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 papers submitted under 35 U.S.C. 119(a)-(d), which papers have been placed of record in the file.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 03/02/2026, 10/22/2025, 04/03/2025, 12/06/2024 have been considered by the examiner.
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.
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 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 § 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.
Claim 1-4 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Mun et al , (KR20200444473A, machine translation 2020) (Mun ,hereafter) in view of Park et al. (US 20180088392 A1) (Park, hereafter)
Regarding clams 1, Mun discloses (Figures 1-16 and corresponding text an optical device comprising: a first outer substrate as a curved substrate (see claim 1); an adhesive film (40) positioned between the first outer substrate and a liquid crystal element and between a second outer substrate and the liquid crystal element (see paragraph [0007] and figure l); the liquid crystal element positioned between the first and second outer substrates; and the second outer substrate as a curved substrate positioned opposite the first outer substrate (see claim 1), wherein the liquid present between the two substrate layers, and further includes a spacer provided between the two substrate layers so as to maintain the gap between the two substrate layers, or a sealant for bonding the substrate layers in a state in which the gap between the two substrate layers positioned oppositely is maintained (π40). Mun fails to explicitly disclose wherein a first buffer layer disposed between the first base layer and the first outer substrate,
Park discloses A window for a display device, comprising: a polymer substrate, a first buffer layer under the polymer substrate and having an elastic modulus of about 7 megapascals to about 30 megapascals, a first transparent adhesion layer between the polymer substrate and the first buffer layer, and a protective layer on the polymer substrate.
It would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to modify the window of Mun as disclosed by Park wherein a first buffer layer disposed between the first base layer and the first outer substrate the motivation being to provide a display which is capable of providing both the desired flexibility and impact resistance.
Regarding claim 2, Mun discloses wherein each of the first outer substrate and the second outer substrate is made of a glass (see claim 2 of MUN).
Regarding claim 3, Mun fails to explicitly disclose wherein the pressure-sensitive adhesive layer has a loss elastic modulus at a temperature of 25° C. and a frequency of 1 Hz of 50,000 Pa to 2 MPa.
Park discloses e second transparent adhesion layer (16) (pressure adhesive) may secondarily absorb and/or smooth an impact which is transmitted toward the upper surface substrate( 11) and the lower surface of the substrate (11), in addition to binding the substrate (11) with the second buffer layer( 15). Thereby, the second transparent adhesion layer (16) may effectively absorb and/or smooth an impact transmitted toward the upper surface of the substrate (11) and/or the lower surface of the substrate (11), together with the second buffer layer (15); The second transparent adhesion layer 16 may have, for example, a modulus of less than or equal to about 0.1 MPa,(10000 or less than or equal to about 0.05 MPA, or less than or equal to about 0.01 MPa.(π90-91)
It would be obvious to one of ordinary skill before the effective filing date to modify the optical device Mun as disclosed by Park with ordinary skill to derive wherein the pressure-sensitive adhesive layer has a loss elastic modulus at a temperature of 25° C. and a frequency of 1 Hz of 50,000 Pa to 2 MPa the motivation being to provide a device with both the desired flexibility and impact resistance.
Regarding claim 4 Mun fails to explicitly disclose wherein the first buffer layer has a loss elastic modulus at a temperature of 25° C. and a frequency of 1 Hz of 1,000 Pa to 500,000 Pa.
Park discloses the first buffer layer (13) is disposed under the substrate (11) and faces toward the protective layer (12) in a center of the substrate (11). The first buffer layer (13) may be disposed under the substrate (11) to absorb and/or smooth an impact force to an upper side of the substrate (11), and which is transmitted to the lower side of the substrate (11). Thus when the window (10) is disposed on a display panel, such as for example, a liquid crystal display panel or an organic light emitting display panel, an impact force applied to the window (10) is reduced or is prevented from being transmitted toward the display panel side so as to effectively protect the display device. The first buffer layer (13) may have an elastic modulus of about 7 MPa to about 30 MPa, or about 5 MPa to about 25 MPa, or about 10 MPa to about 20 MPa. By having the elastic modulus within these ranges, the first buffer layer (13) may effectively absorb and/or smooth an external impact force. In an exemplary embodiment, the first buffer layer (13) may have a modulus of, for example, about 10 MPa to about 20 MPa.
