DETAILED ACTION
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 3-4 and 6-18 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.
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
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 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)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 1-2, 5 and 19-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Dahl et al. (US Pub: 2016/0026340 A1).
As to claim 1, Dahl discloses A display panel (i.e. as seen in figure 2, Dahl discloses a portable display device 22 which has ultrasonic detection capabilities) (see Fig. 2-4, [0082-0086]), comprising:
a display substrate comprising a support layer and a display layer arranged on the support layer (i.e. as seen in figure 2-4, the display unit 22 consists of the central display area with display layer 28 as shown in figure 3 embodiment) (see Fig. 3, [0083]);
an ultrasonic transducer (i.e. element 34 as seen in paragraph 32) arranged on a side of the support layer facing away from the display layer (i.e. as seen in figure 3 the ultrasonic transducer is the element 34 which is connected to the PCB support layer 32 position on the opposite side of the display layer 28) (see Fig. 3, [0032, 0083-0085]);
wherein the ultrasonic transducer comprises a vibration cavity and a vibration portion (i.e. as seen in figure 3 the cavity 36 and the transducer 34 forms an overall vibrating assembly with the cavity and vibration portion 34) (see Fig. 3, [0032, 0083-0084]).
the vibration portion is arranged between the vibration cavity and the support layer (i.e. the support layer is the side assembly 29 which support the entire cavity as it vibrates) (see Fig. 3, [0083-0085]);
an acoustic matching layer arranged between the vibration portion and the support layer (i.e. as the acoustic matching layer is the 22’ special glass layer which is the localized glass thinner than the surrounding which is said to be acoustically matched to allow for proper functionality of the entire display and acoustic assembly) (see Fig. 2-4, [0016, 0083-0087]).
As to claim 20, Dahl teaches a method for manufacturing a display panel (i.e. the display panel of figure 2-3 shows a touch display surround by ultrasonic transducers) (see Fig. 2-3, [0082-0085]), comprising:
forming an acoustic matching layer on a side of a vibration portion of an ultrasonic transducer facing away from a vibration cavity (i.e. the acoustic matching layer 22’ is one the side of the overall vibrating portion which is the entire assembly surface area attached to the 34 ultrasonic transducers shown to be facing away from the vibration cavity 26) (see Fig. 3, [0032, 0083-0084]);
attaching a display substrate to a side of the acoustic matching layer facing away from the ultrasonic transducer (i.e. as seen in figure 3 the side surface of the phone unit 29 is directly jointed with acoustic matching layer glass which Dahl teaches the structure bonded to create a continuous surface to form a wholistic phone product) (see Fig. 3, [0052]).
As to claim 2, Dahl teaches the display panel as claimed in claim 1, further comprising a bonding layer arranged on at least one side of the acoustic matching layer (i.e. as seen in figure 3 the side surface of the phone unit 29 is directly jointed with acoustic matching layer glass which Dahl teaches being necessarily bonded to create a continuous surface to form a wholistic phone product) (see Fig. 3, [0052]).
As to claim 5, Dahl teaches the display panel as claimed in claim 1, wherein the acoustic matching layer is in direct contact with the support layer (i.e. 22’ is direction connected to the side 29) (see Fig. 3), and the acoustic matching layer is in direct contact with the vibration portion (i.e. as seen in figure 3 the acoustic matching layer 22’ is direction contact the vibration portion which is the entire surface area of 28 which is seen in figure 3) (see Fig. 3, [0083-0084]).
As to claim 19, Dahl teaches a display apparatus, comprising the display panel as claimed in claim 1 (i.e. the display of figure 3 is seen as a product of element 22 mobile phone device) (see Fig. 2-3, [0082-0084]).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. The prior art Tang et al. (US Pub: 2022/0187919 A1) is cited to teach another type of ultrasonic based display input output system as seen in figure 1-4 embodiments.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to CALVIN C. MA whose telephone number is (571)270-1713. The examiner can normally be reached 8:00AM-5:00PM.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Benjamin C. Lee can be reached on 571-272-2963. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/CALVIN C MA/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2693 August 22, 2026