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 Objections
Claim 10 is objected to because of the following informalities: “the electrophoretic display” is recited when there is no such element recited.
Appropriate correction is required.
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, 2, 5, 6, 10-16, 19, and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Paek et al. (KR 20140074779 A, hereafter Paek, using machine translation) in view of Takahara (JP 2004302478 A, using machine translation).
Regarding claim 1, Paek teaches a reflective color display, comprising:
a first substrate (120) comprising a first face and a second face, a thin film transistor layer (111/115/116) arranged on the second face and comprising a plurality of thin film transistors, and a pixel electrode layer (118) arranged on the second face and comprising a plurality of pixel electrodes (Fig. 2, [0028]-[0032], where pixel electrode 118 and the TFT comprised of electrodes 111/115/116 are disposed on the first substrate 120);
a color filter layer (144) comprising a plurality of color filter units, each of the color filter units being formed by a filtering color block, or a plurality of filter color blocks stacked to each other (Fig. 2, [0043], where there is a plurality of RGB color filters);
wherein the plurality of filter units are corresponding to at least three different colors, wherein within a visible light range of 380nm~780nm (Fig. 2, [0043], where there is a plurality of RGB color filters);
a second substrate (140) comprising a third face and a fourth face (Fig. 2, [0043]); and
a display material layer (160) sandwiched between the first substrate and the second substrate, the display material layer being filled with a colloidal solution containing charged color particles (164, 165) of at least one color (Fig. 2, [0037]-[0038], where the color particles may be black and white, RGB, CMY, etc.).
Regarding claim 2, the combination of Paek and Takahara would show the reflective display device of claim 1. Paek further teaches the display wherein the colloidal solution comprises charged white particles and charged black particles (Fig. 2, [0037]-[0038], where the color particles may be black and white).
Regarding claim 5, the combination of Paek and Takahara would show the reflective display of claim 1. Paek teaches the display wherein the plurality of pixel electrodes are made of a transparent conductive material, and the first substrate is a transparent substrate ([0061], [0071], where the pixel electrodes are formed of a transparent conductive material and where the substrate 120 is made of a transparent material such as glass).
Regarding claim 6, the combination of Paek and Takahara would show the reflective display of claim 1. Paek further teaches the display wherein the color filter layer is arranged on the first substrate, and a viewing surface of the color display is the first face of the first substrate (Fig. 2, where the color filter 144 is on the first substrate 120 by way of the intervening layers, the first surface of first substrate 120 being the viewing direction).
Regarding claim 10, the combination of Paek and Takahara would show the reflective color display of claim 5. Paek further teaches the display wherein an aperture ratio of the first substrate of the electrophoretic display is not less than 70% along a direction looking from the first face of the first substrate into a display area of the electrophoretic display ([0032]-[0033], where the display features an improved aperture ratio by way of formation of the pixel electrode).
Regarding claim 11, the combination of Paek and Takahara would show the reflective color display of claim 5. Paek further teaches the display wherein charges on the plurality of pixel electrodes attract 2 the charged color particles with different polarity charges to accumulate on a surface of the display material layer close to the plurality of pixel electrodes, thereby forming an image on a viewing surface (Figs. 1 and 3, [0048]-[0050, where the operation of the charged particles to form an image is described).
Regarding claim 12, the combination of Paek and Takahara would show the color display in claim 1. Paek further teaches the display wherein the display material layer comprises a plurality of hollow cavities formed by micro compartments arranged on the first substrate, and the colloidal solution containing the charged color particles is filled in each of the hollow cavities (Figs. 1 and 3, [0003], [0031]-[0033], where an electrophoretic display comprises charged particles immersed in a colloid solution).
Regarding claim 13, Paek teaches a reflective color display, comprising:
a first substrate (120) comprising a first face and a second face, a thin film transistor layer (111/115/116) arranged on the second face and comprising a plurality of thin film transistors, and a pixel electrode layer (118) arranged on the second face and comprising a plurality of pixel electrodes (Fig. 2, [0028]-[0032], where pixel electrode 118 and the TFT comprised of electrodes 111/115/116 are disposed on the first substrate 120);
a color filter layer (144) comprising a plurality of color filter units, each of the color filter units being formed by a filtering color block, or a plurality of filter color blocks stacked to each other (Fig. 2, [0043], where there is a plurality of RGB color filters);
wherein the plurality of color filter units are corresponding to at least three different colors, wherein within a visible light range of 380nm~780nm (Fig. 2, [0043], where there is a plurality of RGB color filters);
a second substrate (140) comprising a third face and a fourth face (Fig. 2, [0043]); and
a display material layer (160) sandwiched between the first substrate and the second substrate, the display material layer being filled with a liquid crystal material ([0039], where the material used is a liquid polymer).
