DETAILED ACTION
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
This office action is in response to application filed on 12/26/2023.
Currently claims 1-13 are pending in the application.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statements (IDS) submitted on 12/26/2023, 09/13/2024, 04/25/2025 and 08/25/2025 were filed before the mailing date of the office action. The submission is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statements were considered by the examiner.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112 (b)
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 1-13 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112 (b), as being indefinite for failing to particularly pointing out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor, regard as their invention.
Regarding claim 1, the instant claim recites “high refractive index layer" (claim 1, line 7). The term "high" is a relative term. It modifies the target, the target being the “refractive index layer”. Therefore, neither the claim nor the specification reveal what acceptable range of “refractive index layer” is acceptable to be considered as “high", rendering the claim indefinite. Clarification and/or correction are/is required. For the purpose of examination, the examiner did not give any weight to the term “high”.
Claims 2-13 are also rejected due to their dependence on a rejected base claim.
Regarding claim 8, the instant claim recites limitation in view of claim 7, where claim 8 recites “the connection wires" (claim 8, line 2) and “the connection electrode” (claim 8, line 3). There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. None of these elements were defined in any of the claims 1, 6 or 7 from which claim 8 depends. It is unclear whether the claim meant some other elements, rendering the claim indefinite. Clarification and/or correction are/is required. For the purpose of examination, the claim will be interpreted as “connection wires" and “a connection electrode”.
Regarding claim 10, the instant claim recites limitation in view of claim 7, where claim 1 recites “the connection wires" (claim 10, line 2). There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. The element “connection wires” was not defined in claim 1 from which claim 10 depends. It is unclear whether the claim meant some other element, rendering the claim indefinite. Clarification and/or correction are/is required. For the purpose of examination, the claim will be interpreted as “connection wires".
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.
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:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claims 1, 5-7 and 9-12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US 2014/0367633 A1 (Bibl) and further in view of KR 2022/0050808 A (Kwak) and as evidenced by US 2023/0327058 A1 (Ohashi).
Regarding claim 1, Bibl discloses, a display apparatus, comprising: a substrate (102; substrate; Fig. 12A; [0060]);
PNG
media_image1.png
468
676
media_image1.png
Greyscale
a bank layer (304; bank layer; Fig. 12A; [0130]), the bank layer (304) comprising an opening (as annotated on Fig. 12A);
a micro light emitting diode (400; micro LED; Fig. 12A; [0065]) disposed inside the opening of the bank layer (304);
a high refractive index layer (320; light distribution layer; Fig. 12A; [0089]) disposed on the micro light emitting diode (400);
an overcoat layer (310; wavelength conversion layer; Fig. 12A; [0091]) disposed on (including intervening layer 322) the high refractive index layer (320) and the overcoat layer (310) having lower (0.3 difference; [0095]; it indicates that high refractive index layer having 0.3 higher refractive index than the overcoat layer; see the evidentiary reference below) refractive index than the high refractive index layer (320);
a fixation member (316; passivation layer; Fig. 12A; [0122]) disposed between the high refractive index layer (320) and the bank layer (304.
But Bibl fails to teach explicitly, a first electrode and a second electrode that are disposed on the substrate; the bank layer disposed on the first electrode and the second electrode;
However, in analogous art, Kwak discloses, a first electrode (141) and a second electrode (142) that are disposed on the substrate (110); the bank layer (145) disposed on the first electrode (141) and the second electrode (142) (Fig. 3B; page 5);
PNG
media_image2.png
983
1264
media_image2.png
Greyscale
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, having the teachings of Bibl and Kwak before him/her, to modify the teachings of a display device as taught by Bibl and to include the teachings of first and second electrodes over the substrate as taught by Kwak since the electrodes facilitate the external connections. Absent this important teaching in Bibl, a person with ordinary skill in the art would be motivated to reach out to Kwak while forming a display device of Bibl.
