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 § 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, 11-16, 19, and 22-23 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Park et al. (2012/0268372).
Regarding claim 1, Park discloses a projection device (par. 104) electrically connected to a signal source (150), comprising:
an identification module (120), configured to generate identification sensing data;
a determining unit (s133), electrically connected to the identification module, configured to receive the identification sensing data in response to the projection device implementing a gesture identification function, identify a gesture content based on the identification sensing data, and
generate a control instruction based on the gesture content (s134);
a control module, electrically connected to the determining unit, configured to receive the control instruction and determine a command channel object of the control instruction (par. 241-245);
an interface module, electrically connected to the control module and the signal source, configured to receive input data from the signal source and the control instruction from the control module, wherein the interface module is configured to transmit the control instruction to the signal source to enable the signal source to operate according to the control instruction (note the broadcast channel operations in par. 245, which requires a transmission of channel changing command to a television tuner in 155);
a signal processing module, electrically connected to the control module and the interface module, configured to receive the control instruction from the control module and the input data from the interface module, generate at least one of projection data and audio data based on the control instruction and the input data, wherein the command channel object is at least one of the interface module and the signal processing module (par. 245);
a projection module, electrically connected to the signal processing module, configured to receive the projection data and provide an image beam based on the projection data (par. 104); and
an audio module (142), electrically connected to the signal processing module, configured to receive the audio data and output sound based on the audio data.
Regarding claim 11, Park discloses the identification module comprises one or more single area sensing units or multi-area detection units (note Fig. 3).
Regarding claim 12, Park discloses each of the identification sensing data is distance data, and the determining unit is configured to identify the gesture content based on the distance data in different time series (par. 89). That is, when users approach the display 100, the gesture recognition operation is initiated.
Regarding claim 13, the controller 170 inherently includes the following claimed limitations:
the signal processing module comprises:
an image processing module, electrically connected to the control module, the interface module and the projection module, configured to receive the control instruction from the control module and the input data from the interface module and generate the projection data based on the control instruction and the input data; and
an audio processing module, electrically connected to the control module, the interface module and the audio module, configured to receive the control instruction from the control module and the input data from the interface module and generate the audio data based on the control instruction and the input data.
Regarding claim 14, the controller 170 inherently includes the following claimed limitations:
the interface module comprises:
a front-end processor, electrically connected to the control module and the signal processing module, configured to receive the control instruction from the control module and the input data from the signal source and preprocess the input data; and
an interface terminal, electrically connected to the front-end processor and the signal source, configured to transmit the control instruction from the control module to the signal source and transmit the input data from the signal source to the front-end processor.
Regarding claim 15, Park discloses the projection data generated by the signal processing module comprises object selection data (note Fig. 13 and Fig. 26), the object selection data comprises options, wherein in response to the gesture content corresponding to one of the options, the projection data comprises notification data indicating that the option is selected, and the control instruction corresponds to the option.
Regarding claim 16, see rejection to claim 1.
Regarding claim 19, see rejection to claim 12.
Regarding claim 22, Park discloses generating the projection data based on the input data and object selection data through the signal processing module, wherein the object selection data comprises a plurality of options;
providing the image beam based on the projection data through the projection module; and
in response to one of the options corresponding to the gesture content is obscured, generating the control instruction based on the gesture content through the determining unit (see Fig. 13 and Fig. 26). A menu item is selected when a user’s palm obscures the displaying menu item.
Regarding claim 23, Park discloses in response to the command channel object being the interface module, the signal source updates the input data corresponding to the control instruction (note channel changing operation in par. 245).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 2-10, 17-18, and 20-21 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.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Gordon et al. (20150346701) discloses a gesture interactive system.
Kang et al. (2015/0277573) discloses a gesture recognition system.
Chen et al. (2011/0280441) discloses a projector using gesture control
Nishihara et al. (2008/0244468) discloses a gesture interface.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MICHAEL LEE whose telephone number 571-272-7349. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday through Thursday from 9:00 am to 6:00 pm.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner's supervisor, John Miller, can be reached on 571-272-7353. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/MICHAEL LEE/ Primary Examiner,
Art Unit 2422
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