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 .
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 5-6, 8-9 and 11-20 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.
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, 7 and 10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kim et al. (US Pub: 2021/0306741 A1) Fig. 14C embodiment in view of Fig 1-2 embodiment.
As to claim 1 Kim teaches a display device (i.e. as seen in figure 14C embodiment Kim teaches a bending display device that fit a user’s wrist) (see Fig. 14c, [0271]), comprising:
a substrate comprising an upper surface (i.e. the substrate shown in fig 14C 100 has an upper surface near the top of the figure 14C drawing with a vibration unit 200 directly under it) (see Fig. 14C), a first side surface extending from a first side of the upper surface (i.e. the first side surface is the left surface which is connected to the top center area as seen in figure 14C which is extended from the center area and bend) (see Fig. 14C) and a second side surface extending from a second side of the upper surface (i.e. the right portion of the C display which is extended from the center area) (see Fig. 14C, [0271]), wherein the first side surface is bent over a first bending line a boundary between the upper surface and the first side surface (i.e. as seen in figure 14C the C shape display 100 is shown to be a wrist mounted unit where the first side surface is the left side surface with the boundary line of the left 200 vibration unit that surround the central unit) (see Fig. 14C, [0271]), and the second side surface is bent over a second bending line a boundary between the upper surface and the second side surface (i.e. as seen in figure 14C the C shape display 100 is shown to be a wrist mounted unit where the second side surface is the right side surface with the boundary line of the right 200 vibration unit that surround the central unit) (see Fig. 14C, [0271]);
a first sound unit located below the upper surface and configured to output sound by vibrating a vibration layer (i.e. the vibration unit 200 directly situation under the center of the 100 device as seen in figure 14C is a sound generating unit that is able to output sound by vibration a vibration layer) (see Fig. 14C, 15, [0271-0273]). However figure 14C of Kim is silent with respect to a sensing unit located below the first side surface and configured to sense a current value or a voltage value depending on a force applied to the first force sensing unit (i.e. figure 14C is a simplified drawing of the display unit to show a user wrist mounted deployment of the earlier embodiment of figures 1-3 flat surface units).
Since Kim already discloses the figures 1-2 embodiment which specifically shows a touch sensing panel 100 having a touch sensor array on the entire surface of the display area, it would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the accepted filing data of the current application to have used the general touch panel display design of figures 1-2 embodiment of Kim in the expanded design of figure 14C which shows a user wrist mounted display input/output embodiment, since Kim is referring to the same device 100 in the invention and uses the figure 14C embodiment as an expanded device of the early figure 2 embodiment which allows for a full area based touch sensing array to be provided for the bending design, in order to allow the user to effectively control the wrist mounted device of figure 14C in order to control the device (see Kim Fig. 14C, [0271]).
As to claim 2, Kim teaches the display device of claim 1, wherein a length of the first sensing unit in a first direction is greater than a length of the first sound unit in the first direction (i.e. as seen in figure 14C the touch sensing layer is said to be of the entire area of 100 display element which is a length that is greater than the length of the sound unit 200 as seen in figure 14C) (see Fig. 14C, [0271]).
As to claim 3, Kim teaches the display device of claim 2, wherein a length of the first sensing unit in a second direction perpendicular to the first direction is less than a length of the first sound unit in the second direction (i.e. in the Z direction it is clear that the viewable piezoelectric device layer 200 is much larger than the electrode array which is integrated on to the figure 2 embodiment substrate 100 which is shown to be of negligible depth as the electrode is far smaller in dimension) (see Fig. 2, [0074-0082]).
As seen in figure 4, Kim teaches the display device of claim 2, further comprising a second sensing unit located below the second side surface and configured to sense a current value or a voltage value depending on a force applied to the second force sensing unit (i.e. as seen in figure 2 and 14C the second area on the right side of the bending C display of figure 14C must also contain touch sensing electrode which is on all of the surface area of 100) (see Fig. 2, 14C, [0082, 0271]).
As to claim 7, Kim teaches the display device of claim 2, further comprising a second sound unit located below the upper surface and configured to output sound by vibrating a vibration layer (i.e. as seen in figure 14C the second unit 200 is seen next to the center located below the upper surface of the unit 100) (see Fig. 14C, [0271]).
As to claim 10, Kim teaches the display device of claim 7, further comprising a second sensing unit located below the second side surface and configured to sense a current value or a voltage value depending on a force applied to the second force sensing unit (i.e. on the right side of the 100 device of figure 14C also contains sensing electrode for sensing either current value or a voltage value depending on the user touch force on the display surface) (see Fig. 2, 14C, [0082, 0271]).
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claims 1-20 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. The prior art Kho et al. (US Pub: 2019/0122018 A1) is cited to teach another type of sensing array of sound based detect display system in figures 1-5 embodiments.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to CALVIN C. MA whose telephone number is (571)270-1713. The examiner can normally be reached 8:00AM-5:00PM.
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/CALVIN C MA/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2629 May 12, 2026
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