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 .
Response to Amendment
The amendment filed by the Applicant on 3/13/26 is acknowledged.
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 Proir 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 1-3,5-7, 11-12,15,17,18, 20,29 and 35 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable KR (KR 102046766 B1, cited previously) in view of Fu (CN 211979368 U,cited previously)
Regarding claim 1, KR teaches a backlight assembly,
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comprising: a working area (wherein LED 128 are disposed); a frame area (wherein frames in the left side are disposed), at least partially surrounding the working area; a light emitting element 128 (LED assembly 128), located in the working area; a diffusion plate 300, located in the working area and configured to guide light emitted by the light emitting element to exit from the working area ; and a middle frame 200 (180b, 210 and 220, guide panel 200), Note: 180b can be considered as part of the middle frame, as the middle frame upper part can be substituted by the element 180b as a well-known alternative in the art), located at a side of the diffusion plate close to the light emitting element, arranged along at least a part of an edge of the diffusion plate, and configured to enable a part of the light emitted by the light emitting element to enter the frame area (see Fig.6b above; also see 180b is made clear adhesive: see in KR: Here, the first and second adhesive members 180a, 180b, and FIG. 3 may be provided with an elastic resin, but the present invention is not limited thereto, and thus, a foam pad and an optical adhesive member ( optical clear adhesive (OCA)), wherein the middle frame comprises an outer part 210 and an inner part 220,
the diffusion plate comprises a bottom surface facing the light emitting element, the outer part 210 is located at a side of the diffusion plate close to the frame area, and the inner part 220 is connected with the outer part, an orthographic projection of the inner part (top portion of the middle frame 200) on a plane where the bottom surface of the diffusion plate is located is within the bottom surface of the diffusion plate; the inner part comprises an upper part close to the diffusion plate, and the upper part of the inner part is transparent (see Fig.6b above); the outer part comprises an upper part and a lower part which are arranged in a vertical direction and connected with each other, orthographic projections of the upper part of the outer part and the upper part of the inner part on a plane parallel to the vertical direction are at least partially overlapped with each other (section wherein 210 and 220 meet), and the lower part of the outer part is located at a side of the upper part of the inner part close to the light emitting element in the vertical direction.KR teaches a diffusion plate and a liquid crystal display, but does not explicitly teach a light guide, however use of a light guide is a design choice.
KR does not teach:
both the upper part of the outer part and at least a part (part is considered as an upper part) of the lower part of the outer part are transparent AND
the lower part of the outer part comprises a distal end away from the light guide plate, the distal end is an opaque white light reflective part, and other parts of the outer part except the distal end are transparent.
However, Fu discloses 1. Upper part of the outer part :1101a is transparent (see in Fu: Referring again to FIG. 7, the other part of the light emitted by the light emitting device 15 is irradiated to the transparent part 1101a, because the transparent part 1101a is made of transparent plastic).
The lower part of the outer part 110b is disclosed in Fu as: In addition, because the material of the second light blocking portion 110b is white plastic.
Therefore, Fu discloses the upper part 1101a of the outer part (the portion of the 1101a that is extended vertically dividing the 1101a part, as being part of the upper part of the lower part is shown below) as transparent:
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Further discloses the distal end of the lower part as being white light reflective, as Fu discloses: In addition, because the material of the second light blocking portion 110b is white plastic.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the invention, to form a portion right below the upper part of the lower part as also being transparent, or in other words, the upper part of the lower part being extended a little downwards, and it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention, to make adjustable the portion that is right below the upper part of the lower part to be transmissive, since the provision of adjustability, where needed, involves only routine skill in the art in order to adjust the desired light permissibility at the top portion the lower part.
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Regarding claim 2, KR in view of Fu teaches a backlight assembly, further comprising (disclosed in KR): a back plate 150 (in KR), comprising a bottom plate 151 substantially parallel to the bottom surface of the light guide plate and a lateral plate 153 intersecting the bottom plate and extending in the vertical direction perpendicular to the bottom surface of the light guide plate, wherein the light emitting element 128 is arranged on the bottom plate; the lower part of the outer part 220 is located at a side of the lateral plate of the back plate close to the frame area and extends along the lateral plate of the back plate.
