DETAILED ACTION
This Notice is responsive to communication filed on 01/21/2026.
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 .
Response to Amendment
An amendment filed on 01/21/2026 has been acknowledged and entered into the record. The present Office Action is made with all the suggested amendments being fully considered.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
Claim(s) 1, 2, 4, and 18-20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Park et al. (US 20200335659), and further in view of Lee et al. (US 20240421279).
Regarding claim 1, Park teaches a Micro LED transfer method (see Figs. 2 – 16), comprising:
transferring Micro LEDs of at least two colors from growth substrates 20a/b/c thereof to a plurality of first temporary substrates 30, respectively (Fig. 2: S4; Figs. 2 – 16 show this process), wherein a first temporary substrate 30 of the plurality of first temporary substrates 30 includes Micro LEDs of the at least two colors R/G/B; and
transferring the Micro LEDs of the at least two colors located on a same first temporary substrate 30 to at least one array substrate 70 (Fig. 9 shows the different color LEDs transferred to a temp substrate 30; para. 0080-82 teaches Fig. 9 shows the LEDs being transferred from the temp substrate 30 to the array substrate 70),
wherein a same array substrate 70 of the at least one array substrate 70 includes Micro LEDs of the at least two colors R/G/B, and
the Micro LEDs of the at least two colors located on the same array substrate 70 are simultaneously transferred (para. 0082), and
a distance between adjacent Micro LEDs of a same color on the first temporary substrate Fig. 11: P1 is smaller than a distance between adjacent Micro LEDs of the same color on the array substrate Fig. 15: P2,
the Micro LEDs of the at least two colors include Micro LEDs of a first color (i.e. red), Micro LEDs of a second color (i.e. green), and Micro LEDs of a third color (i.e. blue) (para. 0012), and the array substrate 70 includes a plurality of repeating units (para. 11 teaches a plurality of groups transferred onto the target substrate at predestined intervals). Park also teaches another transfer process (see Fig. 18A-18D) wherein the array substrate 70 includes a plurality of repeating units, where a repeating unit is defined as a group of LEDs 141, 142, and 143 (shown in Fig. 18B).
But Park fails to explicitly teach a ratio of a quantity of Micro LEDs of the first color, a quantity of Micro LEDs of the second color and a quantity of Micro LEDs of the third color in each repeating unit is 1:1:2.
However, Lee teaches a ratio of a quantity of Micro LEDs of the first color 101 (i.e. red), a quantity of Micro LEDs of the second color 102 (i.e. green) and a quantity of Micro LEDs of the third color 103 (i.e. blue) in each repeating unit is 1:1:2 (para. 0072).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to combine these teachings for the purpose of arranging the diodes using the pentile method which utilizes the fact that humans are less able to discriminate blue and most able to discriminate green, and increases yields, lowers costs and enables high resolution on small screens (para. 0072).
Regarding claim 2, Park teaches the Micro LED transfer method according to claim 1, wherein a Micro LED of the Micro LEDs of the at least two colors R/G/B includes a light-emitting structure (para. 0053, “light-emitting material”), and a first electrode and a second electrode that are electrically connected to the light-emitting structure, wherein the first electrode and the second electrode are located on a same side of the light-emitting structure (annotated below).
