DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
1. 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 § 103
2. 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 of this title, 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.
3. Claim(s) 1 and 9 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Shimizu et al. (US 2022/0398951 A1, hereinafter referred as “Shimizu”) in view of Suzuki (US 2006/0050206 A1, hereinafter referred as “Suzuki”).
Regarding claim 1, Shimizu discloses a display device (title discloses display device) comprising:
a light source (¶0024 discloses light source light output from the white light source unit 2102);
a liquid crystal panel (¶0002 discloses liquid crystal panel) including
a display region (E1) on which light emitted from the light source is incident (Fig. 3, ¶0003 and ¶0052 discloses light output from a light source unit is emitted to a transmissive-type liquid crystal panel or a reflection-type liquid crystal panel), the display region including a first substrate and a second substrate provided facing each other (Fig. 4 and ¶0042 disclose the liquid crystal panel 110 includes a first substrate 10, and a second substrate 20 that is opposed to the first substrate 10), and a liquid crystal layer provided between the first substrate and the second substrate (Fig. 4 and ¶0042 disclose liquid crystal layer 50 is disposed at the inner side of the seal material 40 and between the first substrate 10 and the second substrate 20), and
a peripheral region in periphery of the display region (Figs. 3-4, ¶0044, ¶0052 and ¶0088 disclose the second substrate 20 includes a peripheral area F outside of the display region E1 where impurities migrate);
a light irradiation unit configured to irradiate, with light of a first wavelength band,…the liquid crystal layer (¶0070 discloses blue light having the first wavelength range and coming from the white light source unit 2102 is emitted to the first liquid crystal panel 110B)…; and
a light detection unit configured to detect light of a long wavelength band longer than the first wavelength band emitted from the portion of the liquid crystal layer, when the light irradiation unit irradiates the portion of the liquid crystal layer with the light of the first wavelength band (¶0065 discloses the first liquid crystal panel 110B includes the optical sensor device 1 configured to detect radiated light Z radiated from the first liquid crystal panel 110B when light having a first wavelength range enters the first liquid crystal panel 110B as illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2. The optical sensor device 1 detects radiated light Z having a wavelength range longer than the first wavelength range).
Shimizu doesn’t disclose a light irradiation unit configured to irradiate… a portion of the liquid crystal layer overlapping the peripheral region as viewed in a normal direction of the first substrate.
However, in the same field of endeavor, Suzuki discloses a light irradiation unit configured to irradiate… a portion of the liquid crystal layer overlapping the peripheral region as viewed in a normal direction of the first substrate (Figs. 1-2 and ¶0021 disclose a picture-frame area β is provided outside the display area α; ¶0025-¶0026 disclose the panel is irradiated from behind and light transmittance in the inspection region changes according to the condition of the liquid crystal 6).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Shimizu since the picture-frame area can be easily inspected (abstract), which simplifies the inspection operation and reduces manufacturing cost.
Regarding claim(s) 9, this/these method claim(s) has/have similar limitations as apparatus claim(s) 1, and therefore rejected on similar grounds.
4. Claim(s) 2-3 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Shimizu in view of Suzuki, and in further view of Morita et al. (US 2023/0280608 A1, hereinafter referred as “Morita”).
Regarding claim 2, Shimizu as modified doesn’t disclose the display device according to claim 1, wherein the light irradiation unit and the light detection unit overlap the portion of the liquid crystal layer as viewed in the normal direction.
However, in the same field of endeavor, Morita discloses wherein the light irradiation unit and the light detection unit overlap the portion of the liquid crystal layer as viewed in the normal direction (Fig. 2 and ¶0043 disclose first detection light L1 is transmitted through the liquid crystal panel 10 from the first surface PS1 toward the second surface PS2 of the liquid crystal panel 10, and is incident on a first light receiving element 31 of the light receiving unit 30 described below).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to further modify Shimizu in order to provide an aligned optical path with a correspondence between the irradiated region and the detected region.
Regarding claim 3, Shimizu as modified doesn’t disclose the display device according to claim 2, wherein the light irradiation unit is provided on a side of the second substrate opposite to the liquid crystal layer, and the light detection unit is provided on a side of the first substrate opposite to the liquid crystal layer.
However, in the same field of endeavor, Morita discloses wherein the light irradiation unit is provided on a side of the second substrate opposite to the liquid crystal layer (Fig. 2 and ¶0043 disclose light emitting unit 20 is disposed on the first surface PS1 side of the liquid crystal panel 10), and the light detection unit is provided on a side of the first substrate opposite to the liquid crystal layer (Fig. 2 and ¶0047 disclose the light receiving unit 30 is disposed on the second surface PS2 side of the liquid crystal panel 10).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to further modify Shimizu in order to provide an aligned optical path with a correspondence between the irradiated region and the detected region.
5. Claim(s) 5 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Shimizu in view of Suzuki, in further view of Morita, and still in further view of Shimokawa et al. (US 2022/0026625 A1, hereinafter referred as “Shimokawa”).
Regarding claim 5, Shimizu as modified doesn’t disclose the display device according to claim 2, wherein the light irradiation unit and the light detection unit are provided on a side of the first substrate opposite to the liquid crystal layer.
However, in the same field of endeavor, Shimokawa discloses wherein the light irradiation unit and the light detection unit are provided on a side of the first substrate opposite to the liquid crystal layer (Fig. 3 and ¶0050 disclose the light receiving element PA may be provided on the back side of the liquid crystal panel PNL as viewed from a user of the electronic device 100; Figs. 1,3 and ¶0021 disclose the light source EM2 is mounted on a wiring substrate F2 and electrically connected to the wiring substrate F2, [which is also provided on the back side of the liquid crystal panel PNL]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to further modify Shimizu in order to provide an aligned optical path with a correspondence between the irradiated region and the detected region.
Allowable Subject Matter
6. Claims 4, and 6-8 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
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to PRIYANK J SHAH whose telephone number is (571)270-3732. The examiner can normally be reached on 10:00 - 6:00 M-F.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Ghebretinsae, Temesghen can be reached on (571) 272-3017. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/PRIYANK J SHAH/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2626
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