DETAILED ACTION
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
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
Claim(s) 1 and 8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Xu et al. (US Pub. 20230052091, Xu) in view of Hanakawa et al. (US Pub. 20020008815, Hanakawa).
As per claim 1, Xu teaches (in figures 5-7) a display panel, comprising: an array substrate (substrate 110) comprising a first area (display area DA) and a second area (non-display area NA) arranged in a first direction (X direction as shown in figure 5); a driving assembly comprising a driver chip (driving chip 300 located in chip integration area CA) located in the second area and at least a bonding pad group (second pad groups 130) electrically connected to the driver chip, and the driving assembly electrically connected to driving wirings (first signal lines 161 and second signal line 170) located in the first area; and the driver chip is located in a third area (chip integration area CA); wherein an orthographic projection of the driver chip (driving chip 300 located in chip integration area CA) on a first plane (plane formed parallel to the X direction and extending out of the page in figure 5) overlaps an orthographic projection of the bonding pad group (second pad groups 130) on the first plane, and the first plane is parallel to the first direction and perpendicular to the display panel; wherein the bonding pad group is disposed on both sides of the driver chip, the orthographic projection of the driver chip on the first plane is within the orthographic projection of the bonding pad group on the first plane, or the orthographic projection of the bonding pad group on the first plane is within the orthographic projection of the driver chip on the first plane (see figures 5-6 and paragraph 23).
Xu does not explicitly teach a color filter substrate disposed opposite to the array substrate wherein an opening is located at the color filter substrate, and the driver chip is located in a third area opposite to the opening on a side of the array substrate close to the color filter substrate.
However, Hanakawa teaches (in figures 1-4) providing a color filter substrate (viewer-side substrate 200) disposed opposite to an array substrate (backside substrate 300) wherein an opening is located at the color filter substrate (portion above the backside substate 300 which protrudes from the view-side substrate 200, see figure 1 and paragraph 74), and the driver chip is located in a third area (area of backside substrate 300 not covered by the viewer-side substrate 200) opposite to the opening on a side of the array substrate close to the color filter substrate and providing a sealant (sealant 110) with spacers (114) to seal liquid crystal material (160).
It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to include the color filter substrate, sealant, spacers and liquid crystal material from Hanakawa in the device of Xu.
The motivation would have been to provide a color image to the user.
As per claim 8, Xu teaches (in figures 5-7) a display panel, comprising: an array substrate (substrate 110) comprising a first area (display area DA) and a second area (non-display area NA) arranged in a first direction (X direction as shown in figure 5); a driving assembly comprising a driver chip (driving chip 300 located in chip integration area CA) located in the second area and at least a bonding pad group (second pad groups 130) electrically connected to the driver chip, and the driving assembly electrically connected to driving wirings (first signal lines 161 and second signal line 170) located in the first area; and the driver chip is located in a third area (chip integration area CA); wherein an orthographic projection of the driver chip (driving chip 300 located in chip integration area CA) on a first plane (plane formed parallel to the X direction and extending out of the page in figure 5) overlaps an orthographic projection of the bonding pad group (second pad groups 130) on the first plane, and the first plane is parallel to the first direction and perpendicular to the display panel (see figures 5-6 and paragraph 23).
Xu does not explicitly teach a color filter substrate disposed opposite to the array substrate wherein an opening is located at the color filter substrate, and the driver chip is located in a third area opposite to the opening on a side of the array substrate close to the color filter substrate.
However, Hanakawa teaches (in figures 1-4) providing a color filter substrate (viewer-side substrate 200) disposed opposite to an array substrate (backside substrate 300) wherein an opening is located at the color filter substrate (portion above the backside substate 300 which protrudes from the view-side substrate 200, see figure 1 and paragraph 74), and the driver chip is located in a third area (area of backside substrate 300 not covered by the viewer-side substrate 200) opposite to the opening on a side of the array substrate close to the color filter substrate and providing a sealant (sealant 110) with spacers (114) to seal liquid crystal material (160).
