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 .
Claims 1-11 are currently under review.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on October 23, 2025 is being considered by the examiner.
Specification
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 Objections
Claims 1, 3, 5-7, and 9 are objected to because of the following informalities: typographic errors. Appropriate correction is required.
Claim 1, line 5: “N scan lines, and [[the]]where N is even,”
Claim 1, line 8: “wherein [[the ]]steps of scanning the N scan lines comprise:”
Claim 1, line 12: “sequentially scanning the first group of scan lines X times, wherein [[the ]]X and [[the ]]Y are positive”
Claim 3, line 1: “wherein [[the ]]X is equal to [[the ]]Y.”
Claim 5, line 1: “wherein [[the ]]X is equal to [[the ]]Y are each greater”
Claim 6, line 1: “wherein [[the ]]X is equal to [[the ]]Y are both equal to”
Claim 7, lines 11-12: “sequentially scans a second group of scan lines among the N scan lines Y times, wherein [[the ]]X and [[the ]]Y are positive integers.”
Claim 9, line 1: “wherein [[the ]]X is equal to [[the ]]Y are greater than or equal to”
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.
Claims 1-4 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Liu et al. (Pub. No.: US 2021/0335215 A1).
With respect to Claim 1, Liu discloses a driving method (¶64) for an electronic paper display device (¶69), wherein the electronic paper display device comprises an electronic paper display panel (¶31, “The pixel units in the odd-numbered rows and the pixel units in the even-numbered rows on a display panel may achieve a display function separately”) and a gate driver on array (figs. 1-3), wherein the electronic paper display panel and the gate driver on array in the electronic paper display device are disposed on an electronic paper display substrate (¶46), the electronic paper display panel comprises N scan lines (figs. 1-3, 2N scan lines; ¶27, “N is an integer greater than 1, and n is a positive integer smaller than or equal to N”), and the N is even (figs. 1-3, 2N or 2n will always be even), the driving method comprising: controlling the gate driver on array to scan the N scan lines (¶30), wherein the steps of scanning the N scan lines comprise: sequentially scanning a first group of scan lines among the N scan lines X times when scanning one frame of the electronic paper display panel (¶31, “The pixel units in the odd-numbered rows and the pixel units in the even-numbered rows on a display panel may achieve a display function separately, i.e., the gate lines may be scanned in an interlaced manner within each display period. To be specific, at the odd-numbered row display stage, the odd-numbered gate lines may be scanned sequentially and the corresponding light-emitting control signal may be applied to the odd-numbered light-emitting control line, and at the even-numbered row display stage, the even-numbered gate lines may be scanned sequentially and the corresponding light-emitting control signal may be applied to the even-numbered light-emitting control line”, first group of scan lines = odd-numbered gate lines, X times is once); and sequentially scanning a second group of scan lines among the N scan lines Y times after sequentially scanning the first group of scan lines X times (¶31, second group of scan lines = even-numbered gate lines), wherein the X and the Y are positive integers (X and Y are both one).
With respect to Claim 2, claim 1 is incorporated, Liu discloses wherein the first group of scan lines is one of an odd-level scan line and an even-level scan line among the N scan lines (¶31, “the gate lines may be scanned in an interlaced manner within each display period. To be specific, at the odd-numbered row display stage, the odd-numbered gate lines may be scanned sequentially and the corresponding light-emitting control signal may be applied to the odd-numbered light-emitting control line, and at the even-numbered row display stage, the even-numbered gate lines may be scanned sequentially and the corresponding light-emitting control signal may be applied to the even-numbered light-emitting control line”), wherein the second group of scan lines is another one of the odd-level scan line and the even-level scan line (¶31, “the gate lines may be scanned in an interlaced manner within each display period. To be specific, at the odd-numbered row display stage, the odd-numbered gate lines may be scanned sequentially and the corresponding light-emitting control signal may be applied to the odd-numbered light-emitting control line, and at the even-numbered row display stage, the even-numbered gate lines may be scanned sequentially and the corresponding light-emitting control signal may be applied to the even-numbered light-emitting control line”).
