface of a substrate. (Fig. 1 and paragraph 0046, transparent substrate 20).
Consider claim 10. Chan further teaches The method of any of claim 9, where controlling the display of the image data comprises: controlling the properties of one or more pixels in an array on the digital screen or the surface of the substrate to display the image responsive to the image data. (paragraph 0007, more or fewer than half of the pixels may be initially (or subsequently) switched off to achieve other partial resolution states, such as 75% resolution, 2/3 resolution, 1/3 resolution, etc.).
Consider claim 12. Chan further teaches The method of claim 6, where the image data comprises one or more image frames for display, the method comprising: providing a pattern of inactive pixels in a first frame; (Fig. 10B, a first pattern of inactive pixels is displayed at a time T1).
providing a further pattern of inactive pixels in a second frame. (Fig. 10C, a second pattern of inactive pixels is displayed at time T2).
Consider claim 13. Chan further teaches The method of claim 6, where the image data comprises one or more image frames for display the method comprising: providing a pattern of inactive pixels in the first frame when a first frame is displayed; (Fig. 10B and paragraph 0082, In this example, the even-numbered pixels 1010a within the image 1005 are activated, whereas the odd-numbered pixels 1010b within the image 1005 have been switched off).
replacing the pattern of inactive pixels with a further pattern of inactive pixels during the time that the first frame is displayed. (Fig. 10C and paragraph 0085, In this example, the odd-numbered pixels 1010b within the image 1005 are activated, whereas the even-numbered pixels 1010a within the image 1005 have been switched off.).
Consider claim 14. Chan further teaches The method of claim 1, further comprising: performing one or more mitigation techniques to mitigate a visual effect in the displayed image responsive to the inactive pixels, or wherein performing one or more mitigation techniques comprises: setting one or more properties of a first active pixel in the image data to take account of one or more properties of the one or more inactive pixels. (Paragraph 0039, When a display element such as a pixel or subpixel is activated continuously for a long period of time, the display element may stay in the activated state even when not activated by the display control system. This effect is often referred to as "burn-in." Burn-in can adversely affect many types of displays, including but not limited to plasma displays, IMOD displays and LCDs.).
Consider claim 15. Chan further teaches The method of claim 1, where setting one or more properties of the first active pixels in the image comprises: adjusting one or more colour values of the first active pixel. (paragraph 0110, The processor 21 can send the processed data to the driver controller 29 or to the frame buffer 28 for storage. Raw data typically refers to the information that identifies the image characteristics at each location within an image. For example, such image characteristics can include color, saturation, and gray-scale level.).
Consider claim 16. Chan further teaches The method of claim 15, where adjusting one or more colour values of the first active pixel comprises: adjusting one or more colour values of the first active pixel based on colour values associated with one or more spatially related pixels that are inactive in the generated image data. (paragraph 0110, The processor 21 can send the processed data to the driver controller 29 or to the frame buffer 28 for storage. Raw data typically refers to the information that identifies the image characteristics at each location within an image. For example, such image characteristics can include color, saturation, and gray-scale level.).
Consider claim 17. Chan further teaches The method of claim 1, where the one or more desired properties of the image comprise at least one of: a desired resolution of the image and a desired brightness of the image. (paragraph 0007, When a CPSS method is implemented, the screen content may be displayed at a relatively lower resolution, such as half resolution or some other fraction of full resolution, by deactivating some of the display pixels or subpixels. The CPSS may be activated, for example, if no response (such as user input) is received for a predetermined period of time.).
Consider claim 19. Chan further teaches The data processor system of claim 18, where the data processor system comprises one of: a host processor; a graphics processor unit; a display controller unit, an image signal processor unit, video processor unit neural processor unit and a display. (Fig. 13B and paragraph 0111, processor 21).
Consider claim 20. Chan further teaches A tangible, non-transitory computer readable storage medium storing computer software code which when executing on a processor performs the method of claim 1. (paragraph 0120).
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.
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 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Chan (pub # 20130265349) in view of Tsunashima (pub # 20140023143).
Consider claim 4. Chan does not specifically disclose The method of claim 1, where generating the image data for display comprises: rendering, at the first or further processor unit, the image data for display responsive to the control data, wherein generating the image data for display comprises: receiving, from a remote entity, a stream of encoded image data; decoding the encoded image data; processing the decoded data responsive to one or more instructions from the remote device to provide the image data for display, or wherein processing the decoded data comprises: modifying the decoded data, such that when displayed, the decoded data comprises the one or more inactive pixels to meet the one or more desired properties of the displayed image. However Tsunashima in at least paragraphs 0008-0017 discloses a method of a remote display device that receives an encoded video stream from a remote device, decodes said video stream, and displays the stream on said display. Therefore it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the method of Tsunashima with the method of Chan so as to enable an information processing device located in one place, e.g., one room to be operated from a digital television receiver located in another place, e.g., another room with a minimum of added software complexity, using the existing digital television receiver hardware (Tsunashima paragraph 0007).
Claim(s) 5 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Chan (pub # 20130265349) in view of Raynal et al (U.S. Pat # 10,957,247).
Consider claim 5. Chan does not specifically disclose The method of claim 1, where determining that an image comprising one or more inactive pixels is required to be displayed comprises one or more of: receiving an indication from a data processor unit of the data processor system that the image is to be displayed; and receiving instruction data from a remote entity, or wherein receiving the indication from the data processor unit comprises: receiving sensor data from an environment in which a display on which the image is to be displayed is located; processing, at the first or a further processor unit, the sensor data to determine whether one more inactive pixels are required to meet one or more desired properties of the displayed image. However Raynal et al in at least col. 10 line 49-col. 11 line 10 discloses modifying the luminance of at least one sub-pixel based on one or more ambient light readings collected by one or more light sensors. Therefore it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the method of Raynal et al with the method of Chan in order to improve a number of performance characteristics of a pixelated display including, but not limited to, image quality, contrast, image resolution, display brightness, and the like (Raynal et al col. 8 lines 6-9).
Claim(s) 11 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Chan (pub # 20130265349) in view of Lee et al (pub # 20230306914).
Consider claim 11. Chan does not specifically disclose The method of claim 1 further comprising: generating, with a sensor, sensor data corresponding to a position on the display at which a user's gaze is fixed; generating, responsive to the sensor data, the first control data. However Lee et al in at least paragraph 0085 discloses “In some embodiments, the locations of the display regions of a foveated display panel are configured dynamically based upon a gaze direction of the user (referred to as gaze-tracked foveated rendering, or GFR), e.g., where a region of display around the gaze direction of the user (e.g., centered on a location of the display corresponding to the user's gaze) is configured to display image data at a native resolution, whereas other regions of the display are configured to display image data at lower resolutions.”, thus generating sensor data corresponding to a position on the display at which a user’s gaze is fixed and responsive to said sensor data generating first control data. Therefore it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the method of Lee et al with the method of Chan in order to provide a more accurate method of adjusting the display properties of the pixels in the display by determining which specific area the user is looking at.
Conclusion
THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to CHAYCE R BIBBEE whose telephone number is (571)270-7222. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Thurs 8:00-6:00.
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/CHAYCE R BIBBEE/Examiner, Art Unit 2624
/MATTHEW A EASON/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2624
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