It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to include the color filter substrate, sealant, spacers and liquid crystal material from Hanakawa in the device of Xu.
The motivation would have been to provide a color image to the user.
Claim(s) 2-7, 9-17, and 19-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Xu et al. (US Pub. 20230052091, Xu) and Hanakawa et al. (US Pub. 20020008815, Hanakawa) as applied to claims 1 and 8 respectively above and in further view of Jung (KR20100049826A, with reference made to provided machine translation).
As per claim 2, Xu in view of Hanakawa teaches that the bonding pad group (second pad groups 130 in Xu) is located on the side of the array substrate (upper surface of substrate 110 in Xu) close to the color filter substrate (viewer-side substrate 200 from Hanakawa); wherein the driving assembly further comprises a flexible printed circuit board (flexible printed circuit 400) connected to a side of the display panel close to the bonding pad group and the flexible printed circuit board is electrically connected to the bonding pad group.
Xu in view of Hanakawa does not explicitly teach that the flexible printed circuit board is bent such that the flexible printed circuit board is fixed to a side of the array substrate away from the color filter substrate.
However, Jung teaches (in figures 3-5) providing LEDs (129) on the flexible printed circuit board (160) and bending the flexible printed circuit board and fixing it to a side of an array substrate (112) away from a color filter substrate (114) in order to provide light to the liquid crystal display without providing an additional flexible printed circuit board thereby forming a display which is thinner and lighter (paragraph 56).
It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the flexible printed circuit board in Xu such that it comprises LED and is fixed to a rear side of the array substrate in order to provide light for the display while providing a thinner and lighter display.
As per claim 3, Xu teaches (in figures 5-7) that the bonding pad group (130) is electrically connected to the driver chip (300) through a wire group (140), and the driver chip is electrically connected to the driving wirings (161 and 170) (see paragraphs 18-20 and 39).
As per claim 4, Xu teaches (in figures 5-7) that the orthographic projection of the driver chip (300) on the first plane is within the orthographic projection of the bonding pad group (130) on the first plane; wherein the bonding pad group comprises a plurality of bonding pads (131), and each of the bonding pads comprises a first end (lower ends of 131) and a second end (upper ends of 131) that are arranged opposite to each other in the first direction, wherein a plurality of the first ends in the bonding pad group are arranged in alignment with each other in a second direction (Y direction), and the second direction is perpendicular to the first direction (X direction); and wherein the wire group (140) comprises a plurality of wires arranged in a one- to-one correspondence with the bonding pads (see figure 6), the second end of each of the bonding pads is electrically connected to the driver chip through a corresponding one of the wires.
The cited embodiment in Xu does not teach that a size of one of adjacent ones of the bonding pads close to the driver chip in the first direction is less than a size of the other one of the adjacent bonding pads away from the driver chip in the first direction, so that the second ends in the bonding pad group each have a size difference in the first direction, and each of the wires is located in a size difference area defined by the corresponding bonding pad.
However, Xu teaches in an earlier embodiment (shown in figures 3-4) forming a size of one of adjacent ones of the bonding pads close to the driver chip in the first direction (size of 131b) is less than a size of the other one of the adjacent bonding pads away from the driver chip in the first direction (size of 131a), so that the second ends in the bonding pad group each have a size difference in the first direction (X direction), and each of the wires (140a and 140b) is located in a size difference area defined by the corresponding bonding pad (see figure 4) in order to save space and facilitate the arrangement of the connecting lines (paragraph 29).
It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to use the layout of the bonding pad groups and connecting lines taught in the embodiment of Xu shown in figures 3-4 in order to save space and facilitate the arrangement of the connecting lines.
As per claim 5, Xu in view of Hanakawa teaches a sealant (110 from Hanakawa) located between the color filter substrate (200 from Hanakawa) and the array substrate (110 in Xu corresponding to 300 in Hanakawa) and disposed at least opposite to a periphery of the opening (see figure 1 in Hanakawa).
