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.
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.
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 1, 3, 6, 9, and 10 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Nakanishi et al. (WO 2016111124 A1), hereinafter referred to as Nakanishi.
RE: The independent Claim 1:
Nakanishi teaches an insulation sheet for a chip on film (COF) provided on an opposite surface of one surface of a printed circuit film, on which a display driving chip (a display driver IC, (DDI)) is mounted (Nakinishi pg. 2 Line 28, pg. 6 Line 1 “An electronic apparatus according to one embodiment of the present invention incorporates the heat spreader according to the above” where the electronic apparatus is could be a display device, “example of the heating element…electronic parts such as semiconductor chips, transistors… display backlight, a projector, a LED light” where such an insulation sheet could be reasonably applied to a surface of a printed circuit film in a display device.),
[AltContent: textbox (Exhibit 1: Fig. 1 of Nakanishi comprising insulating layer 1, thermal radiation layer 2, a metal layer 3, an adhesive layer 4, and a release sheet 5.)]
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to block the transfer of heat generated from the display driving chip in a first direction perpendicular to the opposite surface (Nakanishi pg. 1 Line 44, “It was found that high thermal diffusibility and insulating property can be realized” Where the examiner interprets any thermal contact that impedes or diverts thermal energy as blocking heat.),
the insulation sheet comprising: an insulation member formed of a graphite sheet including a first surface and a second surface facing each other and having a surface direction perpendicular to a thickness direction (Nakanishi Fig. 1, insulation member 2, pg. Line 28 “Examples of the carbonaceous material include carbon black such as acetylene black and ketjen black, graphite, vapor-grown carbon fiber, and the like, and one kind or two or more kinds of them may be selected and used.”),
and having functions of receiving heat toward the first surface adjacent to the display driving chip to lower a heating temperature of the display driving chip, and moving the received heat more in the surface direction than in the thickness direction to minimize heat transfer in the first direction from the second surface (Nakanishi pg. 3 Line28, 29, where the examiner interprets the use of similar materials are expected to have similar heat dissipating properties);
a first adhesive member including a metal base material for forming a hot spot larger than an area of the display driving chip and having high temperature reliability (Nakanishi pg. 4 Line 12 “ The metal layer 3 is provided between the heat radiation layer 2 and a heating element such as an electronic component.”,)
a first adhesive layer attached to the opposite surface of the printed circuit film at a position corresponding to the display driving chip, (Nakanishi pg. 4 Line 30 “The adhesive layer 4 is a layer for bonding the insulated heat radiation sheet 10 to a heating element such as an electronic device.”);
and a second adhesive layer attached to the first surface of the insulation member (Nakanishi pg. 6 Line 17 “An adhesive (EX-2022 manufactured by Showa Denko KK) was coated and dried on a 12 µm PET film as the insulating layer 1 to a thickness of 1 µm”).
and a protective member provided on the second surface of the insulation member (Nakanishi Fig. 1, protective member 1 on second surface).
RE: Claim 3: Nakanishi teaches the insulation sheet of claim 1
Nakanishi further wherein: the protective member is a protective film including one or more selected from the group consisting of polyimide, polyethylene terephthalate (PET), and polyethylene naphthalate (PEN) (Nakamishi pg. 3, Line 4 (“For example, polyester such as polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polyolefin such as polypropylene and polyethylene, or the like can be used.”);
and the insulation sheet further comprises an adhesive layer to be fixed to the insulation member on one surface of the protective film (Nakanishi pg. 3 Line 13 “insulating layer 1 is melt-extruded and laminated on the heat radiating layer, a method in which the insulating layer 1 previously formed into a film shape is laminated to the heat radiating layer 2 with various adhesives and adhesives There is”.)
RE: Claim 6: Nakanishi teaches the insulation sheet of claim 1.
Nakanishi teaches the insulation sheet wherein the metal base material is a metal foil including one or more of a copper foil and an aluminum foil (Nakanishi pg. 6 Line 18 “coated and dried on a 12 µm PET film as the insulating layer 1 to a thickness of 1 µm, (Carbon coated aluminum foil”).
