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 .
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)(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.
Claim(s) 1 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Woodgate US 2021/0341769.
Regarding claim1, Chiu teaches a display apparatus, comprising a self-luminous display panel (fig. 1 display panel 101), a first electrically-controlled viewing angle switching device (second liquid crystal layer LC2), a second electrically-controlled viewing angle switching device (first liquid crystal alyer LC1), a first polarizer (third polarizing layer P3), a second polarizer (second polarizing layer P2), and a third polarizer (first polarizing layer P1), wherein: the first electrically-controlled viewing angle switching device is disposed at side of a display surface of the self-luminous display panel and comprises a first liquid-crystal layer (liquid crystal layer LC2), a first alignment layer (D4 indicates the fourth alignment direction), and a second alignment layer (D3 indicates the third alignment direction), wherein the first liquid-crystal layer is disposed between the first alignment layer and the second alignment layer; the second electrically-controlled viewing angle switching device is disposed between the first electrically-controlled viewing angle switching device and the self-luminous display panel, and comprises a second liquid-crystal layer (first liquid crystal layer LC1), a third alignment layer (D2 indicates the second alignment direction), and a fourth alignment layer (D1 indicates the first alignment direction), wherein the second liquid-crystal layer is disposed between the third alignment layer and the fourth alignment layer; the first polarizer is disposed at a side of the first electrically-controlled viewing angle switching device facing away from the second electrically-controlled viewing angle switching device, and has a first absorption axis (third transmission direction T3 absorption axis would be perpendicular to it), wherein the first alignment layer is located between the first liquid-crystal layer and the first polarizer, and an axial direction of the first absorption axis is parallel or perpendicular (both are taught see figs 1 and 2) to a first alignment direction of the first alignment layer; the second polarizer (second polarizing layer P2) is disposed between the first electrically-controlled viewing angle switching device and the second electrically-controlled viewing angle switching device, and has a second absorption axis (second transmission axis T2 absorption axis would be perpendicular to it) ; the third polarizer (first polarizing layer P1) is disposed between the self-luminous display panel (display panel 101) and the second electrically-controlled viewing angle switching device (first liquid crystal layer LC1), and has a third absorption axis (transmission axis T1 the absorption axis would be perpendicular to it), wherein the fourth alignment layer (D1 indicates the first alignment direction) is located between the second liquid-crystal layer and the third polarizer, and an axial direction of the third absorption axis is parallel or perpendicular to a fourth alignment direction of the fourth alignment layer (both are taught see fig 1 and 2).
Regarding claim 2, Chiu teaches the display apparatus of claim 1, wherein the display apparatus further comprises a quarter-wave plate (quarter wave-plate 103), the quarter-wave plate is disposed between the self-luminous display panel and the third polarizer, and an included angle between an optical axis of the quarter-wave plate and the third absorption axis of the third polarizer is 45 degrees (see fig. 1 or 2).
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.
Claim(s) 3 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Chiu US 2024/0248362 in view of US Matsushima 2022/0326574.
Regarding claim 3, Chiu teaches the display apparatus of claim 2. Chiu omits the display apparatus further comprises a half-wave plate, and the half-wave plate is disposed between the first electrically-controlled viewing angle switching device and the second electrically-controlled viewing angle switching device. Matsushima teaches aa viewing angle control panel with a polarization rotation element (fig. 2 polarization axis rotation element 100 is a half waveplate [0067]) disposed between the first electrically controllable viewing angle switching device (first viewing angle control panel 1) and second electrically-controlled viewing angle switching devices (second viewing angle control panel 2) to rotate the polarization axis as needed. Therefore, it would have been obvious to an ordinarily skilled artisan before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Chiu in view of Matsushima to rotate the polarization axis of light between two panels.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 4-20 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.
Conclusion
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/PHU VU/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2871
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