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 .
The instant application having Application No. 17/985,893 filed on 11/13/2022 is presented for examination by the examiner.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim 1 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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 the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 1-4, 6, 7, 9, 10, 12-14, 16, and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Vasylyev (US 20170254518 A1).
Regarding claim 1, Vasylyev discloses a light source, in at least Figures 1-8, comprising:
a rigid layer (4 “rigid substrates”, Figure 1);
a polymer layer (20 “flexible support substrate”, paragraph 0055 states “flexible support substrate 20 may include polyimide film”, Figure 1) attached to the rigid layer (paragraph 0071 states “rigid substrate 4 is bonded to the reflective side (surface 88) of flexible substrate 20 with a good mechanical and thermal contact”), the rigid layer (4 “rigid substrates”) and the polymer layer (20 “flexible support substrate”) forming a laminated structure (paragraph 0071 states “rigid substrate 4 is bonded to the reflective side (surface 88) of flexible substrate 20 with a good mechanical and thermal contact”, paragraph 0099 states “flexible support substrate 20 and highly flexible encapsulation layer 40 laminated together” where Figure 1 shows that 4 “rigid layer” exists between 20 “flexible support substrate” and 40 “flexible encapsulation layer”) that is reflective for visible light (paragraph 0050 states “Flexible support substrate 20 is defined by a top broad-area surface 88 and an opposing bottom broad-area surface 86 extending parallel to top surface 88”, paragraph 0051 states “Top surface 88 includes a highly reflective layer which may be of a specular or diffuse reflection type”); and
a set of multiple light-emitting elements (2 “inorganic light emitting diodes (LEDs)”, Figure 1) positioned between the rigid layer (4 “rigid substrates”) and the polymer layer (20 “flexible support substrate”, paragraph 0045 states “a plurality of electrically interconnected inorganic light emitting diodes (LEDs) 2 bonded to respective rigid substrates 4”, paragraph 0046 states “LEDs 2 may be exemplified by micro-LEDs or elemental LED chips that are attached either directly or indirectly to flexible support substrate 20”, Figure 1), each light-emitting element comprising one or more inorganic microLEDs (paragraph 0045 states “a plurality of electrically interconnected inorganic light emitting diodes (LEDs) 2”, paragraph 0046 states “According to one embodiment, LEDs 2 may be exemplified by micro-LEDs”) that are arranged to generate and emit output light to propagate out-of-plane relative to a corresponding localized area of the laminated structure surrounding that light-emitting element (2 “inorganic light emitting diodes (LEDs)”, paragraphs 0125, 0165, 0175, Figure 6),
each light-emitting element (2 “inorganic light emitting diodes (LEDs)”) of the set being sufficiently small in at least one transverse dimension (paragraph 0046 states “According to one embodiment, LEDs 2 may be exemplified by micro-LEDs or elemental LED chips that are attached either directly or indirectly to flexible support substrate 20 and have sizes on the scale of 1 μm to 300 μm”), and the light-emitting elements (2 “inorganic light emitting diodes (LEDs)”) occupying a sufficiently small fraction of an areal extent of the set (paragraph 0046, paragraph 0108 states “A spacing distance between LEDs 2 is preferably much greater than the size of individual LED dies forming such LEDs 2”), so as to enable visual observation of a scene reflected by the laminated structure along a sight line that passes through the set of light-emitting elements (paragraphs 0046, 0108, 0112-0114).
Regarding claim 2, Vasylyev discloses all the limitations of claim 1 and further discloses each light-emitting element (2 “inorganic light emitting diodes (LEDs)”) of the set including multiple microLEDs (paragraph 0046 states “According to one embodiment, LEDs 2 may be exemplified by micro-LEDs or elemental LED chips that are attached either directly or indirectly to flexible support substrate 20 and have sizes on the scale of 1 μm to 300 μm”), each microLED of a given light-emitting element (2 “inorganic light emitting diodes (LEDs)”) being arranged and connected so as to be operable independently of at least one other microLED of that light-emitting element (2 “inorganic light emitting diodes (LEDs)”, paragraph 0123 states “LEDs 2 may be made digitally addressable as individual LEDs or as groups of such individual LEDs 2 so that their color and/or or brightness levels can be controlled by sending a predefined digital signal to such LEDs 2 or LED groups … LED illumination device 900 may include a programmable controller (not shown) including a PWM or DMA (direct memory access) control module configured to selectively operate individual LEDs 2 or predefined groups of LEDs 2”).
