Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on 04/03/2026 has been entered.
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, 3, and 6 – 9 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over CN 107086226 A hereinafter Lee in further view of CN 109037266 A hereinafter Kim.
For claim 1, Lee teaches a display panel (Lee, fig. 15), comprising a plurality of pixel units, wherein a pixel unit of the plurality of pixel units comprises at least three color subpixels (fig. 8 numeral C1, C2, and C3) are packed into one independent pixel unit by a passivation layer (fig. 8 numeral 34; Par. [0050] “…ensure the independent operation of the first to third LED cells C1, C2 and C3”; Par. [0095] “…in the process of manufacturing the LED light source module 50 not only can be independently tunable blue coordinate, but also can independently tune the red coordinate”;), each subpixel in the at least three subpixels of the pixel unit is connected to a respective first electrode (fig. 8 numeral 24), and all subpixels in the at least three subpixels of the pixel unit are connected to a same second electrode (fig. 8 numeral 28; fig. 11 numeral 28), wherein the pixel unit comprises an LED layer (fig. 8 numeral 13, 15, and 17) and a color function layer disposed above the LED layer (fig. 8 numeral 51), and in two adjacent sub-pixels of the pixel unit, there is a light-shielding partition between the color functional layer of one of the sub-pixels and the color functional layer of the other of the two adjacent sub-pixels, and the light shielding partition is integral from the color functional layer to the LED layer in a depth direction of the pixel unit, wherein the light-shielding partition is disposed above the LED layer and the color functional layer is disposed above the light-shielding partition disposed above the LED layer (fig. 8 numeral 45 shows a light-shielding partition in spaced labeled W1, W2, and W3 above the LED layers and the color functional layer 51 is above parts of the light-shielding partition 45, while the light shielding partition 45 is integral from the color functional layer 51 to the top surface of the LED layer 13). Lee is silent regarding the passivation layer being disposed on outer top surface and an outer side surfaces of the pixel unit to package the at least three color subpixels together. Lee does teach including passivation and insulator layers on the outside surfaces of the pixel units (Lee, fig. 8 numeral 34, 45, 21).
Kim teaches a display panel (Kim, fig. 2L) comprising a plurality of pixel units (fig. 2L numeral 111, 204), the pixel units including at least three color subpixels (fig. 4A shows subpixels including green, blue, and red subpixels). The pixel units are shown to include a passivation layer that covers an outer top surface and outer side surfaces of the pixel unit (fig. 2L numeral 30). The pixel units are shown to be packaged separately and each unit includes three subpixels (fig. 4B).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the immediate invention to include the passivation layer in Kim with the subpixels in Lee in order to insulate the components in each subpixel (Kim, Par. [0105]; “…so as to avoid the electric connection between the neighboring light emitting devices 10 through the insulating layer 30”) and to ensure electrical isolation of the light emitting devices in the pixel units (Kim, Par. [0103]; “…insulating layer 30 the whole coated each monochromatic emitter 11 such that each light emitting device 10 keeps electrical insulation and excellent insulating effect and avoid the light emitting device 10 of the epitaxial layer 111 may cause conductive effect”).
For claim 3, Lee and Kim teach all of claim 1. Lee also teaches the subpixels include at least a red subpixel and a green subpixel (“first sub-pixel is a blue sub-pixel, the second sub-pixel is a green sub pixel, and the third sub-pixel is a red sub-pixel…”). Lee does not explicitly state that the quantity of red subpixels is greater than a quantity of green subpixels. Lee does teach that the active layers can be formed to emit wavelengths of different colors (“…an active layer of the first to third LED cells C1, C2 and C3 15 may be formed as a light (e.g., emitting light having the same wavelength and/or the same spectrum) emission color”) and that the sub-pixels can be tuned to emit different colors depending on the desired color mixture and output of the device (“first to third light control portions 51, 52, and 53 may control the first to third LED cells C1, C2 and C3 the light emitted to the light into light having different colors.”; “As described herein, in addition to blue sub-pixels of the sub-pixel may include a tuning wavelength conversion material, such as the red and green sub-pixels R, G of the invention. tuning wavelength conversion material can be emitted from the LED unit of the pixel CA of light into the color outside the color (e.g., to green G conversion sub-pixel is red or blue, or, for a red sub-pixel R is converted into green or blue).”).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the immediate invention that the subpixels in Lee includes embodiments wherein there are more red subpixels than green subpixels, as Lee teaches forming each subpixel to emit different colors, including red, depending on the desired produced color of the device (“first to third light control portions 51, 52, and 53 may control the first to third LED cells C1, C2 and C3 the light emitted to the light into light having different colors.”) and that the different subpixels can be tuned to emit light of the same wavelength (“In some example embodiments, the third light control portion 53 of tuning wavelength conversion material may include a green phosphor to produce a second peak of green, and green phosphor, the green phosphor can be mixed with the second light control part 52 P2 the same (e.g., have the same composition) the amount of green phosphor in such a case, the third light control portion 53 of tuning wavelength conversion material of the PT in an amount of the green phosphor P2 is lower than the second light control part 52. peak from the second third LED unit C3 emits green light) of the wavelength can be from a peak intensity of light emitted by the second LED unit C2 in the wavelength of 20nm and/or 10nm, and/or may be substantially the same as the peak intensity of the light emitted by the second LED unit C2 of the wavelength.”). One of ordinary skill in the art would be driven to include more red subpixels than green subpixels in the display panel if the desired wavelength of light to be produced was a wavelength of red or a wavelength adjacent to red or a wavelength of color that includes a mixture of red and other colors.
