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and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114.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 03/26/2026 has been entered.
Response to Amendments
Acknowledgment is made of the amendment filed 04/03/2026 (“AMSB”), in which: claims 1, 8, 14, and 23 are amended; claim 6 is cancelled; no new claims are added; and the rejection of the claims are traversed. Claims 1, 3 – 4, 8, 11 – 12, 14 – 19, and 22 – 27 are currently pending an Office action on the merits as follows.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claims 1, 3 – 4, 8, 11 – 12, 14 – 19, and 22 – 27 currently pending, have been fully considered but are moot in view of the new grounds of rejection.
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.
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 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.
Claims 1, 3, 8, 11 – 12, 14 – 19, 22 – 24, and 26 – 27 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Liu (US 20200066809 A1) and further in view of Fan et al. (US 20210066409 A1), Song et al. (US 20200020759 A1), and Kim et al. (US 20200211473 A1).
Regarding independent Claim 1, Liu teaches a display substrate, having
a first side for display and a second side opposite to the first side, wherein the display substrate comprises a display region (Liu teaches in [0039] a display screen shown in Fig. 2B; wherein examiner is interpreting the display screen to be a display region);
the display region comprises a first display region (Fig. 2B; first region 100) and a second display region (Fig. 2B; second region 200) at least partially surrounding the first display region (Fig. 2B), the first display region allows light from the first side to be at least partially transmitted to the second side (at least [0031] and [0057]);
the first display region comprises a plurality of first sub-pixels (Fig. 2B; plurality of sub-pixels R/G/B in the first display region) arranged in an array, each of the plurality of first sub-pixels comprises a first light-emitting device (Fig. 2B; first-type light emitting unit 101. See [0067]),
the display region comprises a plurality of first pixel circuits (Liu teaches in [0065], “integrating organic light-emitting diode (OLED) pixels on a TFT array, controlling the magnitude of current flowing into each of the OLED pixels by the TFT array, and thus determining light-emitting intensity of each pixel”, which is understood by the examiner to be teaching a pixel circuit, e.g., a first pixel circuit would be any one of the TFT circuits for each first light -emitting device in the first region), and the plurality of first pixel circuits are respectively electrically connected to a plurality of first light-emitting devices of the plurality of first sub-pixels to respectively drive the plurality of first light-emitting devices ([0065] and [0113]. Also see [0117], wherein Liu teaches, “Each of the first sub-pixel electrode 31, the second sub-pixel electrode 32, and the third sub-pixel electrode 33 may be electrically connected to the TFT through the via hole”),
…
each of the plurality of first pixel circuits comprises a first thin film transistor (Examiner understand Liu’s Fig. 11 to be applicable to pixels in the first region and the second region, such that the TFTs shown in Fig. 11 also represent the first pixel circuit in addition to the second pixel circuit), the first thin film transistor comprises a first active layer (Fig. 11 and [0113]; semiconductor layer 21), a first gate electrode (Fig. 11 and [0113]; gate electrode 22), and a first source-drain electrode (Fig. 11 and [0113]; drain electrode 24), the first light-emitting device comprises a first electrode (Fig. 11; sub-pixel electrode 31/32/33), a second electrode (Fig. 11; counter electrode 61), and a first light-emitting layer (Fig. 11; light-emitting layer 51) between the first electrode and the second electrode of the first light-emitting device (Fig. 11), the first electrode of the first light-emitting device is electrically connected to the first source-drain electrode through a first via (Fig. 11);
the plurality of first sub-pixels include a plurality of first color sub-pixels (Fig. 2B; red sub-pixel R), a plurality of second color sub-pixels (Fig. 2B; blue sub-pixel B) and a plurality of third color sub-pixels (Fig. 2B; green sub-pixel G), one first color sub-pixel, one second color sub-pixel and two third color sub-pixels consist of a repeating unit (Fig. 2B; first-type light-emitting unit 101), the one first color sub-pixel is a red sub-pixel (Fig. 2B), the one second color sub-pixel is a blue sub-pixel (Fig. 2B), and the two third color sub-pixel are two green sub-pixels (Fig. 2B), a light-emitting region of the red sub-pixel and a light-emitting region of one of the two green sub-pixels are located in a first row (See excerpt of Fig. 2B below), a light-emitting region of the blue sub-pixel is located in a second row (See excerpt of Fig. 2B below), a light-emitting region of another one of the two green sub-pixels is located in a third row (See excerpt of Fig. 2B below), and the second row is located between the first row and the third row (See excerpt of Fig. 2B below);
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a plurality of repeating units are arranged in an array in the first display region (Fig. 2B), in the repeating unit, …
The excerpt of Liu’s Fig. 2B shows 3 parallel lines, i.e., rows, that read on the instant claimed repeating unit.