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Regarding claim 3, KR in view of Fu teaches part of the outer frame is transparent (from teachings of Fu), wherein an entirety of the outer part of the middle frame is transparent. However, it is a matter of design to form the outer part partially or wholly to be transparent, light blocking or reflecting. Fu teaches a middle frame wherein the outer part 110b, of the middle frame as: The material of the second light blocking portion 110b may be, for example, a polycarbonate (transparent PC) (Note: Further, Fu replaces the transparent glue 180b of KR, by the middle frame extended upto the upper optical sheets and are a substitute of an optical adhesive, as shown below:
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rest or contact to the light guide/upper optical sheets)
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the invention, to form the arrangement disclosed in Fu, in the device of KR in order to achieve the desired orientation of the light transmission.
Regarding claim 5, KR in view of Fu teaches the backlight assembly, wherein the working area comprises a middle area and an edge area surrounding the middle area; the outer part is located in the edge area of the working area, or, a part of the outer part is located in the edge area of the working area, and another part of the outer part is located in the frame area (from the teachings of outer part in KR and Fu, see rejection in claims 1-4 above, wherein the working area is the middle area and edge is the peripheral area of the display device).
Regarding claim 6, KR in view of Fu teaches the backlight assembly further comprises (In KR): a frame (116 and 117), at least partially located in the frame area, surrounding at least a part of the working area, and located at an outer side of the middle frame away from the working area, wherein the frame comprises a transparent part (116 wherein KR discloses: One side of the liquid crystal panel 110 is connected to a printed circuit board 117 through a connection member 116 such as a flexible printed circuit board, wherein the connection member 116 is a liquid crystal) and a supporting part 117 that is opaque, and the transparent part is located at an outer side of the supporting part away from the working area and attached to the supporting part.
Although KR discloses 116 as a pcb or a liquid crystal, it is well known in the art to have transparent pcbs, and furthermore the attached adhesive 180a directly attached to the part 116 is also transparent in nature (see in KR: Here, the first and second adhesive members 180a, 180b, and FIG. 3 may be provided with an elastic resin, but the present invention is not limited thereto, and thus, a foam pad and an optical adhesive member ( optical clear adhesive (OCA), double side tape, or the like). Therefore, it is a matter of design to use a transparent form of PCB or a transparent upper part for the frame in order to maneuver the light based on desired orientation and design.
Regarding claim 7, KR in view of Fu teaches a display backlight assembly, wherein the transparent part of the frame comprises: a vertical part, located in the frame area, surrounding the working area and extending in the vertical direction perpendicular to the bottom surface of the light guide plate, wherein the vertical part of the frame comprises an outer side surface which is away from the working area, and the outer side surface is a flat surface and perpendicular to the bottom surface of the light guide plate; the vertical part of the frame comprises an upper end in the vertical direction, and the transparent part of the frame further comprises: a horizontal part, connected with an upper end of the vertical part of the frame and extending in a horizontal direction parallel to the bottom surface of the light guide plate, wherein at least a part of the horizontal part is located in the frame area and at a side of the light guide plate away from the light emitting element in the vertical direction, and an included angle between a bottom surface of the horizontal part of the frame close to the light guide plate and the outer side surface of the vertical part of the frame is a right angle (see drawing below from KR wherein vertical part and the horizontal part are shown by arrows below:
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)
Regarding claim 11, KR in view of Fu teaches a backlight assembly, wherein the inner part further comprises a lower part which is close to the light emitting element and connected with the upper part of the inner part, the lower part of the inner part is opaque, and a surface of the lower part of the inner part is a white light reflection layer, and a part of the light emitted by the light emitting element is incident on the white light reflection layer, and the white light reflection layer is configured to reflect the light emitted by the light emitting element (from the teachings of : As such, when the shape of the pattern of the pattern portion 227 is not uniform light scattering and diffusion effects may be further maximized in KR AND the reflective inner part of Fig.3 of Fu).
