DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Response to Amendment
Acknowledgment is made of the amendment filed 11/04/2025, in which: claims 1, 4-5, 16, and 19-20 are amended; claims 2-3 and 17-18 are cancelled; and the rejection of the claims are traversed. Claims 1, 4-16, and 19-20 are currently pending an Office action on the merits as follows.
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 (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.
Claims 1, 4-12, 16, and 19-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lee et al. (US Publication 20210098551) in view of Kim et al. (US Publication 20220199746).
Regarding independent claims 1 and 16, Lee teaches a display panel (fig. 1, 150), comprising:
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a drive backplane (fig. 5, see figure below), a light emitting layer (OL) and a cathode layer (E2) disposed on the drive backplane, wherein the drive backplane comprises:
a substrate (SUB), comprising a plurality of light transmitting regions (fig. 4, TA) and a plurality of sub-pixel regions (PXL1, PXL2);
a pixel drive circuit (fig. 3) and an anode block (fig. 5, E1) that are disposed in the sub-pixel region, the pixel drive circuit being electrically connected to the anode block (fig. 5, OLE connected to DR of pixel drive circuit); and
repair lines (fig. 4, RL) and repair electrodes (WE) that are disposed in the light transmitting regions, an end of the repair line being spaced from the repair electrode (fig. 6B, RL spaced apart from WE);
wherein, for any of the repair lines and the repair electrodes in the light transmitting region, an end, departing from the repair electrode, of the repair line is electrically connected to the anode block in a first sub-pixel region (fig. 13, WE connected to E1 inside PXL of EA left, paragraph 0072), the repair electrode is electrically connected to the anode block in a second sub-pixel region (fig. 13, WE connected to E1 inside PXL of EA right, paragraph 0072),
wherein the first sub-pixel region is a sub-pixel region of the plurality of sub-pixel regions disposed on one side of the light transmitting region, and the second sub-pixel region is a sub-pixel region the plurality of sub-pixel regions disposed on the other side of the light transmitting region (fig. 13),
wherein at least some of the repair lines and the repair electrodes are arranged in a same layer as the anode block and are made of a same material as the anode block (fig. 5 and 6B, RL1 and WE2-1 are arranged between OC and PAS layers like E1),
wherein the repair line comprises a repair line body (fig. 6B, LN), and an auxiliary repair electrode (OV) connected to an end, close to the repair electrode, of the repair line body (fig. 6B), the auxiliary repair electrode being spaced from the repair electrode (fig. 6B, portion of OV and WE are spaced apart from each other);
wherein the repair line body is made of a transparent conductive material (paragraph 0078).
Lee does not teach and the auxiliary repair electrode is arranged in a same laver as the repair electrode and is made of a same material as the repair electrode.
Kim teaches and the auxiliary repair electrode (fig. 6, RCE) is arranged in a same layer as the repair electrode (TCE, both are arranged on top of ILD) and is made of a same material as the repair electrode (paragraph 0098 and 0101, same transparent conductive material can be used for both the auxiliary repair electrode and the repair electrode per MPEP 2144.07).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to combine the drive backplane of Lee and the auxiliary repair electrode placement and material of Kim in order to connect the anode to the repair line (Kim paragraph 0092).
Regarding dependent claims 4 and 19, Lee further teaches the drive backplane according to claim 1[[3]] / the display panel according to claim 16[[18]], wherein the repair line body is closer to the substrate relative to the auxiliary repair electrode (fig. 6A, LN located closer to SUB than OV), an orthographic projection of the auxiliary repair electrode on the substrate is within an orthographic projection of the repair line body on the substrate (fig. 6A), and an orthographic projection of the repair line body on the substrate is overlapped with an orthographic projection of the anode block in the first sub-pixel region on the substrate (fig. 8, orthographic projection of RL and 120 slightly overlap).
Regarding dependent claims 5 and 20, Kim further teaches the drive backplane according to claim 1[[3]], further comprising/the display panel according to claim 16[[18]], wherein the drive backplane further comprises:
a landing electrode (fig. 5, ACE) disposed in the light transmitting region, wherein at least one of the auxiliary repair electrode and the repair electrode is insulated from the landing electrode (fig. 5), the landing electrode is closer to the substrate relative to the repair line body (RL can be moved to be further from substrate relative to a portion of ACE close to the substrate per MPEP 2144.04), and an orthographic projection of the repair electrode on the substrate and an orthographic projection of the auxiliary repair electrode on the substrate are within an orthographic projection of the landing electrode on the substrate (orthographic projection of RCE and TCE are within orthographic projection of ACE).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to combine the drive backplane of Lee and the landing electrode of Kim per the reason(s) stated above in claim 1.