For claim 6, Lee and Kim teach all of claim 1. Lee also teaches the LED layer comprises an N-type region layer (fig. 8 numeral 13), a multi-quantum-well layer (fig. 8 numeral 15; Par. [0143] describing the use of quantum well layers as an active layer; “… For example, the second conductive type semiconductor layer 125c may be implemented as a single-layer structure, such as in the exemplary embodiment, may have a multi-layer structure comprising a different composition. can has alternately stacked quantum well layer and a quantum barrier layer of the active layer 125b of multiple quantum well (MQW) structure. For example, the quantum well layer and the quantum barrier layer can comprise different groups respectively InxAlyGa1-x-yN layer (0≤x≤1, 0≤y≤1, 0≤x + ≤ 1). In some example embodiments, the quantum well layer may include a composition of InxGa1-xN (0x≤1), and the quantum barrier layer may comprise GaN or AlGaN. an active layer 125b not limited to MQW structure, and may have a single quantum well (SQW) structure.”; Par. [0176] and Par. [0045 – 0049] teach the various embodiments as modifiable and can be combined or mixed) and a P-type region layer (fig. 8 numeral 17) that are sequentially arranged, wherein in adjacent subpixels of the at least three subpixels of the pixel unit, there is a second light shielding barrier between the multi-quantum-well layer and the P-type region layer (fig. 8 numeral 21, Par. [0055]; “…reflective insulation 21 and side wall 45 can be connected with each other. side wall 45 may be formed as vertically extending from insulator 21. Because the reflective insulation 21 and side wall 45 arranged to have around each of first to third LED cells C1, C2 and C3, and each of the structure first to third light control portions 51, 52, and 53, can effectively prevent the optical interference between first to third LED units C1, C2, and C3. Accordingly, the entire light path from first to third LED cells C1, C2 and C3 of light generated can be effectively isolated.”). Figure 8 of Lee does not show the N-type layer being an integrated layer. However, Lee does teach the n-type layer being an integrated layer (fig. 19B numeral 135a).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the immediate invention to combine the light-shielding partitions in one embodiment in Lee with the integrated n-type layer in Lee, as Lee teaches the embodiments as modifiable and can be combined or mixed (Par. [0176]; Par. [0045 – 0049]) and to achieve both optical isolation for the sub-pixels (Par. [0055]) while also reducing contact resistance and improve current flow (Par. [0147 - 0148]; “connecting electrode 137a may be surrounded by the insulating layer 133 so that the active layer 135b and the second conductive type semiconductor layer 135c electrically isolated from each other. connecting electrode 137a may be arranged on the etched region of the semiconductor stack 135. can be properly connecting electrode 137a in the number, shape, spacing or on the contact area of the first conductive type semiconductor layer 135a, so as to reduce contact resistance. Moreover, the connection electrode 137a can be arranged to form rows and columns on the semiconductor stack 135, to improve current flow.”).
For claim 7, Lee and Kim teach all of claim 1. Lee also teaches the pixel unit further comprises a reflection layer on a side of the LED layer, that is away from the color function layer (Lee, fig. 8 numeral 21).
For claim 8, Lee and Kim teach all of claim 1. Lee also teaches the pixel unit further comprises a distributed Bragg reflector layer on a side, of the LED layer, that faces the color function layer (Lee, fig. 8 numeral 21, Par. [0054]; “In some example embodiments, insulator 21 may have a distributed Bragg reflector (DBR) structure, wherein alternately stacking a plurality of insulating layers having different respective refractive index”).
