Prosecution Insights
Last updated: April 19, 2026
Application No. 18/277,371

DISPLAY SUBSTRATE AND DISPLAY DEVICE

Non-Final OA §102§103
Filed
Aug 15, 2023
Examiner
BOWMAN, MARY ELLEN
Art Unit
2875
Tech Center
2800 — Semiconductors & Electrical Systems
Assignee
BOE TECHNOLOGY GROUP CO., LTD.
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
82%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
2y 0m
To Grant
99%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 82% — above average
82%
Career Allow Rate
1138 granted / 1395 resolved
+13.6% vs TC avg
Strong +18% interview lift
Without
With
+18.5%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Fast prosecutor
2y 0m
Avg Prosecution
25 currently pending
Career history
1420
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
0.2%
-39.8% vs TC avg
§103
53.4%
+13.4% vs TC avg
§102
29.3%
-10.7% vs TC avg
§112
6.2%
-33.8% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 1395 resolved cases

Office Action

§102 §103
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 . Information Disclosure Statement The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 2/6/24 is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner. 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, 2, 6, 7, 10, 11, 13-15, 16 and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Lei et al., CN 114823608. Regarding claim 1, Lei teaches a display substrate (Abstract and Figure 4), comprising: a base substrate (10); a plurality of conductive pads (21) disposed on the base substrate; a first organic insulating layer (organic layer 30) disposed on the base substrate provided with the conductive pads, wherein the first organic insulating layer is provided with a plurality of first openings (301), the first opening corresponds to at least one conductive pad (pad 21, see Figure 4), and an orthographic projection of the at least one conductive pad on the base substrate is within an orthographic projection of the corresponding first opening on the base substrate (id at Figure 4); and a first inorganic insulating layer (inorganic insulating layer 34) disposed on a side of the first organic insulating layer facing away from the base substrate (34 is on a side of 30 away from substrate 10), wherein the first inorganic insulating layer is provided with a plurality of second openings (341), the second opening corresponds to the conductive pad (conductive pad 21, see Figure 4), and an orthographic projection of the second opening on the base substrate is within an orthographic projection of the corresponding conductive pad on the base substrate (id at Figure 4). Regarding claim 2, Lei teaches the invention as explained above regarding claim 1 and further teaches a conductive anti-oxidation layer (conductive layer 20 which forms conductive pads 21 is formed of laminated material MoNb/Cu/MoNb, and the top layer MoNb is used for anti-oxidation, see English translation of specification regarding Figures 1-3), wherein the conductive anti-oxidation layer is disposed on the base substrate provided with the first inorganic insulating layer (Figure 4, layer 20 is disposed on the base substrate 20, which is also provided with first inorganic insulating layer 34), an orthographic projection of the conductive anti-oxidation layer on the base substrate is within an orthographic projection of the second opening on the base substrate (top layer of pad 21 is within orthographic projection of second opening 341), and the conductive anti-oxidation layer covers a surface, away from the base substrate, of a pad region of the conductive pad (laminated with anti-oxidation layer on top as described above, therefore on the side away from the base substrate 10), the pad region being a region of the conductive pad which is exposed from the second opening (pad 21 exposed from second opening 341, see Figure 4). Regarding claim 6, Lei teaches the invention as explained above regarding claim 1 and further teaches (at least in Figures 1, 2 and 4) the plurality of conductive pads comprise a plurality of first conductive pads (21) and a plurality of second conductive pads (41); wherein every two first conductive pads constitute one first conductive pad group (see Figure 4), and one first conductive pad group is configured to be connected to one light-emitting device (60); every N second conductive pads constitute one second conductive pad group (see Figure 4), and one second conductive pad group is configured to be connected to one driver chip (see Figure 1, driver chip 62); and the first openings comprise a first sub-opening and a second sub-opening, wherein the first sub-opening corresponds to one first conductive pad group (opening created by first sub opening 311), and the second sub- opening corresponds to one second conductive pad group (opening created by second sub opening 341). Regarding claim 7, Lei teaches the invention as explained above regarding claim 1 and further teaches (at least in Figures 1, 2 and 4) the plurality of conductive pads comprise a plurality of first conductive pads (21) and a plurality of second conductive pads (41); wherein every two first conductive pads constitute one first conductive pad group (see Figure 4), and one first conductive pad group is configured to be connected to one light-emitting device (60); every N second conductive pads constitute one second conductive pad group (see Figure 4), and one second conductive pad group is configured to be connected to one driver chip (see Figure 1, driver chip 62); and the first openings comprise a first sub-opening and a second sub-opening, wherein the first sub-opening corresponds to at least three conductive pad groups (opening created by first sub opening 311, see Figure 2), and the second sub- opening corresponds to one second conductive pad group (opening created by second sub opening 341). Regarding claim 10, Lei teaches the invention as explained above regarding claim 1 and further teaches the display substrate is rectangular and the display substrate has two opposite first edges and two opposite second edges (see Figures 1, 2 and 4); the display substrate further comprises connection terminals and side wires which are located at the second edges (see Figure 1, connection terminals and side wires 42), the connection terminal and the side wire are electrically connected to each other (see Figure 1); the plurality of first openings comprise a target first opening, wherein the target first opening is adjacent to the first edge, and an edge of the target first opening coincides with an edge, which is located at the first edge, of the first organic insulating layer (see Figure 4, target opening adjacent to the first edge which coincides with