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 .
Priority
Acknowledgment is made of applicant’s claim for foreign priority under 35 U.S.C. 119 (a)-(d). The certified copy has been filed in parent Application No. 202210658192X, filed on 06/10/2022 in China.
Information Disclosure Statement
The IDS filed on 03/20/2023 has been considered and made of record.
Oath/Declaration
The oath/declaration filed on 07/18/2022 is acceptable.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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 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 1-2, 11 and 15-17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Fu Yong [CN 215265374].
Regarding claim 1, Fu Yong discloses a flexible display module (100, figures 1-12), comprising:
a fixing bracket (20, figures 1-6 and 11-12);
a middle frame bracket (30/31, figures 2-5 and 12) slidably connected to the fixing bracket;
a rolling unit (40, figures 2-12) disposed on the fixing bracket, wherein the rolling unit comprises at least two rolling elements (42, figures 8-11), axial directions (41, figures 8-11) of the at least two rolling elements are parallel to each other, and the at least two rolling elements are arranged in sequence along the axial directions (figures 8-11), each of the rolling elements is rotatably connected to the fixing bracket (figures 2-12), and both ends of each of the rolling elements are supported on the fixing bracket (figures 2-12);
a flexible display panel (10, figures 1-5), wherein a first end of the flexible display panel is fixedly connected to the middle frame bracket (a right flexible display end connected to a slidable middle frame bracket 30, figures 1-4), and the flexible display panel is partially supported on the rolling elements (figures 2-4); and
a winding mechanism (300, figures 3-5), wherein a second end of the flexible display panel is connected to the winding mechanism, and the winding mechanism is configured to wind the flexible display panel (another flexible display end connected to the winding mechanism 300, figure 4).
Regarding claim 2, Fu Yong, discloses wherein the at least two rolling elements are disposed coaxially (42, figures 3, 6 and 9-11).
Regarding claim 11, Fu Yong discloses wherein the fixing bracket comprises two first sidewalls (21 and 22, figure 3), a second sidewall (23, figure 3), and a first bottom wall (236, figure 10), opposite sides of the first bottom wall are respectively connected to the first sidewalls, one end of the first bottom wall is connected to the second sidewall, one end of the second sidewall is connected to one of the first sidewalls, and another end of the second sidewall is connected to another one of the first sidewalls, and the two first sidewalls, the second sidewall, and the first bottom wall are jointly enclosed to form a first accommodating space (25, figures 3 and 6).
Regarding claim 15, Fu Yong further discloses wherein a plurality of gear teeth (300, figures 2-5 and 12) are arranged on circumferential surfaces of the rolling elements (40/42, figures 2-5 and 11), a back of the flexible display panel is provided with a rack (32, figures 2-5 and 12), and the gear teeth are engaged and connected to the rack.
Regarding claim 16, Fu Yong discloses an electronic device, comprising the flexible display module according to claim 1 (figures 1-12).
Regarding claim 17, Fu Yong, discloses wherein the at least two rolling elements are disposed coaxially (42, figures 3, 6 and 9-11).
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 3, 7-8 and 18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Fu Yong.
Regarding claims 3 and 18, Fu Yong further discloses wherein the rolling unit further comprises a rotating shaft (41, figures 8-10) and a plurality of supporting rotating elements (42, figures 8-10), an axial direction of the rotating shafts and an axial direction of the supporting rotating elements are parallel to the axial directions of the rolling elements (figures 8-10); and the plurality of supporting rotating elements are sequentially arranged along the axial direction of the supporting rotating elements, each of the supporting rotating elements is sleeved (42, figures 8-10) outside one of the rotating shaft, each of the supporting rotating elements is disposed on the fixing bracket, and the rotating shafts is rotatably connected to the fixing bracket through the supporting rotating elements (2332 & 2312, figure 11).
Fu Yong discloses the claimed invention except for the rolling unit comprises a plurality of rotting shafts, and the plurality of rotating shafts are arranged in sequence along the axial direction of the rotating shafts, the rotating shafts are fixed to the rolling elements.
It would have been to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to set a rotating shaft to a plurality of rotating shafts, each of rotating shafts is coupled with each supporting rotating element in a flexible display module of Fu Yong, in order to facilitate the easy replacement of individual supporting rotating rollers in a rolling unit of a flexible display module, since it has been held that constructing a formerly integral structure in various elements involves only routine skill in the art. Nerwin v. Erlichman, 168 USPQ 177, 179.
Regarding claim 7, Fu Yong, as modified, disclose wherein the at least two rolling elements rotate synchronously (figures 2-10).
Regarding claim 8, Fu Yong, as modified, disclose wherein adjacent ones of the rolling elements are fixedly connected to a same one of the rotating shafts (figures 2-11).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 4-6, 9-10, 12-14 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.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
The claim 4 discloses the combination features of “wherein the fixing bracket is provided with a mounting seat, the mounting seat is provided with a mounting hole, and each of the supporting rotating elements is mounted in the mounting hole.” These features, in conjunction with other features, as claimed in the combination features of the claims 3, 2 and 1, were neither found to be disclosed, nor suggested by the prior art of records. Claims 5-6 depend on the allowed claim 4.
The claim 9 discloses the combination features of “wherein the at least two rolling elements are capable of rotating independently.” These features, in conjunction with other features, as claimed in the combination features of the claims 3, 2 and 1, were neither found to be disclosed, nor suggested by the prior art of records. Claim 10 depends on the allowed claim 9.
The claim 12 discloses the combination features of “wherein the middle frame bracket comprises two third sidewalls, a fourth sidewall, and a second bottom wall, opposite sides of the second bottom wall are respectively is connected to the third sidewalls, one end of the second bottom wall is connected to the fourth sidewall, one end of the fourth sidewall is connected to one of the third sidewalls, another end of the fourth sidewall is connected to another one of the third sidewalls, and the two third sidewalls, the fourth sidewall, and the second bottom wall are jointly enclosed to form a second accommodating space; and wherein the two first sidewalls are located between the two third sidewalls, the fourth sidewall and the second sidewall are arranged opposite to each other, and the second accommodating space communicates with the first accommodating space.” These features, in conjunction with other features, as claimed in the combination features of the claims 11 and 1, were neither found to be disclosed, nor suggested by the prior art of records. Claims 13-14 depend on the allowed claim 12.
The claim 19 discloses the combination features of “wherein the fixing bracket is provided with a mounting seat, the mounting seat is provided with a mounting hole, and each of the supporting rotating elements is mounted in the mounting hole.” These features, in conjunction with other features, as claimed in the combination features of the claims 18, 17, 16 and 1, were neither found to be disclosed, nor suggested by the prior art of records. Claim 20 depends on the allowed claim 19.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure: O’Brien [US 8,711,566] discloses expandable mobile device.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Hung S. Bui whose telephone number is (571)272-2102. The examiner can normally be reached on M-F: 8am-5pm.
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/HUNG S. BUI/
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 2841
/HUNG S. BUI/Primary Examiner, 2841/2800
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