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 .
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on May 13, 2026 has been entered.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The text of those sections of Title 35, U.S. Code not included in this action can be found in a prior Office action.
Claim(s) 15,16,18,19,23,26-28,30,32,34 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Cha et al (PG Pub 2021/0249564 A1), Watanabe (PG Pub 2022/0005790 A1), Liu et al (PG Pub 2016/0248040 A1), Liang et al (PG Pub 2021/0242373 A1), Kim et al (PG Pub 2019/0214373 A1), Jang et al (PG Pub 2021/0082887 A1).
Regarding claim 15, Cha teaches a light emitting module, comprising: a circuit board (1001, fig. 4B); a plurality of unit pixels (100) mounted on the circuit board and bonded to a surface of the circuit board via a solder material (133a to 133d, paragraph [0144]); a molding layer (1010) covering the plurality of unit pixels and including epoxy resin (paragraphs [0152][0153]) forming a uniform upper surface disposed above upper surfaces of the plurality of unit pixels and extending continuously over the plurality of unit pixels and over a region between neighboring unit pixels, wherein the molding layer has a region including a light absorbing material (black material, paragraph [0153]), wherein the plurality of unit pixels includes a unit pixel that includes a transparent substrate (121, figs. 3B and 4B, paragraph [0123]), a first LED stack, a second LED stack, and a third LED stack (10a to 10c, fig. 1), wherein the third LED stack includes a first semiconductor layer (21/25, fig. 2B), an active layer (23) disposed directly on the first semiconductor layer, and a second semiconductor layer (25/21) disposed directly on the active layer, the first semiconductor layer and the second semiconductor layer having opposite polarities from each other (paragraph [0110]).
Cha does not teach the molding including an ultraviolet-curable resin.
Cha teaches the including epoxy resin (paragraphs [0152][0153]).
In the same field of endeavor, Watanabe teaches epoxy resin can be ultraviolet-curable (paragraph [0101]), for the benefit of achieving increased curing speed and reduced energy consumption (paragraph [0005] of Liu).
Thus, it would have been obvious to the skilled in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to make the molding layer to include an ultraviolet-curable material, for the benefits of increasing curing speed and reduced energy consumption during manufacturing.
Cha does not teach an anti-glare layer.
In the same field of endeavor, Liang teaches an anti-glare layer (6, fig. 3) disposed on the molding layer (5), wherein a side surface of the circuit board (2), a side surface of the molding layer, and a side surface of the anti-glare layer are flush with one another, for the benefit of reducing reflection of light (paragraph [0028]).
Thus, it would have been obvious to the skilled in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to dispose an anti-glare layer on the molding layer, wherein a side surface of the circuit board, a side surface of the molding layer, and a side surface of the anti-glare layer were flush with one another, for the benefit of reducing reflection of light.
Cha does not teach wherein the first LED stack, the second LED stack, and the third LED stack are sequentially stacked in a vertical direction.
In the same field of endeavor, Kim teaches the first LED stack, the second LED stack, and the third LED stack are sequentially stacked (323, 333, 343, fig. 38B) in a vertical direction and away from the transparent substrate (341), wherein the unit pixel further includes a first bonding layer (349/359) disposed between the first LED stack and the second LED stack, and a second bonding layer (359/349) disposed between the second LED stack and the third LED stack, the first bonding layer and the second bonding layer including a non-conductive material that transmits light (SiO2, paragraphs [0445][0446]), wherein the unit pixel further includes an insulation layer (Bragg reflector 361, fig. 38B) extends along a surface of the third LED stack, wherein the third LED stack, the second LED stack, and the first LED stack are sequentially disposed in the vertical direction (fig. 38B), and wherein sidewalls of the first LED stack, sidewalls of the second LED stack, and sidewalls of the third LED stack are aligned along the vertical direction (fig. 38B), for the benefit of increasing the area of each subpixel without increasing the pixel area (paragraph [0010]).
Cha in view of Kim teaches “the vertical direction that is perpendicular to a surface of the circuit board,” the insulation layer “that extends along a surface of the third LED stack that is parallel to the surface of the circuit board,” and “the third LED stack, the second LED stack, and the first LED stack are sequentially disposed in the vertical direction that is away from the circuit board.”
