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 .
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election of Species A/fig. 1 (claims 1-5 and 7-20) in the reply filed on 1-20-2026 is acknowledged. However, as the prior art reads on the withdrawn claim it has been rejoined.
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) 1-9, 13-15 and 20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Chen (US 10,732,460).
[claim 1] A display system (fig. 2), comprising: a light source (212, fig. 2, lines 6-26, col. 6) that emits input light having a wavelength within a source wavelength range (lines 6-26, col. 6, the source wavelength may be either of a blue light or ultraviolet light); an array of color conversion (260, fig. 2, lines 39-50, col. 7) units overlapping a display area (the whole of 200 is a display area, fig. 2), wherein a first set of color conversion units of the array of color conversion units includes a first color conversion medium that converts the input light to a first color of light having a wavelength within a first wavelength range that is different than the source wavelength range (the source wavelength may be either of a blue light or ultraviolet light (see lines 6-26, col. 6) while the color conversion would convert to red, green, and blue light (see fig. 2 and lines 39-50, col. 7)); and a waveguide (210, fig. 2, lines 56-57, col. 5) that includes an out-coupler (an out-coupler is inherent as the lightguide 210 is configured to direct light from the LEDs of 212 to all of the liquid crystal display 200 which includes the color conversion unit 260, lines 60-63, col. 5, fig. 2) that directs the input light from the light source toward the array of color conversion units.
[claim 2] The display system of claim 1, wherein a second set of color conversion units of the array of color conversion units includes a second color conversion medium that converts the input light to a second color of light having a wavelength within a second wavelength range that is different than each of the first wavelength range and the source wavelength range (As noted in fig. 2 and lines 39-50, col. 7, the output light after conversion would include red, green, and blue light all of which have different wavelengths) .
[claim 3] The display system of claim 1, wherein the color conversion units are arrayed such that each color conversion unit overlaps a corresponding pixel of an array of pixels (each of the QD 262, 264, and 266 are pixels in fig. 2).
[claim 4] The display system of claim 1, wherein the input light comprises blue color light (see lines 6-26, col. 6).
[claim 5] The display system of claim 4, wherein a third set of color conversion units of the array of color conversion units reflect the input light toward the display area without passing the input light through a color conversion medium (As noted in fig. 2 and lines 39-50, col. 7, the output light after conversion would include red, green, and blue light all of which have different wavelengths).
[claim 6] The display system of claim 1, wherein the input light comprises ultraviolet light (lines 6-26, col. 6).
[claim 7] The display system of claim 1, wherein the waveguide overlaps the display area such that the waveguide is disposed between the display area and the array of color conversion units (display area includes for example 202-208 in fig. 2 where the light guide 210 is between the display area and the color conversion units 260, fig. 2).
[claim 8] The display system of claim 1, further comprising a color filter layer (if the first layer of quantum dots in 260 correspond to color conversion layer, the second layer of quantum dots in 260 being below the first layer of quantum dots (overlapping the array of color conversion modules such that converted light passes through color filters of the color filter layer (fig. 2).
[claim 9] The display system of claim 1, further comprising an array of micro- focusing elements (216, 218, 214, 220 in fig. 2 focus the light downward to the color converting layer 260) wherein each micro-focusing element of the array of micro-focusing elements overlaps a corresponding color conversion unit of the array of color conversion units and directs a portion of the light from the waveguide toward the corresponding color conversion unit (fig. 2).
[claim 13] The display system of claim 1, further comprising at least one polarizer (250, fig. 2, lines 4-9, col. 7) disposed between the waveguide and the array of color conversion units.
[claim 14] The display system of claim 1, further comprising a light modulation (230, fig. 2, lines 17-22, col. 7) layer disposed between the waveguide and the array of color conversion units.
[claim 15] The display system of claim 14, further comprising a common electrode (lines 39-47, col. 6) disposed on a first side of the light modulation layer and an array of pixel electrodes (lines 48-56, col. 6) disposed on an opposite side of the light modulation layer.