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Regarding claim 4, Park teaches the Micro LED transfer method according to claim 2, wherein transferring the Micro LEDs of the at least two colors R/G/B from the growth substrates 20a/b/c thereof to the plurality of first temporary substrates 30 includes transferring the Micro LEDs of the at least two colors R/G/B from the growth substrates 20a/b/c thereof to a plurality of second temporary substrates 25, respectively, wherein a second temporary substrate 25 of the plurality of second temporary substrates 25 includes Micro LEDs of the at least two colors R/G/B, Micro LEDs of a same color are arranged according to a first arrangement manner (i.e. RRR, GGG, BBB) on a growth substrate 20a/b/c and are arranged according to a second arrangement manner (i.e. RRGGBB) on the second temporary substrate 25, and the second arrangement manner is different from the first arrangement manner (RRR =/= RRGGBB), and on the growth substrate 20a/b/c, both the first electrode and the second electrode of each Micro LED are located on a side of the light-emitting structure facing away from the growth substrate (Fig. 3 shows the electrodes facing away from 20a), and on the second temporary substrate 25, both the first electrode and the second electrode of each Micro LED are located on a side of the light-emitting structure facing towards the second temporary substrate 25 (Fig. 3 also shows the electrodes facing towards 25); and transferring the Micro LEDs R/G/B on each second temporary substrate 25 to a corresponding first temporary substrate 30 of the plurality of first temporary substrates 30, wherein: each first temporary substrate 30 includes Micro LEDs of the at least two colors R/G/B, and Micro LEDs of a same color are arranged according to the second arrangement manner (i.e. RRGGBB shown in Fig. 9) on the first temporary substrate 30, and on the first temporary substrate 30, both the first electrode and the second electrode of each Micro LED are located on the side of the light-emitting structure facing away from the first temporary substrate 30 (Fig. 9 shows the electrodes on a side facing away from 30).
Regarding claim 18, Park teaches a fabrication method (see Figs. 2-16) of a display panel, wherein the display panel includes at least one display unit (para. 0020, “display module”), and the fabrication method comprising:
forming an array substrate 70, and
forming Micro LEDs of various colors R/G/B on the array substrate by using a Micro LED transfer method to form the display unit, the Micro LED transfer method including:
transferring Micro LEDs of at least two colors R/G/B from growth substrates 20a/b/c thereof to a plurality of first temporary substrates 30, respectively, wherein a first temporary substrate 30 of the plurality of first temporary substrates 30 includes Micro LEDs of the at least two colors R/G/B; and
transferring the Micro LEDs of the at least two colors R/G/B located on a same first temporary substrate 30 to at least one array substrate 70, wherein:
a same array substrate 70 of the at least one array substrate 70 includes Micro LEDs of the at least two colors R/G/B, and the Micro LEDs of the at least two colors R/G/B located on the same array substrate 70 are simultaneously transferred (para. 0082),
a distance between adjacent Micro LEDs of a same color on the first temporary substrate Fig. 11: P1 is smaller than a distance between adjacent Micro LEDs of the same color on the array substrate Fig. 15: P2,
the Micro LEDs of the at least two colors include Micro LEDs of a first color (i.e. red), Micro LEDs of a second color (i.e. green), and Micro LEDs of a third color (i.e. blue) (para. 0012), and the array substrate 70 includes a plurality of repeating units (para. 11 teaches a plurality of groups transferred onto the target substrate at predestined intervals),
but Park fails to explicitly teach a ratio of a quantity of Micro LEDs of the first color, a quantity of Micro LEDs of the second color and a quantity of Micro LEDs of the third color in each repeating unit is 1:1:2.
However, Lee teaches a ratio of a quantity of Micro LEDs of the first color 101 (i.e. red), a quantity of Micro LEDs of the second color 102 (i.e. green) and a quantity of Micro LEDs of the third color 103 (i.e. blue) in each repeating unit is 1:1:2 (para. 0072).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to combine these teachings for the purpose of arranging the diodes using the pentile method which utilizes the fact that humans are less able to discriminate blue and most able to discriminate green, and increases yields, lowers costs and enables high resolution on small screens (para. 0072).
Regarding claim 19, Park teaches the Park teaches the fabrication method according to claim 18, wherein: the display panel includes at least two display units, and the fabrication method further includes: splicing the at least two display units into the display panel (para. 0056, “the display module may be a matrix type applicable to a display device such as a personal computer monitor, a high-resolution TV, a signage, and an electronic display through a plurality of assembly arrangements”).