Regarding claim 3, Vasylyev discloses all the limitations of claim 1 and further discloses each light-emitting element (2 “inorganic light emitting diodes (LEDs)”) of the set including only a single microLED (paragraph 0046 states “According to one embodiment, LEDs 2 may be exemplified by micro-LEDs).
Regarding claim 4, Vasylyev discloses all the limitations of claim 1 and further discloses each light-emitting element (2 “inorganic light emitting diodes (LEDs)”) of the set being arranged and connected so as to be operable independently of at least one other light-emitting element (2 “inorganic light emitting diodes (LEDs)”) of the set (paragraph 0123 states “LEDs 2 may be made digitally addressable as individual LEDs or as groups of such individual LEDs 2 so that their color and/or or brightness levels can be controlled by sending a predefined digital signal to such LEDs 2 or LED groups … LED illumination device 900 may include a programmable controller (not shown) including a PWM or DMA (direct memory access) control module configured to selectively operate individual LEDs 2 or predefined groups of LEDs 2”).
Regarding claim 6, Vasylyev discloses all the limitations of claim 1 and further discloses one or more of the light-emitting elements (2 “inorganic light emitting diodes (LEDs)”) including corresponding wavelength-converting structures (paragraph 0090 states “One or more LEDs 2 may be coated with a phosphor material configured to absorb at least some of light emitted by such LEDs 2 and to re-emit at least a portion of the absorbed light in a different wavelength”).
Regarding claim 7, Vasylyev discloses all the limitations of claim 1 and further discloses multiple electrically conductive traces (90 “flexible electrical connections”, Figure 7) on or within the polymer layer (20 “flexible support substrate”, paragraph 0138 states “Such flexible electrical connections 90 may be bonded directly to flexible support substrate 20 (e.g., to surface 88) and form an integral part of such substrate”) that are arranged and connected for providing electrical drive current to the light-emitting elements (2 “inorganic light emitting diodes (LEDs)”) of the set (paragraph 0138 states “Flexible electrical connections 90 may be exemplified by electrical wires, contacts, leads or traces used for electrically connecting LEDs 2 to a power supply or an external circuit”), the traces (90 “flexible electrical connections”) being sufficiently transparent, sufficiently narrow, or spaced sufficiently far apart (paragraph 0138 states “Flexible electrical connections 90 may be exemplified by electrical wires, contacts, leads or traces used for electrically connecting LEDs 2 to a power supply or an external circuit and having sufficiently low thickness … According to one embodiment, flexible electrical connections 90 may be formed from a transparent material such as a transparent conductive oxide (TCO) film”) so as to enable visual observation of the scene reflected by the laminated structure along the sight line that passes through the set of light-emitting elements (2 “inorganic light emitting diodes (LEDs)”, paragraphs 0112-0114).
Regarding claim 9, Vasylyev discloses all the limitations of claim 1 and further discloses the light-emitting elements (2 “inorganic light emitting diodes (LEDs)”) occupying less than 25% of the areal extent of the set (paragraph 0132 states “the cumulative area of LEDs 2 (or at least the light-emitting apertures of LEDs 2) is less than 20%, less than 10%, less than 5%, and less than 2% of a total area of surface 88” and paragraph 0050 states “Flexible support substrate 20 is defined by a top broad-area surface 88”).
Regarding claim 10, Vasylyev discloses all the limitations of claim 1 and further discloses the set of light-emitting elements (2 “inorganic light emitting diodes (LEDs)”) occupying an area of the laminated structure having a smallest transverse dimension that is greater than 5 mm (paragraph 0064 states “when the entire active light emitting area of flexible LED illumination device 900 has a size of 500 mm by 500 mm, the sampling area may have dimensions of 50 mm by 50 mm”).
