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 .
DETAILED ACTION
Examiner cites particular columns or paragraphs, and line numbers in the references as applied to the claims below for the convenience of the applicant. Although the specified citations are representative of the teachings in the art and are applied to the specific limitations within the individual claim, other passages and figures may apply as well. It is respectfully requested that, in preparing responses, the applicant fully consider the references in entirety as potentially teaching all or part of the claimed invention, as well as the context of the passage as taught by the prior art or disclosed by the examiner.
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 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.
Claim Objections
Claim 14 is objected to because of the following informalities: the claim recites “An electronic device may comprising” in line 21 of page 3, which appears to be “An electronic device [[may]] comprising”. Appropriate correction is required.
In addition, claim 14 recites: “execute a function corresponding to at least partial deformation of the display panel by the input, based on the data received from the display driver circuitry” in lines 7-8 of page 4, which appears to be “the at least one processor executes a function corresponding to at least partial deformation of the display panel by the input, based on the data received from the display driver circuitry”. Appropriate correction is required.
Claims 15-20 are objected based on their dependence from claim 14.
In addition, claim 17 is objected to because of the following informalities: the claim recites “Wherein the conductive materials is disposed in the folding part of the display panel” in line 5 of page 5, which appears to be “wherein the conductive materials are disposed in the folding part of the display panel”. Appropriate correction is required.
Claim 18 is additionally objected based on its dependence from claim 17.
In addition, claim 18 is objected to because of the following informalities: the claim recites “the conductive materials is disposed…” in line 7 of page 5, which appears to be “the conductive materials are disposed…”. Appropriate correction is required.
In addition, claim 19 is objected to because of the following informalities: the claim recites “…rollable into a housing the electronic device…” in line 13 of page 5, which appears to be “…rollable into a housing of the electronic device…”; “wherein the conductive materials is disposed…” in line 15 of page 5, which appears to be “wherein the conductive materials are disposed…”; and “… moved into the housing within the second part at least rollable…” in line 16 of page 5, which appears to be “… moved into the housing with the second part at least rollable…”. Appropriate corrections are required.
Claim 20 is additionally objected based on its dependence from claim 19.
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.
Claim(s) 1-5 and 11-13 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wang et al. (US 2014/0362304), in view of Gupta et al. (US 2021/0397281).
Regarding claim 1, Wang discloses an electronic device (see flat panel display device in Fig. 1) comprising:
a display panel, including sub pixels respectively including light emitting diodes (regarding Figs. 1-4, see display panel 100 including sub pixels 120 respectively including an organic light emitting diodes; para[0036]; para[0038]), a pixel definition layer (PDL) defining a layout of the sub pixels (see pixel defining layer 24 in Figs. 3-4; para[0049]; para[0054]; para[0058]-para[0060]), and conductive materials formed in a portion of the PDL, configured to be at least partially deformed based on an input (see in Figs. 2-4 “sensing device 140 includes a first electrode 142, a piezoelectric layer 144 and a second electrode 146” and is formed in a portion of the pixel defining layer 24; since “The resistance of the piezoelectric layer 144 is changed depending on the size of a pressure applied thereto in a state in which a predetermined voltage is applied to the first and second electrodes 142 and 146”, “Where the flat panel display device is bent or deformed at a position thereof”, “current or voltage values sensed by sensing devices 140 of the deformed portion are detected and analyzed, thereby detecting the bending position and shape of the flat panel display device”; para[0042]; para[0046]-para[0047]; para[0054]);
display driver circuitry configured to control the light emitting diodes to display an
image on the display panel (“Referring to FIG. 1, the flat panel display device includes a pixel unit 100 configured to display images, scan and data drivers 200 and 300 configured to provide signals for displaying the images”; para[0035]; para[0044]-para[0045]);
wherein the display driver circuitry is configured to generate data regarding a state of at least a portion of the conductive materials that are configured to be electrically connected to the display driver circuitry (“Referring to FIG. 1, the flat panel display device includes a pixel unit 100 configured to display images, scan and data drivers 200 and 300 configured to provide signals for displaying the images, and a sensing unit 400 configured to sense the bending position and shape of the flat panel display device”; see in Fig. 2 “first electrode 142 coupled to a first sensing line E1n, a piezoelectric layer 144 disposed on the first electrode 142, and… second electrode 146 disposed on the piezoelectric layer 144 and coupled to a second sensing line E2n”, the sensing lines connected to the sensing unit 400; “the sensing unit 400 may include a power supply circuit, a comparator, a logic circuit, etc. so as to perform the function described above”, and “the scan driver 200 and/or the data driver 300 may include a portion or an entire of the sensing unit 400”; para[0035]; para[0042]; para[0046]; para[0048]), and
executing a function corresponding to at least partial deformation of the display panel by the input, based on the data from the display driver circuitry (“the flat panel display device recognizes a user's command by sensing the shape of deformation caused by bending or touch applied to the flat panel display”; para[0042]; para[0046]-para[0047]; para[0061]).