Regarding dependent claim 6, Lee further teaches the drive backplane according to claim 1, wherein the repair electrode (fig. 11, WE5-1) and the anode block in the second sub-pixel region are in an integral structure (fig. 11, paragraph 0188).
Regarding dependent claim 7, Lee further teaches the drive backplane according to claim 1, wherein at least two adjacent sub-pixel regions are configured to form a pixel region (fig. 4, EA), and the drive backplane further comprises a plurality of sense signal lines (fig. 3, VREF) disposed on the substrate, one of the sense signal line being electrically connected to each of the pixel drive circuits in a row of the pixel regions (paragraph 0042);
wherein in response to the repair line in the light transmitting region adjacent to the sense signal line being disposed on a side, close to the sense signal line, of the light transmitting region, a plurality of bumps are defined on a side, close to the light transmitting region, of the sense signal line (fig. 8).
Regarding dependent claim 8, Lee further teaches the drive backplane according to claim 1, wherein the pixel drive circuit comprises a plurality of transistors (fig. 3) disposed in a same layer, each of the transistors comprising a first electrode (fig. 5, S), a second electrode (D), and a gate electrode (G), wherein the first electrode, the second electrode, and the gate electrode are disposed in a same layer (fig. 5, S, D, and G are disposed in ILD) and are made of a same material (paragraph 0062-0063).
Regarding dependent claim 9, Lee further teaches the drive backplane according to claim 8, wherein the transistor further comprises an active layer (fig. 5, A), wherein the active layer is insulated from the gate electrode (insulated from G via GI) and coupled to the first electrode and the second electrode (A coupled to S and D); and
the drive backplane further comprises a light shieling layer (LS) disposed in the sub-pixel region, wherein the light shielding layer is closer to the substrate relative to the transistor (below transistor DR), and in one sub-pixel region, an orthographic projection of a channel region in the active layer of at least one of the transistors of the pixel drive circuit on the substrate is within an orthographic projection of the light shieling layer on the substrate (fig. 5).
Regarding dependent claim 10, Lee further teaches the drive backplane according to claim 9, wherein the pixel drive circuit further comprises a storage capacitor (fig. 5, Cst), comprising two capacitor electrodes (portion of S and part of LS, paragraph 0063) opposite to each other, wherein one of the two capacitor electrodes is arranged in a same layer as the light shieling layer and is made of a same material as the light shieling layer (fig. 5, portion of LS makes up one of the capacitor electrodes and is thus made of the same material), and the other of the two capacitor electrodes is arranged in a same layer as the gate electrode (fig. 5, G and S formed in ILD) and is made of a same material as the gate electrode (paragraph 0062-0063).
Regarding dependent claim 11, Lee further teaches the drive backplane according to claim 10, wherein the active layer is closer to the substrate relative to the gate electrode (fig. 5), and an auxiliary capacitor electrode (LCst) is disposed between the two capacitor electrodes, wherein the auxiliary capacitor electrode is insulated from each of the capacitor electrodes (insulated via ILD), and the auxiliary capacitor electrode is arranged in a same layer as the active layer and is made of a same material as the active layer (fig. 5, paragraph 0061).
Regarding dependent claim 12, Lee further teaches the drive backplane according to claim 11, further comprising:
a buffering layer (fig. 5, BUF), disposed between the auxiliary capacitor electrode and one of the two capacitor electrodes, and a gate insulating layer (ILD) disposed between the auxiliary capacitor electrode and the other of the two capacitor electrodes, wherein the buffering layer is closer to the substrate relative to the gate insulating layer (fig. 5).
Claims 13-15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lee in view of Kim as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Niu (US Publication 20150214286).
Regarding dependent claim 13, Lee further teaches the drive backplane according to claim 9, further comprising:
a plurality of gate lines (fig. 1, GL1-GLm) and a plurality of data lines (DL1-DLn) that are disposed on the substrate, wherein the gate line is electrically connected to each of the pixel drive circuits in one row of the sub-pixel regions (fig. 1), and the data line is electrically connected to each of the pixel drive circuits in one column of the sub-pixel regions (fig. 1).
Lee in view of Kim does not teach wherein the gate line is arranged in a same layer as the light shieling layer and is made of a same material as the light shieling layer, and the data line comprises a first sub-data line and a second sub-data line that are stacked and electrically connected to each other, the first sub-data line is arranged in a same layer as the first electrode and the second electrode of the transistor and is made of a same material as the first electrode and the second electrode of the transistor, and the second sub-data line is arranged in a same layer as the gate line and is made of a same material as the gate line.
