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 .
Response to Amendments
Acknowledgment is made of the amendment filed 03/03/2026 (“Amend.”), in which: claims 1, 14, and 15 are amended; claim 2 are cancelled; no new claims are added; and the rejection of the claims are traversed. Claims 1, and 3-20 are currently pending an Office action on the merits as follows.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments, filed 03/03/2026, with respect to the rejection(s) of claim(s) 1, and 3-20 have been fully considered and are persuasive. Therefore, the rejection has been withdrawn. However, upon further consideration, a new ground(s) of rejection is made in view of Park et al, US 20180096635.
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.
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim(s) 1 and 9-11 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Park et al, US 20180096635.
Regarding claim 1, Park discloses : A display apparatus comprising: a display panel including a foldable area(Fig. 1, #F/A), and a first non-foldable area and a second non-foldable area(#N/A to the top and bottom of #N/A), wherein the foldable area is foldable about an axis extending in a first direction(#F/A shown to be foldable on an axis) , and the first non-foldable area and the second non-foldable area are spaced apart from each other in a second direction crossing the first direction with the foldable area therebetween(#N/A on a top and bottom of #N/A) ; a cover window disposed on the display panel(Fig. 2, #210 to protect display from external impact [0031]); and a protective layer disposed on the cover window(#3000), wherein the protective layer includes a soft layer and a hard layer(Fig. 3, #3000 to include #3001, #3003, and #3004), the soft layer is on the cover window and includes a first material(#3001 may include a silicon resin [0047]), and the hard layer is on the soft layer and includes a second material having a Young's modulus greater than a Young's modulus of the first material(#3004 may be a second silicone resin [0051] where #3004 has higher rigidity than #3001 [0043]), wherein the soft layer includes a hard pattern in a portion overlapping the first non-foldable area and the second non-foldable area(#3001b), [[and]] the hard pattern is not in a portion overlapping the foldable area(#3004 not in #F/A), and the hard pattern has a Young's modulus greater than the Young's modulus of the first material(#3004 may be formed of a material with higher rigidity whereas #3001 may be formed of a material with relatively low rigidity and is foldable [0043]).
Regarding claim 9, Park discloses : The display apparatus of claim 1, wherein the hard pattern includes an ultraviolet curable resin(Soft portion, hard portion and hard coating layer may be a silicon resin with ultraviolet curing and thermosetting applied [0012]).
Regarding claim 10, Park discloses : The display apparatus of claim 1, wherein the first material includes an ultraviolet curable resin(Soft portion, hard portion and hard coating layer may be a silicon resin with ultraviolet curing and thermosetting applied [0012].
Regarding claim 11, Park discloses : The display apparatus of claim 1, wherein the hard pattern includes a material different from the second material(hard coating layer may include a mixture of second silicon resin and third silicon resin whereas the soft portion includes a first silicon resin[0011]).
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.
Claim(s) 3, 12, 14, 15, and 18-20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Park et al, US 20180096635 in view of Youn et al, US 20200183457.
Regarding claim 3, Park discloses : The display apparatus of claim 1.
Park does not disclose : wherein the Young's modulus of the first material is in a range of about 700 MPa to about 900 MPa.
However, in the same field of endeavor, Youn teaches : wherein the Young's modulus of the first material is in a range of about 700 MPa to about 900 MPa(Fig. 8, tensile elastic modulus of film ranging from 0.8 to 6.5 GPa).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention apply the materials of Youn to Park with routine experiment and optimization. In re Woodruff, 16 USPQ2d 1935, 1937 (Fed. Cir. 1990).
Regarding claim 12, Park discloses : The display apparatus of claim 1.
Park does not disclose : wherein the hard pattern has a Young's modulus in a range of about 3 GPa to about 6 GPa.
However, in the same field of endeavor, Youn teaches : wherein the hard pattern has a Young's modulus in a range of about 3 GPa to about 6 GPa(Fig. 8, film tensile elastic modulus ranging from 0.8GPa to 6.5GPa).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention apply the materials of Youn to Park with routine experiment and optimization. In re Woodruff, 16 USPQ2d 1935, 1937 (Fed. Cir. 1990).