As per claim 6, Xu in view of Hanakawa teaches a plurality of supporting parts (114 from Hanakawa) located between the color filter substrate (200 from Hanakawa) and the array substrate (110 in Xu corresponding to 300 in Hanakawa), and the supporting parts are arranged at least along a periphery of the opening (see paragraph 72 and figures 1 and 4 in Hanakawa).
As per claim 7, Xu teaches (in figures 5-7) that at least one of the bonding pad groups (130) comprises a plurality of the bonding pads (131) arranged in the second direction (Y direction) or in the first direction, wherein the second direction is perpendicular to the first direction.
As per claim 9, Xu in view of Hanakawa teaches that the bonding pad group (second pad groups 130 in Xu) is located on the side of the array substrate (upper surface of substrate 110 in Xu) close to the color filter substrate (viewer-side substrate 200 from Hanakawa); wherein the driving assembly further comprises a flexible printed circuit board (flexible printed circuit 400) connected to a side of the display panel close to the bonding pad group and the flexible printed circuit board is electrically connected to the bonding pad group.
Xu in view of Hanakawa does not explicitly teach that the flexible printed circuit board is bent such that the flexible printed circuit board is fixed to a side of the array substrate away from the color filter substrate.
However, Jung teaches (in figures 3-5) providing LEDs (129) on the flexible printed circuit board (160) and bending the flexible printed circuit board and fixing it to a side of an array substrate (112) away from a color filter substrate (114) in order to provide light to the liquid crystal display without providing an additional flexible printed circuit board thereby forming a display which is thinner and lighter (paragraph 56).
As per claim 10, Xu teaches (in figures 5-7) that the bonding pad group (130) is electrically connected to the driver chip (300) through a wire group (140), and the driver chip is electrically connected to the driving wirings (170) (see paragraphs 18-20 and 39).
As per claim 11, Xu teaches (in figures 5-7) that the bonding pad group (130) is disposed on both sides of the driver chip (driving chip 300 located in chip integration area CA).
As per claim 12, Xu teaches (in figures 5-7) that wherein an orthographic projection of the driver chip (driving chip 300 located in chip integration area CA) on the first plane (plane formed parallel to the X direction and extending out of the page in figure 5) is within the orthographic projection of the bonding pad group (second pad groups 130) on the first plane, or the orthographic projection of the bonding pad group on the first plane is within the orthographic projection of the driver chip on the first plane (see figures 5-6 and paragraph 23).
As per claim 13, Xu teaches (in figures 5-7) that the orthographic projection of the driver chip (300) on the first plane is within the orthographic projection of the bonding pad group (130) on the first plane; wherein the bonding pad group comprises a plurality of bonding pads (131), and each of the bonding pads comprises a first end (lower ends of 131) and a second end (upper ends of 131) that are arranged opposite to each other in the first direction, wherein a plurality of the first ends in the bonding pad group are arranged in alignment with each other in a second direction (Y direction), and the second direction is perpendicular to the first direction (X direction); and wherein the wire group (140) comprises a plurality of wires arranged in a one- to-one correspondence with the bonding pads (see figure 6), the second end of each of the bonding pads is electrically connected to the driver chip through a corresponding one of the wires.
The cited embodiment in Xu does not teach that a size of one of adjacent ones of the bonding pads close to the driver chip in the first direction is less than a size of the other one of the adjacent bonding pads away from the driver chip in the first direction, so that the second ends in the bonding pad group each have a size difference in the first direction, and each of the wires is located in a size difference area defined by the corresponding bonding pad.
However, Xu teaches in an earlier embodiment (shown in figures 3-4) forming a size of one of adjacent ones of the bonding pads close to the driver chip in the first direction (size of 131b) is less than a size of the other one of the adjacent bonding pads away from the driver chip in the first direction (size of 131a), so that the second ends in the bonding pad group each have a size difference in the first direction (X direction), and each of the wires (140a and 140b) is located in a size difference area defined by the corresponding bonding pad (see figure 4) in order to save space and facilitate the arrangement of the connecting lines (paragraph 29).
