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 .
Claims 9-20 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b), as being drawn to a nonelected method, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Applicant timely traversed the restriction (election) requirement in the reply filed on 9/18/26.
Applicant's election with traverse of Group I in the reply filed on 9/18/26 is acknowledged. The traversal is on the ground(s) that there is a share technical feature of removing a sludge layer using anionic cleaning solution in which cations are filtered or removed without increasing the surface roughness of the glass member. This is not found persuasive because Group I only recites that the sludge layer “is cleaned by” an anionic cleaning solution, it does not require etching or rinsing steps, dipping, or any particular sequence. A materially different process (e.g. spray cleaning) could arrive at the same product.
The requirement is still deemed proper and is therefore made FINAL.
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.
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.
Claim(s) 1, 3-6 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Cavuoti WO_2015013360_A1 in view of Fujiwara USPN_6521575_A1.
Regarding Claims 1, Cavuoti discloses an LCD (corresponds to claimed electronic device) display (corresponds to claimed display) comprising a glass (corresponds to claimed glass member) and glass panels (paragraphs 003, 004) whose method of production produces a by-product sludge (corresponds to claimed sludge layer) on said glass (paragraph 003) that can then be cleaned (paragraph 0030).
However, Cavuoti does not disclose the claimed cleaning limitation.
Fujiwara discloses a solution for cleaning glass (Title) wherein cations are removed (column 11, lines 22-31). The use of hydrofluoric acid (HF) (Claim 1) and then removal of metal cations would seem to lead to an anionic solution. Fujiwara discloses that its cleaning method can reduce industrial waste by extending an exchange cycle of a glass which brings great value for use in the technical field of the production of glass products (column 12, lines 39-50).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was filed to modify the cleaning, of Cavuoti, by trying the cleaning solution, of Fujiwara. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated in doing so in order to obtain a cleaning solution that reduces industrial waste and adds value in the field of glass product production.
Regarding Claim 3, Cavuoti in view of Fujiwara suggests a temperature of 34C (Fujiwara: column 11, lines 1-19).
Regarding Claim 4, although not explicitly disclosed, the Examiner respectfully submits that the further removal of metal cations would lead to a neutralizing of the solution. As such, it would be expected for one of ordinary skill in the art to know how to make the solution more basic due to end-user product specifications.
Regarding Claim 5, Cavuoti in view of Fujiwara suggests a silicate glass (Fujiwara: Title), which would have a Si-O bond.
Regarding Claim 6, Cavuoti in view of Fujiwara suggests a 300 microns thick glass (Cavuoti: paragraph 059).
Claim(s) 2, 7 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Cavuoti WO_2015013360_A1 in view of Fujiwara USPN_6521575_A1, as applied to Claim 1, and in view of Bae KR_20220117077_A (see English equivalent: USPA_20230397355_A1).
Regarding Claim 2, Cavuoti in view of Fujiwara does not suggest the claimed surface roughness.
Bae discloses an electronic device comprising glass (title) and a flexible display comprising a display panel having at least a portion which can bend (Abstract) and having a surface roughness of about 5 nm to 100 nm (paragraph 0137).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was filed to modify the surface roughness of the glass member, of Cavuoti in view of Fujiwara, by using the surface roughness, of Bae. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated in using a surface roughness suggested by prior art from the same field of endeavor out of a desire for optimization, such as edge polishing (paragraph 0137).
Regarding Claim 7, Cavuoti in view of Fujiwara and further in view of Bae suggests the thickness of the flexible portion is less than the non-flexible portion (Bae: Claim 1).
Claim(s) 8 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Cavuoti WO_2015013360_A1 in view of Fujiwara USPN_6521575_A1, as applied to Claim 1, and in view of Bae USPA_20220183174_A1.
Regarding Claim 8, Cavuoti in view of Fujiwara does not suggest the claimed plurality of holes.
Bae discloses an electronic device may include a first housing, a second housing foldably connected to the first housing through a hinge, and a flexible display having a first portion corresponding to the first housing, a second portion corresponding to the second housing, and a bendable third portion connecting the first portion and the second portion. The flexible display includes a window layer having a first region corresponding to the first portion, a second region corresponding to the second portion, and a third region corresponding to the bendable third portion and constituted to be bendable, a display panel disposed under the window layer, with a plurality of opening in said bendable region (Abstract); wherein said openings have different opening ratios for respective regions divided based on the folding axis ‘A’, thereby providing bendability corresponding to the curvature of each bent region, and helping smooth bending operation and rigidity reinforcement of the window layer (paragraph 0067).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was filed to modify the glass, of Cavuoti in view of Fujiwara, by having a flexible region that has openings (holes), of Bae. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated in doing so in order to help smooth bending operation and rigidity reinforcement of the window layer.
Conclusion
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/TAHSEEN KHAN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1781 September 26, 2026
