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.
Claims 1-6 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Nakamura et al. (US 6,693,746).
As to claim 1, Nakamura discloses in claim 1: a base material film 2 and a hard coat layer 3 formed on one surface side of the base material film (column 7, lines 35-45); wherein a total luminous haze value is 1% or more and 60% or less (column 6, lines 40-50), and a ratio of a maximum haze value to a minimum haze value in a wavelength region of 400 nm to 700 nm is less than 7 (“the optical film has haze of 3.0 to 20.0%, and an average specular reflectance of 1.8% or less in a wavelength range of 450 to 650 nm”).
As to claim 2, Nakamura discloses all of the elements of the claimed invention discussed above regarding claim 1. Nakamura further discloses in column 6, lines 48-50, that the optical film has a haze of 3.0% to 20.0% in a wavelength range of 450 nm to 650 nm.
As to claims 3-4, Nakamura discloses all of the elements of the claimed invention discussed above regarding claim 1. Nakamura further discloses in column 14, lines 66-67, a light transmittance of 80% or more, and more preferably 86% or more.
As to claim 5, Nakamura discloses all of the elements of the claimed invention discussed above regarding claim 1. Nakamura further discloses in figure 1, wherein the hard coat layer 3 contains light-diffusing fine particles 5.
As to claim 6, Nakamura discloses all of the elements of the claimed invention discussed above regarding claim 1. Nakamura further discloses in column 10, lines 34-38, wherein the light-diffusing fine particles may be formed of titanium dioxide, which has a refractive index of 1.8 or more.
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.
Claims 7-9 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Nakamura et al. (US 6,693,746).
As to claim 7, Nakamura discloses all of the elements of the claimed invention discussed above regarding claim 5, but does not disclose wherein a difference between a refractive index of a resin component constituting the hard coat layer and the refractive index of the light diffusing fine particles is 0.5 or more in absolute value. However, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Nakamura wherein a difference between a refractive index of a resin component constituting the hard coat layer and the refractive index of the light diffusing fine particles is 0.5 or more in absolute value, in order to optimize the anti-glare and anti-reflective properties of the hard coat layer.
As to claim 8, Nakamura discloses all of the elements of the claimed invention discussed above regarding claim 5, but does not disclose wherein a content of the light-diffusing fine particles in the hard coat layer is 0.01 mass parts or more and 10 mass parts or less with respect to 100 mass parts of a resin main component constituting the hard coat layer. However, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Nakamura wherein a content of the light-diffusing fine particles in the hard coat layer is 0.01 mass parts or more and 10 mass parts or less with respect to 100 mass parts of a resin main component constituting the hard coat layer, in order to optimize the anti-glare and anti-reflective properties of the hard coat layer.
As to claim 9, Nakamura discloses all of the elements of the claimed invention discussed above regarding claim 1. Nakamura further discloses in figure 1, the hard coat film comprising base material film 2 and hard coat layer 3, and an optically transparent member 1. Nakamura does not disclose a pressure sensitive adhesive layer disposed between the hard coat film and the optically transparent member. However, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Nakamura by providing a pressure sensitive adhesive between the hard coat film and the optically transparent member in order to securely attach the hard coat film to the optically transparent member.
Conclusion
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/DAVID Y CHUNG/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2871
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