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)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim 1 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Kuo (US 2025/0155740).
Regarding claim 1, Kuo teaches a display apparatus (Fig. 1-7, [0026-0103]), comprising:
a display panel (DP in Fig. 1-3); and
a switching panel (VCP in Fig. 1-3), disposed on the display panel (DP in Fig. 1-3), wherein the switching panel (VCP in Fig. 1-3) comprises:
a first substrate (the lower substrate of VCP in Fig. 7, Fig. 1-3 and 6, [0059, 0053, 0034]);
a second substrate (the higher substrate of VCP in Fig. 7, Fig. 1-3 and 6, [0059, 0053, 0034]), disposed opposite to the first substrate (Fig. 7, Fig. 1-3 and 6, [0059, 0053, 0034]);
a liquid crystal layer (LCL in Fig. 7, Fig. 1-3 and 6, [0059, 0035, 0055]), disposed between the first substrate and the second substrate;
a first electrode (ET2’ or ET2” in Fig. 6 and 7) and a second electrode (ET1’/ET1” or ET3’/ET3” in Fig. 6 and 7), wherein at least one of the first electrode (ET2’ or ET2” in Fig. 6 and 7) and the second electrode (ET1’/ET1” or ET3’/ET3” in Fig. 6 and 7) is disposed on the first substrate (Fig. 6-7);
a first polarizer (P2 in Fig. 1-3) and a second polarizer (P3/P3’ in Fig. 1-3), wherein the display panel (DP in Fig. 1-3), the first polarizer (P2 in Fig. 1-3), the switching panel (VCP in Fig. 1-3), and the second polarizer (P3/P3’ in Fig. 1-3) are stacked sequentially in a vertical direction (the vertical direction D3 in Fig. 1-3);
wherein an absorption axis (A1 in Fig. 1-3) of the first polarizer (P2 in Fig. 1-3) is substantially perpendicular to (Fig. 1-3) the vertical direction (the vertical direction D3 in Fig. 1-3), and an absorption axis (A2 in Fig. 1-3) of the second polarizer (P3/P3’ in Fig. 1-3) is substantially parallel to (Fig. 1-3) the vertical direction (the vertical direction D3 in Fig. 1-3).
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 of this title, 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 2-4, 7 and 11-12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kuo as applied to claim 1 above, and in view of Chen (US 2021/0349335).
Regarding claims 2-4, 7 and 11-12, Kuo does not explicitly teach the following elements.
Chen teaches the following elements (Fig. 23-25, Fig. 19-21B, Fig. 13A-13B, [0091-0100, 0080-0090]):
(Claim 2) a first electrode (E1 in Fig. 24A-24D) and a second electrode (E2 in Fig. 24A-24D) are respectively disposed on a first substrate and a second substrate (Fig. 24A-24D), the switching panel (200 in Fig. 23-24D) further comprises: an alignment layer (AL1-C in Fig. 24A-24D), disposed between the liquid crystal layer (LCL-G in Fig. 24A-24D) and the first electrode (E1 in Fig. 24A-24D), wherein the alignment layer has a rubbing direction (AD1-C in Fig. 25, [0092, 0082, 0077]), and the rubbing direction has an angle with the absorption axis (the axis A in Fig. 25, [0092]) of the first polarizer (310 in Fig. 23-25), the angle is α, and 0°<α<90° (Fig. 25, [0092], Fig. 15, [0081-0082], the angle between A and AD1-C is 45 degrees).
(Claim 3) wherein 35°<α<55° (Fig. 25, [0092], Fig. 15, [0081-0082], the angle between A and AD1-C is 45 degrees).
(Claim 4) a first electrode and a second electrode (the two electrodes on the electrode layer EL may be two comb-shaped electrodes arranged in alternation with each other, Fig. 19, [0086]) are disposed on a first substrate (Fig. 19), and the switching panel further comprises: an alignment layer (AL1-E in Fig. 19), disposed between the first electrode (one of the two electrodes on the electrode layer EL, Fig. 19, [0086]) and the liquid crystal layer (LCL-E in Fig. 19), wherein the alignment layer has a rubbing direction (AD1-E in Fig. 20, [0087, 0086, 0077]), and the rubbing direction is substantially parallel (Fig. 20) or perpendicular to the absorption axis (A’ in Fig. 20) of a first polarizer (310 in Fig. 20).
(Claim 7) the liquid crystal layer has a phase retardation value ([0080, 0100]), and the phase retardation value falls in a range of 120 nm to 450 nm ([0080, 0085, 0100], the light beam with a wavelength of 550 nm, the maximum phase retardation of the liquid crystal layer of the electronically controlled viewing angle switch is a quarter wavelength, the maximum phase retardation of the liquid crystal layer LCL-G of the electronically controlled viewing angle switch 200G is greater than a quarter wavelength and less than a half wavelength).
