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 .
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-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.
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on 15 December 2025 has been entered.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of 35 U.S.C. 112(a):
(a) IN GENERAL.—The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor or joint inventor of carrying out the invention.
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112:
The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor of carrying out his invention.
Claims 1-3, 5-11, 13-15, 17-19, and 21-22 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), first paragraph, as failing to comply with the written description requirement. The claim(s) contains subject matter which was not described in the specification in such a way as to reasonably convey to one skilled in the relevant art that the inventor or a joint inventor, or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the inventor(s), at the time the application was filed, had possession of the claimed invention. Independent Claims 1 and 13 both newly recite the features “wherein the light board further comprises… a plurality of scanning lines…, each of the plurality of scanning lines comprises a first portion and a second portion…; and wherein the first portion comprises a first member and a second member, the first member is connected to the second portion through the second member, the second member is in a shape of an inverted trapezoid…, and a length of an upper base of the inverted trapezoid in the first direction is less than a length of the overlapped portion.” The scope of these newly recited features is not supported by the originally filed disclosure.
The claimed “first portion” and “second portion” of the claimed “plurality of scanning lines” are shown in originally filed Figure 5 and are described at Paragraphs [0074]-[0075] of the originally filed Specification. The claimed “first portion” (51) and the claimed “second portion” (52) of a scanning line (50) are shown in Figure 5 to be arranged in different layers with “first portion” (51) being partially overlapped with “second portion” (52) and connected via a downward projecting portion of the “first portion” (51). The originally filed Specification neither mentions nor describes the newly claimed “first member” and “second member” of the claimed “first portion” (51). As claimed, the “first member” and the “second member” of the claimed “first portion” (51) broadly imply separate elements that may or may not be structurally formed as a part of “first portion” (51). It is unclear what structural features are referenced by the newly claimed “first member” and “second member.”
Furthermore, and more significantly, even considering that the intended “first member” and “second member” of the claimed “first portion” (51) are intended to merely describe distinct parts of “first portion” (51), the originally filed Specification neither mentions nor describes any “second member” that “is in the shape of an inverted trapezoid” as newly claimed. In this regard, relying only on Figure 5 to provide support for this newly claimed feature, Figure 5 is merely a schematic drawing and does not impart any specific structural definition to the newly claimed “second member.” While the connecting portion of the “first portion” (51) may be shown to have four sides with one pair of parallel sides (i.e., the top and bottom sides) and one pair of non-parallel sides (i.e., the vertical sides), defining a trapezoid shape, the originally filed disclosure does not support the broader representation suggested by the newly claimed “second member.” That is, there is nothing in the originally filed disclosure, either in originally filed Figure 5 or in the originally filed Specification, that suggests that the connecting portion between the “first portion” (51) and the “second portion” (52) was intended to cover all possible “inverted trapezoid” shapes. Any number of “inverted trapezoid” shapes can be represented by the term “inverted trapezoid,” and this term is neither defined nor mentioned in the originally filed Specification. Figure 5 is directed to one and only one specific shape of a connecting portion between the “first portion” (51) and the “second portion” (52).
As such, Claims 1-3, 5-11, 13-15, 17-19, and 21-22 are for failing to comply with the written description requirement.
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 1-3, 5-11, 13-15, 17-19, and 21-22 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Liu et al. (hereinafter “Liu” CN-116129801) in view of in view of Lee et al. (hereinafter “Lee” US 2013 / 0307833).
(It should be noted that the Liu reference was submitted by the applicant via Information Disclosure Statement (IDS) on 29 November 2024, and relevant portions of the Liu reference are cited with respect to the English language translation of CN-116129801 attached herein).