Regarding claim 14, Park discloses : A display apparatus comprising: a display panel including a foldable area(Fig. 1, #N/A), and a first non-foldable area and a second non-foldable area(#N/A on a top and bottom of #N/A), wherein the foldable area is foldable about an axis extending in a first direction(#100 foldable about an axis of #F/A), and the first non-foldable area and the second non-foldable area are spaced apart from each other in a second direction crossing the first direction with the foldable area therebetween(#F/A between a top and bottom #N/A); a cover window disposed on the display panel(Fig. 2, #210 to protect display from external impact [0031]); and a protective layer disposed on the cover window(#3000 disposed on #210), wherein the protective layer includes a soft layer on the cover window and a hard layer on the soft layer(Fig. 3, #3000 to include #3001, #3003, and #3004), wherein the soft layer includes a hard pattern and a first material(#3001 may include a silicon resin [0047]), the hard pattern is arranged to overlap the first non-foldable area and the second non-foldable area(#3001b in #N/A), [[and]] the hard layer includes a second material having a Young's modulus greater than the Young's modulus of the first material, and the hard pattern of the soft layer has a Young's modulus greater than the Young's modulus of the first material(#3004 may be formed of a material with higher rigidity whereas #3001 may be formed of a material with relatively low rigidity and is foldable [0043]).
Park does not disclose : the first material has a Young's modulus in a range of about 700 MPa to about 900 MPa and disposed in a space defined by the hard pattern.
However, in the same field of endeavor, Youn teaches : the first material has a Young's modulus in a range of about 700 MPa to about 900 MPa and disposed in a space defined by the hard pattern(Fig. 8, tensile elastic modulus of film ranging from 0.8 to 6.5 GPa).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention apply the materials of Youn to Park with routine experiment and optimization. In re Woodruff, 16 USPQ2d 1935, 1937 (Fed. Cir. 1990).
Regarding claim 15, Park as modified by Youn discloses : The display apparatus of claim 14.
Youn teaches : wherein the hard pattern is not in a portion of the soft layer overlapping the foldable area(#125b not in #FA),
Park teaches : the hard pattern has a Young's modulus greater than the Young's modulus of the first material(Fig. 3, #3004 has higher rigidity than #3001 where #3004 is only in the non-foldable area[0039].
Regarding claim 18, Youn as modified by Park discloses : The display apparatus of claim 14.
Youn teaches : wherein the hard pattern includes a plurality of unit patterns(#125b), and each of the plurality of unit patterns has at least one selected from a honeycomb shape, a triangular shape, a rectangular shape, and a circular shape(#125 may be a triangle wave shape [0120].
Regarding claim 19, Park as modified by Youn discloses : The display apparatus of claim 14.
Park teaches : wherein the hard pattern includes an ultraviolet curable resin.(Soft portion, hard portion and hard coating layer may be a silicon resin with ultraviolet curing and thermosetting applied [0012].
Regarding claim 20, Park as modified by Youn discloses : The display apparatus of claim 14, wherein the first material includes an ultraviolet curable resin(Soft portion, hard portion and hard coating layer may be a silicon resin with ultraviolet curing and thermosetting applied [0012].
Claim(s) 4-6, 8, and 16 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Park et al, US 20180096635 in view of Song et al, US 20220357607.
Regarding claim 4, Park discloses : The display apparatus of claim 1.
Park does not disclose : wherein the hard pattern includes a plurality of unit patterns, each of the plurality of unit patterns of the hard pattern has a first width in the first direction and a second width in the second direction, the first width is in a range of about 100 pm to about 300 pm, and the second width is in a range of about 100 pm to about 300 pm.
However, in the same field of endeavor, Song teaches : wherein the hard pattern includes a plurality of unit patterns(#Fig. 2a and 2b mesh pattern and honeycomb patterns), each of the plurality of unit patterns of the hard pattern has a first width in the first direction and a second width in the second direction, the first width is in a range of about 100 pm to about 300 pm, and the second width is in a range of about 100 pm to about 300 pm(Fig. 2a and 2b, pattern may have a pitch of 280 μm for tetragonal patterns and 940 μm for hexagonal patterns. Pattern film may have a pitch ranging from 50 μm to 1500 μm [0074-0075]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention apply the patterns of Song to Park with routine experiment and optimization. In re Woodruff, 16 USPQ2d 1935, 1937 (Fed. Cir. 1990). (Song [0094]).
Regarding claim 5, Youn as modified by Park and Song discloses : The display apparatus of claim 4.