However, Liu remains silent regarding the display substrate features including:
… at least part of the plurality of first pixel circuits is in the first display region;
the display region further comprises a first light-shielding layer, in a direction perpendicular to a surface of the display substrate, the first light-shielding layer is at least partially overlapped with the second display region, and the first light-shielding layer is not overlapped with the first display region;
...
the first electrode of the second light-emitting device and the first light-shielding layer are independent of each other and spaced apart from each other;
the second display region comprises a first sub-region at least partially surrounding the first display region and a second sub-region at least partially surrounding the first sub-region,
the first light-shielding layer is in the first sub-region, and the plurality of first pixel circuits are in the second sub-region,
the first light-shielding layer completely covers the first sub-region; …
a first angle is formed between a first connection line, between a center of the first via in the red sub-pixel and a center of the first via in the blue sub-pixel, and a second connection line, between centers of the first vias in the two green sub-pixels;
the display substrate further comprises a base substrate and a heat dissipation layer, the plurality of first sub-pixels are arranged on a first side of the base substrate, and the heat dissipation layer is disposed on a second side of the base substrate, the first light-shielding layer and the heat dissipation layer are in the same layer;
the first light-shielding layer and the heat dissipation layer are continuously arranged and co-plane to form an integrated layer on the second side of the base substrate, and the integrated layer has an opening in the first display region, so that in the direction perpendicular to the surface of the display substrate, the first light-shielding layer is not overlapped with the first display region.
However, in the same field of endeavor, Fan teaches positions of pixel circuits wherein their disclosed display region comprises a plurality of first pixel circuits (Fig. 10; first pixel circuit DL1, and [0047]), and the plurality of first pixel circuits are respectively electrically connected (Fig. 10) to a plurality of first light-emitting devices of the plurality of first sub-pixels to respectively drive the plurality of first light-emitting devices (Fig. 9), at least part of the plurality of first pixel circuits is in the first display region (Fig. 9; first pixel circuit DL1 in the first display region A).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the instant invention to modify Liu’s display substrate to include Fan’s pixel circuit layout, wherein at least part of the plurality of first pixel circuits is in the first display region, because such a modification is based on the use of known techniques to improve similar devices in the same way. More specifically, Fan’s pixel circuit layout, wherein at least part of the plurality of first pixel circuits is in the first display region is applicable to Liu’s display substrate because Fan’s pixel circuit layout where only a portion of the plurality of first pixel circuits are disposed allows the first display region to maintain a greater area through which light may pass through without being incident upon device circuitry, e.g., first pixel circuits. Therefore, it is within the capabilities of one of ordinary skill in the art to modify Liu’s display substrate to include Fan’s pixel circuit layout, wherein at least part of the plurality of first pixel circuits is in the first display region with the predictable result of the majority of the first pixel circuits being outside of the first display area.
Further, Fan teaches the second display region (Fig. 9; transition region B) comprises a first sub-region (Fig. 9; portion of the transition region B wherein first pixel circuit DL1 is disposed between pixel rows) at least partially surrounding the first display region (Fig. 9) and a second sub-region (Fig. 9; portion of the transition region B wherein first pixel circuit DL1 are not disposed between pixel rows) at least partially surrounding the first sub-region (Fig. 9).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the instant invention to modify Liu’s display substrate to include Fan’s display substrate structure wherein the second display region comprises a first sub-region at least partially surrounding the first display region and a second sub-region at least partially surrounding the first sub-region, because such a modification is based on the use of known techniques to improve similar devices in the same way. More specifically, Fan’s second display region is comparable to Liu’s second display because they both teach these regions are surrounding/bordering a display area in which light may transmit through to reach a sensor. Therefore, it is within the capabilities of one of ordinary skill in the art to modify Liu’s display substrate to include a first sub-region of the second display region wherein pixel circuits belonging to pixels in the first display region may be disposed with the predictable result of maintaining a large transmissive area through which light may pass and reach a sensor below.