Regarding claim 12, the combined structure of KR in view of Fu teaches the backlight assembly, wherein the upper part of the inner part comprises a first inclined part, and a plane parallel to the bottom surface of the light guide plate is a horizontal plane (see section 225 and the horizontal top section of 225),
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and an extension direction of the first inclined part intersects with the horizontal plane; an included angle between the extension direction of the first inclined part and the horizontal plane is a first included angle, and a range of the first included angle is an acute angle; (see in KR: In addition, as illustrated in FIG. 10A, the second inclined surface 225b may be inclined at a predetermined angle from the first inclined surface 225a toward the vertical portion 210) a lower end 223 of the inner part of the middle frame is connected with the bottom plate of the back plate 151 to fix the middle frame on the back plate, a direction from the frame area to the working area is a first direction,
KR in view of Fu teaches an acute angle for the inner part, as shown in the drawing above but does not explicitly teach an angle in the range of 35 degrees -50 degrees (see objection to specification); and it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the invention, to use the range of angle as claimed by routine experimentation, in order to prevent occurrence of wavy phenomena (see in KR: This can prevent the occurrence of a wave-mura phenomenon that looks like a wave.)
Further KR in view of Fu teaches a first distance C between the light emitting element that is closest to the middle frame and the lower end of the inner part of the middle frame in the first direction (distance between 223 and 128 above) but does not teach the spacing is 25 mm to 50 mm.
However, this spacing X is a result effective variable, wherein KR in KR in view of Fu discloses:
The height L of the second inclined surface 225b extending from the first inclined surface 225a to form the lower surface 223 is preferably such that the condition (Equation 2) below is satisfied.
(Equation 2)
L = X tanβ + b (0mm <b <3mm)
In this case, X is the distance between the second inclined surface 225b and the center of the LED 128a, and therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the invention, to use the range of the spacing as disclosed in KR in KR in view of Fu, in order to optimize the contrast (see in KR: In this case, when the b value is set to 3 mm or more, the light provided to the area between the second inclined surface 225b and the LED 128a may be reduced, so that the dark part may be recognized through the area).
Regarding claim 15, KR in view of Fu teaches a backlight assembly, wherein the lower part of the inner part comprises a second inclined part, and the extension direction of the second inclined part comprises a second included angle with the horizontal plane, and the second angle is an obtuse angle, an included angle between the second inclined part and the horizontal plane and the included angle between the first inclined part and the horizontal plane are the same, and an entirety constituted by the second inclined part and the first inclined part which are in direct connection with each other comprises a flat inclined surface intersecting the horizontal plane (angle formed by extending 211/221 in Fig.3 of KR, and also extending a horizontal line on any part of lower section of 225 in KR) but does not explicitly teach: the second included angle ranges from 95 degrees to 100 degrees. However, since KR in view of Fu already teaches an obtuse angle, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the invention, to use the range of angles as claimed, in order to optimize the reflection (see in KR: However, since the cover slope 150 may be reflected toward the cover bottom 150, the angle α of the first inclined surface 225a and the bottom surface 151 of the cover bottom 150 may have an upper limit).
Regarding claim 17, KR in view of Fu teaches a backlight assembly, wherein the part of the middle frame that is transparent comprises: a first supporting part (the section of 11 in Fig.3 of Fu wherein the support part holds the optical elements 14 and 16 AND the top horizontal section of 180b that holds the optical elements in Fig.3 Note: although 180b is a clear adhesive, from the teachings of Fu, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to extend the top most portion of the middle frame, to substitute the adhesive, from the teachings of Fu, in order to form an integrated robust support for the optical members), comprising a first supporting surface, wherein the first supporting surface is configured to support the light guide plate/diffusion sheets of KR and Fu, and a first part of the first supporting surface close to the working area overlaps with the light guide plate in the vertical direction perpendicular (wherein A is indicated in Fu) to the bottom surface of the light guide plate to support the light guide plate; and a second supporting part, connected with the first supporting part, located at a side of the first supporting part away from the working area, disposed at an interval with the light guide plate, and comprising a second supporting surface, wherein the second supporting part (section 116 in KR or the top most vertical section of 11 in Fig.3 of Fu) configured to support a display substrate with pixels, and the interval exposes a second part of the first supporting surface away from the working area.
