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 .
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—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 4-6 are 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 applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Claim 4 recites in lines 1-2 “wherein, the driving circuit layer further comprises a plurality of storage capacitors, at least the storage capacitor in a viewing area of the electrophoretic display comprises…” this is indefinite in that it is unclear if the storage capacitors are the same as those recited in claim 1 or are additional storage capacitors. Additionally, there is insufficient antecedent basis for “the storage capacitor in a viewing area of the electrophoretic display” in the claim. For the purpose of examination the limitation has been interpreted as “wherein, the driving circuit layer comprising the plurality of storage capacitors, comprises at least one storage capacitor in a viewing area of the electrophoretic display comprising”
Claims 5-6 are rejected due to their dependency.
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(s) 1, 7, 8, and 9 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hung et al. (US Pub. 20160109992, Hung) in view of Lee et al. (US Pub. 20110050642, Lee).
As per claim 1, Hung teaches (in figures 1-4) a display with an embedded touch sensing, comprising: a control substrate (first substrate 11), comprising a first face (first outer surface 11B) and a second face (first inner surface 11A), the first face is a viewing face of the display with an embedded touch sensing (see figure 2 and paragraph 23); a driving circuit layer (layers forming TFT), arranged on a side of the second face of the control substrate and comprising a plurality of thin film transistors (TFT), a plurality of gate lines (gate lines GL), and a plurality of data lines (data lines DL), at least one of the gate lines electrically connected to gates (gate 21) of the thin film transistors, at least one of the data lines electrically connected to drains or sources (sources 60s) of the thin film transistors; the driving circuit layer further comprises a plurality of storage capacitors (storage capacitor Cst) and a plurality of common voltage lines (common lines CL), the common voltage lines respectively disposed corresponding to the storage capacitors and substantially parallel to the gate lines; a control electrode layer (pixel electrodes 400, arranged on a side of the driving circuit layer away from the control substrate and comprising a plurality of transparent control electrodes, at least one of the transparent control electrodes electrically connected to the source or the drain (drain 60D) of one of the thin film transistors; and a display touch integrated driver (first touch control element 92A, second touch control element 92B, and display control element 91), electrically connected to the data lines and the common voltage lines.
Hung does not teach that the display is an electrophoresis display comprising an electrophoresis layer, comprising an electrophoretic material, the electrophoretic material comprising a plurality of charged color particles, the charged color particles arranged in a colloidal solution and moving through the colloidal solution under an influence of an electric field, the charged color particles comprising positively charged color particles or/and negatively charged color particles.
However, Lee teaches (in figure 4) using electrophoretic layer (formed of microcapsules 30) as the display medium wherein the electrophoretic layer comprises an electrophoretic material (electrophoretic particles 31 and 33 and transparent dielectric fluid 35), the electrophoretic material comprising a plurality of charged color particles (electrophoretic particles 31 and 33), the charged color particles arranged in a colloidal solution (transparent dielectric fluid 35) and moving through the colloidal solution under an influence of an electric field, the charged color particles comprising positively charged color particles or/and negatively charged color particles (paragraph 87).
It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to replace the liquid crystal layer in Hung with the electrophoretic layer from Lee.
The motivation would have been to reduce power consumption, weight, and thickness of the display device by eliminating the need for a backlight.
As per claim 7, Hung teaches that, during a display operation, the display touch integrated driver (first touch control element 92A, second touch control element 92B, and display control element 91) electrically connects the common voltage lines (common lines CL) together, and electrically separates the data lines (data lines DL) from one another (paragraph 24).
As per claim 8, Hung in view of Lee teaches that an insulation layer (first dielectric layer 31 in Hung) between the data lines (DL in Hung) and the common voltage lines (CL in Hung) is in a same layer as an insulation layer of the storage capacitors (Cst in Hung)(see figure 2 in Hung).
As per claim 9, Hung in view of Lee does not explicitly teach that along a direction looking from the first face of the control substrate into a display region of the electrophoretic display, an aperture ratio of the control substrate of the electrophoretic display is not less than 70%.