Regarding claim 20, Park (see Figs. 2-16) teaches a display panel (para. 0056, “display device”), wherein the display panel is formed by a fabrication method (para. 0055, “laser transferring method”), the fabrication method including:
forming an array substrate 70, and
forming Micro LEDs of various colors R/G/B on the array substrate 70 by using a Micro LED transfer method to form the display unit (para. 0056 “display module”), the Micro LED transfer method including:
transferring Micro LEDs of at least two colors R/G/B from growth substrates 20a/b/c thereof to a plurality of first temporary substrates 30, respectively, wherein a first temporary substrate 30 of the plurality of first temporary substrates 30 includes Micro LEDs of the at least two colors R/G/B; and
transferring the Micro LEDs of the at least two colors R/G/B located on a same first temporary substrate 30 to at least one array substrate 70, wherein:
a same array substrate 70 of the at least one array substrate 70 includes Micro LEDs of the at least two colors R/G/B, and the Micro LEDs of the at least two colors R/G/B located on the same array substrate 70 are simultaneously transferred (para. 0082),
a distance between adjacent Micro LEDs of a same color on the first temporary substrate Fig. 11: P1 is smaller than a distance between adjacent Micro LEDs of the same color on the array substrate Fig. 11: P2,
the Micro LEDs of the at least two colors include Micro LEDs of a first color (i.e. red), Micro LEDs of a second color (i.e. green), and Micro LEDs of a third color (i.e. blue) (para. 0012), and
the array substrate 70 includes a plurality of repeating units (para. 11 teaches a plurality of groups transferred onto the target substrate at predestined intervals),
but Park fails to explicitly teach a ratio of a quantity of Micro LEDs of the first color, a quantity of Micro LEDs of the second color and a quantity of Micro LEDs of the third color in each repeating unit is 1:1:2.
However, Lee teaches a ratio of a quantity of Micro LEDs of the first color 101 (i.e. red), a quantity of Micro LEDs of the second color 102 (i.e. green) and a quantity of Micro LEDs of the third color 103 (i.e. blue) in each repeating unit is 1:1:2 (para. 0072).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to combine these teachings for the purpose of arranging the diodes using the pentile method which utilizes the fact that humans are less able to discriminate blue and most able to discriminate green, and increases yields, lowers costs and enables high resolution on small screens (para. 0072).
Claim(s) 3, and 7-17, is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Park et al. (US 20200335659) and Lee et al. (US 20240421279) as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Lee et al. (US 11,295,972 B2).
Regarding claim 3, Park teaches the Micro LED transfer method according to claim 2, wherein transferring the Micro LEDs of the at least two colors R/G/D from the growth substrates 20a/b/c thereof to the plurality of first temporary substrates 30 includes: transferring the Micro LEDs of the at least two colors R/G/B from the growth substrates 20a/b/c thereof to a plurality of second temporary substrates 25, respectively, wherein on the growth substrate 20a/b/c, both the first electrode and the second electrode of each Micro LED (annotated above) are located on a side of the light-emitting structure facing away from the growth substrate 20a/b/c (Fig. 3 shows the electrodes facing away from 20a), and on the second temporary substrate 25, both the first electrode and the second electrode of each Micro LED are located on a side of the light-emitting structure facing towards the second temporary substrate 25 (Fig. 3 also shows the electrodes facing towards 25); and transferring Micro LEDs on each second temporary substrate 25 to the plurality of first temporary substrates 30, wherein: each first temporary substrate 30 includes Micro LEDs of the at least two colors R/G/B (shown in Fig. 9), Micro LEDs of a same color on each first temporary substrate 30 are arranged according to a second arrangement manner (i.e. RRGGBB), and the second arrangement manner is different from the first arrangement manner (Fig. 3 arrangement RRR =/= Fig. 9 arrangement RRGGBB), and on the first temporary substrate 30, both the first electrode and the second electrode of each Micro LED are located on the side of the light-emitting structure facing away from the first temporary substrate 30 (Fig. 9 shows the electrodes of the LEDs facing away from 30).
But Park does not teach wherein on a growth substrate 20a/b/c and a second temporary substrate 25 of the plurality of second temporary substrates 25, Micro LEDs of the at least two colors R/G/B are arranged according to a first arrangement manner, and each second temporary substrate merely includes Micro LEDs of one color.
