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 .
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 07/07/2023, and 05/01/2025 was filed before the mailing date of the first action on the merits. The submission is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
Claim Objections
Claim 9 objected to under 37 CFR 1.75 as being a substantial duplicate of claim 10. When two claims in an application are duplicates or else are so close in content that they both cover the same thing, despite a slight difference in wording, it is proper after allowing one claim to object to the other as being a substantial duplicate of the allowed claim. See MPEP § 608.01(m).
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.
Claim(s) 1, 3 and 4, 13 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Zeng et al, US 2020-0211443 A1 in view of Lin et al, US 2019-0157337 A1 and in further view of Korean Patent Publication No. 10-2017-0119032 (Oct. 26, 2017)
Zeng teaches:
a display device (200) comprising a plurality of first pixels (120) that are two-dimensionally arranged (see paragraph [0030] and figures 3 and 19), comprising:
a display panel (100) comprising a transparent substrate (112), the first pixels (120) and a first driving circuit (130), which are arranged on the transparent substrate (112), and an OLED included in the first driving circuit (131) (see paragraphs [0029], [0033], and [0064] and figures 1, 4, and 19); and a photosensitive element (140), such as a camera, arranged at the rear of the display panel (100) (see paragraphs [0031], [0032], and [0063] and figure 19), wherein each of the plurality of first pixels (120) is composed of a plurality of image display regions (121) (see paragraph [0031] and figure 3), the display panel (100) is formed in a region corresponding to a position of the photosensitive element (140), and comprises a plurality of light-transmitting regions (122) formed such that external light is incident on the photosensitive element (140) (see paragraphs [0031] and [0036] and figure 3), and each of the plurality of light-transmitting regions (122) comprises an opening provided between notches (124) of the respective first pixels (120) (see paragraphs [0032] and [0034] and figures 3, 5, and 6).
Zeng fails to teach:
[wherein] the plurality of inorganic light-emitting elements of claim 1, which are
arranged on a backplate.
Lin teaches:
A plurality of openings (226) which are provided in a display layer (220) such as a micro LED (see paragraphs [0024] and [0025] and figures 2 to 3B).
Zeng fails to teach:
the pinholes of the data line and gate line.
However, Korean Patent Publication No. 10-2017-0119032 discloses that the through-hole 202 is formed through the display substrate 201 on which the p-n diode 413 is formed and the wiring lines 310 may be disposed non-overlappingly in the through-hole 202. (para. [0038, 0043,0044] and FIG. 2.
Claim 13 pertains to a display device and has substantially the same technical features as claim 1 except for the frame of claim 13, which supports a plurality of display modules. However, said difference from claim 1 could be easily derived from the mobile phone display panel presented in D1 (see paragraph [0002]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to combine the above references because it is conventionally done in the art to form a through-hole that is extended through the pixel (PIX) to form the pinholes.
In regards to claims 3 and 4, 15
‘032 discloses that the wiring lines 310 may be arranged non-overlappingly in each of the plurality of through-holes 202. (para. [0043])
In regards to claim 7- 11 the diameter would have been determined through routine experimentation and would not lead to patentability in the instant application, without displaying unexpected results. (in Re Aller)
Claim(s) 2 and 14 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Zeng et al, US 2020-0211443 A1 in view of Lin et al, US 2019-0157337 A1 in view of Korean Patent Publication No. 10-2017-0119032 (Oct. 26, 2017), in further view of Korean Patent Publication No. 10-2018-0061474 (June 8, 2018) and Korean Patent Publication No. 10-2019-0012970 (Feb. 11, 2019)
The above references fail to teach:
2. The display module according to claim 1, wherein the display panel further
comprises a black matrix layer provided on the back plate and configured to block light in a region other than a region corresponding to an aperture of each of the plurality of pixels, and
wherein each transparent region of the plurality of transparent regions further comprises
a pinhole in the black matrix layer overlapping the pinhole of each of the plurality of power electrode layers in one direction.
14. The display module according to claim 13, wherein the display panel further
comprises a black matrix layer provided on the back plate and configured to block light in a region other than a region corresponding to an aperture of each of the plurality of pixels, and
wherein each transparent region of the plurality of transparent regions further comprises
a pinhole in the black matrix layer overlapping the pinhole of each of the plurality of power electrode layers in one direction.
‘474 discloses that the light transmitting region (A) of the display panel (DPNL) is a region without a black matrix;
‘032 discloses that the through hole 202 is formed between p-n
diodes 413; and
‘970 discloses that the pixel separation layer 160 between light emitting
devices (EDs) may be a black matrix (para. [0170], FIG. 7).
Accordingly, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the above references, because it is conventionally done in the art to form the pixel separation layer which is a black matrix having through holes is formed in multiple light transmitting areas
Claim(s) 5 and 6, 12 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Zeng et al, US 2020-0211443 A1 in view of Lin et al, US 2019-0157337 and in further view of Korean Patent Publication No. 10-2018-0061474 (June 8, 2018)
‘474 discloses that the second flexible substrate 26 on which the drive IC 25 is mounted does not overlap the light transmitting region (A) where the image sensor (ISS) is disposed. (para. [0117] and FIG. 20)
In regards to claim 6, ‘474 discloses that a length of the light transmitting region (A) is defined. (para. [0059, 0060] and FIG. 6)
In regards to claim 12, 474 discloses that the image sensor (ISS) detects light from an external light source (LS) incident through the light transmitting region (A) to obtain a fingerprint pattern image. (para. [0063])
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the above references, because it is conventional in the art not to overlap regions to prevent loss of image quality.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. The invention as claimed is also taught by the combination of Korean Patent Publication No. 10-2018-0061474 (June 8, 2018) and Korean Patent Publication No. 10-2017-0119032 (Oct. 26, 2017)
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MICHAEL . LEBENTRITT
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 2893
/MICHAEL LEBENTRITT/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2893