However, the aperture ratio is a result effective variable as it is a ratio of the light reflecting area to the total area of the display and is dependent on the size of the non-display area between the pixels and as the aperture ratio increases brightness increases but the available area for the driving lines of the display decreases resulting in thinner driving lines having higher resistance and lower display quality.
It has been held that discovering an optimum value of a result effective variable involves only routine skill in the art (See MPEP § 2144.05 (II) (A) and (B)). It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to form the display to have an aperture ratio of not less than 70% in order to increases brightness.
Claim(s) 2 and 3 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hung et al. (US Pub. 20160109992, Hung) and Lee et al. (US Pub. 20110050642, Lee) as applied to claim 1 above and in further view of Kim et al. (USP 9405411, Kim) and Zhao et al. (US Pub. 20140176491, Zhao).
As per claim 2, Hung in view of Lee teaches that during a touch operation of the electrophoretic display, the display touch integrated driver electrically (first touch control element 92A, second touch control element 92B, and display control element 91) connects a data line as a single touch-transmitting electrode; the display touch integrated driver electrically connects a common voltage line as a single touch-receiving electrode (see figure 4 and paragraphs 26-29).
Hung in view of Lee does not teach that during a touch operation of the electrophoretic display, the display touch integrated driver electrically connects a plurality of the data lines together as a single touch-transmitting electrode; the display touch integrated driver electrically connects a plurality of the common voltage lines together as a single touch-receiving electrode.
However, Zhao teaches (in figure 4) forming a touch display panel such that during a touch operation of the display, a display touch integrated driver (“touch IC”) electrically connects a plurality of the data lines (D1-Dm) together as a single touch-transmitting electrode (TX1) and the display touch integrated driver electrically connects a plurality of horizontally extending display lines ( gate lines G1-Gi) together as a single touch-receiving electrode (RX1) (paragraph 38) in order to simplify the structure of the display touch panel and improve light transmittance (paragraph 51).
Kim teaches (in figures 3-7) forming a touch display panel such that during a touch operation of the display, a display touch integrated driver (touch driving unit 200 and switching unit 270) electrically connects a plurality of the data lines together as a single touch-transmitting electrode (TXn) (Col. 7 lines 15-20, Col. 8 lines 33-39) in order to provide the touch driving signal uniformly to the entire screen (Col. 8 lines 41-43).
It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to form the electrophoretic display such that during a touch operation of the electrophoretic display, the display touch integrated driver electrically connects a plurality of the data lines together as a single touch-transmitting electrode and electrically connects a plurality of the common voltage lines together as a single touch-receiving electrode.
The motivation would have been to simplify the structure of the display by reducing the required number of touch signals while providing touch driving signal uniformly to the entire screen.
As per claim 3, Hung in view of Lee teaches that during a touch operation of the electrophoretic display, the display touch integrated driver electrically (first touch control element 92A, second touch control element 92B, and display control element 91) connects a data line as a single touch-transmitting electrode; the display touch integrated driver electrically connects a common voltage line as a single touch-receiving electrode (see figure 4 and paragraphs 26-29).
Hung in view of Lee does not teach that during a touch operation of the electrophoretic display, the display touch integrated driver electrically connects a plurality of the data lines together as a single touch-receiving electrode; the display touch integrated driver electrically connects a plurality of the common voltage lines together as a single touch-transmitting electrode.
However, Zhao teaches (in figure 4) forming a touch display panel such that during a touch operation of the display, a display touch integrated driver (“touch IC”) electrically connects a plurality of the data lines (D1-Dm) together as a single touch-transmitting electrode (TX1) and the display touch integrated driver electrically connects a plurality of horizontally extending display lines ( gate lines G1-Gi) together as a single touch-receiving electrode (RX1) (paragraph 38) in order to simplify the structure of the display touch panel and improve light transmittance (paragraph 51).