With respect to Claim 3, claim 1 is incorporated, Liu discloses wherein the X is equal to the Y (¶31, “the gate lines may be scanned in an interlaced manner within each display period” – therefore X = Y = 1).
With respect to Claim 4, claim 1 is incorporated, Liu discloses wherein a time for scanning the frame in the electronic paper display panel is divided into N/2xX+N/2xY scan time periods (¶31, “each display frame (i.e., each display period) may include the odd-numbered row display stage and the even-numbered row display stage … During the operation of a display device including the display driving circuit in the embodiments of the present disclosure, the pixel units in the odd-numbered rows may be used for displaying a half frame of image, and the pixel units in the even-numbered rows may be used for displaying the other half frame of image” – for one scan time, X = Y = 1).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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 5-6 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Liu as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Suzuki et al. (Pub. No.: US 2016/0210922 A1) hereinafter referred to as Suzuki.
With respect to Claim 5, claim 1 is incorporated, Liu does not mention wherein the X and the Y are each greater than or equal to 1 and less than or equal to 5.
Suzuki teaches a driving method for an electronic paper display device (fig. 1; ¶18-19), wherein the electronic paper display device comprises an electronic paper display panel (fig. 1, item PNL; ¶20) and a gate drivers (fig. 1, items GD1 and GD2; ¶23), the electronic paper display panel comprises N scan lines (fig. 1, item GL1, … GLm), the driving method comprising: controlling the gate drivers to scan the N scan lines (¶26), wherein the steps of scanning the N scan lines comprise: scanning a first group of scan lines among the N scan lines X times when scanning one frame of the electronic paper display panel (¶43); and scanning a second group of scan lines among the N scan lines Y times (¶43), wherein the X and the Y are positive integers; wherein the X and the Y are each greater than or equal to 1 and less than or equal to 5 (fig. 3, main write period and additional write period, therefore X and Y are 2).
Therefore it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the driving method of Liu, wherein the X and the Y are each greater than or equal to 1 and less than or equal to 5, as taught by Suzuki so as to reduce power consumption and prevent the degradation of the display quality (¶53).
With respect to Claim 6, claim 1 is incorporated, Liu does not teach wherein the X and the Y are both equal to 2.
Suzuki teaches a driving method for an electronic paper display device (fig. 1; ¶18-19), wherein the electronic paper display device comprises an electronic paper display panel (fig. 1, item PNL; ¶20) and a gate drivers (fig. 1, items GD1 and GD2; ¶23), the electronic paper display panel comprises N scan lines (fig. 1, item GL1, … GLm), the driving method comprising: controlling the gate drivers to scan the N scan lines (¶26), wherein the steps of scanning the N scan lines comprise: scanning a first group of scan lines among the N scan lines X times when scanning one frame of the electronic paper display panel (¶43); and scanning a second group of scan lines among the N scan lines Y times (¶43), wherein the X and the Y are positive integers; wherein the X and the Y are both equal to 2 (fig. 3, main write period and additional write period, therefore X and Y are 2).
Therefore it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the driving method of Liu, wherein the X and the Y are both equal to 2, as taught by Suzuki so as to reduce power consumption and prevent the degradation of the display quality (¶53).
Claims 7-8 and 10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Liu in view of Toyooka (Pub. No.: US 2010/0201654 A1).
