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 § 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) 1-2 and 7-8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Sakai et al (US 2009/0135167 cited in IDS) in view of Wang et al. (US 2020/0301204).
As to claim 1, Sakai teaches a liquid crystal display device (See ¶97, and Figs 22-24);
a liquid crystal display (see ¶71) in which a liquid crystal layer (24. See ¶ 89)
an illuminator (25) that illuminates the liquid crystal display from behind and that includes an imaging region (3A. See ¶219-¶221) in which an imager (3A);
a controller that controls a luminance of the liquid crystal display (See ¶277-¶280), the liquid crystal display includes a display region (2A), and a dimming region (3A) provided so as to, when viewing the liquid crystal display planarly, overlap with the imaging region of the illuminator (cross-sectional view in Fig 23C), a dimming filter (FLT321, ¶ 222) being provided in the dimming region (3A).
Sakai fails to teach the controller is configured to control driving of the liquid crystal layer in the dimming region such that a luminance when the display region is set to zero tone and a luminance of the dimming region match.
Wang teaches a liquid crystal display device having the voltage source is connected to a processor. According to the dimming signal output from the processor to the first electrode 210 and the second electrode 220, the voltage source outputs a voltage matching the dimming signal to the first electrode 210 and the second electrode 220. Upon the voltage applied to the first electrode 210 and the second electrode 220 being relatively small around 0 V, the electric field generated by the first electrode 210 and the second electrode 220 is too weak to drive the deflection direction of the liquid crystal molecules in the liquid crystal droplets 2301 to change. The dimming unit 201 including the transmittance adjustment layer 230 is in a fog state as illustrated by FIG. 8. In this case, a region corresponding to the dimming unit 201 in the image to be displayed receives less parallel light and has a relatively small brightness. Wang ¶55-¶56 and Figs 1-9.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention (AIA ), to implement the voltage applied to display region being relatively small around 0V, the dimming signal output from the processor to dimming region 201, the voltage source outputs a voltage matching the dimming signal, as Wang teaches, to modify the LCD of Sakai. The motivation for doing so would have been to improve the high quality of the image being displayed. (Wang ¶ 74).
As to claim 2, Sakai teaches the liquid crystal display device according to claim 1, wherein the dimming filter transmits light in a visible light region and in a near infrared region. (See Sakai ¶113).
As to claim 7, Sakai teaches the liquid crystal display device according to claim 1, wherein a cell gap of the liquid crystal layer of the dimming region is identical to a cell gap of the liquid crystal layer of the display region. (See Fig. 23C).
As to claim 8, Sakai teaches the liquid crystal display device according to claim 1, wherein the dimming filter is provided on a substrate, and a thickness of the substrate of the region in which the dimming filter is provided is thin compared to a thickness of the region in which the display region is formed. (See ¶138 and Figs 10, 23C for a substrate on which three stacking color filters of the green filter FLT-G, the red filter FLT-R, the blue filter FLT-B provided is thin compared to one stacking color layer 231).
Claim(s) 3-5 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Sakai and Wang as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Bai US 2021/0335919.
As to claim 3, Sakai and Wang teach in the dimming filer, at least two color filters among red, green, and blue color filters are stacked. (See Sakai ¶138-¶140, and figure 10). However, Sakai and Wang fail to teach an OD value of the dimming region in which the dimming filter is provided is from 1.49 to 3.10.
Bai teaches the camera disposed under the display screen having an optical density (OD) value is 1.5, 1.8, 2, 2.2, 2.5, 2.8, 3, or the like. See Bai ¶22.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention (AIA ), to implement an optical density (OD) value is 1.5, 1.8, 2, 2.2, 2.5, 2.8, 3 or the like, as Bai teaches, to modify the LCD of Sakai and Wang. The motivation for doing so would have been to realize a true full-screen and improve customer's visual experience. See Bai ¶5.
As to claim 4, Sakai teaches a thickness of the dimming filter is identical to a thickness of a color filter provided in the display region. (See Sakai Figure 23C).
As to claim 5, Sakai teaches a thickness of the dimming filter is greater than a thickness of a color filter provided in the display region. (See ¶138 and Figs 10, 23C for three stacking color filters of the green filter FLT-G, the red filter FLT-R, the blue filter FLT-B are greater than one stacking color layer 231).
Claim 6 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Sakai and Wang as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Choi et al. US 2021/0111367.
As to claim 6, Sakai fails to teach a cell gap of the liquid crystal layer of the dimming region is narrower than a cell gap of the liquid crystal layer of the display region.
Choi teaches a display device including an area in which a camera is arranged inside a display area having a thickness H201 of the dimming region A1 is narrower than a thickness H202 of the display region A2. See ¶6, ¶65, Fig 2.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention (AIA ), to implement a thickness H201 of the dimming region A1 is narrower than a thickness H202 of the display region A2, as Choi teaches, to modify the LCD of Sakai and Wang. The motivation for doing so would have been to improve the operation of the components. Choi ¶6.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 9-11 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.
As to claim 9, none of prior art of record fails to teach the liquid crystal display device according to claim 1, wherein the dimming region is divided by pluralities of pixels, in the dimming filter, two color filters among red, green, and blue color filters are stacked, the pixels that are adjacent include dimming filters in which combinations of the two color filters that are stacked on each other differ, and a boundary portion, in which three color filters, namely a red, a green, and a blue color filter are stacked, is provided at a boundary between the adjacent dimming filters.
Conclusion
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KEVIN M NGUYEN
Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2628
/Kevin M Nguyen/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2628 Telephone: (571) 272-7697
Email: kevin.nguyen2@uspto.gov
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