DETAILED ACTION
Notice of 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 .
Election
Applicant’s election with traverse of claims #1-27 in the reply filed on July 13, 2026 is acknowledged. Applicant’s arguments are persuasive and the restriction previously issued on May 29, 2026 is hereby vacated. Claims 1-27 are pending in the instant office action.
IDS
The IDS document(s) filed on January 30, 2024 and July 28, 2026 have been considered. Copies of the PTO-1449 documents are herewith enclosed with this office action.
Specifications
The title is objected to because a more descriptive title is requested.
Claim Rejections – 35 U.S.C. § 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.
Claim 27 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 112(b) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. § 112, 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.
As to claim 27, there is a lack of antecedent basis for “the connection electrode”.
Claim Rejections - 35 U.S.C. § 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.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. § 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. § 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claims 21-23, 25, and 26 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 103 as being unpatentable over Lee et al. (U.S. Patent Publication No. 2023/0004271 A1), as cited in the IDS and hereafter “Lee”.
As to claim 21, Lee teaches:
A substrate SUB including an active area (portion of 201 underlying ED) and a non-active area (remaining portion of 201 not underlying ED) adjacent to the active area. See Lee, FIG. 9.
A first light blocking layer BANK on the substrate in the non-active area.
A first thin film transistor T1 including a first active layer SEMI, a first gate electrode NE1, a first source electrode NE3, and a first drain electrode NE2 on the substrate in the non-active area.
An encapsulation layer PAS2 on the first thin film transistor.
A touch electrode Y-TE on the encapsulation layer.
A dam portion DAM spaced apart from the first thin film transistor.
A first layer E1 between the dam portion and the first thin film transistor.
However, Lee does not teach the first layer comprises metal.
On the other hand, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to use a metal material for the first (electrode) layer E1, since it has been held to be within the general skill of a worker in the art to select a known material on the basis of its suitability for the intended use as a matter of obvious design choice. In re Leshin, 125 USPQ 416.
As to claim 22, Lee does not teach the first active layer includes an oxide semiconductor.
On the other hand, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to use an oxide semiconductor material for the first active (semiconductor) layer SEMI, since it has been held to be within the general skill of a worker in the art to select a known material on the basis of its suitability for the intended use as a matter of obvious design choice. In re Leshin, 125 USPQ 416.
As to claim 23, Lee teaches the first metal layer E1 is electrically connected to the first drain electrode NE2.
As to claim 25, Lee teaches a gate driver disposed in the non-active area, wherein the first thin film transistor is included in the gate driver. See Lee, ¶¶ [0046]-[0047], [0052], [0054].
As to claim 26, Lee teaches a connection electrode E2 on the first active layer in the non-active area.
Claims Allowable If Rewritten in Independent Form
Claim 24 is 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.
Indication of Allowable Subject Matter
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: claims 1-20 are indicated as being allowable because prior art fails to teach “wherein a distance between the first active layer and the first conductive layer is shorter than a distance between the first conductive layer and the first light blocking layer” (claim 1).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to SUBERR CHI whose telephone number is (571)270-3955. The examiner can normally be reached 10am to 6pm.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Sue Purvis can be reached on (571) 272-1236. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/SUBERR L CHI/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2893
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