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
Applicant’s claim for domestic priority under 35 U.S.C. 119(e) is acknowledged.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement submitted on 12/04/2023 has been considered by the Examiner and made of record in the application file.
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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claims 1, 6-7, 11-16, and 18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lee et al. (US 2022/0206529 A1herein Lee), and further in view of Soh (US 2021/0096600 A1).
Regarding claim 1, Lee teaches a foldable display device (read as foldable display device 100) (Lee – Figure 1A, Figure 1B, [0043]), comprising:
a flexible display panel (read as foldable display device 100 includes a very thin flexible substrate to achieve flexibility made of an insulating material having flexibility) (Lee – [0047]);
a support member disposed below the flexible display panel (read as support substrate 110) (Lee – Figure 1B, Figure 2, [0048]).
However, Lee fails to teach a cover member disposed above the flexible display panel, wherein the cover member includes: a glass disposed above the flexible display panel; a first adhesive layer disposed above the glass; and a barrier film disposed above the first adhesive layer.
In the related art, Soh teaches a cover member disposed above the flexible display panel (read as case 200 may include a first cover 210, a second cover 220) (Soh – [0040]), wherein the cover member includes: a glass disposed above the flexible display panel (read as window 900 may protect the display panel 600 and may include at least one of polymer resin such as glass, and the like) (Soh – [0072]); a first adhesive layer disposed above the glass (read as adhesive layer 430 may be disposed between the first support plate 310 and the first protective film 410 and between the second support plate 320 and the first protective film 410) (Soh – [0048], [0053]-[0054]); and a barrier film disposed above the first adhesive layer (read as first protective film 410 and a second protective film 420) (Soh – [0042], [0051]-[0052]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to incorporate the teachings of Soh into the teachings of Lee for the purpose of providing a cover comprising of multiple layers to protect the flexible display panel from external impact or damage.
Regarding claim 6 as applied to claim 1, Lee as modified by Soh further teaches wherein the barrier film includes a polymer substrate disposed on the first adhesive layer and a hard coating layer disposed on the polymer substrate (read as second protective film 420 may be flexible and may include a foam type polymer material; since the second protective film 420 is flexible, a shape of the second protective film 420 may change according to the deformation of the folding portion 130 of the flexible display 100) (Soh – [0057], [0072]).
Regarding claim 7 as applied to claim 1, Lee as modified by Soh further teaches wherein the cover member (read as case 200 may include a first cover 210, a second cover 220, and a hinge portion 230) (Soh – [0040]) further includes a decorative layer (read as when external light passes through a polarization layer 800, is reflected from a lower portion of the polarization layer 800 and passes through the polarization layer 800 again, the external light passes through the polarization layer 800 twice, and thus, a phase of the external light may be changed, and the reflection of the external light decreases so that the visibility of the foldable display device may be improved) (Soh – [0071]) which is disposed between the glass and the barrier film and is disposed to enclose an outer portion of the first adhesive layer, and a thickness of the decorative layer is equal to a thickness of the first adhesive layer (read as first support plate 310 may be disposed between the flexible display module 100 and the first cover 210; adhesive layer may be interposed between the first support plate 310 and the back surface 150) (Soh – Figure 3, [0045]).
Regarding claim 11 as applied to claim 1, Lee as modified by Soh further teaches further comprising: a cover member adhesive layer disposed between the cover member and the flexible display panel (read as adhesive layer 430 may be disposed between the first support plate 310 and the first protective film 410 and between the second support plate 320 and the first protective film 410) (Soh – [0048], [0053]-[0054]), wherein a side surface of the cover member adhesive layer is located inside a side surface of the flexible display panel and a side surface of the cover member (Soh – Figure 2, Figure 3, Figure 6, Figure 7).
Regarding claim 12 as applied to claim 11, Lee as modified by Soh further teaches wherein the side surface of the flexible display panel is located inside of a side surface of the cover member (read as section of a side portion of the foldable display device) (Soh – Figure 2, Figure 3, Figure 4, Figure 6, Figure 7).
Regarding claim 13 as applied to claim 12, Lee as modified by Soh further teaches wherein a side surface of the glass and a side surface of the first adhesive layer are located inside of the side surface of the barrier film (read as section of a side portion of the foldable display device) (Soh – Figure 2, Figure 3, Figure 4, Figure 6, Figure 7).
Regarding claim 14 as applied to claim 1, Lee as modified by Soh further teaches further comprising an adhesive member disposed between the flexible display panel and the support member (read as adhesive layer 430 may be disposed between the first support plate 310 and the first protective film 410 and between the second support plate 320 and the first protective film 410) (Soh – [0048], [0053]-[0054]), wherein a side surface of the adhesive member is located inside a side surface of the flexible display panel and a side surface of the support member (read as section of a side portion of the foldable display device) (Soh – Figure 2, Figure 3, Figure 4, Figure 6, Figure 7).
Regarding claim 15 as applied to claim 1, Lee as modified by Soh further teaches wherein the support member includes an opening pattern or a groove pattern in a location corresponding to the folding area of the foldable display device (read as first support plate 310 and the second support plate 320 may be spaced apart from each other at a predetermined interval; an interval D2 between a side of the first support plate 310 near a lower portion of the case 200 and a side of the second support plate 320 near the lower portion of the case 200) (Soh – Figure 3, Figure 4, Figure 6, Figure 7, [0049]).
Regarding claim 16 as applied to claim 7, Lee as modified by Soh further teaches wherein the decoration layer includes a material which absorbs light (read as when external light passes through a polarization layer 800, is reflected from a lower portion of the polarization layer 800 and passes through the polarization layer 800 again, the external light passes through the polarization layer 800 twice, and thus, a phase of the external light may be changed, and the reflection of the external light decreases so that the visibility of the foldable display device may be improved) (Soh – [0071]).
Regarding claim 18 as applied to claim 1, Lee as modified by Soh further teaches wherein a width of the support member is larger than that of the flexible display panel and smaller than that of the support member (Soh – Figure 6, [0065]).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 2-5, 8-10 and 17 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.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to APRIL GUZMAN GONZALES whose telephone number is (571)270-1101. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday 8:00 am to 4:00 pm EST. The examiner’s email address is April.guzman@uspto.gov.
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/APRIL G GONZALES/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2648