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 § 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.
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim(s) 1 and 2 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1)/(a)(2) as being anticipated by Li CN_110648593_A (see machine English translation).
1. Regarding Claim 1, Li discloses a cover plate and a flexible display device (Title and paragraph 0005): the cover plate comprises a first cover plate layer 11 and a second cover plate layer 13 which are stacked; the first cover plate layer 11 and the second cover plate layer 13 are bonded by means of a first bonding layer (equivalent to the second cover plate layer being located on at least one surface of the first cover plate layer, and the second cover plate layer being directly attached to the first cover plate layer) (abstract). Li further discloses that the materials of the first cover plate layer 11 and the second cover plate layer 13 may be the same (paragraph 0035). As such, if the materials are the same, the elastic moduli thereof will inevitably be the same.
2. Regarding Claim 2, Li discloses that each cover plate layer comprises a first and second surface with the second cover plate layer being attached to one of the first and second surfaces of said first cover plate layer (Figs. 1, 2, 4 and 5).
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.
Claim(s) 3, 4, 8-10, and 20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Li CN_110648593_A (see machine English translation), as applied to Claims 1 and 2.
3. Regarding Claims 3, 4, 8, 10, and 20, Li discloses, as shown in figure 3, the first cover plate layer 11 may further comprise first nonbending regions 113, and the number of first non-bending regions 113 may be two, which may be provided on two opposite sides of a first bending region 111. Furthermore, Li discloses the thickness of the second cover plate layer in the bending area can be less than or equal to the thickness of the second cover plate layer in the non-bending area in the amount teaching the claimed range in instant claim 10 (paragraph 0040). As shown in figure 4, the second cover plate layer 13 may comprise a second bending region 131, and the second bending region 131 is arranged opposite the first bending region 111 of the first cover plate layer 11, wherein the first bending region 111 comprises a discontinuous region, and the discontinuous region is used for dividing the first cover plate layer 11 into at least two mutually independent portions.
4. Regarding Claim 9, although not explicitly stated to have a third and fourth cover plate layer, it would have been obvious to scale up based on end-user specifications, as is routinely done in the art.
Claim(s) 5-7, 11-19 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Li CN_110648593_A (see machine English translation), as applied to Claim 1, and in view of Gu USPA_20210217975_a1.
5. Regarding Claims 5-7, Li does not disclose the claimed edges and center-line.
6. Gu discloses a support structure, a manufacturing method thereof and a display device: the support structure 30 includes a bending region 33 and a non-bending region 34; the thickness of a metal substrate 30 gradually increases in the direction from the bending region 33 to the non-bending region 34; and the total number of recesses formed in the bending region 33 may be one or more, and is not limited to the total number of recesses 35 formed in the bending region 33 illustrated in figures 5 and 6, and for example, a plurality of recesses 35 having different depths are formed in the bending region 33. For example, the section of the recess 35 is not limited to the rectangle illustrated in figures 5 and 6, and the section of the recess 35 may have a smooth structure, for example, the section of the recess 35 is semicircular or fan-shaped. A panel module 25 is provided on a substrate 23, and the substrate 23 is bonded to a metal support 21 by means of a first adhesive layer 22. Gu further discloses a support plate of a flexible display panel is provided with a thinning structure in a bending region to reduce the bending stress (paragraphs 0048 and 0053-0060, and figures 4-6).
7. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was filed to modify the invention of Li, by incorporating the recesses and edges, of Gu. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated in doing so in order to further the utility of its invention.
8. Regarding Claim 11, Li in view of Gu suggests using PET (Gu: paragraph 0080).
9. Regarding Claim 12, given that the materials being used are the same as that being claimed by applicants, it would therefore be expected for it to inherently have the same elastic modulus.
10. Regarding Claim 13, Li in view of Gu suggests using an adhesive layer (Gu: paragraph 0044).
11. Regarding Claim 14, Li in view of Gu suggests a cover plate and a flexible display device (Title and paragraph 0005): the cover plate comprises a first cover plate layer 11 and a second cover plate layer 13 which are stacked; the first cover plate layer 11 and the second cover plate layer 13 are bonded by means of a first bonding layer (Li: abstract).
12. Regarding Claim 15, Li in view of Gu suggests a display module (Gu: paragraph 0042) that can comprise a support layer and the afore-described display panel and cover plate layers (Li: title, abstract).
13. Regarding Claims 16 and 17, Li in view of Gu suggests having an etching groove (Gu: paragraph 0014) and a buffer layer (corresponds to claimed packing layer) to penetrate the support (Gu: paragraph 0014).
14. Regarding Claims 18 and 19, Li in view of Gu suggests a device (Li: Title) that corresponds to claimed apparatus.
Conclusion
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/TAHSEEN KHAN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1781 January 11, 2026