As pertaining to Claim 1, Liu discloses (see Fig. 4) a light board (100; see Page 6, Ln. 35-40 through Page 7, Ln. 1-12), having a plurality of brightness subareas (10), wherein each of the brightness subareas (10) is provided with a fixed number of light-emitting units (i.e., light emitting devices such as LEDs), the plurality of brightness subareas (10) comprise multiple brightness subareas (10) arranged sequentially in a first direction (i.e., a horizontal direction) and multiple brightness subareas (10) arranged sequentially in a second direction (i.e., a vertical direction), and the first direction (i.e., the horizontal direction) and the second direction (i.e., the vertical direction) intersect;
in two adjacent brightness subareas (10) of the plurality of brightness subareas (10) in the first direction (i.e., the horizontal direction), the light-emitting units (i.e., the LEDs) in one (i.e., a first column) of the two adjacent brightness subareas (10) and the light-emitting units (i.e., the LEDs) in the other one (i.e., a second column) of the two adjacent brightness subareas (10) light up at different times; and
in two adjacent brightness subareas (10) of the plurality of brightness subareas (10) in the second direction (i.e., the vertical direction), the light-emitting units (i.e., the LEDs) in one (i.e., a first row) of the two adjacent brightness subareas (10) and the light-emitting units (i.e., LEDs) in the other one (i.e., a second row) of the two adjacent brightness subareas (10) light up at different times;
wherein the light board (100) further comprises a plurality of scanning electrodes (i.e., terminal portions of (20)) and a plurality of scanning lines (i.e., see the lines (20) joining the electrodes at each light-emitting unit in (10)), the scanning electrodes (i.e., the terminal portions of (20)) are connected to the light-emitting units (i.e., LEDs) in the brightness subareas (10) through the scanning lines (again, see the lines (20); again, see Page 10, Ln. 13-34; and see Page 16, Ln. 36-41 through Page 17, Ln. 1-18).
Liu does not explicitly disclose that each of the plurality of scanning lines comprises a first portion and a second portion, the first portion is arranged in the same layer as the scanning electrodes, and the second portion is arranged in a different layer from the scanning electrodes, and wherein the first portion comprises a first member and a second member, the first member is connected to the second portion through the second member, and wherein the second member is in a shape of an inverted trapezoid, an orthographic projection of the first member in the first direction partially overlaps with an orthographic projection of the second portion in the first direction to form an overlapped portion, and a length of an upper base of the inverted trapezoid in the first direction is less than a length of the overlapped portion. However, this structural configuration for connecting first and second scanning line portions formed in different layers was well-known in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
However, in the same field of endeavor, Lee discloses (see Fig. 2, Fig. 3, and Fig. 4; and Page 2, Para. [0024]-[0025]) a light board comprising a plurality of scanning electrodes (i.e., terminal portions of (S)) and a plurality of scanning lines (S), wherein each of the plurality of scanning lines (S) comprises a first portion (see (S) in Fig. 4, for example) and a second portion (see (S3) in Fig. 4, for example), the first portion (again, see (S) in Fig. 4) is arranged in the same layer as the scanning electrodes (i.e., the terminal portions of (S)), and the second portion (again, see (S3) in Fig. 4) is arranged in a different layer from the scanning electrodes (i.e., the terminal portions of (S)), wherein the first portion (again, see (S) in Fig. 4) comprises a first member (i.e., a portion of (S) overlapping (S3) in Fig. 4) and a second member (i.e., a connecting portion of (S) in Fig. 4), the first member (i.e., the portion of (S) overlapping (S3)) is connected to the second portion (again, see (S3)) through the second member (i.e., the connecting portion of (S)), and the second member (i.e., the connecting portion of (S)) is in a shape of an inverted trapezoid (see Fig. 4), an orthographic projection of the first member (i.e., the portion of (S) overlapping (S3)) in the first direction (i.e., the horizontal direction) partially overlaps with an orthographic projection of the second portion (again, see (S3)) in the first direction (i.e., the vertical direction) to form an overlapped portion (see Fig. 4), and a length of an upper base (i.e., a top portion) of the inverted trapezoid (again, see the connecting portion of (S)) in the first direction (i.e., the horizontal direction) is less than a length of the overlapped portion (again, see Fig. 4; and see Page 2, Para. [0034]; and Page 3, Para. [0041]). It is a goal of Lee to provide a structural configuration for a scanning line in a lighting board that allows for efficient detection of failure, as well as reduced cost and time needed to repair a failed scanning line (see Page 4, Para. [0068]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of Liu with the teachings of Lee, such that each of the plurality of scanning lines comprises a first portion and a second portion, the first portion is arranged in the same layer as the scanning electrodes, and the second portion is arranged in a different layer from the scanning electrodes, and wherein the first portion comprises a first member and a second member, the first member is connected to the second portion through the second member, and wherein the second member is in a shape of an inverted trapezoid, an orthographic projection of the first member in the first direction partially overlaps with an orthographic projection of the second portion in the first direction to form an overlapped portion, and a length of an upper base of the inverted trapezoid in the first direction is less than a length of the overlapped portion, as suggested by Lee, in order to provide a structural configuration that allows for efficient detection of failure, as well as reduced cost and time needed to repair a failed scanning line.
