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 priority under 35 U.S.C. 119(a)-(d) or (f), 365(a) or (b), or 386(a) based upon an application filed in the COUNTRY OF KOREA on 01/10/2023.
Election/Restrictions
Applicant's election without traverse of “Species A (Claims 1-15)” in the reply filed on 02/23/2026, is acknowledged.
Claims 16-20 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected species, there being no allowable generic or linking claim.
Drawings
The drawings are objected to because:
In Fig. 4, the coordinates “DR1” and “DR2” do not match the limitations claimed within claims 1,3,6 and 10. A simple swap between the coordinates “DR1” and “DR2” of Fig. 4 will fix this inconsistency.
In Fig. 5, the label and pointer for the “oxide semiconductor pattern” item SC2 are missing.
In Fig. 5, the pointer for the “second gate” item GT2 points to the insulating layer item 50; furthermore, there are two different labels and their respective pointers pointing to the same insulating layer item 50 and no pointer pointing to the “second gate”.
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 § 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 and 15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being obvious over US 2021/0193688 A1; Shin et al.; 06/2021; (“688”).
Regarding Claim 1. 688 teaches in Figs. 1-5 about a display device comprising:
a base substrate (Fig. 1, item 111) including a display area (Fig. 2, item DA) in which a plurality of pixels are located (Fig. 3, items P are located within item DA) and a non-display area (Fig. 2, item NDA);
a plurality of insulating layers (Fig. 4, items GI, ILD1 and ILD2) on the base substrate (Fig. 4, items GI, ILD1 and ILD2 are on item 111);
a pad part (Fig. 2, item PA) including a first voltage pad (Fig. 2, item VDDP) in the non-display area and configured to receive a first power voltage (Fig. 2, item VDDP is within area item NDA and receives power voltage item VDD), a second voltage pad (Fig. 2, item VSSP) configured to receive a second power voltage different from the first power voltage (Fig. 2, item VSSP receives power voltage item VSS, “the first metal line may be the common power line VSS, and the second metal line may be the pixel power line VDD”, [0094], Ln. 9-11), and a voltage measurement pad (Fig. 2, item VREFP);
a plurality of first lines electrically (Fig. 2, item VDDL) connected to the plurality of pixels, overlapping the display area, extending in a first direction, and electrically connected to the first voltage pad (Fig. 2, item VDDL embodies “pixel power line VDD”, [0094], Ln. 10-11, overlaps item NDA, extends in direction-Y, and connects to voltage VDD);
a plurality of second lines (Fig. 2, item VSSL) overlapping the display area and extending in the first direction (Fig. 2, item VSSL overlaps item NDA, and extends in direction-Y);
a first transfer line (Fig. 2, item VDD2) electrically connected to each of the plurality of first lines and extending in a second direction crossing the first direction (Fig. 2, item VDD2 electrically connects to each of the plurality of items VDDL, and extends in a direction-X crossing the direction-Y); and
a second transfer line (Fig. 2, item VSS2) extending in the second direction and overlapping the non-display area (Fig. 2, item VSS2 extends in a direction-X and overlaps item NDA),
wherein the display area is between the first transfer line and the first voltage pad (Fig. 2, item DA is between items VDD2 and VDDP),
wherein the display area is between the second transfer line and the second voltage pad (Fig. 2, item DA is between items VSS2 and VSSP),
688 does not teach about a display device comprising:
wherein the plurality of second lines include at least one 2-1-th line and at least one 2-2-th line,
wherein the 2-1-th line is electrically connected to the voltage measurement pad and electrically connected to the first transfer line,
wherein the 2-2-th line is electrically connected to the second voltage pad and electrically connected to the second transfer line.
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have rearranged the labeling of the second lines to include the line pertaining to the voltage measuring pad as part of the second lines, rather than a voltage measuring line from the voltage measuring pad within an independent category from the second lines (in other words, within Fig. 5 rearranging the labeling to include the line item IV from item VREFP as a part of the second lines item III from item VSSP), since it has been held that rearranging parts of an invention involves only routine skill in the art. In re Japikse, 86 USPQ 70.
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Fig. 5, annotated by Examiner from Shin et al., “688”
Regarding Claim 15. 688 teaches in Fig. 2 about a display device, wherein the plurality of first lines and the plurality of second lines comprise metal lines (“the first metal line may be the common power line VSS, and the second metal line may be the pixel power line VDD”, [0094], Ln. 9-11).
688 does not teach about a display device, wherein the plurality of first lines and the plurality of second lines comprise aluminum (AL) and titanium (Ti).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have experimented using AL or Ti metals, since it has been held to be within the general skill of worker in the art to select known material on the basis of its suitability for the intended use as a matter of obvious design variation and choice. In re Leshin, 125 USPQ 416.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 2-14 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, since the prior art does not teach or suggest the claimed limitations.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JORGE ANDRES LOPEZ whose telephone number is (571)272-5763. The examiner can normally be reached M-F (8:30am to 5:00pm).
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, Fernando Toledo can be reached on 571-272-1867. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/FERNANDO L TOLEDO/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2897
/JORGE ANDRES LOPEZ/Examiner, Art Unit 2897
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