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 .
DETAILED ACTION
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
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 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.
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election without traverse of election of species in the reply filed on 4/6/26 is acknowledged. Therefore, Examiner will exam elected claims and embodiment shown in fig 1-6.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of 35 U.S.C. 112(a):
(a) IN GENERAL.—The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor or joint inventor of carrying out the invention.
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112:
The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor of carrying out his invention.
Claims 5 and dependent claims are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), first paragraph, as failing to comply with the written description requirement. The claim(s) contains subject matter which was not described in the specification in such a way as to reasonably convey to one skilled in the relevant art that the inventor or a joint inventor, or for pre-AIA the inventor(s), at the time the application was filed, had possession of the claimed invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claim 5 and dependent claims rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor, or for pre-AIA the applicant regards as the invention.
In Claim 5, the limitations “the guide member further comprises an opening and closing cover connected to the link assembly, the opening and closing cover being configured to rotate with the guide support” are unclear since neither the written description nor the drawings appear to describe/show the claimed features. For the purpose of examination, the limitation will be considered to read “any cover structure”.
Appropriate correction is required.
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 limitations, rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112, second paragraph (see above rejection), and/or discussed in the above claim objections 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.
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 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)(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.
Claims 1-5 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) and/or (a)(2) as being anticipated by SWEENEY (US 20230064265).
With regard claim 1, SWEENEY discloses A slidable display device (abstract, see also fig 1-40) comprises: a display panel assembly (at least fig 26-31; see also fig 24, fig 23, the panel structure including 2306, Examiner consider as display panel assembly; see also fig 2-11 with another design); a mounting frame (at least fig 23, frame structure including 2304 and associated parts; see also fig 2-11 with another design); and a guide member tiltably connected to the mounting frame (at least fig 23-29, the structure tiltably connected to the mounting frame, Examiner consider as a guide member; at least 2628, 2328 and associated part; see also fig 2-11 with another design), the guide member being configured to support the display panel assembly as the display panel assembly moves between a first position and a second position with respect to the mounting frame (compare fig 30-31 for fig 32-36; and other figures; see also fig 2-11 with another design), the guide member being configured to bend the display panel assembly as the display panel assembly moves from the first position to the second position so that a first portion of the display panel assembly is tilted downward (compare fig 30-31 for fig 32-36; and other figures). Examiner’s note: https://www.dictionary.com/browse/bend ; bend: to force a straight form into an angular one.
Regarding claim 2, SWEENEY further disclosed the first portion of the display panel assembly extends past the mounting frame at the second position (compare fig 30-31 for fig 32-36; and other figures; see also fig 2-11 with another design).
Regarding claim 3, SWEENEY further disclosed the guide member includes: a guide support connected to the display panel assembly (at least fig 25, 2344 guide support connected to the display panel assembly); a guide body located at one end of the mounting frame (at least fig 25, the body portion between 2328 and 2342; no label); and a guide driver located at the mounting frame and the guide body (at least fig 25, 2324, 2328 and associate parts).
Regarding claim 4, SWEENEY further disclosed the guide driver further includes a link assembly, the link assembly configured to rotate the guide support and bend the display panel assembly (compare fig 24-31, fig 32-36; the link assembly configured to rotate the guide support and bend the display panel assembly in multiple different directions).
Regarding claim 5, SWEENEY further disclosed the guide member further comprises an opening and closing cover connected to the link assembly, the opening and closing cover being configured to rotate with the guide support (at least the 2306 is opening and closing cover as it is configured to rotate with the guide support and also covered or uncovered the view point when it changes the angles).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 6-8 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 following is an examiner’s statement of reasons for allowance:
With respect to claim 6, the allowability resides in the overall structure of the device as recited in this independent claim and at least in part because the prior art does not teach or suggest a structure comprising: the guide driver further includes: a drive motor located at another end of the mounting frame opposite the one end of the mounting frame; a motor pulley connected to the drive motor; and a guide belt connecting the motor pulley to the link assembly, the guide belt being configured to rotate the link assembly, as set forth in the combination of the independent claims.
The aforementioned limitations in combination with all remaining limitations of independent claim are believed to render said independent claims and all claims dependent therefrom patentable over the art of record.
The closest prior art, SWEENEY (US 20230064265), discloses a similar structure but does not configure to have the above limitations. The above prior art thus fails to anticipate or render the above portions obvious, either singularly or in combination with other references.
Any comments considered necessary by applicant must be submitted no later than the payment of the issue fee and, to avoid processing delays, should preferably accompany the issue fee. Such submissions should be clearly labeled “Comments on Statement of Reasons for Allowance.”
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JERRY WU whose telephone number is (571)270-5420. The examiner can normally be reached on PHP: M-Th: 8:30-12:30; 2:30-8:30pm.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Imani Hayman can be reached on 571.270.5528. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of an application may be obtained from the Patent Application Information Retrieval (PAIR) system. Status information for published applications may be obtained from either Private PAIR or Public PAIR. Status information for unpublished applications is available through Private PAIR only. For more information about the PAIR system, see http://pair-direct.uspto.gov. Should you have questions on access to the Private PAIR system, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative or access to the automated information system, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/JERRY WU/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2841
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