Kim teaches (in figures 3-7) that any of data lines (110), gate lines (120), common electrodes (130) may be the touch-transmitting electrodes (TX) or touch-receiving electrodes (RX) (Col. 6 line 64 – Col. 7 line 2) and that during a touch operation of the display, a display touch integrated driver (touch driving unit 200 and switching unit 270) electrically connects a plurality of the data lines together as a single touch-transmitting electrode (TXn) (Col. 7 lines 15-20, Col. 8 lines 33-39) in order to provide the touch driving signal uniformly to the entire screen (Col. 8 lines 41-43).
It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to form the electrophoretic display such that during a touch operation of the electrophoretic display, the display touch integrated driver electrically connects a plurality of the data lines together as a single touch-receiving electrode; the display touch integrated driver electrically connects a plurality of the common voltage lines together as a single touch-transmitting electrode.
The motivation would have been to simplify the structure of the display by reducing the required number of touch signals while providing touch driving signal uniformly to the entire screen.
Claim(s) 4 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hung et al. (US Pub. 20160109992, Hung) and Lee et al. (US Pub. 20110050642, Lee) as applied to claim 1 above and in further view of Tashiro et al. (US Pub. 20120033160, Tashiro).
As per claim 4, Hung in view of Lee teaches that the driving circuit layer further comprises a plurality of storage capacitors (Cst in Hung), at least the storage capacitor in a viewing area of the electrophoretic display comprises a first electrode (pixel electrode 40 in Hung), a second electrode (protruding electrode portion 22 of common line CL in Hung), and an insulation layer (first dielectric layer 31 in Hung) between the first electrode and the second electrode.
Hung in view of Lee does not explicitly teach that the first and second electrodes are transparent.
However, Tashiro teaches (in figure 13) forming pixel electrodes (12), storage capacitance lines (16), and storage capacitance electrodes (17) out of transparent conductive material in order to reduce a loss of transmittance (paragraphs 98 and 118).
It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to form the first and second electrodes out of transparent conductive material as suggested by Tashiro in order to reduce a loss of transmittance.
Claim(s) 5 and 6 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hung et al. (US Pub. 20160109992, Hung), Lee et al. (US Pub. 20110050642, Lee), and Tashiro et al. (US Pub. 20120033160, Tashiro) as applied to claim 4 above and in further view of Lin (US Pub. 20090244689).
As per claim 5, Hung in view of Tashiro that the first electrode (pixel electrode 40 in Hung as modified by Tashiro) is the control electrode and a second electrode (protruding electrode portion 22 of common line CL in Hung as modified by Tashiro).
Hung in view of Tashiro does not teach that the second electrode is arranged on a first transparent conductive layer.
However, Lin teaches (in figures 2 and 3) providing a first transparent conductive layer (first storage electrode 122) below the second electrode (common line 124) wherein the first transparent conductive layer is electrically connected to the first electrode (pixel electrode 126) in order to increase storage capacitance (paragraph 35).
It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to include a first transparent conductive layer below the second electrode in order to increase the storage capacitance and thereby reduce the influence of current leakage and provide voltage stability.
As per claim 6, Hung in view of Tashiro that the common voltage line (CL in Hung as modified by Tashiro) is a transparent conductive line and is produced in a same manufacturing process as the second electrode (protruding electrode portion 22 of common line CL in Hung as modified by Tashiro).
Claim(s) 10 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hung et al. (US Pub. 20160109992, Hung) and Lee et al. (US Pub. 20110050642, Lee) as applied to claim 1 above and in further view of Komatsu et al. (US Pub. 20110170169, Komatsu).
As per claim 10, Hung in view of Lee does not teach a color filter layer, arranged between the control substrate and the electrophoresis layer.
However, Komatsu teaches (in figure 4a) providing a color filter layer (51r, 51g, and 51b) between a control substrate (device substate 30) and an electrophoresis layer (electrophoretic device 32).
It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to include a color filter layer as suggested by Komatsu.
The motivation would have been to provide the ability to display colored images.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ALEXANDER P GROSS whose telephone number is (571)272-5660. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 9am-6pm EST.
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, Jennifer Carruth can be reached at (571) 272-9791. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/ALEXANDER P GROSS/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2871
Prosecution Insights