Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
In the response to this Office action, the Office respectfully requests that support be shown for language added to any original claims on amendment and any new claims. That is, indicate support for newly added claim language by specifically pointing to page(s) and line numbers in the specification and/or drawing figure(s). This will assist the Office in prosecuting this application.
The Office has cited particular figures, elements, paragraphs and/or columns and line numbers in the references as applied to the claims for the convenience of the applicant. Although the specified citations are representative of the teachings in the art and are applied to the specific limitations within the individual claim, other passages and figures may apply as well. It is respectfully requested from the applicant, in preparing the responses, to fully consider each of the cited references in entirety as potentially teaching all or part of the claimed invention, as well as the context of the passage disclosed by the Office.
Status of Claims
- Applicant’s Amendment filed March 2, 2026 is acknowledged.
- Claim(s) 1-5, 12, 17, 24, 26-27 is/are amended
- Claim(s) 6-7, 9-10, 13, 15-16, 18, 22-23, 25 is/are canceled
- Claim(s) 1-5, 8, 11-12, 14, 17, 19-21,-24, 26-27 is/are pending in the application.
This action is FINAL
Application Notes/New Matter
Examiner acknowledges Applicant’s amendment to the drawings and specification dated March 2, 2026. However, the amendment has not been entered because Applicant’s amendment to paragraphs 0050, 0052, and figure 4 have clearly altered Applicant’s original disclosure to introduce new matter by altering blurry image to incorporate more ambiguous features that were not described in Applicant’s original disclosure. Applicant points to paragraph 0063 “[0063] For example, minimum distances between the normal driving circuitries 301 and/or the dummy driving circuitries in a same driving circuitry column and the under- screen camera region are equal. The characteristics of the transistors in the normal driving circuitries 301 and/or the dummy driving circuitries in a same driving circuitry column have substantially the same deviation. Therefore, the limitations recited in item a are shown in the drawings.” to allegedly support the altered wording of the specification and changes to the drawings. Examiner respectfully disagrees.
Specifically, paragraphs figure 4 has been altered to incorporate element “DCC” and paragraphs 0050 and 0052 have been modified to describe the newly added element “DCC”.
The amendment filed March 2, 2026 is objected to under 35 U.S.C. 132(a) because it introduces new matter into the disclosure. 35 U.S.C. 132(a) states that no amendment shall introduce new matter into the disclosure of the invention. The added material which is not supported by the original disclosure is as follows: “driving circuitry annuluses DCC”.
Independent claims 1, 26 and 27 as amended have incorporated features including “driving circuitry annuluses .”
18. Applicant is required to cancel the new matter in the reply to this Office Action.
Application notes
Paragraph 0066 indicates “According to the specific structure of the above-mentioned display substrate, in the display substrate according to the embodiment of the present disclosure, the electrodes of the target dummy driving transistor 3021 in the target dummy driving circuitry 302 selected from at least some of the driving circuitry columns are coupled to corresponding signal lead-out lines 40 respectively, and the signal lead-out lines 40 are coupled to corresponding test pads 41. In this way, the signals of the electrodes of the target dummy driving transistor 3021 may be monitored in real time through the signal lead-out lines 40 and the test pads 41, so as to obtain the characteristics and a threshold voltage drift of the target dummy driving transistor 3021. Based on the characteristics and the threshold voltage drift of the target dummy driving transistor 3021, defect analysis is performed to determine the degree of impact of the first region 10 on the target dummy driving transistor 3021. According to the determined result, a corresponding compensation scheme is implemented on the display substrate, so as to solve the problem that the characteristics of the driving transistors in the driving circuitries surrounding the first region 10 experience deviations due to the difference between the first region 10 and the second region 20, which ultimately affects the display effect of the display product.”
Paragraph 0103 indicates “In the display substrate according to the embodiments of the present disclosure, the signals of the electrodes of the target dummy driving transistor 3021 are monitored in real time through the signal lead-out lines 40 and the test pads 41, so as to obtain the characteristics and a threshold voltage drift of the target dummy driving transistor 3021. Based on the characteristics and the threshold voltage drift of the target dummy driving transistor 3021, defect analysis is performed to determine the degree of impact of the first region 10 on the target dummy driving transistor 3021. According to the determined result, a corresponding compensation scheme is implemented on the display substrate, so as to solve the problem that the characteristics of the driving transistors in the driving circuitries surrounding the first region 10 experience deviations due to the difference between the first region 10 and the second region 20, which ultimately affects the display effect of the display product.”
Paragraph 0104 indicates “ Based on the above idea, subsequent to obtaining the determined result, it is able to arrange the compensation structure in the first region 10 to reduce the structure difference between the first region 10 and the second region 20, so as to reduce the degree of impact of the first region 10 on the normal driving transistors and the dummy driving transistors, and ensure operation performance of the normal driving transistors.”
