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
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 10/28/2025 is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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 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, 11, and 20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Hu et al. (CN116665540A; hereinafter Hu; Applicant submitted prior art).
Regarding claim 1:
Hu discloses a display device (see Figs. 1-9), comprising:
a first housing, comprising: a fixing member, and a slide member slidably connected to the fixing member (see Fig. 3; second fixing plate 552 is interpreted as a fixing member; and the screw rod 220 and guide rail 312 are interpreted as a slide member);
a second housing, fixedly connected to a side, away from the slide member, of the fixing member, wherein an angle between the first housing and the second housing is less than 180° (see Fig. 3; the base 300 and/or first fixing plate 551 is interpreted as a second housing);
a roller, comprising: a plurality of sub-rollers arranged in an array, wherein the sub- rollers are rotatably connected to at least one of the first housing or the second housing (see Figs. 1, 3, and 5; the roller assembly 400 includes a plurality of sub-rollers);
a force receiving member, disposed within the second housing and movably connected to the second housing (see Figs. 1 and 3; first driving assembly 100 is a force receiving member); and
a flexible display panel, comprising: a rollable display portion wound over the plurality of sub-rollers (see Figs. 3 and 4; flexible display 510), and a first planar display portion and a second planar display portion disposed on both sides of the rollable display portion (see Abstract; “the roller assembly is rotatably supported on the middle part of the flexible screen assembly”; this suggests that the “a first planar display portion and a second planar display portion disposed on both sides of the rollable display portion”), wherein the first planar display portion is connected to the slide member, and the second planar display portion is connected to the force receiving member within the second housing (see Figs. 1, 3 and 5).
Regarding claim 11:
Hu discloses the display device according to claim 1, wherein the display device further comprises a second drive assembly (see Fig. 6, second drive assembly 200) disposed within the first housing and an elastic restoring assembly (see Fig. 6, spring 315; or Fig. 9, elastic support 331) fixed within the second housing;
wherein the second drive assembly is connected to the slide member (see Fig. 6), a portion of the second drive assembly extends into the second housing and is fixedly connected to the second housing (see Fig. 6; drive assembly 200 is connected between the first housing (i.e., the vertical portion of the display device) and the second housing (i.e., the horizontal portion of the display device), and the elastic restoring assembly is connected to a side, away from the roller, of the force receiving member (see Fig. 6; spring 315 is connected to a side of the force receiving member 100; or see Fig. 9; elastic support 331 is connected to a side of the first driving assembly 100); and
the second drive assembly is configured to drive the slide member within the first housing to move relative to the fixing member in a direction perpendicular to the roller (see Fig. 6; the display device is expandable/retractable along the direction as shown in the figure).
Regarding claim 20:
Claim 20 recite similar limitations as in claim 1. Hence, claim 20 is rejected under the same reason as discussed above in claim 1.
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) 12-14 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hu.
Regarding claim 12:
Hu discloses all the features in claim 11. Hu further discloses the display device, further comprising:
a functional device and a circuit board (see Fig. 8; at least the microswitch 352 and/or 360 is a functional device and controller 600 is a circuit board);
wherein the functional device and the second drive assembly are electrically connected to the circuit board (see Fig. 8).
Hu does not disclose the functional device and the circuit board are fixed to a side, away from the first planar display portion, of the slide member.
However, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to fix or dispose the functional device and/or circuit board to any location within the housing of the display device in order to mount the functional device and the circuit board, where the claimed differences involved to the substitution of interchangeable or replaceable equivalents and the reason for the selection of one equivalent for another was not to solve an existent problem, such substitution has been judicially determined to have been obvious. In re Ruff, 118, USPQ, 343 (CCPA 1958). This supporting is based on a recognition that the claimed difference exist not a result of an attempt by applicant to solve a problem but merely amounts to selection of expedients known to the artisan of ordinary skill as design choices.