Further, in the same field of endeavor, Song teaches second sheet 110 and third sheet 111; where the second and third sheets are taught in at least [0086] to include electromagnetic wave shielding function, i.e., a first light-shielding layer. Further, Songs second and third sheets are formed to be at the border of the display regions R1-R3, wherein third region R3 may be analogous to the instant first display region. Thus, examiner asserts that, further in view of Fan’s explicit pixel circuitry layout, it would be obvious to incorporate Song’s first light-shielding layer as means to protect exposed device circuitry. Incorporating a light shielding structure, i.e., Song’s first light-shielding layer, at a border between a transmissive area of the display and high/higher pixel density area would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art and would yield the display substrate structure wherein:
the display region further comprises a first light-shielding layer, in a direction perpendicular to a surface of the display substrate, the first light-shielding layer is at least partially overlapped with the second display region, and the first light-shielding layer is not overlapped with the first display region (Song: Fig. 3, further in view of Liu and Fan);
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the instant invention to modify Liu’s display device, further in view of Fan, to include Song’s first light-shielding layer, because such a modification is the result of combining prior art elements according to known methods to yield predictable results. More specifically, the second display region of Liu, further in view of Fan, as modified by Song’s first light-shielding layer can yield a predictable result of protecting device circuity since Song’s first light-shielding layer is disposed at a position to shield the device’s circuity from light incident from wide angles (Fig. 3). Since the claimed invention is merely a combination of old elements, and in the combination each element merely would have performed the same function as it did separately, one of ordinary skill in the art would have recognized that the results of the combination were predictable before the effective filing date of the instant invention.
Further, Song teaches within their disclosure that second and third sheets of panel sheet unit 100 surround the third region R3 (Fig. 3); such that Song’s disclosure, when combined with the teachings of Liu and Fan, teach that the first light-shielding layer may surround the first display region in the area of the second display region that borders the first display region, i.e., the first sub-region. Thus, examiner asserts that Song teaches the first light-shielding layer completely covers the first sub-region.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the instant invention to modify Liu’s display substrate to include the feature wherein the first light-shielding layer completely covers the first sub-region, as disclosed from Song, because such a modification is based on the use of known techniques to improve similar devices in the same way. More specifically, the border area between the display regions R1-R3 of Song is comparable to the border area between the first display region and the second display region of Liu, further in view of Fan, because both disclose pixel circuitry that is vulnerable to incident light, particularly when incident at wide angles, close to/at the border of the first display region and the second display region; wherein light-shielding/blocking means would be desirable and obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art. Therefore, it is within the capabilities of one of ordinary skill in the art to modify Liu’s display substrate to include the feature wherein the first light-shielding layer completely covers the first sub-region, as disclosed from Song, with the predictable result of protecting pixel circuitry that is vulnerable to incident light, particularly when incident at wide angles.
In view of the above combination, including the motivation discussed, examiner asserts that Liu, further in view of Fan and Song, teach:
… the first electrode of the second light-emitting device and the first light-shielding layer are independent of each other and spaced apart from each other (Song: Fig. 3); and the first light-shielding layer is in the first sub-region (Yielded through using Song’s teaching of their light-shielding layer bordering the display region R3 to be incorporated into the display substrate of Liu, further in view of Fan), and the plurality of first pixel circuits are in the second sub-region (Fan: Fig. 9), …
Further, in the same field of endeavor, Kim discloses a display device with a similar sub-pixel pattern to that of Liu’s plurality of first sub-pixels, wherein electrodes of the green sub-pixels in a column are connected from a first contact hole, e.g., unlabeled CH1 (see Fig. 5), and electrodes of the blue and red sub-pixels in a column are connected at their respective first contact holes, i.e., a first contact hole for the blue sub-pixel and a first contact hole for the red sub-pixel (e.g., Fig. 5; CH1). Kim shows in Figs. 3 – 5 the relative connectivity between the sub-pixels (see at least [0071] – [0076] for more context). Below is an annotated excerpt from Fig. 4 of Kim with denotations for the sub-pixel’s colors and circles marking the first contact holes for each sub-pixel; further, lines between approximate centers of the first contact holes for the connected sub-pixels show that there are deviations in the position of the first contact holes between connected pixels in the shown columns. See excerpt of Kim’s Fig. 4 below:
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Thus, Kim demonstrates a display device wherein a first angle (See the small angle between the connection lines to the right of the Fig. 4 excerpt) is formed between a first connection line (From excerpt, a line connecting the first contact holes between the red and blue sub-pixels), between a center of the first via (see excerpt above) in the red sub-pixel (see excerpt above) and a center of the first via (see excerpt above) in the blue sub-pixel (see excerpt above) and a second connection line (From excerpt, a line connecting the first contact holes between two green sub-pixels), between centers of the first vias in the two green sub-pixels (see excerpt above). Therefore, it would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the instant invention to modify the sub-pixel structure of Liu, further in view of Fan and Song, with the connectivity between sub-pixels demonstrated by Kim with the result of yielding a display substrate wherein, in the repeating unit, a first angle is formed between a first connection line, between a center of the first via in the red sub-pixel and a center of the first via in the blue sub-pixel, and a second connection line, between centers of the first vias in the two green sub-pixels.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the instant invention to modify the pixel connectivity of Liu, further in view of Fan and Song, to include Kim’s pixel connectivity within the repeating unit, because such a modification is based on the use of known techniques to improve similar devices in the same way. More specifically, Kim’s pixel connectivity within the repeating unit is comparable to the sub-pixel structure in the display substrate of Liu, further in view of Fan and Song, because the references relied upon relate to active matrix OLED (AMOLED) display substrates. Therefore, it is within the capabilities of one of ordinary skill in the art to modify the pixel connectivity of Liu, further in view of Fan and Song, to include Kim’s pixel connectivity within the repeating unit with the predictable result of forming an AMOLED display substrate with a specific sub-pixel layout.
