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.
Response to Amendment
Claims 6-8 are currently pending in the present application. Claims 1-5 are canceled; and claims 6-8 are newly added. The amendment dated November 21, 2024 has been entered into the record.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 11/21/2024 is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
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 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.
Claims 6-8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kim et al. (US 20190285904, hereinafter “Kim”) in view of Aono et al. (US 20120139815, hereinafter “Aono”).
Regarding claim 6, Kim discloses a foldable aerial image display device (Figs. 1, 4 and 14-16; Paras. [0025], [0028], [0038]-[0040], [0173] and [0179] teaching 1400 forming an image output through the display panel 1435 as an aerial image in the space outside the first flip cover 1413), comprising:
a display substrate (1435; Para. [0179]) for displaying a contactless interface;
an optical plate (1413, 1431; Para. [0176]) pivotally connected to the front edge of the display substrate (see Fig. 14 and Para. [0176]);
an operation detection unit installed on the optical plate to detect gestures performed by a user (see Para. [0143] teaching a sensor disposed along the edge of a half mirror to detect the user position or the movement of an object, and see Para. [0159] teaching the movement of the object includes a finger of the user, and see Para. [0181] teaching providing the display device 1400 with the embodiments described above);
a support substrate (1433) pivotally connected to the edge of the display substrate opposite the front edge (Fig. 14 and Para. [0177]); and
and a locking member (1415; Para. [0177]) to fix the display substrate and the optical plate at a certain angle, and fix the display substrate and the support substrate at a certain angle (see Fig. 14),
wherein when the contactless interface is displayed on the display substrate with the display substrate and the optical plate being fixed at the certain angle, the contactless interface is projected through the optical plate as an aerial image on the opposite side of the optical plate (see the image formed on the plane S), and
wherein the display substrate, the optical plate, and the support substrate can be folded flat by rotating them (see Figs. 15-16) around the hinges.
Kim does not explicitly disclose the optical plate connected by a hinge, and rotating them around the hinges.
However, Aono teaches providing a hinge (6U in Fig. 1; Paras. [0094]-[0096]) to connect display panels or casings by a hinge, and rotating display panels or casings around the hinges (Paras. [0094]-[0096]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at a time before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the display device as disclosed by Kim with the teachings of Aono, to have the optical plate connected by a hinge and rotating them around the hinges, for the purpose of rotatably connecting panels or casings (Aono: Para. [0094]).
Regarding claim 7, Kim as modified by Aono discloses the limitations of claim 6 above, and Kim further discloses the support substrate incorporates an information processing device that transmits control signals to the display substrate to display the contactless interface (see Paras. [0071], [0079] and [0179] teaching 1433 incorporates a sensor module 14 that transmits the measured or sensed information into electric signals, and thereby forms an image).
Regarding claim 8, Kim as modified by Aono discloses the limitations of claim 7 above, and Kim further discloses wherein the locking member maintains the optical plate and the support substrate horizontally and allows the angle between the optical plate and the display substrate (Figs. 14-16).
Kim does not explicitly disclose the angle between the support substrate and the display substrate to be fixed in the range of 40 to 50 degrees.
However, Kim teaches an angle between the optical plate and the display substrate is 45 degrees (Para. [0131]) and an angle between the support substrate and the display substrate can be further adjusted (Fig. 4 and Paras. [0131]-[0133]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at a time before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the display device as disclosed by Kim, wherein the angle between the support substrate and the display substrate to be fixed in the range of 40 to 50 degrees, as an optimization of a result effective variable, since Kim identifies the result effective variables, i.e., angles forming within the display device, for the purpose of considering the user’s position (Kim: Paras. [0131]-[0133]). Furthermore, it has been held that determining the optimum value of a result effective variable involves only routine skill in the art (MPEP 2144.05 II (A) and (B)).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JONATHAN Y JUNG whose telephone number is (469)295-9076. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday - Friday, 9:00 am - 5:00 pm.
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/JONATHAN Y JUNG/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2871
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