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 .
Specification
The title of the invention is not descriptive. A new title is required that is clearly indicative of the invention to which the claims are directed.
Drawings
The drawings are objected to as failing to comply with 37 CFR 1.84(p)(5) because they include the following reference character(s) not mentioned in the description: Fig. 9 numeral 14 not found in specification. Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d), or amendment to the specification to add the reference character(s) in the description in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(b) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
Examiner suggests applicant carefully review entire specification and drawings and correct similar deficiency.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 5, 7, 8, 12 – 15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Claim 12 recites “A driving method ,,,,,”.
It appears claim 12 is a method claim.
Claim 12 recites “A driving method ….. according to claim 1,”.
Claim 1 recites “A display panel comprising:”.
A single claim which claims both an apparatus and the method steps of using the apparatus is indefinite under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, second paragraph. See In re Katz Interactive Call Processing Patent Litigation, 639 F.3d 1303, 1318, 97 USPQ2d 1737, 1748-49 (Fed. Cir. 2011). In Katz, See MPEP 2173
Claims 13 – 15 have same issue because of claim dependency.
Claim 5 recites “the second scanning line” in line 15.
Claim 5 recites “multiple second scanning lines” in line 9.
Claim 5 line 15 is unclear which second scanning line refer to.
Therefore, claim is indefinite.
Claim 5 line 16 recites “the second data line” has same issue.
Claim 7 has same issue as claim 5.
Claim 8 has same issue because of claim dependency.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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 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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claims 1, 6, 9, 10, 11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Shen et al. (CN 113917721 A, Published 1/11/2022 ) in view of Chou et al. (CN 215813619 U, Published 2/11/2022).
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Regarding claim 1, Shen discloses A display panel comprising a first liquid crystal cell (Fig. 1, 10) and a second liquid crystal cell (Fig. 1, 20) stacked on top of each other, wherein the first liquid crystal cell is located on the light output side of the second liquid crystal cell (Fig. 1, 20);
the first liquid crystal cell comprises a first substrate (Fig. 1, 11 [0010] [0015] [0017]), a second substrate (Fig. 1, 12) arranged opposite to the first substrate, and a dye liquid crystal layer (Fig. 1, 13) located between the first substrate (Fig. 1, 11) and the second substrate (Fig. 1, 12), the first substrate (Fig. 1, 11) is provided with a viewing angle auxiliary electrode (Fig. 1, 111), and the second substrate (Fig. 1, 12) is provided with a viewing angle control electrode (Fig. 1, 121) that cooperates with the viewing angle auxiliary electrode (Fig. 1, 111) ;
the second liquid crystal cell (Fig. 1, 20 [0039] [0040]) comprises a color film substrate (Fig. 1, 21), an array substrate (Fig. 1, 22) arranged opposite to the color film substrate (Fig. 1, 21), and a liquid crystal layer (Fig. 1, 23) arranged between the color film substrate (Fig. 1, 21) and the array substrate (Fig. 1, 22);
a first polarizer (Fig. 1, 42 [0041] [0064]) is provided on the side of the second liquid crystal cell (Fig. 1, 20) away from the first liquid crystal cell (Fig. 1, 10), and a second polarizer (Fig. 1, 41) is provided on the side of the second liquid crystal cell (Fig. 1, 20) near the first liquid crystal cell (Fig.1, 10), the light transmission axis of the second polarizer (Fig. 1, 41) is perpendicular to the light transmission axis of the first polarizer (Fig. 1, 42), the first polarizer (Fig. 1, 42) is a reflective polarizer,
Shen does not disclose “a prism structure layer is provided in the first liquid crystal cell and/or the second liquid crystal cell, and the prism structure layer has a light diffusion effect on backlight”.