Regarding claim 12, Vasylyev discloses all the limitations of claim 1 and further discloses the entire rigid layer (4 “rigid substrates”) being planar (paragraph 0074 states “Each rigid substrate 4 should preferably have a considerably greater stiffness than flexible support substrate 20. It may be also configured to have a sufficient thickness to prevent their deformations when flexible substrate 20 is bent or flexed during the normal operation of LED illumination device 900 or during normal handling of the device”, paragraph 0103 states “rigid substrates 4 underneath LEDs 2 may be provided with a sufficiently high stiffness/rigidity so that they locally increase the stiffness of flexible LED illumination device 900 at the respective areas. This may ensure that flexible support substrate 20 (and the entire sheet-form LED illumination device 900) can only flex in the spacing areas between LEDs 2 thus helping preserve the integrity of LEDs 2 and their good mechanical and thermal contact with the substrate”, and Figures 1-6 show that 4 “rigid substrates” are all planar).
Regarding claim 13, Vasylyev discloses all the limitations of claim 1 and further discloses the rigid layer (4 “rigid substrates”) including one or more areal regions that are curved, or two or more planar areal regions that are not coplanar with respect to one another (Figures 1-3 and 5 show that 4 “rigid substrates” has two or more planar areal regions that are not coplanar with respect to one another).
Regarding claim 14, Vasylyev discloses all the limitations of claim 1 and further discloses the polymer layer (20 “flexible support substrate”) being flexible (paragraph 0047 states “Flexible support substrate 20 is formed by a continuous solid sheet of tough, heat-conducting material and has a relatively low thickness so that the substrate can be easily flexed”).
Regarding claim 16, Vasylyev discloses all the limitations of claim 1 and further discloses (i) the polymer layer (20 “flexible support substrate”) including one or more polymeric materials among clear polyimide (PI), polyethylene naphthalate (PEN), polyethylene terephthalate (PET), or other flexible or curable or cross-linked transparent polymer (paragraph 0055 states “flexible support substrate 20 may include polyimide film”), or (ii) the rigid layer (4 “rigid substrates”) including one or more materials among silica, optical glasses, polycarbonate, polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA), or other rigid transparent polymers (paragraph 0074 states “Various layers of rigid substrate 4 may include crystalline materials such as sapphire or silicon, various polymeric or metallic layers, and/or a printed circuit board (PCB)”).
Regarding claim 20, Vasylyev discloses a method, in at least Figures 1-8, comprising, with a laminated structure (4 “rigid substrates”, 20 “flexible support substrate”, paragraph 0071 states “rigid substrate 4 is bonded to the reflective side (surface 88) of flexible substrate 20 with a good mechanical and thermal contact”, paragraph 0099 states “flexible support substrate 20 and highly flexible encapsulation layer 40 laminated together”, Figure 1) positioned in a sight line along which a scene reflected by the laminated structure (4 “rigid substrates”, 20 “flexible support substrate”) is observed by an observer (paragraph 0114 states “flexible LED illumination device 900 appears as a broad-area light-emitting surfaces having a substantially uniform brightness when viewed by an observer at a distance (with the “pixels” corresponding to individual LEDs 2 unresolvable by a human's eye). The designed observation distance depends on the size and the use of the device in which flexible LED illumination device 900 is incorporated”), the laminated structure (4 “rigid substrates”, 20 “flexible support substrate”) being reflective for visible light (paragraph 0050 states “Flexible support substrate 20 is defined by a top broad-area surface 88 and an opposing bottom broad-area surface 86 extending parallel to top surface 88”, paragraph 0051 states “Top surface 88 includes a highly reflective layer which may be of a specular or diffuse reflection type”) and comprising a rigid layer (4 “rigid substrates”) and a polymer layer (20 “flexible support substrate”) attached to the rigid layer (4 “rigid substrates”, paragraph 0071 states “rigid substrate 4 is bonded to the reflective side (surface 88) of flexible substrate 20 with a good mechanical and thermal contact”), operating a set of multiple light-emitting elements (2 “inorganic light emitting diodes (LEDs)”, Figure 1) positioned between the polymer layer (20 “flexible support substrate”) and the rigid layer (4 “rigid substrates”) to emit output light (paragraph 0165),
each light-emitting element (2 “inorganic light emitting diodes (LEDs)”) comprising one or more inorganic microLEDs (paragraph 0045 states “a plurality of electrically interconnected inorganic light emitting diodes (LEDs) 2”, paragraph 0046 states “According to one embodiment, LEDs 2 may be exemplified by micro-LEDs”) that are arranged to generate and emit the output light to propagate out-of-plane relative to a corresponding localized area of the laminated structure around that light-emitting element (2 “inorganic light emitting diodes (LEDs)”, paragraphs 0125, 0165, 0175, Figure 6), and
each light-emitting element (2 “inorganic light emitting diodes (LEDs)”) of the set being sufficiently small in at least one transverse dimension (paragraph 0046 states “According to one embodiment, LEDs 2 may be exemplified by micro-LEDs or elemental LED chips that are attached either directly or indirectly to flexible support substrate 20 and have sizes on the scale of 1 μm to 300 μm”), and the light-emitting elements (2 “inorganic light emitting diodes (LEDs)”) occupying a sufficiently small fraction of an areal extent of the set (paragraph 0046, paragraph 0108 states “A spacing distance between LEDs 2 is preferably much greater than the size of individual LED dies forming such LEDs 2”), so as to enable visual observation of the scene reflected by the laminated structure along the sight line that passes through the set of light-emitting elements (2 “inorganic light emitting diodes (LEDs)”, paragraphs 0046, 0108, 0112-0114).
