DETAILED ACTION
This action is responsive to the amendment filed April 16, 2026. The amendment has been entered.
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Drawings
The drawings are objected to under 37 CFR 1.83(a). The drawings must show every feature of the invention specified in the claims. Therefore, the first pad portion has a first side in contact with a corner at which the front surface and a side surface of the glass substrate meet each other, and/or the second pad portion has a second side in contact with a corner at which the rear surface and the side surface of the glass substrate meet each other must be shown or the feature(s) canceled from the claim(s). No new matter should be entered.
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.
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, 3, 6, 7, 16, and 17 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.
Claim 1 is currently amended to recite “…the first pad portion has a first side in contact with a corner at which the front surface and a side surface of the glass substrate meet each other, and/or the second pad portion has a second side in contact with a corner at which the rear surface and the side surface of the glass substrate meet each other”. This relationship with respect to the first and second pad portions being in contact with a corner at which the front surface and a side surface of the glass substrate meet each other is not shown or disclosed and adds new matter.
In new claims 16 and 17, Applicant broadened the previously claimed glass substrate to any generic substrate, while the specification only provides support for a glass substrate. No other substrate materials are disclosed (e.g. metal substrates, semiconductor substrates, conductive substrates, etc.). The specification does not provide support for any other substrate materials, and there is no evidence Applicant contemplated or was in possession of the generic substrate at the time of filing. The invention is inoperable if using a conductive substrate such as metal since all of the wiring/vias will be shorted together. The disclosure fails to demonstrate Applicant was in possession of the broader concept of using any generic substrate material for the display module comprising the wiring and conductive through vias.1
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
The text of those sections of Title 35, U.S. Code not included in this action can be found in a prior Office action.
Claim 17 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Yokoyama et al. (US 2020/0135126), of record.
(Re Claim 17) Yokoyama teaches a display module comprising: a substrate (Fig. 4: 1); a thin film transistor (TFT) layer provided on a front surface of the substrate, the TFT layer comprising TFT electrodes (TFTs 12, 13, ¶53, see Figs. 8-10); light emitting diodes (LEDs) electrically connected to the TFT electrodes (LEDs 14); and through wiring members disposed at intervals along an edge area of the substrate and electrically connected to wirings on the front surface and a rear surface of the substrate (through wiring members: 31, 37, 39, wiring: 2, 3, 9), wherein one or more of the through wiring members comprises: a first conductive member (2p) provided on the front surface of the substrate; a second conductive member (35) provided on the rear surface of the substrate; and a third conductive member (39) penetrating through the substrate and having a first end on the first conductive member and a second end on the second conductive member, wherein the third conductive member comprises: a first pad portion (33) on the first conductive member; a second pad portion (32) on the second conductive member; and a connection portion (39) in a through hole of the substrate and electrically connected to the first pad portion and the second pad portion (as shown), and wherein at least one side surface of the first conductive member, the second conductive member, the first pad portion, or the second pad portion is substantially coplanar with a side surface of the substrate (a bottom side surface of 2p is coplanar with a top side surface of the substrate, also the bottom side surface of the substrate is coplanar with the top side surface of 35, also the inner side surface of 2p and/or 35 is coplanar with the side surface of the substrate via).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The text of those sections of Title 35, U.S. Code not included in this action can be found in a prior Office action.
Claim 16 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yokoyama et al. (US 2020/0135126, of record) in view of Kiuchi (JP-2015198094-A), newly cited.
(Re Claim 16) Yokoyama teaches a display module comprising: a substrate (Fig. 4: 1); a thin film transistor (TFT) layer provided on a front surface of the substrate, the TFT layer comprising TFT electrodes (TFTs 12, 13, ¶53, see Figs. 8-10); light emitting diodes (LEDs) electrically connected to the TFT electrodes (LEDs 14); and through wiring members disposed at intervals along an edge area of the substrate and electrically connected to wirings on the front surface and a rear surface of the substrate (through wiring members: 31, 37, 39, wiring: 2, 3, 9), wherein one or more of the through wiring members comprises: a first conductive member (2p) provided on the front surface of the substrate; a second conductive member (35) provided on the rear surface of the substrate; and a third conductive member (39) penetrating through the substrate and having a first end on the first conductive member and a second end on the second conductive member, wherein the third conductive member comprises: a first pad portion (33) on the first conductive member; a second pad portion (32) on the second conductive member; and a connection portion (39) in a through hole of the substrate and electrically connected to the first pad portion and the second pad portion (as shown).
Yokoyama is silent regarding the first conductive member comprises a first outer side surface extending in a first thickness direction of the first conductive member, the first outer side surface being substantially coplanar with an outer side surface of the first pad portion; and/or the second conductive member comprises a second outer side surface extending in a second thickness direction of the second conductive member, the second outer side surface being substantially coplanar with an outer side surface of the second pad portion.
A PHOSITA desiring to improve upon Yokoyama’s device would be motivated to look to related art to teach alternative structures which may offer advantages and improvements. Related art from Kiuchi teaches a conductive member through a glass substrate can be formed as a continuous layer of an integrally provided conductive material, see Figs. 1, 3, 4 and 6 showing the analogous third conductive member 25 having the first and second pad portions 21 and a connection portion 22 formed through the glass substrate 10. Kiuchi forms the feature in a single step by plating in a resist mold 15. After the plating step, the resist mold is removed and the seed layer 14 is removed from between the vias to avoid shorting the features together (see step g in Fig. 2 and step h in Fig. 6), this provides the corresponding first and second conductive members, and since the seed layer is etched while using the pad portions as masks, the sidewalls will be coplanar as claimed. In light of Kiuchi, a PHOSITA would recognize that Yokoyama’s analogous third conductive member may be formed together in a single step of a same conductive material by electroplating, a technique that is well known in the art, readily available, inexpensive, and fast. The step can be integrated after forming the metal for 2p/35 as this would provide the necessary seed layer, and 2p/35 can be patterned after plating as Kiuchi does in Fig. 3G using the pad portions as a mask. Plating the metal vias from a single continuous material is simpler, more cost-effective, and offers a more reliable, homogenous electrical and thermal path compared to using multiple materials. While multi-material vias can leverage different material properties, they introduce complexity, potential for interface issues, and higher manufacturing costs. A PHOSITA would find it obvious to form the third conductive member according to Kiuchi in a single plating step for the advantages discussed above.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments have been considered but are moot in view of the new grounds of rejection necessitated by amendment.
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 ERIK T. K. PETERSON whose telephone number is (571)272-3997. The examiner can normally be reached M-F, 9-5 pm (CST).
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Jessica Manno can be reached at 571-272-2339. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/ERIK T. K. PETERSON/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2898
1 LizardTech, 424 F.3d at 1346, 76 USPQ2d at 1733: “[T]he description of one method for creating a seamless DWT does not entitle the inventor . . . to claim any and all means for achieving that objective.”
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