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
Acknowledgment is made of applicant’s claim for foreign priority under 35 U.S.C. 119 (a)-(d). The certified copy has been filed on October 5, 2023.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on August 21, 2023 is being considered by the examiner.
Specification
The title of the invention is not descriptive. A new title is required that is clearly indicative of the invention to which the claims are directed.
The following title is suggested: Display Device With Reduced Parasitic Capacitance
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election without traverse of Species 1 (Figs. 11, 13, and 15, Claims 1-11 and 13-25) in the reply filed on May 11, 2026 is acknowledged.
Drawings
The drawings are objected to under 37 CFR 1.83(a). The drawings must show every feature of the invention specified in the claims. Therefore, the “an active layer on the first conductive layer, partially overlapping the lower conductive pattern and the capacitor conductive pattern in the plan view”… must be shown or the feature(s) canceled from the claim(s). No new matter should be entered.
Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. The figure or figure number of an amended drawing should not be labeled as “amended.” If a drawing figure is to be canceled, the appropriate figure must be removed from the replacement sheet, and where necessary, the remaining figures must be renumbered and appropriate changes made to the brief description of the several views of the drawings for consistency. Additional replacement sheets may be necessary to show the renumbering of the remaining figures. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of 35 U.S.C. 112(a):
(a) IN GENERAL.—The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor or joint inventor of carrying out the invention.
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112:
The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor of carrying out his invention.
Claims 1-11 and 15-23 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), first paragraph, as failing to comply with the written description requirement. The claim(s) contains subject matter which was not described in the specification in such a way as to reasonably convey to one skilled in the relevant art that the inventor or a joint inventor, or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the inventor(s), at the time the application was filed, had possession of the claimed invention. Regarding Claim 1, lines: 6-7 recite the limitation “an active layer on the first conductive layer, partially overlapping the lower conductive pattern and the capacitor conductive pattern in the plan view…” however, active layers DAP1-DAP3 are not shown partially overlapping the lower conductive patterns UCP1-UCP3 and capacitor conductive patterns CCP1-CCP3 in a plan view. DAP1 is shown partially overlapping UCP1 and CCP1 in Fig. 11 but this is a cross-sectional view not a plan view.
Regarding Claim 15, lines: 2-3 recite the limitation “a first driving active pattern partially overlapping the first lower conductive pattern and a conductive pattern of a first capacitor in the plan view” however, driving active pattern DAP1-DAP3 are not shown partially overlapping the lower conductive patterns UCP1-UCP3 and conductive pattern of capacitor CCP1-CCP3 in a plan view. DAP1 is shown partially overlapping UCP1 and CCP1 in Fig. 11 but this is a cross-sectional view not a plan view.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1-11 would be allowed if rewritten to overcome the 112 rejection above.
Claims 13-14 are allowed (note claims 15-23 would be allowed if rewritten to overcome the 112 rejection above).
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
the closest prior art of record, Park (US 2020/0279900), Wang (US 2019/0304373), fail to disclose (by themselves or in combination) the following limitations in combination with the rest of the claim:
Regarding Claim 1 (from which claims 2-11 depend), an active layer on the first conductive layer, partially overlapping the lower conductive pattern and the capacitor conductive pattern in the plan view, and including a driving active pattern defining a storage capacitor together with the capacitor conductive pattern; a second conductive layer on the active layer…
Regarding Claim 13 (from which claims 14-23 depend), first to third lower conductive patterns on the substrate, located between the driving voltage line and the first data line in a plan view, and spaced apart from each other along the first direction; and first to third conductive patterns on the substrate, located between the driving voltage line and the first data line in the plan view…
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Park (US 2020/0279900) discloses (Fig. 4) a display device with lower conductive pattern 111 and driving gate electrode 155 which is part of capacitor Cst, a second conductive layer 175 and a third conductive layer 191a which may be an anode. Park does not disclose an active layer on and overlapping lower conductive pattern and capacitive conductive pattern.
Wang (US 2019/0304373) discloses (Fig. 15) a OLED with two conductive layers T3-1 and S2/T2 on a substrate 110, data line 171, and driving voltage line 172.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to GUSTAVO G RAMALLO whose telephone number is (571)272-9227. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 10am - 6pm.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, William Partridge can be reached at (571) 270-1402. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/GUSTAVO G RAMALLO/Examiner, Art Unit 2812
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