However, Lee teaches a micro-LED transfer method wherein on a growth substrate Fig. 12-14: mother substrate and a second temporary substrate Fig. 17: temporary substrate of the plurality of second temporary substrates, Micro LEDs of the at least two colors (red, green, blue) are arranged according to a first arrangement manner (i.e. RRR, GGG, BBB), and each second temporary substrate merely includes Micro LEDs of one color. Column 7, lines 39-42 teach that the colors are formed on separate mother substrates respectively, while column 8, lines 22-24 and Figs. 23-27 show each color on its respective temporary substrate.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to combine the teachings of Park and Lee for the purpose of creating a method whereby only the micro-LEDs desired to be detached from the growth substrate or the temporary substrate are detached using vacuum suction force (col. 2, lines 20-30).
Regarding claim 7, Park teaches the Micro LED transfer method according to claim 3, wherein in the second arrangement manner (i.e. RRGGBB), the Micro LEDs of the at least two colors R/G/B include a plurality of columns of Micro LEDs arranged in a row direction, and at least a portion of adjacent columns of Micro LEDs in the plurality of columns of Micro LEDs include Micro LEDs of different colors (shown in Fig. 7).
Regarding claim 8, Park teaches the Micro LED transfer method according to claim 7, wherein one repeating unit of the plurality of repeating units (i.e. plurality of groups) corresponds to one pixel unit in the array substrate (para. 0125), and Micro LEDs located in a same column in the plurality of columns of Micro LEDs include Micro LEDs of a same color (Fig. 16 shows a plurality of micro LEDs in two different columns including micro LEDs of the same color).
Regarding claim 9, Park teaches the Micro LED transfer method according to claim 8, wherein: any two adjacent columns of Micro LEDs in the plurality of columns of Micro LEDs include Micro LEDs of different colors (Fig. 16 shows 2 adjacent columns having micro-LEDs of different colors).
Regarding claim 10, Park shows the Micro LED transfer method according to claim 9, wherein: the two adjacent columns of Micro LEDs in the plurality of columns of Micro LEDs are substantially center-to-center aligned in the row direction (i.e. Fig. 16).
Regarding claim 11, (Examiner uses i=1 (a positive integer greater than or equal to 1)), Park teaches the Micro LED transfer method according to claim 9, wherein: in the plurality of columns of Micro LEDs (see Fig. 16), at least an ith Micro LEDs arranged in a column direction (y-direction) of Micro LEDs of two colors are located in different rows (Two different close-ups are shown in Fig. 16 where R and G are located in different rows), and the ith Micro LEDs arranged in the column direction (y-direction) of Micro LEDs of a same color are located in a same row (Fig. 17 also shows two R LEDs located in a same row), wherein i is a positive integer greater than or equal to one.
Regarding claim 12, although Park, Lee (US 20240421279), and Lee (US 11,295,972 B2) combined teach the substantial features of the claimed invention including a second arrangement manner (i.e. RRGGBB), they fail to explicitly teach the Micro LED transfer method according to claim 11, wherein: in the second arrangement manner, the Micro LEDs of the at least two colors include Micro LEDs of the first color, Micro LEDs of the second color, and Micro LEDs of the third color that are arranged in the row direction, wherein the Micro LEDs of the second color are located between the Micro LEDs of the first color and the Micro LEDs of the third color; and in the column direction, the ith Micro LED of the Micro LEDs of the first color and the ith Micro LED of the Micro LEDs of the third color are located in a same row, and the (i+1)th Micro LED of the Micro LEDs of the first color and the ith Micro LED of the Micro LEDs of the second color are located in a same row, wherein i is a positive integer greater than or equal to one. However, Lee 3 teaches (see Fig. 3) the Micro LED transfer method according to claim 11, wherein: in the second arrangement manner (i.e. RGB), the Micro LEDs of the at least two colors include Micro LEDs of the first color Fig. 3: 101, Micro LEDs of the second color Fig. 3: 102, and Micro LEDs of the third color Fig. 3: 103 that are arranged in the row direction, wherein the Micro LEDs of the second color Fig. 3: 102 are located between the Micro LEDs of the first color Fig. 3: 101 and the Micro LEDs of the third color Fig. 3: 103 (shown in Fig. 3); and in the column direction, the ith Micro LED of the Micro LEDs of the first color Fig. 3: 101 and the ith Micro LED of the Micro LEDs of the third color Fig. 3: 103 are located in a same row, and the (i+1)th Micro LED of the Micro LEDs of the first color Fig. 3: 101 and the ith Micro LED of the Micro LEDs of the second color Fig. 3: 101 are located in a same row, wherein i is a positive integer greater than or equal to one (annotated below; Examiner uses i=1).
