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and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on 02/09/2026 has been entered.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 01/22/2025 have been fully considered but they are moot in view of a new ground of rejections.
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 1-5 and 7-12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Takahashi et al. (US 2022/0078560 A1 – hereinafter Takahashi) and Hasegawa et al. (US 2019/0309894 A1 – hereinafter Hasegawa).
Regarding claim 1, Takahashi discloses a display device comprising: a display body including a display module outputting an image (Fig. 1 – a display body including a display module 3 outputting an image); a cable connected to the display body ([0053]; [0055] – at least one of cables 21); and a pair of stands supporting the display body and arranged spaced apart from each other in a horizontal direction (Figs. 1-2 – a pair of stands 2 supporting the display body and arranged at two sides of the lower edge and spaced apart from each other in a horizontal direction as shown in Figs. 1-2), wherein each of the stands includes: a fastening portion fastened to a rear surface of the display body (Fig. 2 – each of the stands 2 has a portion, i.e. the top part of each of the stands where it is fixed to the rear surface of the display body); a vertical portion extending downward from the fastening portion (Fig. 2 – the portion right below the fastening portion extending downward vertically); and a support portion extending from the vertical portion in a front direction perpendicular to a surface direction of the display body (Figs. 1-2 – the portion that contacts with a floor extending from the vertical portion in a front direction perpendicular to a surface direction of the display body as shown in Fig. 1), wherein the fastening portion includes: a first sidewall (Fig. 2 – a first sidewall on a side of a corresponding stand 2); a second sidewall disposed spaced apart from the first sidewall (Fig. 2 – a second sidewall on the other side opposite to the first side of the corresponding stand 2); a third sidewall connecting front ends of the first sidewall and the second sidewall to each other (Fig. 2 – the third sidewall on a connecting side, which is parallel with the surface of the display body, of a corresponding stand 2).
However, Takahashi does not disclose a first screw penetrating the third sidewall and fastened to the display body; and an accommodation space surrounded by the first sidewall, the second sidewall and the third sidewall through which the cable passes; and a holder block inserted between the first side wall and a part from the third sidewall.
Hasegawa discloses a first screw penetrating a third sidewall and fastened to a display body (Fig. 2; [0060] – a first screw 20 penetrating a third wall of a fastening portion and fastened to a display body via holes 68); and an accommodation space surrounded by a first sidewall, a second sidewall and the third sidewall through which a cable passes (Fig. 5; [0051] – an accommodation space surrounded by a first sidewall, i.e. left wall of element 8, a second sidewall, i.e. right wall of element 8, and the third wall, i.e. the rectangular plate as described at least in [0060], through which cables pass as shown in Fig. 1); and a holder block inserted between the first side wall and a part from the third sidewall (Figs. 5-6; Fig. 8; Fig. 9 – either the support member 62 or protrusion part 124 is inserted between the first sidewall and apart from the third sidewall as shown in Fig. 5 and Fig. 9).
One of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention would have been motivated to incorporate the teachings of Hasegawa into eac of the stands in the display device taught by Takahashi so that the cables can be sealed within the stands making the viewing space neatly arranged.
Regarding claim 2, Takahashi also discloses display device according to claim 1, wherein the vertical portion extends downward from a rear-direction end of the fastening portion (Fig. 2), and wherein the support portion protrudes forward from a front surface of the display body (Fig. 1).
Regarding claim 3, Takahashi also discloses the display device according to claim 1, wherein the support portion includes a plate-shaped member having a surface perpendicular to the horizontal direction and having a small thickness in the horizontal direction (Figs. 1-2).
Regarding claim 4, Takahashi in view of Hasegawa also discloses display device according to claim 1, wherein the vertical portion and the support portion have the same thickness in the horizontal direction (Figs. 1-2) and thinner than the fastening portion in the horizonal direction (Hasegawa: Fig. 5 – when the portion 8 with the corresponding stand inserted is interpreted as the fastening portion, the vertical portion and the support portion as shown in Figs. 1-2 of Takahashi would be thinner than the fastening portion in the horizonal direction because the thickness of the fastening portion is that of the portion 8, which must be greater than the thickness of the vertical portion in order to fitly receive the vertical portion).
