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
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 01/31/2024 and 08/22/2024 is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
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 and 10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Okazaki et al. (US 20220350213, hereinafter “Okazaki”).
Regarding claim 1, Okazaki discloses a display device (Figs. 11-12; Paras. [0031]-[0032]), comprising:
a driving substrate (743), comprising a first portion (an upper portion of 743 in Fig. 12), a second portion (a lower portion of 743 in Fig. 12) and a bent portion (a bent portion of 743) connecting the first portion and the second portion;
a display medium layer (782; Para. [0200]) disposed on the first portion of the driving substrate;
a conductive material (13; Para. [0076]) disposed on the second portion of the driving substrate;
a protection assembly (770, 788; Paras. [0194], [0202]) disposed on the first portion of the driving substrate and located on the display medium layer, and the protection assembly comprising a film (770) and a transparent conductive layer (788; Para. [0202] “the conductive layer 788, a material that transmits visible light can be used”) disposed on the film and facing the display medium layer; and
a conductive terminal (12; Para. [0075]) connected to the protection assembly (see Fig. 12) and electrically connected to the transparent conductive layer and the conductive material (see Fig. 11 and Paras. [0076], [0200]-[0201] teaching 13 electrically connects 12 to the display portion 11, wherein 11 comprises 788).
Regarding claim 2, Okazaki discloses the limitations of claim 1 above, and further discloses a support plate (51 in Fig. 12) having a first surface (a top surface of 51) and a second surface (a bottom surface of 51) opposite to each other and a side surface (a side surface of 51) connecting the first surface and the second surface, wherein the first portion of the driving substrate, the display medium layer and the protection assembly are located on the first surface (see Fig. 12), and the second portion of the driving substrate and the conductive material are located on the second surface (see Fig. 12), and the bent portion of the driving substrate is located next to the side surface (see Fig. 12).
Regarding claim 10, Okazaki discloses the limitations of claim 1 above, and further discloses a flexible circuit board disposed on the second portion of the driving substrate (Fig. 12 and Para. [0057] “The connection terminal is a terminal to which an FPC (Flexible Printed Circuit) … is connected”); and
a cover plate (732), which is disposed on the film of the protection assembly.
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 3 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Okazaki in view of Jang et al. (US 20180123060, hereinafter “Jang”).
Regarding claim 3, Okazaki discloses the limitations of claim 2 above, and further discloses a first adhesive layer (742) disposed between the first surface of the support plate and the first portion of the driving substrate, wherein the first portion of the driving substrate is fixed on the first surface of the support plate through the first adhesive layer (Fig. 12; Para. [0213]).
Okazaki does not disclose a second adhesive layer disposed between the second surface of the support plate and the second portion of the driving substrate, wherein the second portion of the driving substrate is fixed on the second surface of the support plate through the second adhesive layer.
However, Jang teaches a display device (Fig. 4) comprising a support member (116; Para. [0097]) and a first adhesive layer (118 on 116) and second adhesive layer (118 below 116).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at a time before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the driving substrate as disclosed by Okazaki with the teachings of Jang, to have a second adhesive layer disposed between the second surface of the support plate and the second portion of the driving substrate, wherein the second portion of the driving substrate is fixed on the second surface of the support plate through the second adhesive layer, for the purpose of providing a support member and adhesive layers to reduce the damage of a flexible display (Jang: Paras. [[0097]-[0098]).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 4-9 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.
Regarding claim 4, Okazaki discloses the limitations of claim 1 above, and further discloses a protective layer (741c; Para. [0216]) extends to the first portion of the driving substrate to seal a sidewall of the display medium layer (see Fig. 12).
However, Okazaki fails to disclose, in light of the specification, “the protective layer, which is directly disposed on the bent portion and the second portion of the driving substrate, and extends to the first portion of the driving substrate to seal a sidewall of the display medium layer”. The examiner considered Kim et al. (US 20170352834, hereinafter “Kim”) and Um et al. (US 20170323779, hereinafter “Um”). For example, Kim teaches a display device (Figs. 1, 7, 14) comprising a display medium layer (600 in DA in Fig. 14) and a protective layer (360 and/or 240) to seal a sidewall of the display medium layer, but fails to disclose the protective layer directly disposed on the bent portion and the second portion of the driving substrate with the arrangement of elements recited in the claims. Okazaki, Jang, Kim and Um, applied alone or in combination fails to teach or suggest the combination and arrangement of elements recited in Applicant's claim 4.
Dependent claims 5-9 are allowable by virtue of their dependence on claim 4.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JONATHAN Y JUNG whose telephone number is (469)295-9076. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday - Friday, 9:00 am - 5:00 pm.
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/JONATHAN Y JUNG/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2871