DETAILED ACTION
This Office Action is in response to Applicant’s application 18/907,914 filed on October 7, 2024 in which claims 1 to 14 are pending.
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 .
Drawings
The drawings submitted on October 7, 2024 have been reviewed and accepted by the Examiner.
Information Disclosure Statement
The Information Disclosure Statements (IDS), filed on October 7, 2024 is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosed therein has been considered by the Examiner.
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of paper submitted under 35 U.S.C. 119(a)-(d) or under 35 U.S.C. 120, 121, 365(c), or 386(c) which has been placed of record in the file.
Notation
References to patents will be in the form of [C:L] where C is the column number and L is the line number. References to pre-grant patent publications will be to the paragraph number in the form of [xxxx].
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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 the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
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Claims 1 and 12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by U.S 2025/0234752 (Hou).
Regarding claim 1 and referring to annotated Figures 4 and 25, Hou discloses a display device, comprising:
a cover window, 33 [0264];
a display panel, 10 [0261], that includes an active area, A2 [0135] / 101 [0140], below the cover window, as shown, and including a plurality of pixels, P [00102, 144] see also Figures 7A and 7B, disposed therein, a first non-active area, B [0095] and as annotated, that encloses the active area, as shown and a bending area, 102 [0104], that extends from one side of the first non-active area and is configured to be bent, as shown;
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a housing, 41/42 [0284], that encloses a side surface of the cover window, as shown and described at [0286], the housing spaced apart from the display panel, as shown, and extends to a bottom of the display panel, as show; and
a molding member, 52 [0327-329], in a space in which the housing and the display panel are spaced apart from each other, as annotated and shown, the molding member below the cover window, as shown, wherein the molding member covers a side surface of the display panel, as annotated and shown, and the housing includes a groove, 422 [0357], on an inner surface which is opposite to the molding member, as shown.
Regarding claim 12 which depends upon claim 1, Hou teaches the molding member is filled in the groove.
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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claim 2 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hou.
Regarding claim 2 which depends upon claim 1, Hou suggests a part of the inner surface of the housing is bonded to the molding member, i.e. there is no gap.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 3-11 and 13-14 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 3 the prior art does not teach the device of claim 1, wherein the housing includes: a first part that extends downwardly from a side surface of the cover window; and a second part that extends inwardly from an end portion of the first part, and the groove is in each of the first part and the second part.
Claim 4 depends upon claim 3 and is allowable on that basis.
Regarding claim 5 the prior art does not teach the device of claim 1, further comprising: a sensor on an inner surface of the groove, the sensor opposite to the molding member.
Claims 6-10 depend directly or indirectly on claim 5 and are allowable on that basis.
Regarding claim 11 the prior art does not teach the device of claim 1, wherein in the groove, the molding member and the housing are spaced apart from each other.
Regarding claim 13 the prior art does not teach the device of claim 1, further comprising: a housing adhesive layer on an inner surface of the housing and bonds between the cover window and the molding member and the housing.
Regarding claim 14 the prior art does not teach the device of claim 1, further comprising: a back plate below the display panel; and a metal plate below the back plate, wherein the molding member encloses a side surface of the display panel, a side surface of the back plate, a side surface of the metal plate, and a part of a bottom surface of the metal plate.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Joe Schoenholtz whose telephone number is (571)270-5475. The examiner can normally be reached M-Thur 7 AM to 7 PM PST.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Ms. Yara Green can be reached at (571) 272-3035. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/J.E. Schoenholtz/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2893
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