Further, in the same field of endeavor, Song teaches a display device (Fig. 3) wherein second sheet 110 and third sheet 111 may be both heat dissipation sheets and light shielding sheets (see at least [0086]). Further, Song teaches a third region R3, asserted by examiner to be analogous to the instant first display region, wherein the light shielding/heat dissipation sheets are separated by an opening. Also, the second and third sheets 110 and 111, respectively, are formed in a single structure as panel sheet unit 100, i.e., an integrated layer. Therefore, Song teaches the display device feature wherein the first light-shielding layer and the heat dissipation layer are continuously arranged and co-plane to form an integrated layer on the second side of the base substrate, and the integrated layer has an opening in the first display region, so that in the direction perpendicular to the surface of the display substrate, the first light-shielding layer is not overlapped with the first display region.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the instant invention to modify the display device of Liu, Fan, Song, and Kim, to include Song’s light-shielding layer gap such that the first light-shielding layer and the heat dissipation layer are continuously arranged and co-plane to form an integrated layer on the second side of the base substrate, and the integrated layer has an opening in the first display region, so that in the direction perpendicular to the surface of the display substrate, the first light-shielding layer is not overlapped with the first display region, because such a modification is based on the use of known techniques to improve similar devices in the same way. More specifically, Song’s display regions is comparable to the display regions of Liu, Fan, and Kim because there show display regions wherein light may pass. Therefore, it is within the capabilities of one of ordinary skill in the art to modify the display device of Liu, Fan, Song, and Kim, to include Song’s light-shielding layer gap such that the first light-shielding layer and the heat dissipation layer are continuously arranged and co-plane to form an integrated layer on the second side of the base substrate, and the integrated layer has an opening in the first display region, so that in the direction perpendicular to the surface of the display substrate, the first light-shielding layer is not overlapped with the first display region, with the predictable result of protecting device circuitry.
Regarding dependent Claim 3, Liu, further in view of Fan, Song, and Kim, teach the display substrate according to claim 1; however, Liu remains silent regarding the display substrate further comprising:
a plurality of signal lines respectively electrically connected to the plurality of first pixel circuits, wherein the plurality of signal lines extend through the first display region or the second display region.
However, in the same field of endeavor, Fan teaches the display substrate wherein:
a plurality of signal lines (Fan: Fig. 4; elements S1 and S2 and [0037]) respectively electrically connected to the plurality of first pixel circuits, wherein the plurality of signal lines extend through the first display region or the second display region (Fan: Fig. 4; element M. Also Fig. 10; element M is shown in the second display region of Fig. 10).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the instant invention to modify Liu’s display substrate to include Fan’s plurality of signal lines respectively electrically connected to the plurality of first pixel circuits, wherein the plurality of signal lines extend through the first display region or the second display region, because such a modification is the result of combining prior art elements according to known methods to yield predictable results. More specifically, Liu’s display substrate as modified by Fan’s plurality of signal lines respectively electrically connected to the plurality of first pixel circuits, wherein the plurality of signal lines extend through the first display region or the second display region can yield a predictable result of providing driving signals to the pixels from the pixel circuitry since Fan’s disclosed structure is known within the field of endeavor to achieve such a function. Since the claimed invention is merely a combination of old elements, and in the combination each element merely would have performed the same function as it did separately, one of ordinary skill in the art would have recognized that the results of the combination were predictable before the effective filing date of the instant invention.
Regarding dependent Claim 8, Liu, further in view of Fan, Song, and Kim, teach the display substrate according to claim 1, wherein
the second display region comprises a plurality of second sub-pixels (Liu: Fig. 2B; see pixels ion the second display region 200. Also see [0021] and [0064]), and each of the plurality of second sub-pixels comprises a second light-emitting device (the discussion in [0064] – [0065] teaches a second light-emitting device) and a second pixel circuit electrically connected to the second light-emitting device ([0065]), and the second pixel circuit is configured to drive the second light-emitting device ([0065]), a plurality of second pixel circuits are arranged in a first array (Fan: Fig. 9),
the plurality of first pixel circuits are arranged in gaps of the first array (Fan: Fig. 9), and
the plurality of second pixel circuits are arranged in a second array (Fan: Fig. 9).