As pertaining to Claim 2, Liu discloses (see Fig. 4) that the plurality of scanning electrodes (see a terminal portion of (20)) are electrically connected to the light-emitting units (i.e., LEDs) and configured to control active states (i.e., emitting states) of the light-emitting units (i.e., LEDs),
wherein in the two adjacent brightness subareas (10) in the first direction (i.e., the horizontal direction), one of the scanning electrodes (20) connected to the light-emitting units (i.e., LEDs) in one (i.e., a first column) of the two adjacent brightness subareas (10) is different from another one (i.e., a second column) of the scanning electrodes (20) connected to the light-emitting units (i.e., LEDs) the other one of the two adjacent brightness subareas (10);
in the two adjacent brightness subareas (10) in the second direction (i.e., the vertical direction), one of the scanning electrodes (20) connected to the light-emitting units (i.e., LEDs) in one (i.e., a first row) of the two adjacent brightness subareas (10) is different from another one (i.e., a second row) of the scanning electrodes (20) connected to the light-emitting units (i.e., LEDs) the other one of the two adjacent brightness subareas (10); and
timings of driving signals (i.e., row driving signals) of the scanning electrodes (20) corresponding to the two adjacent brightness subareas (10) in the first direction (i.e., the horizontal direction) are different, and timings of driving signals (i.e., row driving signals) of the scanning electrodes (20) corresponding to the two adjacent brightness subareas (10) in the second direction (i.e., the vertical direction) are different (again, see Page 10, Ln. 13-34; and see Page 16, Ln. 36-41 through Page 17, Ln. 1-18).
As pertaining to Claim 3, Liu discloses (see Fig. 4) that a number of the scanning electrodes (20) is a (i.e., two), a number of the brightness subareas (10) is b (i.e., four), and each of the scanning electrodes (20) is electrically connected to the light-emitting units (i.e., LEDs) in b/a (i.e., two) ones of the brightness subareas (10), where b>=a>=2 and b/a is an integer (again, see Page 10, Ln. 13-34; and see Page 16, Ln. 36-41 through Page 17, Ln. 1-18).
As pertaining to Claim 5, Liu discloses (see Fig. 4) that each of the brightness subarea blocks (i.e., arbitrarily defined blocks of brightness subareas (10)) comprises a plurality rows of the brightness subareas (10) and a plurality columns of the brightness subareas (10); and
in each of the brightness subarea blocks (i.e., arbitrarily defined blocks of brightness subareas (10)), each of the scanning electrodes (20) corresponding to one of the brightness subarea groups (i.e., groups of at least two brightness subareas (10)) is electrically connected to the light-emitting units (i.e., LEDs) in at least one brightness subarea (10) in each row of the brightness subareas (10; see Fig. 4; again, see Page 10, Ln. 13-34; and see Page 16, Ln. 36-41 through Page 17, Ln. 1-18).
As pertaining to Claim 6, Liu discloses (see Fig. 4) that in each of the brightness subarea blocks (i.e., arbitrarily defined blocks of brightness subareas (10)), each of the scanning electrodes (20) corresponding to one of the brightness subarea groups (i.e., groups of at least two brightness subareas (10)) is electrically connected to the light-emitting units (i.e., LEDs) in at least one brightness subarea (10) in each column of the brightness subareas (10; see Fig. 4; again, see Page 10, Ln. 13-34; and see Page 16, Ln. 36-41 through Page 17, Ln. 1-18).
As pertaining to Claim 7, Liu discloses (see Fig. 4) that m=1 and n=2 (i.e., one brightness subarea block comprising two brightness subarea groups; see a top left corner of (100) in Fig. 4, for example), one of the scanning electrodes (20) corresponding to one of the brightness subarea groups (i.e., groups of at least two brightness subareas (10)) is electrically connected to the light-emitting units (i.e., LEDs) in the brightness subareas (10) in odd rows (i.e., row one) and odd columns (i.e., column one) and the light-emitting units (i.e., LEDs) in the brightness subareas (10) in even rows (i.e., row two) and columns (i.e., column two), and one of the scanning electrodes (20) corresponding to the other one of the brightness subarea groups (i.e., groups of at least two brightness subareas (10)) is electrically connected to the light-emitting units (i.e., LEDs) in the brightness subareas (10) in even rows (i.e., row two) and odd columns (i.e., column one) and the light-emitting units (i.e., LEDs) in the brightness subareas (10) in odd rows (i.e., row one) and even columns (i.e., column one; see Fig. 4; again, see Page 10, Ln. 13-34; and see Page 16, Ln. 36-41 through Page 17, Ln. 1-18).