Regarding claim 18, KR in view of Fu teaches a backlight assembly, wherein a proportion of the first part of the first supporting surface to the first supporting surface is in a range of 35%-65%; a direction from the frame area to the working area is a first direction, a width of the first support surface in the first direction ranges from 2.0 mm to 3 mm, and a width of the interval in the first direction ranges from 0.8 mm to 1.3 mm (see 112 rejection above).
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“a light guide plate fixing glue, located between the first supporting surface and the light guide plate to bond the first supporting surface and the light guide plate, wherein a direction from the frame area to the working area is a first direction, and a width of the light guide plate fixing glue in the first direction is less than or equal to a width of the first supporting surface in the first direction”, and it would have been obvious to add a glue in the position between the supporting surface and the optical elements in the device of KR in view of Fu, in order to robustly hold the optical elements/sheets.
Regarding claim 29, KR in view of Fu teaches a display panel, comprising a display substrate (112 and 114 in [0051] and Fig.3 in KR) and the backlight assembly (128 in KR), wherein the display substrate is located at a side of the light guide plate away from the light emitting element.
Regarding claim 35, KR in view of Fu teaches a display device, comprising the display panel (Title of KR).
Claim 9 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable KR (KR 102046766 B1) in view of Fu (CN 211979368 U) and further in view of Kim (US 20130088857 A1)
Regarding claim 9, the combined structure of KR in view of Fu teaches portions of middle frame are transmissive, light shielding or diffusive but does not teach a material of the part of the middle frame that is transparent comprises a base material and a diffusing agent dispersed in the base material; the base material is an organic material, the organic material comprises at least one of PC and PMMA, and the diffusing agent comprises at least one of a silicon dioxide diffusing agent and a silicone diffusing agent.
The materials as claimed are well known materials in the art, as disclosed in Kim, wherein a transparent material in an illumination device comprises a base material and a diffusing agent dispersed in the base material; the base material is an organic material, the organic material comprises at least one of PC and PMMA, and the diffusing agent comprises at least one of a silicon dioxide diffusing agent and a silicone diffusing agent ([0156)] and it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the invention, to use the material as disclosed in Kim, in the device of KR in view of Fu in order to achieve a robust diffusing material for the frame portions.
Claim 21 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable KR (KR 102046766 B1) in view of Fu (CN 211979368 U) and further in view of Liu (CN 203644317 U) and Saman (KR 20110015569 A)
Regarding claim 21, KR teaches a backlight assembly,
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comprising: a working area (wherein LED 128 are disposed); a frame area (wherein frames in the left side are disposed), at least partially surrounding the working area; a light emitting element 128 (LED assembly 128), located in the working area; a diffusion plate 300, located in the working area and configured to guide light emitted by the light emitting element to exit from the working area ; and a middle frame 200 (180b, 210 and 220, guide panel 200), Note: 180b can be considered as part of the middle frame, as the middle frame upper part can be substituted by the element 180b as a well-known alternative in the art), located at a side of the diffusion plate close to the light emitting element, arranged along at least a part of an edge of the diffusion plate, and configured to enable a part of the light emitted by the light emitting element to enter the frame area (see Fig.6b above; also see 180b is made clear adhesive: see in KR: Here, the first and second adhesive members 180a, 180b, and FIG. 3 may be provided with an elastic resin, but the present invention is not limited thereto, and thus, a foam pad and an optical adhesive member ( optical clear adhesive (OCA)), wherein the middle frame comprises an outer part 210 and an inner part 220,
the diffusion plate comprises a bottom surface facing the light emitting element, the outer part 210 is located at a side of the diffusion plate close to the frame area, and the inner part 220 is connected with the outer part, an orthographic projection of the inner part (top portion of the middle frame 200) on a plane where the bottom surface of the diffusion plate is located is within the bottom surface of the diffusion plate; the inner part comprises an upper part close to the diffusion plate, and the upper part of the inner part is transparent (see Fig.6b above); the outer part comprises an upper part and a lower part which are arranged in a vertical direction and connected with each other, orthographic projections of the upper part of the outer part and the upper part of the inner part on a plane parallel to the vertical direction are at least partially overlapped with each other (section wherein 210 and 220 meet), and the lower part of the outer part is located at a side of the upper part of the inner part close to the light emitting element in the vertical direction.KR teaches a diffusion plate and a liquid crystal display, but does not explicitly teach a light guide, however use of a light guide is a design choice.