It would be obvious to one of ordinary skill before the effective filing date to modify the optical device Mun as disclosed by Park with ordinary skill to derive wherein the first buffer layer has a loss elastic modulus at a temperature of 25° C. and a frequency of 1 Hz of 1,000 Pa to 500,000 Pa the motivation being to provide a device with both the desired flexibility and impact resistance.
Regarding claims 7-10, the limitations wherein the first buffer layer contacts an outer side surface of the first base layer or contacts with an inner side surface of the first adhesive layer(claim 7); wherein, a third adhesive layer contacting an outer side surface of the first base layer, and a fourth adhesive layer contacting an outer side surface of the second base layer (claim 8); wherein first polarizer disposed between the first outer substrate and the liquid crystal cell, and a second polarizer disposed between the second outer substrate and the liquid crystal cell. (claim 9.); wherein a fifth adhesive layer contacting an outer side surface of the first polarizer, and a sixth adhesive layer contacting an outer side surface of the second polarizer (claim 10) etc do not appear to contain any additional features which define more than slight constructional changes which come within the scope of the customary (design) practice followed by persons skilled in the art, especially as the advantages thus achieved can be readily contemplated in advance. Alternatively, these limitations are not deemed patentable since the applicant’s disclosure fails to show such limitations to solve any problems or to yield any unobvious advantage that is not within the scope of the teachings applied. Therefore, such limitations would be a matter of design alternative.
It would be obvious to one of ordinary skill before the effective filing date to modify the optical device Mun as disclosed by Park with ordinary skill to derive wherein the first buffer layer contacts an outer side surface of the first base layer or contacts with an inner side surface of the first adhesive layer; wherein, a third adhesive layer contacting an outer side surface of the first base layer, and a fourth adhesive layer contacting an outer side surface of the second base layer ; wherein first polarizer disposed between the first outer substrate and the liquid crystal cell, and a second polarizer disposed between the second outer substrate and the liquid crystal cell. ; wherein a fifth adhesive layer contacting an outer side surface of the first polarizer, and a sixth adhesive layer contacting an outer side surface of the second polarizer the motivation being to make a highly flexible and impact resistant optical assembly.
Regarding claim 11, Mun fails to disclose a second buffer layer disposed between the second base layer and the second outer substrate.
Park discloses the second transparent adhesion layer (16 )may effectively absorb and/or smooth an impact transmitted toward the upper surface of the substrate (11) and/or the lower surface of the substrate (11), together with the second buffer layer( 15).
It would be obvious to one of ordinary skill before the effective filing date to modify the optical device Mun as disclosed by Park with ordinary skill to derive a second buffer layer disposed between the second base layer and the second outer substrate to further increase the impact resistance of the device.
Regarding claim 12, Mun discloses wherein the liquid crystal layer is configured to be in a vertical orientation state when no voltage is applied and is configured to be in a twist orientation state when a voltage is applied. (wherein the liquid crystal element includes a liquid crystal host and a dichroic dye guest, and has a liquid crystal layer capable of switching between a first alignment state and a second alignment state.
Regarding claims 13 and 14, Nun as modified by Park fail to explicitly disclose wherein the upper substrate further comprises a first electrode layer disposed between the first base layer and the pressure-sensitive adhesive layer, and the lower substrate further comprises a second electrode layer disposed between the second base layer and the spacers(claim (13)); wherein the upper substrate comprises no alignment film, and the lower substrate further comprises an alignment film (claim 14).
However Nun discloses how conductive layers can be applied to the substrate long with or without alignment films (π44-π47).
It would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to modify the optical device of Mun based on the teachings of MUN to derive wherein the upper substrate further comprises a first electrode layer disposed between the first base layer and the pressure-sensitive adhesive layer, and the lower substrate further comprises a second electrode layer disposed between the second base layer and the spacers; wherein the upper substrate comprises no alignment film, and the lower substrate further comprises an alignment film the motivation being
Claims 5-6 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Mun et al , (KR20200444473A, machine translation 2020) (Mun ,hereafter) in view of Park et al. (US 20180088392 A1) (Park, hereafter), and in further view Choi et al. (US 20180132370 A1) (Choi).
