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 .
This Office Action is in response to the application filed November 13, 2024.
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Drawings
The drawings are objected to under 37 CFR 1.83(a). The drawings must show every feature of the invention specified in the claims. Therefore, the plurality of refractive particles in a third refractive layer must be shown or the feature(s) canceled from the claim(s). No new matter should be entered.
Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. The figure or figure number of an amended drawing should not be labeled as “amended.” If a drawing figure is to be canceled, the appropriate figure must be removed from the replacement sheet, and where necessary, the remaining figures must be renumbered and appropriate changes made to the brief description of the several views of the drawings for consistency. Additional replacement sheets may be necessary to show the renumbering of the remaining figures. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
Specification
The title of the invention is not descriptive. A new title is required that is clearly indicative of the invention to which the claims are directed.
The following title is suggested: DISPLAY APPARATUS INCLUDING REFRACTIVE LAYERS HAVING REFRACTIVE PARTICLES.
The specification is objected to as failing to provide proper antecedent basis for the claimed subject matter. See 37 CFR 1.75(d)(1) and MPEP § 608.01(o). Correction of the following is required: third refractive layer.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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 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)(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) 1-3 and 9 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Jeong et al. (US 8,872,207 B2).
The applied reference has a common assignee with the instant application. Based upon the earlier effectively filed date of the reference, it constitutes prior art under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2). This rejection under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) might be overcome by: (1) a showing under 37 CFR 1.130(a) that the subject matter disclosed in the reference was obtained directly or indirectly from the inventor or a joint inventor of this application and is thus not prior art in accordance with 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(A); (2) a showing under 37 CFR 1.130(b) of a prior public disclosure under 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(B) if the same invention is not being claimed; or (3) a statement pursuant to 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) establishing that, not later than the effective filing date of the claimed invention, the subject matter disclosed in the reference and the claimed invention were either owned by the same person or subject to an obligation of assignment to the same person or subject to a joint research agreement.
In regard to claim 1, Jeong et al. teach a display apparatus 1, comprising: a substrate 200; a display element 400 disposed on the substrate 200; a first refractive layer 521 disposed on the display element 400; and a second refractive layer 522 disposed on the first refractive layer 521 and including a plurality of refractive particles 520-1 (Figure 2, columns 3-10, lines 49-67, 1-67, 1-67, 1-67, 1-67, 1-67, 1-67 and 1-55, respectively).
In regard to claim 2, Jeong et al. teach the first refractive layer 521 including an opening that overlaps the display element 400 (Figure 2, columns 3-10, lines 49-67, 1-67, 1-67, 1-67, 1-67, 1-67, 1-67 and 1-55, respectively).
In regard to claim 3, Jeong et al. teach the second refractive layer 522 at least partially covering the first refractive layer 521 (Figure 2, columns 3-10, lines 49-67, 1-67, 1-67, 1-67, 1-67, 1-67, 1-67 and 1-55, respectively).
In regard to claim 9, Jeong et al. teach the first refractive layer 521 having a first refractive index and the second refractive layer 522 having a second refractive index, wherein the second refractive index is greater than the first refractive index (Figure 2, columns 3-10, lines 49-67, 1-67, 1-67, 1-67, 1-67, 1-67, 1-67 and 1-55, respectively).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 4 and 10 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.
Claims 5-8 are objected to as being dependent upon objected claim 4.
Claims 11-20 are allowed.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
In regard to claim 11, the prior art of record (Jeong et al. (US 8,872,207 B2)) does not disclose, make obvious, or otherwise suggest the structure of the applicant's claimed invention together with the other limitations of the dependent claims 12-20, such as the configuration of the substrate, display element, encapsulation member, first refractive layer including opening, second refractive layer including refractive particles and its concentration and third refractive layer including refractive practices and its concentration.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
The following patents are cited to further show the state of the art with respect to display devices:
Jin et al. (CN 111199997 A) Kim (KR 20190078810 A)
Kim et al. (US 2020/0210005 A1) Sun et al. (CN 111180608 A).
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to IDA M SOWARD whose telephone number is (571)272-1845. The examiner can normally be reached Monday through Thursday, 7am to 5:30pm.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Leonard Chang can be reached at 571-270-3691. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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IMS
August 24, 2026
/IDA M SOWARD/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2898
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