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 .
Priority
Acknowledgment is made of applicant’s claim for foreign priority under 35 U.S.C. 119 (a)-(d). The certified copy has been filed in parent Application No. 14/772 ,919, filed on 9/4/2015.
Information Disclosure Statement
Acknowledgement is made of receipt of Information Disclosure Statement(s) (PTO-1449) filed 1/14/2025. An initialed copy is attached to this Office Action.
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 text of those sections of Title 35, U.S. Code not included in this action can be found in a prior Office action.
Claim(s) 1-, 10-13, 15, and 17 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kawai Hideyuki (JP 2005024864), hereinafter ‘864 in view of Kishi Etsuro (JP 2004020818), hereinafter ‘818.
Regarding claim 1, ‘864 discloses, in figure 1, a light attenuator (20, electrophoretic display device) comprising a plurality of cells (paragraph 0025), each cell comprising: a first substrate (1, substrate) including a first light-transmissive electrode (3, first electrode) (paragraph 0033); a second substrate (2, substrate) including a second light-transmissive electrode (4, second electrode) (paragraph 0033), the second substrate (2, second substrate) being spaced apart from the first substrate (1, first substrate) to define a gap between the first and second substrates (1 and 2, first and second substrates) (paragraph 0033 and figure 1); an electrophoretic ink (10, electrophoretic dispersion) including charged particles (5, particles) in a suspending fluid (6, liquid phase dispersion medium) disposed in the gap (paragraph 0035 and figure 1); and a non-planar, polymeric structure (40, microcapsules) adjacent the second substrate (2, second substrate) comprising a plurality of aperiodic microstructures (40, microcapsules) (paragraph 0035 and figure 1), a surface of the non-planar, polymeric structure extending into the gap between the first and second substrates (1 and 2, first and second substrates) and creating a non-planar interface with the electrophoretic ink (figure 2 and paragraphs 0035 and 0043).
‘864 does not specifically disclose wherein the light attenuator has a first light state in which the charged particles are distributed throughout the suspending fluid and lie in the path of light traversing the cell, thereby attenuating light passing through the light attenuator, and a second light state in which the charged particles move adjacent the surface of the non-planar, polymeric structure and are substantially removed from the path of light traversing the cell, thereby transmitting light passing through the light attenuator.
‘818 discloses wherein the light attenuator has a first light state in which the charged particles are distributed throughout the suspending fluid and lie in the path of light traversing the cell, thereby attenuating light passing through the light attenuator (paragraph 0036), and a second light state in which the charged particles move adjacent the surface of the non-planar, polymeric structure and are substantially removed from the path of light traversing the cell, thereby transmitting light passing through the light attenuator (paragraph 0036).
Therefore it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify the teaching of ‘864 with the first and second light states of ‘818 for the purpose of moving the particles to reflect and transmit light.
Regarding claim 10, ‘864 discloses wherein the aperiodic microstructures are convex, concave, facets, or a combination thereof (paragraph 0046 discloses concave).
Regarding claim 11, ‘818 discloses wherein each cell further comprises polymer walls spanning between the non-planar, polymeric structure and the first substrate, and the polymer walls are aperiodic in a face view and divide the gap into discrete or semi-discrete cavities (figure 20).
Regarding claim 12, ‘818 discloses wherein the polymer walls appear dark in a face view and provide an obstruction in the second light state (figure 20 shows the dark walls and paragraph 0111).
Regarding claim 13, ‘818 discloses wherein the microstructures are apertures, the polymer walls are located in peripheral areas of the apertures, and in the second light state the charged particles are accumulated adjacent the polymer walls (paragraphs 0036 and 0038).
Regarding claim 15, ‘818 discloses wherein the non-planar, polymeric structure comprises a photosensitive polymer that has been shaped by a laser beam or electron beam to create aperiodic microstructures (paragraph 0072).
Regarding claim 17, ‘818 discloses wherein the average circumference of the aperiodic microstructures is 80 microns or greater (paragraph 0045 discloses 10-150).
Claim(s) 2, 16, and 18-19 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kawai Hideyuki (JP 2005024864), hereinafter ‘864 in view of Kishi Etsuro (JP 2004020818), hereinafter ‘818 as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Kang Young Soo (KR 20110091358), hereinafter ‘358.
Regarding claim 2, ‘864 in view of ‘818 discloses all the limitations in common with claim 1, and such is hereby incorporated.
‘864 in view of ‘818 fails to disclose wherein the aperiodic microstructures are in a monolayer and are arranged irregularly, defining features with center-to-center distances in a local area that are random.
‘358 discloses wherein the aperiodic microstructures are in a monolayer and are arranged irregularly, defining features with center-to-center distances in a local area that are random (figure 3c and paragraphs 0046-0047).
Therefore it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify the teaching of ‘864 in view of ‘818 with the monolayer of microstructures of ‘358 for the purpose of achieve the lowering of the microcapsule and the insertion of the spacing space by the repetitive vibration.
Regarding claim 16, ‘358 discloses wherein each of the aperiodic microstructures
is independently written, asymmetrical, and randomly orientated (figure 3c and paragraphs 0046-0047).
Regarding claim 18, ‘358 discloses wherein the aperiodic microstructures vary in surface shape, cross-sectional area, cross-sectional geometric form, or orientation (figure 3c).
Regarding claim 19, ‘358 discloses wherein the non-planar, polymeric structure comprises a randomized distribution of discrete light transmissive polymer balls embedded as a monolayer in a polymeric binder (paragraph 0054 and figure 3c).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 3-9 and 14 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.
Regarding claim 5, ‘864, ‘818, and ‘358 does not disclose wherein light passing through the light
attenuator is diffracted into a plurality of directions by the aperiodic microstructures, thereby
reducing perceived diffraction patterns when an observer views a light source through the light attenuator.
Regarding claim 8, ‘864, ‘818, and ‘358 does not disclose wherein the suspending fluid and the non- planar, polymeric structure are optically-transparent and refractive-index-matched to each other such that light travelling between the suspending fluid and the non-planar, polymeric structure is not significantly diffracted.
Regarding claim 9, ‘864, ‘818, and ‘358 does not disclose wherein the microstructures are closely-packed protrusions projecting into the gap and contacting the suspending fluid, and in the second light state the charged particles are deflected on a path from the first electrode toward the second electrode and driven to concentrate in the interstices of protrusions.
Regarding claim 14, ‘864, ‘818, and ‘358 does not disclose further comprising pillars, aperiodic in a face view, bonded between and setting apart the non-planar, polymeric structure and the first substrate, the pillars appearing black in a face view and providing an obstruction in the second light state.
Claims 4-7 depend from claim 5 and is allowable for the reason given above.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to BRANDI N THOMAS whose telephone number is (571)272-2341. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday 7:30 - 3:30.
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/BRANDI N THOMAS/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2872