However, Wang does not appear to expressly disclose memory comprising one or more storage media storing instructions; and at least one processor, comprising processing circuitry, wherein the display driver circuitry is configured to transmit to the at least one processor data regarding the state of the at least a portion of the conductive materials that are configured to be electrically connected to the display driver circuitry, and wherein the instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to execute the function corresponding to the at least partial deformation of the display panel by the input, based on the data received from the display driver circuitry.
Gupta discloses memory comprising one or more storage media storing instructions (see 1504 and 1506 in Fig. 15; para[0050]-para[0051]; para[0054]-para[0057]); and at least one processor, comprising processing circuitry (see 1502 in Fig. 15; para[0050]-para[0053]), wherein a display driver circuitry is configured to transmit to the at least one processor input data (e.g. display driver 306 in Fig. 3 transmits input data to logic processor 1502; para[0033]; para[0050]-para[0051]; para[0058]), and wherein the instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to execute a function corresponding to an input, based on the data received from the display driver circuitry (e.g. when an input is received in display panel 300 in Fig. 3 and logic processor 1502 executes a function corresponding to the input based on data received from display driver 306; para[0033]; para[0050]-para[0051]; para[0058]-para[0059]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to combine the teachings in Wang’s invention, with the teachings in Gupta’s invention, to have memory comprising one or more storage media storing instructions; and at least one processor, comprising processing circuitry, wherein the display driver circuitry is configured to transmit to the at least one processor data regarding the state of the at least a portion of the conductive materials that are configured to be electrically connected to the display driver circuitry, and wherein the instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to execute the function corresponding to the at least partial deformation of the display panel by the input, based on the data received from the display driver circuitry, for the advantage of realizing sequential, parallel, and/or distributed processing (para[0053]).
Regarding claim 2, Wang and Gupta disclose all the claim limitations as applied above (see claim 1). In addition, Wang discloses at least another portion of the conductive materials is electrically disconnected from the display driver circuitry (based on the broadest reasonable interpretation of the claimed limitations, see first electrodes 142 and second electrode 146 corresponding to the sub pixels 120 in Fig. 1, are electrically disconnected from e.g. the scan driver 200 and the data driver 300 parts of the claimed display driver circuitry).
Regarding claim 3, Wang and Gupta disclose all the claim limitations as applied above (see claim 1). In addition, Wang discloses the data indicates a resistance value of the at least a portion of the conductive materials (“The resistance of the piezoelectric layer 144 is changed depending on the size of a pressure applied thereto in a state in which a predetermined voltage is applied to the first and second electrodes 142 and 146”; para[0042]).
Regarding claim 4, Wang and Gupta disclose all the claim limitations as applied above (see claim 1). In addition, in the combination, Wang discloses the display driver circuitry is configured to: obtain the data based on applying voltage to the at least a portion of the conductive materials (“The resistance of the piezoelectric layer 144 is changed depending on the size of a pressure applied thereto in a state in which a predetermined voltage is applied to the first and second electrodes 142 and 146”; “Where the flat panel display device is bent or deformed at a position thereof, the sensing unit 400 senses a change in voltage or current which is sensed by a sensing device 140 at a corresponding position, thereby detecting the bending position and shape of the flat panel display device”; para[0042]; para[0046]-para[0047]); [and transmit, to at least one processor, the data, as shown by the combination with Gupta].
