DETAILED ACTION
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
This is in reply to an application and a preliminary amendment both filed on October 28, 2025 regarding Application No. 19/479,418. Applicants amended claims 6, 12, and 17 and added new claims 18-20 in the preliminary amendment. Claims 1-20 are pending.
Priority
The instant application is a 371 National Stage of International Application No. PCT/CN2025/074036, filed on January 22, 2025, which claims priority to Chinese Patent Application No. CN 202410196155.0, filed on February 21, 2024.
Acknowledgment is made of Applicants’ claim for foreign priority under 35 U.S.C. 119(a)-(d). A certified copy of the CN application CN 202410196155.0 filed in China on February 21, 2024 has been filed.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on April 15, 2026 is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the Office. Please note that the Office has included the art unit number on the IDS.
Drawings
The drawings are objected to under 37 CFR 1.83(a). The drawings must show every feature of the invention specified in the claims. Therefore, the “display wire” in claims 1-2, 14, and 16 and “control mainboard” in claim 17 must be shown or the feature(s) canceled from the claim(s). No new matter should be entered.
Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. The figure or figure number of an amended drawing should not be labeled as “amended.” If a drawing figure is to be canceled, the appropriate figure must be removed from the replacement sheet, and where necessary, the remaining figures must be renumbered and appropriate changes made to the brief description of the several views of the drawings for consistency. Additional replacement sheets may be necessary to show the renumbering of the remaining figures. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
Claim Objections
Claims 2-3, 7, and 18 are objected to for the reasons discussed below.
Claim 2: “each of the plurality of binding areas of the display terminal comprises the display wire” may need to be changed to, e.g., “each of the plurality of binding areas of the display terminal comprises at least one of the display wire”, if appropriate. For purposes of examination, the claim language is interpreted as discussed in the rejections.
Claim 7: “the adjacent display terminal” should be changed to “[[the]]an adjacent display terminal” since the term was not previously recited.
Claims 3 and 18: these claims depend from objected to claim 2.
Appropriate correction is required.
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 of this title, 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.
The factual inquiries set forth in Graham v. John Deere Co., 383 U.S. 1, 148 USPQ 459 (1966), that are applied for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or non-obviousness.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicants are advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claims 1-7, 10-11, 14, and 16-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Chen in CN 115421604 A (hereinafter Chen; April 15, 2026 IDS reference – an original copy and translation of the abstract were provided; an original copy and full translation thereof is/was provided with the first Office action mailed in response to the filing of the instant application and preliminary amendment filed on October 28, 2025) in view of Zhu in CN 112786557 A (hereinafter Zhu; an original copy and full translation thereof is/was provided with the first Office action mailed in response to the filing of the instant application and preliminary amendment filed on October 28, 2025), in further view of Lee et al. in US 2016/0117041 A1 (hereinafter Lee).
Regarding claim 1, Chen teaches:
A display panel (100 in FIG. 2), comprising (Chen: FIG. 2 and p. 5, ¶ 4 (“As shown in FIG. 2 , the embodiment of the present application provides a touch display panel 100....”), see also FIG. 3):
a display substrate (5 in FIG. 2) comprising a display area (1) and a non-display area (2-4) located at a periphery of the display area, wherein the non-display area comprises a touch terminal (bending and binding areas corresponding to a binding terminal), the touch terminal comprises a bending area (3) and a binding area (4), the bending area is respectively connected to the display area and the binding area, the binding area is located on a backlight side (lower side) of the display area after the bending area is bent, and the display area comprises a display wire (Chen: FIG. 2, p. 5, ¶ 4 (“... The touch display panel 100 includes a touch display area 1 and a wiring area 2 arranged adjacently, and the wiring area 2 is located in turn away from the touch display area. The bending zone 3 and the binding zone 4 on one side of 1.”), 4th to the last ¶ (“... [W]hen the bending area 3 of the touch display panel 100 is in a bent state, the binding area 4 is bent to the back of the touch display panel 100 along with the bending area 3 .”), 3rd to the last ¶ (“... [T]he wiring area 2, the bending area 3 and the binding area 4 all belong to the non-display area....”), and 2nd to the last ¶ (“As