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. 10-2022-0104827, filed on 06/27/2022 in Korea.
Information Disclosure Statement
The IDS filed on 02/21/2025 has been considered and made of record.
Oath/Declaration
The oath/declaration filed on 02/21/2025 is acceptable.
Specification
The disclosure is objected to because of the following informalities: In the specification, applicants defined: a connecting portion -152-; and a coupling portion -153. All connecting portion(s) 153, in paragraphs 127 and 167-168, should correct as –coupling portion -153-; or All connecting portion(s) 153, in paragraphs 127 and 167-168, should correct as – connecting portion 152-. Appropriate correction is required.
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.
Claims 1-6, 8-10 and 15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Choo [WO 2022-114299], in view of Siwinski [US 5,537,294].
Regarding claim 1, Choo discloses a display device (100, figures 1-15) comprising:
a display panel (110, figures 1-2 and 11-12);
a frame (130, figures 2, 5-6 and 9-12) disposed at a rear of the display panel;
a holder (170, figures 7-12) which is disposed at a rear of the frame (170, figures 9-12), and which is coupled to the frame (figures 9-12); and
a back cover (150, figures 2 and 11-15) which is coupled to the holder, and which covers the rear of the frame, wherein the holder comprises:
a base (170I, figures 7-12) which is in contact with the frame and which is coupled to the frame; and
a contact part (173, figures 7-12) which is coupled to the base (figures 7-12), which protrudes toward a front of the base.
Choo discloses the claimed invention except for a contact part which is coupled to the base, which protrudes toward a rear of the base, and which is in contact with an inner surface of the back cover.
Siwinski discloses a portable electronic device (10, figures 1-3) comprising at least one grounding clip (80, figures 1-3), wherein the at least one grounding clip has a contact part (200, figure 3) connected to a base (140, figure 3) and wherein the at least contact part provides a ground between a printed circuit board (20, figure 1-2) and an inner surface of a bottom housing (50, figures 1-2).
It would have been to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to add additional contact part which protrudes toward a rear of a base, and which is in contact with an inner surface of a back cover of a display device of Choo, as suggested by Siwinski, in order to improve the ground between the display frame and the back cover of a display device.
Regarding claim 2, Choo discloses wherein the contact part comprises a support portion (117, figure 2 and 10-12) extending in a direction perpendicular to a longitudinal direction of the base from one side of the base.
Choo discloses the claimed invention except for an elastic portion which is bent from the support portion and which faces the base, and which has a portion that comes in contact with the inner surface of the back cover, wherein the elastic portion is spaced rearward from a rear surface of the base.
Siwinski further discloses an elastic portion (180, figure 3) which is bent from the support portion (160, figure 3) and which faces the base, and which has a portion (120, figure 2) that comes in contact with the inner surface of the back cover (50, figures 1-2), wherein the elastic portion is spaced rearward from a rear surface of the base.
It would have been to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to add additional resilient portion to a support portion of a display device of Choo, as suggested by Siwinski, in order to provide a flexible mechanical connection between a display frame and a back cover of a display device.
Regarding claim 3, Choo discloses wherein the elastic portion comprises a first part which is bent from the support portion and extends toward the back cover; and a second part which is bent from the first part and extends toward the base, wherein the first part is in contact with the inner surface of the back cover.
Siwinski further discloses wherein the elastic portion (figure 3) comprises a first part (120, figures 2-3) which is bent from the support portion and extends toward the back cover (50, figures 1-2); and a second part (180, figures 2-3) which is bent from the first part and extends toward the base, wherein the first part is in contact with the inner surface of the back cover (120, figure 2).
It would have been to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to use an elastic portion design of Siwinski, with a support portion of a display device of Choo, in order to provide a flexible mechanical connection between a display frame and a back cover of a display device.
Regarding claim 4, Choo discloses the claimed invention except for wherein the support portion and the first part form a first angle, and the first part and the second part form a second angle, wherein the second angle is greater than the first angle.
Siwinski further discloses wherein the support portion and the first part form a first angle, and the first part and the second part form a second angle, wherein the second angle is greater than the first angle (figure 3).
It would have been to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to use an elastic portion design of Siwinski, with a support portion of a display device of Choo, in order to provide a flexible mechanical connection between a display frame and a back cover of a display device.
Regarding claim 5, Choo, in view of Siwinski, disclose wherein the back cover comprises:
a cover portion (151, figures 11-15) forming a rear surface of the back cover;
a coupling portion (153, figures 11-15) which is curled from a distal end of the back cover toward the inner surface of the back cover; and
a connecting portion (152, figures 11-15) which is bent from the cover portion, which extends toward the frame, and which is connected to the coupling portion, wherein the first part is formed parallel to the cover portion.
Regarding claim 6, Choo discloses the claimed invention except for wherein the contact part comprises a protrusion that protrudes in a rearward direction from the elastic portion, and that is in contact with the inner surface of the back cover.
Siwinski further discloses wherein the contact part comprises a protrusion (120, figure 2) that protrudes in a rearward direction from the elastic portion, and that is in contact with the inner surface of the back cover (50, figures 1-2).
It would have been to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to use a contact part design having a protrusion in a display device of Choo, as suggested Siwinski, in order to provide a flexible mechanical connection between a display frame and a back cover of a display device.