edge 301 of first organic insulating layer). Regarding claim 11, Lei teaches the invention as explained above regarding claim 10 and further teaches the first organic insulating layer is further provided with a third opening; wherein the third opening is adjacent to the second edge and corresponds to at least one conductive pad (see Figure 3, third opening 311) third opening , and an edge of an orthographic projection of the third opening on the base substrate is at least partially outside an orthographic projection of the corresponding at least one conductive pad on the base substrate (see Figure 3, third opening 311 is outside of exposed part of conductive pad 21); and there is a second preset distance between an edge of the third opening and an edge (inherently), which is located at the second edge, of the first organic insulating layer (see Figure 3, second edge of first organic layer 30). Regarding claim 13, Lei teaches the invention as explained above regarding claim 1 and further teaches the display substrate is further provided with an alignment mark (Figure 4, opening edge 501 is considered alignment mark), and the first organic insulating layer is further provided with a fourth opening adjacent to the alignment mark (opening 511); wherein the fourth opening corresponds to one conductive pad (21), and an orthographic projection of the fourth opening on the base substrate is within an orthographic projection of the corresponding conductive pad on the base substrate (see Figure 4, within orthographic projection of pad 21). Regarding claim 14, Lei teaches the invention as explained above regarding claim 1 and further teaches a first wiring pattern and a second insulating layer which are disposed between the plurality of conductive pads and the base substrate (see Figure 1, signal lines 22 and Figure 4, insulating layer 33), wherein the first wiring pattern and the second insulating layer are stacked in a direction going away from the base substrate (see Figure 3), and the second insulating layer is provided with a via hole, and an orthographic projection of the via hole on the base substrate is at least partially overlapped with an orthographic projection of the first wiring pattern on the base substrate (id at Figure 3, hole 331); the display substrate further comprises a second wiring pattern (42) which is disposed in a same layer as the plurality of conductive pads and electrically connected to the plurality of conductive pads (see Figure 3), wherein the second wiring pattern is electrically connected to the first wiring pattern through the via hole; wherein an edge of an orthographic projection of the first opening on the substrate is staggered with an edge of an orthographic projection of the via hole on the base substrate (see Figure 3, staggered edge of via hole). Regarding claim 15, Lei teaches a display device (Abstract) comprising a display substrate (Abstract and Figure 4), comprising: a base substrate (10); a plurality of conductive pads (21) disposed on the base substrate; a first organic insulating layer (organic layer 30) disposed on the base substrate provided with the conductive pads, wherein the first organic insulating layer is provided with a plurality of first openings (301), the first opening corresponds to at least one conductive pad (pad 21, see Figure 4), and an orthographic projection of the at least one conductive pad on the base substrate is within an orthographic projection of the corresponding first opening on the base substrate (id at Figure 4); and a first inorganic insulating layer (inorganic insulating layer 34) disposed on a side of the first organic insulating layer facing away from the base substrate (34 is on a side of 30 away from substrate 10), wherein the first inorganic insulating layer is provided with a plurality of second openings (341), the second opening corresponds to the conductive pad (conductive pad 21, see Figure 4), and an orthographic projection of the second opening on the base substrate is within an orthographic projection of the corresponding conductive pad on the base substrate (id at Figure 4). Regarding claim 16, Lei teaches the invention as explained above regarding claim 15 and further teaches a conductive anti-oxidation layer (conductive layer 20 which forms conductive pads 21 is formed of laminated material MoNb/Cu/MoNb, and the top layer MoNb is used for anti-oxidation, see English translation of specification regarding Figures 1-3), wherein the conductive anti-oxidation layer is disposed on the base substrate provided with the first inorganic insulating layer (Figure 4, layer 20 is disposed on the base substrate 20, which is also provided with first inorganic insulating layer 34), an orthographic projection of the conductive anti-oxidation layer on the base substrate is within an orthographic projection of the second opening on the base substrate (top layer of pad 21 is within orthographic projection of second opening 341), and the conductive anti-oxidation layer covers a surface, away from the base substrate, of a pad region of the conductive pad (laminated with anti-oxidation layer on top as described above, therefore on the side away from the base substrate 10), the pad region being a region of the conductive pad which is exposed from the second opening (pad 21 exposed from second opening 341, see Figure 4). Regarding claim 20, Lei teaches the invention as explained above regarding claim 15 and further teaches (at least in Figures 1, 2 and 4) the plurality of conductive pads comprise a plurality of first conductive pads (21) and a plurality of second conductive pads (41); wherein every two first conductive pads constitute one first conductive pad group (see Figure 4), and one first conductive pad group is configured to be connected to one light-emitting device (60); every N second conductive pads constitute one second conductive pad group (see Figure 4), and one second conductive pad group is configured to be connected to one driver chip (see Figure 1, driver chip 62); and the first openings comprise a first sub-opening and a second sub-opening, wherein the first sub-opening corresponds to one first conductive pad group (opening created by first sub opening 321), and the second sub- opening corresponds to one second conductive pad group (opening created by second sub opening 341). 