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, 8, 15 and 16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Xu et. al. (US Pub. No. 2020/0285330 A1).
As to claim 1, Xu shows a touch panel (i.e. touch screen, Fig. 4 and para. 39), comprising: a mesh electrode layer (Figs. 4 and 11 and paras. 39 and 49), comprising a first touch electrode (middle 111, for example, Fig. 4 and para. 39), a second touch electrode (leftmost 111 or rightmost 111, for example, Fig. 4 and para. 39) and a first dummy electrode (30, Fig. 4 and para. 41) which are insulated from one another (Fig. 11 and para. 49), and a plurality of first breaks (corresponding to touch line 10, for example, Fig. 4 and para. 39), any two of the first touch electrode, the second touch electrode and the first dummy electrode having a part of the first breaks provided therebetween (Fig. 4 and para. 39), wherein adjacent first breaks of the plurality of first breaks are arranged to form a dummy pattern (Fig. 4 and para. 41), the dummy pattern comprising a plurality of polyline-shaped dummy repeating units (Fig. 4).
As to claim 2, Xu shows that the dummy repeating unit comprises a first dummy polyline unit and a second dummy polyline unit connected end to end (Fig. 4 and para. 41), and the dummy repeating unit is a W-like pattern (Fig. 4 and para. 41).
As to claim 3, Xu shows that the number of first breaks distributed in the dummy repeating unit is 4 to 20 (Fig. 4 and para. 41).
As to claim 4, Xu shows that the number of first breaks in the first dummy polyline unit is the same as the number of first breaks in the second dummy polyline unit (Fig. 4 and para. 41); and a distribution density of the first breaks in the first dummy polyline unit is the same as a distribution density of all the first breaks in the second dummy polyline unit (Fig. 4 and para. 41).
As to claim 5, Xu shows that the number of first breaks in the first dummy polyline unit is 6 to 10 (Fig. 4 and para. 41).
As to claim 8, Xu shows that the mesh electrode layer comprises a plurality of conductive mesh lines (Figs. 4 and 11 and paras. 41 and 49); and the plurality of adjacent first breaks comprise a first break disposed at a vertex of a corresponding cell within the plurality of conductive mesh lines (Fig. 4), and another first break disposed at a midpoint of a side of a corresponding cell within the plurality of conductive mesh lines (Fig. 4).
As to claim 15, Xu shows a touch display panel (paras. 36 and 37), comprising a touch panel (i.e. touch screen, Fig. 4 and para. 39), comprising: a mesh electrode layer (Figs. 4 and 11 and paras. 39 and 49), comprising a first touch electrode (middle 111, for example, Fig. 4 and para. 39), a second touch electrode (leftmost 111 or rightmost 111, for example, Fig. 4 and para. 39) and a first dummy electrode (30, Fig. 4 and para. 41) which are insulated from one another (Fig. 11 and para. 49), and a plurality of first breaks (corresponding to touch line 10, for example, Fig. 4 and para. 39), any two of the first touch electrode, the second touch electrode and the first dummy electrode having a part of the first breaks provided therebetween (Fig. 4 and para. 39), wherein adjacent first breaks of the plurality of first breaks are arranged to form a dummy pattern (Fig. 4 and para. 41), the dummy pattern comprising a plurality of polyline-shaped dummy repeating units (Fig. 4), wherein the touch display panel further comprises a display panel stacked with the touch panel (paras. 36 and 37).
As to claim 16, Xu shows a display device (paras. 36 and 37), comprising a touch display panel (i.e. touch screen, Fig. 4 and paras. 36, 37 and 39), comprising: a mesh electrode layer (Figs. 4 and 11 and paras. 39 and 49), comprising a first touch electrode (middle 111, for example, Fig. 4 and para. 39), a second touch electrode (leftmost 111 or rightmost 111, for example, Fig. 4 and para. 39) and a first dummy electrode (30, Fig. 4 and para. 41) which are insulated from one another (Fig. 11 and para. 49), and a plurality of first breaks (corresponding to touch line 10, for example, Fig. 4 and para. 39), any two of the first touch electrode, the second touch electrode and the first dummy electrode having a part of the first breaks provided therebetween (Fig. 4 and para. 39), wherein adjacent first breaks of the plurality of first breaks are arranged to form a dummy pattern (Fig. 4 and para. 41), the dummy pattern comprising a plurality of polyline-shaped dummy repeating units (Fig. 4), wherein the touch display panel further comprises a display panel stacked with the touch panel (paras. 36 and 37).