As pertaining to Claim 8, Liu discloses (see Fig. 4) that m=1 (i.e., one brightness subarea block of brightness subareas (10)) and n is an integer greater than 2 (i.e., four groups of at least two brightness subareas (10); for example, see a brightness subarea block comprising two columns and four rows of brightness subareas (10) in Fig. 4), each of the scanning electrodes (20) corresponding to one of the brightness subarea groups (i.e., groups of at least two brightness subareas (10)) is electrically connected to the light-emitting units (i.e., LEDs) in one brightness subarea (10) in each row of the brightness subareas (10), and each of the scanning electrodes (20) corresponding to one of the brightness subarea groups (i.e., groups of at least two brightness subareas (10)) is electrically connected to the light-emitting units (i.e., LEDs) in one brightness subarea (10) in each column of the brightness subareas (10; see Fig. 4; again, see Page 10, Ln. 13-34; and see Page 16, Ln. 36-41 through Page 17, Ln. 1-18).
As pertaining to Claim 9, Liu discloses (see Fig. 4) that m is an integer greater than 1 (i.e., m is 2 such that there are two arbitrarily defined brightness subarea blocks of brightness subareas (10)), one phase period (i.e., lighting period) comprises n cycles (i.e., two cycles), during an n-th cycle (i.e., a second cycle), each of the brightness subareas (10) in an n-th brightness subarea group (i.e., a second brightness subarea group (10)) in a 1st brightness subarea block (i.e., an arbitrary subarea block of brightness subareas (10)) to each of the brightness subarea (10) in an n-th brightness subarea group (i.e., a second brightness subarea group (10)) in an m-th brightness subarea block (i.e., a second brightness subarea block of brightness subareas (10)) are lit in sequence (see Fig. 4; again, see Page 10, Ln. 13-34; and see Page 16, Ln. 36-41 through Page 17, Ln. 1-18).
As pertaining to Claim 10, Liu discloses (see Fig. 4) that m=2 and n=2 (i.e., m is 2 such that there are two arbitrarily defined brightness subarea blocks of brightness subareas (10), and n is 2 such that there are two groups of at least two brightness subareas (10) in each arbitrarily defined brightness subarea block), the light board (100) comprises the 1st brightness subarea block (i.e., see an arbitrarily defined 1st brightness subarea block comprising four brightness subareas (10) corresponding to the first two rows and the first two columns of (100)) and a 2nd brightness subarea block (i.e., see an arbitrarily defined 2nd brightness subarea block comprising four brightness subareas (10) corresponding to the third and fourth rows and the first two columns of (100)) arranged axially symmetrically (see Fig. 4);
the brightness subareas (10) in odd rows (i.e., row one) and odd columns (i.e., column one) and the brightness subarea blocks (i.e., the arbitrarily defined brightness subarea blocks of brightness subareas (10)) in even rows (i.e., row two) and even columns (i.e., column two) in the 1st brightness subarea block (i.e., the 1st brightness subarea block corresponding to the first two rows and the first two columns of (100)) consist a 1st brightness subarea group (i.e., a brightness subarea group comprising brightness subareas (10) in a first row and first column and in a second row and second column) in the 1st brightness subarea block (i.e., the 1st brightness subarea block corresponding to the first two rows and the first two columns of (100)), and the brightness subareas (10) in even rows (i.e., row two) and odd columns (i.e., column one) and the brightness subarea blocks (i.e., the arbitrarily defined brightness subarea blocks of brightness subareas (10)) in odd rows (i.e., row one) and even columns (i.e., column two) in the 1st brightness subarea block (i.e., the 1st brightness subarea block corresponding to the first two rows and the first two columns of (100)) consist a 2nd brightness subarea group (i.e., a brightness subarea group comprising brightness subareas (10) in a second row and first column and in a first row and second column) in the 1st brightness subarea block (i.e., the 1st brightness subarea block corresponding to the first two rows and the first two columns of (100));
