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 § 102
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.
Claim 6 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Li et al (US Publication No.: US 2018/0112132 A1, “Li”).
Regarding Claim 6, Li discloses a liquid crystal medium (Table 3) comprising:
One or more compounds of formula I (Table 3, Compound V/IV),
One or more compounds of formula III (Table 3, Compound I), and
One or more compounds of formula IV (Table 3, Compound V).
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.
Claims 9 and 11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Li in view of Huang et al (US Publication No.: US 2022/0298419 A1, “Huang”).
Regarding Claim 9, Li discloses the liquid crystal medium according to claim 6.
Li fails to disclose an LCoS panel.
However, Huang discloses a similar liquid crystal medium in an LCoS panel (Huang, Paragraph 0028).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the liquid crystal medium as disclosed by Li to be included in a LCoS panel as disclosed by Huang. One would have been motivated to do so for the purpose of optimizing light transmission and display quality (Huang, Paragraph 0008; Paragraph 0019).
Regarding Claim 11, Li discloses the liquid crystal medium according to claim 6.
Li fails to disclose an LCoS panel, a projection system, a near-eye display, an optical phase modulator or in a beam-steering application.
However, Huang discloses a similar liquid crystal medium in an LCoS panel, a projection system, a near-eye display, an optical phase modulator or in a beam-steering application (Huang, Paragraph 0028).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the liquid crystal medium as disclosed by Li to be included in a LCoS panel as disclosed by Huang. One would have been motivated to do so for the purpose of optimizing light transmission and display quality (Huang, Paragraph 0008; Paragraph 0019).
Claim 12 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Li in view of Laut et al (US Publication No.: US 2021/0207029 A1, “Laut”).
Regarding Claim 12, Li discloses the liquid crystal medium according to claim 6.
Li fails to disclose an energy-saving LC display.
However, Laut discloses an energy-saving LC display comprising a similar liquid crystal medium (Laut, Paragraph 0033).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the liquid crystal medium as disclosed by Li to be included in an energy-saving LC display as disclosed by Laut. One would have been motivated to do so for the purpose of improving energy efficiency and capacity to rapidly move pictures (Laut, Paragraph 0033).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1-5, 10, 13 are allowed.
Claims 7-8 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 independent claim 1, the prior art of record does not teach or suggest a liquid crystal on silicon (LCoS) panel comprising a semiconductor substrate having a plurality of reflective electrodes, a transparent substrate comprising a transparent electrode, and a liquid crystal layer arranged between the semiconductor substrate and the transparent substrate, wherein the liquid crystal layer comprises a liquid crystal medium comprising a) one or more compounds of formula I, b) one or more compounds of formula III, and c) one or more compounds of formula IV, in combination with the remaining features recited in the claim.
The prior art of Huang (US 2022/0298419 A1) discloses a liquid crystal on silicon (LCoS) panel comprising a semiconductor substrate having a reflective coating and a transparent substrate comprising a transparent electrode (Huang, Figure 1). Huang fails to disclose any formula of the liquid crystal medium. The prior art of Li (US 2018/0112132 A1) discloses formula that are similar to the claimed formulae (Li, Table 3) but fails to disclose the particular elements claimed in the formulae. Li also fails to disclose an LCoS panel.
Therefore, Claim 1 is allowed. Claims 2-5, 10-13 are allowed by virtue of their dependence on the allowed claim.
Conclusion
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/MARIAM QURESHI/Examiner, Art Unit 2871
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