But, Paek does not explicitly teach the reflective color display wherein at least two color filter units of different colors have full widths at half maximum more than 150nm. However, this was well known in the art as evidenced by Takahara (Figs. 142-144, [0587]-[0589], where the color filter layer includes a color purity improving layer 1412 having a first dielectric multilayer film 1422 and second dielectric multilayer film 1423 [i.e., two color filter units] both of which filter colors at half width for wavelength ranges greater than 150 nm, the first being 550 to 600 nm and the second being 475 to 505 nm). Both Paek and Takahara teach reflective display devices. Paek is silent with respect to the use of color filter layers having the optical characteristics of reflecting light at a particular half width. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate the filters of Takahara into the device of Paek so as to improve color purity.
Regarding claim 14, the combination of Paek and Takahara would show the reflective color display in claim 13. Paek further teaches the display wherein the plurality of pixel electrodes are made of a non-transparent metal material ([0031]-[0032], where the pixel electrodes are formed of an opaque metal).
Regarding claim 15, the combination of Paek and Takahara would show the reflective color display in claim 13. Paek further teaches the display wherein the plurality of pixel electrodes are made of transparent conductive material, the first substrate is a transparent substrate, and the reflective color display further comprises a light reflection layer ([0061], [0071], where the pixel electrodes are formed of a transparent conductive material and where the substrate 120 is made of a transparent material such as glass; [0037]-[0039], where there is a reflective display, the particles in the suspension being a light reflection layer).
Regarding claim 16, the combination of Paek and Takahara would show the reflective color display in claim 15. Paek further teaches teach the display wherein the light reflection layer is arranged on a side of the first substrate facing away from the pixel electrode layer ([0037]-[0039], where there is a reflective display, the particles in the suspension being a light reflection layer and facing away from the electrode).
Regarding claim 19, the combination of Paek and Takahara would show the reflective color display in claim 13. Paek further teaches the display wherein a gap is present between the color filter units in the color filter layer (Fig. 2, [0031], where there is a partition 180 that is a gap between color filter units).
Regarding claim 20, the combination of Paek and Takahara would show the reflective color display in claim 13. Paek further teaches the display wherein the color filter layer is arranged on the second substrate (Fig. 2, [0043], where the color filter layer 144 is on a surface of the second substrate 140).
Claims 3 and 4 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Paek et al. (KR 20140074779 A, hereafter Paek, using machine translation) in view of Takahara (JP 2004302478 A, using machine translation) and Joo (KR 20120056246 A, using machine translation).
Regarding claim 3, the combination of Paek and Takahara would show the reflective display of claim 1. But, the combination does not further teach the display wherein the colloidal solution comprises charged white particles and a black solution. However, this was well known in the art as evidenced by Joo ([0126], where white particles and a black substance are used). Both Paek and Joo teach reflective display devices. Paek is silent with respect to using charged white particles and a black solution. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate the teachings of Takahara into the device of Paek so as to improve white and black color display.
Regarding claim 4, the combination of Paek, Takahara, and Joo would show the reflective display of claim 3. Paek in the combination further teaches the reflective display wherein the color filter layer is arranged on the second substrate, and a viewing surface of the display is on the fourth face of the second substrate (Fig. 2, [0043], where the color filter layer 144 is on a surface of the second substrate 140).
Claims 7-9 and 21-23 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Paek et al. (KR 20140074779 A, hereafter Paek, using machine translation) in view of Takahara (JP 2004302478 A, using machine translation) and Nakamura et al. (KR 20110044292 A, hereafter Nakamura, using machine translation).
Regarding claim 7, the combination of Paek and Takahara would show the reflective display of claim 1. But, the combination does not teach the display wherein the filtering color blocks of the color filter layer include cyan filtering color blocks, magenta filtering color blocks, and yellow filtering color blocks. However, this was well known in the art as evidenced by Nakamura ([0005], [0013]-[0014], [0025], [0077], where the colored film may consist of yellow, magenta, and cyan as an alternative to red, green, and blue). Both Paek and Nakamura teach displays having color filter layers. Paek is silent with respect to the use of other color filter schemes. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to use either a CMY or RGB color scheme as taught by Nakamura in the device of Paek and such an implementation would have yielded a predictable result.