the brightness subareas (10) in odd rows (i.e., row three) and odd columns (i.e., column one) and the brightness subarea blocks (i.e., the arbitrarily defined brightness subarea blocks of brightness subareas (10)) in even rows (i.e., row four) and even columns (i.e., column two) in the 2nd brightness subarea block (i.e., the 2nd brightness subarea block corresponding to the third and fourth rows and the first two columns of (100)) consist a 1st brightness subarea group (i.e., a brightness subarea group comprising brightness subareas (10) in a third row and first column and in a fourth row and second column) in the 2nd brightness subarea block (i.e., the 2nd brightness subarea block corresponding to the third and fourth rows and the first two columns of (100)), and the brightness subareas (10) in even rows (i.e., row four) and odd columns (i.e., column one) and the brightness subarea blocks (i.e., the arbitrarily defined brightness subarea blocks of brightness subareas (10)) in odd rows (i.e., row three) and even columns (i.e., column two) in the 2nd brightness subarea block (i.e., the 2nd brightness subarea block corresponding to the third and fourth rows and the first two columns of (100)) consist a 2nd brightness subarea group (i.e., a brightness subarea group comprising brightness subareas (10) in a fourth row and first column and in a third row and second column) in the 2nd brightness subarea block (i.e., the 2nd brightness subarea block corresponding to the third and fourth rows and the first two columns of (100));
one phase period (i.e., lighting period) comprises 2 cycles (i.e., two cycles);
during a 1st cycle (i.e., lighting period), the light-emitting units (i.e., LEDs) in each of the brightness subareas (10) in the 1st brightness subarea group (i.e., the brightness subarea group comprising brightness subareas (10) in a first row and first column and in a second row and second column) in the 1st brightness subarea block (i.e., the 1st brightness subarea block corresponding to the first two rows and the first two columns of (100)) and the light-emitting units (i.e., LEDs) in each of the brightness subareas (10) in the 1st brightness subarea group (i.e., a brightness subarea group comprising brightness subareas (10) in a third row and first column and in a fourth row and second column) in the 2nd brightness subarea block (i.e., the 2nd brightness subarea block corresponding to the third and fourth rows and the first two columns of (100)) are lit in sequence; and
during a 2nd cycle (i.e., lighting period), the light-emitting units (i.e., LEDs) in each of the brightness subareas (10) in the 2nd brightness subarea group (i.e., the brightness subarea group comprising brightness subareas (10) in a second row and first column and in a first row and second column) in the 1st brightness subarea block (i.e., the 1st brightness subarea block corresponding to the first two rows and the first two columns of (100)) and the light-emitting units (i.e., LEDs) in each of the brightness subareas (10) in the 2nd brightness subarea group (i.e., the brightness subarea group comprising brightness subareas (10) in a fourth row and first column and in a third row and second column) in the 2nd brightness subarea block (i.e., the 2nd brightness subarea block corresponding to the third and fourth rows and the first two columns of (100)) are lit in sequence (again, see Page 10, Ln. 13-34; and see Page 16, Ln. 36-41 through Page 17, Ln. 1-18).
As pertaining to Claim 11, Liu discloses (see Fig. 4) that each of the brightness subarea blocks (i.e., arbitrarily defined blocks of brightness subareas (10)) comprises three brightness subarea groups (i.e., brightness subarea groups comprising brightness subareas (10) in a first, second, and third row and in a first, second, and third column), each of the brightness subarea groups (i.e., a brightness subarea group comprising brightness subareas (10)) comprises three brightness subareas (10), and nine brightness subareas (10) corresponding to the three brightness subarea groups (i.e., the brightness subarea groups comprising brightness subareas (10) in a first, second, and third row and in a first, second, and third column) define a nine-square grid structure (i.e., corresponding to the first three rows and first three columns of (100)), two of the brightness subareas (10) in each of the brightness subarea groups (i.e., the brightness subarea groups comprising brightness subareas (10) in a first, second, and third row and in a first, second, and third column) are arranged in the same row (i.e., see rows one, two, and three), or two of the brightness subareas (10) in each of the brightness subarea groups (i.e., the brightness subarea groups comprising brightness subareas (10) in a first, second, and third row and in a first, second, and third column) are arranged in the same column (i.e., see columns one, two, and three; again, see Page 10, Ln. 13-34; and see Page 16, Ln. 36-41 through Page 17, Ln. 1-18).
