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 .
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
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 1-13 and 21 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Sui et al. (US 2021/0408161) in view of Maeda (US 2018/0331315).
Regarding claim 1, Sui teaches a display apparatus (Abstract; [0032]; [0054]: “display device mostly adopts an island (display unit) bridge (line connection unit) connection mode”; [0060]: “stretchable display device”) comprising:
a substrate (Figs. 1-2, 19: substrate body 100) comprising pixel areas (Figs. 1-2, 19: island portions 101 spaced apart from each other) spaced apart from each other, connection areas (Figs. 1-2: connection areas 102) connecting the pixel areas, and a separation area (Figs. 1-2: penetration portion 103) between the pixel areas; and
a first pixel set (Figs. 1 and 19: pixel units on a island portion 101, each pixel unit formed by sub-pixels of different colors) arranged in the pixel areas and comprising a first pixel (reproduced Fig. 19: first pixel as labeled), a second pixel (reproduced Fig. 19: second pixel as labeled), a third pixel (reproduced Fig. 19: third pixel as labeled), and a fourth pixel (reproduced Fig. 19: fourth pixel as labeled),
wherein a length (reproduced Fig. 19: diagonal length of island portion 101 along labeled first direction) of one of the pixel areas in a first direction (reproduced Fig. 19: first direction as labeled) is same as a length (reproduced Fig. 19: diagonal length of island portion 101 along labeled second direction) of the one of the pixel areas in a second direction (reproduced Fig. 19: second direction as labeled) crossing the first direction,
wherein the first pixel and the second pixel are spaced apart from each other in the first direction (reproduced Fig. 19),
wherein the first pixel comprises a (1-1)-th sub-pixel (reproduced Fig. 19: rectangle-shape sub-pixel in first pixel) configured to emit first color light, a (1-2)-th sub-pixel (reproduced Fig. 19: top-left square-shape sub-pixel in first pixel) spaced apart from the (1-1)-th sub-pixel in the first direction and configured to emit second color light, and a (1-3)-th sub-pixel (reproduced Fig. 19: top-right square-shape sub-pixel in first pixel) spaced apart from the (1-1)-th sub-pixel in the second direction and configured to emit third color light,
wherein the second pixel comprises a (2-1)-th sub-pixel (reproduced Fig. 19: top-left square-shape sub-pixel in second pixel) configured to emit the second color light, a (2-2)-th sub-pixel (reproduced Fig. 19: rectangle-shape sub-pixel in second pixel) spaced apart from the (2-1)-th sub-pixel in the second direction and configured to emit the first color light, and a (2-3)-th sub-pixel (reproduced Fig. 19: bottom-right square-shape sub-pixel in second pixel) spaced apart from the (2-1)-th sub-pixel in the first direction and configured to emit the third color light,
Sui does not further teach the display apparatus:
wherein an area of the (1-1)-th sub-pixel is same as an area of the (1-2)-th sub-pixel, and is different from an area of the (1-3)-th sub-pixel, and
wherein an area of the (2-1)-th sub-pixel is same as an area of the (2-2)-th sub-pixel, and is different from an area of the (2-3)-th sub-pixel.
The differentiating limitations indicate that a pixel including three sub-pixels of different colors is configured to have two of the three sub-pixels with a same area size and the other sub-pixel with a different area size.
However, it is not new in the related art configuring a green sub-pixel and a red sub-pixel in a pixel to have a same area size and a blue sub-pixel in the pixel to have a different area size.
Maeda, for instance, teaches in Fig. 11 and [0078] the area of a green sub-pixel is formed to be the same as the area of a red sub-pixel and the area of a blue sub-pixel is formed to be larger than the area of the green sub-pixel 132 and the red-subpixel.
Before the effective filing date of the invention, it would have been obvious for one ordinary skill in the art to modify the technique of Sui with Maeda’s technique, configuring the first color and second color to be red color and green color respectively and the third color to be blue color and accordingly configuring the sizes of the sub-pixels of the three colors in the manner taught by Maeda to achieve desirable color displaying (when different light emission efficiency by different color sub-pixels is necessarily taken into consideration).