Further, KR discloses the backlight assembly further comprises: a frame (116 and 117), at least partially located in the frame area, surrounding at least a part of the working area, and located at an outer side of the middle frame away from the working area, wherein the frame comprises a transparent part (116 wherein KR discloses: One side of the liquid crystal panel 110 is connected to a printed circuit board 117 through a connection member 116 such as a flexible printed circuit board, wherein the connection member 116 is a liquid crystal) and a supporting part 117 that is opaque, and the transparent part is located at an outer side of the supporting part away from the working area and attached to the supporting part.
Although KR discloses 116 as a PCB or a liquid crystal, it is well known in the art to have transparent PCBs, and furthermore the attached adhesive 180a directly attached to the part 116 is also transparent in nature (see in KR: Here, the first and second adhesive members 180a, 180b, and FIG. 3 may be provided with an elastic resin, but the present invention is not limited thereto, and thus, a foam pad and an optical adhesive member ( optical clear adhesive (OCA), double side tape, or the like). Therefore, it is a matter of design to use a transparent form of PCB or a transparent upper part for the frame in order to maneuver the light based on desired orientation and design.
KR does not teach:
both the upper part of the outer part and at least a part (part is considered as an upper part of the lower part) of the lower part of the outer part are transparent.
However, Fu discloses 1. Upper part of the outer part :1101a is transparent (see in Fu: Referring again to FIG. 7, the other part of the light emitted by the light emitting device 15 is irradiated to the transparent part 1101a, because the transparent part 1101a is made of transparent plastic).
Therefore, Fu discloses the upper part 1101a of the outer part (the portion of the 1101a that is extended vertically dividing the 1101a part, as being part of the upper part of the lower part is shown below) as transparent:
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Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the invention, to form a portion right below the upper part of the lower part as also being transparent, or in other words, the upper part of the lower part being extended a little downwards, and it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention, to make adjustable the portion that is right below the upper part of the lower part to be transmissive, since he provision of adjustability, where needed, involves only routine skill in the art in order to adjust the desired light permissibility at the top portion the lower part.
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KR in view of Fu teaches the working area comprises a middle area and an edge area surrounding the middle area; the backlight assembly further comprises: a light gathering structure S (Fig 8 of Fu), located in the frame area and the edge area of the working area, and is located at a side of the light guide plate away from the light emitting element, wherein the light gathering structure and the middle frame 1101a are made of a same material and constitute a continuous and integral structure;
but does not teach a Fresnel lens located in the frame area that is made of the same material as the frame; the horizontal part of the frame comprises a non-microstructure (this is considered to mean a structure that has no microstructures) part away from the working area and a microstructure part close to the working area, and the microstructure part is configured as a Fresnel lens and comprises a plurality of serrations.
Liu teaches a Fresnel lens at the edge of the display device wherein it discloses:
The frameless display device of the utility model through the edge area in front of the display screen edge of the frame is provided with a region for Fresnel lens amplifying the amplified edge region, is greater than or equal to the frame and completely covers the frame, eliminates the frame on the visual display device and it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the invention, to use the Fresnel lens on the horizontal portion of the outer housing (Fig.1 of KR) such that it is formed on the edge of the frame in order to prevent the frame portion on the visual part of the display device.
Further, KR in view of Fu and Liu does not teach: a tooth pitch of the plurality of serrations of the Fresnel lens gradually increases in a direction from the working area to the frame area.
Saman teaches a Fresnel lens (Fig.10a, 10b,10c,10d,103) wherein the extreme edge of the frame is non-microstructure and further away from the edges of the optical system it has Fresnel lens such that a tooth pitch of the plurality of serrations of the Fresnel lens gradually increases in a direction from the working area to the frame area (108 in Fig.2f) and it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the invention, to use the pitch configuration, as disclosed in Saman, in the device of KR in view of Fu and Liu in order to reduce brightness moving away from the edges.