As pertaining to Claim 13, Liu discloses (see Fig. 4) a display panel, comprising a light board (100; see Page 6, Ln. 35-40 through Page 7, Ln. 1-12), the light board (100) having a plurality of brightness subareas (10), wherein each of the brightness subareas (10) is provided with a fixed number of light-emitting units (i.e., light emitting devices such as LEDs), the plurality of brightness subareas (10) comprise multiple brightness subareas (10) arranged sequentially in a first direction (i.e., a horizontal direction) and multiple brightness subareas (10) arranged sequentially in a second direction (i.e., a vertical direction), and the first direction (i.e., the horizontal direction) and the second direction (i.e., the vertical direction) intersect;
in two adjacent brightness subareas (10) of the plurality of brightness subareas (10) in the first direction (i.e., the horizontal direction), the light-emitting units (i.e., the LEDs) in one (i.e., a first column) of the two adjacent brightness subareas (10) and the light-emitting units (i.e., the LEDs) in the other one (i.e., a second column) of the two adjacent brightness subareas (10) light up at different times; and
in two adjacent brightness subareas (10) of the plurality of brightness subareas (10) in the second direction (i.e., the vertical direction), the light-emitting units (i.e., the LEDs) in one (i.e., a first row) of the two adjacent brightness subareas (10) and the light-emitting units (i.e., LEDs) in the other one (i.e., a second row) of the two adjacent brightness subareas (10) light up at different times (see Page 10, Ln. 13-34; and see Page 16, Ln. 36-41 through Page 17, Ln. 1-18);
wherein the light board (100) further comprises a plurality of scanning electrodes (i.e., terminal portions of (20)) and a plurality of scanning lines (i.e., see the lines (20) joining the electrodes at each light-emitting unit in (10)), the scanning electrodes (i.e., the terminal portions of (20)) are connected to the light-emitting units (i.e., LEDs) in the brightness subareas (10) through the scanning lines (again, see the lines (20); again, see Page 10, Ln. 13-34; and see Page 16, Ln. 36-41 through Page 17, Ln. 1-18).
Liu does not explicitly disclose that each of the plurality of scanning lines comprises a first portion and a second portion, the first portion is arranged in the same layer as the scanning electrodes, and the second portion is arranged in a different layer from the scanning electrodes, and wherein the first portion comprises a first member and a second member, the first member is connected to the second portion through the second member, and wherein the second member is in a shape of an inverted trapezoid, an orthographic projection of the first member in the first direction partially overlaps with an orthographic projection of the second portion in the first direction to form an overlapped portion, and a length of an upper base of the inverted trapezoid in the first direction is less than a length of the overlapped portion. However, this structural configuration for connecting first and second scanning line portions formed in different layers was well-known in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
However, in the same field of endeavor, Lee discloses (see Fig. 2, Fig. 3, and Fig. 4; and Page 2, Para. [0024]-[0025]) a light board comprising a plurality of scanning electrodes (i.e., terminal portions of (S)) and a plurality of scanning lines (S), wherein each of the plurality of scanning lines (S) comprises a first portion (see (S) in Fig. 4, for example) and a second portion (see (S3) in Fig. 4, for example), the first portion (again, see (S) in Fig. 4) is arranged in the same layer as the scanning electrodes (i.e., the terminal portions of (S)), and the second portion (again, see (S3) in Fig. 4) is arranged in a different layer from the scanning electrodes (i.e., the terminal portions of (S)), wherein the first portion (again, see (S) in Fig. 4) comprises a first member (i.e., a portion of (S) overlapping (S3) in Fig. 4) and a second member (i.e., a connecting portion of (S) in Fig. 4), the first member (i.e., the portion of (S) overlapping (S3)) is connected to the second portion (again, see (S3)) through the second member (i.e., the connecting portion of (S)), and the second member (i.e., the connecting portion of (S)) is in a shape of an inverted trapezoid (see Fig. 4), an orthographic projection of the first member (i.e., the portion of (S) overlapping (S3)) in the first direction (i.e., the horizontal direction) partially overlaps with an orthographic projection of the second portion (again, see (S3)) in the first direction (i.e., the vertical direction) to form an overlapped portion (see Fig. 4), and a length of an upper base (i.e., a top portion) of the inverted trapezoid (again, see the connecting portion of (S)) in the first direction (i.e., the horizontal direction) is less than a length of the overlapped portion (again, see Fig. 4; and see Page 2, Para. [0034]; and Page 3, Para. [0041]). It is a goal of Lee to provide a structural configuration for a scanning line in a lighting board that allows for efficient detection of failure, as well as reduced cost and time needed to repair a failed scanning line (see Page 4, Para. [0068]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of Liu with the teachings of Lee, such that each of the plurality of scanning lines comprises a first portion and a second portion, the first portion is arranged in the same layer as the scanning electrodes, and the second portion is arranged in a different layer from the scanning electrodes, and wherein the first portion comprises a first member and a second member, the first member is connected to the second portion through the second member, and wherein the second member is in a shape of an inverted trapezoid, an orthographic projection of the first member in the first direction partially overlaps with an orthographic projection of the second portion in the first direction to form an overlapped portion, and a length of an upper base of the inverted trapezoid in the first direction is less than a length of the overlapped portion, as suggested by Lee, in order to provide a structural configuration that allows for efficient detection of failure, as well as reduced cost and time needed to repair a failed scanning line.