RE: Claim 9: Nakanishi teaches the insulation sheet of claim 1.
Nakanishi teaches the insulation sheet of claim 1, wherein a release film is further provided on the first adhesive layer of the first adhesive member (Nakanishi pg. 2 Line 21, “further comprise a
release sheet on a surface of the pressure-sensitive adhesive layer opposite to the metal layer”.
RE: Claim 10: Nakanishi teaches the insulation sheet of claim 1.
Nakanishi further comprising a second adhesive member between the protective member and the insulation member, wherein the second adhesive member includes a third adhesive layer attached to the protective member (Nakanishi pg. 6 Line 17, “Production of Insulated Heat-Sensitive Sheet. Example A-1 An adhesive (EX-2022 manufactured by Showa Denko KK) was coated and dried on a 12 µm PET film as the insulating layer 1 to a thickness of 1 µm, (Carbon coated aluminum foil SDX (trademark) manufactured by Showa Denko K.K.) having a metal layer 3”,
a fourth adhesive layer attached to the insulation member, and a metal base material interposed between the third adhesive layer and the fourth adhesive layer (Nakanishi pg. 3, Lin3 12, “For example, there are a method in which a resin to be the insulating layer 1 is melt-extruded and laminated on the heat radiating layer, a method in which the insulating layer 1 previously formed into a film shape is laminated to the heat radiating layer 2 with various adhesives”).
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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claims 2, 4, 5, 7, 8, and 11-13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Nakanishi in further view of Kim et al. (KR 102026561 B1), hereinafter referred to as Kim.
RE: Claim 2: Nakanishi teaches the insulation sheet of claim 1.
Nakanishi fails to teach wherein a length and a width of each of the protective member and the first adhesive member are formed to be greater than a length and a width of the insulation member so that four side surfaces parallel to the thickness direction of the insulation member are sealed through the protective member and the first adhesive member.
However, in a related field of endeavor, Kim teaches an insulation sheet wherein a length and a width of each of the protective member and the first adhesive member are formed to be greater than a length and a width of the insulation member so that four side surfaces parallel to the thickness direction of the insulation member are sealed through the protective member and the first adhesive member (Kim Fig. 6, protective member 240b and adhesive member 204c, to have greater length and width of [AltContent: textbox (Exhibit 2: Fig. 6 of Kim showing protective member 240b and adhesive member 204c, to have greater length and width of the insulation member 204a, fully sealing insulation member 204a.)]
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the insulation member 204a, fully sealing insulation member 204a.)
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person, prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to apply the teaching of Kim to the disclosure of Nakanishi, in order to vary the configuration of the layers such that the insulation member is sealed through the protective member and the first adhesive member as this is a known configuration in the art. This is obvious to try as Kim teaches that this configuration reduces the likelihood of peeling or detachment of the insulation member when subject to external impacts (Kim [0082] “the phenomenon in which the graphite material layer 204a is peeled off, lifted up or detached by an external impact can be reduced”).
RE: Claim 4: Nakanishi teaches the insulation sheet of claim 1.
Nakanishi fails to teach the insulation sheet wherein the graphite sheet includes one or more sheets of an artificial graphite sheet and a multilayer graphene sheet.
However, in a related field of endeavor, Kim teaches the insulation sheet wherein the graphite sheet includes one or more sheets of an artificial graphite sheet and a multilayer graphene sheet (Kim Fig. 4, [0058] “the graphite film may have a multilayer structure in which dozens or hundreds of layers of fine graphite thin films are overlapped. Preferably, the graphite film may be formed by overlapping 100 to 300 layers of the graphite thin film…” Wherein the examiner interprets a single sheet of graphite to be known in the art as referring to graphene.).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art, prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to apply the teachings of Kim to the disclosure of Nakanishi in order to be able to layer multiple sheets of graphite and use it as a graphite insulation sheet as this is one of the alternative among a limited number of methods of implementing carbon based insulation sheets as is known in the art as taught by Kim (Kim ibid.).