Regarding claim 2, Sui further teaches the display apparatus of claim 1, wherein a sum of a length in the first direction of the (1-1)-th sub-pixel and a length in the first direction of the (1-2)-th sub-pixel is substantially equal to a sum of a length in the second direction of the (1-1)-th sub-pixel and a length in the second direction of the (1-3)-th sub-pixel (Fig. 19).
Regarding claim 3, Sui further teaches the display apparatus of claim 1, wherein a distance between the (1-1)-th sub-pixel and the (1-2)-th sub-pixel is substantially equal to a distance between the (1-1)-th sub-pixel and the (1-3)-th sub-pixel (Fig. 19: “substantially equal” is broadly interpreted).
Regarding claim 4, Sui further teaches the display apparatus of claim 1, wherein a sum of a length in the second direction of the (2-1)-th sub-pixel and a length in the second direction of the (2-2)-th sub-pixel is substantially equal to a sum of a length in the first direction of the (2-1)-th sub-pixel and a length in the first direction of the (2-3)-th sub-pixel (Fig. 19).
Regarding claim 5, Sui further teaches the display apparatus of claim 1, wherein a distance between the (2-1)-th sub-pixel and the (2-2)-th sub-pixel is substantially equal to a distance between the (2-1)-th sub-pixel and the (2-3)-th sub-pixel (Fig. 19: “substantially equal” is broadly interpreted).
Regarding claim 6, Sui further teaches the display apparatus of claim 1, wherein an area of the (1-3)-th sub-pixel is greater than an area of the (1-1)-th sub-pixel (Fig. 19), and wherein an area of the (2-3)-th sub-pixel is greater than an area of the (2-1)-th sub-pixel (Fig. 19).
Regarding claim 7, Sui in view of Maeda further teaches the display apparatus of claim 1,
wherein the third pixel is spaced apart from the first pixel in the second direction (Sui: Fig. 19),
wherein the fourth pixel is spaced apart from the second pixel in the second direction (Sui: Fig. 19),
wherein the third pixel comprises a (3-1)-th sub-pixel (Sui: reproduced Fig. 19, bottom-right square-shape sub-pixel in labeled third pixel) configured to emit the second color light, a (3-2)-th sub-pixel (Sui: reproduced Fig. 19, rectangle-shape sub-pixel in labeled third pixel) spaced apart from the (3-1)-th sub-pixel in the second direction and configured to emit the first color light, and a (3-3)-th sub-pixel (Sui: reproduced Fig. 19, top-left square-shape sub-pixel in labeled third pixel) spaced apart from the (3-1)-th sub-pixel in the first direction and configured to emit the third color light,
wherein the fourth pixel comprises a (4-1)-th sub-pixel (Sui: reproduced Fig. 19, rectangle-shape sub-pixel in labeled fourth pixel) configured to emit the first color light, a (4-2)-th sub-pixel (Sui: reproduced Fig. 19, top-right square-shape sub-pixel in labeled fourth pixel) spaced apart from the (4-1)-th sub-pixel in the first direction and configured to emit the second color light, and a (4-3)-th sub-pixel (Sui: reproduced Fig. 19, bottom-left square-shape sub-pixel in labeled fourth pixel) spaced apart from the (4-1)-th sub-pixel in the second direction and configured to emit the third color light,
wherein an area of the (3-1)-th sub-pixel is substantially equal to an area of the (3-2)-th sub-pixel (see modification applied to claim 1), and is different from an area of the (3-3)-th sub-pixel (see modification applied to claim 1), and
wherein an area of the (4-1)-th sub-pixel is substantially equal to an area of the (4-2)-th sub-pixel (see modification applied to claim 1), and is different from an area of the (4-3)-th sub-pixel (see modification applied to claim 1).
Regarding claim 8, Sui further teaches the display apparatus of claim 7, wherein a sum of a length in the second direction of the (3-1)-th sub-pixel and a length in the second direction of the (3-2)-th sub-pixel is substantially equal to a sum of a length in the first direction of the (3-1)-th sub-pixel and a length in the first direction of the (3-3)-th sub-pixel (Fig. 19).