Regarding dependent Claim 11, Liu, further in view of Fan, Song, and Kim, teach the display substrate according to claim 1, wherein:
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the first angle ranges from 1 degree to 30 degrees (Kim: See excerpt of Fig. 4 below).
Regarding dependent Claim 12, Liu, further in view of Fan, Song, and Kim, teach the display substrate according to claim 11, wherein:
the first angle ranges from 1 degree to 10 degrees (Kim: See excerpt of Fig. 4 below).
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Regarding dependent Claim 14, Liu, further in view of Fan, Song, and Kim, teach the display substrate according to claim 8, wherein:
the second light-emitting device comprises a first electrode (Fig. 11; sub-pixel electrode 31/32/33), a second electrode (Fig. 11; counter electrode 61), and a second light-emitting layer (Fig. 11; light-emitting layer 51) between the first electrode and the second electrode of the second light-emitting device (Fig. 11), the second pixel circuit comprises a second thin film transistor ([0065] teaches TFT circuitry driving the second sub-pixel, such that Liu teaches a second pixel circuit that comprises TFTs), and the second thin film transistor comprises a second source-drain electrode (Fig. 11 and [0113]; drain electrode 24), the first electrode of the second light-emitting device is electrically connected to the second source-drain electrode through a second via (Fan teaches in [0047] The drain d of the driver M of the first pixel circuit DL1 is connected to the first connection trace L, and the first connection trace L and the anode a are disposed in different layers and electrically connected to each other through a via as seen in Fig. 10).
Examiner relies on Fan’s teaching here as their disclosure more clearly differentiates between the first and second light emitting devices, as Liu’s Fig. 11 shows the first electrode of the second light-emitting device is electrically connected to the second source-drain electrode.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the instant invention to modify Liu’s display substrate to include Fan’s teaching that better differentiates between the first and second light emitting devices, such that the first electrode of the second light-emitting device is electrically connected to the second source-drain electrode through a second via, because such a modification is based on the use of known techniques to improve similar devices in the same way. More specifically, Fan’s teaching that better differentiates between the first and second light emitting devices, such that the first electrode of the second light-emitting device is electrically connected to the second source-drain electrode through a second via is comparable to Liu’s generalized teaching of pixel electrodes/first electrode connected to the source/drain regions of a transistor below because teach pixels being connected to and driven by pixel circuitry. Therefore, it is within the capabilities of one of ordinary skill in the art to modify Liu’s display substrate to include Fan’s teaching that better differentiates between the first and second light emitting devices, such that the first electrode of the second light-emitting device is electrically connected to the second source-drain electrode through a second via with the predictable result of providing separate vias for between the first and second light-emitting devices and the pixel circuits connected thereto.
Regarding dependent Claim 15, Liu, further in view of Fan, Song, and Kim, teach the display substrate according to claim 14, wherein:
the plurality of second sub-pixels comprise a plurality of first color sub-pixels (Fig. 2B; red sub-pixel R in the second display area 200), a plurality of second color sub-pixels (Fig. 2B; blue sub-pixel B in the second display area 200) and a plurality of third color sub-pixels (Fig. 2B; blue sub-pixel B in the second display area 200), …
However, Liu remains silent regarding:
a second angle is formed between a third connection line, between a center of the second via in a first color sub-pixel and a center of the second via in a second color sub-pixel closest to the first color sub-pixel, and
a fourth connection line, between centers of the second vias in two closest third color sub-pixels.
