DETAILED ACTION
This is a first office action in response to application 19/482,495 filed 11/07/2025, in which claims 1-10 are presented for examination. A preliminary amendment was filed concurrently therewith providing amendments to claims 9-10 and adds new claim 11 is hereby acknowledged.
Currently claims 1-11 are pending.
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 § 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.
The factual inquiries 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 nonobviousness.
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. Applicant is 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.
Claim(s) 1-11 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Seger, Jr. et al. U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2023/0039953 A1 hereinafter Seger and further in view of Chang et al. U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2016/0328042 A1 hereinafter Chang.
Consider Claim 1:
Chang discloses a touch structure, comprising (Seger, See Abstract.)
a touch detection module, a plurality of first touch units, a plurality of switch modules, and a processing control module, wherein different first touch units are connected to the same touch detection module through different switch modules, the plurality of switch modules are capable of being opened and closed to control connection and disconnection between the plurality of first touch units and the touch detection module, and the touch detection module is configured to detect touch information of a corresponding first touch unit connected to the touch detection module; and (Seger, [0108], “The touch screen 16 includes a flexible touch screen display with sensors 80, a plurality of drive-sense circuits (DSCs), one or more switch networks 173 and 175, a switch controller 177, and a touch screen processing module 82. In general, the sensors (e.g., electrodes, capacitor sensing cells, capacitor sensors, inductive sensors, etc.) detect a proximal touch of the screen. In the illustrated embodiment, switch controller 177 selects particular sensors to be coupled to particular drive-sense circuits (DSCs) to adjust a touch resolution, sometimes referred to herein as “touch granularity” or simply “granularity,” of all or part of the flexible touch screen display 80. Switch controller 177 can receive information from any or all of the processing modules and use that information as a basis for selecting sensors/DSC coupling arrangements. Switch controller 177 then transmits control signals to the switch network(s) causing the switch networks to selectively couple the selected sensors to the selected drive-sense circuits. For example, when one or more fingers touches the screen, capacitance of sensors proximal to the touch(es) are affected (e.g., impedance changes). The drive-sense circuits (DSCs) coupled to the affected sensors detect the change and provide a representation of the change to the touch screen processing module 82, which may be a separate processing module or integrated into the processing module 42. By changing the coupling of sensors to DSCs, a touch resolution of the touch screen display can be changed. By using different coupling arrangements in different areas of the touch screen display, multiple different touch screen resolutions can be realized concurrently in those different areas.”)
the processing control module is connected to the touch detection module and is respectively connected to all the plurality of switch modules, (Seger, [0109], “The touch screen processing module 82 processes the representative signals from the drive-sense circuits (DSCs) to determine the location of the touch(es). This information is inputted to the processing module 42 for processing as an input. For example, a touch represents a selection of a button on screen, a scroll function, a zoom in-out function, etc.”)
Seger however teaches that it was a known technique to provide the processing control module is configured to determine folding and unfolding states of the touch display panel, and respectively control opening and closing states of all the plurality of switch modules according to the folding and unfolding states, and the processing control module is configured to generate a touch driving signal according to the folding and unfolding states and the touch information, and transmit the touch driving signal to the corresponding first touch unit through the touch detection module.