The examiner included an evidentiary reference Ohashi where Ohashi teaches in para. [0152] that a transparent resin with a transmittance of higher than or equal to 85% and more preferably higher than or equal to 90% for blue light, green light, and red light may be used as the optical member (or lens). The refractive index of resin that is used as the optical member (or lens) may be higher than or equal to 1.5 and lower than or equal to 1.9. With this teaching, it is well within the purview of a person with ordinary skill in the art to make the refractive index of the high refractive index layer higher than the overcoat layer.
Regarding claim 5, the combination of Bibl and Kwak teaches, the display apparatus of claim 1, wherein the first electrode (141) is exposed by the bank opening (145) (Fig. 3B; page 5; Kwak Reference).
Regarding claim 6, Bibl discloses, the display apparatus of claim 1 wherein the micro light emitting diode (400) is disposed inside the bank opening (as annotated on Fig. 12A) in a vertical chip arrangement in which an n-side electrode (402; Fig. 1C; [0072]) is disposed upward and a p-side electrode (404; Fig. 1C; [0072]) is disposed downward.
PNG
media_image3.png
380
726
media_image3.png
Greyscale
Regarding claim 7, the combination of Bibl and Kwak teaches, the display apparatus of claim 6 wherein the p-side electrode (404; Fig. 1C; Bibl Ref.) of the micro light emitting diode (400) is connected with the first electrode (141; Fig. 3b; Kwak Ref.).
Regarding claim 9, Bibl discloses, the display apparatus of claim 1 wherein a protection film (324; oxygen barrier film; Fig. 12A; [0102]) is disposed on the overcoat layer (310).
Regarding claim 10, Bibl discloses, the display apparatus of claim 1 wherein the fixation member (316) surrounds the connection wires (142; Fig. 12A; [0066]; Bibl teaches that the patterned conductive layer includes reflective bank layer 142 formed within the bank openings 128 and in electrical contact with the working circuitry).
Regarding claim 11, the combination of Bibl and Kwak teaches, the display apparatus of claim 1 wherein the first electrode (141) is connected to a driving chip (120; Fig. 3b; Kwak Ref.).
Regarding claim 12, Bibl discloses, the display apparatus of claim 1 wherein the bank layer (304) comprises black pigment (black matrix; [0062]).
Claims 2-4 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Bibl and Kwak as applied to claim 1 and further in view of US 2021/0313498 A1 (Kim).
Regarding claim 2, the combination of Bibl and Kwak fails to teach explicitly, the display apparatus of claim 1, further comprising: a connection electrode connected with the second electrode through the bank layer.
However, in analogous art, Kim discloses, the display apparatus of claim 1, further comprising: a connection electrode (CT1; contact hole) connected with the second electrode (CDP) through the bank layer (BNL1) (Fig. 5; [0129]).
PNG
media_image4.png
494
724
media_image4.png
Greyscale
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, having the teachings of Bibl, Kwak and Kim before him/her, to modify the teachings of a display device as taught by Bibl and to include the teachings of connection electrode connected with the second electrode through the bank layer as taught by Kim since in MPEP 2143 (I) (A), it is stated that Combining prior art elements according to known methods to yield predictable results is obvious. Absent this important teaching in Bibl, a person with ordinary skill in the art would be motivated to reach out to Kim while forming a display device of Bibl.
Regarding claim 3, the combination of Bibl, Kwak and Kim teaches, the display apparatus of claim 2 further comprising a dummy connection electrode (as annotated on Fig. 5; Kim Ref.) disposed on the bank layer (BNL1; Kim Ref.).
Regarding claim 4, Bibl teaches, the display apparatus of claim 3 further comprising: connection wires (142; Fig. 12A; [0066]; Bibl teaches that the patterned conductive layer includes reflective bank layer 142 formed within the bank openings 128 and in electrical contact with the working circuitry) disposed on a lower surface of the high refractive index layer (320).
Claim 8 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Bibl and Kwak as applied to claim 7 and further in view of US 2021/0313498 A1 (Kim).