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 6, 7, and 9 – 11, 13 and 14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Xu in view of He et al. (US Pub. No. 2022/0197439 A1).
As to claim 6, Xu does not show that the number of first breaks in the first dummy polyline unit is different from the number of first breaks in the second dummy polyline unit.
He shows that show that a number of first breaks in a first polyline unit is different from the number of first breaks in a second polyline unit (Fig. 6A and para. 95).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of filing to modify the teachings of Xu with those of He because designing the system in this way allows the device to improve sensitivity (para. 97).
As to claim 7, Xu shows that the number of first breaks in the second dummy polyline unit is 4 to 10 (Fig. 4).
Xu does not show that the number of first breaks in the first dummy polyline unit is 2 to 4.
He shows that a number breaks in a polyline unit is 2 to 4 (Fig. 6A and para. 95).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of filing to modify the teachings of Xu with those of He because designing the system in this way allows the device to improve sensitivity (para. 97).
As to claim 9, Xu shows that the dummy repeating unit comprises dummy line segments (Fig. 4), and each dummy line segment comprises three first breaks, the three first breaks being respectively located at two opposite vertices of at least two adjacent cells spanned by the dummy line segment, and at a midpoint of a shared side of the two adjacent cells (Fig. 4).
Xu does not show that the plurality of first breaks in the dummy line segments being arranged along a diagonal line of a pattern formed by at least two adjacent cells.
He shows that a plurality of breaks in the electrode line segments are arranged along a diagonal line of a pattern formed by at least two adjacent cells (Fig. 6A).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of filing to modify the teachings of Xu with those of He because designing the system in this way allows the device to improve sensitivity (para. 97).
As to claim 10, Xu shows that the first touch electrode comprises a plurality of electrically connected first sub-electrodes (Fig. 4 and para. 39), the second touch electrode comprises a plurality of electrically connected second sub-electrodes (Fig. 4 and para. 39), parts of the plurality of conductive mesh lines of the first sub-electrodes, the second sub-electrodes and the first dummy electrodes having a plurality of second breaks provided thereon (Fig. 4 and paras. 39 – 41).
As to claim 11, Xu shows does not show that a distribution density of the second breaks close to the first breaks is greater than a distribution density of the second breaks remote from the first breaks; and the number of second breaks in a plurality of adjacent cells close to the first breaks is greater than the number of second breaks in a plurality of adjacent cells remote from the first breaks.
He shows that show that a distribution density of the breaks close to first breaks is greater than a distribution density of second breaks remote from the first breaks (Fig. 6A); and a number of second breaks in a plurality of adjacent cells close to the first breaks is greater than the number of second breaks in a plurality of adjacent cells remote from the first breaks (Fig. 6A).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of filing to modify the teachings of Xu with those of He because designing the system in this way allows the device to improve sensitivity (para. 97).
As to claim 13, Xu shows that a plurality of second dummy electrodes are provided in a first sub-electrode (Fig. 4 and para. 39), and the second dummy electrodes are insulated from the first sub-electrode (Fig. 11 and para. 49).
As to claim 14, Xu shows that a plurality of second dummy electrodes are provided in a second sub-electrode (Fig. 4 and para. 39), and the second dummy electrodes are insulated from the second sub-electrode (Fig. 11 and para. 49).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 12 is 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.
Specifically, claim 12 recites that “…the number of second breaks distributed in a square pattern formed by every four adjacent cells close to the first breaks is 5 to 8; and the number of second breaks distributed in a square pattern formed by every four adjacent cells remote from the first breaks is 0 to 4.”
The prior art does not show this configuration; therefore this claim contains allowable subject matter.
CONCLUSION
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/CARL ADAMS/Examiner, Art Unit 2627
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