shown in FIG. 2 , the touch display panel 100 includes a base substrate 5 and a driving circuit layer 6 , a light emitting device layer 7 ,... and a touch layer 9 sequentially disposed on the base substrate 5 . Wherein, the driving circuit layer 6 includes a transfer wire 10 located in the bending area 3 and extending to the bonding area 4; Extending to the wiring area 2; the touch layer 9... includes at least the touch electrode 11 located in the touch display area 1 and the touch electrode 11 located in the bending area 3 and electrically connected to the touch electrode 11. The connected touch wire 12 ; the touch wire 12 is electrically connected to the transition wire 10 at the bending area 3 .”), p. 6, ¶ 4 (“... [T]he driving circuit layer 6 also includes a first conductive layer 17 and a second conductive layer 18 located in the touch display area 1 and the wiring area 2....”) and ¶ 6 (“... [T]he first conductive layer 17 further includes scan lines, and the second conductive layer 18 further includes data lines, but not limited thereto.”), and p. 7, ¶ 6 (“As shown in FIG. 2 , the touch wire 12 is electrically connected to the transfer wire 10 through a wire replacement hole 31 penetrating through the first organic filling layer 28 ....”) and 3rd to the last ¶ (“... [T]he touch display panel 100 further includes a binding terminal located in the binding area 4 , and an end of the transfer wire 10 away from the touch display area 1 is electrically connected to the binding terminal.”), see also FIG. 3);
a touch layer (9 in FIG. 2) located on a light emitting side (upper side) of the display substrate and comprising a touch wire (10 and 12) located in the display area and extending to the binding area of the touch terminal (Chen: FIG. 2, 2nd to the last ¶ (“As shown in FIG. 2 , the touch display panel 100 includes a base substrate 5 and a driving circuit layer 6 , a light emitting device layer 7 , an encapsulation layer 8 and a touch layer 9 sequentially disposed on the base substrate 5 .... [T]he touch layer 9 is located on the side of the packaging layer 8 away from the driving circuit layer 6, and includes at least the touch electrode 11 located in the touch display area 1 and the touch electrode 11 located in the bending area 3 and electrically connected to the touch electrode 11. The connected touch wire 12 ; the touch wire 12 is electrically connected to the transition wire 10 at the bending area 3 .”), and p. 7, ¶ 6 (“As shown in FIG. 2 , the touch wire 12 is electrically connected to the transfer wire 10 through a wire replacement hole 31 penetrating through the first organic filling layer 28 ....”) and 3rd to the last ¶ (“... [T]he touch display panel 100 further includes a binding terminal located in the binding area 4 , and an end of the transfer wire 10 away from the touch display area 1 is electrically connected to the binding terminal.”)).
However, it is noted that Chen does not teach:
wherein the non-display area comprises a display terminal, the display terminal comprises a bending area and a binding area, and the display area comprises the display wire extending to the binding area of the display terminal.
Zhu teaches:
wherein a non-display area (area outside of 211 in FIG. 2) comprises a display terminal (212(s)), the display terminal comprises a bending area (212a in FIG. 3) and a binding area (212b), and a display area (211 in FIG. 2) comprises a display wire extending to the binding area of the display terminal (Zhu: FIGs. 2-3, p. 4, 4th to the last ¶ (“Each of the first terminal areas 212 includes a bending area 212a and a binding area 212b, the bending area 212a is connected to the display area 211, and the binding area 212b is connected to the bending area 212a away from all One side of the display area 211, and the binding area 212b is located on the back of the display area 211....”), and p. 4, last ¶ - p. 5, ¶ 1 (“... [T]he signal routing One end is connected to the thin film transistor in the display area 211, and the other end is connected to the first terminal area 212....”), see also FIGs. 1 and 4-5 and p. 5, ¶¶ 2-3).
Before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious to include: the features taught by Zhu, such that Chen as modified teaches: a display substrate comprising a display area and a non-display area located at a periphery of the display area, wherein the non-display area comprises a display terminal and a touch terminal, each of the display terminal and the touch terminal comprises a bending area and a binding area, the bending area is respectively connected to the display area and the binding area, the binding area is located on a backlight side of the display area after the bending area is bent, and the display area comprises a display wire extending to the binding area of the display terminal (display substrate, display and non-display areas, periphery of the display area, touch terminal, bending and binding areas, backlight side of the display area, and display wire of Chen combined with the non-display area, display terminal, bending and binding areas, display area, and display wire of Zhu), for image display.