Thus, it would have been obvious to the skilled in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to sequentially stack the first LED stack, the second LED stack, and the third LED stack in a vertical direction that was perpendicular to a surface of the circuit board and away from the transparent substrate, wherein the unit pixel further includes a first bonding layer disposed between the first LED stack and the second LED stack, and a second bonding layer disposed between the second LED stack and the third LED stack, the first bonding layer and the second bonding layer including a non-conductive material that transmits light, wherein the unit pixel further includes an insulation layer that extends along a surface of the third LED stack that is parallel to the surface of the circuit board, wherein the third LED stack, the second LED stack, and the first LED stack are sequentially disposed in the vertical direction that is away from the circuit board, and wherein sidewalls of the first LED stack, sidewalls of the second LED stack, and sidewalls of the third LED stack are aligned along the vertical direction, for the benefit of increasing the area of each subpixel without increasing the pixel area.
Kim does not explicitly teach wherein the second LED stack is disposed between the first LED stack and the third LED stack and configured to emit light having a shorter wavelength than wavelengths of the first LED stack and the third LED stack.
In the same field of endeavor, Jang teaches the second LED stack (30, fig. 2) is disposed between the first LED stack and the third LED stack and configured to emit light having a shorter wavelength (blue, paragraph [0060]) than wavelengths of the first LED stack and the third LED stack (red and green, paragraph [0060]), for the benefit of providing standard white light (paragraph [0008]).
Thus, it would have been obvious to the skilled in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to dispose the second LED stack between the first LED stack and the third LED stack and to configure the second LED stack to emit light having a shorter wavelength than wavelengths of the first LED stack and the third LED stack for the benefit of providing standard white light.
Regarding claim 16, Cha teaches the light emitting module of claim 15, wherein the molding layer includes a uniform material (fig. 4B).
Regarding claim 18, Jang teaches the light emitting module of claim 15, wherein the first LED stack, the second LED stack, and the third LED stack are configured to emit green light, blue light, and red light, respectively (paragraph [0060]), and wherein a luminous intensity ratio of the red light, the green light, and the blue light is approximately 3: 6: 1 (paragraph [0060]).
Regarding claim 19, Cha in view of Watanabe, Liu, Liang, Kim, and Jang teaches (see claim 15) a display apparatus, comprising: a display substrate (2100, fig. 1 of Cha, paragraph [0098]); and a plurality of light emitting modules (1000, figs. 1 and 4B of Cha) arranged on the display substrate, each of the plurality of light emitting modules comprising: a circuit board (1001, fig. 4B of Cha); a plurality of unit pixels mounted on the circuit board and bonded to a surface of the circuit board via a solder material; a molding layer covering the plurality of unit pixels and including an ultraviolet-curable resin forming a uniform upper surface disposed above upper surfaces of the plurality of unit pixels and extending continuously over the plurality of unit pixels and over a region between neighboring unit pixels; and an anti-glare layer disposed on the molding layer, wherein the molding layer has a region configured to absorb light emitted by the plurality of unit pixels, wherein a side surface of the circuit board, a side surface of the molding layer, and a side surface of the anti-glare layer are flush with one another, wherein the plurality of unit pixels includes a unit pixel that includes a transparent substrate, a first LED stack, a second LED stack, and a third LED stack, wherein the first LED stack, the second LED stack, and the third LED stack are sequentially stacked in a vertical direction that is perpendicular to a surface of the circuit board and away from the transparent substrate, and wherein the second LED stack is disposed between the first LED stack and the third LED stack and configured to emit light having a shorter wavelength than wavelengths of the first LED stack and the third LED stack, wherein the unit pixel further includes a first bonding layer disposed between the first LED stack and the second LED stack, and a second bonding layer disposed between the second LED stack and the third LED stack, the first bonding layer and the second bonding layer including a non-conductive material that transmits light, wherein the third LED stack includes a first semiconductor layer, an active layer directly disposed on the first semiconductor layer, and a second semiconductor layer directly disposed on the active layer, the first semiconductor layer and the second semiconductor layer having opposite polarities from each other, wherein the unit pixel further includes an insulation layer extends along a surface of the third LED stack that is parallel to the surface of the circuit board, wherein the third LED stack, the second LED stack, and the first LED stack are sequentially disposed in the vertical direction that is away from the circuit board, and wherein sidewalls of the first LED stack, sidewalls of the second LED stack, and sidewalls of the third LED stack are aligned along the vertical direction.
