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. 10-2024-0193950, filed on 12/23/2024 in Korea.
Information Disclosure Statement
The IDS filed on 04/30/2025 has been considered and made of record.
Oath/Declaration
The oath/declaration filed on 04/30/2025 is acceptable.
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 and 3-6 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lee [US 2017/0006738], in view of Kim et al. [US 2021/0288282] and Zhang et al. [US 2016/0204366].
Regarding claim 1, Lee et al., disclose a display apparatus (100, figures 1-15) comprising:
a display panel (151, figures 8a-8b) including an active area (a center area 151, figures 1-3 and 5-6) and a non-active area (a periphery of the center area 151 where is mounted a heat plate 210, figures 5-6);
a driving chip (1512, figures 5-6 and 8a-8b) disposed on the display panel in the non-active area (figures 5-6 and 8a-8b);
a metal plate (105, figures 8a-8b) disposed under the display panel;
a bending metal plate (210, figures 8a-8b) of which one side is disposed on the driving chip (1512, figures 8a-8b) and the other side is disposed under the first adhesive layer and which is bent in a bending area (213, figures 8a-8b);
a printed circuit board (186, figures 8a-8b) disposed under the bending metal plate (213, figures 8a-8b).
Lee et al., disclose the claimed invention except for a first adhesive layer disposed under the metal plate; and a bending insulating layer of which one side is disposed on one side of the bending metal plate and the other side is disposed under the printed circuit board and which is bent to surround the bending metal plate outward in the bending area.
Kim et al., disclose a display device (DD, figures 1-10) comprising at least one adhesive layer (CAF, figure 9) and wherein the adhesive layer is used to connect between a metal layer (MS, figure 9) and a printed circuit board (MCB, figure 9).
It would have been to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to use an adhesive layer to connect between a metal plate and a printed circuit board in a display device of Lee et al., as suggested by Kim et al., in order to provide a heat dissipation from a printed circuit board in a display device.
Zhang et al., disclose a display device (10, figures 1-12), comprising a bent assembly (14B, figure 8) including a bending metal layer (74, figure 8), wherein the bending metal layer is enclosed by an outer insulation layer (E2, figure 8).
It would have been to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to use an insulation material to cover a bending metal in a display device of Lee et al., in view of Kim et al., as suggested by Zhang et al., in order to protect a bending metal surface in a display device.
It would have been to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to set a bending insulating layer of which one side is disposed on one side of the bending metal plate and the other side is disposed under the printed circuit board and which is bent to surround the bending metal plate outward in the bending area, in a display device of Lee et al., in view of Kim et al., and Zhang et al., in order to provide an electrical isolation and friction reduction in a display device, since it has been held that rearranging parts of an invention involves only routine skill in the art. In re Japikse, 86 USPQ 70.
Regarding claim 3, Lee et al., in view of Kim et al., and Zhang et al., disclose the claimed invention except for wherein the metal plate includes copper.
Lee et al., in view of Kim et al., and Zhang et al., disclose wherein the bending metal plate includes copper (paragraph 0148).
It would have been to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to use copper to make a metal plate in a display device of Lee et al., in view of Kim et al., and Zhang et al., in order to provide exceptional electrical and thermal conductivity at a low cost for a display device.
Regarding claim 4, Lee et al., in view of Zhang et al., disclose the claimed invention except for wherein the first adhesive layer includes a fixing tape.
Kim et al., further disclose wherein the first adhesive layer includes a fixing tape (CAF is a fixing tape).
It would have been to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to use a fixing tape for a first adhesive layer in a display device of Lee et al., in view of Zhang et al., as suggested by Kim et al., in order to provide pressure-sensitive adhesive layer in a display device.
Regarding claim 5, Lee et al., in view of Zhang et al., disclose the claimed invention except for a second adhesive layer disposed on the display panel in the active area; and a cover member disposed in the active area and the non-active area on the second adhesive layer.
Kim et al., further disclose a second adhesive layer (an adhesive layer may use at a cover member WM, paragraph 0051) disposed on the display panel in the active area; and a cover member (WM, figure 9) disposed in the active area and the non-active area on the second adhesive layer.
It would have been to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to use a second an adhesive layer in a display of Lee et al., in view of Zhang et al., as suggested by Kim et al., in order to secure a display panel and a cover member in a display device.
Regarding claim 6, Lee et al., in view of Kim et al., and Zhang et al., disclose wherein the printed circuit board includes a chip area corresponding to the driving chip, a ground area surrounding the chip area, and a base substrate (figures 5-6 and 8a-8b).
Claim 2 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lee et al., in view of Kim et al., and Zhang et al., as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Park et al. [KR10-2023-0036600].
Regarding claim 2, Lee et al., in view of Kim et al., and Zhang et al., disclose the claimed invention except for wherein the bending insulating layer has grooves formed at regular intervals in the bending area.
Park et al., disclose a display device (ED, figures 1-13) comprising at least one a bending insulation layer (CIC-B1, figures 6a-6b) to use within the display device, wherein the bending insulating layer has grooves (GR!, figures 6a-6B) formed at regular intervals in the bending area.
It would have been to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to set a plurality of grooves on an insulation layer of a display device of Lee et al., in view of Kim et al., and Zhang et al., as suggested by Park et al., in order to reduce mechanical stress and increase flexibility in a flexible’s bending section in a display device.
Claims 7-8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lee et al., in view of Kim et al., and Zhang et al., as applied to claims 1 and 7 above, and further in view of Kim et al. [2016/0195969] (Hereinafter, Kim et al. [969]).
Regarding claim 7, Lee et al., in view of Kim et al., and Zhang et al., disclose the claimed invention except for wherein the printed circuit board has a plurality of through holes formed in a base substrate in the bending area.
Kim et al. [969] disclose a display device (10, figures 1-12) comprising a printed circuit board (210, figure 4), wherein the printed circuit board has a plurality of through holes (25 & 26, figure 4) formed in a base substrate in a bending area (a bottom area of the substrate 210, figure 4).
It would have been to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to have a plurality of through holes on a substrate in a display device of Lee et al., in view of Kim et al., and Zhang et al., as suggested by Kim et al. [969], in order to provide electrical connections through a substrate in a display device.
Regarding claim 8, Lee et al., in view of Kim et al., and Zhang et al., disclose the claimed invention except for wherein each of the plurality of through holes has an elliptical shape in which a diameter of one side is larger than that of the other side.
Kim et al.[969] disclose wherein each of the plurality of through holes has a cylindrical shape in which a diameter of one side is the same the other diameter side.
It would have been an obvious matter of design choice to set a counterbore/countersink for each through hole on a substrate, instead of setting a cylinder, for a display device of Lee et al., in view of Kim et al., and Zhang et al., as suggested by Kim et al. [969], in order to easily installation a bending portion in a display device, since such a modification would have involved the use of a combination that only unites old elements with no change in the respective functions of those old elements, and the combination of those elements yields predictable results; absent evidence that the modifications necessary to effect the combination of elements is uniquely challenging or difficult for one of ordinary skill in the art, the claim is unpatentable as obvious under 35 U.S.C. 103(a). Ex Parte Smith, 83 USPQ.2d at 1518-19 (BPAI, 2007) (citing KSR, 127 S.Ct. at 1740, 82 USPQ2d at1396.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure:
BAEK [US 2019/0206898] discloses display device; and
SHI et al. [US 2024/0298483] disclose display apparatus and manufacturing method thereof.
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