Chang however teaches that it was a known technique to those having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to provide a processing control module configured to determine folding and unfolding states of the touch display panel, and respectively control opening and closing states of all the plurality of switch modules according to the folding and unfolding states, and the processing control module is configured to generate a touch driving signal according to the folding and unfolding states and the touch information, and transmit the touch driving signal to the corresponding first touch unit through the touch detection module. (Chang, [0033-0036], [0034], “To detect the bending state of the flexible touch panel 502, one or more sensors 104 may be embedded in or disposed at the bending axis X1 and X2. The flexible touch panel 502 comprises a plurality of scanning lines TL′ passing through the flexible touch panel 502 and a plurality of sensing lines RL′ interested with the scanning lines TL′. Similar to the flexible touch panel 102 shown in FIG. 1, the sensing lines RL′ can be activated or deactivated by the controller 106. For example, if the touch region 53 is selected as an operational touch region that is provided to the user to perform touch operation while the other touch regions 51 and 55 are selected as non-operational touch regions (e.g., bending to the backside of the flexible touch panel 502), the controller 106 may activate the sensing lines RL located in the touch region 53 and deactivate the sensing lines RL′ located in the non-operational touch regions 51 and 55. Thus, even the surfaces of the touch regions 51 and 55 may contact to the backside of the flexible touch panel 502 as they have been bended, unwanted touch interference from the touch regions 51 and 55 can still be ignored/blocked. Similarly, when the touch region 51 is selected as the operational touch region, the controller 106 may activate the sensing lines RL′ located in the touch region 51 and deactivate the sensing lines RL′ located in the non-operational touch regions 53 and 55. Again, when the touch region 55 is selected as the operational touch region, the controller 106 may activate the sensing lines RL′ located in the touch region 55 and deactivate the sensing lines RL′ located in the non-operational touch regions 51 and 53. In other words, to reduce touch interference for each bending state of the flexible touch panel 502, the controller 106 may only activate the sensing lines RL′ located in the operation touch region.”)
It therefore would have been obvious to those having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to provide determination for folding and unfolding states of the touch display panel as this was a known technique in view of Chang and provides a technology to drive a flexible touch panel with an adjustable load drive capability setting to meet the RC load corresponding to the current bending type of the flexible touch panel, so that the overall power consumption of the touch control device can be reduced. Moreover, the proposed technology may also selectively deactivate the sensing lines disposed in the non-operational touch region of the flexible touch panel to further reduce unwanted touch interference. (Chang, [0038])
Consider Claim 2:
Seger in view of Chang disclose the touch structure of claim 1, wherein the processing control module comprises a processing module and a control module, the processing module is connected to all the touch detection modules and the control module, the processing module is configured to determine the folding and unfolding states, and transmit a control signal to the control module according to the folding and unfolding states, and the processing module is configured to generate the touch driving signal according to the folding and unfolding states and the touch information, and transmit the touch driving signal to the corresponding first touch unit through the touch detection module; and the control module is respectively connected to all the plurality of switch modules, and is configured to respectively control the opening and closing states of all the plurality of switch modules according to the control signal. (Chang, [0033-0036], [0034], “To detect the bending state of the flexible touch panel 502, one or more sensors 104 may be embedded in or disposed at the bending axis X1 and X2. The flexible touch panel 502 comprises a plurality of scanning lines TL′ passing through the flexible touch panel 502 and a plurality of sensing lines RL′ interested with the scanning lines TL′. Similar to the flexible touch panel 102 shown in FIG. 1, the sensing lines RL′ can be activated or deactivated by the controller 106. For example, if the touch region 53 is selected as an operational touch region that is provided to the user to perform touch operation while the other touch regions 51 and 55 are selected as non-operational touch regions (e.g., bending to the backside of the flexible touch panel 502), the controller 106 may activate the sensing lines RL located in the touch region 53 and deactivate the sensing lines RL′ located in the non-operational touch regions 51 and 55. Thus, even the surfaces of the touch regions 51 and 55 may contact to the backside of the flexible touch panel 502 as they have been bended, unwanted touch interference from the touch regions 51 and 55 can still be ignored/blocked. Similarly, when the touch region 51 is selected as the operational touch region, the controller 106 may activate the sensing lines RL′ located in the touch region 51 and deactivate the sensing lines RL′ located in the non-operational touch regions 53 and 55. Again, when the touch region 55 is selected as the operational touch region, the controller 106 may activate the sensing lines RL′ located in the touch region 55 and deactivate the sensing lines RL′ located in the non-operational touch regions 51 and 53. In other words, to reduce touch interference for each bending state of the flexible touch panel 502, the controller 106 may only activate the sensing lines RL′ located in the operation touch region.”)
