DETAILED ACTION
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and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114.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 August 28, 2026, 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.
Based on the presence of 210 and 220 (see Figs. 5A-10B, these features are omitted from Figs. 3 and 11, however the features are still there, see ¶67), pad portions 410 and 420 cannot contact the corner of the substrate at which the front or rear surfaces 110a/110b and side surface 110c meet as claimed because pads 410 and 420 are spaced apart from the corner of the substrate by intervening first and second conductive members 210 and 220 (see Figs. 5A/B and 10A/B).
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, and 7 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, 3, 6, and 7 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 enablement requirement. The claim(s) contains subject matter which was not described in the specification in such a way as to enable one skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and/or use the invention.
Claim 1 recites “…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 and the claim limitation appears to be drafted in error since this is not physically possible in view of Figs. 5A-10B. Based on the presence of 210 and 220 (see Figs. 5A-10B, these features are omitted from Figs. 3 and 11, however the features are still there as discussed in ¶67), pad portions 410 and 420 cannot contact the corner of the substrate at which the front or rear surfaces 110a/110b and side surface 110c meet as claimed because 410 and 420 are spaced apart from the corner of the substrate by 210 and 220 (see Figs. 5A/B and 10A/B). The written description does not provide support for or enable how these features can contact a corner when there is an intervening layer preventing contact with the corner. Layers 210/220 prevent 410/420 from contacting the corner of the glass substrate as claimed.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claim 1, 3, 6, and 7 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Claim 1 recites “…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 and appears to be drafted in error since this is not possible in view of Figs. 5A-10B. In view of Figs. 5A-10B, it is unclear how these layers can contact the claimed corner. It is not clear where this point of contact exists or how it is possible when 210/220 would prevent 410/420 from making contact with the corner. It is not clear what Applicant regards as “contact”.
Based on the presence of 210 and 220 (see Figs. 5A-10B, these features are omitted from Figs. 3 and 11, however the features are still there, see ¶67), pad portions 410 and 420 cannot contact the corner of the substrate at which the front or rear surfaces 110a/110b and side surface 110c meet as claimed because 410 and 420 are spaced apart from the corner of the substrate by 210 and 220 (see Figs. 5A/B and 10A/B). Layers 210/220 prevent 410/420 from contacting the corner of the glass substrate as claimed.
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 glass substrate (Fig. 4: 1);
a thin film transistor (TFT) layer provided on a front surface of the glass 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 glass substrate and electrically connected to wirings on the front surface and a rear surface of the glass 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 (33) provided on the front surface of the glass substrate;
a second conductive member (32) provided on the rear surface of the glass substrate; and
a third conductive member (39+2p+35) penetrating through the glass 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 (2p) on the first conductive member;
a second pad portion (35) on the second conductive member; and
a connection portion (39) in a through hole of the glass substrate and electrically connected to the first pad portion and the second pad portion (as shown), and
wherein a side surface of the first pad portion or a side surface of the second pad portion the second pad portion is substantially coplanar with a side surface of the glass 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).
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed August 28, 2026, have been fully considered but they are not persuasive. Applicant argues the claimed 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 are fully supported, citing Figs. 3, 5A-10A, and 11, original claim 4 and ¶65, 68, 93, and 128. First, Figs. 3 and 11 omit layers 210 and 220 (see ¶67). Next, none of the cited paragraphs from the specification support this. From the specification:
[0065] The dummy area 100b may be included in an edge area of the glass substrate 110. For example, in the disclosure, the edge area is an area in which the plurality of through wiring members 400 are formed, and may include a first area 110a (see FIG. 10) corresponding to a part of the front surface of the glass substrate 110 that is adjacent to a side surface 110c of the glass substrate 110, and a second area 110b (see FIG. 10) corresponding to a part of the rear
surface of the glass substrate 110 that is adjacent to the side surface 100c of the glass substrate 110.
Paragraph 65 says nothing about the claimed contact with the corner.
[0068] The plurality of first and second conductive members 210 and 220 may be arranged at regular intervals in the first and second areas 110a and 110b. Each of the first and second conductive members 210 and 220 may be formed to have a predetermined length L1 (see FIG. 5A) from a corner whose one side is in contact with the side surface 110c of the glass substrate 110 toward the active area 100a.
Paragraph 68 supports the first and second conductive members 210/220 in contact with a corner, not the pad portions 410/420.
[0093] The plurality of first and second conductive members 210 and 220 may be formed to have the predetermined length L1 from the corner whose one side is in contact with the side surface 110c of the glass substrate 110 toward the active area 100a (see FIG. 1).
Paragraph 93 similarly supports the first and second conductive members 210/220 in contact with a corner, not the pad portions 410/420.
[0128] Further, the first pad portion 410 may be formed to have a predetermined length L2 from a corner adjacent to the side surface 110c of the glass substrate 110 toward the active area 100a (see FIG. 1). In this case, the length L2 of the first pad portion 410 may be an appropriate length in consideration of a distance at which connection to the first wiring 510 may be made.
Paragraph 128 says nothing about the claimed contact with the corner.
Figure 5A shows 210 extends to the side surface 110c where the claimed corner is located. Figure 10A shows 410 extends to the same side surface 110c. Paragraphs 68 and 93 support the conductive members 210/220 in contact with the claimed corner, but not the pads 410/420. The first and second conductive members 210/220 prevent first and second pad portions 410/420 from contacting the claimed corner. The claimed first or second pad portions 410/420 in contact with the claimed corner is not physically possible because of intervening layers 210/220. The only “support” for any of this appears to come from original claim 4, however it is clear that original claim 4 was drafted in error because the claimed combination is impossible in light of Figs. 5A-10B.
Regarding claim 17, the rejection is updated in view of the amendment. The claimed “side surface(s)” with respect to the pads and glass substrate are not well defined and may be any side surface (e.g. a front side surface or rear side surface, etc.).
Conclusion
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).
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, 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.
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.
/ERIK T. K. PETERSON/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2898
Prosecution Insights