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Regarding claim 13, Park teaches the Micro LED transfer method according to claim 11, wherein: when the Micro LEDs are arranged in a second arrangement manner (i.e. RRGGBB), an area of the first temporary substrate 30 where the Micro LEDs are located is larger than an area of the growth substrate 20a/b/c (para. 0078-0079 “temporary substrate 25 may be formed larger than a size of the growth substrate 20a/b/c”; “the relay substrate 30 may be formed in the same size as the temporary substrate 25”).
Regarding claim 14, Park and Lee (US 20240421279) teach the Micro LED transfer method according to claim 7, wherein: one repeating unit of the plurality of repeating units (para. 11, plurality of groups) corresponds to two pixel units in the array substrate (see annotated Fig. 16 below). The pentile RGBG method taught by Lee is known in the art to correspond to two pixel units for the purpose of enabling high resolution on a small screen.
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Regarding claim 15, Park teaches the Micro LED transfer method according to claim 14, wherein: in the second arrangement manner, the plurality of columns of Micro LEDs include a first composition portion (annotated Pixel Unit 1) and a second composition portion (annotated Pixel Unit 2) that are cyclically arranged along the row direction, and the second composition portion includes a first sub-composition portion and a second sub-composition portion (annotated below) that are cyclically arranged along a column direction, wherein: each composition portion includes three columns of Micro LEDs, and each sub- composition portion includes three rows of Micro LEDs, and the Micro LEDs of the first composition portion include Micro LEDs of the third color (annotated C3), the Micro LEDs of the first sub-composition portion include Micro LEDs of the first color (annotated C1), and the Micro LEDs of the second sub-composition portion include Micro LEDs of the second color (annotated C2).
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Regarding claim 16, Park and Lee (US 20240421279) teach the Micro LED transfer method according to claim 7, wherein: one repeating unit of the plurality of repeating units (para. 11, plurality of groups) corresponds to four pixel units in the array substrate (see annotated Fig. 16 below). The pentile RGBG method taught by Lee is known in the art to correspond to two or more pixel units for the purpose of enabling high resolution on a small screen.
Regarding claim 17, Park teaches the Micro LED transfer method according to claim 16, wherein: in the second arrangement manner, the plurality of columns of Micro LEDs include a first composition portion, a second composition portion, a third composition portion, and a fourth composition portion that are cyclically arranged along the row direction, wherein: the second composition portion includes a first sub-composition portion and a second sub-composition portion that are cyclically arranged along a column direction, and the fourth composition portion includes a third sub-composition portion and a fourth sub-composition portion that are cyclically arranged along the column direction, each composition portion includes two columns of Micro LEDs, and each sub- composition portion includes four rows of Micro LEDs, in the column direction, the first composition portion and the third composition portion are flush, and the second composition portion and the fourth composition portion are flush, the ith Micro LED of the first composition portion and the ith Micro LED of the second composition portion are located in different rows, and the Micro LEDs of the first composition portion and the Micro LEDs of the third composition portion include Micro LEDs of the third color, the Micro LEDs of the first sub-composition portion includes Micro LEDs of the first color, the Micro LEDs of the second sub-composition portion includes Micro LEDs of the second color, the Micro LEDs of the third sub-composition portion includes Micro LEDs of the second color, and the Micro LEDs of the fourth sub-composition portion includes Micro LEDs of the first color (see annotated Fig. 16 below).
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Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to NKECHINYERE ESIABA whose telephone number is (571)272-0720. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday 10am-5pm EST.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Kretelia Graham can be reached at (571) 272-5055. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/Nkechinyere Esiaba/Examiner, Art Unit 2817
/Kretelia Graham/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2817 February 17, 2026