With respect to Claim 7, Liu teaches an electronic paper display device (¶69), comprising: an electronic paper display panel (¶31, “The pixel units in the odd-numbered rows and the pixel units in the even-numbered rows on a display panel may achieve a display function separately”), comprising N scan lines (figs. 1-3, 2N scan lines; ¶27, “N is an integer greater than 1, and n is a positive integer smaller than or equal to N”); and a gate driver on array (figs. 1-3), coupled to the electronic paper display panel, wherein the electronic paper display panel and the gate driver on array are disposed on an electronic paper display substrate (¶46), the gate driver on array to scan the N scan lines (¶30), when one frame of the electronic paper display panel is scanned (¶31, each display frame), the gate driver on array sequentially scans a first group of scan lines among the N scan lines X times (¶31, “The pixel units in the odd-numbered rows and the pixel units in the even-numbered rows on a display panel may achieve a display function separately, i.e., the gate lines may be scanned in an interlaced manner within each display period. To be specific, at the odd-numbered row display stage, the odd-numbered gate lines may be scanned sequentially and the corresponding light-emitting control signal may be applied to the odd-numbered light-emitting control line, and at the even-numbered row display stage, the even-numbered gate lines may be scanned sequentially and the corresponding light-emitting control signal may be applied to the even-numbered light-emitting control line”, first group of scan lines = odd-numbered gate lines, X times is once), and after the first group of scan lines is sequentially scanned X times, the gate driver on array sequentially scans a second group of scan lines among the N scan lines Y times (¶31, second group of scan lines = even-numbered gate lines), wherein the X and the Y are positive integers (X and Y are both one).
Although Liu mentions controlling a gate driver on array, Liu does not explicitly mention a display controller, such that a gate driver on array is coupled to the display controller and the electronic paper display panel, wherein the display controller controls the gate driver on array to scan N scan lines.
Toyooka teaches an electronic paper display device (figs. 1-2; ¶23; ¶25), comprising: an electronic paper display panel (figs. 1-2, item 100; ¶26-27; ¶92), comprising N scan lines (fig. 2, N= 768; ¶25); a display controller (fig. 1, item 20; ¶33; ¶35); and a gate driver (fig. 2, item 130; ¶28), coupled to the display controller and the electronic paper display panel (fig. 1), wherein the display controller controls the gate driver on array to scan the N scan lines (¶33; ¶35).
Therefore it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the electronic paper display device of Liu, to comprise a display controller, such that a gate driver on array is coupled to the display controller and the electronic paper display panel, wherein the display controller controls the gate driver on array to scan N scan lines, as taught by Toyooka so as to provide common device functionality.
With respect to Claim 8, claim 7 is incorporated, Liu teaches wherein the first group of scan lines is one of an odd-level scan line and an even-level scan line among the N scan lines (¶31, “the gate lines may be scanned in an interlaced manner within each display period. To be specific, at the odd-numbered row display stage, the odd-numbered gate lines may be scanned sequentially and the corresponding light-emitting control signal may be applied to the odd-numbered light-emitting control line, and at the even-numbered row display stage, the even-numbered gate lines may be scanned sequentially and the corresponding light-emitting control signal may be applied to the even-numbered light-emitting control line”), wherein the second group of scan lines is another one of the odd-level scan line and the even-level scan line (¶31, “the gate lines may be scanned in an interlaced manner within each display period. To be specific, at the odd-numbered row display stage, the odd-numbered gate lines may be scanned sequentially and the corresponding light-emitting control signal may be applied to the odd-numbered light-emitting control line, and at the even-numbered row display stage, the even-numbered gate lines may be scanned sequentially and the corresponding light-emitting control signal may be applied to the even-numbered light-emitting control line”).
With respect to Claim 10, claim 7 is incorporated, Liu teaches wherein a time for scanning the frame in the electronic paper display panel is divided into N/2xX+N/2xY scan time periods (¶31, “each display frame (i.e., each display period) may include the odd-numbered row display stage and the even-numbered row display stage … During the operation of a display device including the display driving circuit in the embodiments of the present disclosure, the pixel units in the odd-numbered rows may be used for displaying a half frame of image, and the pixel units in the even-numbered rows may be used for displaying the other half frame of image” – for one scan time, X = Y = 1).
Claim 9 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Liu and Toyooka as applied to claim 7 above, and further in view of Suzuki.
With respect to Claim 9, claim 7 is incorporated, Liu and Toyooka combined do not teach wherein the X and the Y are each greater than or equal to 1 and less than or equal to 5.