Claim 32 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable KR (KR 102046766 B1) in view of Fu (CN 211979368 U) and further in view of Dong (CN 112764254 A) and Tang (US 20210072592 A1)
Regarding claim 32, KR in view of Fu teaches the invention set forth in claim 29 above, but is silent regarding the display substrate comprises a black matrix defining a plurality of sub-pixels; the black matrix comprises an edge black matrix farthest from the display area, and an orthographic projection of the edge black matrix on a plane where the display surface is located and an orthographic projection of the second supporting part of the middle frame on the plane where the display surface is located are at least partially overlapped with each other; an edge of the edge black matrix close to the display area is aligned with an edge of the second supporting part of the middle frame close to the display area, or an edge of the edge black matrix close to the display area is not aligned with an edge of the second supporting part of the middle frame close to the display area.
Dong teaches a back light panel, wherein the black matrix comprises an edge black matrix farthest from the display area (see in Dong: solving the display panel 1 of the display area AA edge pixel is shielded caused by the edge is dark. Also see light shield foam 12), and an orthographic projection of the edge black matrix on a plane where the display surface is located and an orthographic projection of the second supporting part of the middle frame (9 see Fig.1-10),on the plane where the display surface is located are at least partially overlapped with each other; an edge of the edge black matrix close to the display area is aligned with an edge of the second supporting part of the middle frame close to the display area, or an edge of the edge black matrix close to the display area is not aligned with an edge of the second supporting part of the middle frame close to the display area and it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the invention, to use the light shielding portion at the edge, as disclosed in Dong, in the device of KR in view of Fu, in order to conceal the non-display/image area.
KR in view of Fu and Dong does not teach the display substrate comprises a black matrix defining a plurality of sub-pixels.
Tang teaches a display substrate comprises a black matrix defining a plurality of sub-pixels ([0035] and it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the invention, to use black matrix between the sub-pixels, as disclosed in Tang, in the device of KR in view of Fu and Dong in order to avoid color /cross-talk.
Claim 30 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable KR (KR 102046766 B1) in view of Fu (CN 211979368 U) and further in view of Kim2 (US 20220269135 A1)
Regarding claim 30, KR in view of Fu teaches a display panel, comprising a display surface, wherein the display surface comprises a display area (area wherein LEDs are disposed) and a non-display area (frame area in the edges) at least partially surrounding the display area, and the display area is located in an orthographic projection of the working area of the backlight assembly on the display surface;
the working area comprises a middle area and an edge area surrounding the middle area,
and the backlight assembly (base where LEDs 128 are disposed in KR) is configured to enable light emitted by the light emitting element to enter the display area and enter the edge area and the frame area of the working area;
an orthographic projection of the outer part of the middle frame on the display surface is at least partially located in the edge area of the display area ;the backlight assembly comprises a frame (117 in KR),
which is at least partially located in the frame area, surrounds at least a part of the working area, and is located at an outer side of the middle frame away from the working area, the frame comprises a supporting part that is opaque, and the transparent part is located at an outer side of the supporting part away from the working area and attached to the supporting part, an orthographic projection of the frame on the display surface is located in the non-display area.one display substrate and one backlight assembly constitute one substrate unit.
KR in view of Fu teaches the frame comprises a transparent part and a supporting part that is opaque, but does not teach the transparent part is located at an outer side of the supporting part away from the working area and attached to the supporting part.
However, KR in view of Fu teaches a first part (horizontal portion indicated as 40 in embodiment of Fig.1) comprises a supporting part (vertical part indicated as 30 in embodiment of Fig.1) that is opaque, and the first part is located at an outer side of the supporting part away from the working area and attached to the supporting part and it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the invention, to form the horizontal first portion for the frame of the other embodiments of KR in KR in view of Fu, in order to steadily hold the display panel/working/display section.