Regarding claim 5, Wang and Gupta disclose all the claim limitations as applied above (see claim 1). In addition, Wang discloses the display panel includes:
a switch layer including thin film transistors (TFTs) configured to electrically connect the display driver circuitry to a first electrode layer (see layers 14, 18 and 22 in Fig. 4, including thin film transistor T configured to connect the scan driver 200 and the data driver 300 in Fig. 1 to first electrode 122; para[0051]-para[0053]; para[0058]-para[0060]);
the PDL disposed on the switch layer (see pixel defining layer 24 disposed on planarization layer 22, as shown in Fig. 4);
the first electrode layer disposed between the PDL on the switch layer (see first electrode 122 disposed between the pixel defining layer 24 on planarization layer 22, as shown in Fig. 4);
a light emitting layer disposed between the PDL on the first electrode layer (see organic light emitting layer 124 disposed between the pixel defining layer 24 on the first electrode 122, as shown in Fig. 4); and
a second electrode layer disposed over the PDL and the light emitting layer (see second electrode 126 disposed over the pixel defining layer 24 and the organic light emitting layer 124, as shown in Fig. 4),
wherein the light emitting diodes are formed by the first electrode layer, the light
emitting layer, and the second electrode layer (see light emitting diodes 120 are formed by the first electrode 122, the organic light emitting layer 124, and the second electrode 126, as shown in Fig. 4), and
wherein the at least a portion of the conductive materials is configured to be electrically connected to the display driver circuitry via a wiring that is formed in the switch layer (regarding Figs. 1-2 and 4, see first electrode 142 provided in the planarization layer 22 coupled to sensing unit 400 through first sensing line E1n, para[0042]; para[0058]-para[0059]).
Regarding claim 11, Wang and Gupta disclose all the claim limitations as applied above (see claim 1). In addition, Wang discloses the conductive materials are patterned in the portion of the PDL (see in Figs. 2-4 “sensing device 140 includes a first electrode 142, a piezoelectric layer 144 and a second electrode 146” and is formed in a portion of the pixel defining layer 24; para[0054]; para[0058]).
Regarding claim 12, Wang and Gupta disclose all the claim limitations as applied above (see claim 1). In addition, Wang discloses the conductive materials include at least one of indium tin oxide (ITO) and/or conductive ink (para[0018]; para[0041]-para[0042]; para[0054]; para[0056]; para[0058]; see “The first sensing lines E11 to E1n and the second sensing lines E21 to E2n may include a transparent conductive material, e.g.,… indium tin oxide ("ITO")”, “sensing device 140 includes a first electrode 142 coupled to a first sensing line E1n, a piezoelectric layer 144 disposed on the first electrode 142, and a second electrode 146 disposed on the piezoelectric layer 144 and coupled to a second sensing line E2n”, and “The first electrode 142, the piezoelectric layer 144 and the second electrode 146 of the sensing device 140, may all include a transparent material”; accordingly, it is clear that first electrode 142 and second electrode 146 include e.g. transparent indium tin oxide ("ITO")”).
Regarding claim 13, Wang and Gupta disclose all the claim limitations as applied above (see claim 1). In addition, Wang discloses the at least a portion of the conductive
materials is at least partially deformed according to the at least partial deformation of the display panel (“Where the flat panel display device is bent or deformed at a position thereof”, “current or voltage values sensed by sensing devices 140 of the deformed portion are detected and analyzed, thereby detecting the bending position and shape of the flat panel display device”; para[0042]; para[0046]-para[0047]; para[0054]).
Claim(s) 6-7 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wang et al. (US 2014/0362304), in view of Gupta et al. (US 2021/0397281), and further in view of Su et al. (KR 20230009649), machine translation provided by the examiner.
Regarding claim 6, Wang and Gupta disclose all the claim limitations as applied above (see claim 1). However, Wang and Gupta do not appear to expressly disclose the display panel includes a first planar part, a second planar part facing the first planar part in a folded state of the electronic device, and a folding part located between the first planar part and the second planar part to be bent between an unfolded state of the electronic device and the folded state, and wherein the at least a portion of the conductive materials is disposed in the folding part.