RE: Claim 5: Nakanishi teaches the insulation sheet of claim 1.
Nakanishi fails to teach the insulation sheet wherein a thickness of the graphite sheet is 15 to 100 µm.
However, in a related field of endeavor, Kim teaches the insulation sheet wherein a thickness of the graphite sheet is 15 to 100 µm (Kim [0060] “The thickness of the graphite material layer 204a is 20 µm to 60 µm in order to maximize heat saving efficiency. Preferably it is 25 micrometers-40 micrometers.”).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art, prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to apply the teachings of Kim to the disclosure of Nakanishi in order to be able to vary the thickness of the insulation sheet according to the heat dissipation demands of the device with the obvious and expected result of being able to maximize the heat saving efficiency (Kim ibid.). Furthermore, the examiner considers the variation of thickness layers in order to optimize heat dissipation capabilities with respect to device thickness as part of a routine experimentation and optimization.
RE: Claim 7: Nakanishi teaches the insulation sheet of claim 1.
Nakanishi teaches the insulation sheet wherein: a thickness of the metal base material is 7 to 75 µm (Nakanishi pg. 5 Line 23 “an aluminum foil having an average thickness of 50 µm.”)
and thicknesses of the first adhesive layer and the second adhesive layer are each independently 7 to 55 µm (Nakanishi pg. 6 Line 23, “Next, a 10 µm-thick pressure-sensitive adhesive sheet from which one surface release-treated PET film was removed was laminated to the metal layer surface of the laminated sheet to obtain an insulated heat radiation sheet A-1.”.
Nakanishi fails to teach the second adhesive layer is independently 7 to 55 µm.
However, the disclosure of Nakanishi demonstrates the use of different kind of adhesives with thickness values falling within the ranges of 1 µm, 10 µm, 50 µm, indicating that variation of thickness of the adhesives is routinely applied according to application and manufacturer’s design specifications with expected effects such as changes in adhesion strength, electrical insulation or thermal insulation properties. Therefore, the examiner considers this variation in the thickness of adhesives as part of routine optimization and experimentation as taught by Nakanishi.
RE: Claim 8: Nakanishi teaches the insulation sheet of claim 1.
Nakanishi teaches an insulation sheet comprising a metal base (Nakanishi Fig. 1 metal base 3, pg. 2 Line 45).
Nakanishi fails to teach wherein a length and a width of the metal base material are provided to be greater than a length and a width of the display driving chip, and smaller than a length and a width of the graphite sheet.
However, in a related field of endeavor, Kim teaches the ability to modify that widths and lengths of individual layers with relative to each other and such that the insulation sheet is greater than a length and width of the display device (Kim Fig. 2 and Fig. 6).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art, prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to apply the teachings of Kim to the disclosure of Nakanishi in order to be able to modify the lengths and widths such that a length and a width of the metal base material are provided to be greater than a length and a width of the display driving chip, and smaller than a length and a width of the graphite sheet. This is obvious to try as this is taught by Kim as a routine form of optimization depending on intended application and the desired properties of the insulation sheet such as preventing the peeling of insulation layers (Kim [0082]).
RE: Claim 11: Nakanishi teaches the insulation sheet of claim 10.
Nakanishi fails to teach wherein a length and a width of each of the protective member, the first adhesive member, and the second adhesive member are formed to be greater than a length and a width of the insulation member so that four side surfaces parallel to the thickness direction of the insulation member are sealed through the protective member, the first adhesive member, and the second adhesive member.
However, in a related field of endeavor, Kim teaches an insulation sheet wherein a length and a width of each of the protective member, the first adhesive member, and the second adhesive member are formed to be greater than a length and a width of the insulation member so that four side surfaces parallel to the thickness direction of the insulation member are sealed through the protective member, the first adhesive member, and the second adhesive member. (Kim Fig. 6, protective member 240b and adhesive member 204c, to have greater length and width of the insulation member 204a, fully sealing insulation member 204a.).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person, prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to apply the teaching of Kim to the disclosure of Nakanishi, in order to vary the configuration of the layers such that the insulation layer are sealed through the protective member, the first adhesive member, and the second adhesive member. This is obvious to try as Kim teaches that this configuration reduces the likelihood of peeling or detachment of the insulation member when subject to external impacts (Kim [0082] “…the phenomenon in which the graphite material layer 204a is peeled off, lifted up or detached by an external impact can be reduced”).
