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.
Claims 1-3, 7-13 and 16-18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Sun et al. (US 2024/0096291) in view of Shin (US 2013/0119876).
Regarding claims 1, 11 and 16, Sun discloses a display apparatus (10, fig. 1, para. 0023) comprising:
a light emitter (62A, 62B, 62C, fig. 8, para. 0039); and
a controller (18, fig. 1, para. 0024) comprising memory (20) storing instructions and at least one processor configured to execute the instructions,
wherein the instructions, when executed by the at least one processor (18) individually or collectively, cause the display apparatus (10) to:
in a first image frame (such as a first frame of two succeeding frames, para. 0047), control a driving current (VLED) applied to the light emitter (62A, 62B, 62C) based on first image frame data corresponding to the first image frame (paras. 0038-0039),
in the first image frame, receive a feedback voltage (LED_FB_R, LED_FB_G, LED_FB_B) detected at a cathode of the light emitter (para. 0039);
in a second image frame (such as a second frame of two succeeding frames) following the first image frame, control the driving current based on second image frame data (image data, para. 0038) corresponding to the second image frame and the feedback voltage (LED_FB_R, LED_FB_G, LED_FB_B) corresponding to the first image frame data (paras. 0039-0041).
Sun does not specifically disclose control the driving current based on second image frame data corresponding to the second image frame and a voltage difference between the feedback voltage and a reference voltage corresponding to the first image frame data.
In a similar field of endeavor of driving light emitting diodes, Shin discloses control the driving current based on second image frame data corresponding to the second image frame and a voltage difference between the feedback voltage and a reference voltage corresponding to the first image frame data (paras. 0051, 0053 and 0057-0058).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before effective filling date of the claimed invention to incorporate the driving current as taught by Shin in the system of Sun in order to stably drive the LED drive circuit though the noise components are applied to the LED strings (para. 0051).
Regarding claims 2, 12 and 17, the combination of Sun and Shin discloses the instructions, when executed by the at least one processor individually or collectively, further cause the display apparatus to, in the second image frame, cause the driving current to have a second amplitude greater than a first amplitude corresponding to the second image frame data, based on the feedback voltage being greater than the reference voltage (para. 0065 of Shin).
Regarding claims 3, 13 and 18, the combination of Sun and Shin discloses the instructions, when executed by the at least one processor individually or collectively, further cause the display apparatus to identify the second amplitude based on the voltage difference (paras. 0065-0068 of Shin).
Regarding claim 7, the combination of Sun and Shin discloses the instructions, when executed by the at least one processor individually or collectively, further cause the display apparatus to, in the second image frame, increase a driving current applied to an anode of the light emitter, based on the feedback voltage being less than the reference voltage (paras. 0066-0068 of Shin).
Regarding claim 8, the combination of Sun and Shin discloses the light emitter comprises a red light-emitting diode (LED) configured to output red light, a green LED configured to output green light, and a blue LED configured to output blue light (62A, 62B, 62C, para. 0039 of Sun),
wherein the first image frame data comprises an R value which is a color value of the red LED, a G value which is a color value of the green LED, and a B value which is a color value of the blue LED ((para. 0040 of Sun), and
wherein the reference voltage corresponding to the first image frame data comprises a first reference voltage corresponding to the R value, a second reference voltage corresponding to the G value, and a third reference voltage corresponding to the B value (Vin may be a predefined value for each color, para. 0040 of Sun).
Regarding claim 9, the combination of Sun and Shin discloses based on the R value being equal to the B value, a magnitude of the first reference voltage is greater than a magnitude of the third reference voltage (para. 0041 of Sun).
Regarding claim 10, the combination of Sun and Shin discloses based on the R value being equal to the G value, a magnitude of the second reference voltage is greater than a magnitude of the first reference voltage (para. 0041 of Sun).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 4-6, 14-15 and 19-20 are 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. Claims 4, 14 and 19 identify the distinct limitations “apply the driving current to the light emitter for a second application time shorter than a first application time corresponding to the second image frame data, based on the feedback voltage being greater than the reference voltage”. Claims 5-6, 15 and 20 are objected for their dependence upon claims 4, 14 and 19.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure:
Campos et al. (US 2013/0140990) disclose a plurality of light emitting diode (LED) circuits and a controllable power source to power the plurality of LED circuits. The controller comprising a minimum voltage selector to determine a minimum voltage from a plurality of feedback voltages, one feedback voltage for each of the plurality of LED circuits (fig. 1, abstract).
Lin et al. (US 2011/0031898) disclose supplying a drive voltage to a load. The detector is connected to the load for detecting a forward voltage across the load to generate a detecting voltage; wherein the detector compares the detecting voltage with a first reference voltage. If the detecting voltage is smaller than the first reference voltage, the detector generates a first feedback signal (fig. 2, abstract).
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JENNIFER T NGUYEN whose telephone number is (571)272-7696. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Fri 7:00-5:00.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Benjamin C Lee can be reached at 5712722963. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/JENNIFER T NGUYEN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2629
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