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 8 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Vasylyev (US 20170254518 A1).
Regarding claim 8, Vasylyev discloses all the limitations of claim 1 and further discloses each light-emitting element having a largest transverse dimension (paragraph 0046 states “LEDs 2 may be exemplified by micro-LEDs or elemental LED chips that are attached either directly or indirectly to flexible support substrate 20 and have sizes on the scale of 1 μm to 300 μm”), however Vasylyev does not disclose each light-emitting element having a largest transverse dimension that is less than 200 μm.
In the case where the claimed ranges "overlap or lie inside ranges disclosed by the prior art", a prima facie case of obviousness exists. The range disclosed by Vasylyev is 1 μm to 300 μm (paragraph 0046) which overlaps with the claimed range of less than 200 μm. In re Wertheim, 541 F.2d 257, 191 USPQ 90 (CCPA 1976); In re Woodruff, 919 F.2d 1575, 16 USPQ2d 1934 (Fed. Cir. 1990) (The prior art taught carbon monoxide concentrations of "about 1-5%" while the claim was limited to "more than 5%." The court held that "about 1-5%" allowed for concentrations slightly above 5% thus the ranges overlapped.); In re Geisler, 116 F.3d 1465, 1469-71, 43 USPQ2d 1362, 1365-66 (Fed. Cir. 1997) (Claim reciting thickness of a protective layer as falling within a range of "50 to 100 Angstroms" considered prima facie obvious in view of prior art reference teaching that "for suitable protection, the thickness of the protective layer should be not less than about 10 nm [i.e., 100 Angstroms]." The court stated that "by stating that ‘suitable protection’ is provided if the protective layer is ‘about’ 100 Angstroms thick, [the prior art reference] directly teaches the use of a thickness within [applicant’s] claimed range."). See also In re Bergen, 120 F.2d 329, 332, 49 USPQ 749, 751-52 (CCPA 1941) (The court found that the overlapping endpoint of the prior art and claimed range was sufficient to support an obviousness rejection, particularly when there was no showing of criticality of the claimed range).
Claim 11 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Vasylyev (US 20170254518 A1), and further in view of Shibazaki (JP 2017044868 A)(see attached machine translation).
Regarding claim 11, Vasylyev discloses all the limitations of claim 1, however Vasylyev does not disclose an adhesive layer between the rigid layer and the polymer layer, the adhesive layer adhering together the rigid layer and the polymer layer and at least partly encapsulating the set of light- emitting elements, the adhesive layer being transparent for visible light.