The motivation for incorporating the teachings of Hasegawa into the display device taught by Takahashi has been discussed in claim 1 above.
Regarding claim 5, Takahashi also discloses the fastening portion includes: the first sidewall forms a continuous surface with the vertical portion (Fig. 2 – a first sidewall on a side of a corresponding stand 2).
Regarding claim 7, see the teachings of Takahashi and Hasegawa as discussed in claim 1 above. Hasegawa also discloses the first sidewall and the second sidewall further include a guide groove and a fixing groove, and wherein the holder block includes a guide protrusion inserted into the guide groove and a fixing protrusion inserted into the fixing groove to fix the holder block (Figs. 6, 8, 9, 11 – guiding groove, i.e. the curve along the wall, and fixing groove, i.e. the curve along the hole on the top, the support member 62 as the holder block includes a guide protrusion 124 inserted into the grooves as shown in Fig. 9, 11).
The motivation for incorporating the teachings of Hasegawa into the display device has been discussed in claim 1 above.
Regarding claim 8, see the teachings of Takahashi and Hasegawa as discussed in claim 1 above. Hasegawa also discloses a bottom portion (Fig. 2 – portion 66 of element 8) connecting bottoms of the first sidewall and the second sidewall to each other, wherein the bottom portion is spaced apart from the holder block by a predetermined distance (Fig. 5 – the protrusion part 124 as the holder block is spaced apart from the bottom portion of the stand by a predetermined distance).
The motivation for incorporating the teachings of Hasegawa into the display device has been discussed in claim 1 above.
Regarding claim 9, Takahashi in view of Hasegawa also disclose a pair of stand supports fastened to the rear surface of the display body, wherein each of the stands is fastened to each of the stand supports (Hasegawa: a stand support fastened to the rear surface of the display body as shown in Fig. 2, wherein Takahashi teaches a pair of such stands, thus each of the stands, taught in Fig. 2 of Takahashi, is fastened to teach of the stand supports taught by Hasegawa).
The motivation for incorporating the teachings of Hasegawa into the display device has been discussed in claim 1 above.
Regarding claim 10, see the teachings of Takahashi and Hasegawa as discussed in claim 9 above, in which Hasegawa also discloses each stand support includes a hook fastened to a cover bottom located on the rear surface of the display body (Fig. 2; Fig. 7; [0040]), and a second screw penetrating the stand support and fixed to the cover bottom (Fig. 2; Fig. 7; [0040] – one of the screws 20 is a first screw, any other of the screws 20 is a second screw).
One of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention would have been motivated to incorporate the further teachings of Hasegawa into the display device taught by Takahashi so that the stands and the fixing portions can be easily attached and detached from the display body depending on situations, e.g. detached when packaging and shipping, or mounting on a wall, and attached when the display device is intended to stand on a surface.
Regarding claim 11, Takahashi also discloses the display device according to claim 1, wherein the display body includes: a cover bottom coupled to a rear surface of the display module (Fig. 5; [0053]); a printed circuit board mounted on the cover bottom (Fig. 5; [0053] – board 20); the cable connected to the printed circuit board (Fig. 5; [0053] – cables 21); a back cover including an opening through which the cable passes and covering the printed circuit board (Fig. 5; [0053]); and a cable clip coupled to the back cover and fixing the cable (Figs. 6-7, 11).
Regarding claim 12, Takahashi also discloses the display device according to claim 11, wherein the cable clip is located between the opening of the back cover and one of the stands (Fig. 11).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to HUNG Q DANG whose telephone number is (571)270-1116. The examiner can normally be reached IFT.
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/HUNG Q DANG/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2484
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