Ex Parte NICHOLSON

Patent Trials and Appeals Board

Mar 27, 2019

14508395 - (D) (P.T.A.B. Mar. 27, 2019)

UNITED STA TES p A TENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE
APPLICATION NO. FILING DATE
14/508,395 10/07/2014
54640 7590 03/29/2019
PERRY+ CURRIER INC.
1300 YONGE STREET
SUITE 500
TORONTO, ON M4T-1X3
CANADA
FIRST NAMED INVENTOR
Stuart NICHOLSON
UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
United States Patent and Trademark Office
Address: COMMISSIONER FOR PATENTS
P.O. Box 1450
Alexandria, Virginia 22313-1450
www .uspto.gov
ATTORNEY DOCKET NO. CONFIRMATION NO.
P4653USOO 5671
EXAMINER
SITTA, GRANT
ART UNIT PAPER NUMBER
2694
NOTIFICATION DATE DELIVERY MODE
03/29/2019 ELECTRONIC
Please find below and/or attached an Office communication concerning this application or proceeding.
The time period for reply, if any, is set in the attached communication.
Notice of the Office communication was sent electronically on above-indicated "Notification Date" to the
following e-mail address(es):
docketing@pckip.com
PTOL-90A (Rev. 04/07)
UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE
BEFORE THE PATENT TRIAL AND APPEAL BOARD
Ex parte STUART NICHOLSON
Appeal2018-003179
Application 14/508,395 1
Technology Center 2600
Before DAVID M. KOHUT, ERIC B. CHEN, and
JOSEPH P. LENTIVECH, Administrative Patent Judges.
KOHUT, Administrative Patent Judge.
DECISION ON APPEAL
Appellant seeks our review, under 35 U.S.C. § 134(a), of the
Examiner's Final Rejection of claims 1--4, 6-12, and 14--18. Claims 5 and
13 are canceled. We have jurisdiction under 35 U.S.C. § 6(b).
We REVERSE.
1 According to Appellant, the real party in interest is "Christie Digital
Systems USA Inc." App. Br. 3.
Appeal2018-003179
Application 14/508,395
INVENTION
The present invention controls the illumination of a pixel array.
Spec. ,r,r 32-34, 40. An illuminator lights the entire array with a sequence of
saturated colors ( e.g., red (R), then green (G), then blue (B), ... ). Id. ,r,r 32-
35, 40. As shown in Appellant's Figure 2, reproduced below, the invention
replaces some saturated colors with desaturated colors (D) (e.g., white).
Id. ,I,I 43, 63.
201
..
..
i
211,1
· .. ,..
/
•' ..
213-1
Time
..
..
212-2
Appellant's "Fig. 2 depicts replacement of saturated colours with
de-saturated colours in colours illuminating a modulator of the
system." Spec. ,r 24.
Claim 1 is illustrative and reproduced below with emphasis on a
disputed limitation.
1. A system comprising:
at least one spatial light modulator;
a light illumination system configured to produce a series of
colours illuminating the at least one spatial light modulator, the
series comprising: saturated colours; and, pairs of de-saturated
colours which respectively replace respective saturated colours
on either side of a centre of the series of colours; and,
an image processor configured to, in at least a portion of pixels
within a video frame:
2
211-2
Appeal2018-003179
Application 14/508,395
control the at least one spatial light modulator to inject one
or more of the de-saturated colours both prior to and
following an active sequence of the saturated colours,
the active sequence comprising a subset of the series of
colours used at the at least one spatial light modulator at
each pixel in the at least one spatial light modulator, as part
of an image being formed thereby under control of the
image processor, by turning the pixel to an on-state and to
an off-state within the active sequence depending on a
brightness level and colour to which the pixel is being
controlled,
respective locations of the de-saturated colours selected to
minimize respective times between at least one first de-
saturated colour prior to a first non-black colour in the
active sequence and between at least one second de-
saturated colour following a last non-black colour in the
active sequence,
the pixel, outside the active sequence, before and after the
de-saturated colours, being controlled to the off-state.
REJECTIONS
Claims 1, 2, 4, 6-10, 12, and 14--16 stand rejected under
35 U.S.C. § I03(a) as unpatentable over Randall (US 2007/0076019 Al;
Apr. 5, 2007) and Fan-Chiang (US 2009/0102864 Al; Apr. 23, 2009). Final
Act. 2-9. 2
Claims 17 and 18 stand rejected under 35 U.S.C. § I03(a) as
unpatentable over Randall, Fan-Chiang, and Kim (US 2011/0206126 Al;
Aug. 25, 2011). Final Act. 9-10.