Regarding claim 13:
Hu discloses all the features in claim 12. Hu further discloses the display device according to claim 12, wherein the second drive assembly comprises:
a second drive motor (see Fig. 3, motor 210), a second transmission shaft (Fig. 3, screw rod 230) and a second transmission member (Fig. 3, guide rail 312), wherein the second drive motor is fixed to the side, away from the first planar display portion, of the slide member, the second drive motor is connected to an end of the second transmission shaft, and a portion of the second transmission member is sleeved on the second transmission shaft, another portion of the second transmission member extends into the second housing and is fixedly connected to the second housing (see Fig. 3), and a length direction of the second transmission shaft is parallel to a movement direction of the slide member (see Fig. 3; the screw rod 220 is parallel to the movement direction of the display screen);
wherein the second drive motor is electrically connected to the circuit board (see Fig. 8), and the second drive motor is configured to, in response to driving the second transmission shaft to rotate, move along the length direction of the second transmission shaft together with the second transmission shaft (see Fig. 3 and Abstract).
Regarding claim 14:
Hu discloses all the features in claim 12. Hu further discloses the display device, wherein the second drive assembly comprises:
a second drive motor (see Fig. 3, motor 210), a second transmission shaft (Fig. 3, screw rod 230) and a second transmission member (Fig. 3, guide rail 312), wherein the second drive motor is disposed on the side, away from the first planar display portion, of the slide member and fixedly connected to the second housing, the second drive motor is connected to an end of the second transmission shaft, the second transmission member is sleeved on the second transmission shaft, the second transmission member is connected to the side, away from the first planar display portion, of the slide member (see Fig. 3), and a length direction of the second transmission shaft is parallel to a movement direction of the slide member (see Fig. 3; the screw rod 220 is parallel to the movement direction of the display screen);
wherein the second drive motor is electrically connected to the circuit board (see Fig. 8), and the second drive motor is configured to, in response to driving the second transmission shaft to rotate, cause the second transmission member to move the slide member along a direction parallel to the length direction of the second transmission shaft (see Fig. 3 and Abstract).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 2-10 and 15-19 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.
In regards to claim 2, none of the reference of record alone or in combination discloses or suggests the display device according to claim 1, wherein the each of the sub-rollers comprises a rotation shaft and a drum sleeved on the rotation shaft; wherein two ends of the rotation shaft are fixedly connected to the fixing member, and the drum is rotatably connected to the rotation shaft; or two ends of the rotation shaft are rotatably connected to the fixing member, and the drum is fixedly connected to the rotation shaft.
In regards to claim 5, none of the reference of record alone or in combination discloses or suggests the display device according to claim l, further comprising: a first pulley, a second pulley, and a tensioning rope; wherein the first pulley is connected to a side, away from the roller, of the fixing member, and the second pulley is connected to a side, away from the roller, of the second housing; and a first end of the tensioning rope is fixedly connected to a side, close to the roller, of the slide member, the tensioning rope is sequentially wound over the first pulley, the roller, and the second pulley, and a second end of the tensioning rope is fixedly connected to a side, away from the roller, of the force receiving member; wherein the first end of the tensioning rope is always disposed on a side, toward the roller, of the first pulley during sliding of the slide member relative to the fixing member.
In regards to claim 15, none of the reference of record alone or in combination discloses or suggests the display device according to claim 12, wherein the elastic restoring assembly comprises a support member fixed to a side, away from the roller, of the second housing, and a coil spring connected to the support member, wherein an end of the coil spring is connected to a side, away from the roller, of the force receiving member.
In regards to claim 19, none of the reference of record alone or in combination discloses or suggests, the display device according to claim 1, wherein the slide member comprises a plurality of first guide rods arranged in parallel; and the fixing member comprises a plurality of second guide rods arranged in parallel; wherein the plurality of first guide rods and the plurality of second guide rods are alternately arranged in rows.
Claims 3-4, 6-10, 16-18 depend from claim 2, 5, or 15, and would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Zhao et al. (US 2025/0388083) discloses a display device within a cabin of the vehicle, wherein the device comprises a flexible and retractable display screen.
Ahn et al. (US 2023/0359245) discloses a display apparatus comprising a plurality of rollers for controlling the extension and retraction of a flexible display screen.
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/LIXI C SIMPSON/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2625