Regarding claim 8, the combination of Paek and Takahara would show the reflective display of claim 1. But, the combination does not teach the display wherein the filtering color blocks of the color filter layer include cyan filtering color blocks, magenta filtering color blocks, yellow filtering color blocks, and transparent filtering color blocks. However, this was well known in the art as evidenced by Nakamura ([0005], [0013]-[0014], [0025], [0077], [0103], where the colored film may consist of yellow, magenta, and cyan as an alternative to red, green, and blue and where the color filtering blocks also include transparent filters). Both Paek and Nakamura teach displays having color filter layers. Paek is silent with respect to the use of other color filter schemes but does teach the use of white pixels where color filter layers are not formed. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to use either a CMY or RGB color scheme as taught by Nakamura in the device of Paek and such an implementation would have yielded a predictable result.
Regarding claim 9, the combination of Paek and Takahara would show the reflective display of claim 1. But, the combination does not teach the display wherein the filtering color blocks of the color filter layer include cyan filtering color blocks, magenta filtering color blocks, yellow filtering color blocks, red filtering color blocks, green filtering color blocks and blue filtering color blocks. However, this was well known in the art as evidenced by Nakamura ([0005], [0013]-[0014], [0025], [0077], [0103], where the colored film may consist of yellow, magenta, and cyan in addition to or as an alernative to red, green, and blue). Both Paek and Nakamura teach displays having color filter layers. Paek is silent with respect to the use of other color filter schemes. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to use some combination of a CMY and RGB color scheme as taught by Nakamura in the device of Paek and such an implementation would have yielded a predictable result.
Regarding claim 21, the combination of Paek and Takahara would show the reflective color display in claim 13. But, the combination does not teach the display wherein the filtering color blocks of the color filter layer include cyan filtering color blocks, magenta filtering color blocks, and yellow filtering color blocks. However, this was well known in the art as evidenced by Nakamura ([0005], [0013]-[0014], [0025], [0077], where the colored film may consist of yellow, magenta, and cyan as an alternative to red, green, and blue). Both Paek and Nakamura teach displays having color filter layers. Paek is silent with respect to the use of other color filter schemes. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to use either a CMY or RGB color scheme as taught by Nakamura in the device of Paek and such an implementation would have yielded a predictable result.
Regarding claim 22, the combination of Paek and Takahara would show the reflective color display in claim 13. But, the combination does not teach the display wherein the filtering color blocks of the color filter layer include cyan filtering color blocks, magenta filtering color blocks, yellow filtering color blocks, and transparent filtering color blocks. However, this was well known in the art as evidenced by Nakamura ([0005], [0013]-[0014], [0025], [0077], [0103], where the colored film may consist of yellow, magenta, and cyan as an alternative to red, green, and blue and where the color filtering blocks also include transparent filters). Both Paek and Nakamura teach displays having color filter layers. Paek is silent with respect to the use of other color filter schemes but does teach the use of white pixels where color filter layers are not formed. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to use either a CMY or RGB color scheme as taught by Nakamura in the device of Paek and such an implementation would have yielded a predictable result.
Regarding claim 23, the combination of Paek and Takahara would show the reflective color display in claim 13. But, the combination does not teach the display wherein the filtering color blocks of the color filter layer include cyan filtering color blocks, magenta filtering color blocks, yellow filtering color blocks, red filtering color blocks, green filtering color blocks and blue filtering color blocks. However, this was well known in the art as evidenced by Nakamura ([0005], [0013]-[0014], [0025], [0077], [0103], where the colored film may consist of yellow, magenta, and cyan in addition to or as an alernative to red, green, and blue). Both Paek and Nakamura teach displays having color filter layers. Paek is silent with respect to the use of other color filter schemes. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to use some combination of a CMY and RGB color scheme as taught by Nakamura in the device of Paek and such an implementation would have yielded a predictable result.
Claims 17 and 18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Paek et al. (KR 20140074779 A, hereafter Paek, using machine translation) in view of Takahara (JP 2004302478 A, using machine translation) and Sakaigawa et al. (US 20160163271 A1, hereafter Sakaigawa).
Regarding claim 17, the combination of Paek and Takahara would show the reflective color display in claim 15. But, the combination does not explicitly teach the display wherein the light reflection layer is arranged between the first substrate and the pixel electrode layer. However, this was well known in the art as evidenced by Sakaigawa (Fig. 3, [0053], where a reflection layer is formed on substrate 38 below light modulation layer 36). Both Paek and Sakaigawa teach reflective displays. Paek is silent with respect to an additional reflection layer disposed between electrodes and the substrate. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate the reflection layer of Sakaigawa in Paek so as to increase the amount of reflected light passing through the color filters.
