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 .
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. If Applicant fails to provide a sufficiently descriptive title, Examiner will do so upon allowance of the claims.
Election/Restrictions
Claims 9-10 and 14-20 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected invention, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election was made without traverse in the reply filed on 1/10/26. The Restriction requirement is therefore made final. Claims 1-8 and 11-13 are treated on the merits below.
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.
Claims 1-2, 4, 6, 8, and 11-12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yang et al. (US 2021/0365147) in view of Xu et al. (US 2021/0366379).
Regarding claim 1, Yang discloses a display device comprising: a display panel (abstract, figs. 1-3, ¶ 57-59, ¶ 67-68);
and an input sensor on the display panel (figs. 1-3, ¶ 69, ¶ 85-93),
wherein the input sensor comprises: a first insulating layer (figs. 3-5, ¶ 98-106, first insulating layer 221);
a sensing electrode (figs. 3-5, ¶ 85-93, sensing electrodes SE);
and a signal line electrically connected to the sensing electrode and under the first insulating layer (figs. 3-5, ¶ 98-106, sensing line SL2),
wherein the signal line comprises: a first metal layer (figs. 3-5, ¶ 97-106, sensing line SL2; SL2 may include same material as bridge portions, e.g., aluminum);
and wherein the sensing electrode comprises: a sensing pattern on the first insulating layer, the sensing pattern comprising indium tin oxide (ITO) (figs. 3-5, ¶ 85, ¶ 91-99, sensing electrodes may include ITO);
and a bridge pattern under the first insulating layer and electrically connected to the sensing pattern (figs. 3-5, ¶ 90-99, e.g., BP2).
Yang fails to disclose wherein the signal line comprises: a first metal layer comprising an aluminum-neodymium alloy (AlNd); and a second metal layer on the first metal layer, the second metal layer comprising a molybdenum-niobium alloy (MoNb), the bridge pattern comprising the molybdenum-niobium alloy (MoNb).
Xu teaches wherein the signal line comprises: a first metal layer comprising an aluminum-neodymium alloy (AlNd); and a second metal layer on the first metal layer, the second metal layer comprising a molybdenum-niobium alloy (MoNb) (¶ 94, sense lines, data lines, bridge lines, etc. may be a multilayer metal, AlNd and MoNb disclosed),
the bridge pattern comprising the molybdenum-niobium alloy (MoNb) (¶ 94, sense lines, data lines, bridge lines, etc. may be a multilayer metal, AlNd and MoNb disclosed).
Yang and Xu are both directed to OLED display devices. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the device of Yang with the device of Xu since such a modification provides the metal layers may be an alloy containing a combination of well-known metals (Xu, ¶ 94) and may simplify manufacturing by reducing the number of masks (Xu, ¶ 61).
Regarding claim 2, Yang discloses wherein the input sensor further comprises a second insulating layer covering the sensing pattern and on the first insulating layer (figs. 3-5, ¶ 98-106, second insulating layer 222 on first sensing layer 221).
Xu further teaches wherein the second insulating layer comprises silicon oxide, silicon nitride, or silicon oxynitride (¶ 93, insulating layer may be silicon oxide, silicon nitride, or silicon oxynitride).
Regarding claim 4, Yang discloses wherein the bridge pattern and the first metal layer are on the same insulating layer (figs. 3-5, ¶ 97-106).
Regarding claim 6, Yang discloses wherein the sensing pattern and the bridge pattern define an ohmic contact through a contact hole defined in the first insulating layer (figs. 3-5, ¶ 97-106).
Regarding claim 8, this claim is rejected under the same rationale as claim 2.
Regarding claim 11, Yang discloses wherein the display panel comprises a plurality of light emitting elements, and the sensing electrode overlaps a corresponding light emitting element among the plurality of light emitting elements (figs. 1-4, ¶ 65-69).
Regarding claim 12, this claim is rejected under the same rationale as claim 1.
Claim 5 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yang in view of Xu as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Hong et al. (US 2021/0335920).
Regarding claim 5, Xu further teaches the first metal layer has a two-layer structure (¶ 94, sense lines, data lines, bridge lines, etc. may be a multilayer metal, AlNd and MoNb disclosed).
Yang in view of Xu fails to explicitly disclose wherein the bridge pattern has a single-layer structure.
Hong teaches wherein the bridge pattern has a single-layer structure (¶ 132, bridge pattern may be a single layer or multi-layer).
Yang in view of Xu and Hong are both directed to OLED display devices. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the device of Yang in view of Xu with the device of Hong since such a modification provides the bridge pattern may be a single layer or multi-layer and made of well-known metals (Hong, ¶ 132).
Claim 7 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yang in view of Xu as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Lyon et al. (US 2012/0092273).
Regarding claim 7, Yang in view of Xu fails to explicitly disclose wherein the second metal layer covers a side surface and an upper surface of the first metal layer.
Lyon teaches wherein the second metal layer covers a side surface and an upper surface of the first metal layer (fig. 9C, ¶ 40, multi-layer stackup with an upper layer partially covering the sides of a lower layer disclosed).
Yang in view of Xu and Lyon are both directed to display devices with border traces. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the device of Yang in view of Xu with the device of Lyon since such a modification provides the thickness and material makeup of the conductive traces can be varied to meet the electrical requirements of the device (Lyon, ¶ 40).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 3 and 13 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.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure: See attached Notice of References Cited.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to KEITH L CRAWLEY whose telephone number is (571)270-7616. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday 10-6 ET.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Temesghen Ghebretinsae can be reached at 571-272-3017. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/KEITH L CRAWLEY/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2626