However, it is noted that Chen as modified by Zhu does not teach:
a control circuit located on the backlight side of the display substrate and comprising a display control module electrically connected to the display wire and a touch module electrically connected to the touch wire.
Lee teaches:
a control circuit (IC1 and IC2 in FIGs. 4A-B) located on a backlight side (lower side) of a display substrate (111) and comprising a display control module (IC1 in FIG. 4A) electrically connected to a display wire and a touch module (IC2 in FIG. 4B) electrically connected to a touch wire (Lee: see FIGs. 1-2 and 4A-B, “[0028]... The display panel 110 may include a first plate 111, a second plate 112....”, “[0036] The touch panel 120 may be disposed on the second plate 112....”, “[0051] The first drive chip IC1 may function to generate drive signals for displaying an image on the display panel 110 and may be disposed on the first circuit portion 210. The second drive chip IC2 may receive an electric signal due to a touch input from the touch panel 120 and determine the touch position.... The second drive chip IC2 may be disposed on the second circuit portion 220.”, and “[0052]... [T]he first circuit portion 210 and second circuit portion 220 are each bent toward the backside of the first plate 111....”, see also FIGs. 3 and 7-8 and [0027]).
Before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious to include: the features taught by Lee, such that Chen as modified teaches: a control circuit located on the backlight side of the display substrate and comprising a display control module electrically connected to the display wire and a touch module electrically connected to the touch wire (backlight side of the display substrate and display and touch wires of Chen as modified combined with the control circuit, backlight side of a display substrate, display control and touch modules, and display and touch wires of Lee; also, it would have been obvious to include the claimed features since they are well-known in the art, and since it would have been within the general skill of one of ordinary skill in the art to select features on the basis of their suitability for the intended use for image display and touch input), for image display and touch input.
Regarding claim 2, Chen as modified by Zhu and Lee teaches:
The display panel according to claim 1, wherein,
the non-display area comprises one display terminal (212 in FIG. 2 of Zhu) located on a side (lower side) of the display area in a column direction (Zhu: FIG. 2, p. 4, 4th to the last ¶ (“Each of the first terminal areas 212 includes a bending area 212a and a binding area 212b, the bending area 212a is connected to the display area 211, and the binding area 212b is connected to the bending area 212a away from all One side of the display area 211, and the binding area 212b is located on the back of the display area 211....”), and p. 4, last ¶ - p. 5, ¶ 1 (“... [T]he signal routing One end is connected to the thin film transistor in the display area 211, and the other end is connected to the first terminal area 212....”), see also FIGs. 1 and 4-5 and p. 5, ¶¶ 2-3; also, it would have been obvious to include the claimed features since they are well-known in the art, and since it would have been within the general skill of one of ordinary skill in the art to select features on the basis of their suitability for the intended use for image display); and
the display terminal comprises a plurality of binding areas (212bs in FIG. 3 of Zhu) located on a side of the bending area away from the display area, and each of the plurality of binding areas (212) of the display terminal comprises the display wire (Zhu: FIGs. 2-3, p. 4, 4th to the last ¶ (“Each of the first terminal areas 212 includes a bending area 212a and a binding area 212b, the bending area 212a is connected to the display area 211, and the binding area 212b is connected to the bending area 212a away from all One side of the display area 211....”), and p. 4, last ¶ - p. 5, ¶ 1 (“... [T]he signal routing One end is connected to the thin film transistor in the display area 211, and the other end is connected to the first terminal area 212....”), see also p. 5, ¶¶ 2-3 and FIGs. 1 and 4-5).
Regarding claim 3, Chen as modified by Zhu and Lee teaches:
The display panel according to claim 2, wherein a width (D2 in FIG. 4 of Zhu) of the display terminal (212) in a row direction is not less than 70 mm and not more than 600 mm (Zhu: width such that the claim language is met, e.g., 85 mm; FIG. 4, p. 4, ¶ 4 (“... [T]he width D2 of each first terminal area 212 is less than or equal to 100mm,... and D2≤100mm....”), and p. 4, last ¶ - p. 5, ¶ 1 (“... [T]he signal routing One end is connected to the thin film transistor in the display area 211, and the other end is connected to the first terminal area 212....”), see also p. 5, ¶ 1; also, it would have been obvious to include the claimed features since it would have been within the general skill of one of ordinary skill in the art to select features on the basis of their suitability for the intended use for image display. Note: FIGs. 2 and 4 are interchangeable as they are display panel display terminals.).
