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 .
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.
Claim(s) 1-16 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yamada et al. (US 2019/0144689) in view of Oba et al. (US 2019/0194531).
The claims are drawn to a polymerizable composition comprising:
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710
714
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The claims are also drawn to a cured product obtained by curing the polymerizable composition; a wavelength conversion number comprising the cured product; a backlight unit; and a liquid crystal display.
Yamada et al. teach a quantum dot-containing composition, wavelength conversion number, backlight unit, and liquid crystal display device. The quantum dot-containing composition includes a ligand and a polymerizable compound. The polymerizable compound is preferably an acrylic compound, e.g., having a (meth)acryloyl group of (meth)acrylic acid in a molecule.
The ligand in the composition includes compounds having polyalkylene glycol chains (pages 6-11). The reference also teaches a wavelength conversion number comprising a wavelength conversion layer obtained by curing the quantum dot-containing composition according to the invention, a backlight unit comprising the wavelength conversion number and a light source, and a liquid crystal display device comprising the backlight unit and a liquid crystal cell (0159-0218).
Yamada et al. does not expressly teach that the polymer structure of the polymeric ligand has an I/O value of 0.250 or more and 1.650 or less, and does not teach the presence of inorganic particles in the polymerizable composition taught therein.
Regarding the first difference, the I/O value of a polymer predicts the chemical compatibility, swelling behavior, and blending characteristics for, example, macromolecular wall materials, e.g., high resolution displays. A person having ordinary skill in the art would manipulate the polymer structure, and thus, the I/O value, based on a desired hydrophilicity or hydrophobicity of the polymer structure, particularly, when used in a liquid crystal display, as suggested by Yamada et al.
Regarding the second difference, Oba et al. teach phosphor-containing film, and backlight unit, wherein quantum dots serve as the phosphor, and wherein inorganic particles like titanium oxide, and having an average particles size of 0.1 µm or more, or incorporated into composition comprising quantum dots to improve brightness (abstract; examples).
It therefore would have been obvious, in view of the combined reference teachings, to add inorganic particles, such as those taught by Oba et al., the quantum dot-containing composition taught by Yamada et al., since uses taught by Yamada et al. for the quantum dot-containing composition taught therein is for backlight units and liquid display devices, and Oba et al. teaches that incorporation of inorganics improves the brightness of such devices.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to SIKARL A WITHERSPOON whose telephone number is (571)272-0649. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9am-9pm IFP.
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/SIKARL A WITHERSPOON/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1692
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