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 .
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.
Election/Restrictions
Claims 9-22 and 24 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected species, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election was made without traverse in the reply filed on 28 April 2026.
Applicant’s election without traverse of Species I, corresponding to originally filed Claims 1-8 and 23 in the reply filed on 28 April 2026 is acknowledged.
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.
Claims 1-8 and 23 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Kim et al. (hereinafter “Kim” US 2022 / 0147179).
(It should be noted that the Kim reference was submitted by the applicant via Information Disclosure Statement on 05 March 2025).
As pertaining to Claim 1, Kim discloses (see Fig. 4 and Fig. 8, Fig. 9, and Fig. 10) a display device (see (200, 203) in Fig. 4 corresponding to (500) in Fig. 9) comprising:
a substrate (i.e., a layer in a plurality of layers constituting a display; again, see (203) in Fig. 4 corresponding to (500) in Fig. 9; and see Page 7, Para. [0073]-[0074]);
light-emitting elements (i.e., light-emitting diodes; see Page 11, Para. [0107]) above the substrate (i.e., as a layer or layers in the plurality of layers constituting the display; again, see (203) in Fig. 4 corresponding to (500) in Fig. 9), and defining a display area (i.e., a pixel area; see any area of (500) in Fig. 9) capable of providing a three-dimensional image plane (i.e., a flexible, deformable X, Y, Z plane);
a touch layer (see (400) in Fig. 9) above the light-emitting elements (see (500) in Fig. 9), and comprising touch electrodes (see (410, 420) in Fig. 8 and Fig. 9);
strain sensors (see (430) in Fig. 8 and Fig. 9) in the display area (i.e., the pixel area); and
a touch detector (see (1220) in Fig. 12; and see Page 9, Para. [0089]) electrically connected to the touch layer (400) and to the strain sensors (430), and configured to sense a touch input based on a relationship between an elongation rate (i.e., a bending, stretching, lifting, expansion) and capacitance (i.e., a capacitance value) of the display area (see Page 10 through Page 11, Para. [0105]-[0108], [0113], and [0115]; and Page 12, Para. [0118]-[0119] and [0122]-[0123]).
As pertaining to Claim 2, Kim discloses (see Fig. 4 and Fig. 8, Fig. 9, and Fig. 10) that the display area (i.e., a pixel area; see any area of (500) in Fig. 9) comprises sub-areas (i.e., any of a plurality of arbitrary pixel sub-areas within (500) in Fig. 9), and
wherein the strain sensors (see (430) in Fig. 8 and Fig. 9) are in respective ones of the sub-areas (i.e., any of a plurality of arbitrary pixel sub-areas within (500) in Fig. 9; see Page 12, Para. [0118]-[0119]).
As pertaining to Claim 3, Kim discloses (see Fig. 4 and Fig. 8, Fig. 9, and Fig. 10) that the touch detector (see (1220) in Fig. 12) is configured to sense the touch input by comparing a measured elongation rate (i.e., a bending, stretching, lifting, expansion) of the sub-areas (i.e., any of a plurality of arbitrary pixel sub-areas within (500) in Fig. 9) and a measured capacitance (i.e., a capacitance value) of the touch electrodes (see (410, 420) in Fig. 8 and Fig. 9) corresponding to the sub-areas (i.e., any of a plurality of arbitrary pixel sub-areas within (500) in Fig. 9) with reference data (i.e., numerical values; again, see Page 12, Para. [0122]-[0123]).
As pertaining to Claim 4, Kim discloses (see Fig. 4 and Fig. 8, Fig. 9, and Fig. 10) that the touch detector (see (1220) in Fig. 12) is configured to generate the reference data (i.e., the numerical values) by setting a relationship (i.e., a numerical relationship) between an elongation rate (i.e., a bending, stretching, lifting, expansion) of the sub-areas (i.e., any of a plurality of arbitrary pixel sub-areas within (500) in Fig. 9) and a capacitance (i.e., a capacitance value) of the touch electrodes (see (410, 420) in Fig. 8 and Fig. 9) corresponding to the sub-areas (i.e., any of a plurality of arbitrary pixel sub-areas within (500) in Fig. 9) according to three-dimensional deformation (i.e., a bending, stretching, lifting, expansion) of the display area (again, see Page 12, Para. [0122]-[0123]).
As pertaining to Claim 5, Kim discloses (see Fig. 4 and Fig. 8, Fig. 9, and Fig. 10) that the touch electrodes (see (410, 420) in Fig. 8 and Fig. 9) comprise first touch electrodes (410) arranged in a first direction (i.e., a Y direction; see Fig. 8) and electrically connected to each other (see (413) in Fig. 8), and second touch electrodes (420) arranged in a second direction (i.e., an X direction; see Fig. 8) crossing the first direction (i.e., the Y direction) and electrically connected to each other (see Fig. 8; and see Page 11, Para. [0113] and [0115]).
As pertaining to Claim 6, Kim discloses (see Fig. 4 and Fig. 8, Fig. 9, and Fig. 10) that each of the sub-areas (i.e., any of a plurality of arbitrary pixel sub-areas within (500) in Fig. 9) correspond to a portion (i.e., any arbitrary portion) of two adjacent ones of the first touch electrodes (410) and a portion (i.e., any arbitrary portion) of two adjacent ones of the second touch electrodes (420; again, see Page 11, Para. [0113] and [0115]).
As pertaining to Claim 7, Kim discloses (see Fig. 4 and Fig. 8, Fig. 9, and Fig. 10) that the touch electrodes (see (410, 420) in Fig. 8 and Fig. 9) comprise a column of first touch electrodes (410) arranged in a first direction (i.e., a Y direction; see Fig. 8), and a column of second touch electrodes (420) arranged in the first direction (i.e., the Y direction; see Fig. 8) and adjacent to the column of the first touch electrodes (410) in a second direction (i.e., an X direction; see Fig. 8; and see Page 11, Para. [0113] and [0115]).
As pertaining to Claim 8, Kim discloses (see Fig. 4 and Fig. 8, Fig. 9, and Fig. 10) that the touch electrodes (see (410, 420) in Fig. 8 and Fig. 9) comprise a column of first touch electrodes (410) arranged in a first direction (i.e., a Y direction; see Fig. 8), and a second touch electrode (420) adjacent to the column of the first touch electrodes (410) in a second direction (i.e., an X direction) and extending in the first direction (i.e., the Y direction; see Fig. 8; and see Page 11, Para. [0113] and [0115]).
As pertaining to Claim 23, Kim discloses (see Fig. 4 and Fig. 8, Fig. 9, and Fig. 10) an electronic product (200) comprising a display device (203) according to claim 1 (see Page 7, Para. [0073]-[0074]).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Kim et al. (US 2020 / 0125817) discloses (see Fig. 1) a deformable fingerprint sensor that comprises a touch layer (F10) and strain sensors (S10), wherein a touch detector (500) is configured to sense touch input based on a relationship between an elongation rate and capacitance (see Page 4, Para. [0077]).
Hanari (US 2018 / 0101276) discloses (see Fig. 2A and Fig. 2B) a deformable display device that comprises a touch layer (200) and strain sensors (120, 122, 124, 126), wherein a touch detector is configured to sense touch input based on a relationship between an elongation rate and capacitance (see Page 2, Para. [0029]-[0030]; and Page 4 through Page 5, Para. [0046]-[0047] and [0050]-[0053]).
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JASON M MANDEVILLE whose telephone number is (571)270-3136. The examiner can normally be reached Mon - Fri 7:30AM-4:00PM.
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/JASON M MANDEVILLE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2623
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