However, in the same field of endeavor, Kim discloses a display device with a similar sub-pixel pattern to that of Liu’s plurality of second sub-pixels, wherein electrodes of the green sub-pixels in a column are connected from a first contact hole, e.g., unlabeled CH1 (see Fig. 5), and electrodes of the blue and red sub-pixels in a column are connected at their respective first contact holes, i.e., a first contact hole for the blue sub-pixel and a first contact hole for the red sub-pixel (e.g., Fig. 5; CH1). Kim shows in Figs. 3 – 5 the relative connectivity between the sub-pixels (see at least [0071] – [0076] for more context). Below is an annotated excerpt from Fig. 4 of Kim with denotations for the sub-pixel’s colors and circles marking the first contact holes for each sub-pixel; further, lines between approximate centers of the first contact holes for the connected sub-pixels show that there are deviations in the position of the first contact holes between connected pixels in the shown columns. See excerpt of Kim’s Fig. 4 below:
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Thus, Kim demonstrates a display device wherein a second angle (See the small angle between the connection lines to the right of the Fig. 4 excerpt) is formed between a third connection line (From excerpt, a line connecting the first contact holes between the red and blue sub-pixels), between a center of the second via (see circle outlining the first contact hole for the red sub-pixel in the excerpt above) in a first color sub-pixel (see excerpt above) and a center of the second via (see circle outlining the first contact hole for the blue sub-pixel in the excerpt above) in a second color sub-pixel (see excerpt above) closest to the first color sub-pixel (see excerpt above), and a fourth connection line (From excerpt, a line connecting the first contact holes between the red and blue sub-pixels), between centers of the second vias (see circle outlining the first contact holes for the green sub-pixels in the excerpt above) in two closest third color sub-pixels (see excerpt above). Therefore, it would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the instant invention to modify the sub-pixel structure of Liu, further in view of Fan, Song, and Kim, with the connectivity between sub-pixels demonstrated by Kim with the result of yielding a display substrate wherein, a second angle is formed between a third connection line, between a center of the second via in a first color sub-pixel and a center of the second via in a second color sub-pixel closest to the first color sub-pixel, and a fourth connection line, between centers of the second vias in two closest third color sub-pixels
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the instant invention to modify the pixel connectivity of Liu, further in view of Fan, Song, and Kim, to include Kim’s pixel connectivity between sub-pixels, such as the sub-pixels in the second display region of Liu, further in view of Fan, Song, and Kim, because such a modification is based on the use of known techniques to improve similar devices in the same way. More specifically, Kim’s pixel connectivity is comparable to the pixel connectivity in the display substrate of Liu, further in view of Fan, Song, and Kim, because the references relied upon relate to active matrix OLED (AMOLED) display substrates. Therefore, it is within the capabilities of one of ordinary skill in the art to modify the pixel connectivity of Liu, further in view of Fan, Song, and Kim, to include Kim’s pixel connectivity within the repeating unit with the predictable result of forming an AMOLED display substrate with a specific sub-pixel layout.
Regarding dependent Claim 16, Liu, further in view of Fan, Song, and Kim, teach the display substrate according to claim 15, wherein:
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the second angle ranges from 1 degree to 30 degrees (Kim: See excerpt of Fig. 4 below).
Regarding dependent Claim 17, Liu, further in view of Fan, Song,, and Kim, teach the display substrate according to claim 16, wherein:
the second angle ranges from 1 degree to 10 degrees (Kim: See excerpt of Fig. 4 below).
Regarding dependent Claim 18, Liu, further in view of Fan, Song, and Kim, teach the display substrate according to claim 14, further comprising:
a base substrate, wherein a shortest distance between an orthographic projection of the first via on the base substrate and an orthographic projection of a light-emitting region of the first light-emitting layer on the base substrate is less than a shortest distance between an orthographic projection of the second via on the base substrate and an orthographic projection of a light-emitting region of the second light-emitting layer on the base substrate (Fan: See excerpt of Fig. 9 Below).
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From the excerpt of Fig. 9 above, the offset of the sub-pixels and pixel driving circuits can be seen; such that a shortest distance between an orthographic projection of the first via on the base substrate and an orthographic projection of a light-emitting region of the first light-emitting layer on the base substrate is less than a shortest distance between an orthographic projection of the second via on the base substrate and an orthographic projection of a light-emitting region of the second light-emitting layer on the base substrate is shown in this embodiment.
Regarding dependent Claim 19, Liu, further in view of Fan, Song, and Kim, teach the display substrate according to claim 14, further comprising:
a base substrate, wherein a shortest distance between an orthographic projection of the first via on the base substrate and an orthographic projection of a light-emitting region of the first light-emitting layer on the base substrate is larger than a shortest distance between an orthographic projection of the second via on the base substrate and an orthographic projection of a light-emitting region of the second light-emitting layer on the base substrate (Fan: See excerpt of Fig. 9 Below).
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From the excerpt of Fig. 9 above, the offset of the sub-pixels and pixel driving circuits can be seen; such that a shortest distance between an orthographic projection of the first via on the base substrate and an orthographic projection of a light-emitting region of the first light-emitting layer on the base substrate is larger than a shortest distance between an orthographic projection of the second via on the base substrate and an orthographic projection of a light-emitting region of the second light-emitting layer on the base substrate is shown in this embodiment.
Regarding dependent Claim 22, Liu, further in view of Fan, Song, and Kim, teach the display substrate according to claim 1, wherein:
in at least one sub-pixel, an orthographic projection of the first via on a plane where the display substrate is located is at least partially overlapped with an orthographic projection of a light-emitting region of the first light-emitting layer on the plane where the display substrate is located (Fan: Fig. 9; at least one first sub-pixel overlaps a first pixel circuit).