Su discloses a display panel includes a first planar part, a second planar part facing the first planar part in a folded state of an electronic device, and a folding part located between the first planar part and the second planar part to be bent between an unfolded state of the electronic device and the folded state, and wherein at least a portion of conductive materials is disposed in the folding part (see flexible display device in Fig. 11(b); regarding Figs. 8 and 10-11, “In the case of the flexible display device according to the exemplary embodiments, the shape deformation of the display panel 55 is sensed using the sensing thin film transistor T_SN provided for each sub-pixel SPX of the display panel 55”, and thus disposed in the folding part in the example of Fig. 11(b)).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to combine the teachings in Wang’s and Gupta’s combination, with the teachings in Su’s invention, to have the display panel includes a first planar part, a second planar part facing the first planar part in a folded state of the electronic device, and a folding part located between the first planar part and the second planar part to be bent between an unfolded state of the electronic device and the folded state, and wherein the at least a portion of the conductive materials is disposed in the folding part, for the advantage of a foldable display with an improved sensitivity and versatility (see Abstract).
Regarding claim 7, Wang, Gupta and Su disclose all the claim limitations as applied above (see claim 6). In addition, Su discloses the at least a portion of the conductive materials is disposed across an axis for rotation of the second planar part with respect to the first planar part (see flexible display device in Fig. 11(b); regarding Figs. 8 and 10-11, “In the case of the flexible display device according to the exemplary embodiments, the shape deformation of the display panel 55 is sensed using the sensing thin film transistor T_SN provided for each sub-pixel SPX of the display panel 55”, and thus across an axis for rotation of the second planar part with respect to the first planar part in the example of Fig. 11(b)).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have the at least a portion of the conductive materials is disposed across an axis for rotation of the second planar part with respect to the first planar part, as also taught by Su, for the advantage of a foldable display with an improved sensitivity and versatility (see Abstract).
Claim(s) 8-10 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wang et al. (US 2014/0362304), in view of Gupta et al. (US 2021/0397281), and further in view of Su et al. (KR 20230009649), machine translation provided by the examiner, and Kim (US 2021/0182008).
Regarding claim 8, Wang and Gupta disclose all the claim limitations as applied above (see claim 1). However, Wang and Gupta do not appear to expressly disclose the display panel includes a part rollable into a housing of the electronic device to change a size of an area visible from a front surface of the housing, and wherein the at least a portion of the conductive materials is disposed in the part.
Su discloses a display panel includes a part rollable to change a size of an area visible, and wherein at least a portion of the conductive materials is disposed in the part (see flexible display device in Fig. 11(a); regarding Figs. 8 and 10-11, “In the case of the flexible display device according to the exemplary embodiments, the shape deformation of the display panel 55 is sensed using the sensing thin film transistor T_SN provided for each sub-pixel SPX of the display panel 55”, and thus disposed in the rollable part in the example of Fig. 11(a)).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to combine the teachings in Wang’s and Gupta’s combination, with the teachings in Su’s invention, to have the display panel includes a part rollable to change a size of an area visible, and wherein the at least a portion of the conductive materials is disposed in the part, for the advantage of a rollable display with an improved sensitivity and versatility (see Abstract).
Wang, Gupta and Su do not appear to expressly disclose the display panel includes a part rollable into a housing of the electronic device to change a size of an area visible from a front surface of the housing.
Kim discloses a display panel includes a part rollable into a housing of an electronic device to change a size of an area visible from a front surface of the housing (see rollable display in Figs. 9-11; see Abstract; para[0039]; para[0101]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to combine the teachings in Wang’s, Gupta’s and Su’s combination, with the teachings in Kim’s invention, to have the display panel includes a part rollable into a housing of the electronic device to change a size of an area visible from a front surface of the housing, for the advantage of a more compact structure (para[0005]).
Regarding claim 9, Wang, Gupta, Su and Kim disclose all the claim limitations as applied above (see claim 8). In addition, the combination already discloses the at least a portion of the conductive materials is disposed along a direction in which the part is moved into the housing (see e.g. in the flexible display device in Fig. 11(a) of Su the sensing thin film transistor T_SN provided for each sub-pixel SPX of the display panel 55 disposed in the rollable part, and as combined with Kim, disposed along a direction in which the part is moved into the housing).
