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 § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claim 12 recites the limitation "the second sliding shell" in line 1. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
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 1-4, 11 and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over U.S. Pat. Appl. Publ. No. 2022/0359838 to Wang (i.e., Ref. 1 hereinafter) in view of U.S. Pat. Appl. Publ. No. 2011/0176260 to Walters et al. (i.e., Ref. 2 hereinafter).
Referring to claim 1, Ref. 1 discloses a display device, comprising:
a display housing (Fig. 6), comprising a first main housing (6) and a second main housing (5), wherein a width of the first main housing (6) is greater than a width of the second main housing (5);
a folding mechanism (4), located between the first main housing (6) and the second main housing (5), and respectively connected with an edge (i.e., right side of 4) of the first main housing (6) along a length direction and an edge (i.e., left side of 4) of the second main housing (5) along the length direction, wherein the first main housing (6) and the second main housing (5) are switchable between folding and unfolding Figs. 3 and 8, respectively);
and a flexible display screen (1), respectively, connected with the first main housing (6) and the second main housing (5). Ref. 1 does not disclose provid[ing] a binding area, wherein the binding area is located at one side of the first main housing in the length direction.
Ref. 2, in the same field, discloses an electronic device with extendable display section(s) having a binding area (13, Fig. 2) located at one side of a first main housing (8) in the length direction of the device.
All of the component parts are known in the combined references. The only difference is the combination of the "old elements" into a single device. Thus, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify the device of Ref. 1 to include a binding area located at one side of the first main housing in the length direction of the flexible display screen, as taught by Ref. 2, in order to allow for continuous movements in the horizontal direction of the display device. See KSR International Co. v. Teleflex Inc., 550 U.S. _, 82 USPQ2d 1385 (2007).
Referring to claim 2, Ref. 1 in view of Ref. 2 discloses the display device according to claim 1, wherein the first main housing (6) comprises a first main shell (edge portion) and a first sliding shell (3, Fig. 2); an edge of the first main shell along the length direction is connected with the folding mechanism (4), the first sliding shell (3) is connected at one side of the first main shell away from the folding mechanism (rear side of 3), and the first sliding shell (3) is slidable relative to the first main shell along a direction perpendicular to the length direction (i.e., horizontally between Figs. 2 and 3); and the flexible display screen is slidably fixed on the first sliding shell (3), and the binding area (13) is located at a side of the first main shell in the length direction. See Fig. 10 of Ref. 2.
Referring to claim 3, Ref. 1 in view of Ref. 2 discloses the display device according to claim 2, wherein a shell wall of the first main shell is provided with a plurality of first comb teeth structures (20) facing the first sliding shell, a shell wall of the first sliding shell is provided with a plurality of second comb teeth structures (15) facing the first main shell, and the plurality of first comb teeth structures are meshed with the plurality of second comb teeth structures. See Fig. 10 of Ref. 1.
Referring to claim 4, Ref. 1 in view of Ref. 2 discloses the display device according to claim 3, wherein the first comb tooth structure (20) and the second comb tooth structure (15) are both rectangular. See Fig. 10 of Ref. 1.
Referring to claim 11, Ref. 1 in view of Ref. 2 discloses the display device according to claim 1, wherein the width of the first main housing (6) is twice the width of the second main housing (5). See Figs. 3-8 of Ref. 1.
Referring to claim 20, Ref. 1 in view of Ref. 2 discloses the display device according to claim 2, wherein the width of the first main housing (6) is twice the width of the second main housing (5). See Figs. 3 and 6.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 5-10 and 13-19 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:
Referring to claim 5, the specific limitation of “wherein the first sliding shell comprises a first frame, a second frame, a side plate and a plurality of sliding rods; and the first frame and the second frame are oppositely arranged, the side plate is connected between the first frame and the second frame, opposite side walls of the first frame and the second frame are provided with slideways, ends of the plurality of sliding rods are slidably limited in the slideways on the first frame and the second frame, and the flexible display screen is fixed on the plurality of sliding rods,” in combination with the remaining elements, is not taught or adequately suggested in the prior art of record. Claims 15 and 19 depend on claim 5 and are therefore allowable for at least the same reasons.
Referring to claim 6, the specific limitation of “wherein the first main housing further comprises a first transmission mechanism comprising a driving motor and a transmission rack; and the driving motor is fixed on one of the first main shell and the first sliding shell, the transmission rack is fixed on another one of the first main shell and the first sliding shell, a length direction of the transmission rack is perpendicular to the length direction of the first main shell, and an output shaft of the driving motor is in transmission connection with the transmission rack,” in combination with the remaining elements, is not taught or adequately suggested in the prior art of record. Claims 7-9 depend on claim 6 and are therefore allowable for at least the same reasons.
Referring to claim 10, the specific limitation of “wherein the second main housing comprises a second main shell and a second sliding shell; and an edge of the second main shell along the length direction is connected with the folding mechanism, the second sliding shell is connected at one side of the second main shell away from the folding mechanism, and the second sliding shell is slidable relative to the second main shell along a direction perpendicular to the length direction,” in combination with the remaining elements, is not taught or adequately suggested in the prior art of record.
Referring to claims 13 and 14, the specific limitation of “wherein the first main housing further comprises a first transmission mechanism comprising a driving motor and a transmission rack; and the driving motor is fixed on one of the first main shell and the first sliding shell, the transmission rack is fixed on another one of the first main shell and the first sliding shell, a length direction of the transmission rack is perpendicular to the length direction of the first main shell, and an output shaft of the driving motor is in transmission connection with the transmission rack,” in combination with the remaining elements, is not taught or adequately suggested in the prior art of record.
Referring to claims 16-18, the specific limitation of “wherein the second main housing comprises a second main shell and a second sliding shell; and an edge of the second main shell along the length direction is connected with the folding mechanism, the second sliding shell is connected at one side of the second main shell away from the folding mechanism, and the second sliding shell is slidable relative to the second main shell along a direction perpendicular to the length direction,“ in combination with the remaining elements, is not taught or adequately suggested in the prior art of record.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ANTHONY Q EDWARDS whose telephone number is (571)272-2042. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday, 8:30am-5:00pm.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Imani Hayman can be reached at 571-270-5528. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/Anthony Q Edwards/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2841
September 10, 2026