RE: Claim 12: Nakanishi teaches the insulation sheet of claim 1.
Nakanishi teaches an insulation chip on film (COF) package comprising: a printed circuit film; a display driving chip (DDI) disposed on one surface of the printed circuit film (Nakinishi pg. 2 Line 28, pg. 6 Line 1 “An electronic apparatus according to one embodiment of the present invention incorporates the heat spreader according to the above” where the electronic apparatus is could be a display device including display driving chip as is known in the art, “example of the heating element…electronic parts such as semiconductor chips, transistors… display backlight, a projector, a LED light” where such an insulation sheet could be reasonably applied to a surface of a printed circuit film in a display device.);
Nakanishi fails to explicitly teach the the insulation sheet for a chip on film (COF) according to claim 1 disposed on an opposite surface of the printed circuit film at a position corresponding to the display driving chip.
However, in a related field of endeavor, Kim teaches an insulation sheet for a chip on film (COF) that is disposed on an opposite surface of the printed circuit film at a position corresponding to the display driving chip (Kim Fig. 6, insulation sheet 204, printed circuit film 201, display driving chip 203).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art, prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to apply the teachings of Kim to the disclosure of Nakanishi in order to understand that the insulation sheets can be disposed on an opposite an opposite surface of the printed circuit film at a position corresponding to the display driving chip as this is a known configuration in the art as taught by Kim with the obvious result of being able to manage the heat dissipation of the display driving chip which greatly improves device reliability (Kim [0011] “ solve the problems according to the prior art, a chip-on film having a heat dissipation layer comprising a graphite material layer that can obtain a high heat dissipation effect of the driver integrated circuit chip and prevent lead cracking The purpose is to provide a type semiconductor package.”)
RE: Claim 13: The combined disclosure of Nakanishi and Kim teaches the insulation sheet of claim 12.
Nakanishi teaches wherein an area of the insulation sheet for a chip on film (COF) is provided to be three to five times larger than an area of the display driving chip (Nakanishi pg. 5, Line 1, “… an adhesive layer 4 is formed on the base material 1 to prepare a test laminated sheet. Next, the test laminated sheet is cut into a size of 25 mm in length and 100 mm in width to obtain a strip-shaped sheet piece.”). Wherein the examiner interprets the ability to cut the insulation sheet as needed as an indication that a sheet of an appropriate area can be easily obtained as is known in the art.
Claims 15 and 16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Nakanishi and in further view of Kim, and in further view of Hwang et al. (US 20140376191 A1), hereinafter referred to as Hwang.
RE: Claim 15: The combined disclosure of Nakanishi and Kim teaches the insulation sheet of claim 12.
A display device comprising: a display module including a display panel unit, a circuit board disposed to be spaced apart from the display panel unit, and the insulation chip on film package according to claim 12 (Nakinishi pg. 2 Line 28, pg. 6 Line 1 “An electronic apparatus according to one embodiment of the present invention incorporates the heat spreader according to the above” where the electronic apparatus could be a display device, “example of the heating element…electronic parts such as semiconductor chips, transistors… display backlight, a projector, a LED light” where such an insulation sheet could be reasonably applied to a surface of a printed circuit film in a display device.);
Nakanishi fails to explicitly teach a display module in which one end is electrically connected to the display panel unit, and the other end is electrically connected to the circuit board and a housing surrounding at least a portion of the display module.