Regarding claim 10, Wang, Gupta, Su and Kim disclose all the claim limitations as applied above (see claim 8). In addition, Kim discloses obtaining a screen corresponding to the size, based on data (see rollable display in Figs. 9-11; “The display 180 can be controlled in the zero view mode, the partial view mode or the full view mode according to rotation of the roller 184”; “The controller 170 can control the display 180 to display content in an area of the display 180 drawn out from the housing 183”; e.g. “when the display device 100 operates in a menu mode, a mood mode, a music mode, a frame mode, or a clock mode, the mode of the display can be controlled in the partial view mode”, as shown in Figs. 7, 10 and 13(b); see Abstract; para[0039]; para[0089]; para[0093]; para[0096]; para[0101]); and transmitting information regarding the screen to a display driver circuitry for display of the screen (e.g. “When the display 180 is in the partial view mode, the display 180 can display content only in an area of the display 180 drawn out from the housing 183”; “That is, in the partial view mode, the content is not displayed in an area of the display 180 drawn in the housing 183”; see Figs. 7, 10 and 13(b); para[0096]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have the instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to: obtain a screen corresponding to the size, based on the data; and execute the function by transmitting information regarding the screen to the display driver circuitry for display of the screen, as also taught by Kim in the combination, for the advantage of not displaying content in an area of the display drawn in the housing and reduce power consumption (para[0096]; para[0188]).
Claim(s) 14-16 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wang et al. (US 2014/0362304), in view of Choi (US 2018/0097044), and further in view of Gupta et al. (US 2021/0397281).
Regarding claim 14, Wang discloses an electronic device (see flat panel display device in Fig. 1) may comprising:
a display panel (see display panel 100 in Fig. 1) including:
a first part including sub pixels and a first pixel definition layer (PDL) defining a layout of the sub pixels (regarding Figs. 1-4, see a certain portion of display panel 100 including sub pixels 120 and corresponding portion of pixel defining layer 24; para[0036]; para[0038]; para[0049]; para[0054]; para[0058]-para[0060]), and
a second part including:
a second PDL (regarding Figs. 1-4, see another certain portion of display panel 100 including corresponding portion of pixel defining layer 24; para[0049]; para[0054]; para[0058]-para[0060]), and
conductive materials formed in a portion of the second PDL (see in Figs. 2-4 “sensing device 140 includes a first electrode 142, a piezoelectric layer 144 and a second electrode 146” and is formed in a portion of the pixel defining layer 24; para[0054]), wherein the display panel is configured to be at least partially deformed based on an input (see in Figs. 2-4 “sensing device 140 includes a first electrode 142, a piezoelectric layer 144 and a second electrode 146” and is formed in a portion of the pixel defining layer 24; since “The resistance of the piezoelectric layer 144 is changed depending on the size of a pressure applied thereto in a state in which a predetermined voltage is applied to the first and second electrodes 142 and 146”, “Where the flat panel display device is bent or deformed at a position thereof”, “current or voltage values sensed by sensing devices 140 of the deformed portion are detected and analyzed, thereby detecting the bending position and shape of the flat panel display device”; para[0042]; para[0046]-para[0047]; para[0054]);
display driver circuitry (“Referring to FIG. 1, the flat panel display device includes… scan and data drivers 200 and 300”; para[0035]; para[0044]-para[0045]); and
wherein the display driver circuitry is configured to:
generate data regarding a state of the conductive materials configured to be electrically connected to the display driver circuitry (“Referring to FIG. 1, the flat panel display device includes a pixel unit 100 configured to display images, scan and data drivers 200 and 300 configured to provide signals for displaying the images, and a sensing unit 400 configured to sense the bending position and shape of the flat panel display device”; see in Fig. 2 “first electrode 142 coupled to a first sensing line E1n, a piezoelectric layer 144 disposed on the first electrode 142, and… second electrode 146 disposed on the piezoelectric layer 144 and coupled to a second sensing line E2n”, the sensing lines connected to the sensing unit 400; “the sensing unit 400 may include a power supply circuit, a comparator, a logic circuit, etc. so as to perform the function described above”, and “the scan driver 200 and/or the data driver 300 may include a portion or an entire of the sensing unit 400”; para[0035]; para[0042]; para[0046]; para[0048]); and
executing a function corresponding to at least partial deformation of the display panel by the input, based on the data from the display driver circuitry (“the flat panel display device recognizes a user's command by sensing the shape of deformation caused by bending or touch applied to the flat panel display”; para[0042]; para[0046]-para[0047]; para[0061]).