Shibazaki teaches an adhesive layer (12 “adhesive layer”, Figure 3) between the polymer layer (11 “support substrate”, Figure 3, page 4, paragraph 3 of translation states “a preferable example of the resin used as the support substrate 11 that is required to satisfy requirements such as flexibility and transparency, heat resistance, insulation, light resistance and weather resistance, polyimide (PI), polyethylene naphthalate ( PEN), polyethylene terephthalate (PET), amorphous polyarylate, polysulfone, polyethersulfone, polyetherimide, fluororesin, liquid crystal polymer, and the like”) and another layer (15 “insulating protective film”, Figure 3, last paragraph of page 2 of translation states "the insulating protective film 15 is laminated on the support substrate 11 via the adhesive layer 12 on the surface of the support substrate 11"), the adhesive layer (12 “adhesive layer”) adhering together the polymer layer (11 “support substrate”, last paragraph of page 2 of translation states "the insulating protective film 15 is laminated on the support substrate 11 via the adhesive layer 12 on the surface of the support substrate 11") and another layer (15 “insulating protective film”, last paragraph of page 2 of translation states "the insulating protective film 15 is laminated on the support substrate 11 via the adhesive layer 12 on the surface of the support substrate 11") and at least partly encapsulating the set of light-emitting elements (last paragraph of page 2 of translation states “said "LED element mounting area/region" is the joining location to the metal wiring part 13 of the LED element 2, and its peripheral part, and the light emitted from the LED element 2 reaches the outside of the flexible transparent substrate 1”, page 2, paragraph 12 of translation states "the flexible transparent substrate 1 has a conductive metal wiring portion 13 made of a metal foil or the like, preferably on a surface of a support substrate 11 made of a thermoplastic resin, with an adhesive layer 12 interposed therebetween", page 5, paragraph 3 of translation states "the metal wiring part 13 is a copper foil having a roughened surface having a relatively large surface roughness and a glossy surface having a relatively small surface roughness, and the roughened surface is on the adhesive layer 12 side. Preferably they are oriented and laminated"), the adhesive layer (12 “adhesive layer”) being transparent for visible light (page 4, paragraph 5 of translation states "Among the above adhesives, from the viewpoint of optical properties, an acrylic adhesive excellent in transparency can be preferably used as the adhesive for forming the adhesive layer 12").
Therefore, it would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to utilize the light source of Mori modified by an adhesive layer between the polymer layer and another layer, the adhesive layer adhering together the polymer layer and another layer and at least partly encapsulating the set of light-emitting elements, the adhesive layer being transparent for visible light, as taught by Shibazaki, in order to adhere the rigid layer, polymer layer, and light-emitting elements while still allowing light to pass through the assembly.
Claim 15 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Vasylyev (US 20170254518 A1), and further in view of Ouderkirk (US 20210263342 A1).
Regarding claim 15, Vasylyev discloses all the limitations of claim 1, however Vasylyev does not disclose the polymer layer comprising a rigid layer of cured or cross-linked polymer material.
Ouderkirk teaches the polymer layer (402 “substrate”) comprising a rigid layer of cured or cross-linked polymer material (paragraph 0079 states "substrate 402 is made of a solvent-resistant material, such as a cross-linked polymer").
Therefore, it would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to utilize the light source of Mori modified by the polymer layer comprising a rigid layer of cured or cross-linked polymer material, as taught by Ouderkirk, in order to cause the polymer layer to be resistant to solvents that may be applied to the assembly (paragraph 0079).
Claims 5, 17, and 18 rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Vasylyev (US 20170254518 A1), in view of Mori (US 20210183943 A1).
Regarding claim 5, Vasylyev discloses all the limitations of claim 1 and Vasylyev further teaches each light-emitting element (2 “inorganic light emitting diodes (LEDs)”) comprising one or more direct-emitting or phosphor-converted inorganic semiconductor microLEDs (paragraph 0046 states “LEDs 2 may be exemplified by micro-LEDs”, paragraph 0090 states “One or more LEDs 2 may be coated with a phosphor material configured to absorb at least some of light emitted by such LEDs 2 and to re-emit at least a portion of the absorbed light in a different wavelength”).
However, Vasylyev does not disclose the microLEDs including one or more UV-, visible-, or infrared-emitting microLEDs, each microLED including one or more materials among III-V, II-VI, or Group IV semiconductor materials.
Mori teaches the microLEDs including one or more UV-, visible-, or infrared-emitting microLEDs (21 “LEDs”, paragraph 0063), each microLED (21 “LEDs”) including one or more materials among III-V, II-VI, or Group IV semiconductor materials (paragraph 0072 states "The material of the LED is not limited, but it is preferable if it is an inorganic material. For example, for red LEDs, AlGaAs, GaAsP, GaP, and the like are preferable as materials for a light-emitting layer", where aluminum gallium arsenide, gallium arsenide phosphide, and gallium phosphide are a Group III-V semiconductor materials).
Therefore, it would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to utilize the light source of Mori modified by the microLEDs including one or more UV-, visible-, or infrared-emitting microLEDs, each microLED including one or more materials among III-V, II-VI, or Group IV semiconductor materials, as taught by Mori, in order to produce better image quality.
