DETAILED ACTION
This Office Action is in response to Applicant’s application 18/279,677 filed on August 31, 2023 in which claims 1 to 14 are pending.
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 .
Drawings
The drawings submitted on August 31, 2023 have been reviewed and accepted by the Examiner.
Information Disclosure Statement
The Information Disclosure Statements (IDS), filed on August 31, 2023, December 12, 2024 and April 18, 2025 are in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosed therein has been considered by the Examiner.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 1-14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Claim 1 recites the limitation "the plate" in lines 5, 9 and 11. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Claims 2-14 depend directly or indirectly on claim 1 and are likewise defective.
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.
Claims 1-4 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as anticipated by U.S. 2017/0347466 (Kang).
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Regarding claim 1 Kang discloses a display device, 100 [0130], comprising: a flexible display panel, 110 [0063, 130-131]; a flexible plate, 120 [0062], at a rear of the display panel, as shown or suggested, and coupled to the display panel, as shown; a driving module 150 a/b [0092-93], coupled to a rear side of the plate, as shown, and
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including a slider linearly moving, 159 [0059, 93]; a wing, e.g. 162 [0107-108], extending long, as shown, and including
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one end coupled to the slider, as shown and the other end coupled to the rear side of the plate, see Figure 18, the wing including a pivot shaft, as annotated, between the one end and the other end adjacent to the one end, as shown; and a wing bracket, H1 [0109, 112], fixed to the rear side of the plate, as shown, and coupled to the pivot shaft, as shown.
Regarding claim 2 which depends
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upon claim 1, Kang teaches and suggests the driving module comprises: a front bracket, 152b [0096], fixed to the rear side of the plate; a rear bracket, 154b [0096], facing the front bracket; and a lead screw, 151 [0100], extending long from the front bracket toward the rear bracket and rotatably coupled to the front bracket or the rear bracket, wherein the slider linearly moving according to a rotation of the lead screw.
Regarding claim 3 which depends upon claim 2, Kang teaches and suggests the driving module further comprises: a first guide shaft, 156 [0101]. in parallel with the lead screw, the first guide shaft fixed to the front bracket or the rear bracket; and a second guide shaft, 158 [0101] in parallel with the lead screw, the second guide shaft fixed to the front bracket or the rear bracket and being opposite to the first guide shaft with respect to the lead screw.
Regarding claim 4 which depends upon claim 3, Kang teaches and suggest the driving module further comprises a slider guide, 159 [0101], into which the first guide shaft and the second guide shaft are inserted, as shown, and which is movable on the first guide shaft and the second guide shaft and fixed to the slider.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 5-14 would be allowable if rewritten to overcome the rejection(s) under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), 2nd paragraph, set forth in this Office action and to include 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:
Regarding claim 5 the prior art does not disclose the device of claim 2, wherein the driving module comprises: a motor positioned at a lower side of the front bracket and the rear bracket and including a rotating shaft; a worm fixed to the rotating shaft; a worm gear engaged with the worm; a transmission gear fixed to a rotating shaft with the worm gear; and a driving gear fixed to the lead screw and engaged with the transmission gear.
Claims 6 depends upon claim 5 and is allowable on that basis.
Regarding claim 7 the prior art does not teach the device of claim 2, wherein the driving module further comprises: a pin indicator fixed on the slider; and a sensor fixed to the front bracket or the rear bracket and detecting the pin indicator.
Regarding claim 8 the prior art does not teach the device of claim 2, wherein the wing bracket further comprises: an upper bracket positioned at an upper side of the wing; a lower bracket positioned at a lower side of the wing; and a pin connecting with the upper bracket and the lower bracket and inserted into the pivot hollow shaft of the wing.
Regarding claim 9 the prior art does not teach the device of claim 1, wherein the wing comprises: a lever extending long between the one end and the pivot shaft; and a wing plate extending long between the other end and the pivot shaft, wherein a width of the wing plate is greater than a width of the lever.
Claims 9-14 depend directly or indirectly on claim 10 and is allowable on that basis.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure is listed on the notice of references cited.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Joe Schoenholtz whose telephone number is (571)270-5475. The examiner can normally be reached M-Thur 7 AM to 7 PM PST.
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/J.E. Schoenholtz/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2893