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 .
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 9/20/2024 is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being 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.
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 (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) 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 1, 4-7 and 9 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hwang et al. (US-20180204901-A1, hereinafter Hwang), and further in view of Oh et al. (US-20210328202-A1, hereinafter Ou)
Regarding Claim 1.
Hwang teaches A display device (#100) comprising:
a flexible base (#105);
a first insulating layer (#160a) provided on the base (#105);
a wiring line (#170) provided on the first insulating layer (#160a);
a second insulating layer (#160b) which covers the wiring line (#170) and the first insulating layer (#160a); and
the display device (#100) includes a display area (#FA/#110) and an end portion area including a bend area (#BA),
Hwang does not explicitly disclose
a protective tape provided on the second insulating layer, wherein
the protective tape overlaps the bend area.
However, Ou teaches adhering protective tape #35 over the folding region containing circuit wires to cover/protect the wires and disperse bending stress.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Hwang’s device with the teachings of Ou, as identified above, because the tape is a known alternative to a coated bend-protection layer for the same wire-protection/stress-management purpose, with predictable improvements in flatness and reliability.
Regarding Claim 4.
Hwang modified by Ou teaches The display device according to claim 1,
Hwang further teaches wherein
the base (#105) is formed of a resin film material of acrylic, polyimide, polyethylene terephthalate, or polyethylene naphthalate. ([0061] Fig.1-3, 17)
Regarding Claim 5.
Hwang modified by Ou teaches The display device according to claim 1,
Hwang further teaches wherein
the first insulating layer (#160a) and the second insulating layer (#160b) are each formed of an elastically deformable material. ([0145][0149] The first insulation layer 160a may be formed by applying an organic material such as polyimide, epoxy based resin, polyesters, or the like. Polyimide is expressly identified as an elastically deformable insulating material.)
Regarding Claim 6.
Hwang modified by Ou teaches The display device according to claim 5,
Hwang further teaches wherein
the elastically deformable material is a resin insulating material of polyimide or acrylic. ([0145][0149] The first insulation layer 160a may be formed by applying an organic material such as polyimide, epoxy based resin, polyesters, or the like. )
Regarding Claim 7.
Hwang modified by Ou teaches The display device according to claim 1,
Hwang further teaches wherein
the wiring line (#170) is formed from a single layer of titanium (Ti), aluminum (Al), tantalum (Ta), tungsten (W), molybdenum (Mo), copper (Cu), or silver (Ag), or a stacked body of layers of any combination thereof. (Hwang [0097] The wiring 170 may include a metal such as molybdenum (Mo), aluminum (Al), copper (Cu), titanium (Ti), or the like.)
Regarding Claim 9.
Hwang modified by Ou teaches The display device according to claim 1,
Hwang further teaches further comprising:
a plurality of pixels disposed in the display area (#110), wherein
each of the plurality of pixels includes an organic EL layer (#118). (Hwang Fig.4A [0078] The intermediate layer 118 may include an organic light emitting layer)
Claims 2-3 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hwang et al. (US-20180204901A1, hereinafter Hwang), in view of Oh et al. (US-20210328202-A1, hereinafter Ou), and further in view of OH061 (US-20200224061-A1, hereinafter OH061)
Regarding Claim 2.
Hwang modified by Ou teaches The display device according to claim 1,
Hwang modified by Ou does not explicitly disclose wherein
the protective tape is formed of an elastically deformable material and an adhesive layer.
However, OH061 teaches a protective tape #PT for a foldable/bendable display comprising polymer film #BF and adhesive layer #AL, with the adhesive layer disposed between the film and display module and selected to retain adhesion/stress-relaxation performance during repeated bending ([0009][0016-0017][0051-0056] Fig.1)
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the combination of Hwang and Ou with the teachings of OH061, as identified above, because such structure is specifically for adhesion and durability of protective tape during repeated display bending, yielding the predictable result of a securely adhered, deformable protective tape.
Regarding Claim 3.
Hwang modified by Ou and OH061 teaches The display device according to claim 2, OH061 further teaches wherein
the elastically deformable material is a resin insulating material of polyimide or acrylic.([0014][0068]) Selecting the expressly disclose PI film for the protective tape would have been an obvious selection of a known suitable film material in the same flexible-display tape construction.
Claim 8 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hwang et al. (US-20180204901A1, hereinafter Hwang), in view of Ou et al. (US-20210328202-A1, hereinafter Ou), and further in view of OH945 (US-20220199945-A1, hereinafter OH945)
Regarding Claim 8.
Hwang modified by Ou teaches The display device according to claim 1,
Hwang modified by Ou does not explicitly disclose wherein
an area of the display device, which is other than the bend area is a flat area, and
a part of the protective tape overlaps the flat area.
However, OH945 teaches in Fig.3 an area of the display device, which is other than the bend area (#BA) is a flat area, and a part of the protective tape (#BPL) overlaps the flat area (#DA). ([0067-0068] Fig.3)
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the combination of Hwang and Ou with the teachings of OH061, as identified above, because that lateral extent for the same bend-region protective function predictably providing continuous protection and stress management across the bend boundary.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to SOPHIA W KAO whose telephone number is (703)756-4797. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 9am-5pm Pacific Time.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Eliseo Ramos-Feliciano can be reached at (571) 272-7925. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/SOPHIA W KAO/Examiner, Art Unit 2817
/RATISHA MEHTA/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2817