Song teaches : wherein the first width and the second width are equal to each other(Fig. 2a and 2b, spacer pattern with 0% irregularity is a regular pattern with normal pitch [0059] compared to fig. 5. where a tetragonal pattern has 50% irregularity and a pitch space is different [0064]).
Regarding claim 6, Youn as modified by Park and Song discloses : The display apparatus of claim 4.
Song teaches : wherein the first width and the second width are different from each other(Fig. 5, 50% irregularity where a pitch space is different [0064]).
Regarding claim 8, Park discloses : The display apparatus of claim 1.
Park does not disclose : wherein the hard pattern includes a plurality of unit patterns, and each of the plurality of unit patterns has at least one selected from a honeycomb shape, a triangular shape, a rectangular shape and a circular shape.
However, in the same field of endeavor, Song teaches : wherein the hard pattern includes a plurality of unit patterns, and each of the plurality of unit patterns has at least one selected from a honeycomb shape, a triangular shape, a rectangular shape and a circular shape(Fig. 2b, honeycomb pattern).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to apply the teachings of Song to Park to include a patterned film for flexible devices (Song [0094]).
Regarding claim 16, Park as modified by Youn discloses : The display apparatus of claim 14.
Park as modified by Youn does not disclose : wherein the hard pattern includes a plurality of unit patterns, each of the plurality of unit patterns has a first width in the first direction and a second width in the second direction crossing the first direction, the first width is in a range of about 100 μm to about 300 μm, and the second width is in a range of about 100 μm to about 300 μm.
However, in the same field of endeavor, Song teaches : wherein the hard pattern includes a plurality of unit patterns(Fig. 2a and 2b, pattern film in tetragonal or hexagonal arrangements [0058]), each of the plurality of unit patterns has a first width in the first direction and a second width in the second direction crossing the first direction(tetragonal or hexagonal patterns to have a pitch #p), the first width is in a range of about 100 μm to about 300 μm, and the second width is in a range of about 100 μm to about 300 μm(pitch of pattern may range from 50 μm to 1500 μm [0074-0075]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to apply the teachings of Song to Youn and Park to have a patterned film with a first width of 100 μm to about 300 μm and a second width of 100 μm to about 300 μm for flexible displays (Song [0094]).
Claim(s) 7, 13, and 17 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Park, US 20180096635 in view of Choi, US 12466916.
Regarding claim 7, Park discloses : The display apparatus of claim 1.
Park does not disclose : wherein a thickness of the soft layer is less than a thickness of the hard layer.
However, in the same field of endeavor, Choi teaches : wherein a thickness of the soft layer is less than a thickness of the hard layer(Hard coating layer may have a thickness of 0.1 μm to 100 μm which a polymer film having a thickness of 50 μm (Col 21; line 5-47).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to apply the teachings of Choi to Park to have protective layers differing in thickness in a flexible display device (Choi, Col 20; line 30-37).
Regarding claim 13, Park discloses : The display apparatus of claim 1.
Park does not disclose : wherein the second material includes at least one selected from polyethylene terephthalate, polyimide, polyethersulfone, polyacrylate, polyetherimide, polyethylene naphthalate, polyethylene sulfide, and polycarbonate.
However, in the same field of endeavor, Choi teaches : wherein the second material includes at least one selected from polyethylene terephthalate, polyimide, polyethersulfone, polyacrylate, polyetherimide, polyethylene naphthalate, polyethylene sulfide, and polycarbonate(Hard coating layer may be polycarbonate based (Col 21; line 36-45).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to apply the teachings of Choi to Park to have a hard layer with a material including polycarbonate(Choi, Col 21;line 35-45).
Regarding claim 17, Park as modified by Youn discloses : The display apparatus of claim 14.
Park as modified by Youn does not disclose : wherein a thickness of the soft layer is less than a thickness of the hard layer.
However, in the same field of endeavor, Choi teaches : wherein a thickness of the soft layer is less than a thickness of the hard layer.(Hard coating layer may have a thickness of 0.1 μm to 100 μm which a polymer film having a thickness of 50 μm (Col 21; line 5-47).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to apply the teachings of Choi to Youn and Park to have protective layers differing in thickness in a flexible display device (Choi, Col 20; line 30-37).
Conclusion
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/D.T./Examiner, Art Unit 2897
/CHAD M DICKE/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2897
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