DETAILED ACTION
Drawings
The drawings are objected to under 37 CFR 1.83(a) because they fail to show “a hole provided in the back cover” as described in the specification. Any structural detail that is essential for a proper understanding of the disclosed invention should be shown in the drawing. MPEP § 608.02(d). Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. The figure or figure number of an amended drawing should not be labeled as “amended.” If a drawing figure is to be canceled, the appropriate figure must be removed from the replacement sheet, and where necessary, the remaining figures must be renumbered and appropriate changes made to the brief description of the several views of the drawings for consistency. Additional replacement sheets may be necessary to show the renumbering of the remaining figures. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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 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.
Claims 1, 7-8 and 14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over JEONG et al. [US 2017/0034929], in view of KIM [US 2018/0153038] and Yang [US 2016/0077652].
Regarding claim 1, JEONG et al. discloses a display device (300, figures 1-37), the display device comprising:
a display module (100, figures 35-37);
a back cover (200, figures 35-37) surrounding side and rear surfaces of the display module (200, figure 35a), the back cover having a cover bracket (281, figure 36) protruding from a lower side of a rear surface of the back cover (figure 36);
a printed circuit board (at least one PCB 121, figure 37) connected to the display module and having one surface covered by the cover bracket (figure 37); and
a bottom cover (a bottom housing 300, figures 20 and 36-37) covering the other surface of the printed circuit board and coupled to the cover bracket (figure 37),
wherein the printed circuit board is positioned perpendicular to the rear surface of the back cover (the printed circuit board 121 is perpendicular to the rear surface of the back cover, figure 37).
JEONG et al., discloses the claimed invention except for wherein the printed circuit board includes a connection cable that passes through “a hole” provided in the back cover; and the display device mounted on a vehicle.
KIM discloses a display device (figure 1) comprising a display module (100, figure 1) ; a back cover (300, figure 1) surrounding side and rear surface of the display module (300, figure 1); and at least one printed circuit board (400, figure 1) is mounted behind the back cover; and wherein the printed circuit board includes a connection cable (500, figure 1) that passes through a hole (300h, figure 1) provided in the back cover.
It would have been to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to use a connection cable to connect between a rear printed circuit board and the display module, in a display device of JEONG et al., as suggested by KIM, in order to limit routed cables and prevent tangled harness cables within a display device.
Yang discloses a display device (100, figure 2) mounted on a dashboard (200, figure 2) of a vehicle (figure 2).
It would have been to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to mount a display device of JEONG et al., in view of KIM, as suggested by Yang, in a vehicle, in order to provide essential driving information that enhances safety to drivers.
Regarding claim 7, JEONG et al., in view of KIM and Yang disclose wherein the back cover includes a high-strength composite material (paragraph 0043) having greater rigidity than a plastic material.
Regarding claim 8, JEONG et al. discloses a display device (300, figures 1-37), the display device comprising:
a display module (100, figures 35-37);
a back cover (200, figures 35-37) surrounding side and rear surfaces of the display module (200, figure 35a), the back cover having a cover bracket (281, figure 36) protruding from a lower side of a rear surface of the back cover (figure 36);
a printed circuit board (at least one PCB 121, figure 37) connected to the display module and having one surface covered by the cover bracket (figure 37); and
a bottom cover (a bottom housing 300, figures 20 and 36-37) covering the other surface of the printed circuit board and coupled to the cover bracket (figure 37),
wherein the printed circuit board is positioned perpendicular to the rear surface of the back cover (the printed circuit board 121 is perpendicular to the rear surface of the back cover, figure 37).
JEONG et al., discloses the claimed invention except for wherein the printed circuit board includes a connection cable that passes through “a hole” provided in the back cover; and the display device mounted on a mounting part located at a vehicle body.
KIM discloses a display device (figure 1) comprising a display module (100, figure 1) ; a back cover (300, figure 1) surrounding side and rear surface of the display module (300, figure 1); and at least one printed circuit board (400, figure 1) is mounted behind the back cover; and wherein the printed circuit board includes a connection cable (500, figure 1) that passes through a hole (300h, figure 1) provided in the back cover.
It would have been to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to use a connection cable to connect between a rear printed circuit board and the display module, in a display device of JEONG et al., as suggested by KIM, in order to limit routed cables and prevent tangled harness cables within a display device.
Yang discloses a display device (100, figure 2) mounted on a dashboard (a vehicle body 200, figure 2) of a vehicle (figure 2).
