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 .
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.
Claim(s) 1-4, 7-8, 10-13 and 16-17 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hirsch (US 2013/0050233 A1, cited in IDS) in view of Baldwin (US 9,635,255 B1, cited in IDS).
As to claim 1, Hirsch discloses an electronic device (Fig.1-4: mobile device 100) comprising:
a display device (Fig.1: touch-sensitive display device 118 including screen 112) and a camera portion (Fig.1: image capturing subsystem 180 and image capture device 185),
wherein the camera portion is provided on a same side as the display device (Fig.2; [0045]: the image capture device 185 and display device 118 are mounted in a common face),
wherein the display device has a first region (Fig.6B; [0071]: white strip lighting element 610) configured to illuminate a subject ([0071]: the object whose lighting is adjusted by light from lighting element 610) and a second region (Fig.6B; [0071]: screen output 605 apart from lighting element 610) configured to display an image of the subject obtained from the camera portion in real time ([0024]: “real time-image data of an object as received through the image capture device 185 is continually displayed on the display screen 118”),
wherein, when ambient light is intense and bright, the display device is configured to display the second region and not to display the first region ([0071]: “In well lit environments, the processor 102 may display a normal full-size screen output 605 on the entire display device 118 as illustrated by FIG. 6A”),
a plurality of icons ([0016]: “Information, such as text, characters, symbols, images, icons, and other items that may be displayed or rendered on a mobile device, is displayed on the touch-sensitive display device 118”), and
wherein at least one of the plurality of icons is a photographing execution button ([0024]: image capture trigger activated by a soft button or icon on display screen 112).
Hirsch fails to disclose the first region includes the plurality of icons.
However, Baldwin teaches the first region includes the plurality of icons (Col.8, lines 6-14: “For video portraits where the user might still want to be able to view content on the screen during image capture, areas of the screen used for text or other feedback or input (e.g., chat boxes, controls, or virtual buttons) can utilize a scheme of bright-white background”. That is, the buttons are displayed on the illumination portion of the screen).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Hirsch with the teaching of Balwin to place the plurality of icons in the first region, so as to provide the icons while keeping the preview unobstructed.
As to claim 2, Hirsch in view of Balwin discloses the electronic device according to claim 1, wherein the second region is located closer to the camera portion than the first region (Hirsch: as shown in Fig.6B: the output 605/second region is located closer to the image capture device 185 than the lighting element 610/second region).
As to claim 3, Hirsch in view of Balwin discloses the electronic device according to claim 1, wherein the second region is not surrounded by the first region (Hirsch: As shown in Fig.6B).
As to claim 4, Hirsch in view of Balwin discloses the electronic device according to claim 1, wherein the image of the subject is not displayed on the first region (Hirsch: Fig.6B; [0071]: light element 610 provides the bright light area, while output 605 carries the subject preview).
As to claim 7, Hirsch in view of Balwin discloses the electronic device according to claim 1, further comprising a storage device to store data of the image (Hirsch: Fig.1: memory 110; [0023]: “an image or video file derived from the received image data is created and stored as an image or video file in persistent memory such as memory 110”).
As to claim 8, Hirsch in view of Balwin discloses the electronic device according to claim 1, wherein a pixel portion of the display device includes an organic EL element (Hirsch: [0017]: display screen 112 may be an OLED).
