CTNF 18/525,366 CTNF 76062 DETAILED ACTION This Office Action is in response to the Election filed on April 27, 2026. Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status 07-03-aia AIA 15-10-aia 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 08-25-01 AIA Applicant’s election without traverse of Species A, claims 1-12 in the reply filed on April 27, 2026 is acknowledged. 08-06 Claims 13-20 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected species, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election was made without traverse in the reply. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102 07-07-aia AIA 07-07 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 – 07-08-aia AIA (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. 07-15 AIA Claim s 1-6, 8, 11, and 12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102( a)(1 ) as being anticipated by Park et al. (US Pub. 2019/0346887 A1) . In re claim 1, Park et al. shows (figs. 2-4, 7-10) a foldable display device, comprising: a display panel (210) including a folding area (FR) and non-folding areas (NRF1, NRF2) located on opposite sides of the folding area; a first support substrate (241, 242) disposed under the display panel to support the display panel, and including a plurality of opening patterns (figs. 8, 9, 10; GR1, GR2) corresponding to the folding area; a second support substrate (230) disposed between the display panel and the first support substrate; and an adhesive layer (251, 252) corresponding to the non-folding areas and disposed between the first support substrate and the second support substrate, wherein at least one of the first support substrate and the second support substrate includes a protrusion (271, 272, 771, 772, etc.) located adjacent to the folding area and protruding therefrom. In re claim 3, Park et al. shows (figs. 7-10) wherein a gap (portions of 771 between PT1) is present between the protrusion (771) and one of the first support substrate and the second support substrate (230). In re claim 4, Park et al. shows (fig. 8) wherein the protrusion (PT1) extends in a direction parallel to a folding axis (AXIS F) of the foldable display device. In re claim 5, Park et al. shows (figs. 2-4, 7-10) wherein the protrusion (fig. 4; 271) has a straight line shape extending spaced apart from the folding area at a predetermined distance or has a plurality of bending shapes (fig. 5; 571). In re claim 6. Park et al. shows (figs. 7, 12) further comprising a plurality of protrusions (PT1, PT3, PT4) including the protrusion (771, 1171) , wherein the plurality of protrusions are spaced apart from the folding area at a first predetermined distance along a direction parallel to a folding axis of the foldable display device. In re claim 8, Park et al. shows (figs. 2-4, 7-10) wherein each of the plurality of protrusions (771, PT1) has a bend, and ends of each protrusion are directed toward the non-folding areas, respectively. In re claim 11, Park et al. shows (figs. 15, 16) a plurality of protrusions (1571, 1573) including the protrusion, wherein the plurality of protrusions include a plurality of first protrusions (1571) disposed on the first support substrate (241) and protruding toward the second support substrate (230), and a plurality of second protrusions (1572) disposed on the second support substrate (230) and protruding toward the first support substrate (241). In re claim 12, Park et al. shows (fig. 18) wherein the plurality of first protrusions (1771, CV1) are disposed alternately with the plurality of second protrusions (1772) along a direction parallel to a folding axis (AXIS F) of the foldable display device . Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103 07-20-aia AIA 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. 07-22-aia AIA Claim s 2, 7, 9, and 10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Park et al. (US Pub. 2019/0346887 A1) as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Wu (CN 202110347947 A) . In re claim 2, Park does not specifically disclose wherein a width of the protrusion is approximately 80% to 150% of a width of an opening pattern of the plurality of opening patterns. However, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to form the protrusion having any desired width, since it has been held that discovering an optimum value of a result effective variable involves only routine skill in the art. In re Boesch, 617 F.2d 272, 205 USPQ 215 (CCPA 1980). In re claim 7, Park discloses various shapes of the protrusions, but does not specifically disclose the plurality of protrusion wherein each protrusion has a hexahedral shape or a cylindrical shape. However, it would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to form the protrusions having any desired shape since a hexahedral or cylindrical shape are known shapes in the art of semiconductors. In re claim 9-10, Park showsl all of the elements of the claims except the at least one of the first support substrate and the second support substrate further includes an auxiliary protrusion (200) located adjacent to outer peripheral portions of the non-folding areas and protruding therefrom. Wu shows (figs. 21, 22) wherein the at least one of the first support substrate and the second support substrate further includes an auxiliary protrusion (200) located adjacent to outer peripheral portions of the non-folding areas and protruding therefrom. The display panel includes a display area (202) and a non-display area (102) adjacent the display area, and wherein the auxiliary protrusion (200) is in the non-display area adjacent to the folding area and encloses at least a part of a side surface of the adhesive layer (30). With this configuration the auxiliary protrusion allows a screw hole to be formed thereby providing suitable mounting of the device. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of filing to modify the foldable display of Park by adding an auxiliary protrusion on the outer periphery of the display as taught by Wu to provide suitable mounting of the device . Conclusion 07-96 AIA The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Kishimoto (US Pub. 2022/0147102 A1), Choi (US Pub. 2020/0260603-A1), Song (US Pub. 2019/02024867-A1), Wang (WO-2023024582-A1), Lee (KR-20190081335 A) and Piao (CN-110473466-A) also disclose various elements of the claims, including some form of protrusion from the supporting substrate of a foldable display . Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MATTHEW E WARREN whose telephone number is (571)272-1737. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Fri 10am - 6pm. 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, Kretelia Graham can be reached at 571-272-5055. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300. Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000. /MATTHEW E WARREN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2817 Application/Control Number: 18/525,366 Page 2 Art Unit: 2817 Application/Control Number: 18/525,366 Page 3 Art Unit: 2817 Application/Control Number: 18/525,366 Page 4 Art Unit: 2817 Application/Control Number: 18/525,366 Page 5 Art Unit: 2817 Application/Control Number: 18/525,366 Page 6 Art Unit: 2817 Application/Control Number: 18/525,366 Page 7 Art Unit: 2817
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