Regarding claim 23, Jang teaches the display apparatus of claim 19, wherein the first LED stack, the second LED stack, and the third LED stack are configured to emit green light, blue light, and red light, respectively, and wherein a luminous intensity ratio of the red light, the green light, and the blue light is approximately 3: 6: 1 (paragraph [0060]).
Regarding claim 26, Cha teaches the light emitting module of claim 15, wherein the molding layer is configured to prevent optical interference between the plurality of unit pixels (paragraph [0152]).
Regarding claim 27, Cha teaches the light emitting module of claim 15, wherein the molding layer includes at least one of a dry-film type solder resist (DFSR), a photoimageable solder resist (PSR), or a black material (BM) (paragraph [0153]).
Regarding claim 28, Liang teaches the light emitting module of claim 15, wherein the anti-glare layer covers an upper surface of the molding layer and configured to prevent light reflection (paragraph [0028]), or wherein the anti-glare layer includes an ultraviolet-curable material.
Regarding claim 30, Cha in view of Watanabe, Liu, Liang, Kim, and Jang teaches (see claim 15) a light emitting module, comprising: a circuit board; a plurality of unit pixels disposed on the circuit board and bonded to a surface of the circuit board via a solder material; a molding layer disposed on the circuit board and having a light absorbing material; and an anti-glare layer disposed on the circuit board, wherein the molding layer includes an ultraviolet-curable material forming a uniform upper surface and covers an upper region of the circuit board and a side surface of the plurality of unit pixels, and wherein the anti-glare layer contacts a region of the molding layer, wherein the plurality of unit pixels includes a unit pixel that includes a transparent substrate, a first LED stack, a second LED stack, and a third LED stack, wherein the first LED stack, the second LED stack, and the third LED stack are sequentially stacked in a vertical direction that is perpendicular to a surface of the circuit board and away from the transparent substrate, and wherein the second LED stack is disposed between the first LED stack and the third LED stack and configured to emit light having a shorter wavelength than wavelengths of the first LED stack and the third LED stack, wherein the unit pixel further includes a first bonding layer disposed between the first LED stack and the second LED stack, and a second bonding layer disposed between the second LED stack and the third LED stack, the first bonding layer and the second bonding layer including a non-conductive material that transmits light, wherein the third LED stack includes a first semiconductor layer, an active layer disposed directly on the first semiconductor layer, and a second semiconductor layer disposed directly on the active layer, the first semiconductor layer and the second semiconductor layer having opposite polarities from each other, wherein the unit pixel further includes an insulation layer extends along the surface of the third LED stack that is parallel to the surface of the circuit board, wherein the third LED stack, the second LED stack, and the first LED stack are sequentially disposed in the vertical direction that is away from the circuit board, and wherein sidewalls of the first LED stack, sidewalls of the second LED stack, and sidewalls of the third LED stack are aligned along the vertical direction.
Regarding claim 32, Jang teaches the light emitting module of claim 30, wherein the first LED stack, the second LED stack, and the third LED stack are configured to emit green light, blue light, and red light, respectively, and a luminous intensity ratio of the red light, the green light, and the blue light is approximately 3: 6: 1 (paragraph [0060]).
Regarding claim 34, Kim does not teach the light emitting module of claim 30, wherein a unit pixel has an area of 500 µm x 500 µm or less.
Official notice: It would have been obvious to the skilled in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to optimize the size of the unit pixel according to the use of the device (indoor use for smaller screens versus outdoor use for larger screen and viewed from afar). “[W]here the general conditions of a claim are disclosed in the prior art, it is not inventive to discover the optimum or workable ranges by routine experimentation.” In re Aller, 220 F.2d 454, 456, 105 USPQ 233, 235 (CCPA 1955).
