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 .
Applicant’s election without traverse of claims 1-12 in the reply filed on 03/05/26 is acknowledged. By this election, claims 13-20 are withdrawn and claims 1-12 will be examined in the application.
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.
Claim(s) 1, 5-6 and 8-10 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Han et al. (2016/0124133).
Regarding claim 1, Han (Fig. 25) discloses a display device comprising: a display panel (100, 200) including a display area and a non-display area ([0111]); a window 200 disposed above the display panel 100 and having a plurality of grooves 17a that are formed on one surface of window facing the display panel (Figs. 4 and 17, [0056] and [0090]); and viewing angle control members 213 formed inside the plurality of grooves (Fig. 25, [0114]), wherein the viewing angle control members 13e/213 include light absorbing walls formed on sidewalls of the plurality of grooves 18 (Figs. 17-18, [0040-0041]) and formed to become thinner as upper surfaces of the plurality of grooves are approached (Figs. 1, 3 and 25, [0044-0045]).
Regarding claim 5, Han (Fig. 9) discloses wherein a protective layer 14 is disposed on one surface of the window and is disposed between the viewing angle control members 13b ([0071]).
Regarding claim 6, Han (Fig. 9) discloses wherein the protective layer 14 includes a transparent oxide film ([0071]).
Regarding claim 8, Han (Fig. 25) discloses wherein the viewing angle control members 13a/213 includes fillers 12a contacting the light absorbing walls 13a (Fig. 3).
Regarding claim 9, Han (Fig. 25) discloses further comprising a touch sensing layer CE disposed between the display panel and the window 200, wherein the viewing angle control members 213 are disposed to face the touch sensing layer CE ([0129]).
Regarding claim 10, Han (Fig. 25) discloses wherein the touch sensing layer CE includes touch electrodes, and at least some of the viewing angle control members 213 overlap the touch electrodes CE ([0129]).
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.
Claim(s) 2 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Han et al. (2016/0124133) in view of Ohshiro et al. (2012/0187087).
Regarding claim 2, Han (Fig. 25) discloses the light absorbing wall ([0040]), but does not disclose the light absorbing wall includes CuMgAlOX.
Ohshiro (Fig. 4) discloses the light absorbing wall includes CuMgAlO (see [0086]) for the intended use as a matter of design choice. In re Leshin, 125 USPQ 416. Accordingly, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention was made to modify the device of Han by forming the light absorbing wall includes CuMgAlOx for the intended use as a matter of design choice, as taught by Ohshiro (see [0086]).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 3-4, 7 and 11-12 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 prior art of record fails to disclose all the limitations recited in the above claims. Specifically, the prior art of record fails to disclose wherein the viewing angle control members further includes fillers filled in inner portions of the grooves and are at least partially surrounded by the light absorbing walls, and the fillers are formed to become wider as the upper surfaces of the plurality of grooves are approached (claim 3); or wherein each of the light absorbing walls includes a first light absorbing wall and a second light absorbing wall, wherein the first light absorbing walls is formed on the sidewalls of the plurality of grooves, and the second light absorbing walls are formed on the upper surfaces of the plurality of grooves, and the second light absorbing walls are formed to be thinner than the first light absorbing walls (claim 7); or wherein the display panel includes: a substrate; a light emitting element layer disposed on the substrate and including pixels including a pixel electrode, a light emitting layer, and a common electrode, and a pixel defining layer disposed on the pixel electrode; and a thin film encapsulation layer disposed on the light emitting element layer (claim 11).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to THERESA T DOAN whose telephone number is (571)272-1704. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday from 7:00AM - 3:00PM.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, WAEL FAHMY can be reached on (571) 272-1705. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of an application may be obtained from the Patent Application Information Retrieval (PAIR) system. Status information for published applications may be obtained from either Private PAIR or Public PAIR. Status information for unpublished applications is available through Private PAIR only. For more information about the PAIR system, see https://ppair-my.uspto.gov/pair/PrivatePair. Should you have questions on access to the Private PAIR system, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative or access to the automated information system, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/THERESA T DOAN/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2814
Prosecution Insights