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 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.
Response to Amendment
Applicant's amendment to the claims, filed on January 30th, 2026, is acknowledged. Entry of amendment is accepted and made of record.
Election/Restrictions
Applicant's election without traverse of Species VI directed to Figs. 7 and 9 (Claims 1-14, 16-17, 19 and 21-25) in the reply filed on January 30th, 2026 is acknowledged.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
Claims 1-14, 16, 19 and 21-25 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor, or for pre-AIA the applicant regards as the invention.
Claim 1 recites the limitation “the body part” in line 8. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Claims 2-14, 16, 19 and 21-25 are rejected for being depending on claim 1 and having the above limitation incorporated into the claim.
Claim 10 recites the limitation “the second side of the body portion” in line 2. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 1-2, 6, and 9-12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Park et al. (Pub. No.: US 2019/0074377 A1), hereinafter as Park.
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Regarding claim 1, Park discloses a thin film transistor substrate in Fig. 12 and 7, comprising: a substrate (substrate 100) (see Fig. 12 and [0069]); an active layer (active layer A) on the substrate (see [0073]); a gate electrode (gate electrode G) on the active layer (see [0076-0077]); a source electrode (source electrode SE) connected to a first side of the active layer (left side of active layer A) (see [0079]); and a drain electrode (drain electrode DE) connected to a second side of the active layer (right side of active layer A) (see [0079]), wherein the gate electrode includes a body portion (center portion of gate electrode G) and at least one first protrusion (one of protrusion P as shown in annotated Fig. 7 above) on a first side of the body part (the long side of the center portion of the gate electrode G), the at least one first protrusion overlapping the active layer (overlapping with channel C) in a plan view (see annotated Fig. 7 above and [0056-0057]).
Regarding claim 2, Park discloses the thin film transistor substrate according to claim 1, wherein the active layer includes: a channel area (channel region C) (see Fig. 12, 7 and [0077]); a source area (source region S) at a first side of the channel area (left side), the source area being conductive and connected to the source electrode (see [0079]); and a drain area (drain region D) at a second side of the channel area (right side) (see [0077]), the drain area being conductive and connected to the drain electrode, wherein the at least one first protrusion overlaps the source area (overlapping the left end of channel region C and at the boundary between channel region C and source region S) (see Fig. 7 and 12).
Regarding claim 6, Park discloses the thin film transistor substrate according to claim 1, wherein the at least one first protrusion includes a plurality of first protrusions (plurality of protrusions P), and each of the plurality of first protrusions have a same shape (see annotated Fig. 7 above).
Regarding claim 9, Park discloses the thin film transistor substrate according to claim 1, wherein the at least one first protrusion does not overlap the source electrode and the drain electrode (one protrusion P in the middle) (see annotated Fig. 7 above).
Regarding claim 10, Park discloses the thin film transistor substrate according to claim 1, wherein the gate electrode further includes at least one second protrusion (another protrusion P as shown in annotated Fig. 7 above) on the second side of the body portion (another long side), the at least one second protrusion overlapping the active layer (see annotated Fig. 7 above).
Regarding claim 11, Park discloses the thin film transistor substrate according to claim 10, wherein the at least one first protrusion and at least one second protrusion are symmetrically disposed with respect to the body portion (see annotated Fig. 7 above).
Regarding claim 12, Park discloses the thin film transistor substrate according to claim 10, wherein the active layer includes: a channel area (channel region C) (see Fig. 12, 7 and [0077]); a source area (source region S) at a first side of the channel area (left side), the source area being conductive and connected to the source electrode (see [0079]); and a drain area (drain region D) at a second side of the channel area (right side) (see [0077]), the drain area being conductive and connected to the drain electrode, wherein the at least one first protrusion overlaps the source area (overlapping the left end of channel region C and at the boundary between channel region C and source region S) (see Fig. 7 and 12), and the at least one second protrusion overlaps the drain area (overlapping the right end of channel region C and at the boundary between channel region C and source region D) (see annotated Fig. 7 above and Fig. 12).
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 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.
The factual inquiries set forth in Graham v. John Deere Co., 383 U.S. 1, 148 USPQ 459 (1966), that are applied for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
a. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
b. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
c. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
d. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claims 7-8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Park et al. (Pub. No.: US 2019/0074377 A1), hereinafter as Park as applied to claim 1 above.
Regarding claim 7, Park discloses the thin film transistor substrate according to claim 1, wherein the at least one first protrusion includes a plurality of first protrusions (plurality of protrusions P) (see annotated Fig. 7 above), but fails to disclose wherein a gap between adjacent ones the plurality of first protrusions is 0.5 µm or more, and 50 µm or less.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to have the thin film transistor substrate comprising wherein a gap between adjacent ones the plurality of first protrusions is 0.5 µm or more, and 50 µm or less because the parameter of gate electrode needs to be designed for providing certain channel length that would meet the manufacturing standard. Since it has been held that wherein the general conditions of a claim are disclosed in the prior art, discovering optimum or workable ranges involve only routine skill in the art. In re Aller, 105 USPQ 233
Regarding claim 8, Park discloses the thin film transistor substrate according to claim 1, but fails to disclose wherein a length of the at least one first protrusion in a first direction is 0.5 µm or more, and 5 µm or less, wherein a length of the at least one first protrusion in a second direction is 0.5 µm or more, and 20 µm or less.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to have the thin film transistor substrate comprising wherein a length of the at least one first protrusion in a first direction is 0.5 µm or more, and 5 µm or less, wherein a length of the at least one first protrusion in a second direction is 0.5 µm or more, and 20 µm or less because the parameter of gate electrode needs to be designed for providing certain channel length that would meet the manufacturing standard. Since it has been held that wherein the general conditions of a claim are disclosed in the prior art, discovering optimum or workable ranges involve only routine skill in the art. In re Aller, 105 USPQ 233
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 3-5, 13-14, 16-17, 19, and 21-25 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
The following is an examiner's statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: The cited art, whether taken singularly or in combination, especially when all limitations are considered within the claimed specific combination, fails to disclose or suggest the claimed invention having:
Wherein the channel area has a plurality of first concave portions, and the source area has a plurality of first convex portions in a region corresponding to the plurality of first concave portions as recited in claim 3.
Wherein the channel area includes a plurality of first concave portions and a plurality of second concave portions, wherein the source area includes a plurality of first convex portions in a region corresponding to the plurality of first concave portions, and wherein drain area includes a plurality of second convex portions in a region corresponding to the plurality of second concave portions as recited in claim 13.
Wherein the active layer includes at least one active hole, and the at least one active hole does not overlap the at least one first protrusion as recited in claim 16.
Wherein the active layer includes a channel area, wherein the channel area has a plurality of first concave portions, and wherein each first concave portion is spaced apart by a width of the first protrusion as recited in claim 24.
Wherein the active layer includes a channel area, wherein the channel area has a plurality of first concave portions and a plurality of second concave portions, wherein the plurality of first concave portions and the plurality of second concave portions are symmetrical disposed with respect to the channel area portion, and wherein the plurality of first concave portions and the plurality of second concave portions are formed of the same size as recited in claim 25.
Claims 4-5, 14, 17, 19, and 21-23, depend on claims 3, 13, and 16 and therefore also include said claimed limitation.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to CUONG B NGUYEN whose telephone number is (571)270-1509 (Email: CuongB.Nguyen@uspto.gov). The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday, 8:30 AM-5:00 PM Eastern Standard Time.
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/CUONG B NGUYEN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2818