However, Wang does not appear to expressly disclose the second PDL defining dummy sub pixels and a layout of the dummy sub pixels; at least one processor, comprising processing circuitry; and the display driver circuitry is configured to: transmit, to the at least one processor, data regarding the state of the conductive materials configured to be electrically connected to the display driver circuitry; and execute the function corresponding to the at least partial deformation of the display panel by the input, based on the data received from the display driver circuitry.
Choi discloses a pixel definition layer defining dummy sub pixels and a layout of the dummy sub pixels (see portion of pixel definition layer(s) along I-I’ of the dummy pixel DP in Fig. 6, as shown in Figs. 7 and 11, defining dummy pixels DP and a layout of the dummy pixels DP in dummy pixel portion DA1 of Fig. 2; para[0047]; para[0060]; para[0116]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to combine the teachings in Wang’s invention, with the teachings in Choi’s invention, to have the second PDL defining dummy sub pixels and a layout of the dummy sub pixels, for the advantage of a configuration at edge areas that avoids deterioration in resolution and prevents propagation of stress that causes cracks from an edge to a center of a flexible display due to repeated folding (para[0007]; para[0009]; para[0047]; para[0050]).
However, Wang and Choi do not appear to expressly disclose at least one processor, comprising processing circuitry; and the display driver circuitry is configured to: transmit, to the at least one processor, data regarding the state of the conductive materials configured to be electrically connected to the display driver circuitry; and execute the function corresponding to the at least partial deformation of the display panel by the input, based on the data received from the display driver circuitry.
Gupta discloses at least one processor, comprising processing circuitry (see 1502 in Fig. 15; para[0050]-para[0053]); and a display driver circuitry configured to: transmit, to the at least one processor, input data (e.g. display driver 306 in Fig. 3 transmits input data to logic processor 1502; para[0033]; para[0050]-para[0051]; para[0058]); and the at least one processor executing a function corresponding to an input, based on the data received from the display driver circuitry (e.g. when an input is received in display panel 300 in Fig. 3 and logic processor 1502 executes a function corresponding to the input based on data received from display driver 306; para[0033]; para[0050]-para[0051]; para[0058]-para[0059]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to combine the teachings in Wang’s and Choi’s combination, with the teachings in Gupta’s invention, to have at least one processor, comprising processing circuitry; and the display driver circuitry is configured to: transmit, to the at least one processor, data regarding the state of the conductive materials configured to be electrically connected to the display driver circuitry; and execute the function corresponding to the at least partial deformation of the display panel by the input, based on the data received from the display driver circuitry, for the advantage of realizing sequential, parallel, and/or distributed processing (para[0053]).
Regarding claim 15, Wang, Choi and Gupta disclose all the claim limitations as applied above (see claim 14). In addition, in the combination, Wang discloses the display driver circuitry is configured obtain the data based on applying a voltage to the conductive materials in the portion of the second PDL in the second part of the display panel (“The resistance of the piezoelectric layer 144 is changed depending on the size of a pressure applied thereto in a state in which a predetermined voltage is applied to the first and second electrodes 142 and 146”; “Where the flat panel display device is bent or deformed at a position thereof, the sensing unit 400 senses a change in voltage or current which is sensed by a sensing device 140 at a corresponding position, thereby detecting the bending position and shape of the flat panel display device”; para[0042]; para[0046]-para[0047]), [and transmit the data to the at least one processor, as shown by the combination with Gupta].