However, in a related field of endeavor, Kim teaches a display module in which one end is electrically connected to the display panel unit, and the other end is electrically connected to the circuit board (Kim Fig. 1, [0007], “Referring to FIG. 1, in the chip-on-film type semiconductor package, a driver IC chip 103, which is a driving chip for display, is attached to the flexible film 101 by an adhesive layer (not shown). The plurality of leads 102 are disposed on the film 101 so as to be separated from each other, and the inner ends of the leads 102 are concentrated at the center.” Wherein the examiner interprets the presence of leads as indicating that electrical connections exists such as to produce a function display device.).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art, prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to apply the teachings of Kim to the disclosure of Nakanishi in order to understand that the devices described by Nakanishi would have been electrically connected in such a way as to function properly as a display module, wherein the display module would have integrated an insulation sheet as taught by Nakanishi and Kim, as these are known methods of managing the thermal dissipation of display driver circuits as taught by Kim. This is obvious to try as implementing insulation sheets within display devices can improve their reliability by reducing the likelihood of thermally induced defects such as cracking (Kim [0011]).
Kim fails to teach explicitly that the display device comprises a housing surrounding at least a portion of the display module.
However, in a related field of endeavor, Hwang teaches a display device with an insulation sheet that can be mounted in between the flexible PCB and an outer housing (Hwang Fig. 28, Display panel 7200, Flexible PCB 7400, with possible installation points for insulation regions B and C in between the PCB and the housing 7700.)
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art, prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to apply the teachings of Hwang to the combined disclosure of Nakanishi and Kim in order understand that display devices are often enclosed in a housing in which an insulation sheet can be placed in the space between the display active components and the housing, with the expected result of being able to manage thermal dissipation and control the amount of heat transferred to the housing as taught by Hwang ([0030 - 0031] “the present invention spreads
heat generated from a heat generating component of an electronic apparatus, to thus prevent deterioration of the heat generating component, and blocks the heat generated from
the heat generating component from being transferred to other components… suppresses heat generated from a heat generating component of an electronic apparatus
from being delivered to the outside of the electronic apparatus, and thus maintains temperatures of front and rear surfaces of the electronic apparatus to be at a prescribed temperature or below.”)
RE: Claim 16: The combined disclosure of Nakanishi, Kim, and Hwang teaches the insulation sheet of claim 15.
The references of Nakanishi and Kim fails to teach the display device wherein: the insulation chip is disposed in a space between an inner side surface of the housing and the display panel unit;
an insulation sheet for a chip on film provided in the insulation chip on film package is disposed to face the inner side surface of the housing; and an air layer is formed between the insulation sheet and the inner side surface of the housing to prevent heat transfer from an exposed surface of the insulation sheet for a chip on film toward the inner side surface of the housing perpendicular to the exposed surface of the insulation sheet for a chip on film.
However, in a related field of endeavor, Hwang teaches a display device where the insulation chip is disposed in a space between an inner side surface of the housing and the display panel unit (Hwang Fig. 28, Housing 7700 with insulation regions D, C, B, and A, indicating possible installation points for insulation sheet between display panel 7200 and housing 7700);
an insulation sheet for a chip on film provided in the insulation chip on film package is disposed to face the inner side surface of the housing (Hwang Fig. 28, insulation region D, C, B, facing inner side of housing 7700);
and an air layer is formed between the insulation sheet and the inner side surface of the housing to prevent heat transfer from an exposed surface of the insulation sheet for a chip on film toward the inner side surface of the housing perpendicular to the exposed surface of the insulation sheet for a chip on film. (Hwang Fig. 28, Display panel 7200, Flexible PCB 7400, with possible installation points for insulation regions C in between the PCB 7400 and the housing 7700 wherein an air gap exists.)
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art, prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to apply the teachings of Hwang to the combined disclosure of Nakanishi and Kim in order understand that display devices are often enclosed in a housing in which an insulation sheet can be placed in the space between the display active components and the housing, with the expected result of being able to manage thermal dissipation and control the amount of heat transferred to the housing as taught by Hwang ([0030 - 0031]).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to EMILIO ARDEO whose telephone number is (703)756-1235. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Fri EST.
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/EMILIO ARDEO/ Examiner, Art Unit 2899
/Brent A. Fairbanks/ Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2899