Paragraphs 0134-0135 indicates “In the display substrate according to the embodiments of the present disclosure, the signals of the electrodes of the target dummy driving transistor 3021 are monitored in real time through the signal lead-out lines 40 and the test pads 41, so as to obtain the characteristics and a threshold voltage drift of the target dummy driving transistor 3021. Based on the characteristics and the threshold voltage drift of the target dummy driving transistor 3021, defect analysis is performed to determine the degree of impact of the first region 10 on the target dummy driving transistor 3021. According to the determined result, a corresponding compensation scheme is implemented on the display substrate, so as to solve the problem that the characteristics of the driving transistors in the driving circuitries surrounding the first region 10 experience deviations due to the difference between the first region 10 and the second region 20, which ultimately affects the display effect of the display product.
Based on the above idea, subsequent to obtaining a determined result, it is able to arrange a plurality of compensation driving circuitries 61 in the first region 10 to reduce the structure difference between the first region 10 and the second region 20, so as to reduce the degree of impact of the first region 10 on the normal driving transistors and the dummy driving transistors, and ensure operation performance of the normal driving transistors.”
Applicant’s disclosure appears to use “in real time” to refer to testing that is potentially being done prior to finishing a product for end user delivery since the “compensation scheme is implemented on the display substrate” and appears to correspond to arranging “compensation driving circuitries” and/or “compensation structures” in the first (camera) region.
Drawings
Objections to the drawings which remain applicable because the amendment to the drawings dated March 2, 2026, has not been entered are being maintained and newly introduced objections are added:
Claim 1 “”, “the plurality of driving circuitries are divided into a plurality of driving annuluses, minimum distances between the plurality of normal driving circuitries and/or the plurality of dummy driving circuitries in a same driving circuitry annulus and the first region are equal, all of the driving circuitry annuluses surround the first region, an (N+1)th driving circuit annulus surrounds an Nth driving circuit annulus along a direction away from the first region, where N is a positive integer”
Claim 19 “wherein two of the first anode pattern, the second anode pattern and the third anode pattern correspond to the first compensation patterns with a same area, and correspond to the second compensation patterns with a same area”,
Claim 20 “wherein the first anode pattern corresponds to a blue sub-pixel, the second anode pattern corresponds to a red sub-pixel, and the third anode pattern corresponds to a green sub-pixel; an area of the first compensation pattern corresponding to the first anode pattern is greater than an area of the first compensation pattern corresponding to the second anode pattern; and a quantity of the via holes corresponding to the first anode pattern is greater than a quantity of the via holes corresponding to the second anode pattern”,
Claim 24 “wherein the plurality of test pads are arranged in a bezel region of the display substrate; and/or, wherein the first region comprises an under-screen camera region, and the second region comprises a transition region.”
Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. The figure or figure number of an amended drawing should not be labeled as “amended.” If a drawing figure is to be canceled, the appropriate figure must be removed from the replacement sheet, and where necessary, the remaining figures must be renumbered and appropriate changes made to the brief description of the several views of the drawings for consistency. Additional replacement sheets may be necessary to show the renumbering of the remaining figures. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
Specification
Objections to the specification which remain applicable because the amendment to the specification dated March 2, 2026, has not been entered are being maintained.
24. The specification has not been checked to the extent necessary to determine the presence of all possible minor errors. Applicant’s cooperation is requested in correcting any errors of which applicant may become aware in the specification.
25. The disclosure is objected to because of the following informalities:
The disclosure is objected to because of the following informalities: paragraph 0053 indicates “As shown in FIG. 8, in at least some of the driving circuitry columns, at least one electrode of a target dummy driving transistor 3021 in a target dummy driving circuitry 302 is coupled to at least one signal lead-out line 40.”. However, figure 8 does not include an element labeled as “40”
PNG
media_image1.png
666
888
media_image1.png
Greyscale
Paragraph 0055 indicates “display substrate may adopt an AA hole technology, in which the display product mainly includes a first region 10, a first display region and a second display region “ It is not clear from Applicant’s disclosure the intended features of AA hole technology. Any acronyms should be spelled out the first time they appear in the disclosure and/or a claim. Examiner notes that Applicant’s proposed amendment to paragraph 0055 would render this objection moot.
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of 35 U.S.C. 112(a):
(a) IN GENERAL.—The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor or joint inventor of carrying out the invention.
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112:
The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor of carrying out his invention.
Claims 1-5, 8, 11-12, 14, 17, 19-21,-24, 26-27 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), first paragraph, as failing to comply with the written description requirement. The claim(s) contains subject matter which was not described in the specification in such a way as to reasonably convey to one skilled in the relevant art that the inventor or a joint inventor, or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the inventor(s), at the time the application was filed, had possession of the claimed invention.
