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.
Claims 1 and 3-7 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Isobe (US 20100110326) in view of Nakanishi et al. (US 20050099402).
Regarding claim 1, Isobe discloses (Figs. 1-4) an electronic device, comprising: a display panel (10), including: a first substrate (10a); a second substrate (10b) disposed opposite to the first substrate; and a display medium layer (section 0043) disposed between the first substrate and the second substrate; and a viewing angle switchable panel (20a) disposed on the display panel and provided with: a third substrate (20aa); a fourth substrate (20ab) disposed opposite to the third substrate; and a switching medium layer (section 0051) disposed between the third substrate and the fourth substrate.
Isobe does not necessarily disclose at least one of the third substrate and the fourth substrate has a thickness of 5 µm to 50 µm.
Nakanishi discloses (Figs. 1-9) at least one of the third substrate and the fourth substrate has a thickness of 5 µm to 50 µm (section 0084). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to use the teaching of Nakanishi to obtain a transparent and thin electronic device.
Regarding claim 3, Isobe discloses (Figs. 1-4) a polarizer (12a, 21) disposed between the display panel and the viewing angle switchable panel.
Regarding claim 4, Isobe discloses (Figs. 1-4) an adhesive layer (26a-26c) disposed between the display panel and the viewing angle switchable panel.
Regarding claim 5, Isobe discloses (Figs. 1-4) a touch sensing layer (sections 0069-0070) disposed on the viewing angle switchable panel.
Regarding claim 6, Isobe discloses (Figs. 1-4) the touch sensing layer is disposed on a substrate to form an out-cell touch sensing panel disposed on the viewing angle switchable panel (sections 0069-0070).
Regarding claim 7, Isobe discloses (Figs. 1-4) the display panel further comprises a display layer disposed on an inner surface of the first substrate; and a color filter layer disposed on an inner surface of the second substrate (sections 0043-0045).
Claim 2 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Isobe in view of Hinata et al. (US 6812974).
Regarding claim 2, Isobe does not necessarily disclose at least one of the first substrate and the second substrate has a thickness of 5 um to 50 um.
Hinata discloses (Figs. 1-9) disclose at least one of the first substrate and the second substrate has a thickness of 5 µm to 50 µm (col. 8 lines 21-30). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to use the teaching of Hinata to obtain a thin display device.
Claims 8-9 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Isobe and Nakanishi in view of Lee et al. (US 20130154977).
Regarding claim 8, Isobe does not necessarily disclose the viewing angle switchable panel further comprises a first insulating layer disposed on an inner surface of the third substrate; a first conductive layer disposed on the first insulating layer; a second insulating layer disposed on an inner surface of the fourth substrate; and a second conductive layer disposed on the second insulating layer.
Lee discloses (Figs. 2, 5) the viewing angle switchable panel further comprises a first insulating layer (92a) disposed on an inner surface of the third substrate (81); a first conductive layer (91b) disposed on the first insulating layer; a second insulating layer (84) disposed on an inner surface of the fourth substrate (82); and a second conductive layer (86) disposed on the second insulating layer. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to use the teaching of Lee to protect electrical components and to obtain a particular electric field.
Regarding claim 9, Isobe discloses (Figs. 1-4) the switching medium layer is disposed between the first conductive layer and the second conductive layer (sections 0051-0053).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to CHARLES S CHANG whose telephone number is (571)270-5024. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday, 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Michael Caley can be reached at (571) 272-2286. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/CHARLES S CHANG/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2871
Prosecution Insights