Consider Claim 3:
Seger in view of Chang disclose the touch structure of claim 1, further comprising a plurality of touch lines, wherein the plurality of first touch units and the plurality of touch lines are in one- to-one correspondence with each other, the plurality of touch lines comprise first lines and second lines, the plurality of first touch units are connected to the plurality of switch modules through the first lines, and the plurality of switch modules are connected to the touch detection module through the second lines. (Seger, [0118], “Similar to the combination of switch network 173, switch network 175, and switch controller 177 illustrated as separate devices in FIG. 2, the switch controller/network 179 controls the coupling of sensors to drive-sense circuits (DSCs) to adjust the touch resolution of flexible touch screen display 90. FIG. 3 also illustrates data connections via I/O interface 54 and video graphics processing module 48 through which switch controller/network 179 can receive information used to determine an arrangement of sensors and DSCs to use for realizing a target resolution of all, or part, of the flexible touch screen display 90. The information provided to switch controller/network 179 can include, but is not limited to, information identifying a characteristics of a program interacting with flexible touch screen display 90, a display location of particular objects, characteristics of a data frame being rendered on flexible touch screen display 90, and the like. Although not specifically illustrated, any illustrated processing module can provide data to switch controller/network 179, either directly or indirectly.”)
Consider Claim 4:
Seger in view of Chang disclose the touch structure of claim 3, wherein the first lines corresponding to different first touch units are connected to different switch modules, and the second lines corresponding to the different first touch units are respectively connected to the same touch detection module. (Seger, [0118], [0131], “FIG. 5A is a schematic block diagram of an embodiment of touch screen circuitry in a flexible/foldable touch screen display 80 or 90. The touch screen circuitry includes a plurality of drive-sense circuits (DSCs) coupled to a plurality of row electrodes 85-r and a plurality of column electrodes 85-c, digital filtering circuitry 74, reference signal circuitry 78, and touch screen processing module 82. The touch screen circuitry of this example can be incorporated, for example, in any of the devices of FIGS. 1A-3.”)
Consider Claim 5:
Seger in view of Chang disclose the touch structure of claim 3, wherein each first line comprises a plurality of first sub-lines, each second line comprises a plurality of second sub-lines, the plurality of first sub-lines and the plurality of second sub-lines are in one-to-one correspondence with each other, the first lines corresponding to different first touch units are connected to different switch modules, the second lines corresponding to different first touch units each have different numbers of second sub-lines, the second line with a larger number of second sub-lines is divided into a first line portion and a second line portion, the second sub-lines of the first line portion and the second sub- lines of another second line with a smaller number of second sub-lines are connected to each other in one-to-one correspondence to form a common line portion, and the second line portion and the common line portion are respectively connected to the same touch detection module. (Seger, [0179], Chang, [0036], “Compared to the flexible touch panel 502 shown in FIG. 5, the scanning lines TL1/TL2/TL3 of the flexible touch panel 602 are for their corresponding touch regions instead of passing through the whole flexible touch panel 602. Thus, if one of the touch regions (e.g., touch region 61) is selected as the operational touch region while others (e.g., touch regions 63 and 65) are non-operational touch regions, the controller 106 may deactivate both of the scanning lines (e.g., scanning lines TL2 and TL3) and the sensing lines (e.g., sensing lines RL2 and RL3) located in the non-operational touch regions to block touch events therefrom. Besides, in an embodiment, the controller 106 may include multiple sub-controllers 606 that each of which may control a corresponding touch region according to the bending information obtained from the sensor 104, as shown in FIG. 6.”)
