DETAILED ACTION
This Office Action is in response to the Applicant’s Amendment filed on 04/17/2026. In virtue of the amendment:
Claims 1, 3-7, 9, 10, 13 and 14 are pending in the instant application.
Claims 1, 3-5, 9, 13 and 14 are currently amended.
Claims 2, 8, 11 and 12 are canceled.
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to the rejection(s) of claim(s) 1-3 and 6-14 have been fully considered and are persuasive. However, upon further consideration of amened claims, a new ground(s) of rejection of claims 1, 3-7, 9-11, 13 and 14 is made in view of Hussell (U.S. Pub. 2020/0312225 A1) and KIM (KR 2021009962 A).
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)(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.
Claim(s) 1, 6 and 7 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Hussell (U.S. Pub. 2020/0312225 A1).
Regarding claim 1, Hussell discloses a light source module (26, Figs. 2A-2I) constituting a single pixel (Figs. 2A-2I, par [0097]), comprising:
a base (submount 32, Fig. 2A);
LED chips (28-1 to 28-3, Fig. 2A) mounted on the base and including a red chip, a green chip, and a blue chip (an exemplary LED pixel including a red LED chip, a green LED chip, and a blue LED chip, par [00084]) configured to generate red, green, and blue light;
a control IC (30, the active electrical element 30 comprises one or more of an integrated circuit chip, Fig. 2A, par [0098]) mounted on the base and configured to control operation of the LED chips (Fig. 2C and 2E); and
signal electrodes (conductive traces 42-1 to 42-7, Figs. 2C and 2E) mounted on the base and connecting the LED chip chips respectively and the control IC to each other (Figs. 2C and 2E),
wherein the LED chips includes two or more LED chips configured to output the same color (A particular LED pixel may include a cluster of LED chips of the same color, par [0084]), and
wherein the control IC (active electrical element 30. Fig. 2C and 2E) is configured to adjust brightness of the pixel by adjusting a current value (each LED pixel may include an active electrical chip or an active electrical element that may include a memory device and the ability to alter a driving condition or drive condition of the LED pixel based on a memory from the memory device. In certain embodiments, the continuous drive signal is a constant analog drive current, and in other embodiments where the brightness level may be controlled by pulsed methods such as pulse width modulation (PWM), par [0095]) applied to the two or more LED chips configured to output the same color (A particular LED pixel may include a cluster of LED chips of the same color, par [0084]).
Regarding claim 6, Hussell discloses the light source module wherein the LED chips configured to output the same color are distributed on both sides around the control IC (30’) (Fig. 7).
Regarding claim 7, Hussell discloses the light source module wherein the LED chips configured to output the same color are arranged in a point-symmetric manner around a center of the light source module (Fig. 7).
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) 3 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hussell, as applied above.
Regarding claim 3, Hussell discloses the LED chips configured to output the same color include a first chip and a second chip (A particular LED pixel may include a cluster of LED chips of the same color, par [0084]).
Hussell does not explicitly teach the control IC is configured to adjust the brightness in 4 stages by applying maximum current or 1/2 of the maximum current to the first chip.
However, Hussell teaches that “The control logic 141 includes current-select circuitry (or resistor-select circuity for FIG. 37) that is generally used to set a maximum current or brightness level based on chip size or the like for the LED 146” (par [0157]), which means to adjust the brightness levels/stages by applying the maximum current is well known in the art.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having skill in the art before the filing date of the invention to modify the device of Hussell with 4 stages brightness adjustment in order to improve the illumination of the lighting device by controlling the current supplied to the lighting circuitry.
Claim(s) 9 and 10 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hussell, as applied above, in view of KIM (KR 2021009962 A).
Regarding claim 9 and 10, Hussell discloses all of the limitations as claimed except the LED chips includes a red chip, a green chip, and a blue chip configured to generate red, green, and blue light, respectively, and include three white chips respectively paired with the red chip, the green chip, and the blue chip and configured to generate white light, and wherein the paired white chip is applied with current to operate when the red chip, the green chip, and the blue chip operate.