Regarding claims 5 and 6, Mun as modified by Park disclose claim 1 (see rejection claim 1). Mun as modified by Park fail to explicitly disclose wherein a loss elastic modulus of the first adhesive layer and a loss elastic modulus of the second adhesive layer are each higher than a loss elastic modulus of the pressure-sensitive adhesive layer(claim 5); wherein the first adhesive layer and the second adhesive layer each have a loss elastic modulus at a temperature of 25° C. and a frequency of 1 Hz of 1 MPa to 100 MPa (claim 6).
Choi discloses ,(Figure 8) the modulus of the first adhesive layer 320a may be greater than that of the second adhesive layer 320b, and the modulus of the second adhesive layer 320b may be greater than that of the third adhesive layer 320c. The modulus of the third adhesive layer 320c may be greater than that of the fourth adhesive layer 320d, and the modulus of the fourth adhesive layer 320d may be greater than that of the fifth adhesive layer 320e. For example, the modulus may decrease from the first adhesive layer 320a to the fifth adhesive layer 320e. It has been described that the modulus of the adhesive layer 320 gradually decreases in five steps, but the present invention is not limited thereto. The modulus of the adhesive layer 320 may continuously decrease from the lower portion thereof to the upper portion thereof; the adhesive layer has a loss modulus in a range of 100 kPa to 10 MPa.
It would be obvious to one of ordinary skill before the effective filing date to further modify the optical device Mun with the teachings of Choi with ordinary skill to derive wherein a loss elastic modulus of the first adhesive layer and a loss elastic modulus of the second adhesive layer are each higher than a loss elastic modulus of the pressure-sensitive adhesive layer; wherein the first adhesive layer and the second adhesive layer each have a loss elastic modulus at a temperature of 25° C. and a frequency of 1 Hz of 1 MPa to 100 MPa the motivation being strong against external impacts so as to protect the display panel and the like in the mobile electronic apparatus.
Claims 15 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Mun et al , (KR20200444473A, machine translation 2020) (Mun ,hereafter) in view of Park et al. (US 20180088392 A1) (Park, hereafter), and in further view Looman (US 20200409225 A1)
Mun as modified by Park disclose claim 1 (see rejection claim 1). Mun as modified by Park fail to explicitly disclose an automobile comprising an auto body in which one or more openings are formed;
Looman discloses , the illustrated rearview mirror assembly 10 can be an interior rearview assembly positioned within an interior of a vehicle. When the rearview mirror assembly 10 is an interior rearview assembly, the rearview mirror assembly 10 may be connected to a mount 12, which is adapted to be mounted inside the vehicle in a location proximate to or on a front windshield of the vehicle. While aspects of the present disclosure are described in the context of a rearview mirror assembly, the aspects of the present disclosure are also applicable in other optical assemblies, non-limiting examples of which include interior and exterior mirrors, architectural windows, vehicle windows, sunroofs, aircraft windows, heads-up displays, displays, camera filter, camera shutter, and eyewear, as well as other optical assemblies positioned within bezels and housings.
It would be obvious to one of ordinary skill before the effective filing date to further modify the optical device Mun with the teachings of Looman with ordinary skill to derive an automobile comprising an auto body in which one or more openings are formed the motivation being to provide a vehicle in which internal lighting is improved and secured.
Conclusion
10 The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Can be found in the 892 and below:
US 20230229050 A1 provide an optical device capable of securing structural stability
US 20200319504 A1- A transmittance-variable film having a double-cell structure or a single-cell structure capable of suppressing formation of bubbles inside a liquid crystal
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to TRACIE Y GREEN whose telephone number is (571)270-3104. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Thursday, 10am-8pm.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, James R Greece can be reached at (571)272-3711. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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TRACIE Y. GREEN
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 2875
/TRACIE Y GREEN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2875
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