As pertaining to Claim 14, Liu discloses (see Fig. 4) that the plurality of scanning electrodes (see a terminal portion of (20)) are electrically connected to the light-emitting units (i.e., LEDs) and configured to control active states (i.e., emitting states) of the light-emitting units (i.e., LEDs),
in the two adjacent brightness subareas (10) in the first direction (i.e., the horizontal direction), one of the scanning electrodes (20) connected to the light-emitting units (i.e., LEDs) in one (i.e., a first column) of the two adjacent brightness subareas (10) is different from another one (i.e., a second column) of the scanning electrodes (20) connected to the light-emitting units (i.e., LEDs) the other one of the two adjacent brightness subareas (10);
in the two adjacent brightness subareas (10) in the second direction (i.e., the vertical direction), one of the scanning electrodes (20) connected to the light-emitting units (i.e., LEDs) in one (i.e., a first row) of the two adjacent brightness subareas (10) is different from another one (i.e., a second row) of the scanning electrodes (20) connected to the light-emitting units (i.e., LEDs) the other one of the two adjacent brightness subareas (10); and
timings of driving signals (i.e., row driving signals) of the scanning electrodes (20) corresponding to the two adjacent brightness subareas (10) in the first direction (i.e., the horizontal direction) are different, and timings of driving signals (i.e., row driving signals) of the scanning electrodes (20) corresponding to the two adjacent brightness subareas (10) in the second direction (i.e., the vertical direction) are different (again, see Page 10, Ln. 13-34; and see Page 16, Ln. 36-41 through Page 17, Ln. 1-18).
As pertaining to Claim 15, Liu discloses (see Fig. 4) that a number of the scanning electrodes (20) is a (i.e., two), a number of the brightness subareas (10) is b (i.e., four), and each of the scanning electrodes (20) is electrically connected to the light-emitting units (i.e., LEDs) in b/a (i.e., two) ones of the brightness subareas (10), where b>=a>=2 and b/a is an integer (again, see Page 10, Ln. 13-34; and see Page 16, Ln. 36-41 through Page 17, Ln. 1-18).
As pertaining to Claim 17, Liu discloses (see Fig. 4) that each of the brightness subarea blocks (i.e., arbitrarily defined blocks of brightness subareas (10)) comprises a plurality rows of the brightness subareas (10) and a plurality columns of the brightness subareas (10); and
in each of the brightness subarea blocks (i.e., arbitrarily defined blocks of brightness subareas (10)), each of the scanning electrodes (20) corresponding to one of the brightness subarea groups (i.e., groups of at least two brightness subareas (10)) is electrically connected to the light-emitting units (i.e., LEDs) in at least one brightness subarea (10) in each row of the brightness subareas (10; see Fig. 4); and
in each of the brightness subarea blocks (i.e., arbitrarily defined blocks of brightness subareas (10)), each of the scanning electrodes (20) corresponding to one of the brightness subarea groups (i.e., groups of at least two brightness subareas (10)) is electrically connected to the light-emitting units (i.e., LEDs) in at least one brightness subarea (10) in each column of the brightness subareas (10; see Fig. 4; again, see Page 10, Ln. 13-34; and see Page 16, Ln. 36-41 through Page 17, Ln. 1-18).
As pertaining to Claim 18, Liu discloses (see Fig. 4) that m is an integer greater than 1 (i.e., m is 2 such that there are two arbitrarily defined brightness subarea blocks of brightness subareas (10)), one phase period (i.e., lighting period) comprises n cycles (i.e., two cycles), during an n-th cycle (i.e., a second cycle), each of the brightness subareas (10) in an n-th brightness subarea group (i.e., a second brightness subarea group (10)) in a 1st brightness subarea block (i.e., an arbitrary subarea block of brightness subareas (10)) to each of the brightness subarea (10) in an n-th brightness subarea group (i.e., a second brightness subarea group (10)) in an m-th brightness subarea block (i.e., a second brightness subarea block of brightness subareas (10)) are lit in sequence (see Fig. 4; again, see Page 10, Ln. 13-34; and see Page 16, Ln. 36-41 through Page 17, Ln. 1-18).