Regarding claim 16, Wang, Choi and Gupta disclose all the claim limitations as applied above (see claim 14). In addition, Wang discloses the second part of the display panel includes:
a switch layer (see layers 14, 18 and 22 in Fig. 4, including thin film transistor T configured to connect the scan driver 200 and the data driver 300 in Fig. 1 to first electrode 122; para[0051]-para[0053]; para[0058]-para[0060]),
the second PDL disposed on the switch layer (see pixel defining layer 24 disposed on planarization layer 22, as shown in Fig. 4),
a first electrode layer disposed between the second PDL on the switch layer (see first electrode 122 disposed between the pixel defining layer 24 on planarization layer 22, as shown in Fig. 4),
a light emitting layer disposed between the second PDL on the first electrode layer (see organic light emitting layer 124 disposed between the pixel defining layer 24 on the first electrode 122, as shown in Fig. 4), and
a second electrode layer disposed over the second PDL and the light emitting layer (see second electrode 126 disposed over the pixel defining layer 24 and the organic light emitting layer 124, as shown in Fig. 4),
wherein the first electrode layer is electrically disconnected from the display driver circuitry (based on the broadest reasonable interpretation of the claimed limitations, see first electrode 122 is electrically disconnected from e.g. the scan driver 200 and the data driver 300 parts of the claimed display driver circuitry when thin film transistor T is turned off), and
wherein the conductive materials formed in the portion of the second PDL are
configured to be electrically connected to the display driver circuitry via at least one wiring formed in the switch layer (regarding Figs. 1-2 and 4, see second electrode 146 formed in the portion of the pixel defining layer 24 is electrically connected to the first electrode 142 provided in the planarization layer 22, which is connected to sensing unit 400 through first sensing line E1n, para[0042]; para[0058]-para[0059]).
Claim(s) 17-18 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wang et al. (US 2014/0362304), in view of Choi (US 2018/0097044) and Gupta et al. (US 2021/0397281), and further in view Su et al. (KR 20230009649), machine translation provided by the examiner.
Regarding claim 17, Wang, Choi and Gupta disclose all the claim limitations as applied above (see claim 14). However, Wang, Choi and Gupta do not appear to expressly disclose the display panel includes a first planar part, a second planar part facing the first planar part in a folded state of the electronic device, and a folding part located between the first planar part and the second planar part to be bent between
an unfolded state of the electronic device and the folded state, and Wherein the conductive materials is disposed in the folding part of the display panel.
Su discloses a display panel includes a first planar part, a second planar part facing the first planar part in a folded state of an electronic device, and a folding part located between the first planar part and the second planar part to be bent between an unfolded state of the electronic device and the folded state, and Wherein the conductive materials is disposed in the folding part of the display panel (see flexible display device in Fig. 11(b); regarding Figs. 8 and 10-11, “In the case of the flexible display device according to the exemplary embodiments, the shape deformation of the display panel 55 is sensed using the sensing thin film transistor T_SN provided for each sub-pixel SPX of the display panel 55”, and thus disposed in the folding part in the example of Fig. 11(b)).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to combine the teachings in Wang’s, Choi’s and Gupta’s combination, with the teachings in Su’s invention, to have the display panel includes a first planar part, a second planar part facing the first planar part in a folded state of the electronic device, and a folding part located between the first planar part and the second planar part to be bent between an unfolded state of the electronic device and the folded state, and Wherein the conductive materials is disposed in the folding part of the display panel, for the advantage of a foldable display with an improved sensitivity and versatility (see Abstract).
Regarding claim 18, Wang, Choi, Gupta and Su disclose all the claim limitations as applied above (see claim 17). In addition, Su discloses the conductive materials is disposed across an axis for rotation of the second planar part with respect to the first planar part (see flexible display device in Fig. 11(b); regarding Figs. 8 and 10-11, “In the case of the flexible display device according to the exemplary embodiments, the shape deformation of the display panel 55 is sensed using the sensing thin film transistor T_SN provided for each sub-pixel SPX of the display panel 55”, and thus across an axis for rotation of the second planar part with respect to the first planar part in the example of Fig. 11(b)).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have the conductive materials is disposed across an axis for rotation of the second planar part with respect to the first planar part, as also taught by Su, for the advantage of a foldable display with an improved sensitivity and versatility (see Abstract).
Claim(s) 19-20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wang et al. (US 2014/0362304), in view of Choi (US 2018/0097044) and Gupta et al. (US 2021/0397281), and further in view Su et al. (KR 20230009649), machine translation provided by the examiner, and Kim (US 2021/0182008).
