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 .
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Drawings
Figure 13A should be designated by a legend such as --Prior Art-- (or “Comparative Example” or similar language) because only that which is old is illustrated. See MPEP § 608.02(g). Corrected drawings in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. The replacement sheet(s) should be labeled “Replacement Sheet” in the page header (as per 37 CFR 1.84(c)) so as not to obstruct any portion of the drawing figures. 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.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement(IDS) submitted is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
Specification
The lengthy 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.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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 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 1 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by US Publication 2017/0287394 to Kim et al. (hereinafter Kim).
Kim (FIG. 1-6) discloses a display apparatus, comprising:
a substrate (110; paragraph 54) including a display area (DA; paragraph 54), a first non-display area (PA; paragraph 54, 61) surrounding the display area (DA), and a second non-display area (BDA; paragraph 64-65) having a bending region (BDA) extending from at least a portion of the first non-display area (PA; FIG. 1, 5);
a pixel part (PX; paragraph 56) including a plurality of pixels at the display area (DA) of the substrate (110);
a gate driving circuit (400; paragraph 62) disposed at the first non-display area (PA) of the substrate (110) and electrically connected to the pixel part (PX);
a first routing line portion (560; paragraph 67) including a plurality of first routing lines (60) electrically connected to the pixel part and configured to pass through the bending region (BDA); and
a second routing line portion (510-530; paragraph 67) including a plurality of second routing lines (10-30) electrically connected to the gate driving circuit (400) and configured to pass through the bending region (BDA),
wherein the second routing line portion (510-530) includes:
a plurality of routing groups (10-30; paragraph 86) including one or more second routing lines of the plurality of second routing lines; and
a dummy line portion disposed at a bending region (BDA) between the plurality of routing groups, the dummy line portion including one or more dummy lines (paragraph 87).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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.
Claims 2-3, 6-7, and 11-12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kim in view of US Publication 2018/0301520 to Jin et al. (hereinafter Jin).
Claim 2
Kim discloses the display apparatus of claim 1, wherein the one or more dummy lines comprise a plurality of micro dummy lines (paragraph 99), and
wherein an interval among the plurality of second routing lines (10-30), and an interval among the plurality of micro dummy lines are equal to one another (paragraph 92-94), as recited in claim 2.
Kim does not expressly disclose wherein an interval among the plurality of first routing lines is equal to that of the second routing lines and micro dummy lines, as recited in claim 2.
Jin (FIG. 4) teaches an interval among a plurality of first routing lines (310u), an interval among a plurality of second routing lines (320u), and an interval among a plurality of dummy lines (300u) are equal to one another (paragraph 81-84).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to utilize the teachings of Jin with Kim to utilize uniform intervals among groups of lines as taught by Jin in the structure taught by Kim, as one having ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to do this with a reasonable expectation of success because such a combination and/or modification allows for uniform patterning (Jin paragraph 87) and an equalization of stress among the wires to avoid concentration of stress.
Claim 3
Kim discloses the display apparatus of claim 1, wherein each of the plurality of first routing lines (60) and the plurality of second routing lines (10-30) comprises one or more micro lines (paragraph 99),
wherein the one or more dummy lines comprise a plurality of micro dummy lines (paragraph 99), and
wherein an interval between two adjacent micro lines of the plurality of second routing lines are equal to an interval among the plurality of micro dummy lines (paragraph 92-94), as recited in claim 3.
Kim does not expressly disclose wherein an interval between two adjacent micro lines of the plurality of first routing lines is equal to an interval between two adjacent micro lines of the plurality of second routing lines and an interval among the plurality of micro dummy lines, as recited in claim 3.
Jin (FIG. 4) teaches an interval among a plurality of first routing lines (310u), an interval among a plurality of second routing lines (320u), and an interval among a plurality of dummy lines (300u) are equal to one another (paragraph 81-84).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to utilize the teachings of Jin with Kim to utilize uniform intervals among groups of lines as taught by Jin in the structure taught by Kim, as one having ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to do this with a reasonable expectation of success because such a combination and/or modification allows for uniform patterning (Jin paragraph 87) and an equalization of stress among the wires to avoid concentration of stress.
Claim 6
Kim with Jin teaches the display apparatus of claim 2, wherein the second non-display area (Kim BDA) further includes an extension region extending from the bending region (BDA), and
wherein the one or more dummy lines comprise:
a first reinforcement portion disposed at the first non-display area (PA) and connected to one end of each of the plurality of micro dummy lines (Kim paragraph 99; see also FIG. 6); and
a second reinforcement portion disposed at the extension region and connected to the other end of each of the plurality of micro dummy lines (paragraph 99; see also FIG. 6).
