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 § 102
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.
Claims 1, 5-6 and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Hsu et al. (US 2024/0027811, cited by applicant in the IDS filed on October 1, 2025).
As to claim 1, Hsu discloses in Figures 1A and 1B a dual-sided display (see paragraph [0043]), comprising a first surface (100s) and a second surface (200s) opposite to the first surface (see Figure 1A); a first display panel (100) configured to display an image of the first surface (see paragraph [0045]); a second display panel (200) configured to display an image of the second surface (see paragraph [0046]); and a backlight module (400a) disposed between the first display panel and the second display panel to provide light sources for the first display panel and the second display panel (see Figure 1A and paragraph [0070]), wherein the backlight module comprises: a light guide plate (410); a light emitting element (light source 420) configured to provide the light source and disposed adjacent to one side of the light guide plate (see Figure 1B and paragraph [0072]); and a peep-proof element (crossed brightness enhancement film 454) configured to adjust a light emission angle of a display light (see paragraph [0082]) and disposed between the light guide plate and the second display panel (see Figure 1B).
As to claim 5, Hsu discloses all of the elements of the claimed invention discussed above regarding claim 1. Furthermore, the backlight module 400a of the dual-sided display of Hsu further comprises a first diffusion sheet (first upper diffusion sheet 442) disposed between the first display panel and the light guide plate (see Figure 1B and paragraph [0081]).
As to claim 6, Hsu discloses all of the elements of the claimed invention discussed above regarding claim 6. Furthermore, the backlight module 400a of the dual-sided display of Hsu further comprises a second diffusion sheet (first lower diffusion sheet 432) and a third diffusion sheet (second lower diffusion sheet 434), wherein the light guide plate is disposed between the second diffusion sheet and the third diffusion sheet, and the second diffusion sheet is disposed between the first diffusion sheet and the third diffusion sheet (see Figure 1B and paragraphs [0080] - [0081]).
As to claim 20, Hsu discloses all of the elements of the claimed invention discussed above regarding claim 1. Furthermore, the light emitting element 420 is an edge-type light emitting element (see Figure 1B).
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.
Claims 2 and 14-19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hsu et al. (US 2024/0027811).
As to claim 2, Hsu discloses all of the elements of the claimed invention discussed above regarding claim 1, but does not disclose touch layers. However, touch functionality is well known in the art of displays panels, and a skilled person, who wants to provide simpler input means, would obviously consider to implement a touch layer on top of the display panels 100 and 200 of the dual-sided display of Hsu or as well as on the top of display panels 11 and 12 of the dual-sided display of D2. 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 Hsu by providing a touch layer on top of the display panels 100 and 200 in order to provide touch functionality for simpler input means.
As to claims 14-16, Hsu discloses all of the elements of the claimed invention discussed above regarding claim 1, but does not disclose an RGB-IR image sensor disposed on one side of the second display panel. However, the use of RGB-IR image sensors, such as cameras in the visible or IR region, is well known in the art of displays and would obviously considered by a skilled person for the dual-sided displays of Hsu if circumstances require it. 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 Hsu by providing an RGB-IR image sensor disposed on one side of the second display panel because it was a matter of design choice.
As to claims 17-18, Hsu discloses all of the elements of the claimed invention discussed above regarding claim 1, but does not disclose an AIO host (all-in-one computer) coupled to the first display panel and the second display panel, and a playback box coupled to the second display panel. However, an AIO host (all-in-one computer) and a playback box are well known electronic devices that are commonly coupled to displays. 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 Hsu by coupling an AIO host (all-in-one computer) to the first display panel and the second display panel and a playback box to the second display panel because it was conventional.
As to claim 19, Hsu discloses all of the elements of the claimed invention discussed above regarding claim 2, but does not disclose a casing directly bonded to the first touch layer and the second touch layer. However, it was well known to provide a casing to enclose and protect the various display components. 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 Hsu by providing a casing directly bonded to the first touch layer and the second touch layer in order to enclose and protect the various display components.
Claims 3-4 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hsu et al. (US 2024/0027811) in view of Hwang et al. (US 2020/0233457, cited by applicant in the IDS filed on October 1, 2025).
As to claim 3, Hsu discloses all of the elements of the claimed invention discussed above regarding claim 2. Furthermore, the use of a cover plate 312a is disclosed in Hsu (see Figures 1A, 1B and 1C) for the first display panel 100 and would obviously also be provided in the same manner for the second display panel 200 if needed. The cover plate 312a is of the same size as the display panel 100 so that the coverage area would obviously be equal to the area of an added touch layer. Claim 3 further differs from such a modified dual-sided display of Hsu in that the cover plate comprises an antibacterial structure. The cover plate 312a is meant to reduce the influence of the external environment on internal components of the first display panel 100 by having effects such as dustproof, anti-scratch, and water-proof (see paragraph [0050]). However, front coating layers having antibacterial properties on a cover of a display panel are known from Hwang (see paragraph [0091]). It appears to be an obvious option for a skilled person, who wants to use the dual-sided display of Hsu in an environment which is critical with regard to bacteria (e.g. a surgery room), to apply an antibacterial coating layer such as disclosed in Hwang on the cover 312a of the dual-sided display of Hsu. 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 Hsu by providing the first cover plate and/or the second cover plate with the antibacterial coating layer of Hwang in order to provide a dual-sided display in an environment which is critical with regard to bacterial such as a surgery room.
As to claim 4, Hsu discloses all of the elements of the claimed invention discussed above regarding claim 3. Furthermore, the antibacterial coating of Hwang is an antibacterial film which would be applied on an outer side of the cover plater 312a of the dual-sided display of Hsu, i.e. on a side away from the added touch layer.
Claim 7 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hsu et al. (US 2024/0027811) in view of Mao et al. (CN 113341614 A, cited by applicant in the IDS filed on October 1, 2025).
Hsu discloses all of the elements of the claimed invention discussed above regarding claim 6, but does not disclose prism sheets. However, prism sheets are well known in the art of dual-sided display backlights (see e.g. Mao, Figure 1: 7, 8). In Mao, the prism sheets 7, 8, are arranged between the two diffusers 6, 9. This arrangement improves the brightness gain and the viewing angle (see paragraphs [0022] and [0024]). A skilled person would thus obviously consider applying the teaching of Mao by positioning prism sheets between the diffusers 432 and 442 of the dual-sided display of Hsu as well as between diffusers 434 and 444, and specifically between diffuser 434 and crossed brightness enhancement film 454 in order not to interfere with the function of the crossed brightness enhancement film 454. 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 Hsu prism sheets between the first and second diffusion sheets and between the third diffusion sheet and the peep-proof element in order to improve the brightness gain and the viewing angle.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 8-13 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: none of the prior art taught or fairly suggested a dual-sided display comprising the combination required by claim 8, wherein the backlight module further comprises: a dual brightness enhancement film disposed between the second prism sheet and the peep- proof element. Claim 9 is objected to by virtue of its dependency.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: none of the prior art taught or fairly suggested a dual-sided display comprising the combination required by claim 10, wherein the peep-proof element comprises a switchable peep-proof panel. Claims 11-13 are objected to by virtue of their dependency.
Conclusion
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/DAVID Y CHUNG/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2871
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