[claim 20] A method (method of using the device of fig. 2), comprising: supplying, by a waveguide (210, fig. 2, lines 56-57, col. 5), input light having a wavelength within a source wavelength range to an array of color conversion units (the source wavelength may be either of a blue light or ultraviolet light (see lines 6-26, col. 6) while the color conversion would convert to red, green, and blue light (see fig. 2 and lines 39-50, col. 7)); and a waveguide (210, fig. 2, lines 56-57, col. 5), wherein a first set of color conversion units (262, 264, or 266, fig. 2) of the array of color conversion units includes a first color conversion medium; converting, by the first set of color conversion units, the input light to a first color of light having a wavelength within a first wavelength range that is different than the source wavelength range; and outputting, from the first set of color conversion units (the source wavelength may be either of a blue light or ultraviolet light (see lines 6-26, col. 6) while the color conversion would convert to red, green, and blue light (see fig. 2 and lines 39-50, col. 7)); and a waveguide (210, fig. 2, lines 56-57, col. 5), the first color of light toward a display area (the whole of 200 is a display area, fig. 2).
Claim(s) 16-19 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Lin (US 2019/0325791).
[claim 16] A color conversion unit (fig. 2), comprising: a color conversion medium (16, fig. 2,[0028]) that converts input light having a wavelength within a source wavelength range to a first color of light having a wavelength within a first wavelength range that is different than the source wavelength range [0028][0034]; a first reflective stack (12, fig. 2, [0025]) disposed on a first side of the color conversion medium; and a second reflective stack (18, fig. 2, [0040]) disposed on a second side of the color conversion medium, wherein at least one of the first reflective stack and the second reflective stack comprises a highly reflective stack with respect to a broad range of wavelengths [0028][0038] [0040].
[claim 17] The color conversion unit of claim 16, wherein the other of the first reflective stack and the second reflective stack comprises a partially reflective stack with respect to a range of wavelengths that includes the source wavelength range [0028][0038].
[claim 18] The color conversion unit of claim 16, wherein the other of the first reflective stack and the second reflective stack comprises a partially reflective stack with respect to a broad range of wavelengths [0028][0038].
[claim 19] The color conversion unit of claim 16, wherein at least one of the first reflective stack and the second reflective stack comprises a multilayer stack of alternating high- and low-index films [0029].
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) 10-12 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Chen (US 10,732,460) in view of Lin (US 2019/0325791).
[claim 10] Chen discloses the display system of claim 1 above but does not expressly disclose separate transflective stacks above and below the color converting layer (260, fig. 2).
Lin discloses a display system with separate transflective stacks (12/18, fig. 2, [0028],[0038]) above and below the color converting layer (16, fig. 2, [0042]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the time of filing to have used Lin’s transflective stacks above and below the color converting layer in order to use the reflective layer to bounce ambient sunlight and ability to provide strong contrast in both bright and dark conditions.
With this modification Chen discloses:
[claim 10] The display system of claim 1, wherein each color conversion unit of the array of color conversion units comprises at least a portion of a first reflective stack (12, fig. 2, Lin) and at least a portion of a second reflective stack (12, fig. 2, Lin).
[claim 11] The display system of claim 10, wherein: one of the first reflective stack and the second reflective stack comprises a highly reflective stack with respect to a broad range of wavelengths (Lin [0028][0038] [0040]); and the other of the first reflective stack and the second reflective stack comprises a partially reflective stack with respect to a narrower range of wavelengths that includes the source wavelength range (Lin [0028][0038] [0040]).
[claim 12] The display system of claim 10, wherein: one of the first reflective stack and the second reflective stack comprises a highly reflective stack with respect to a broad range of wavelengths (Lin [0028][0038] [0040]); and the other of the first reflective stack and the second reflective stack comprises a partially reflective stack with respect to a broad range of wavelengths (Lin [0028][0038] [0040]).
Conclusion
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/AMAR MOVVA/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2898
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