Claim 7
Kim with Jin teaches the display apparatus of claim 6, wherein the one or more dummy lines further comprise:
a first neck portion connected between one end of each of the plurality of micro dummy lines and the first reinforcement portion, the first neck portion having a line width smaller than each of the plurality of micro dummy lines (Kim FIG. 6); and
a second neck portion connected between one end of each of the plurality of micro dummy lines and the second reinforcement portion, the second neck portion having a line width smaller than each of the plurality of micro dummy lines (FIG. 6).
Claim 11
Kim discloses the display apparatus of claim 1, as shown above.
Kim does not expressly disclose wherein the dummy line portion further comprises one or more second dummy lines disposed between the first routing line portion and the second routing line portion, as recited in claim 11.
Jin (FIG. 6) teaches wherein a dummy line portion (300u) further comprises one or more second dummy lines disposed between a first routing line portion (310u) and a second routing line portion (330u).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to utilize the teachings of Jin with Kim to include second dummy lines disposed between groups of lines as taught by Jin in the structure taught by Kim, as one having ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to do this with a reasonable expectation of success because such a combination and/or modification allows for uniform patterning (Jin paragraph 100) and an equalization of stress among the wires to avoid concentration of stress.
Claim 12
Kim with Jin teaches the display apparatus of claim 11, wherein the one or more second dummy lines comprise a plurality of micro lines disposed to have a same interval as an interval among the plurality of first routing lines (Jin FIG. 6, paragraph 99).
Claims 10 and 13-21 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kim in view of US Publication 2020/0401274 to Moon et al. (hereinafter Moon).
Claim 10
Kim discloses the display apparatus of claim 1, as shown above.
Kim does not expressly disclose one or more guard lines disposed at one or more of the first non-display area and the second non-display area of the substrate and between the first routing line portion and the second routing line portion, as recited in claim 10.
Moon (FIG. 4) teaches one or more guard lines (GL) disposed at one or more of a first non-display area and a second non-display area of a substrate and between a first routing line portion (TL1) and a second routing line portion (TL2).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to utilize the teachings of Moon with Kim to include guard lines as taught by Moon in the structure taught by Kim, as one having ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to do this with a reasonable expectation of success because such a combination and/or modification allows for minimizing coupling between routing lines and avoiding electrostatic defects (Moon paragraph 104-105).
Claim 13
Kim (FIG. 1-6) discloses a display apparatus, comprising:
a substrate (110) including a display area (DA) and a non-display area (DA);
a pixel part (PX) including a plurality of pixels at the display area (DA) of the substrate (110);
a gate driving circuit (400) disposed at the non-display area (DA) of the substrate (110) and electrically connected to the pixel part;
a first routing line portion(560) including a plurality of first routing lines (60) disposed at the non-display area (DA) of the substrate (110) and electrically connected to the pixel part;
a second routing line portion (510-530) including a plurality of second routing lines (10-30) disposed at the non-display area (DA) of the substrate (110) and electrically connected to the gate driving circuit, as recited in claim 13.
Kim does not expressly disclose a guard line disposed at the non-display area of the substrate and between the first routing line portion and the second routing line portion, as recited in claim 13.
Moon (FIG. 4) teaches a guard line (GL) disposed at a non-display area of a substrate and between a first routing line portion and the second routing line portion.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to utilize the teachings of Moon with Kim to include guard lines as taught by Moon in the structure taught by Kim, as one having ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to do this with a reasonable expectation of success because such a combination and/or modification allows for minimizing coupling between routing lines and avoiding electrostatic defects (Moon paragraph 104-105).
Claim 14
Kim with Moon teaches the display apparatus of claim 13, wherein the guard line (Moon GL) comprises a linear portion and a nonlinear portion extending from the linear portion (Moon FIG. 4; see also Kim FIG. 6).
Claim 15
Kim with Moon teaches the display apparatus of claim 14, wherein the non-display area (Kim DA) of the substrate (110) comprises:
a first non-display area (PA) surrounding the display area (DA); and
a second non-display area (BDA) including a bending region (BDA) extending from at least a portion of the first non-display area (PA), a first extension region extending from the bending region (BDA), and a second extension region extending from the first extension region, and
wherein the guard line (Moon GL) is disposed at the first extension region between the first routing line portion and the second routing line portion (Moon FIG. 4 in view of Kim, as above regarding claim 13; see also Kim FIG. 1, 5 and Moon FIG. 1-2).