Regarding claim 17, Vasylyev discloses all the limitations of claim 1 and further discloses each light-emitting element (2 “inorganic light emitting diodes (LEDs)”) being sufficiently small in at least one transverse dimension (paragraph 0046 states “According to one embodiment, LEDs 2 may be exemplified by micro-LEDs or elemental LED chips that are attached either directly or indirectly to flexible support substrate 20 and have sizes on the scale of 1 μm to 300 μm”), and the light- emitting elements (2 “inorganic light emitting diodes (LEDs)”) of the set being spaced sufficiently far apart (paragraph 0046, paragraph 0108 states “A spacing distance between LEDs 2 is preferably much greater than the size of individual LED dies forming such LEDs 2”), so that, with the light- emitting elements (2 “inorganic light emitting diodes (LEDs)”) in an off state or emitting only non-visible light (paragraph 0132 states “the cumulative area of LEDs 2 (or at least the light-emitting apertures of LEDs 2) is less than 20%, less than 10%, less than 5%, and less than 2% of a total area of surface 88” and paragraph 0050 states “Flexible support substrate 20 is defined by a top broad-area surface 88”, paragraph 0161 states “LEDs 2 may be made digitally addressable individually or by horizontal rows. Such digitally addressable LEDs 2 or rows of LEDs 2 may be selectively turned on and off depending on whether such LEDs 2 or rows of LEDs 2 are exposed or hidden from view within housing 1020”).
However, Vasylyev does not disclose with the light- emitting elements in an off state or emitting only non-visible light, the set does not substantially interfere with visual observation of the scene reflected by the substrate by a naked eye of a human observer along the sight line that passes through the set.
Mori teaches with the light-emitting elements (20 “light emitting units”) in an off state or emitting only non-visible light, the set does not substantially interfere with visual observation of the scene by the substrate by a naked eye of a human observer along the sight line that passes through the set (paragraph 0066 states "by using a micro-sized LED as described above, the LED is not visible or, even if it is visible, its presence is not noticeable even when an observer observes the display device at a relatively close distance, for example, several tens of centimeters to 2 meters. Therefore, the visibility of the image on the rear side of the display device is improved" and paragraph 0044 states "“Visible” is determined at least when the display device is non-displayed, that is, not energized").
Therefore, it would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to utilize the light source of Mori modified by with the light- emitting elements in an off state or emitting only non-visible light, the set does not substantially interfere with visual observation of the scene reflected by the substrate by a naked eye of a human observer along the sight line that passes through the set, as taught by Mori, in order to improve the visibility of the display (paragraph 0066).
Regarding claim 18, Vasylyev discloses all the limitations of claim 1 and further discloses each light-emitting element (2 “inorganic light emitting diodes (LEDs)”) being sufficiently small in at least one transverse dimension (paragraph 0046 states “According to one embodiment, LEDs 2 may be exemplified by micro-LEDs or elemental LED chips that are attached either directly or indirectly to flexible support substrate 20 and have sizes on the scale of 1 μm to 300 μm”), and the light-emitting elements (2 “inorganic light emitting diodes (LEDs)”) of the set being spaced sufficiently far apart (paragraph 0046, paragraph 0108 states “A spacing distance between LEDs 2 is preferably much greater than the size of individual LED dies forming such LEDs 2”).
However, Vasylyev does not disclose to a naked eye of a human observer the set is only negligibly visible when in an off state or when emitting only non-visible light.
Mori teaches to a naked eye of a human observer the set is only negligibly visible when in an off state or when emitting only non-visible light (paragraph 0066 states "by using a micro-sized LED as described above, the LED is not visible or, even if it is visible, its presence is not noticeable even when an observer observes the display device at a relatively close distance, for example, several tens of centimeters to 2 meters. Therefore, the visibility of the image on the rear side of the display device is improved" and paragraph 0044 states "“Visible” is determined at least when the display device is non-displayed, that is, not energized").
Therefore, it would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to utilize the light source of Mori modified by to a naked eye of a human observer the set is only negligibly visible when in an off state or when emitting only non-visible light, as taught by Mori, in order to improve the visibility of the display (paragraph 0066).
Contact Information
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ALAINA M SWANSON whose telephone number is (703)756-5809. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Fri, 7:30am-4:00pm.
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/ALAINA MARIE SWANSON/Examiner, Art Unit 2872
/WILLIAM R ALEXANDER/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2872