2 We note that the Examiner mentions claim 11 in the header of this
rejection. Final Act. 2. However, the Examiner rejected claim 11 under a
different rejection listed below. Final Act. 10-11. We find this to be
harmless error.
3
Appeal2018-003179
Application 14/508,395
Claims 3 and 11 stand rejected under 35 U.S.C. § I03(a) as
unpatentable over Randall, Fan-Chiang, and Medin (US 2010/0225238 Al;
Sept. 9, 2010). Final Act. 10-11.
ANALYSIS
Independent claim 1 recites the following disputed limitation: "the
series comprising: saturated colours; and, pairs of de-saturated colours
which respectively replace respective saturated colours." Independent
claim 9 recites a similar limitation. Dependent claims 2--4, 6-8, 10, 11, 12,
and 14--18 each depend from one of claims 1 and 9, and thus incorporate the
disputed limitation.
The Examiner finds an illumination sequence of Fan-Chiang's
Figure 3, reproduced below, teaches the disputed limitation by inserting
desaturated colors (W) between saturated colors. Final Act. 4--5; Ans. 4--
5. Specifically, the Examiner states: "[In] Fig. 3 of Fan-Chiang[,] ... pairs
of Ws are on either side [of] centre 'G' .... W replaces the sequence of
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Appeal2018-003179
Application 14/508,395
colors [because] without W [the sequence] would be R, G, B. [F]rom left to
right, the first 'W' replaces the place of 'G' ." Ans. 4--5.
--~ Time
• • • R w G w B w • • •
Tl T2 T3 T4 T5 T6
>
T
Fan-Chiang's "FIG. 3 is a timing chart of a driving method for
a color sequential display according to an embodiment of the
present invention." Fan-Chiang ,r 22.
Appellant contends that Fan-Chiang's desaturated colors are "inserted
to separate red, green, and blue pictures" ( quoting Fan-Chiang ,r 16) and,
therefore, do not replace saturated colors, as required by the claim. Reply
Br. 10-11 (quoting Fan-Chiang ,r,r 16, 28, 35). Appellant further contends:
[The] Examiner appears to be conflating the concept of inserting
white with Appellant's claimed replacing.
[A]s clearly shown in [Appellant's] FIG. 2, in some
embodiments, desaturated colors 211-1, 211-2 can replace a
... color in the series of colors.
Id. at 12 (emphasis omitted).
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Appeal2018-003179
Application 14/508,395
Thus, we focus on the interpretation of the claim limitation "de-
saturated colours which respectively replace respective saturated colors."
For the reasons indicated below, we agree with Appellant.
We apply the broadest reasonable interpretation of claim terms,
consistent with the specification, as would be understood by one of ordinary
skill in the art. In re Am. Acad. of Sci. Tech Ctr., 367 F.3d 1359, 1364 (Fed.
Cir. 2004) (citations omitted). Here, we find Appellant's Specification
consistently supports an interpretation that "de-saturated colours which
respectively replace respective saturated colors" means substituting
desaturated colors for saturated colors while the remaining color sequence
remains unchanged. For example, Appellant's Specification shows
replacing (i.e., substituting) three saturated colors from the first 12 saturated
colors in the following sequence found in Figure 2 "RGBGRGRGBGRG"
with a desaturated color "D" in order to form the following sequence
"DGBGRGDGBGRD."3 See Spec. ,r,r 24, 43, 63, 85; Fig. 2.
Thus, we are persuaded by Appellant's argument that the Examiner
has not shown how the references teach replacing saturated colors within the
series of colors with desaturated colors, as interpreted above. Instead, the
Examiner's findings teach inserting desaturated colors between saturated
colors as shown in Figure 3 and paragraphs 34-35 of Fan-Chiang, which
ultimately results in a change to the remaining color sequence. The
additional prior art references-Medin and Kim-are not cited as teaching
or suggesting the disputed limitation and we will not engage in any inquiry
3 We note that, other than the three places where the saturated color is
replaced with the desaturated color "D," the sequence remains unchanged.
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Appeal2018-003179
Application 14/508,395
as to whether they cure the noted deficiency. Accordingly, we do not sustain
the Examiner's rejections of claims 1--4, 6-12, and 14--18.
DECISION
We reverse the Examiner decision rejecting claims 1--4, 6-12, and 14--
18.
REVERSED
7