Chou discloses “a prism structure layer (Fig. 1 122) is provided in the first liquid crystal cell and/or the second liquid crystal cell (Fig. 1 10), and the prism structure layer has a light diffusion effect on backlight”. ([0013] [0040])
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate prism by Chou into device of Shen. The suggestion/motivation would have been to improve efficiency. (Chou: Abstract)
Regarding claim 6, Shen and Chou disclose wherein a third polarizer is provided on the side of the first liquid crystal cell away from the second liquid crystal cell, and the light transmission axis of the third polarizer is parallel to the light transmission axis of the second polarizer. (Chou third polarizer 33 [0039] [0043])
Regarding claim 9, Shen and Chou disclose wherein the first substrate and/or the second substrate are provided with a protrusion on the side facing the dye liquid crystal layer, and the protrusion corresponds to the display area of the display panel. (Chou [0013] [0040] – [0048])
Regarding claim 10, Shen and Chou disclose wherein the prism structure layer is provided on the side of the second substrate facing the dye liquid crystal layer, and/or the prism structure layer is provided on the side of the array substrate facing the liquid crystal layer. (Chou Fig. 1 122 [0013] [0040])
Regarding claim 11, Shen and Chou disclose A display device comprising a backlight module and the display panel according to claim 1, wherein the display panel is provided on the light output side of the backlight module. (Shen [0005] [0039] [0084] backlight system)
Claims 2 - 4 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Shen et al. (CN 113917721 A, published 1/11/2022 ) in view of Chou et al. (CN 215813619 U, Published 2/11/2022) in view of Chen et al. (US 20190265522 A1).
Regarding claim 2, Shen and Chou do not disclose wherein the second polarizer is a reflective polarizer; and/or a transflective layer is provided between the second polarizer and the first liquid crystal cell.
Chen discloses wherein the second polarizer is a reflective polarizer; ([0007] a reflective polarizer [0026]) and/or a transflective layer is provided between the second polarizer and the first liquid crystal cell.
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate reflective polarizer by Chen into device of Shen and Chou. The suggestion/motivation would have been to improve efficiency. (Chen: [0007])
Regarding claim 3, Shen, Chou and Chen disclose wherein the first liquid crystal cell has an identification pattern area and a non-identification pattern area, the viewing angle control electrode comprises a first viewing angle control electrode corresponding to the identification pattern area and a second viewing angle control electrode corresponding to the non-identification pattern area, the first viewing angle control electrode and the second viewing angle control electrode are insulated and spaced apart from each other; (Chen [0008] [0016] – [0022])
in the identification display mode, the first viewing angle control electrode and the second viewing angle control electrode are respectively applied with narrow viewing angle signals of different amplitudes. (Chen [0035] – [0037])
Regarding claim 4, Shen, Chou and Chen disclose wherein the first viewing angle control electrode and the second viewing angle control electrode are located on the same layer, or the first viewing angle control electrode and the second viewing angle control electrode are located on different layers. (Chen [0035] – [0037])
Claims 12 - 15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Shen et al. (CN 113917721 A, published 1/11/2022 ) in view of Chou et al. (CN 215813619 U, Published 2/11/2022) in view of Konno et al. (US 20030048402 A1).
Regarding claim 12, Shen and Chou do not disclose A driving method used to drive the display panel according to claim 1, the driving method comprising: in the wide viewing angle mode, a common signal is applied to the viewing angle auxiliary electrode , and a wide viewing angle signal is applied to the viewing angle control electrode to control liquid crystal molecules and dye molecules in the dye liquid crystal layer to assume a standing posture;
in the narrow viewing angle mode, a common signal is applied to the viewing angle auxiliary electrode , and a narrow viewing angle signal is applied to the viewing angle control electrode to control the liquid crystal molecules and the dye molecules in the dye liquid crystal layer to assume a tilted posture.
