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 .
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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 the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim(s) 1-3, 6-7, 11, 15, and 17 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) and 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Sim et al. (US 2018/0166424).
Regarding claim 1, Sim discloses a light-emitting device (Figs. 1-3) comprising a substrate having a first surface and a second surface that are opposed to each other (Paragraph [0032]); a plurality of light-emitting elements arranged in an array on the first surface side of the substrate (110; Paragraph [0028]); a partition wall formed above the plurality of light-emitting elements using a metal material and having an opening for each of the plurality of light-emitting elements (113-2; Paragraph [0047]); and a wavelength conversion layer that is provided in the opening and converts a wavelength of light outputted from the plurality of light-emitting elements (128 & 130 & 132; Paragraph [0027]).
Regarding claim 2, Sim further discloses comprising an array section in which the plurality of light-emitting elements is arranged in the array (Figs. 1-3, 110; Paragraph [0028]); and an outer peripheral section provided around the array section (124; Paragraph [0027]), wherein the partition wall is coupled to the substrate at the outer peripheral section (Paragraph [0032]).
Regarding claim 3, Sim further discloses an array section in which the plurality of light-emitting elements is arranged in the array (Figs. 1-3, 110; Paragraph [0028]); and an outer peripheral section provided around the array section (124; Paragraph [0027]), wherein the partition wall is coupled to the substrate for each of one or the plurality of light-emitting elements in the array section (Paragraph [0032]).
Regarding claim 6, Sim further discloses wherein the partition wall further includes a dielectric film on a side surface of the opening (112-1 & 112-2; Paragraph [0036, 0045]).
Regarding claim 7, Sim further discloses wherein the partition wall further extends between the plurality of light-emitting elements adjacent to each other (124; Paragraph [0027]), and the plurality of light-emitting elements and the wavelength conversion layer are integrated by the partition wall (110 & 128 & 130 & 132; Paragraph [0027-0028]).
Regarding claim 11, Sim further discloses wherein the light-emitting element comprises a first light-emitting element, a second light-emitting element, and a third light-emitting element that output first light (110; Paragraph [0028]), the wavelength conversion layer comprises a first wavelength conversion layer disposed above the first light-emitting element (128; Paragraph [0041]), a second wavelength conversion layer disposed above the second light-emitting element (130; Paragraph [0041]), and a third wavelength conversion layer disposed above the third light-emitting element (132; Paragraph [0041]), the first wavelength conversion layer converts the first light into red light, the second wavelength conversion layer converts the first light into green light, and the third wavelength conversion layer allows the first light to transmit therethrough or converts the first light into blue light (Paragraph [0041]).
Regarding claim 15, Sim further discloses wherein the light-emitting element comprises a light-emitting diode having an emission wavelength in a blue band or an ultraviolet region (110; Paragraph [0028]).
Regarding claim 17, Sim discloses an image display apparatus (Figs. 1-3) that includes a light-emitting device, the light-emitting device comprising: a substrate having a first surface and a second surface that are opposed to each other (Paragraph [0032]); a plurality of light-emitting elements arranged in an array on the first surface side of the substrate (110; Paragraph [0028]); a partition wall formed above the plurality of light-emitting elements using a metal material and having an opening for each of the plurality of light-emitting elements (113-2; Paragraph [0047]); and a wavelength conversion layer that is provided in the opening and converts a wavelength of light outputted from the plurality of light-emitting elements (128 & 130 & 132; Paragraph [0027]).
Claim(s) 1, 4-5, and 13 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) and 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Itou et al. (US 2021/0265420).
Regarding claim 1, discloses a light-emitting device (Fig. 4) comprising a substrate having a first surface and a second surface that are opposed to each other (SU1; Paragraph [0034]); a plurality of light-emitting elements arranged in an array on the first surface side of the substrate (BLED; Paragraph [0040]); a partition wall formed above the plurality of light-emitting elements using a metal material and having an opening for each of the plurality of light-emitting elements (FIL & WL & AD/RFL1 & RFL2; Paragraph [0061-0062, 0074, 0084]); and a wavelength conversion layer that is provided in the opening and converts a wavelength of light outputted from the plurality of light-emitting elements (BF & GF & RF; Paragraph [0060]).
Regarding claim 4, Itou further discloses wherein an electrode layer that is common to the plurality of light-emitting elements and provided between the plurality of light-emitting elements and the partition wall and between the plurality of light-emitting elements and the wavelength conversion layer (CE; Paragraph [0061]), wherein the partition wall is electrically coupled to the electrode layer (AD/RFL1 & Ada; Paragraph [0073, 0100]).
Regarding claim 5, Itou further discloses wherein the partition wall further includes a light reflection film on a side surface of the opening (FIL & WL & AD/RFL1 & RFL2; Paragraph [0061-0062, 0074, 0084]).
Regarding claim 13, Itou further discloses wherein the wavelength conversion layer is formed using a plurality of quantum dots (Paragraph [0082]).
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.
Claim(s) 16 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Itou et al. (US 2021/0265420) in view of Choe et al. (US 2021/0151542).
Regarding claim 16, Itou teaches the invention of claim 1, including a bottom substrate, but is silent as to a heat dissipation member disposed on the second surface of the substrate.
In the same field of endeavor of and LED display with wavelength conversion elements, Choe teaches wherein a heat dissipation member is disposed on the lower surface of the substrate in order to efficiently dissipate heat from the display panel (Paragraph [0069]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to modify the invention of Itou to have a heat dissipation member disposed on the second surface of the substrate in order to efficiently dissipate heat from the display panel, as disclosed by Choe.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 8-10, 12, and 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.
Specifically, in claim 8, the limitation wherein the partition wall has a laminated structure of a first partition wall formed using a semiconductor material and a second partition wall formed using the metal material, and the first partition wall and the second partition wall are laminated in this order from the substrate side is neither taught nor suggested by the prior art of record.
Claims 9-10 are objected to based on their dependence from claim 8.
Specifically, in claim 12, the limitation wherein widths of the openings in which the first wavelength conversion layer, the second wavelength conversion layer, and the third wavelength conversion layer are provided are different from each other is neither taught nor suggested by the prior art of record.
Specifically, in claim 14, the limitation wherein the third wavelength conversion layer is configured by a resin layer having light transparency is neither taught nor suggested by the prior art of record.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ANNE M HINES whose telephone number is (571)272-2285. The examiner can normally be reached on M-F: 8:00-4:30.
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/Anne M Hines/
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 2879