However, as evidenced by KIM, providing the light source module wherein the
LED chip includes a red chip, a green chip, and a blue chip configured to generate red, green,
and blue light, respectively, and three white chips respectively paired with the red chip, the green
chip, and the blue chip and configured to generate white light, wherein the paired white chip is
applied with current to operate when the red chip, the green chip, and the blue chip operate (the
LED module nay comprise the light source unit composed of red (R) LED, green (G) LED, blue
(B) LED and white (W) LED (Figs. 1-2, claim 1 of KIM), and because each of red (R) LED,
green (G) LED, blue (B) LED and white (W) LED nay be individually controlled, white (W)
LED may be controlled and turned on separately, instead of implementing white color by mixing
red (R) LED, green (G) LED, blue (B) LED (pars [0029]-0031] of KIM) is well known in the art.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having skill in the art before the filing date of the invention to modify the device of Hussell with the combination of white (W), red ( R), green (G) and blue (B) LEDs as taught by KIM in order to improve the illumination of the lighting device by controlling the current supplied to the lighting circuitry.
Claim(s) 13 and 14 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hussell, as applied above, in view of DAEWOON (KR 20200030744 A).
Regarding claim 13, Hussell discloses an LED film (Figs. 1 and 2A-2E) comprising:
a plurality of light source modules (Fig. 1), each constituting a single pixel (26, Figs. 2A-2I, par [0097]);
wherein the light source module includes:
a base (submount 32, Fig. 2A);
LED chips (28-1 to 28-3, Fig. 2A) mounted on the base and including a red chip, a green chip, and a blue chip (an exemplary LED pixel including a red LED chip, a green LED chip, and a blue LED chip, par [00084]) configured to generate red, green, and blue light;
a control IC (30, the active electrical element 30 comprises one or more of an integrated circuit chip, Fig. 2A, par [0098]) mounted on the base and configured to control operation of the LED chips (Fig. 2C and 2E); and
signal electrodes (conductive traces 42-1 to 42-7, Figs. 2C and 2E) mounted on the base and connecting the LED chip chips respectively and the control IC to each other (Figs. 2C and 2E),
wherein the LED chips includes two or more LED chips configured to output the same color (A particular LED pixel may include a cluster of LED chips of the same color, par [0084]), and
wherein the control IC (active electrical element 30. Fig. 2C and 2E) is configured to adjust brightness of the pixel by adjusting a current value (each LED pixel may include an active electrical chip or an active electrical element that may include a memory device and the ability to alter a driving condition or drive condition of the LED pixel based on a memory from the memory device. In certain embodiments, the continuous drive signal is a constant analog drive current, and in other embodiments where the brightness level may be controlled by pulsed methods such as pulse width modulation (PWM), par [0095]) applied to the two or more LED chips configured to output the same color (A particular LED pixel may include a cluster of LED chips of the same color, par [0084]).
Hussell does not teach a transparent film; a plurality of light source modules arranged in a grid on the transparent film; and a main electrode disposed on the transparent film and configured to supply an operating signal and power to the light source module.
However, as evidenced by DAEWOON, providing a transparent film (see Abstract, claim 1); a plurality of light source modules arranged in a grid on the transparent film (claim 1); and a main electrode (20, Fig. 2) disposed on the transparent film and configured to supply an operating signal and power to the light source module (see Figs. 2, 3a, Abstract and claim 1), is well known in the art.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having skill in the art before the filing date of the invention to modify the device of Hussell with the transparent film and plurality of light source modules and the main electrode as taught by DAEWOON in order to provide the suitable parts to the lighting device to assure the light emitting performance of the light source module.
Regarding claim 14, Hussell/DAEWOON discloses the LED chips configured to output the same color include a first chip and a second chip (A particular LED pixel may include a cluster of LED chips of the same color, par [0084] of Hussell).
Hussell/DAEWOON does not explicitly teach the control IC is configured to adjust the brightness in 4 stages by applying maximum current or 1/2 of the maximum current to the first chip.
However, Hussell teaches that “The control logic 141 includes current-select circuitry (or resistor-select circuity for FIG. 37) that is generally used to set a maximum current or brightness level based on chip size or the like for the LED 146” (par [0157]), which means to adjust the brightness levels/stages by applying the maximum current is well known in the art.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having skill in the art before the filing date of the invention to modify the device of Hussell/DAEWOON with 4 stages brightness adjustment in order to improve the illumination of the lighting device by controlling the current supplied to the lighting circuitry.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 4 and 5 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.
Inquiry
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JIMMY T VU whose telephone number is (571)272-1832. The examiner can normally be reached on 9:00 AM - 6:00 PM.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Alexander H. Taningco can be reached on 571-272-8048. The fax phone numbers for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned are 571-273-8300.
Any inquiry of a general nature or relating to the status of this application or proceeding should be directed to the receptionist whose telephone number is 571-272-2800.
/JIMMY T VU/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2845
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