For claim 9, Lee and Kim teach all of claim 1. Lee also teaches a display apparatus, comprising a middle frame (fig. 15 numeral 210), a rear housing (fig. 15 numeral 201), a printed circuit board, and the display panel according to claim 1, wherein the middle frame is configured to carry the printed circuit board and the display panel (Par. [0122 – 0124]; “…as shown in FIG. 15 display panel 200 may include the circuit board 201 and located on the circuit board and a plurality of LED light source modules 201 on the 50. display panel 200 also comprises a circuit 210 on base plate 201. base 210 can be used as the guide mounting area defines a plurality of LED light source modules 50. substrate 210 can be opaque and light absorbing black matrix. The purpose or use of the product, it can use other colored matrix, e.g., white substrate or a green substrate, according to need, basal body formed by transparent material may also be used as the substrate 210.”), the printed circuit board and the display panel are disposed on two side of the middle frame (fig. 15 shows display panel 50 disposed on the middle frame 210, the board within 210 having to be disposed on a side of the frame 210 resulting in two sides being occupied by the display panel and the board), and the rear housing is mounted on a side, of the printed circuit board, that is away from the middle frame (fig. 15 shows rear housing 201 mounted away from the middle frame).
Claim(s) 2 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over CN 107086226 A hereinafter Lee in view of CN 109037266 A hereinafter Kim and in further view of CN 107359176 A hereinafter Huo.
For claim 2, Lee and Kim teach all of claim 1. Lee and Kim are silent regarding the subpixel comprises at least two sub-subpixels that are arranged in parallel. Lee does teach arranging each of the subpixels in parallel (Lee, fig. 16).
Huo teaches A display device (Huo, fig. 1) including pixels (fig. 2 numeral 101) comprised of subpixels (fig. 2 numeral 104) and wherein each sub-pixel is further dived into two sub-subpixels (fig. 3 and 4 numeral 1041; Par. [0055], “As shown in FIG. 3, each lighting area 104 comprises three light emitting unit having the same color 1041, each light emitting region 104 in the light emitting unit 1041 two by two adjacent…”).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to combine the sub-subpixels in Huo with the pixel arrangement and parallel wiring in Lee and Kim in order to improve the luminosity and uniformity of the device and to better produce the desired color from the device (Huo, Par. [0055]; “light emitting unit 1041 is the small display unit, each of the lighting units 1041 are independent of the pixel electrode, can independently emit light, and will have specific lighting colour by luminescent material and design period corresponding structure, a light-emitting unit. 1041 two by two adjacent light emitting units, so that each of the lighting units 1041 can be adjacent to the other light-emitting unit, so as to form a display unit. normal display unit comprises luminous unit with different three colors, by controlling the ratio of the intensity of the at least three light-emitting units emitting, a display unit capable of displaying any desired color.”; “dividing manner such that three area of the light emitting unit are substantially the same, improve the luminous uniformity of the display panel.”).
Claim(s) 4 – 5 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over CN 107086226 A hereinafter Lee in view of CN 109037266 A hereinafter Kim and in further view of JP 2020013948 A hereinafter Miyamoto.
For claim 4, Lee and Kim teach all of claim 1. Lee also teaches a light shielding barrier disposed on peripheries of respective subpixels of the at least three color subpixels (Lee, fig. 8 numeral 45). Lee and Kim are silent regarding the light shielding barrier being made out of aluminum. Miyamoto teaches a display device (Miyamoto, fig. 6B) comprising subpixels (fig. 6B numeral 12) and a light shielding barrier is disposed on the peripheries of the respective subpixels (fig. 6B numeral 14). The light shielding barrier is aluminum (Par. [0048]; “the wire 14 is formed of, for example, gold, aluminum, copper, an alloy thereof, or a combination of two or more thereof.”).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to combine the aluminum light shielding barrier in Miyamoto with the subpixels in Lee and Kim in order to minimize light leakage while maintaining efficient light reflection (Miyamoto, Par. [0021] “By setting such a distance, the covering member 13 and the wire 14, which will be described later, minimize light leakage and reduce the distance between adjacent light emitting elements while realizing efficient light reflection. As a result, a good luminance distribution can be ensured, and a light emitting device of a surface light source with high light emission quality with less light emission unevenness can be obtained.”).
For claim 5, Lee, Kim, and Miyamoto teach all of claim 4. Miyamoto also teaches the aluminum light shielding barrier being connected to the respective electrodes of each subpixel (Miyamoto, fig. 6B shows light shielding barrier 14 connected to respective electrodes 15).
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 04/03/2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
Applicant’s arguments regarding claim 1 focus on the method of manufacturing used in Lee being different than the method used in the immediate application. However, claim 1 is directed to an apparatus and not a method of making. Applicant’s arguments also appear to be directed to a benefit of the manufacturing method as described in the specification, but the claims being examined are directed to an apparatus and not a method of making. Lee and Kim appear to teach all of the structural limitations present in claim 1 (see above rejection). If the product of the immediate invention is the same or obvious in view of the prior art, the claim is unpatentable even though the prior product was made by a different process. See In re Thorpe, 777 F.2d 695, 698, 227 USPQ 964, 966 (Fed. Cir. 1985). As the prior art appears to teach all the structural limitations of the immediate invention, claim 1 is rejected to in view of the prior art.
Conclusion
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/J.T.N./Examiner, Art Unit 2815
/MONICA D HARRISON/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2815
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