Konno discloses A driving method used to drive the display panel according to claim 1, the driving method comprising: in the wide viewing angle mode, a common signal is applied to the viewing angle auxiliary electrode , and a wide viewing angle signal is applied to the viewing angle control electrode to control liquid crystal molecules and dye molecules in the dye liquid crystal layer to assume a standing posture; ([0004] [0005] [0009] [0052])
in the narrow viewing angle mode, a common signal is applied to the viewing angle auxiliary electrode , and a narrow viewing angle signal is applied to the viewing angle control electrode to control the liquid crystal molecules and the dye molecules in the dye liquid crystal layer to assume a tilted posture. ([0004] [0009] [0051] [0052])
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate viewing angle by Konno into device of Shen and Chou. The suggestion/motivation would have been to improve efficiency. (Konno: [0004])
Regarding claim 13, Shen, Chou and Konno disclose wherein the second polarizer is a reflective polarizer, (Konno [0006] [0007]) and/or a transflective layer is provided between the second polarizer and the first liquid crystal cell;
the first liquid crystal cell has an identification pattern area and a non- identification pattern area, the viewing angle control electrode comprises a first viewing angle control electrode corresponding to the identification pattern area and a second viewing angle control electrode corresponding to the non-identification pattern area , the first viewing angle control electrode and the second viewing angle control electrode are insulated and spaced apart from each other; (Konno [0004] [0005] [0009] [0051] [0052])
in the identification display mode, a common signal is applied to the viewing angle auxiliary electrode , a first narrow viewing angle signal is applied to the first viewing angle control electrode, and a second narrow viewing angle signal is applied to the second viewing angle control electrode , the first narrow viewing angle signal and the second narrow viewing angle signal have different amplitudes, wherein the liquid crystal molecules and the dye molecules corresponding to the identification pattern area arc controlled to assume a first tilted posture, and the liquid crystal molecules and the dye molecules corresponding to the non-identification pattern area arc controlled to assume a second tilted posture. (Konno [0018] [0031] [0032] [0056])
Regarding claim 14, Shen, Chou and Konno disclose wherein the second polarizer is a reflective polarizer, (Konno [0006] [0007]) and/or a transflective layer is provided between the second polarizer and the first liquid crystal cell ;
the first liquid crystal cell has an identification pattern area and a non-identification pattern area, and the viewing angle control electrode comprises multiple electrode blocks corresponding to the pixel units; (Konno [0004] [0005] [0009] [0051] [0052])
in the identification display mode, a common signal is applied to the viewing angle auxiliary electrode , a first narrow viewing angle signal is applied to the electrode blocks corresponding to the identification pattern area , and a second narrow viewing angle signal is applied to the electrode blocks corresponding to the non-identification pattern area , the first narrow viewing angle signal and the second narrow viewing angle signal have different amplitudes, wherein the liquid crystal molecules and the dye molecules corresponding to the identification pattern area are controlled to assume a first tilted posture, and the liquid crystal molecules and the dye molecules corresponding to the non-identification pattern area are controlled to assume a second tilted posture. (Konno [0004] [0005] [0009] [0051] [0052])
Regarding claim 15, Shen, Chou and Konno disclose wherein a transflective layer is provided between the second polarizer and the first liquid crystal cell , and the transflective layer is a unidirectional perspective film; (Konno [0006] [0007])
the first liquid crystal cell is provided with a third polarizer on the side away from the second liquid crystal cell , the light transmission axis of the third polarizer is parallel to the light transmission axis of the second polarizer, the dye liquid crystal layer is aligned parallel to the first substrate and the second substrate , and the alignment direction of the dye liquid crystal layer is parallel to the light transmission axis of the third polarizer , the viewing angle control electrode comprises multiple electrode blocks corresponding to the pixel units; (Konno [0007] [0048] [0051] [0052])
in the reflective display mode, the backlight module and the second liquid crystal cell are turned off, a common signal is applied to the viewing angle auxiliary electrode, and corresponding grayscale voltages are applied to the electrode blocks. (Shen [0036] [0037] [0053])
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 5, 7, 8 would be allowable if rewritten to overcome the rejection(s) under 35 U.S.C. 112(b), set forth in this Office action and to include all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to CHUN-NAN LIN whose telephone number is (571)272-5646. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Thursday 7:30am - 6pm.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Benjamin C Lee can be reached at 571-2722963. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/CHUN-NAN LIN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2629
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