Regarding dependent Claim 23, Liu, further in view of Fan, Song, and Kim, teach the display substrate according to claim 8; however, Liu remains silent wherein the display region further comprises:
a third display region at least partially surrounding the second display region, and
the third display region comprises a plurality of third sub-pixels arranged in an array,
an arrangement density of the plurality of third sub-pixels in the third display region is greater than an arrangement density of the plurality of first sub-pixels in the first display region, and is also greater than an arrangement density of the plurality of second sub-pixels in the second display region.
However, in the same field of endeavor, Fan teaches:
a third display region (Fan: Fig. 1; conventional region C, hereafter referred to as third display region C) at least partially surrounding the second display region (Fan: Fig. 1), and
the third display region comprises a plurality of third sub-pixels arranged in an array (Fan: Fig. 9),
an arrangement density of the plurality of third sub-pixels in the third display region is greater than an arrangement density of the plurality of first sub-pixels in the first display region (Fan: Fig. 9), and is also greater than an arrangement density of the plurality of second sub-pixels in the second display region (Fan: Fig. 9).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the instant invention to modify Liu’s display substrate to include a third display region, as disclosed by Fan, because such a modification is the result of combining prior art elements according to known methods to yield predictable results. More specifically, Liu’s display substrate as modified by Fan’s third display region can yield a predictable result of providing a more gradual change in pixel structure between a main display region and a first display region which may improve the user’s experience since stark changes in the pixel structure may cause strain to the user, resulting in an unoptimized experience. Since the claimed invention is merely a combination of old elements, and in the combination each element merely would have performed the same function as it did separately, one of ordinary skill in the art would have recognized that the results of the combination were predictable before the effective filing date of the instant invention.
Regarding dependent Claim 24, Liu, further in view of Fan, Song, and Kim, teach the display substrate according to claim 23, wherein:
the arrangement density of the plurality of first sub-pixels in the first display region is equal to the arrangement density of the plurality of second sub-pixels in the second display region ([0081] of Liu teaches than the PPI is not affected between the first and second display regions because the density of the light-emitting units is the same between the first and second display regions).
Regarding independent Claim 26, Liu, further in view of Fan, Song, and Kim, teach a display device, comprising the display substrate according to claim 1, and:
a sensor (Liu teaches an under-screen photosensitive module 31),
wherein the sensor is on the second side of the display substrate (at least [0061] and [0066] of Liu), and the sensor is configured to receive light from the first side (Liu: [0103]).
Regarding dependent Claim 27, Liu, further in view of Fan, Song, and Kim, teach the display device according to claim 26, wherein:
in the direction perpendicular to the surface of the display substrate, the sensor is at least partially overlapped with the first display region of the display substrate (Liu: Fig. 10).
Claim 4 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Liu (US 20200066809 A1) and further in view of Fan (US 20210066409 A1), Song et al. (US 20200020759 A1), and Kim et al. (US 20200211473 A1), and Chae et al. (US 20210210564 A1).
Regarding dependent Claim 4, Liu, further in view of Fan, Song, and Kim, teach the display substrate according to claim 3; however, Liu remains silent wherein:
each of the plurality of first pixel circuits comprises a first storage capacitor;
the first storage capacitor comprises a first capacitor electrode and a second capacitor electrode, the first capacitor electrode and the first gate electrode are arranged in a same layer, and the plurality of signal lines are arranged in a same layer as the first capacitor electrode or the second capacitor electrode.
However, in the same field of endeavor, Chae teaches that each pixel is connected to a pixel circuit, e.g., a plurality of transistors, which are connected to storage capacitors Cst ([0096] – [0100] and [0105]. Also see Fig. 6; storage capacitor Cst). Thus, examiner asserts that Chae teaches each of the plurality of first pixel circuits comprises a first storage capacitor. Further, Chae teaches that:
the first storage capacitor comprises a first capacitor electrode (Fig. 6; first lower electrode CE1 of the main storage capacitor Cst) and a second capacitor electrode (Fig. 6; first upper electrode CE2 of the main storage capacitor Cst), the first capacitor electrode and the first gate electrode are arranged in a same layer (Fig. 6), and the plurality of signal lines are arranged in a same layer as the first capacitor electrode or the second capacitor electrode (Fig. 6).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the pixel circuits of Liu, further in view of Fan, Song, and Kim, to include storage capacitors, as disclosed by Chae, because such a modification is the result of combining prior art elements according to known methods to yield predictable results. More specifically, Liu’s pixel circuits as modified by Chae can yield a predictable result of storing a voltage since that’s the function of a capacitor. Thus, a person of ordinary skill would have appreciated including in Liu’s pixel circuit, further in view of Fan, Song, and Kim, the ability to do store a necessary gate voltage, as disclosed by Chae’s display device structure. Since the claimed invention is merely a combination of old elements, and in the combination each element merely would have performed the same function as it did separately, and one of ordinary skill in the art would have recognized that the results of the combination were predictable.