Claim 16
Kim with Moon teaches the display apparatus of claim 15, further comprising a second guard line (Moon GL) disposed at the first non-display area between the first routing line portion and the second routing line portion (Moon FIG. 4).
Claim 17
Kim with Moon teaches the display apparatus of claim 14, wherein the non-display area (Kim DA) of the substrate (110) comprises:
a first non-display area (PA) surrounding the display area (DA); and
a second non-display area (BDA) extending from one side of the first non-display area (PA) and including a bending region (BDA; Kim FIG. 1, 5; see also Moon FIG. 1-2),
wherein the nonlinear portion of the guard line (Kim GL) is disposed at the first non-display area (PA; Moon FIG. 4; see also Kim FIG. 6), and
wherein the linear portion of the guard line is disposed at the bending region (BDA; Moon FIG. 4 in view of Kim, as above regarding claim 13; see also Kim FIG. 6).
Claim 18
Kim with Moon teaches the display apparatus of claim 17, wherein the bending region (Kim BDA) of the second non-display area (DA) extends from one side of the first non-display area (PA; Kim FIG. 1; see also Moon FIG. 2),
wherein the second non-display area (BDA) includes a first extension region extending from the bending region (BDA), and
wherein the guard line (Moon GL) further includes a second nonlinear portion disposed at the first extension region (Moon FIG. 4 in view of Kim, as above regarding claim 13; see also Kim FIG. 6).
Claim 19
Kim with Moon teaches the display apparatus of claim 14, further comprising:
a display driving circuit (Kim paragraph 123; FIG. 5) at the non-display area (DA; Kim FIG. 5; see also Moon FIG. 2); and
a pad part (Kim FIG. 5: PAD) including a plurality of pads at the non-display area (DA) and electrically connected to the display driving circuit through a plurality of pad connection lines (Kim FIG. 5; see also Moon FIG. 2),
wherein each of the first routing line portion, the second routing line portion, and the guard line is disposed between the display area (DA) and the display driving circuit (Kim FIG. 5; see also Moon FIG. 2, 4).
Claim 20
Kim with Moon teaches the display apparatus of claim 19, further comprising one or more of a third guard line and a fourth guard line (Moon FIG. 4)
wherein the third guard line is disposed between a lateral surface of the substrate (110) and the second routing line (FIG. 4), and
wherein the fourth guard line is disposed adjacent to each of a first pad connection line and a last pad connection line of the plurality of pad connection lines (Moon FIG. 4).
Claim 21
Kim with Moon teaches the display apparatus of claim 13, wherein the second routing line portion (Kim 510-530) comprises:
a plurality of routing groups (510-530) including one or more second routing lines of the plurality of second routing lines; and
a dummy line portion disposed at a bending region (BDA) among the plurality of routing groups, the dummy line portion including one or more dummy lines (paragraph 87).
Claim 22 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kim with Moon in view of Jin.
Kim with Moon teaches the display apparatus of claim 21, wherein the one or more dummy lines comprise a plurality of micro dummy lines (Kim paragraph 99), and
wherein an interval between the plurality of second routing lines (10-30), and an interval among the plurality of micro dummy lines are equal to one another (paragraph 92-94), as recited in claim 22.
Kim does not expressly disclose wherein an interval between the plurality of first routing lines is equal to that of the second routing lines and micro dummy lines, as recited in claim 22.
Jin (FIG. 4) teaches an interval between a plurality of first routing lines (310u), an interval among a plurality of second routing lines (320u), and an interval among a plurality of micro dummy lines (300u) are equal to one another (paragraph 81-84).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to utilize the teachings of Jin with Kim with Moon to utilize uniform intervals among groups of lines as taught by Jin in the structure taught by Kim with Moon, as one having ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to do this with a reasonable expectation of success because such a combination and/or modification allows for uniform patterning (Jin paragraph 87) and an equalization of stress among the wires to avoid concentration of stress.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 4-5 and 8-9 are 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. See and compare, e.g., application FIG. 7 and 9: upper and lower (UL/LL) metal lines of micro lines (ML1 / MDL1) in bending area BA with, e.g., Kim FIG. 3C, paragraph 82; Jin FIG. 9-14: layer 205 or 420 between lines and substrate.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to NATHAN MILAKOVICH whose telephone number is (571) 270-3087. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM EST.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Timothy Dole can be reached at (571) 272-2229. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/NATHAN MILAKOVICH/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2848