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 .
Election/Restrictions
Claims 8-10 and 15-20 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected invention and species, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election was made without traverse in the reply filed on 03/16/2026.
Applicant’s election without traverse of claims 1-7, 11-14, 21 and 22 in the reply filed on 03/16/2026 is acknowledged.
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 09/25/2023, 12/07/2023 and 08/06/2024 are being considered by the examiner.
Drawings
The drawings submitted on 09/25/2023 are being considered by the examiner.
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 (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) 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, 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 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 1-7, 21 and 22 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Oh et al. (US 20210247820 A1) in view of Drzaic et al. (US 20210063804 A1) and Jeon et al. (US 20210202630 A1).
Regarding claim 1, Oh discloses a display device comprising:
a first barrier insulating layer (20) on the substrate (BS1); (Fig. 4B)
a plurality of first pad portions (PD1-P) on the first barrier insulating layer (20) and in a first contact hole (CH-1) partially penetrating the first barrier insulating layer (20); (Fig. 4B)
a second barrier insulating layer (30) on the first barrier insulating layer (20) and the plurality of first pad portions (PD1-P); (Fig. 4B)
a plurality of second pad portions (PD2-P) on the second barrier insulating layer (30) and in a second contact hole (CH-1) partially penetrating the first barrier insulating layer (20) and the second barrier insulating layer (30); (Fig. 4B)
a third barrier insulating layer (40) on the second barrier insulating layer (30) and the plurality of second pad portions (PD2-P); (Fig. 4B)
each of the plurality of first pad portions (PD1-P) and the plurality of second pad portions (PD2-P) comprises a main body portion (annotated below) inserted into the first contact hole (CH-1) or the second contact hole (CH-2), and an extension portion (annotated below) at both sides of the main body portion. (Fig. 4B)
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Oh does not disclose:
a substrate comprising an opening hole
a flexible film under the substrate, and inserted into the opening hole to be electrically connected to the plurality of first and second pad portions
However, Drzaic discloses:
a substrate (in 14B) comprising an opening hole (50A); ([0043], Fig. 3)
a flexible film (82) under the substrate (in 14B), and inserted into the opening hole (50A) to be electrically connected to the plurality of first (84A) and second pad portions (84B). (Fig. 3)
It would have been obvious to one skilled in the art before the effective filing date to combine the teachings of Oh and Drzaic for a substrate comprising an opening hole and a flexible film under the substrate, and inserted into the opening hole to be electrically connected to the plurality of first and second pad portions in order to “display signal lines may be routed through holes in a thin-film transistor layer to run along a backside of the display thereby reducing the need for space in the border region for display circuitry.” (Drzaic, Abstract)
Oh and Drzaic do not disclose:
a display layer on the third barrier insulating layer;
However, Jeon discloses:
a display layer (AA) on the third barrier insulating layer (202); (Fig. 16)
It would have been obvious to one skilled in the art before the effective filing date to combine the teachings of Oh and Drzaic and Jeon to arrive at the claimed invention in order to have “a multi-display apparatus for displaying an image without a sense of discontinuity. The multi-display apparatus may combine each display apparatus that does not have a bezel or a bezel area. Accordingly, the assembled multi-display apparatus may provide a viewer with an image or a stream of images (e.g., video) that does not have a disconnection between adjacent displays.” (Jeon, [0011])
Regarding claim 2, Jeon discloses the display device of claim 1, wherein the extension portion of a first pad portion (111) from among the plurality of first pad portions (111) overlaps the extension portion of a second pad portion (211) from among the plurality of second pad portions (211) in a thickness direction (z-direction) of the substrate (200). ([0621]-[0622], Fig. 17)
It would have been obvious to one skilled in the art before the effective filing date to combine the teachings of Oh and Jeon to arrive at the claimed invention for similar reasons mentioned beforehand.
Regarding claim 3, Jeon discloses the display device of claim 1, wherein the plurality of first pad portions (111) and the plurality of second pad portions (211) are spaced from each other. (Fig. 17)
It would have been obvious to one skilled in the art before the effective filing date to combine the teachings of Oh and Jeon to arrive at the claimed invention for similar reasons mentioned beforehand.
Regrading claim 4, Jeon discloses the display device of claim 3, wherein the extension portion (annotated below) of a first pad portion (111) from among the plurality of first pad portions (111) is spaced from the second contact hole (of 211) and the main body portion (annotated below) of a second pad portion (211) from among the plurality of second pad portions (211). (Fig. 17)
It would have been obvious to one skilled in the art before the effective filing date to combine the teachings of Oh and Jeon to arrive at the claimed invention for similar reasons mentioned beforehand.
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Regarding claim 5, Jeon discloses the display device of claim 1, wherein a first pad portion (111) from among the plurality of first pad portions (111) and a second pad portion (211) from among the plurality of second pad portions (211) have lower ends of the main body portions (annotated above) spaced from each other, respectively, and wherein a gap between the lower end of the first pad portion (211) and the lower end of the second pad portion (211) is greater than a width of the extension portion (annotated above) of each of the first pad portion (111) and the second pad portion (211). (Fig. 17)
Regarding claim 6, Jeon discloses the display device of claim 5. Jeon does not disclose wherein a width of the extension portion of each of the first pad portion and the second pad portion is in a range of a one half width to a full width of the gap between the lower end of the first pad portion and the lower end of the second pad portion.