Regarding claim 4, Chen as modified by Zhu and Lee teaches:
The display panel according to claim 1, wherein the non-display area comprises a plurality of display terminals (212s in FIG. 2 of Zhu) located on a same side of the display area in a column direction and spaced apart in a row direction (Zhu: FIG. 2 and p. 4, 4th to the last ¶ (“Each of the first terminal areas 212 includes a bending area 212a and a binding area 212b, the bending area 212a is connected to the display area 211, and the binding area 212b is connected to the bending area 212a away from all One side of the display area 211, and the binding area 212b is located on the back of the display area 211....”), and p. 4, last ¶ - p. 5, ¶ 1 (“... [T]he signal routing One end is connected to the thin film transistor in the display area 211, and the other end is connected to the first terminal area 212....”), see also FIGs. 4-5; also, it would have been obvious to include the claimed features as obvious to try of one of a predictable, ascertainable, and finite group of same side or different side, and spaced apart or not spaced apart in a row or a column direction, with a reasonable expectation of success, and since it would have been within the general skill of one of ordinary skill in the art to select features on the basis of their suitability for the intended use for image display.).
Regarding claim 5, Chen as modified by Zhu and Lee teaches:
The display panel according to claim 4, wherein a distance (L in FIG. 4 of Zhu) between adjacent display terminals (212) is greater than 5 mm (Zhu: FIG. 4 and p. 6, ¶ 4 (“... [T]he distance L between two adjacent first terminal areas 212 is greater than or equal to 15mm, and... L≥15mm....), see also p. 5, ¶ 1; also, it would have been obvious to include the claimed features since it would have been within the general skill of one of ordinary skill in the art to select features on the basis of their suitability for the intended use for image display.).
Regarding claim 6, Chen as modified by Zhu and Lee teaches:
The display panel according to claim 2, wherein the non-display area comprises a first touch terminal (a first bending and binding areas corresponding to a binding terminal in Chen) located on a same side of the display area as the display terminal, and the first touch terminal is located on an outermost side of the display terminal in a row direction (Chen: wherein the non-display area comprises a first touch terminal located on a lower side of the display area; FIG. 2 and p. 7, ¶ 6 (“As shown in FIG. 2 , the touch wire 12 is electrically connected to the transfer wire 10 through a wire replacement hole 31 penetrating through the first organic filling layer 28 ....”) and 3rd to the last ¶ (“... [T]he touch display panel 100 further includes a binding terminal located in the binding area 4 , and an end of the transfer wire 10 away from the touch display area 1 is electrically connected to the binding terminal.”); Zhu: the display terminal is located on a lower side of the display area; FIGs. 2-3, see also FIGs. 1 and 4-5; Lee: wherein a non-display area (area outside of a display area of 110) comprises a first touch terminal corresponding to 220 located on a same side (lower side) of a display area of 110 as a display terminal corresponding to 210, and the first touch terminal is located on an outermost side of the display terminal in a row direction; FIGs. 1 and 4A-B, “[0027]... [T]he display apparatus 100 [in FIG. 1] includes a display panel 110, a touch panel 120, and a circuit board 200.”, “[0042] The circuit board 200 may include a first circuit portion 210..., a second circuit portion 220..., and a bending portion 230....”, “[0051] The first drive chip IC1 [in FIG. 4A] may function to generate drive signals for displaying an image on the display panel 110 and may be disposed on the first circuit portion 210. The second drive chip IC2 [in FIG. 4B] may receive an electric signal due to a touch input from the touch panel 120 and determine the touch position.... The second drive chip IC2 may be disposed on the second circuit portion 220.”, and “[0052]... [T]he first circuit portion 210 and second circuit portion 220 are each bent toward the backside of the first plate 111....”, see also FIGs. 7-8; also, it would have been obvious to include the claimed features since it would have been within the general skill of one of ordinary skill in the art to select features on the basis of their suitability for the intended use for touch input.).
