DETAILED ACTION
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 certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 11/29/2024 was filed and considered by the examiner.
Specification
The lengthy specification has not been checked to the extent necessary to determine the presence of all possible minor errors. Applicant’s cooperation is requested in correcting any errors of which applicant may become aware in the specification.
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 1-15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Zhong et al., US 2022/0382102 A1, in view of Tillin et al., US 6,577,364.
Regarding claim 1, Zhong et al. figures 1-5 and accompanying text which discloses a display device 1 comprising:
. a pixel array substrate 111
. a color filter substrate 112
. a liquid crystal layer 113 with a liquid crystal optical axis (liquid crystal molecules direction, e.g., x-axis in off-state)
. a polarizing layer 121 having an absorption axis (figs. 1b, 1c)
. a compensation film 122 having a compensation film optical axis (figs. 1b, 1c)
. wherein a first included angle θ5 between the liquid crystal optical axis and the compensation film optical axis is within a range between 62.5 degrees to 65 degrees (e.g. 40 degrees to 80 degrees, [0067]).
Zhong et al., however, do not disclose a second included angle between the absorption axis and the liquid crystal optical axis being within a range between 80 degrees to 85 degrees. Tillin et al. do disclose an angle β between a polarizer absorption axis and the liquid crystal optical axis being in the claimed range, e.g., 84.5 degrees (fig 10). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to employ an angle between a polarizer absorption axis and the liquid crystal optical axis (Applicant’s second included angle) in the claimed range, as shown by Tillin et al., to improve display characteristics (col. 10, ln 57-60).
Re claim 2, the modification to Zhong et al. would result a third included angle between the absorption axis of the polarizing layer and the compensation film optical axis (angle between θ4 and θ5) is within a range between 17.5 degrees to 22.5 degrees (angle θ4 - θ5 overlapped the claimed range, e.g., 10 degrees to 50 degrees where θ5 being the Tillin et al. polarizer absorption axis 6).
Re claim 3, the modification to Zhong et al. would also result the first included angle is 63.5 degrees (Zhong et al., [0067]), the second included angle is 82 degrees (Tillin et al. angle β closed to value of 82 degrees), and the third included angle is 18.5 degrees (e.g., 10 degrees to 50 degrees).
Re claim 4, the modification to Zhong et al. would also result the first included angle is 65 degrees (Zhong et al., [0067]), the second included angle is 85 degrees (Tillin et al. angle β closed to value of 82 degrees), and the third included angle is 20 degrees (e.g., 10 degrees to 50 degrees).
Re claim 5, the modification to Zhong et al. would also result the first included angle is 62.5 degrees (Zhong et al., [0067]), the second included angle is 80 degrees (Tillin et al. angle β closed to value of 82 degrees), and the third included angle is 17.5 degrees (e.g., 10 degrees to 50 degrees).
Re claims 6-7, Zhong et al. also disclose a third included angle between the absorption axis of the polarizing layer and the compensation film optical axis is within a range between 67.5 degrees to 72.5 degrees, preferably 71.5 degrees. (e.g., Zhong et al. angle θ4 - θ5 overlapped the claimed range, e.g., 70 degrees to 100 degrees, [0067])
Re claims 8-9, the modification to Zhong et al. would result the first included angle is 63.5 degrees (Zhong et al., [0067], and the second included angle is 82 degrees or 8 degrees (Tillin et al., figs 10 or 4), .
Re claim 10, wherein the compensation film is a half wave plate (Zhong et al., [0008]).
Re claim 11, a front light module (Zhong et al., [0048]), disposed on a side of the color filter substrate 112 inherently facing away from the liquid crystal layer 113, and inherently comprising a light guide plate, having a light incident surface and a light-emitting surface connected to each other, wherein the light-emitting surface faces the color filter substrate; and a light source, disposed on a side of the light incident surface of the light guide plate (accordingly to a front backlight module structure).
Re claim 12, Zhong et al. further disclose an electrode layer 13 disposing on the pixel array substrate 111, wherein the electrode layer is a reflective electrode layer.
Re claim 13, Zhong et al. further disclose an electrode layer/reflective layer 13 disposing on the pixel array substrate 111. Zhong et al. do not explicitly disclose the display device has a reflective area and a transmissive area outside the reflective area, the reflective layer defines the reflective area, and the electrode layer overlaps the reflective area and the transmissive area. It would have been obvious to one skilled in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to the invention was made to employ a transflective display including a reflective area and a transmissive area, since it was known in the art that improving visibility in both bright sunlight and low-light conditions.
Re claim 14, Zhong et al. also disclose an adhesive layer disposed between the compensation film and the color filter substrate ([0011]).
Re claim 15, although Zhong et al. do not disclose the adhesive layer being a diffusion adhesive layer. It has been held to be within the general skill of a worker in the art to select a diffusion material on the basis of its suitability for the intended use as a matter of obvious design choice since it is a known material for an adhesive layer for light improving over a display device. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one skilled in art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to the invention was made to employ a diffusion adhesive layer over the Zhong et al. adhesive layer for a display device light improving.
Conclusion
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/DUNG T NGUYEN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2871
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