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 3-5, 8, 9, 12 and 17-19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lei. Regarding claim 3, Lei teaches the invention as explained above regarding claim 1 and further teaches the first opening corresponds to one conductive pad (see Figure 4, first opening 301 corresponds to one conductive pad 21). Further, although Lei does not explicitly teach the minimum distance between two adjacent conductive pads is greater than or equal to a first preset value, it is the position of the examiner that based on standard methods of manufacture, and the known distance between pins of electronic element 60, it would have been an obvious matter of design choice to determine a first preset distance between two adjacent conductive pads to ensure they were far enough apart to prevent cross talk and close enough together to allow for pins from the same component to contact simultaneously. Regarding claim 4, Lei teaches the invention as explained above regarding claim 1, and further it is the position of the examiner that it would have been an obvious matter of design choice for one of ordinary skill in the art to provide one or a plurality of conductive pads in each opening depending upon the desired method of manufacture and on whether or not the elements were desired to be individually addressable, as is well known in the art. Further, it would have been an obvious matter of design choice to determine a first preset distance between two adjacent conductive pads to ensure they were far enough apart to prevent cross talk and close enough together to allow for pins from the same component to contact simultaneously. Regarding claim 5, Lei teaches the invention as explained above regarding claim 3, and further teaches the chip area is on the order of 100 microns (see English translation of specification paragraph before description of pictures). Therefore, based on the size of the driving chip, it would have been an obvious matter of design choice to optimize the distance between conductive pads to claimed range in order to ensure proper sizing of the device while also ensuring proper function by preventing unwanted crosstalk. Regarding claim 8, Lei teaches the invention as explained above regarding claim 7, and further it is the position of the examiner that based on the size of the display and driver chip taught by Lei, it would have been an obvious matter of design choice to optimize the distance between the adjacent sub-openings to ensure proper size and function of the device based on well-known electrical principals. Regarding claim 9, Lei teaches the invention as explained above regarding claim 1 and further teaches the first opening (301) corresponds to at least one second opening (341), and an orthographic projection of the at least one second opening on the base substrate is within an orthographic projection of the corresponding first opening on the base substrate (see Figure 4). Further, it is the position of the examiner that based on the size of the display and driver chip taught by Lei, it would have been an obvious matter of design choice to optimize the minimum distance between the edges of the two openings to ensure proper size and function of the device based on well-known electrical principals. Regarding claim 12, Lei teaches the invention as explained above regarding claim 11, and further it is the position of the examiner that based on the size of the display and driver chip taught by Lei, it would have been an obvious matter of design choice to optimize the preset distance to ensure proper size and function of the device based on well-known electrical principals. Regarding claim 17, Lei teaches the invention as explained above regarding claim 15 and further teaches the first opening corresponds to one conductive pad (see Figure 4, first opening 301 corresponds to one conductive pad 21). Further, although Lei does not explicitly teach the minimum distance between two adjacent conductive pads is greater than or equal to a first preset value, it is the position of the examiner that based on standard methods of manufacture, and the known distance between pins of electronic element 60, it would have been an obvious matter of design choice to determine a first preset distance between two adjacent conductive pads to ensure they were far enough apart to prevent cross talk and close enough together to allow for pins from the same component to contact simultaneously. Regarding claim 18, Lei teaches the invention as explained above regarding claim 15, and further it is the position of the examiner that it would have been an obvious matter of design choice for one of ordinary skill in the art to provide one or a plurality of conductive pads in each opening depending upon the desired method of manufacture and on whether or not the elements were desired to be individually addressable, as is well known in the art. Further, it would have been an obvious matter of design choice to determine a first preset distance between two adjacent conductive pads to ensure they were far enough apart to prevent cross talk and close enough together to allow for pins from the same component to contact simultaneously. Regarding claim 19, Lei teaches the invention as explained above regarding claim 17, and further teaches the chip area is on the order of 100 microns (see English translation of specification paragraph before description of pictures). Therefore, based on the size of the driving chip, it would have been an obvious matter of design choice to optimize the distance between conductive pads to claimed range in order to ensure proper sizing of the device while also ensuring proper function by preventing unwanted crosstalk. Conclusion The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Xu et al., CN 114156396 teaches a display comprising bonding pads and metal plating layers formed in the open area of the bonding pad. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MARY-ELLEN BOWMAN whose telephone number is (571)270-5383. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Thursday; 7:00 am-5:00 pm. 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, James Greece can be reached at (571) 272-3711. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300. Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000. MARY ELLEN BOWMAN Examiner Art Unit 2875 /MARY ELLEN BOWMAN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2875
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Prosecution Timeline

Aug 15, 2023
Application Filed
Jan 24, 2026
Non-Final Rejection — §102, §103 (current)

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Study what changed to get past this examiner. Based on 5 most recent grants.

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Prosecution Projections

1-2
Expected OA Rounds
82%
Grant Probability
99%
With Interview (+18.5%)
2y 0m
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 1395 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allow rate.

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