DETAILED ACTION
This Action is responsive to the Preliminary Amendment filed on 07/25/2023.
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 .
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to 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.
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.
Claims 1 and 22-24 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Ryu (US 2021/0200006).
Regarding claim 1, Ryu (see, e.g., FIG. 1-FIG. 4) discloses a display panel, comprising:
a circuit backplane 100 (Para 0070, Para 0072-Para 0073), including:
a first main surface e.g., bottom surface of 100 (Para 0067-Para 0068);
a second main surface e.g., top surface of 100 disposed opposite to the first main surface e.g., bottom surface of 100 (Para 0067-Para 0068); and
a plurality of side surfaces e.g., side surfaces of 100 each connecting the first main surface e.g., bottom surface of 100 and the second main surface e.g., bottom surface of 100, at least one side surface e.g., left side surface of 100 in the plurality of side surfaces being a selected side surface e.g., left side surface of 100 (Para 0067-Para 0068); and
a reflective layer 130 covering the selected side surface e.g., left side surface of 100, and the reflective layer 130 being configured to be removable under a predetermined process condition (Para 0086-Para 0091, Para 0098, Para 0157).
Examiner Note: Examiner notes that 130 in Ryu is made of aluminum, which is a reflective material. The Examiner also notes that 130 is a patterned metal layer, which includes that 130 being capable of having portions removed and arranged by removing portions by a predetermined process condition.
Regarding claim 22, Ryu (see, e.g., FIG. 3-FIG. 4) teaches a display device, comprising: the display panel 1 according to claim 1 (Para 0067, Para 0070); and a driving circuit board SGD located on a side where the second main surface e.g., top surface of 100 the circuit backplane 100 is located (Para 0074-Para 0078); and the driving circuit board SGD being coupled to the circuit backplane 100 through a plurality of connection leads SGL1-SGLm (Para 0074-Para 0078).
Regarding claim 23, Ryu (see, e.g., FIG. 1-FIG. 4) teaches a tiled display device, comprising: a plurality of display devices 1 that are tiled and each according to claim 22 (Para 0062, Para 0067, Para 0070).
Regarding claim 24, Ryu (see, e.g., FIG. 1-FIG. 4) discloses a method for manufacturing a display panel comprising:
manufacturing a circuit backplane 100 (Para 0070, Para 0072-Para 0073);
the circuit backplane 100 including a first main surface e.g., top surface of 100 and a second main surface e.g., bottom surface of 100 that are oppositely disposed, and a plurality of side surfaces e.g., side surfaces of 100 each connecting the first main surface e.g., top surface of 100 and the second main surface e.g., bottom surfaces of 100 (Para 0067-Para 0068, Para 0070, Para 0072-Para 0073);
the first main surface e.g., top surface of 100 being configured to carry a plurality of light-emitting devices SPX (Para 0072, Para 0073);
at least one side surface e.g., left side surface of 100 in the plurality of side surfaces e.g., side surfaces of 100 is a selected side surface e.g., left side surface of 100; and
providing a reflective layer 130 covering the selected side surface e.g., left side surface of 100 (Para 0086-Para 0091, Para 0098); the reflective layer 130 being configured to be removable under a predetermined process condition (Para 0086-Para 0091, Para 0098, Para 0157).
Examiner Note: Examiner notes that 130 in Ryu is made of aluminum, which is a reflective material. The Examiner also notes that 130 is a patterned metal layer, which includes that 130 being capable of having portions removed and arranged by removing portions by a predetermined process condition.
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 2 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ryu (US 2021/0200006), and further in view of Oh (US 2024/0304773).
Regarding claim 2, Ryu shows substantial features of the claimed invention; however, Ryu fails to specify that display panel according to claim 1, wherein a thickness of the reflective layer is H1, and H1 satisfies a relationship: 5 µm<H1< 20 µm. Oh (see, e.g., FIG. 2), on the other hand, teaches that a thickness of the thick metal film that forms the conductive pattern 180 is H1, and H1 satisfies a relationship: 5 µm<H1< 20 µm (Para 0018, Para 0040). However, differences in thicknesses will not support the patentability of subject matter encompassed by the prior art unless there is evidence indicating such thickness difference is critical. “Where the general conditions of a claim are disclosed in the prior art, it is not inventive to discover the workable ranges by routine experimentation”. In re Aller, 220 F.2d 454,456,105 USPQ 233, 235 (CCPA 1955).
Since the applicant has not established the criticality (see next paragraph) of the thickness of the reflective layer being H1, and H1 satisfies a relationship: 5 µm<H1< 20 µm, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to modify the thickness of the reflective layer in the device of Ryu through routine experimentation.
CRITICALITY
The specification contains no disclosure of either the critical nature of the claimed thickness of the reflective layer or any unexpected results arising therefrom. Where patentability is said to be based upon particular chosen dimensions or upon another variable recited in a claim, the applicant must show that the chosen dimensions are critical. In re Woodruff, 919 F.2d 1575, 1578, 16 USPQ2d 1934, 1936 (Fed. Cir. 1990).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 4-5, 7-9, 11, 13, 16, 18-21, 25, and 27-28 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.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ANTONIO CRITE whose telephone number is (571) 270-5267. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday, 10:00 am - 6:30 pm.
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/ANTONIO B CRITE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2817