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 .
Status
Acknowledgment is made of the amendment filed 03/04/2026 which amended claims 1, 3, 5 and 7, cancelled claim 4 and added new claim 8. Claims 1-3 and 5-8 are currently pending in the application for patent.
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and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114.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 03/04/2026 has been entered.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim 7 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Nakagawa (US 2005/0285988).
Regarding Claim 7, Nakagawa teaches an electro-optical device (Figure 6) comprising:
an insulating member (Figure 6; Insulating Layer 42) including a first recessed portion (Figures 6 and 9A; wherein the first recessed portion corresponds to the portion of the insulating layer 42 which occupies concave portion 35/36) provided along a first direction (see Figure 6);
a capacitance element (Figures 6 and 9A; Storage Capacitor 70/70A) covering on the first recessed portion (see Figure 6), and including a second recessed portion reflecting a shape of the first recessed portion (see Figures 6 and 9);
an insulating film (Figure 9A; Insulating Layer 41A) covering on the second recessed portion (see Figure 9A), and including a third recessed portion reflecting a shape of the second recessed portion (see Figures 6 and 9A; wherein the capacitor 70A is provided in the recess portion of insulating layer 41A); and
a light shielding film (Figure 6; Capacitor Electrode 300; Paragraph [0091]; wherein the capacitor electrode serves to shield light incident on the TFT 30 from the upper side) provided along a second direction intersecting the first direction (see Figure 6), and covering on the third recessed portion (see Figure 6 and 9A), wherein
the third recessed portion is recessed toward a side of the insulating film (Figure 9A; Insulating Layer 41A) that contacts the capacitance element (Figures 6 and 9A; Storage Capacitor 70/70A) and includes a bottom surface having a curved surface shape (see Figure 9A and Paragraph [0125]; wherein it is disclosed that the concave portions 36 and 37 have a semi-circle-shaped cross section, and are formed on the interlayer insulating layers 41A and 41B in a groove shape).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1-3 and 5-6 are allowed.
The following is an examiner’s statement of reasons for allowance.
Regarding Claim 1, the prior art of record, whether taken alone or in combination, fails to teach, suggest or render obvious the limitations which require an insulating member including a second recessed portion in which the capacitance element is provided, the second recessed portion overlaps the first recessed portion, the first recessed portion and the second recessed portion are provided along a first direction, and the light shielding film is provided along a second direction intersecting the first direction.
These limitations in combination with the other limitations of claim 1 renders the claim non-obvious over the prior art of record.
Dependent claims 2-3 and 5-6 are likewise allowable by virtue of their dependency upon allowable independent claim 1 as detailed above.
Claim 8 is objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Regarding Claim 8, the prior art of record, whether taken alone or in combination, fails to teach, suggest or render obvious the limitations which require the insulating member further includes a fourth recessed portion provided along the second direction and disposed apart from the first recessed portion, the capacitance element covers on the fourth recessed portion, and further includes a fifth recessed portion reflecting a shape of the fourth recessed portion, the insulating film covers on the fifth recessed portion, and further includes a sixth recessed portion reflecting a shape of the fifth recessed portion, and the light shielding film covers on the sixth recessed portion.
These limitations in combination with the limitations of claim 7 would render the claim non-obvious over the prior art of record if rewritten in independent form.
Any comments considered necessary by applicant must be submitted no later than the payment of the issue fee and, to avoid processing delays, should preferably accompany the issue fee. Such submissions should be clearly labeled “Comments on Statement of Reasons for Allowance.”
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 03/04/2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
The applicant alleges on pages 7-8 of the arguments filed 03/04/2026 that Nakagawa fails to teach, suggest or render obvious the limitations which require “the third recessed portion is recessed toward a side of the insulating film that contacts the capacitance element”.
The examiner respectfully disagrees with the arguments presented by the applicant.
In response to the abovementioned argument, the examiner maintains that the Nakagawa reference does disclose the abovementioned limitations. Specifically, when referencing figures 6 and 9A the concave portions 36/37 are recessed toward a side of the insulating layer 41A that contacts the storage capacitor 70/70A and includes a bottom surface having a curved surface shape (see Figure 9A and Paragraph [0125]).
All of the arguments presented by the applicant have been considered in their entirety, but they are not persuasive.
Inquiry
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to CHRISTOPHER A LAMB II whose telephone number is (571)270-0648. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 10am - 5pm EST.
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, Minh-Toan Ton can be reached at (571) 272-2303. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/CHRISTOPHER A LAMB II/Examiner, Art Unit 2882