Claim 25 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Liu (US 20200066809 A1) and further in view of Fan (US 20210066409 A1), Song et al. (US 20200020759 A1), and Kim et al. (US 20200211473 A1), and Murakami et al. (US 20180130416 A1).
Regarding dependent Claim 25, Liu, further in view of Fan, Song, and Kim, teach the display substrate according to claim 23; however, Liu remains silent regarding the display substrate further comprising:
a first scan driving circuit and a second scan driving circuit respectively located on two opposite sides of the display region,
wherein the first scan driving circuit and the second scan driving circuit are configured to provide electrical signals for the plurality of third sub-pixels in the third display region;
the first scan driving circuit is further configured to provide electrical signals for a plurality of second sub-pixels and a plurality of first pixel circuits in the second display region on a side of the first display region close to the first scan driving circuit, and the second scan driving circuit is further configured to provide electrical signals for a plurality of second sub pixels and a plurality of first pixel circuits in the second display region on a side of the first display region close to the second scan driving circuit.
However, in the same field of endeavor, Murakami teaches a display apparatus further comprising:
a first scan driving circuit (Murakami: Fig. 5; element 32b) and a second scan driving circuit (Murakami: Fig. 5; element 32a) respectively located on two opposite sides of the display region (Murakami: Fig. 5),
wherein the first scan driving circuit and the second scan driving circuit are configured to provide electrical signals for the plurality of third sub-pixels in the third display region (Murakami: Fig. 5 shows a plurality of groupings, including a third group containing third sub-pixels, of sub-pixels 49. The relationship of the first and second scan driving circuits, respectively 32b and 32a, are disclosed in [0033]);
the first scan driving circuit is further configured to provide electrical signals for a plurality of second sub-pixels (Murakami: Fig. 5 and [0033]) and
a plurality of first pixel circuits in the second display region on a side of the first display region close to the first scan driving circuit (Murakami: Fig. 1, Fig. 5 and [0022]), and
the second scan driving circuit is further configured to provide electrical signals for a plurality of second sub pixels (Murakami: Fig. 5 and [0033]) and a plurality of first pixel circuits in the second display region on a side of the first display region close to the second scan driving circuit (Murakami: Fig. 1, Fig. 5 and [0022]).
The claimed circuity is well established in the art as a necessary means for the operation of display devices.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective fling date of the instant invention to modify the display substrate of Liu, further in view of Fan, Song, and Kim, to include scan driving circuits as disclosed by Murakami, because such a modification is taught, suggested, or motivated by the art. More specifically, the motivation to modify Liu’s display substrate to include scan driving circuits as disclosed by Murakami is expressly provided by Murakami, stating that the scan driving circuits output various signals including a drive signal for driving the sub-pixels row by row in [0033] – [0039]. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention to modify Liu’s display substrate to include scan driving circuits as disclosed by Murakami with the motivation of supplying signal to the display device pixels. The person of ordinary skill in the art would have recognized the benefit of driving the pixels.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure:
US 20180040682 A1 previously relied upon.
US 20210296404 A1, US 20220077244 A1, and US 20210202621 A1 were previously relied upon.
US 20220199710 A1 teaches relevant sub-pixel patterns and connectivity (See Figs. 2 -3 and 6).
US 20210134892 A1 teaches RGBG pentile pixel structure (Fig. 3) relevant to the amended features of instant claim 1.
US 20190131371 A1 previously relied upon.
US 20160282684 A1, US 20190339570 A1, US 20220005920 A1, US RE50291 E, US 20170104090 A1, US 11189672 B2, US 10733931 B2, US 20200357871 A1,
US 20200064968 A1, US 20190165065 A1, and US 20210159286 A1 were all considered for their teachings of light blocking/shielding structures.
US 20210200263 A1 teaches a similar device with similar structure.
US 10756136 B1 teaches a device with light shielding elements over wiring elements in a display device.
CN 110289299 A teaches a relevant wiring technique to the present disclosure. See Fig. 5
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MARIO A AUTORE whose telephone number is (571)270-0059. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday, 8 am - 5 pm.
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MARIO A. AUTORE JR.
Examiner
Art Unit 2897
/MARIO ANDRES AUTORE JR/Examiner, Art Unit 2897 /CHAD M DICKE/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2897
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