However, it would have been obvious to one skilled in the art before the effective filing date to combine the teachings of Oh and Jeon for a width of the extension portion of each of the first pad portion and the second pad portion is in a range of a one half width to a full width of the gap between the lower end of the first pad portion and the lower end of the second pad with routine experiment and optimization. In re Woodruff, 16 USPQ2d 1935, 1937 (Fed. Cir. 1990) and for similar reasons as mentioned beforehand.
Regarding claim 7, Jeon discloses the display device of claim 5. Jeon does not explicitly disclose wherein the gap between the lower end of the first pad portion and the lower end of the second pad portion is about 16 μm, and wherein the width of the extension portion of each of the first pad portion and the second pad portion is in a range of 8 μm to 16 μm.
However, it would have been obvious to one skilled in the art before the effective filing date to combine the teachings of Oh and Jeon for the gap between the lower end of the first pad portion and the lower end of the second pad portion is about 16 μm, and wherein the width of the extension portion of each of the first pad portion and the second pad portion is in a range of 8 μm to 16 μm with routine experiment and optimization. In re Woodruff, 16 USPQ2d 1935, 1937 (Fed. Cir. 1990) and for similar reasons as mentioned beforehand.
Regarding claim 21, Oh discloses
a first barrier insulating layer (20) on the substrate (BS1); (Fig. 4B)
a plurality of first pad portions (PD1-P) on the first barrier insulating layer (20) and in a first contact hole (CH-1) partially penetrating the first barrier insulating layer (20); (Fig. 4B)
a second barrier insulating layer (30) on the first barrier insulating layer (20) and the plurality of first pad portions (PD1-P); (Fig. 4B)
a plurality of second pad portions (PD2-P) on the second barrier insulating layer (30) and in a second contact hole (CH-1) partially penetrating the first barrier insulating layer (20) and the second barrier insulating layer (30); (Fig. 4B)
a third barrier insulating layer (40) on the second barrier insulating layer (30) and the plurality of second pad portions (PD2-P); (Fig. 4B)
each of the plurality of first pad portions (PD1-P) and the plurality of second pad portions (PD2-P) comprises a main body portion (annotated below) inserted into the first contact hole (CH-1) or the second contact hole (CH-2), and an extension portion (annotated below) at both sides of the main body portion. (Fig. 4B)
Oh does not disclose:
a tiled display device comprising: a plurality of display devices, each of the plurality of display devices comprising a display area having a plurality of pixels and a non-display area around the display area; and a bonding member configured to bond the plurality of display devices, wherein at least one of the plurality of display devices comprises: a substrate comprising an opening hole;
However, Jeon discloses:
a tiled display device (30-1 to 30-4) comprising: a plurality of display devices (10-1 to 10-4), each of the plurality of display devices comprising a display area (AA) having a plurality of pixels (P) and a non-display area (BA) around the display area (AA); (Fig. 1-37) and
a bonding member (300) configured to bond the plurality of display devices (30-1 to 30-4),
It would have been obvious to one skilled in the art before the effective filing date to combine the teachings of Oh and Drzaic and Jeon to arrive at the claimed invention in order to have “a multi-display apparatus for displaying an image without a sense of discontinuity. The multi-display apparatus may combine each display apparatus that does not have a bezel or a bezel area. Accordingly, the assembled multi-display apparatus may provide a viewer with an image or a stream of images (e.g., video) that does not have a disconnection between adjacent displays.” (Jeon, [0011])
Oh in view of Jeon do not disclose:
a substrate comprising an opening hole
a flexible film under the substrate, and inserted into the opening hole to be electrically connected to the plurality of first and second pad portions
However, Drzaic discloses:
a substrate (in 14B) comprising an opening hole (50A); ([0043], Fig. 3)
a flexible film (82) under the substrate (in 14B), and inserted into the opening hole (50A) to be electrically connected to the plurality of first (84A) and second pad portions (84B). (Fig. 3)
It would have been obvious to one skilled in the art before the effective filing date to combine the teachings of Oh and Drzaic for a substrate comprising an opening hole and a flexible film under the substrate, and inserted into the opening hole to be electrically connected to the plurality of first and second pad portions in order to “display signal lines may be routed through holes in a thin-film transistor layer to run along a backside of the display thereby reducing the need for space in the border region for display circuitry.” (Drzaic, Abstract)
Regarding claim 22, Jeon discloses the tiled display device of claim 21, wherein the extension portion of a first pad portion (111) from among the plurality of first pad portions (111) overlaps the extension portion of a second pad portion (211) from among the plurality of second pad portions (211) in a thickness direction (z-direction) of the substrate (200). ([0621]-[0622], Fig. 17)
It would have been obvious to one skilled in the art before the effective filing date to combine the teachings of Oh and Jeon to arrive at the claimed invention for similar reasons mentioned beforehand.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 11 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.
Claims 12-14 depend on 11 and therefore are further objected to for being dependent on claim 11.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Jo et al (US 20220285428 A1) discloses majority of claim 11 (except for the fourth barrier insulating layer) and all of claims 12-14.
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/ASHLEY NICOLE BLACKWELL/Examiner, Art Unit 2897
/JACOB Y CHOI/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2897
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