Niu teaches wherein the gate line (fig. 2A, 216) is arranged in a same layer as the light shielding layer (fig. 2B, 201a, paragraph 0049) and is made of a same material as the light shieling layer (paragraph 0072, “can be a monolayer film made of Cr, W, Ti, Ta, Mo, Al, Cu and other metal or alloy and also can be a composite thin film made of multi-layer metal thin films”), and the data line comprises a first sub-data line (fig. 2B, 213d) and a second sub-data line (205b) that are stacked and electrically connected to each other, the first sub-data line is arranged in a same layer as the first electrode (205a) and the second electrode (206a) of the transistor and is made of a same material as the first electrode and the second electrode of the transistor (fig. 4G, paragraph 0085-0087, formed using same metal thin film and patterning process), and the second sub-data line is arranged in a same layer as the gate line and is made of a same material as the gate line (paragraph 0072).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to combine the drive backplane of Lee in view of Kim and the gate and data lines of Niu in order to avoid short-circuiting and excessive via-holes (Niu paragraph 0013).
Regarding dependent claim 14, Lee further teaches the drive backplane according to claim 13, further comprising:
power signal lines (fig. 2, EVDD) disposed on the substrate, wherein the power signal line comprises:
a plurality of first sub-power signal lines (206b) disposed parallel to the gate lines (paragraph 0025), and a plurality of second sub-power signal lines (213e) disposed parallel to the data lines (can be arranged to be disposed parallel to data lines per MPEP 2144.04), the first sub-power line is electrically connected to the second sub-power signal line (fig. 2B), and the first sub-power signal line is electrically connected to each of the pixel drive circuits in one row of the sub-pixel regions (fig. 2B).
Regarding dependent claim 15, Niu further teaches the drive backplane according to claim 14, wherein the second sub-power signal line comprises a first signal
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line section (see figure below) and a second signal line section (see figure below) that are stacked and electrically connected to each other (fig. 2B), wherein the first signal line section is arranged in a same layer as the first electrode and second electrode of the transistor (fig. 2B) and is made of a same material as the first electrode and second electrode of the transistor (paragraph 0085-0087), the second signal line section and the first sub-power signal line are arranged in a same layer as the gate line (fig. 2B) and are made of a same material as the gate line (paragraph 0072, second signal line section can be configured to be made of same material as gate line per MPEP 2144.07).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to combine the drive backplane of Lee in view of Kim and the first/second signal line sections of Niu per the reason(s) stated above in claim 13.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments, see page 9, filed 11/04/2025, with respect to the
specification have been fully considered and are persuasive. The objection of 08/07/2025 has been withdrawn.
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claims 1, 4-16, and 19-20 have been fully considered but are moot in view of the new grounds of rejection (Amendments).
Applicant’s arguments filed 11/04/2025 have been fully considered but are not persuasive.
Applicant argues on pages 10-11 of the instant Remarks: “As shown in FIG. 6B of Lee on the right, it can be seen that if OV is equivalent to the auxiliary repair electrode, then OV and the repair electrode WE2-1 in FIG. 6B are directly overlapped and in contact with each other, and there is no gap between them. Moreover, the PAS layer, which is the passivation layer, only wraps the top of OV and the bottom of WE2-1 after the superimposition and formation of OV and WE2-1. Essentially, OV and WE2-1 are still overlapped, rather than be set on the same layer… However, in Kim, RCE is a repair connection electrode, while ACE is an anode connection portion (corresponds to the anode block in amended claim 1). Therefore, Kim only discloses that the materials for the repair electrode and the anode block are the same, but fails to disclose that the materials for the repair electrode and the auxiliary repair electrode are the same. Kim does not mention at all adding an auxiliary repair connection electrode on the basis of the repair connection electrode RCE, and thus cannot provide any technical enlightenment regarding how to select the material for the auxiliary repair connection electrode.”
However, as stated above, Kim teaches the auxiliary repair electrode (fig. 6, RCE) is arranged in a same layer as the repair electrode (TCE, both are arranged on top of ILD) and is made of a same material as the repair electrode (paragraph 0098 and 0101, same transparent conductive material can be used for both the auxiliary repair electrode and the repair electrode per MPEP 2144.07).
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to GRACE Y CHA whose telephone number is (703)756-5393. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Thursday 8:00 am - 5:00 pm and every other Friday 8:00 am - 4:00 pm.
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/GRACE CHA/Examiner, Art Unit 2897
/JACOB Y CHOI/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2897