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 .
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicants’ submission filed on 9/8/2026 has been entered.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's remark, see pages 7-8, filed 9/8/2026, with respect to claims 1-16 have been considered but are moot, because the new ground of rejection incorporates a new interpretation of the claims that rely on different combination
of prior art that now includes Li, and is considered to teach the newly amended
language specifically challenged, request for continued examination. Note, newly presented amendment to independent claim 1 is not sufficient in overcoming Kishimoto when read in view of Li in its current form. Note further claim 9 canceled. Please see revised rejection of the claims below.
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.
Claim(s) 1-2, 5-8, 12 and 14-16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being
unpatentable over Kishimoto 2022/0113824 in view of Li 2023/0163264.
Regarding claim 1, Kishimoto discloses a foldable display apparatus (Figs 1,
2) with a foldable area (FDA, Fig 3) including a folding axis (FL1 or FL2, Fig 3) and
two non-foldable areas (NFA1, NFA2, Fig 3) respectively on both opposing sides of
the foldable area (Fig 3), comprising: a first support plate (600, Fig 11) having a
plurality of opening patterns defined in the foldable area (see middle region of
600, Figs 6, 7); a second support plate (700, Fig 11) above the first support plate
(Fig 11) and including a material different from a material of the first support
plate (rigid material of 600 greater/different than 700 in kind and thickness, par
0072); a first adhesive layer (epoxy contained as part of 600, par 0071) between
the first support plate and the second support plate (last sentence par 0071), a second adhesive layer (AD6. Fig 6) disposed on a surface of the first adhesive layer (on a lower surface of 600, Fig 6); a first plate (500, Fig 11) above the second support plate (Fig 11); a third adhesive layer (AD5, Fig 11) between the second support plate and the first plate (Fig 11); a display panel (100, Fig 11) above the first plate (Fig 11); a fourth adhesive layer (AD4, Fig 11) between the first plate and the display panel (Fig 11); a polarizing layer (200, Fig 11) above the display panel (Fig 11); a fifth adhesive layer (AD1, Fig 11) between the display panel and the polarizing layer (Fig 11); a cover window (300, Fig 11) above the polarizing layer (Fig 11); and a sixth adhesive layer (AD2, Fig 11) between the polarizing layer and the cover window (Fig 11), wherein the plurality of opening patterns extend in a direction parallel to the folding axis and are provided in a discontinuous form (as depicted in Figs 5-7), wherein a length of each of the plurality of opening patterns (SLT, Fig 7) is smaller than a width in the folding-axis direction of the first support plate (length of FDA across is smaller, Figs 6, 7), and wherein the second adhesive layer is disposed to correspond to an entirety of the foldable area and the non-foldable areas (see AD6 as disposed in Fig 6).
Kishimoto discloses the claimed invention except for expressly teaching
wherein the second adhesive layer comprises a black material.
Li, however, teaches wherein an adhesive layer comprise a black material (par 0079).
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the color of the second adhesive of Kishimoto to include black material, as taught by Li, in order to help control the amount/intensity of light passing through the different layers, thereby optimizing light efficiency of the device as desired, hence improving functionality.
Regarding claim 2, Kishimoto in view of Li discloses the foldable display
apparatus of claim 1, Kishimoto teaches wherein spacings between the opening
patterns adjacent to each other in the direction perpendicular to the folding axis
are uniform (see Fig 7).
Regarding claim 5, Kishimoto in view of Li discloses the foldable display
apparatus of claim 2, Kishimoto teaches wherein the second portion of the first
adhesive layer covers all of the plurality of opening patterns of the first support
plate (see Figs 6, 7).
Regarding claim 6, Kishimoto in view of Li discloses the foldable display
apparatus of claim 1, Kishimoto teaches wherein the first support plate includes a
metal (see par 0134), and the second support plate includes a polymer blocking
UV rays (see par 0116).
Regarding claim 7, Kishimoto in view of Li discloses the foldable display
apparatus of claim 1, Kishimoto teaches wherein the second support plate
includes polyethylene terephthalate having a black color (in the form of polyester
adjacent, par 0071).
Regarding claim 8, Kishimoto in view of Li discloses the foldable display
apparatus of claim 1, Kishimoto teaches wherein the second support plate
includes polyimide (par 0116).
Regarding claim 12, Kishimoto in view of Li discloses the foldable display
apparatus of claim 1, Kishimoto teaches wherein the first adhesive layer includes
an adhesive layer cured in two different curing schemes selected from among at
least one of heat curing, light curing, and moisture curing schemes (acrylic resin,
epoxy resin or phenolic resin, par 0107, Fig 8).
Regarding claim 14, Kishimoto in view of Li discloses the foldable display
apparatus of claim 1, Kishimoto teaches wherein the second support plate blocks
UV rays (digitizer 700 blocks UV rays, Fig 11).
Regarding claim 15, Kishimoto in view of Li discloses the foldable display
apparatus of claim 2, Kishimoto teaches wherein the material of the second
portion has a higher modulus than a modulus of the material of each of the first
portions (see par 0072).
Regarding claim 16, Kishimoto in view of Li discloses the foldable display
apparatus of claim 1, Kishimoto teaches the apparatus further comprising a light-
blocking layer disposed on an edge portion of the cover window (par 0068),
wherein the light-blocking layer is covered with the sixth adhesive layer for
attaching the cover window to the polarizing layer (see Figs 11, 12).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 3-4, 10-11 and 13 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims. The dependent claims listed below, in combination with the remaining elements of the independent claim(s) from which they directly/indirectly depend, are not taught, or adequately suggested in the prior art of record.
Claim 3. The foldable display apparatus of claim 1, wherein a first spacing
between the opening patterns adjacent to each other in the direction perpendicular to a folding axis of the foldable area in a central portion adjacent to
the folding axis is smaller than a second spacing between the opening patterns
adjacent to each other in the direction perpendicular to the folding axis in an
edge portion on either side of the central portion.
Claim 4. The foldable display apparatus of claim 1, wherein the first adhesive layer has: first portions respectively in each of the two non-foldable areas; and a second portion in the foldable area, wherein a material of the second portion has a higher degree of cure than a degree of cure of a material of each of the first portions.
Claim 10. The foldable display apparatus of claim 1, wherein the second adhesive layer has a lower degree of cure than a degree of cure of the second portion of the first adhesive layer.
Claim 11. The foldable display apparatus of claim 1, wherein the first adhesive layer includes at least two first adhesive layers, and the second adhesive layer includes at least two second adhesive layers, and wherein the at least two first adhesive layers and the at least two second adhesive layers are alternately stacked with each other.
Claim 13. The foldable display apparatus of claim 2, wherein the first
portions and the second portion of the first adhesive layer are first cured in a first
curing scheme selected from among the heat curing, light curing, and moisture
curing schemes and then only the second portion is second cured in a second
curing scheme different from the first curing scheme and selected from among
the heat curing, light curing, and moisture curing schemes.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure: see PTO 892.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to RASHEN E MORRISON whose telephone number is (571)272-8852. The examiner can normally be reached 9-5.
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/RASHEN E MORRISON/Examiner, Art Unit 2841 /IMANI N HAYMAN/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2841
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