Consider Claim 6:
Seger in view of Chang disclose the touch structure of claim 1, further comprising at least one second touch unit, wherein the at least one second touch unit and at least one first touch unit are selectively used as a one-piece touch unit, the number of the touch detection modules is the same as the number of the at least one second touch unit, the touch detection modules are connected to the at least one second touch unit in one-to-one correspondence, and the first touch units are connected to, through different switch modules, the different touch detection modules connected to the second touch units as the one-piece touch unit. (Chang, [0035], “FIG. 6 illustrates an exemplary flexible touch panel 602 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. In the embodiment, the scanning lines and the sensing lines are separated into a plurality groups that each of which is corresponding to a touch region of the flexible touch panel 602. As shown in FIG. 6, the touch region 61 comprises scanning lines TL1 and sensing lines RL1, the touch region 63 comprises scanning lines TL2 and sensing lines RL2, and the touch region 65 comprises scanning lines TL3 and sensing lines RL3. The wirings of these scanning/sensing lines between each touch region are basically independent to each other. Note that, in an embodiment, the flexible touch panel 602 may also be formed by a single layer rather than splicing a plurality of sub-panels together.”)
Consider Claim 7:
Seger in view of Chang disclose the touch structure of claim 6, wherein each touch detection module is configured to detect a capacitance change generated by the second touch unit connected to the touch detection module due to the switching between the folding and unfolding states, the processing control module comprises a processing module and a control module, the control module is connected to all the touch detection modules and all the plurality of switch modules, and the control module is configured to determine the folding and unfolding states according to the capacitance change, and control the opening and closing states of all the plurality of switch modules according to the folding and unfolding states; and the processing module is connected to all the touch detection modules, and the processing module is configured to generate the touch driving signal according to the touch information and the folding and unfolding states, and transmit the touch driving signal to corresponding first touch unit and a corresponding second touch unit through the touch detection modules. (Seger, [0179], Chang, [0036], “Compared to the flexible touch panel 502 shown in FIG. 5, the scanning lines TL1/TL2/TL3 of the flexible touch panel 602 are for their corresponding touch regions instead of passing through the whole flexible touch panel 602. Thus, if one of the touch regions (e.g., touch region 61) is selected as the operational touch region while others (e.g., touch regions 63 and 65) are non-operational touch regions, the controller 106 may deactivate both of the scanning lines (e.g., scanning lines TL2 and TL3) and the sensing lines (e.g., sensing lines RL2 and RL3) located in the non-operational touch regions to block touch events therefrom. Besides, in an embodiment, the controller 106 may include multiple sub-controllers 606 that each of which may control a corresponding touch region according to the bending information obtained from the sensor 104, as shown in FIG. 6.”)
Consider Claim 8:
Seger in view of Chang disclose the touch structure of claim 6, further comprising a plurality of touch lines, wherein the plurality of first touch units and the plurality of touch lines are in one- to-one correspondence with each other, the plurality of touch lines comprise a plurality of first line groups and a plurality of second line groups in one-to-one correspondence with each other, the plurality of first touch units are connected to different switch modules through different first line groups, and different switch modules are connected to different touch detection modules through different second line groups. (Seger, [0131-0140], [0131], “FIG. 5A is a schematic block diagram of an embodiment of touch screen circuitry in a flexible/foldable touch screen display 80 or 90. The touch screen circuitry includes a plurality of drive-sense circuits (DSCs) coupled to a plurality of row electrodes 85-r and a plurality of column electrodes 85-c, digital filtering circuitry 74, reference signal circuitry 78, and touch screen processing module 82. The touch screen circuitry of this example can be incorporated, for example, in any of the devices of FIGS. 1A-3.”)
Consider Claim 9:
Seger in view of Chang disclose the touch structure of claim 1, wherein the touch structure further comprises touch lines, the touch lines comprise an input line group and an output line group, the same first touch unit is connected to the same switch module through the input line group and the output line group, respectively; and the same switch module is connected to the same touch detection module through the input line group and the output line group, respectively. (Seger, [0108], [0118], “Similar to the combination of switch network 173, switch network 175, and switch controller 177 illustrated as separate devices in FIG. 2, the switch controller/network 179 controls the coupling of sensors to drive-sense circuits (DSCs) to adjust the touch resolution of flexible touch screen display 90. FIG. 3 also illustrates data connections via I/O interface 54 and video graphics processing module 48 through which switch controller/network 179 can receive information used to determine an arrangement of sensors and DSCs to use for realizing a target resolution of all, or part, of the flexible touch screen display 90. The information provided to switch controller/network 179 can include, but is not limited to, information identifying a characteristics of a program interacting with flexible touch screen display 90, a display location of particular objects, characteristics of a data frame being rendered on flexible touch screen display 90, and the like. Although not specifically illustrated, any illustrated processing module can provide data to switch controller/network 179, either directly or indirectly.”)