Regarding claim 8, Choo, in view of Siwinski, disclose wherein the holder comprises a bending part (173, figures 7-13) which is bent in a forward direction from the base, which is disposed adjacent to one side of the frame (figures 7-13), and which is coupled with a coupling portion formed at a distal end of the back cover, wherein the bending part comprises:
a first tension portion (172, figures 8-12) which extends from the base and which forms one end of the bending part;
a second tension portion (175, figures 8-12) which extends from the base and which forms the other end of the bending part; and
a seating portion (174, figures 8-12) which connects the first tension portion and the second tension portion, and which is recessed toward the base,
wherein the back cover comprises a coupling portion (153, figures 11-15) which is formed at a distal end of the back cover, and which is curled from the distal end of the back cover toward the inner surface of the back cover and which is seated on the seating portion.
Regarding claim 9, Choo, in view of Siwinski, further disclose wherein the seating portion is formed to be curved, and a curvature of the coupling portion is formed to be the same as a curvature of the seating portion (figure 12).
Regarding claim 10, Choo, in view of Siwinski, further disclose wherein the frame comprises a recessed portion (160, figures 5-6) which is disposed adjacent to an edge of the frame, which is recessed in a rearward direction from a front surface of the frame, and which is coupled to the base, wherein the recessed portion comprises:
a body (161, figures 5-6) with which the base is in contact;
a protruding part (163, figures 5-6) which protrudes in the rearward direction from the body; and
a hole (162, figures 5-6) which is spaced apart from the protruding part and which penetrates the body in a front-rear direction (figures 5-6), wherein the base comprises:
a guide hole (170a/170b, figure 7) into which the protruding part is inserted; and
a coupling hole (170c, figure 7) which is spaced apart from the guide hole, and which is aligned with the hole.
Regarding claim 15, Choo, in view of Siwinski, disclose wherein the frame, the holder, and the back cover are formed of a conductive material (paragraph 0098), wherein a painted layer covering the conductive material is formed on an outer surface of the back cover, and wherein the conductive material is exposed on the inner surface of the back cover (paragraph 0099).
Claims 7 and 11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Choo, in view of Siwinski, as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Yamada et al. [JP 2003-163045].
Regarding claim 7, Choo, in view of Siwinski, disclose wherein the base (170I, figures 7-12) comprises:
a first base (171, figures 7-12); and
a second base (176, figures 7-12) which is disposed in front of the first base, and which is in contact with the frame (130, figures 7-12), wherein the first base comprises:
a center part (a center part 171, figure 7) facing the second base;
a first side part (177, figures 7-12) which extends from one side of the center part, and which is folded to face a rear surface of the center part; and
a second side part (178, figures 7 and 9) which extends from the other side located opposite the one side of the center part, and which is folded to face the rear surface of the center part.
Choo, in view of Siwinski, disclose the claimed invention except for wherein the contact part extends in a rearward direction from at least one of the first side part and the second side part.
Yamada et al., disclose an electrical contact (figures 1-2) comprising at least one contact part (23/24, figures 2a-2b) wherein the contact part is extended therefrom at least one side part (16/17, figures 2a-2b) of the terminal contact (figures 2a-2b).
It would have been to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to add additional contact part wherein the contact part extends in a rearward direction from at least one of a first side part and a second side part of a support portion of a display device of Choo, in view of Siwinski, as suggested by Yamada et al., in order to provide a flexible mechanical connection between a display frame and a back cover of a display device.
Regarding claim 11, Choo, in view of Siwinski, disclose wherein the base comprises a central area (172, figure 7) which overlaps with the body, and in which the guide hole (170c, figure 7) and the coupling hole (170a & 170c, figure 7) are formed; and a side area (177 & 178, figure 7) which extends from the central area, and which is not overlapped with the body.
Choo, in view of Siwinski, disclose the claimed invention except for wherein the contact part penetrates the side area and protrudes toward a rear of the base.
Yamada et al., disclose an electrical contact (figures 1-2) comprising at least one contact part (23/24, figures 2a-2b) wherein the contact part is extended therefrom at least one side part (16/17, figures 2a-2b) of the terminal contact (figures 2a-2b).
It would have been to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to add additional contact part penetrates the side area and protrudes toward a rear of the base in a display device of Choo, in view of Siwinski, as suggested by Yamada et al., in order to provide a flexible mechanical connection between a display frame and a back cover of a display device.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 12-14 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.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: The claim 12 discloses the combination features of “wherein the contact part comprises a housing which has an internal space formed therein, which has a hole formed in one surface, and which is coupled by penetrating the side area; and a rod which is inserted into the hole of the housing, and which comes into contact with the inner surface of the back cover.” These features, in conjunction with other features, as claimed in the combination features of the claims 11, 10 and 1, were neither found to be disclosed, nor suggested by the prior art of records. Claims 13-14 depend on the allowed claim 12.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure:
Bader et al. [US 5,563,450] disclose spring grounding clip for computer peripheral card;
Jondrow [US 5,953,206] discloses thermal dissipation and EMI shielding; and
Lo et al. [US 10,542,130] disclose mobile device.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Hung S. Bui whose telephone number is (571)272-2102. The examiner can normally be reached on M-F: 8am-5pm.
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/HUNG S. BUI/
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 2841
/HUNG S. BUI/Primary Patent Examiner, 2841/2800
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