It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to use the layout of the bonding pad groups and connecting lines taught in the embodiment of Xu shown in figures 3-4 in order to save space and facilitate the arrangement of the connecting lines.
As per claim 14, Xu in view of Hanakawa teaches a sealant (110 from Hanakawa) located between the color filter substrate (200 from Hanakawa) and the array substrate (110 in Xu corresponding to 300 in Hanakawa) and disposed at least opposite to a periphery of the opening (see figure 1 in Hanakawa).
As per claim 15, Xu in view of Hanakawa teaches a plurality of supporting parts (114 from Hanakawa) located between the color filter substrate (200 from Hanakawa) and the array substrate (110 in Xu corresponding to 300 in Hanakawa), and the supporting parts are arranged at least along a periphery of the opening (see paragraph 72 and figures 1 and 4 in Hanakawa).
As per claim 16, Xu teaches (in figures 5-7) that at least one of the bonding pad groups (130) comprises a plurality of the bonding pads (131) arranged in the second direction (Y direction) or in the first direction, wherein the second direction is perpendicular to the first direction.
As per claim 17, Xu teaches (in figures 5-7) that each of the bonding pad groups (131) comprises a plurality of the bonding pads (individual pads 131) arranged in the first direction (X direction), and each of the bonding pads comprises a contact end disposed close to an edge of the display panel (lower ends of individual pads 131); wherein the flexible printed circuit board (400) is arranged close to and connected to the plurality contact ends in the bonding pad group.
As per claim 19, Xu does not teach that the driving assembly further comprises a conductive portion located between a side of the display panel and the flexible printed circuit board; wherein one side of the conductive portion is electrically connected to the bonding pad group, and the other side is electrically connected to the flexible printed circuit board.
However, Hanakawa teaches (in figure 6) providing a conductive portion (“anisotropic conductive sheet”) located between a side of the display panel (upper side) and the flexible printed circuit board (FPC board 150); wherein one side of the conductive portion is electrically connected to a bonding pad group (leads 360 and 370), and the other side is electrically connected to the flexible printed circuit board (paragraph 100).
It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the device of Xu to include a conductive portion as suggested by Hanakawa.
The motivation would have been to ensure a strong electrical connection between the components.
As per claim 20, Xu does not teach a fixing part located on an edge of the display panel close to the flexible printed circuit board and connected to the edge of the display panel and the flexible printed circuit board.
However, Hanakawa teaches (in figure 6) providing a fixing part (“anisotropic conductive sheet”) close to the flexible printed circuit board (FPC board 150); and connected to the edge of the display panel and the flexible printed circuit board (paragraph 100 and figure 6).
It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the device of Xu to include fixing part as suggested by Hanakawa.
The motivation would have been to ensure a strong electrical connection between the components.
Claim(s) 18 rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Xu et al. (US Pub. 20230052091, Xu), Hanakawa et al. (US Pub. 20020008815, Hanakawa), and Jung (KR20100049826A, with reference made to provided machine translation) as applied to claim 17 above and in further view of Cai et al. (US Pub. 20150309381, Cai).
As per claim 18, Xu teaches that the first area comprises a fourth area (area of DA adjacent to area NA at the bottom of the display) adjoining a periphery of the array substrate in the first direction (X-direction).
Xu does not teach that the driving wirings located in the fourth area are arranged in layers, and the driving wirings located in different layers are electrically connected through via holes.
However, Cai teaches (in figures 4-5) forming lead wires (metal wires 3) in a first layer and signal wires (data signal wires 01) to be in different layers and connecting the signal wires through via holes (011 and 031) in order to reduce the widths and the gaps between the wires (paragraphs 57-58).
It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the driving wiring to include driving wirings located in different layer and electrically connected through a via hole as suggested by Cai.
The motivation would have been to reduce the width and the caps between the wires.
Conclusion
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/ALEXANDER P GROSS/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2871
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