Consider Claim 10:
Seger in view of Chang disclose a touch display panel, comprising a foldable display screen and the touch structure of claim 1. (Seger, [0132], “In the illustrated embodiment, a flexible touch screen display 80 or 90 is configurable to display images in a first touch area 1, a second touch area 2, and a third touch area 3. The first touch area 1 is configured to rotate with respect to the second touch area 2 along a folding axis 33. The second touch area 2 is configured to rotate with respect to the third touch area 3 along a folding axis 35.” Examiner Note: See also claim 1)
Consider Claim 11:
Seger in view of Chang disclose the touch structure of claim 2, wherein the touch structure further comprises touch lines, the touch lines comprise an input line group and an output line group, the same first touch unit is connected to the same switch module through the input line group and the output line group, respectively; and the same switch module is connected to the same touch detection module through the input line group and the output line group, respectively. (Chang, [0035-0037], Seger, [0107] FIG. 2 is a schematic block diagram of an embodiment of a computing device 14 including a flexible touch screen display. The computing device 14 includes a touch screen 16, a core control module 40, one or more processing modules 42, one or more main memories 44, cache memory 46, a video graphics processing module 48, an Input-Output (I/O) peripheral control module 52, one or more network interface modules 60, one or more memory interface modules 62, and one or more input/output interface modules (not separately illustrated). A processing module 42 is described in greater detail below and, in an alternative embodiment, has a direct connection to the main memory 44. In an alternate embodiment, the core control module 40 and the I/O and/or peripheral control module 52 are one module, such as a chipset, a quick path interconnect (QPI), and/or an ultra-path interconnect (UPI).”)
Conclusion
Prior art made of record and not relied upon which is still considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure is cited in a current or previous PTO-892. The prior art cited in a current or previous PTO-892 reads upon the applicants claims in part, in whole and/or gives a general reference to the knowledge and skill of persons having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention. Applicant, when responding to this Office action, should consider not only the cited references applied in the rejection but also any additional references made of record.
In the response to this office action, the Examiner respectfully requests support be shown for any new or amended claims. More precisely, indicate support for any newly added language or amendments by specifying page, line numbers, and/or figure(s). This will assist The Office in compact prosecution of this application. The Office has cited particular columns, paragraphs, and/or line numbers in the applied rejection of the claims above for the convenience of the applicant. Citations are representative of the teachings in the art and are applied to the specific limitations within each claim, however other passages and figures may apply. Applicant, in preparing a response, should fully consider the cited reference(s) in its entirety and not only the cited portions as other sections of the reference may expand on the teachings of the cited portion(s).
Applicant Representatives are reminded of CFR 1.4(d)(2)(ii) which states “A patent practitioner (§ 1.32(a)(1) ), signing pursuant to §§ 1.33(b)(1) or 1.33(b)(2), must supply his/her registration number either as part of the S-signature, or immediately below or adjacent to the S-signature. The number (#) character may be used only as part of the S-signature when appearing before a practitioner’s registration number; otherwise the number character may not be used in an S-signature.” When an unsigned or improperly signed amendment is received the amendment will be listed in the contents of the application file, but not entered. The examiner will notify applicant of the status of the application, advising him or her to furnish a duplicate amendment properly signed or to ratify the amendment already filed. In an application not under final rejection, applicant should be given a two month time period in which to ratify the previously filed amendment (37 CFR 1.135(c) ).
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MICHAEL J JANSEN II whose telephone number is (571)272-5604. The examiner can normally be reached Normally Available Monday-Friday 9am-4pm EST.
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/Michael J Jansen II/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2626
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