Suzuki teaches an electronic paper display device (fig. 1; ¶18-19), wherein the electronic paper display device comprises an electronic paper display panel (fig. 1, item PNL; ¶20) and a gate drivers (fig. 1, items GD1 and GD2; ¶23), the electronic paper display panel comprises N scan lines (fig. 1, item GL1, … GLm), the gate drivers to scan the N scan lines (¶26), wherein the steps of scanning the N scan lines comprise: scanning a first group of scan lines among the N scan lines X times when scanning one frame of the electronic paper display panel (¶43); and scanning a second group of scan lines among the N scan lines Y times (¶43), wherein the X and the Y are positive integers; wherein the X and the Y are each greater than or equal to 1 and less than or equal to 5 (fig. 3, main write period and additional write period, therefore X and Y are 2).
Therefore it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the combined electronic paper display device of Liu and Toyooka, wherein the X and the Y are each greater than or equal to 1 and less than or equal to 5, as taught by Suzuki so as to reduce power consumption and prevent the degradation of the display quality (¶53).
Claim 11 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Liu and Toyooka as applied to claim 7 above, and further in view of Liao et al. (Pub. No.: US 2024/0212643 A1) hereinafter referred to as Liao.
With respect to Claim 11, claim 7 is incorporated, Liu and Toyooka combined do not teach wherein the gate driver on array comprises: N/2 first gate selection circuits, each of the first gate selection circuits respectively coupled to one of odd-level scan lines among the N scan lines, wherein the first gate selection circuits are controlled by a first enable signal; and N/2 second gate selection circuits, each of the second gate selection circuits respectively coupled to one of even-level scan lines among the N scan lines, wherein the second gate selection circuits are controlled by a second enable signal.
Liao teaches an electronic paper display device (¶139), comprising: an electronic paper display panel (fig. 1, item 1; ¶59), comprising N scan lines (fig. 3A; ¶63, “For example, for a display panel with an 8K resolution, the shift registers of the plurality of stages arranged in sequence include a shift register of a first stage GOA1, a shift register of a second stage GOA2, a shift register of a third stage GOA3, . . . , a shift register of a 4320-th stage, a shift register of a 4322-th stage, a shift register of a 4324-th stage”; ¶65); a display controller (fig. 4, item 300; ¶112); and a gate driver on array (fig. 1, item 10; fig. 3A; ¶60; ¶62-63), coupled to the display controller and the electronic paper display panel, wherein the display controller controls the gate driver on array to scan the N scan lines (¶112), when one frame of the electronic paper display panel is scanned, the gate driver on array sequentially scans a first group of scan lines among the N scan lines X times (¶65), and after the first group of scan lines is sequentially scanned X times, the gate driver on array sequentially scans a second group of scan lines among the N scan lines Y times, wherein the X and the Y are positive integers (¶65); wherein the gate driver on array comprises: N/2 first gate selection circuits, each of the first gate selection circuits respectively coupled to one of odd-level scan lines among the N scan lines (¶68), wherein the first gate selection circuits are controlled by a first enable signal (fig. 4, item STV1; ¶84); and N/2 second gate selection circuits, each of the second gate selection circuits respectively coupled to one of even-level scan lines among the N scan lines (¶68), wherein the second gate selection circuits are controlled by a second enable signal (fig. 4, item STV2; ¶84).
Therefore it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the combined electronic paper display device of Liu and Toyooka, wherein the gate driver on array comprises: N/2 first gate selection circuits, each of the first gate selection circuits respectively coupled to one of odd-level scan lines among the N scan lines, wherein the first gate selection circuits are controlled by a first enable signal; and N/2 second gate selection circuits, each of the second gate selection circuits respectively coupled to one of even-level scan lines among the N scan lines, wherein the second gate selection circuits are controlled by a second enable signal, as taught by Liao so as to improve performance of display products (¶57).
Conclusion
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/DONNA V Bocar/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2621
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