Claim(s) 25 and 33 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Cha et al (PG Pub 2021/0249564 A1), Watanabe (PG Pub 2022/0005790 A1), Liu et al (PG Pub 2016/0248040 A1), Liang et al (PG Pub 2021/0242373 A1), Kim et al (PG Pub 2019/0214373 A1), Jang et al (PG Pub 2021/0082887 A1) as applied to claims 15 and 30 above, and further in view of Yamazaki et al (PG Pub 2004/0195965 A1) and Hawker et al (PG Pub 2011/0147722 A1).
Regarding claim 25, the previous combination remains as applied in claim 15.
The previous combination does not teach the molding layer has a hardness greater than a thermosetting resin.
In the same field of endeavor, Yamazaki teaches providing a molding layer (1107, paragraph [0122]) that has a hardness of 90 (paragraph [0122]), for the benefit of providing a molding layer that is heat resistant (paragraph [0122]).
Hawker teaches there exists a thermosetting resin (resin cured by heat, paragraph [0166]) that has a hardness of 14 (paragraph [0166]).
Thus, it would have been obvious to the skilled in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to use a molding layer that has a hardness of 90, for the benefit of providing a molding layer that is heat resistant. As a result, the claimed features are met: “has a hardness greater than a thermosetting resin.”
Regarding claim 33, the previous combination remains as applied in claim 30.
The previous combination does not teach the molding layer has a hardness greater than a thermosetting resin.
In the same field of endeavor, Yamazaki teaches providing a molding layer (1107, paragraph [0122]) that has a hardness of 90 (paragraph [0122]), for the benefit of providing a molding layer that is heat resistant (paragraph [0122]).
Hawker teaches there exists a thermosetting resin (resin cured by heat, paragraph [0166]) that has a hardness of 14 (paragraph [0166]).
Thus, it would have been obvious to the skilled in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to use a molding layer that has a hardness of 90, for the benefit of providing a molding layer that is heat resistant. As a result, the claimed features are met: “has a hardness greater than a thermosetting resin.”
Claim(s) 29 and 35 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Cha et al (PG Pub 2021/0249564 A1), Watanabe (PG Pub 2022/0005790 A1), Liu et al (PG Pub 2016/0248040 A1), Liang et al (PG Pub 2021/0242373 A1), Kim et al (PG Pub 2019/0214373 A1), Jang et al (PG Pub 2021/0082887 A1) as applied to claims 15 and 30 above, and further in view of Fukuda et al (PG Pub 2008/0241524 A1).
Regarding claim 29, the previous combination remains as applied in claim 15.
The previous combination does not teach the anti-glare layer includes at least one silica, melamine, or acryl.
In the same field of endeavor, Fukuda teaches the anti-glare layer includes at least one silica, melamine, or acryl (acrylate, paragraph [0006]), for the benefit of achieving physical strength (paragraph [0006]).
Thus, it would have been obvious to the skilled in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to make the anti-glare layer to include at least one silica, melamine, or acryl, for the benefit of achieving physical strength.
Regarding claim 35, the previous combination remains as applied in claim 30.
The previous combination does not teach a thickness of the anti-glare layer is about 10 µm.
In the same field of endeavor, Fukuda teaches a thickness of the anti-glare layer is about 10 µm (paragraph [0006]), for the benefit of achieving physical strength (paragraph [0006]).
Thus, it would have been obvious to the skilled in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to make a thickness of the anti-glare layer is about 10 µm, for the benefit of achieving physical strength.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed April 22, 2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive. Applicant argues that the bonding layers in Kim “do not operate in the same manner as the claimed non-conductive bonding layers”. 3rd para., pg. 10. In response, Kim teaches layers 349 and 359 to be “bonding layers” (paragraphs [0445][0446]). Nothing in the claims differentiate claimed bonding layers from those claimed.
Applicant argues that Liu does not teach a UV curable resin forming a uniform upper surface. 5th para., pg. 11. In response, Cha teaches resin forming a uniform upper surface (fig. 4B). See rejection above.
Conclusion
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/FEIFEI YEUNG LOPEZ/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2899
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