Regarding claim 7, Chen as modified by Zhu and Lee teaches:
The display panel according to claim 6, wherein the first touch terminal is integrated with the adjacent display terminal (Lee: FIG. 5 and “[0044] As the bending portion 230 functions to connect the first circuit portion 210 to the second portion 220, the first and second circuit portions 210 and 220, respectively, can be integrated without separation from each other....”, see also FIGs. 7-8 and [0055]; also, it would have been obvious to include the claimed features as obvious to try of one of a predictable, ascertainable, and finite group of integrated or not integrated with a reasonable expectation of success, and since it would have been within the general skill of one of ordinary skill in the art to select features on the basis of their suitability for the intended use for image display and touch input.).
Regarding claim 10, Chen as modified by Zhu and Lee teaches:
The display panel according to claim 1, wherein,
the non-display area comprises a plurality of display terminals (212s in, e.g., FIG. 2 of Zhu), and the plurality of display terminals comprise a first display terminal (a first 212), a second display terminal (a second 212) and at least one third display terminal (a third 212) (Zhu: see FIGs. 2-3, p. 4, 5th to the last ¶ (“... The flexible display device includes: a flexible display panel 21, including a display area 211 and a plurality of first terminal areas 212 adjacent to the display area 211....”), 4th to the last ¶ (“Each of the first terminal areas 212 includes a bending area 212a and a binding area 212b, the bending area 212a is connected to the display area 211, and the binding area 212b is connected to the bending area 212a away from all One side of the display area 211, and the binding area 212b is located on the back of the display area 211....”), and p. 4, last ¶ - p. 5, ¶ 1 (“... [T]he signal routing One end is connected to the thin film transistor in the display area 211, and the other end is connected to the first terminal area 212....”), see also FIGs. 4-5 and p. 5, ¶¶ 2-3); and
the first display terminal and the second display terminal are located on a same side (e.g., lower side) of the display area in a column direction and spaced apart in a row direction (Zhu: FIG. 2, see also FIGs. 4-5; also, it would have been obvious to include the claimed features as obvious to try of one of a predictable, ascertainable, and finite group of same side or different side in a row or a column direction, and spaced apart or not spaced apart in a row or a column direction, with a reasonable expectation of success, and since it would have been within the general skill of one of ordinary skill in the art to select features on the basis of their suitability for the intended use for image display);
the at least one third display terminal is located on a side (e.g., upper side) of the display area away from the first display terminal and spaced apart in the row direction, and each of the at least one third display terminal is located between the first display terminal and the second display terminal in the row direction (Zhu: i.e., the at least one third display terminal is located and spaced apart, and each of the at least one third display terminal is located, as claimed, e.g., left and right outermost 212 in FIG. 2, or in FIGs. 4-5, are the first and second display terminals, respectively, and 212(s) between the left and right outermost 212s is/are located on an upper side of the display area as claimed and is/are the at least one third display terminal; p. 5, ¶ 2 (“In another embodiment of the present invention, the plurality of first terminal regions 212 are disposed on different sides of the display region 211, and the first terminal regions 212 are connected to at least two sides of the display region 211. The display area 211 is rectangular, the display area 211 includes four sides, the first terminal area 212 is distributed on two sides, three sides, or four sides of the display area 211, and the signal One end of the trace is connected to the thin film transistor in the display 211, and the other end is connected to the first terminal area 212 on a different side of the display area 211. That is, multiple sides of the display area 211 are provided with the first terminal areas 212, and each side may be provided with only one of the first terminal areas 212, or may be provided with a plurality of the first terminal areas 212, The sides provided with the first terminal area 212 may be opposite or adjacent....”, see also FIGs. 1-2 and 4-5; also, it would have been obvious to include the claimed features since it would have been within the general skill of one of ordinary skill in the art to select features on the basis of their suitability for the intended use for image display. Note: the embodiments are interchangeable as they are display panel display terminals.).
Regarding claim 11, Chen as modified by Zhu and Lee teaches:
The display panel according to claim 10, wherein a distance between the first display terminal and the second display terminal is not less than 30 mm (Zhu: distance such that the claim language is met, e.g., where the left and right outermost 212 in FIG. 2 are the first and second display terminals, respectively, D2=85 mm, and L=20 mm; FIG. 4 and p. 4, ¶ 4 (“... [T]he width D2 of each first terminal area 212 is less than or equal to 100mm, the distance L between two adjacent first terminal areas 212 is greater than or equal to 15mm, and D2≤100mm, L≥15mm....”), see also p. 5, ¶ 1; also, it would have been obvious to include the claimed features since it would have been within the general skill of one of ordinary skill in the art to select features on the basis of their suitability for the intended use for image display.).