As pertaining to Claim 19, Liu discloses (see Fig. 4) that each of the brightness subarea blocks (i.e., arbitrarily defined blocks of brightness subareas (10)) comprises three brightness subarea groups (i.e., brightness subarea groups comprising brightness subareas (10) in a first, second, and third row and in a first, second, and third column), each of the brightness subarea groups (i.e., a brightness subarea group comprising brightness subareas (10)) comprises three brightness subareas (10), and nine brightness subareas (10) corresponding to the three brightness subarea groups (i.e., the brightness subarea groups comprising brightness subareas (10) in a first, second, and third row and in a first, second, and third column) define a nine-square grid structure (i.e., corresponding to the first three rows and first three columns of (100)), two of the brightness subareas (10) in each of the brightness subarea groups (i.e., the brightness subarea groups comprising brightness subareas (10) in a first, second, and third row and in a first, second, and third column) are arranged in the same row (i.e., see rows one, two, and three), or two of the brightness subareas (10) in each of the brightness subarea groups (i.e., the brightness subarea groups comprising brightness subareas (10) in a first, second, and third row and in a first, second, and third column) are arranged in the same column (i.e., see columns one, two, and three; again, see Page 10, Ln. 13-34; and see Page 16, Ln. 36-41 through Page 17, Ln. 1-18).
As pertaining to Claim 21, Liu discloses (see Fig. 4) that the light board (100) comprises m (i.e., one) brightness subarea blocks (i.e., arbitrarily defined blocks of brightness subareas (10)), where m>=1 (i.e., one) and m is an integer; each of the brightness subarea blocks (i.e., arbitrarily defined blocks of brightness subareas (10)) comprises n (i.e., two) brightness subarea groups (i.e., groups of at least two brightness subareas (10)), where n>=2 (i.e., two) and n is an integer; and each of the brightness subarea groups (i.e., groups of at least two brightness subareas (10)) comprises at least one brightness subarea (10); and
the light board (100) comprises mxn (i.e., “1x2” or two) scanning electrodes (20), and each of the scanning electrodes (20) is electrically connected to the light-emitting units (i.e., LEDs) in all of the brightness subareas (10) in one of the brightness subarea groups (i.e., groups of at least two brightness subareas (10); see Fig. 4 and note that a “brightness subarea block” can be an arbitrarily defined block of at least two arbitrarily defined “groups” of brightness subareas (10); as an example, one “brightness subarea block” is shown in a top left corner of (100) in Fig. 4 to comprise two “brightness subarea groups” each comprising two brightness subareas (10); again, see Page 10, Ln. 13-34; and see Page 16, Ln. 36-41 through Page 17, Ln. 1-18).
As pertaining to Claim 22, Liu discloses (see Fig. 4) that the light board (100) comprises m (i.e., one) brightness subarea blocks (i.e., arbitrarily defined blocks of brightness subareas (10)), where m>=1 (i.e., one) and m is an integer; each of the brightness subarea blocks (i.e., arbitrarily defined blocks of brightness subareas (10)) comprises n (i.e., two) brightness subarea groups (i.e., groups of at least two brightness subareas (10)), where n>=2 (i.e., two) and n is an integer; and each of the brightness subarea groups (i.e., groups of at least two brightness subareas (10)) comprises at least one brightness subarea (10); and
the light board (100) comprises mxn (i.e., “1x2” or two) scanning electrodes (20), and each of the scanning electrodes (20) is electrically connected to the light-emitting units (i.e., LEDs) in all of the brightness subareas (10) in one of the brightness subarea groups (i.e., groups of at least two brightness subareas (10); see Fig. 4 and note that a “brightness subarea block” can be an arbitrarily defined block of at least two arbitrarily defined “groups” of brightness subareas (10); as an example, one “brightness subarea block” is shown in a top left corner of (100) in Fig. 4 to comprise two “brightness subarea groups” each comprising two brightness subareas (10); again, see Page 10, Ln. 13-34; and see Page 16, Ln. 36-41 through Page 17, Ln. 1-18).
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to Claims 1-3, 5-11, 13-15, 17-19, and 21-22 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on a combination of references applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument. The applicant has argued that none of the references relied upon by the examiner in the prior Office Action, particularly Liu and Iwai, teach or fairly suggest the features of amended independent Claims 1 and 13, particularly with respect to the claimed “scanning lines” comprising a “first portion” and a “second portion” as claimed to be arranged in different layers, with the ”first portion” comprising the newly claimed “first member and second member” with the “second member” having “a shape of an inverted trapezoid” as claimed (see Remarks at Pages 2 through 5). Respectfully, the applicant’s argument is moot in so much as at least the combined teachings of Liu and Lee, as newly relied upon in the above rejections, clearly disclose the features of at least newly presented independent Claims 1 and 13.
Therefore, the rejection of Claims 1-3, 5-11, 13-15, 17-19, and 21-22 is maintained.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Lee (US 9,584,799) and Chen et al. (US 2021 / 0319748) disclose a light board having adjacent brightness subareas that light up at different times.
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/JASON M MANDEVILLE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2623