The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA
DETAILED ACTION
Election/Restrictions
Applicant's election with traverse of the embodiment of figure 7 in the reply filed on 11/19/2025 is acknowledged. The traversal is on the ground(s) that “the Examiner’s textual statements in respective species do not match with the figures identified in respective species”.
This is not found persuasive because even if applicants disagree with the Examiner’s textual statements with respect to the figures identified in respective species, the identified species are still separate and distinct from each other. It is noted that even applicants identify figures 4, 6 and 7 are different embodiments.
The requirement is still deemed proper and is therefore made FINAL.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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 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.
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 of this title, 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 and 6-11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Tang et al. (11,061,290) in view of Chen (2021/0294168).Regarding claim 1, Tang et al. teach in figure 2 and related text a display panel, comprising a substrate 01 and a plurality of pixels (see figure 23 and related text) arranged on the substrate at intervals, each of the pixels comprising a control area (the area in the location of TFT, as depicted in figure 1) and a pixel area (the area of pixel PITO), and the display panel in the pixel area comprising:
a storage capacitor CFITO1, CFITO2, COM (see also figure 3) disposed on the substrate 01;
a pixel electrode PITO disposed on a side of the storage capacitor away from the substrate; and
an isolation layer 04 disposed between the storage capacitor and the pixel electrode PITO,
wherein in the pixel area, the storage capacitor is provided with a through hole 07, and a projection of the through hole on the substrate at least partially overlaps with a projection of the pixel electrode on the substrate.
Tang et al. do not explicitly state using sub-pixels.
Chen teaches in figure 1 and related text a display panel comprising a plurality of subpixels Sub1, Sub2 arranged on a substrate at intervals, each of the subpixels comprising a control area (located in the middle of the structure) and a pixel area (located in the edges of the structure).
Tang et al. and Chen are analogous art because they are directed to display devices and one of ordinary skill in the art would have had a reasonable expectation of success to modify Tang et al. because they are from the same field of endeavor.It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filling date of the claimed invention, to use sub-pixels, as taught by Chen, in Tang et al.’s device, in order to be able to operate the device in its intended use.
Regarding claim 3, Chen teaches in figure 1 and related text (see e.g. paragraphs [0034]-[0035]), and thus the modified device of Tang et al., includes the pixel electrode comprises: a first trunk electrode; a second trunk electrode intersecting with the first trunk electrode, wherein the first trunk electrode and the second trunk electrode divides the pixel area into a first subpixel area, a second subpixel area, a third subpixel area, and a fourth subpixel area; and first branch electrodes, second branch electrodes, third branch electrodes, and fourth branch electrodes disposed in the first subpixel area, the second subpixel area, the third subpixel area, and the fourth subpixel area.
Chen does not explicitly state that a profile of the through hole comprises a profile of a first trunk and a second trunk intersecting with each other, and comprises a profile of first branches, second branches, third branches, and fourth branches disposed in the first subpixel area, the second subpixel area, the third subpixel area, and the fourth subpixel area, respectively.
Chen teaches in figure 1 and related text a contact hole located in the second sub-pixel adjacent to third switch T3.
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filling date of the claimed invention, to form a profile of the through hole comprises a profile of a first trunk and a second trunk intersecting with each other, and comprises a profile of first branches, second branches, third branches, and fourth branches disposed in the first subpixel area, the second subpixel area, the third subpixel area, and the fourth subpixel area, respectively in Tang et al.’s device, in order to improve the device’s characteristics by locating the through hole in the center of the pixel electrode.
Regarding claims 6 and 7, Chen teaches in figure 1 and related text (see e.g. paragraphs [0034]-[0035]), and thus the modified device of Tang et al., a projection of the first trunk electrode, a projection of the second trunk electrode, a projection of each of the first branch electrodes, a projection of each of the second branch electrodes, a projection of each of the third branch electrodes, and a projection of each of the fourth branch electrodes on the substrate are intersected and perpendicular (as clearly depicted in figure 1) to a projection of the first trunk, a projection of the second trunk, a projection of one of the first branches, a projection of one of the second branches, a projection of one of the third branches, and a projection of one of the fourth branches on the substrate, respectively.
Regarding claim 8, Tang et al. teach in figure 2 and related text a material of the storage capacitor and the pixel electrode is a light-transmitting material ITO.
Regarding claim 9, Tang et al. do not teach that the material of the storage capacitor and the pixel electrode comprises indium tin oxide. It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filling date of the claimed invention, to form the material of the storage capacitor and the pixel electrode comprises indium tin oxide n prior art’s device in order to simplify the processing steps of making the device by using conventional material.
Regarding claim 10, Tang et al. teach in figure 1 and related text that the display panel in the control area comprises: a thin film transistor device TFT, disposed on the substrate 111 and comprising a gate (un-numbered), a gate insulating layer, an active layer, and a source and drain layer M2; and a common electrode (located on the right side), disposed on the substrate and in a same layer with the gate; and wherein the pixel electrode PITO is electrically connected to the source and drain layer M2, and the storage capacitor CITO is electrically connected to the common electrode.
Regarding claim 11, in the combined device each of the subpixels comprises a first subpixel, a second subpixel, and a third subpixel with different colors, and the first subpixel, the second subpixel, and the third subpixel are a red subpixel, a blue subpixel, and a green subpixel, respectively.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ORI NADAV whose telephone number is 571-272-1660. The examiner can normally be reached between the hours of 7 AM to 4 PM (Eastern Standard Time) Monday through Friday.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Lynne Gurley can be reached on 571-272-1670. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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O.N. /ORI NADAV/
1/27/2026 PRIMARY EXAMINER
TECHNOLOGY CENTER 2800