Regarding claim 18, the combination of Paek and Takhara would show the reflective color display in claim 13. But, the combination does not further teach the display comprising a polarizing layer arranged on the second substrate. However, this was well known in the art as evidenced by Sakaigawa (Fig. 3, [0050]-[0051], where there is a polarization plate 31). Both Paek and Sakaigawa teach reflective display devices. Paek is silent with respect to the addition of a polarization layer. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to add a polarization layer to the reflective display device to improve reflective display performance (Sakaigawa [0052]).
Claims 24, 26, and 27 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Paek et al. (KR 20140074779 A, hereafter Paek, using machine translation) in view of Nakamura et al. (KR 20110044292 A, hereafter Nakamura, using machine translation) and Bouchard (US 20090237776 A1).
Regarding claim 24, Paek teaches a method for operating reflective color display, the reflective color display comprising a display material layer (160), a pixel electrode layer (118) and a color filter layer (144), the pixel electrode layer comprising a plurality of pixel electrodes, pixels of the color display being defined by the plurality of pixel electrodes, the color filter layer comprising a plurality of color filter units, each color filter unit comprising one or more filtering color blocks (Fig. 2, [0028]-[0032]).
But, Paek does not explicitly teach the reflective color display further wherein the plurality of color filter units comprises at least cyan, magenta and yellow color filter units. However, this was well known in the art as evidenced by Nakamura ([0005], [0013]-[0014], [0025], [0077], where the colored film may consist of yellow, magenta, and cyan as an alternative to red, green, and blue). Both Paek and Nakamura teach displays having color filter layers. Paek is silent with respect to the use of other color filter schemes. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to use either a CMY or RGB color scheme as taught by Nakamura in the device of Paek and such an implementation would have yielded a predictable result.
But, the combination of Paek and Nakamura does not teach the method comprising:
(a) reading original displayed RGB parameter values for a pixel;
(b) setting the original displayed RGB parameter values to values C1, C2, and C3 from large to small, where the value C1 is a maximum value, the value C3 is a minimum value, and the value C2 is a middle value;
(c) calculating white basic amount, CMY component, and RGB component based on the values C1, C2, and C3;
(d) calculating displayed CMY display parameter values based on the white basic amount, the CMY component, and the RGB component; and
(e) driving the corresponding pixel electrode layer based on the displayed CMY display parameter values to control relative brightnesses of the cyan, magenta, and yellow color filter units.
However, this was well known in the art as evidenced by Bouchard, where Bouchard teaches the method comprising:
(a) reading original displayed RGB parameter values for a pixel ([0061], where RGB values for a pixel are provided);
(b) setting the original displayed RGB parameter values to values C1, C2, and C3 from large to small, where the value C1 is a maximum value, the value C3 is a minimum value, and the value C2 is a middle value ([0061]-[0062], where the RGB values are concerted to estimated intermediate values);
(c) calculating white basic amount, CMY component, and RGB component based on the values C1, C2, and C3 ([0061]-[0063], where estimated CMY values are further converted);
(d) calculating displayed CMY display parameter values based on the white basic amount, the CMY component, and the RGB component ([0061]-[0064], where the display CMY values are calculated; [0066], where the white amount is also calculated); and
(e) driving the corresponding pixel electrode layer based on the displayed CMY display parameter values to control relative brightnesses of the cyan, magenta, and yellow color filter units ([0067]-[0069], where the image is output using the calculated CMY values).
Both Paek and Bouchard teach electrophoretic displays. Paek is silent with respect to converting input RGB image values to CMY color filter pixel values. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to implement the display of Paek with CMY color filters using the conversion method of Bouchard and such an implementation would have yielded a predictable result.
Regarding claim 26, the combination of Paek, Nakamura, and Bouchard would show the method for operating reflective color display in claim 24. Paek further teaches the method wherein the display material layer is electrophoretic display layer ([0034]-[0035], where the display uses an electrophoretic material).
Regarding claim 27, the combination of Paek, Nakamura and Bouchard would show the method for operating reflective color display in claim 24. Paek further teaches the method wherein the display material layer is liquid display layer ([0039], where the material used is a liquid polymer).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 25 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.
Conclusion
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/PETER D MCLOONE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2621