It would have been to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to mount a display device of JEONG et al., in view of KIM, as suggested by Yang, in a vehicle, in order to provide essential driving information that enhances safety to drivers.
Regarding claim 14, JEONG et al., in view of KIM and Yang disclose wherein the back cover includes a high-strength composite material (paragraph 0043) having greater rigidity than a plastic material.
Claims 2-6 and 9-13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over JEONG et al., in view of KIM and Yang, as applied to claims 1 and/or 8 above, and further in view of Yamamoto Takeshi [WO 2014/091978].
Regarding claims 2 and 9, JEONG et al., in view of KIM and Yang, disclose the claimed invention except for the display module comprising a display panel configured to display an image; a glass covering a front surface of the display panel; a backlight unit positioned on a rear surface of the display panel; and a cover member coupled to a rear surface of the glass and covering the backlight unit.
Yamamoto Takeshi discloses a display device (1, figures 1-30) comprising a display panel (2, figures 1 and 3-4) configured to display an image; a glass (2a & 2b, figures 3-4) covering a front surface of the display panel; a backlight unit (11, figures 4, and 9-10) positioned on a rear surface of the display panel; and a cover member (4/40, figures 3 and 22) coupled to a rear surface of the glass and covering the backlight unit.
It would have been to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to use a glass to cover a front surface of a display panel and a backlight unit within a display device of JEONG et al., in view of KIM and Yang, as suggested by Yamamoto Takeshi, for the purpose of protecting and improving display panel brightness in a display device.
Regarding claims 3 and 10, JEONG et al., in view of KIM and Yang, disclose the claimed invention except for wherein upper and lower portions of the cover member are bent toward the rear surface of the glass, and the display module comprises a fixing member fixing the display panel and located inside the cover member.
Yamamoto Takeshi discloses wherein upper and lower portions of the cover member are bent toward the rear surface of the glass (figures 3 and 22), and the display module comprises a fixing member (43, figure 22) fixing the display panel and located inside the cover member.
It would have been to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to use a fixing member in a display device of JEONG et al., in view of KIM and Yang, as suggested by Yamamoto Takeshi, in order to support an upper and lower portions of the display.
Regarding claims 4 and 11, JEONG et al., in view of KIM and Yang disclose the claimed invention except for wherein the upper and lower portions of the cover member are coupled to the rear surface of the glass through an adhesive member.
Yamamoto Takeshi, further discloses wherein the upper and lower portions of the cover member are coupled to the rear surface of the glass through an adhesive member (49, figure 3).
It would have been to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to use an adhesive material to connect between upper and lower portions to the glass in the display device of JEONG et al., in view of KIM and Yang, as suggested by Yamamoto Takeshi, for the purpose of facilitating the connection of upper and lower portions to the glass layer in a display.
Regarding claims 5 and 12, JEONG et al., in view of Kim, Yang and Yamamoto Takeshi, disclose wherein the cover member comprises a partition (213, figures 34-36) protruding from a lower side of a front surface of the cover member (200, figures 34-36).
Regarding claims 6 and 13, JEONG et al., in view of KIM and Yang, disclose the claimed invention except for wherein a light source of the backlight unit is positioned on an upper surface of the partition.
Yamamoto Takeshi discloses wherein a light source (13, figures 9-10) of the backlight unit is positioned on an upper surface of the partition.
It would have been to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to use a light source with a backlight unit in a display device of JEONG et al., in view of KIM and Yang, as suggested by Yamamoto Takeshi, in order to improve display panel brightness.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 15-17 and 18-20 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 following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
The claim 15 discloses the combination features of “wherein the light source of the backlight unit is positioned under the backlight unit.” This feature, in conjunction with other features, as claimed in the combination features of the claims 6, 5, 4, 3, 2 and 1, were neither found to be disclosed, nor suggested by the prior art of records. Claims 16-17 depend on the allowed claim 15.
The claim 18 discloses the combination features of “wherein the light source of the backlight unit is positioned under the backlight unit.” This feature, in conjunction with other features, as claimed in the combination features of the claims 13, 12, 11, 10, 9 and 8, were neither found to be disclosed, nor suggested by the prior art of records. Claims 19-20 depend on the allowed claim 18.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claims 1-20 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Hung S. Bui whose telephone number is (571)272-2102. The examiner can normally be reached on M-F: 8am-5pm.
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/HUNG S. BUI/
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 2841
/Hung S. Bui/
Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2841
01/30/2026