Regarding claim 8, the combination of Bibl, Kwak and Kim teaches, the display apparatus of claim 7 wherein the n-side electrode (402) of the micro light emitting diode (400) is connected with the second electrode (142) (Kwak Ref.) via the connection wires (142; Fig. 12A; [0066]; Bibl Ref.) and the connection electrode (CT1, as annotated on Fig. 5; Kim Ref.).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, having the teachings of Bibl, Kwak and Kim before him/her, to modify the teachings of a display device as taught by Bibl and to include the teachings of connection electrode connected with the second electrode through the bank layer as taught by Kim since in MPEP 2143 (I) (A), it is stated that Combining prior art elements according to known methods to yield predictable results is obvious. Absent this important teaching in Bibl, a person with ordinary skill in the art would be motivated to reach out to Kim while forming a display device of Bibl.
Claim 13 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Bibl and Kwak as applied to claim 9 and further in view of US 2021/0257516 A1 (Kim2)
Regarding claim 13, the combination of Bibl and Kwak fails to teach explicitly, the display apparatus of claim 9 wherein an upper surface of the protection film is coated with at least one of an anti-reflection layer, an anti-glare layer or an anti-fingerprint layer.
However, in analogous art, Kim2 discloses, the display apparatus of claim 9 wherein an upper surface of the protection film (130; Fig. 2; [0052]) is coated with at least one of an anti-reflection layer, an anti-glare layer or an anti-fingerprint layer (Fig. 2; [0052]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, having the teachings of Bibl, Kwak and Kim2 before him/her, to modify the teachings of a display device as taught by Bibl and to include the teachings of the protection film being coated with at least one of an anti-reflection layer, an anti-glare layer or an anti-fingerprint layer as taught by Kim2 since in MPEP 2143 (I) (A), it is stated that Combining prior art elements according to known methods to yield predictable results is obvious. Absent this important teaching in Bibl, a person with ordinary skill in the art would be motivated to reach out to Kim2 while forming a display device of Bibl.
Examiner’s Note (Additional Prior Arts)
The examiner included a few prior arts which were not used in the rejection but are relevant to the disclosure.
US 2024/0372048 A1 (Hsu) - A transmissive display device is disclosed including a circuit substrate, pixel units, first light-shielding structures, a transparent covering layer, a hole filling portion and a cover lens. Each pixel unit includes light emitting diodes. Each first light-shielding structure is disposed corresponding to a corresponding one of the pixel units. Each first light-shielding structure defines first light-transmissive regions. The first light-transmissive regions overlap the light-emitting diodes of the corresponding one of the pixel units. The transparent covering layer surrounds the first light shielding structures. The transparent covering layer has holes. Each hole is located in a corresponding one of the first transparent regions. The hole filling portion is located in the holes.
US 2024/0014363 A1 (Park) - A display device is disclosed including a display area and a non-display area, light emitting elements disposed on a substrate in the display area, an overcoat layer disposed on the light emitting elements and extending from the display area to the non-display area, and a barrier layer disposed on the overcoat layer in the non-display area, wherein the barrier layer is not disposed in the display area and comprises silicon nitride.
US 2023/0317883 A1 (Lee) - A display device is disclosed comprising a pad electrode disposed on a substrate, a pad electrode upper layer disposed on the pad electrode, a first pad electrode capping layer disposed on the pad electrode upper layer, a second pad electrode capping layer disposed on the first pad electrode capping layer, a protective layer disposed on the second pad electrode capping layer, and a capping layers disposed on the protective layer. The protective layer comprises a polymer resin and scattering particles. The protective layer comprises a first pad opening exposing the second pad electrode capping layer.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to S M SOHEL IMTIAZ whose telephone number is (408) 918-7566. The examiner can normally be reached on 8AM-5PM, M-F, PST.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Christine S. Kim can be reached at 571-272-8458. 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). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative or access to the automated information system, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/S M SOHEL IMTIAZ/Primary Patent Examiner
Art Unit 2812
02/20/2026