KR in view of Fu does not teach a display panel comprises a plurality of substrate units which are spliced with each other, and two adjacent ones of the plurality of display substrates are respectively a first substrate unit and a second substrate unit; the transparent part of the frame comprises a vertical part, the vertical part of the frame is located in the frame area, surrounds the working area and extends along the vertical direction perpendicular to the bottom surface of the light guide plate, the vertical part of the frame comprises an outer side surface away from the working area, and the outer side surface is a flat surface and perpendicular to the bottom surface of the light guide plate, the outer side surface of the frame of the first substrate unit and the outer side surface of the frame of the second substrate unit are attached to each other, and no gap is between the outer side surface of the frame of the first substrate unit and the outer side surface of the frame of the second substrate unit.
Kim2 teaches an array of display substrates (Fig.2A, Fig.6, Fig.7) wherein a plurality of substrate units which are spliced with each other, and two adjacent ones of the plurality of display substrates are respectively a first substrate unit and a second substrate unit;the transparent part of the frame comprises a vertical part (TR in [0084]), the vertical part of the frame is located in the frame area, surrounds the working area and extends along the vertical direction perpendicular to the bottom surface of the light guide plate, the vertical part of the frame comprises an outer side surface away from the working area, and the outer side surface is a flat surface and perpendicular to the bottom surface of the light guide plate, the outer side surface of the frame of the first substrate unit and the outer side surface of the frame of the second substrate unit are attached to each other, and no gap is between the outer side surface of the frame of the first substrate unit and the outer side surface of the frame of the second substrate unit (from the drawings) and it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the invention, to use the attachment arrangement, as disclosed in Kim2 , in the device of KR in view of Fu, in order to achieve a tiled display panel.
Allowable Subject matter
Claim 27 is allowable over prior art of record.
The following is an examiner's statement of reasons for allowance:
For claim 27, the prior art of record neither shows nor suggests the limitation of “a transparent soft part, located at a side of the Fresnel lens close to the light emitting element and configured to support the Fresnel lens; and a light shielding part, located at a side of the transparent soft part away from the working area and configured to absorb light from a side of the transparent soft part away from the working area; an upper surface of the supporting part, that is opaque, of the frame away from the light emitting element in the vertical direction perpendicular to the bottom surface of the light guide plate is flush with an upper surface of the transparent soft part away from the light emitting element in the vertical direction perpendicular to the bottom surface of the light guide plate and flush with an upper surface of the light shielding part away from the light emitting element in the vertical direction perpendicular to the bottom surface of the light guide plate”.
The references of record do not teach or suggest the aforementioned limitation, nor would it be obvious to modify those references to include such limitation.
The allowable subject matter refers to Applicant’s Fig.5 and 2A and [0111] of the US Publication.
Any comments considered necessary by applicant must be submitted no later than the payment of the issue fee and, to avoid processing delays, should preferably accompany the issue fee. Such submissions should be clearly labeled "Comments on Statement of Reasons for Allowance."
Other art
Cited previously: CN 214409497 U-diffuse; CN 114399959 A-spliced one; CN 112764254 A; CN 210129366 U, CN 209880030 U, CN 209690674 U, KR 20190083017 A, US 20190317367 A1/US 20190204684 A1, CN 105066013 A, CN 113707034 A/US 20220269135 A1-spliced cascaded display substrates; CN 107966843 B-outermost frame is reflective; US 20130088857 A1.
Response to Arguments
The arguments filed by the Applicant on 3/13/26 is acknowledged, but is not found to be persuasive. Examiner has provided a detailed explanation regarding the amended portions in the office action, for further clarification.
Conclusion
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.
Contact Information
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Fatima Farokhrooz whose telephone number is (571)-272-6043. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday- Friday, 9 am - 5 pm. If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, James Greece can be reached on (571) 270-3711. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is (571) 273-8300. Information regarding the status of an application may be obtained from the Patent Application Information Retrieval (PAIR) system. Status information for published applications may be obtained from either Private PAIR or Public PAIR. Status information for unpublished applications is available through Private PAIR only. For more information about the PAIR system, see http;//pair-direct.uspto.gov. Should you have questions on access to the Private PAIR system, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free).
/Fatima N Farokhrooz/
Examiner, Art Unit 2875
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