Regarding claim 14, Chen as modified by Zhu and Lee teaches:
The display panel according to claim 1.
However, it is noted that Chen as modified by Zhu and Lee does not teach:
wherein,
the control circuit further comprises a first switching circuit and a second switching circuit; and
the first switching circuit is respectively electrically connected to the display wire and the display control module, and the second switching circuit is respectively electrically connected to the touch wire and the touch module,
but which would have been obvious to include, such that Chen as modified teaches: wherein, the control circuit further comprises a first switching circuit and a second switching circuit; and
the first switching circuit is respectively electrically connected to the display wire and the display control module, and the second switching circuit is respectively electrically connected to the touch wire and the touch module (control circuit, display and touch wires, and display control and touch modules of Chen as modified modified as discussed ), since it would have been within the general skill of one of ordinary skill in the art to select features on the basis of their suitability for the intended use for switching corresponding to image display and touch input.
Regarding claim 16, Chen is modified in the same manner and for the same reasons set forth in the discussion of claim 1 above. Thus, claim 16 is rejected under similar rationale as claim 1 above (i.e., method of manufacturing a display panel corresponding to the display panel in claim 1 above).
Regarding claim 17, Chen as modified by Zhu and Lee teaches:
A display device (e.g., smart phone), comprising the display panel according to claim 1 (Chen: see p. 2, ¶ 7 (“Current mobile electronic terminals (especially smart phones) pursue the dual advantages of portability and large-screen display, which requires electronic products to have as high a screen-to-body ratio as possible....”) and ¶ 8 (“For touch (TP) display panels, DOT (Direct on touch) has gradually replaced Add-on (Add-on) to become the most popular technology currently....”), and p. 6, last ¶ (“... [T]he type of the touch layer 9 [in FIG. 2] includes a DOT touch layer.”); claim 1 above).
However, it is noted that Chen as modified by Zhu and Lee does not teach:
The display device, comprising a control mainboard, wherein the display control module and the touch module are electrically connected to the control mainboard,
but which would have been obvious to include, such that Chen as modified teaches: A display device, comprising a control mainboard and the display panel according to claim 1, wherein the display control module and the touch module are electrically connected to the control mainboard (display device, display panel, and display control and touch modules of Chen as modified modified as discussed), since it would have been within the general skill of one of ordinary skill in the art to select features on the basis of their suitability for the intended use to control a display control module and a touch module for image display and touch input.
Regarding claim 18, this claim is rejected under similar rationale as claim 6 above.
Regarding claim 19, this claim is rejected under similar rationale as claim 6 above.
Regarding claim 20, this claim is rejected under similar rationale as claim 6 above.
Claims 8-9 and 12-13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Chen in view of Zhu, in further view of Lee, and in further view of Lin et al. in US 2017/0131809 A1 (hereinafter Lin).
Regarding claim 8, Chen as modified by Zhu and Lee teaches:
The display panel according to claim 6.
However, it is noted that Chen as modified by Zhu and Lee does not teach:
wherein the non-display area further comprises a second touch terminal located on a side of the display area away from the display terminal.
Lin teaches:
wherein a non-display area (area outside a display area of 710 in FIG. 7) further comprises a second touch terminal (720) located on a side (upper side) of a display area (corresponding to 710) (Lin: FIG. 7 and “... A touch display device 700 includes a flexible touch display panel 710 and flexible circuit boards 720 and 730. The flexible touch display panel 710 includes... touch electrodes 715, and conducting wires 716....”, see also FIG. 9).
Before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious to include: the features taught by Lin, such that Chen as modified teaches: wherein the non-display area further comprises a second touch terminal located on a side of the display area away from the display terminal (non-display area, display area, and display terminal of Chen as modified combined with the non-display area, second touch terminal, and side of a display area of Lin; also, it would have been obvious to include the claimed features since it would have been within the general skill of one of ordinary skill in the art to select features on the basis of their suitability for the intended use for touch input), for touch input.
Regarding claim 9, Chen as modified by Zhu, Lee, and Lin teaches:
The display panel according to claim 8.