Regarding claim 9, Sui further teaches the display apparatus of claim 7, wherein a distance between the (3-1)-th sub-pixel and the (3-2)-th sub-pixel is substantially equal to a distance between the (3-1)-th sub-pixel and the (3-3)-th sub-pixel (Fig. 19: “substantially equal” is broadly interpreted).
Regarding claim 10, Sui further teaches the display apparatus of claim 7, wherein a sum of a length in the first direction of the (4-1)-th sub-pixel and a length in the first direction of the (4-2)-th sub-pixel is substantially equal to a sum of a length in the second direction of the (4-1)-th sub-pixel and a length in the second direction of the (4-3)-th sub-pixel (Fig. 19).
Regarding claim 11, Sui further teaches the display apparatus of claim 7, wherein a distance between the (4-1)-th sub-pixel and the (4-2)-th sub-pixel is substantially equal to a distance between the (4-1)-th sub-pixel and the (4-3)-th sub-pixel (Fig. 19: “substantially equal” is broadly interpreted).
Regarding claim 12, Sui further teaches the display apparatus of claim 1, wherein virtual lines connecting one side of the (1-2)-th sub-pixel and one side of the (1-1)-th sub-pixel, and connecting another side of the (1-1)-th sub-pixel and one side of the (1-3)-th sub-pixel, have an L-shape rotated at 90 degrees counterclockwise (Fig. 19), and wherein virtual lines connecting one side of the (2-2)-th sub-pixel and one side of the (2-1)-th sub-pixel, and connecting another side of the (2-1)-th sub-pixel and one side of the (2-3)-th sub-pixel, have an L-shape (Fig. 19).
Regarding claim 13, Sui further teaches the display apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a second pixel set (reproduced Fig. 19: pixel set adjacent to and on the right of first pixel set) arranged in the pixel areas, and comprising a fifth pixel (reproduced Fig. 19: same location in the second pixel set as the first pixel in the first pixel set defined in claim 1), a sixth pixel (reproduced Fig. 19: same location in the second pixel set as the second pixel in the first pixel set defined in claim 1), a seventh pixel (reproduced Fig. 19: same location in the second pixel set as the second pixel in the third pixel set defined in claim 1), and an eighth pixel (reproduced Fig. 19: same location in the second pixel set as the second pixel in the fourth pixel set defined in claim 1),
wherein the fifth pixel and the sixth pixel are spaced apart from each other in the first direction (reproduced Fig. 19),
wherein the seventh pixel is spaced apart from the fifth pixel in the second direction (reproduced Fig. 19), and
wherein the eighth pixel is spaced apart from the sixth pixel in the second direction (reproduced Fig. 19).
Regarding claim 21, Sui in view of Maeda further teaches the display apparatus of claim 1, wherein the first color light is green light, the second color light is red light, and the third color light is blue light (see modification by Maeda applied to claim 1).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 14-20 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 a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter in claim 14:
A pixel in a location of the second pixel set and a pixel in the same location of the first pixel set have color sub-pixels arranged differently (illustrated in Fig. 13).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure:
US 2024/0215359 by Kimura et al. discloses in [0112] “In the case where luminous efficiency, reliability, or the like varies depending on an emission color, the subpixel area may be changed depending on the emission color (see FIG. 5C). The pixel 11 illustrated in FIG. 5(C) includes a subpixel B across an upper row (a first row) and a lower row (a second row) of a first column, includes a subpixel R in an upper row (a first row) of a second column, and includes a subpixel G in a lower row (a second row) of the second column. Note that a structure with subpixel arrangement illustrated in FIG. 5C may be referred to as “S-stripe arrangement”.
US 2021/0151698 by Kim et al. discloses in Fig. 12 a color pixel arrangement and in Fig. 15 stretchable pixels layout on base layer 110’ similar to the instant application.
US Patent No. 10,902,755 by Dai et al. discloses in Fig. 1 the base substrate 100 being divided into a plurality of isolated regions 130 and a plurality of connection regions 140 through the first division regions 110 and the second division regions 120, similar to the instant application.
US 2018/0114825 by Hong et al. discloses in Fig. 16 alternative color sub-pixel arrangements on a stretchable pixel.
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/XUEMEI ZHENG/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2629