As to claim 10, Hirsch discloses an electronic device (Fig.1-4: mobile device 100) comprising:
a display device (Fig.1: touch-sensitive display device 118 including screen 112) and a camera portion (Fig.1: image capturing subsystem 180 and image capture device 185),
wherein the camera portion is provided on a same side as the display device (Fig.2; [0045]: the image capture device 185 and display device 118 are mounted in a common face),
wherein the display device has a first region (Fig.6B; [0071]: white strip lighting element 610) configured to illuminate a subject ([0071]: the object whose lighting is adjusted by light from lighting element 610) and a second region (Fig.6B; [0071]: screen output 605 apart from lighting element 610) configured to display an image of the subject obtained from the camera portion in real time ([0024]: “real time-image data of an object as received through the image capture device 185 is continually displayed on the display screen 118”),
wherein, when viewed from the same side, the second region is located closer to the camera portion than the first region (as shown in Fig.6B: the output 605/second region is located closer to the image capture device 185 than the lighting element 610/second region) in cases where the camera portion is positioned on an upper side, on a right side by rotating the electronic device clockwise, and on a left side by rotating the electronic device counterclockwise (See the spatial relationship of the image capture device, screen output 605 and lighting element 610 in the Fig.6B),
a plurality of icons ([0016]: “Information, such as text, characters, symbols, images, icons, and other items that may be displayed or rendered on a mobile device, is displayed on the touch-sensitive display device 118”), and
wherein at least one of the plurality of icons is a photographing execution button ([0024]: image capture trigger activated by a soft button or icon on display screen 112).
Hirsch fails to disclose the first region includes the plurality of icons.
However, Baldwin teaches the first region includes the plurality of icons (Col.8, lines 6-14: “For video portraits where the user might still want to be able to view content on the screen during image capture, areas of the screen used for text or other feedback or input (e.g., chat boxes, controls, or virtual buttons) can utilize a scheme of bright-white background”. That is, the buttons are displayed on the illumination portion of the screen).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Hirsch with the teaching of Balwin to place the plurality of icons in the first region, so as to provide the icons while keeping the preview unobstructed.
As to claim 11, Hirsch in view of Balwin discloses the electronic device according to claim 10, wherein, when ambient light is intense and bright, the display device is configured to display the second region and not to display the first region ([0071]: “In well lit environments, the processor 102 may display a normal full-size screen output 605 on the entire display device 118 as illustrated by FIG. 6A”).
Claims 12-13 and 16-17 recite substantially similar subject matter of claims 3-4 and 7-8; respectively; therefore, they are rejected for the same reasons.
Claim(s) 5-6 and 14-15 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hirsch (US 2013/0050233 A1, cited in IDS) in view of Baldwin (US 9,635,255 B1, cited in IDS) as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Shimoyama (US 2011/0115833 A1, cited in IDS).
As to claims 5 and 6, Hirsch in view of Baldwin discloses the electronic device according to claim 1 but fails to disclose a position of the second region is changeable, wherein the first region becomes closer to the camera portion than the second region after a position of the second region is changed.
However, Shimoyama teaches a position of the second region is changeable (Fig.12A-12D), wherein the first region becomes closer to the camera portion than the second region after a position of the second region is changed (Fig.12A-12D; [0097]: as shown in Fig.12C, when the image is positioned on the lower part of the display unit, the whitened blank space becomes closer to the top edge of the display. Please note that in Fig.6B of Hirsch, the image capture device is positioned on the upper side of the display).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the combination of Hirsch and Baldwin with the teaching of Shimoyama to make the position of the second region changeable, so as to allow the user to adjust the angle of the lighting according to the environment light or as desired, thereby improving the functionality of the device.
Claims 14-15 recite substantially similar subject matter of claims 5-6; respectively; therefore, they are rejected for the same reasons.
Claim(s) 9 and 18 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hirsch (US 2013/0050233 A1, cited in IDS) in view of Baldwin (US 9,635,255 B1, cited in IDS) as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Kang et al. (US 2018/0004253 A1, cited in IDS).
As to claim 9, Hirsch in view of Baldwin discloses the electronic device according to claim 1 but fails to disclose the display device has a flexible display panel.
However, Kang et al. teaches the display device has a flexible display panel ([0037-0040]: the touch screen panel is a flexible touch screen panel).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the combination of Hirsch and Baldwin with the teaching of Kang et al. to have a flexible display panel, so as to allow the user to adjust the lighting angle more easily.
Claim 18 recites substantially similar subject matter of claim 9; respectively; therefore, it is rejected for the same reasons.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ZHENZHEN WU whose telephone number is (571)272-2519. The examiner can normally be reached 8:30 am - 5:30 pm.
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/ZHENZHEN WU/ Examiner, Art Unit 2637
/SINH TRAN/ Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2637
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