(Claim 11) a potential difference between the first electrode and the second electrode (the two electrodes, Fig. 19, [0080, 0086-0087]) is substantially zero ([0080, 0087]), and the display apparatus is in a privacy mode ([0080, 0087], the anti-peep mode, Fig. 13A, Fig. 21A).
(Claim 12) the first electrode and the second electrode (the two electrodes, Fig. 19, [0080, 0086-0087]) have a potential difference ([0080, 0087]), and the display apparatus is in a share mode ([0080, 0087], the full viewing angle sharing mode, Fig. 13B, FIG. 21B).
Before the effective filling date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious to the artisan of ordinary skill to employ the above elements as taught by Chen for the system of Kuo such that in the system of Kuo,
(Claim 2) the first electrode and the second electrode are respectively disposed on the first substrate and the second substrate, the switching panel further comprises: an alignment layer, disposed between the liquid crystal layer and the first electrode, wherein the alignment layer has a rubbing direction, and the rubbing direction has an angle with the absorption axis of the first polarizer, the angle is α, and 0°<α<90°.
(Claim 3) wherein 35°<α<55°.
(Claim 4) the first electrode and the second electrode are disposed on the first substrate, and the switching panel further comprises: an alignment layer, disposed between the first electrode and the liquid crystal layer, wherein the alignment layer has a rubbing direction, and the rubbing direction is substantially parallel or perpendicular to the absorption axis of the first polarizer.
(Claim 7) the liquid crystal layer has a phase retardation value, and the phase retardation value falls in a range of 120 nm to 450 nm
(Claim 11) a potential difference between the first electrode and the second electrode is substantially zero, and the display apparatus is in a privacy mode.
(Claim 12) the first electrode and the second electrode have a potential difference, and the display apparatus is in a share mode.
The motivation is that the display device may satisfy different applications and requirements of anti-peep display, and it helps to provide a viewing angle limiting device, which has a large viewing angle filtering effect and has a high light transmittance in a viewing angle direction (Chen, [0100, 0005]).
Claim 8 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kuo as applied to claim 1 above, and in view of Chen (US 2025/0102843).
Regarding claim 8, Kuo does not explicitly teach the following elements.
Chen teaches the following elements (Fig. 5 and Fig. 1, [0053-0055]):
(Claim 8) a biaxial film (270A in Fig. 5, which is corresponding to 270 in Fig. 1, [0053-0055]), disposed between a second polarizer (POL2 in Fig. 1) and a switching panel (210 in Fig. 1), wherein a slow axis (the axis corresponding to OA or perpendicular to OA in Fig. 5) of the biaxial film (270A in Fig. 5, which is corresponding to 270 in Fig. 1, [0053-0055]) is substantially parallel or perpendicular to (Fig. 5, [0053]) the absorption axis (AX1 in Fig. 5) of a first polarizer (POL1 in Fig. 1).
Before the effective filling date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious to the artisan of ordinary skill to employ the above elements as taught by Chen for the system of Kuo such that in the system of Kuo,
(Claim 8) a biaxial film, disposed between the second polarizer and the switching panel, wherein a slow axis of the biaxial film is substantially parallel or perpendicular to the absorption axis of the first polarizer
The motivation is that the transmittance thereof is not differed significantly in the distribution of angles of view when operated in a narrow viewing angle mode or a wide viewing angle mode (Chen, [0055]).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 5-6 and 9-10 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:
None of the prior art of record discloses or suggests all the combination of a display apparatus as set forth in claims 5-6 and 9-10.
Regarding claims 5-6, none of the prior art discloses or suggests a display apparatus recited in claim 4, wherein “the at least one of the first electrode and the second electrode has a plurality of branches, the branches are spaced apart from each other and extend in a branch direction, and the branch direction forms an angle with the absorption axis of the first polarizer, the angle is β, and 0°<β<90°” in combination with the other required elements of the claim.
Regarding claim 9, none of the prior art discloses or suggests a display apparatus recited in claim 8, wherein “an in-plane phase difference of the biaxial film is RO, and 190 nm≤RO≤350 nm” in combination with the other required elements of the claim.
Regarding claim 10, none of the prior art discloses or suggests a display apparatus recited in claim 8, wherein “a thickness direction phase difference of the biaxial film is Rth, and −20 nm≤Rth≤20 nm” in combination with the other required elements of the claim.
Conclusion
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/Shan Liu/
Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2871
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