However, it is noted that Chen as modified by Zhu, Lee, and Lin does not teach:
wherein the non-display area further comprises a pair of third touch terminals respectively located on two sides of the display area in the row direction,
but which would have been obvious to include, such that Chen as modified teaches: wherein the non-display area further comprises a pair of third touch terminals respectively located on two sides of the display area in the row direction (non-display area and display area of Chen as modified modified as discussed), since it would have been within the general skill of one of ordinary skill in the art to select features on the basis of their suitability for the intended use for touch input.
Regarding claim 12, Chen as modified by Zhu and Lee teaches:
The display panel according to claim 10.
However, it is noted that Chen as modified by Zhu and Lee does not teach:
wherein the non-display area comprises a pair of first touch terminals located on a same side of the display area as the at least one third display terminal, and the pair of first touch terminals are respectively located on two sides of the at least one third display terminal in the row direction.
Lin teaches:
wherein a non-display area (area outside of a display area of 610 in FIG. 6) comprises a pair of first touch terminals (620 and 630) located on a side (upper side) of a display area (corresponding to 610) (Lin: FIG. 6 and “[0040]... [T]he flexible touch display panel 610 further includes flexible circuit boards 620 and 630 disposed at a same side of the touch display device 610....”).
Before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious to include: the features taught by Lin, such that Chen as modified teaches: wherein the non-display area comprises a pair of first touch terminals located on a same side of the display area as the at least one third display terminal, and the pair of first touch terminals are respectively located on two sides of the at least one third display terminal in the row direction (non-display area, side of the display area, and at least one third display terminal of Chen as modified combined with the non-display area, pair of first touch terminals, and side of a display area of Lin; it would have been obvious to include the claimed features since it would have been within the general skill of one of ordinary skill in the art to select features on the basis of their suitability for the intended use for touch input), for touch input.
Regarding claim 13, this claim is rejected under similar rationale as claim 9 above.
Claim 15 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Chen in view of Zhu, in further view of Lee, and in further view of Cho et al. in US 2023/0021348 A1 (hereinafter Cho).
Regarding claim 15, Chen as modified by Zhu and Lee teaches:
The display panel according to claim 1.
However, it is noted that Chen as modified by Zhu and Lee does not teach:
wherein,
the display substrate comprises a display film layer, a back adhesive layer and a protective layer sequentially stacked in a direction away from the touch layer; and
at least a part of the protective layer is thinned in the bending area in a thickness direction, or a whole of the protective layer and the back adhesive layer is thinned in the bending area.
Cho teaches:
wherein,
a display substrate (160 in FIG. 1) comprises a display layer (110), a back adhesive layer (180a) and a protective layer (140) sequentially stacked in a direction away from a touch layer (120) (Cho: protective layer protects the display panel from impact to a lower side of the display panel; FIG. 1, “[0036] As illustrated, a foldable display device 100 includes a display panel 110..., a touch panel 120...,... a back plate 140...,... and the first support layer 160.”, and “[0038]... The respective components adhere and are attached to one another through adhesives 180a, 180b, 190a, 190b.”).
Before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious to include: the features taught by Cho, such that Chen as modified teaches: wherein, the display substrate comprises a display film layer, a back adhesive layer and a protective layer sequentially stacked in a direction away from the touch layer (display substrate and touch layer of Chen as modified combined with the display substrate, display layer, back adhesive layer, protective layer, and direction away from a touch layer of Cho; it would have been obvious to include “a display film layer” as obvious to try of one of a predictable, ascertainable, and finite group of film or non-film layer with a reasonable expectation of success. Also, it would have been obvious to include the claimed features since it would have been within the general skill of one of ordinary skill in the art to select features on the basis of their suitability for the intended use for image display.); and at least a part of the protective layer is thinned in the bending area in a thickness direction, or a whole of the protective layer and the back adhesive layer is thinned in the bending area (it would have been obvious to include the claimed features since it would have been within the general skill of one of ordinary skill in the art to select features on the basis of their suitability for the intended use to reduce a display panel thickness), for image display and to reduce a display panel thickness.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to K. Kiyabu whose telephone number is (571) 270-7836. The examiner can normally be reached Monday to Thursday 9:00 A.M. - 5:00 P.M. ET.
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/K. K./
Examiner, Art Unit 2626
/TEMESGHEN GHEBRETINSAE/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2626 9/9/26B
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