DETAILED ACTION
Notice of 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
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.
Claims 1 – 2 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Shin.
Regarding Claim 1, Shin discloses “A display device comprising: a display panel including a pixel; a touch panel including a touch sensor” (Figure 6B, Paragraph [0019], Paragraph [0096], Lines 1 – 3, and Paragraph [0106], Lines 1 – 3 (Notice that a display device is shown with display of panel form including a pixel as described at the referenced lines of Paragraph [0106] and shown with a touch input sensing unit of panel form including touch input via sensing electrodes.)), “and a display panel driver configured to perform a data writing operation to the pixel in an active period and perform a touch driving operation to the touch sensor in a blank period” (Figure 7A, Paragraph [0020], and Paragraphs [0117] through [0119] (Notice in Figure 7A that the combined controller 100, gate driver 210, and sensing line driver 310 provide a display panel driver configured to perform a data writing operation to at least a pixel of the described display in an active display period triggered by vertical start signal STV from controller 100 to gate driver 210 and the described display panel driver is configured to perform touch driving operation via sensing line driver 310 during a blank period initialized by the blank sync BSYNC signal from controller 100.)), “wherein the display panel driver includes a touch driver configured to perform the touch driving operation” (Figure 7 (Notice that sensing line driver 310 provides that touch driver of the overall display panel driver.)), “and a driving controller configured to control an operation of the display panel and the touch driver” (Figure 7A (Notice that the controller 100 provide the driving controller configure to control operation of the display panel via gate driver 210 and control operation of the touch driver 310.)), “and wherein the touch driver outputs a touch driving performing signal, which indicates that the touch driving operation was performed, in the blank period to the driving controller” (Figure 7A and Paragraph [0103] (Notice that touch driver 310 outputs at least a touch driving performing signal via a sensing signal sent to one of lines SL1-1 through SL-6, where a sensing signal sent to a last in sequence SL1-6 lines indicated a touch driving operation was performed for a previous SL1 line, in the blank period according to that determined in driving controller 100 via blank period determination unit 110.))
Regarding Claim 2, Shin discloses everything claimed as applied above (See Claim 1). In addition, Shin discloses “wherein the touch driver receives an active period completion signal from the driving controller and performs the touch driving operation in response to the active period completion signal” (Figure 7A and Paragraph [0119], Lines 6 - 7 (Notice that touch driver 310 receives an active period completion signal BSYNC (blank sync) and performs that touch driving operation in response to the active period completion signal BSYNC.)).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 12 – 13, 15 – 18, and 20 are allowable over the prior art of record for reasoning set forth in the Office Action mailed February 10, 2026.
Claims 3 – 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 for reasoning set forth in the Office Action mailed February 10, 2026.
Response to Applicants Amendments and Arguments
Applicants amendments and arguments filed April 29, 2026 have been fully considered.
First, the Examiner agrees that the amendments to independent Claims 12 and 18 to incorporate allowable subject matter from dependent claims have overcome the rejections of Claims 12 and 18 under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as set forth and made record in the Office Action mailed February 10, 2026.
Second, the Examiner disagrees that - - Shin does not disclose nor suggest "wherein the touch driver outputs a touch driving performing signal, which indicates that the touch driving operation was performed, in the blank period to the driving controller,” - - (REMARKS, Page 11, Last three line of page). The Examiner disagrees because touch driver 310 outputs at least a touch driving performing signal via a sensing signal sent to one of lines SL1-1 though SL-6, wherein a sensing signal sent to a last in sequence SL1-6 lines indicated a touch driving operation was performed for a previous SL1 line, in the blank period according to that determined in driving controller 100 via blank determination unit 110. Notice that language of Claim 1 does not require the touch driving performing signal to be output to the driving controller, but output in the blank period attributed to the driving controller.
Conclusion
THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to BRIAN M BUTCHER whose telephone number is (571)270-5575. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday – Friday from 6:30 AM to 3:00 PM.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner's supervisor, Ke Xiao, can be reached at (571) 272 - 7776. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/BRIAN M BUTCHER/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2627 May 28, 2026
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