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 .
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Information Disclosure Statement
Acknowledgement is made of receipt of Information Disclosure Statement(s) (PTO-1449) filed 6/26/2024. An initialed copy is attached to this Office Action.
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.
The text of those sections of Title 35, U.S. Code not included in this action can be found in a prior Office action.
Claim(s) 1-3 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Chan et al. (2019/0279600), hereinafter Chan in view of Ahn Tae Joon (KR 20130024093), hereinafter Joon.
Regarding claim 1, Chang discloses, in figure 2, a touch display apparatus (102, touch display device) (paragraph 0026), comprising an electrophoretic structure (122, display media) (paragraph 0026); a protective layer (118 and 120, first and second substrate) (paragraph 0026), and at least one touch sensing layer (124, touch sensor), disposed on one side of the protective layer (118 and 120, first and second substrate) (paragraph 0026).
Chang does not disclose disposed on the electrophoretic structure and comprising an organic material layer and an inorganic material layer, wherein the inorganic material layer is located between the electrophoretic structure and the organic material layer, a material of the inorganic material layer comprises silicon dioxide (SiO₂), and a thickness of the inorganic material layer is from 20 nm to 400 nm.
Joon discloses, in figure 11, disposed on the electrophoretic structure (150, electrophoretic film) (paragraph 0110) and comprising an organic material layer (132, first flexible layer) (paragraph 0126 discloses 132 is organic) and an inorganic material layer (134, second flexible layer) (paragraph 0097 discloses 134 is inorganic), wherein the inorganic material layer (134, second flexible layer) is located between the electrophoretic structure (150, electrophoretic film) and the organic material layer (132, first flexible layer) (see figure 11 below), a material of the inorganic material layer comprises silicon (paragraph 0097), and a thickness of the inorganic material layer is from 20 nm to 400 nm (paragraph 0097 discloses a thickness of 2000 Angstrom; 2000 Angstroms is 200 nm which is within the claimed range limitation).
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It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to a material of the inorganic material layer comprises silicon dioxide (SiO₂), since it has been held to be within the general skill of a worker in the art to select a known material on the basis of its suitability for the intended use as a matter of design choice. In re Leshin, 125 USPQ 146. This being reasonably based upon silicon dioxide and silicon nitrides ability to migrate particles during electrophoresis once an electric field is applied.
Therefore it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify the device of Chang with the protective layer of Joon for the purpose of protecting the display.
Regarding claim 2, Joon discloses wherein a material of the organic material layer comprises polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polyimide (PI) (paragraph 0052), polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA), polycarbonate (PC), polyurethane (PU), polyvinyl chloride (PVC), or polycaprolactone (PCL).
Regarding claim 3, Joon discloses wherein a thickness of the organic material layer is from 20 µm (paragraph 0052).
Joon does not disclose wherein a thickness of the organic material layer is from 700 nm to 10 µm. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to wherein a thickness of the organic material layer is from 700 nm to 10 µm, since it has been held that where the general conditions of a claim are disclosed in the prior art, discovering the optimum or workable ranges involves only routine skill in the art, In re Aller, 105 USPQ 233 (C.C.P.A. 1955). This is being reasonably based upon shielding/protecting the display.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 8-16 are allowed.
Claims 4-7 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 prior art taken either singularly or in combination fails to anticipate or fairly suggest the limitations of the independent claim(s), in such a manner that a rejection under 35 U.S.C. 102 or 103 would be proper. The prior art fails to teach a combination of all the claimed features as presented in claim(s) 4, wherein the claimed invention comprises, in claim 4, wherein the at least one touch sensing layer comprises a first touch sensing layer and a second touch sensing layer, and the first touch sensing layer and the second touch sensing layer are respectively located on two opposite sides of the protective layer; in claim 7, a cover plate, disposed on one side of the protective layer away from the electrophoretic structure; and a light guide plate, disposed between the cover plate and the protective layer, as claimed.
The prior art of record fails to teach or fairly suggest to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention, in conjunction with all the other claimed limitation, a touch display apparatus having all the claimed features of applicant's instant invention, specifically including: wherein a combination of the protective layer and the at least one touch sensing layer has a light transmittance higher than 85% and a water vapor transmission rate (WVTR) less than 0.01 g/m²-day at 50 degrees Celsius (°C)., as set forth in the claims.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to BRANDI N THOMAS whose telephone number is (571)272-2341. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday 7:30 - 3:30.
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/BRANDI N THOMAS/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2872
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