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 .
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
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) 1-3, 5-6, 8, 11-12 and 14 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Nakamura US 6776491.
Regarding claim 1, Nakamura US 6776491 discloses (in Fig. 10-11) a display apparatus (20), comprising:
a stand (26) configured to support a display (21), the stand including:
a stand base (27) configured to be supported on a support surface (support surface receiving 20),
the stand base (27) including an inclined portion (inclined portion of 27 as depicted in Fig. 10-11) configured to be inclined at a predetermined angle with respect to the support surface (support surface receiving 20) when the stand base (26) is supported on the support surface (support surface receiving 20), and
a stand neck (28) configured to connect a rear surface (rear surface of 21) of the display (21) and the stand base (27) to support the display (21) on the stand (26 as depicted in Fig. 10-11),
the stand neck (28) including a reflective portion (29) that is connected to the inclined portion (inclined portion of 27 through 28 and 27 as depicted in Fig. 10-11) so that the reflective portion (29) is perpendicular to the inclined portion (inclined portion of 27),
wherein the reflective portion (29) is configured to reflect the inclined portion (inclined portion of 27).
Nakamura does not explicitly disclose the reflective portion being perpendicular to the inclined portion.
However, Nakamura discloses that the angle of the reflective portion being changeable (see col. 11 ln. 15-20).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have the reflective portion being perpendicular to the inclined portion, in order to adjust the reflective direction of the light as desired, as adjustability, where needed, is not a patentable advance In re Stevens, 212 F.2d 197, 101 USPQ 284 (CCPA 1954).
Regarding claim 2, Nakamura discloses the display apparatus of claim 1, wherein the predetermined angle of the inclined portion is an angle at which the inclined portion (inclined portion of 27) and the support surface (support surface receiving 20) are each reflected by the reflective portion (29) when the stand base (27) is supported on the support surface (support surface receiving 20 as depicted in Fig. 10-11).
Regarding claim 3, Nakamura discloses the display apparatus of claim 2, wherein the inclined portion (inclined portion of 27) and the reflective portion (29) are configured so that,
when the stand base (27) is supported on the support surface (support surface receiving 20) and the display (21) is supported on the stand (26),
the display (21) appears to be floating above the inclined portion (inclined portion of 27) based on the inclined portion (29) and the support surface (support surface receiving 20) being reflected by the reflective portion (29).
Regarding claim 5, Nakamura discloses the display apparatus of claim 1, wherein the inclined portion (inclined portion of 27) is an upper surface of at least a portion of the stand base (27) in front of the stand neck (28).
Regarding claim 6, Nakamura discloses the display apparatus of claim 1, wherein the reflective portion (29) is at least a portion of a front surface of the stand neck (28 as depicted in Fig. 10).
Regarding claim 8, Nakamura discloses the display apparatus of claim 1, wherein the stand neck includes:
an extension portion (lower portion of 28 in Fig. 10) configured to be coupled to the stand base (27), and
a neck (upper portion of 28 in Fig. 10) connected to the extension portion (lower portion of 28) so as to extend upward from the stand base (27) to be connected to the display (21) to support the display (21) on the stand (26 as depicted in Fig. 10),
wherein an angle between the neck (upper portion of 28) and the support surface (support surface receiving 20) is less than 90° (as depicted in Fig. 10-11).
Regarding claim 11, Nakamura discloses the display apparatus of claim 1, further comprising:
the display (21),
wherein the display (21) includes a plurality of light emitting portions (25 in Fig. 10) spaced apart along a lower end portion of the display (21).
Regarding claim 12, Nakamura discloses the display apparatus of claim 1, wherein the reflective portion (29) includes a switchable mirror display (29 in Fig. 10) that is operable in a mirror mode or a transparent display mode.
Regarding claim 14, Nakamura discloses the display apparatus of claim 1, wherein the reflective portion (29) is a mirror (29) covering at least a portion of a front surface of the stand neck (28 as depicted in Fig. 10).
Claim(s) 4 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Nakamura as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Sakata US 20120206866.
Regarding claim 4, Nakamura discloses the display apparatus of claim 1.
Nakamura does not explicitly disclose wherein the predetermined angle of the inclined portion is 5° or less.
However, Sakata US 20120206866 discloses a predetermined angle of an inclined portion is about 7° (in [0035]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have the predetermined angle of the inclined portion be 5° or less, through routine optimization, in order to provide desired support and tilt, as where the general conditions of a claim are disclosed in the prior art, it is not inventive to discover the optimum or workable ranges by routine experimentation In re Williams, 36 F.2d 436, 438, 4 USPQ 237 (CCPA 1929).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 7, 9-10 and 13 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
Regarding claim 7, the prior art of record, taken alone or in combination, fails to teach or fairly suggest, in combining with other limitations recited in claim 1, a combination of limitations that “wherein the stand base includes:
a front base in front of the stand neck, and
a rear base at a rear of the stand neck,
wherein the rear base is configured to include a portion that is tapered toward a rear of the rear base in a left-to-right direction”.
None of the reference art of record discloses or renders obvious such a combination.
Regarding claim 9, the prior art of record, taken alone or in combination, fails to teach or fairly suggest, in combining with other limitations recited in claims 1 and 8 , a combination of limitations that “wherein a first side of the reflective portion is connected to the inclined portion, and
a second side of the reflective portion is connected to the neck, so that the reflective portion is perpendicular to the inclined portion”.
None of the reference art of record discloses or renders obvious such a combination.
Regarding claim 10, the prior art of record, taken alone or in combination, fails to teach or fairly suggest, in combining with other limitations recited in claims 1 , a combination of limitations that “wherein the stand neck includes:
a first stand neck connected to a first side of the stand base, and
a second stand neck connected to a second side of the stand base, and
the reflective portion is coupled to the first stand neck and the second stand neck so as to cover the first stand neck, the second stand neck, and a space between the first stand neck and the second stand neck”.
None of the reference art of record discloses or renders obvious such a combination.
Regarding claim 13, the prior art of record, taken alone or in combination, fails to teach or fairly suggest, in combining with other limitations recited in claims 1, a combination of limitations that “wherein the stand base includes a plurality of stand light emitting portions spaced apart from each other along an edge of at least a portion of the stand base”.
None of the reference art of record discloses or renders obvious such a combination.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Mitsuyoshi US 20140002755 Fig. 4; Drew US 20080265121 Fig. 1a-4a; Yamanaka US 8660290 Fig. 2; Saito US 20160048176 Fig. 2-4 discloses a front base in front of the stand neck, and a rear base at a rear of the stand neck, wherein the rear base is configured to include a portion that is tapered toward a rear of the rear base in a left-to-right direction.
Hori US 20170295659 Fig. 5 disclose a first and second stand neck.
Chen US 20100073945 Fig. 7-8 disclose a stand with a light.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to CHRISTOPHER L AUGUSTIN whose telephone number is (571)270-7659. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday 8 am - 3 pm.
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/CHRISTOPHER L AUGUSTIN/Examiner, Art Unit 2841
/JAMES WU/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2841
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