Independent claims 1, 26-27 have been amended to include “ the plurality of driving circuitries are divided into a plurality of driving annuluses, minimum distances between the plurality of normal driving circuitries and/or the plurality of dummy driving circuitries in a same driving circuitry annulus and the first region are equal, all of the driving circuitry annuluses surround the first region, an (N+1)th driving circuit annulus surrounds an Nth driving circuit annulus along a direction away from the first region, where N is a positive integer “. However, Applicant’s original specification does not appear to have described these features. Applicant’s amendment dated March 2, 2026 to paragraphs 0050, 0052, and figure 4 have clearly altered Applicant’s original disclosure to introduce new matter by altering a blurry image to incorporate more ambiguous/blurry features that were not described in Applicant’s original disclosure. Applicant points to paragraph 0063 “[0063] For example, minimum distances between the normal driving circuitries 301 and/or the dummy driving circuitries in a same driving circuitry column and the under- screen camera region are equal. The characteristics of the transistors in the normal driving circuitries 301 and/or the dummy driving circuitries in a same driving circuitry column have substantially the same deviation. Therefore, the limitations recited in item a are shown in the drawings.” to allegedly support the altered wording of the specification and changes to the drawings. Examiner respectfully disagrees.
Specifically, paragraphs figure 4 has been altered to incorporate element “DCC” and paragraphs 0050 and 0052 have been modified to describe the newly added element “DCC”.
Applicant is required to cancel the new matter in the reply to this Office Action.
Further, even taking into consideration Applicant’s proposed amendment to the specification and drawings, Applicant’s disclosure and figures do not appear to include sufficient detail to enable a reader to grasp the intended arrangement. Clarification is required.
Dependent claims inherit the deficiencies of the parent claim.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed March 2, 2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
Applicant’s response dated March 2, 2026 asserts that paragraph 0063 supports the proposed amendments to the specification and drawings. Examiner disagrees as articulated above. As best understood by Examiner Applicant’s amendments to the independent claims have introduced new matter which should be canceled in response to this office action.
Examiner maintains that Applicant’s disclosure, particularly Applicant’s figures intended to illustrate column arrangements, do not appear to include sufficient detail to enable a reader to grasp the intended arrangement. Altering the “column arrangements” to “annuluses” does not cure the underlying problem that sufficient detail to enable a reader to grasp the intended arrangement was not included in the specification.
Regarding Applicant’s remarks
PNG
media_image2.png
166
900
media_image2.png
Greyscale
Applicant’s disclosure describes normal driving at paragraphs 0153-0157. There is no mention of an inspection period during idle display time between two frames.
Regarding Applicant’s remarks
PNG
media_image3.png
240
936
media_image3.png
Greyscale
What corrections? Claim 12 does not recite any “corrections”.
Regarding Applicant’s remarks
PNG
media_image4.png
242
878
media_image4.png
Greyscale
Regarding Applicant’s assertion that any subsequent rejection of the claims based on references should be made in a non-final office action in order to fully apprise Applicants of the grounds of rejection and to provide Applicants the right to fully respond to the subsequent rejection, Examiner was unable to discern the metes and bounds of the claim as originally filed. The claim language as originally filed was so incomprehensible as to preclude a reasonable search of the prior art by the examiner.
Applicant’s response failed to clarify where support for the initially claimed features of the independent claims could be found in the original specification. Instead Applicant incorporated new features that were clearly not described in the original specification because the specification and drawings included amendments to identify the newly added feature. Applicant’s response failed to respond to at least item 14 of the office action dated December 1, 2025. Applicant’s response failed to respond in a meaningful manner to clarify the original claimed features and where in the original specification/drawings one could find sufficient detail to enable a reader to grasp the intended metes and bounds being claimed. The claims as amended fail to clarify the metes and bounds for which Applicant seeks protection. Therefore, Examiner is unable to perform a reasonable search of the relevant prior arts.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure Xu et al, U.S. Patent Publication No. 20220036817 (figures 1-14 and paragraphs 0079-0084), Li, Chinese Patent Publication No. CN 113555404 (figures 1-8 test area and lead out lines), Gao et al, U.S. Patent Publication No. 9171869 (array substrate and display device), Ko et al, U.S. Patent Publication No. 20160379907 (display device), Huang et al, U.S. Patent Publication No. 20210366330 (array substrate), Zhang et al, International Patent Publication No. WO2021243875 (Display substrate and display apparatus), Wang et al, U.S. Patent Publication No. 20220319408 (display panel), Lee et al, U.S. Patent Publication No. 20230089207 (display device), Liu, U.S. Patent Publication No. 20230186845 (display panel), Zhang et al, U.S. Patent Publication No. 20250017071 (display substrate, mask and display device).
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 Dorothy H Harris whose telephone number is (571)270-7539. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday 8am - 4pm.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, William Boddie can be reached at 571-272-0666. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/Dorothy Harris/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2625
Prosecution Insights