DETAILED ACTION
This Office action responds to Applicant’s amendments filed on 11/07/2025.
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 . In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for a 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.
Amendment Status
The present Office action is made with all previously suggested amendments being fully considered. Accordingly, pending in this Office action are claims 1-8 and 15-20.
Information Disclosure Statement (IDS)
Acknowledgement is made of Applicant’s Information Disclosure Statement (IDS) form PTO-1449. The IDS has been considered.
Specification
The specification has been checked to the extend necessary to determine the presence of possible minor errors. However, the Applicant’s cooperation is requested in correcting any errors of which Applicant may become aware in the specification.
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.
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.
Claims 1-6 and 15-18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Park (US 2020/0029432) in view of Kang (US 2017/0125451).
Regarding claims 1 and 15, Park (see, e.g., Park: fig. 16) shows most aspects of the instant invention including a display device or at least one display panel, comprising:
A second base layer 140 including a first opening
A first barrier layer 130 located on a surface of the second base layer 140, and including a second opening
A pad electrode 700 located on the on the first barrier layer 130 and overlapping the second opening in a plane view
wherein:
A second groove is formed at a surface of the pad electrode 700
The first opening exposes the second groove
Park, however, fails (see, e.g., Park: fig. 16) to specify that at least one first groove is formed at a surface of the first barrier layer 130. Kang, in a similar device to Park, teaches (see, e.g., Kang: fig. 4) least one first groove is formed at a surface of the first barrier layer 130. Kang further teaches that the first grooves made outside the first portions of the interlayer insulating layer 130 are to trap a surplus of conductive balls 500 in order to avoid short circuit between the plurality of pads 410 due to external conductive balls 500 (see, e.g., Kang: par. [0063]).
It would have been obvious at the time of filing the invention to one of ordinary skill in the art to include the first grooves in the display device of Park, as taught by Kang, to trap a surplus of conductive balls in order to avoid short circuit between the plurality of pads due to external conductive balls.
Park in view of Kang (see, e.g., Kang: fig. 4) also shows that the first opening exposes the at least one first groove.
Regarding claim 2, Park in view of Kang (see, e.g., Park: fig. 16) shows that the pad electrode 700 and a chip on film 900 are electrically connected to each other through the first opening.
Regarding claims 3 and 16, Park in view of Kang (see, e.g., Park: fig. 16) shows that the pad electrode 700 and the chip on film 900 are electrically connected to each other through a connection ball 810.
Regarding claim 4, Park in view of Kang (see, e.g., Park: fig. 16) shows that the connection ball 810 is located in the second groove formed in the 700.
Regarding claims 5 and 17, Park in view of Kang (see, e.g., Park: fig. 16) shows that the pad electrode 700 includes a first layer 710 and a second layer 720, wherein the first layer 710 includes titanium (see, e.g., Park: par. [0088] and [0076]), and the second layer 720 includes copper (see, e.g., Park: par. [0088] and [0074]).
Regarding claims 6 and 18, Park in view of Kang (see, e.g., Park: fig. 16) shows that the second groove is formed at a lower surface of the second layer 720.
Claims 7 and 19 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Park in view of Kang in further view of Na (US 2016/0042691).
Regarding claims 7 and 19, Park in view of Kang shows most aspects of the instant invention (see paragraphs 8-11 above) including:
A second barrier layer 120 overlapping an upper surface of the first barrier layer 130 and an upper surface of the pad electrode 700 in a plan view
A first base layer 100 located on the second barrier layer 120
A pixel circuit layer 110/210/120/130/140 located on the first base layer 100
However, Park in view of Kang fails to show that the pixel circuit layer 110/210/120/130/140 includes a data line. Na, in a similar device to the combined teachings of Park and Kang, teaches (see, e.g., Na: fig. 22) that pixel circuit layer 151/152/154/155/156 includes a data line 155c (see, e.g., Na: par. [0203]). Na further teaches that the pixel circuit includes data lines in order to supply data signals to the subpixels of the display device such as the selected subpixels emitting light and thus displaying an image (see, e.g., Na: par. [0006] – [0007]).
It would have been obvious at the time of filing the invention to one of ordinary skill in the art to include a data line in the pixel circuit layer of the display device of the combined teaching of Park and Kang, as taught by Na, to supply data signals to the subpixels of the display device such as the selected subpixels emitting light and thus displaying an image.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 8 and 20 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Response to Arguments
Applicants’ arguments have been considered but are moot in view of the previous grounds of rejection.
The applicants argue:
Park in view of Kang fails to anticipate or otherwise render obvious the limitation of “… at least one first groove is formed at the surface of the first barrier layer””, as it was previously recited in exemplary claims 1, and that there is no apparent reason that a person of ordinary skill in the art would be motivated to add the first groove formed in "130(Kang)" to "130(Park)" while maintaining the second opening formed in "130(Park)"14 as recited in the Applicant’s arguments.
The examiner responds:
In view of the previous grounds of rejection, Chang in view of Kang shows teaches (see, e.g., Kang: fig. 4) at least one first groove is formed at a surface of the first barrier layer 130. Kang further teaches that the first grooves made outside the first portions of the interlayer insulating layer 130 are to trap a surplus of conductive balls 500 in order to avoid short circuit between the plurality of pads 410 due to external conductive balls 500 (see, e.g., Kang: par. [0063]).
It would have been obvious at the time of filing the invention to one of ordinary skill in the art to include the first grooves in the display device of Park, as taught by Kang, to trap a surplus of conductive balls in order to avoid short circuit between the plurality of pads due to external conductive balls.
Conclusion
This action is made final. Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire three months from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within two months of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the three-month shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any extension fee pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than six months from the date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to TIBERIU DAN ONUTA whose telephone number is (571) 270-0074 and between the hours of 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM (Eastern Standard Time) Monday through Friday or by e-mail via Tiberiu.Onuta@uspto.gov. If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone or email are unsuccessful, the examiner's supervisor, Wael Fahmy, can be reached on (571) 272-1705.
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/TIBERIU DAN ONUTA/Examiner, Art Unit 2814
/WAEL M FAHMY/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2814
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