Regarding claim 19, Wang, Choi and Gupta disclose all the claim limitations as applied above (see claim 14). In addition, Choi discloses a second part of the display panel extends from a first part of the display panel (see in Fig. 2 dummy pixel portion DA1 (claimed second part) extends from active area AA (claimed first part); para[0047]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have the second part of the display panel extends from the first part of the display panel, as also taught by Choi, for the advantage of a configuration of edge areas that avoids deterioration in resolution and prevents propagation of stress that causes cracks from an edge to a center of a flexible display due to repeated folding (para[0007]; para[0009]; para[0047]; para[0050]).
However, Wang, Choi and Gupta do not appear to expressly disclose the first part of the display panel and the second part of the display panel are at least partially rollable into a housing the electronic device to change a size of an area visible from a front surface of the housing, and wherein the conductive materials is disposed along a direction in which the second part is moved into the housing within the second part at least partially rollable into the housing.
Su discloses conductive materials disposed along a direction in which a second part is at least partially rollable (see flexible display device in Fig. 11(a); regarding Figs. 8 and 10-11, “In the case of the flexible display device according to the exemplary embodiments, the shape deformation of the display panel 55 is sensed using the sensing thin film transistor T_SN provided for each sub-pixel SPX of the display panel 55”, and thus disposed in the rollable part in the example of Fig. 11(a)).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to combine the teachings in Wang’s, Choi’s and Gupta’s combination, with the teachings in Su’s invention, to have the conductive materials disposed along a direction in which the second part is at least partially rollable, for the advantage of a rollable display with an improved sensitivity and versatility (see Abstract).
Wang, Choi, Gupta and Su do not appear to expressly disclose the first part of the display panel and the second part of the display panel are at least partially rollable into a housing the electronic device to change a size of an area visible from a front surface of the housing, and wherein the conductive materials is disposed along a direction in which the second part is moved into the housing within the second part at least partially rollable into the housing.
Kim discloses a first part of a display panel and a second part of the display panel are at least partially rollable into a housing of an electronic device to change a size of an area visible from a front surface of the housing, and the second part is moved into the housing with the second part at least partially rollable into the housing (see rollable display in Figs. 9-11; see Abstract; para[0039]; para[0101]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to combine the teachings in Wang’s, Choi’s, Gupta’s and Su’s combination, with the teachings in Kim’s invention, to have the first part of the display panel and the second part of the display panel are at least partially rollable into a housing the electronic device to change a size of an area visible from a front surface of the housing, and as a consequence of the combination, the conductive materials disposed along a direction in which the second part is moved into the housing within the second part at least partially rollable into the housing, for the advantage of a more compact structure (para[0005]).
Regarding claim 20, Wang, Choi, Gupta, Su and Kim disclose all the claim limitations as applied above (see claim 19). In addition, Kim discloses memory comprising one or more storage media storing instructions, wherein the instructions, when executed by at least one processor (see storage memory 140 in Fig. 1 and processor 170; para[0040]; para[0047]-para[0048]; para[0052]; para[0054]), cause the at least one processor to: obtain a screen corresponding to the size based on data (see rollable display in Figs. 9-11; “The display 180 can be controlled in the zero view mode, the partial view mode or the full view mode according to rotation of the roller 184”; “The controller 170 can control the display 180 to display content in an area of the display 180 drawn out from the housing 183”; e.g. “when the display device 100 operates in a menu mode, a mood mode, a music mode, a frame mode, or a clock mode, the mode of the display can be controlled in the partial view mode”, as shown in Figs. 7, 10 and 13(b); see Abstract; para[0039]; para[0089]; para[0093]; para[0096]; para[0101]), and execute the function by transmitting, to a display driver circuitry, information regarding the screen for display of the screen (e.g. “When the display 180 is in the partial view mode, the display 180 can display content only in an area of the display 180 drawn out from the housing 183”; “That is, in the partial view mode, the content is not displayed in an area of the display 180 drawn in the housing 183”; see Figs. 7, 10 and 13(b); para[0096]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have memory comprising one or more storage media storing instructions, wherein the instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to: obtain a screen corresponding to the size based on the data, and execute the function by transmitting, to the display driver circuitry, information regarding the screen for display of the screen, for the advantage of not displaying content in an area of the display drawn in the housing and reduce power consumption (para[0096]; para[0188]).
Conclusion
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/GLORYVID FIGUEROA-GIBSON/Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2628
/NITIN PATEL/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2628
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