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 .
Response to Amendments
2. The Amendments filed April 29th, 2026 in response to the Non-Final Office Action mailed 02/18/2026 are noted.
Applicant’s amendments to the claims are noted.
3. Claim 1 is now canceled; Claims 2-22 remain pending in the application; Claim 14 is withdrawn.
4. Claims 2-13 and 15-22 have been fully considered in examination.
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement(s) (IDS) submitted on 03/27/2026 is/are in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement(s) is/are being considered by the examiner.
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.
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.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claim(s) 2-4, 15-17, and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Park (U.S. PG Pub No US2013/0328090A1) (of record) in view of Itou (U.S. PG Pub No US2021/0265533A1) (of record).
Regarding claim 2, Park teaches a display device (110-11) fig. 15 [0149] comprising:
a base material (40 with 41) fig. 15 [0076] having (some degree of) light transmittance [0077];
a picture pattern layer (‘optical pattern’ comprising 60 [0123]) fig. 15 [0123] formed on (supported by) a back (top) surface (60 supported by top of 40) which is an opposite side of a front (bottom) surface of the base material (40 with 41);
a plurality of light emitting units (20’s) fig. 15 [0089-0093] formed on (partially in/directly on) the front (local bottom) surface of the base material (40 with 41) and each containing an LED element (20 may be red LED [0066, 0119, 0290-0291]); and
a control unit (110-11 comprising module circuitry 6-8 (see fig. 2) [0064] in 10 base layer 5 used to control light sources 20) [0064, 0120, 0149] configured to drive (able to provide driving signals to) the plurality of light emitting units (20).
However, Park does not explicitly disclose wherein the LED element (20) is an inorganic LED element (material not disclosed).
Itou teaches a display device (Pix) fig. 2 [0037] wherein the LED element (RLED) [0040] is an inorganic LED element [0040].
Therefore, it would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the display device of Park such that the LED’s are formed of inorganic materials [0040] because of inorganic material’s art recognized suitability [0003] for the formation of micro-LED’s with high light extraction efficiency [0003-0004, 0094-0095], as taught by Itou.
Regarding claim 3, Park in view of Itou teaches the display device (110-11) fig. 15 [0149] of claim 2. Park also teaches comprising:
a surface protective layer (54) fig. 15 [0124] provided to cover the plurality of light emitting units (20) fig. 15 [0089-0093] and the surface to which the plurality of light emitting units (20s) fig. 15 [0089] is fixed and having light transmittance [0124].
Regarding claim 4, Park in view of Itou teaches the display device (110-11) fig. 15 [0149] of claim 3. Park also teaches wherein the surface protective layer (54) fig. 15 [0124] contains a light-transmitting shaped sheet [0124] formed with a recessed shape (R2) fig. 15 [0151] or a projection shape in a (top of 54) surface opposite to a (bottom) side facing the light emitting units (20) fig. 15 [0157].
Regarding claim 15, Park in view of Itou teaches the display device (110-11) fig. 15 [0149] of claim 3. Park also teaches comprising:
circuit wiring lines (310 formed of metal) fig. 15 [0118, 0145] provided on the surface to which the light emitting units (20’s) fig. 15 [0089] are fixed and configured to electrically connect the light emitting units and the control unit (110-11 comprising module circuitry 6-8 (see fig. 2) [0064] in 10 base layer 5 used to control light sources 20) [0064, 0120, 0149], wherein
a surface area ratio is 70% or less (defined as < 1/3, less than 33%), the surface area ratio being a ratio of an area occupied by (a portion of) the light emitting units (20’s) and (a portion of) the circuit wiring line (310 formed of metal) fig. 15 [0118, 0145] electrically in the surface to which the light emitting units (20s) are fixed (as defined in annotated fig. 15 below; area of portion of surface of 20 less than 1/3rd area of select portion of surface of 310).
[AltContent: textbox (3 SA units within portion of 310 of same vertical-length)][AltContent: rect][AltContent: arrow][AltContent: arrow][AltContent: rect][AltContent: rect][AltContent: rect][AltContent: textbox (SA unit of portion of 20)]
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Annotated fig. 15 of Park
Regarding claim 16, Park in view of Itou teaches the display device (110-11) fig. 15 [0149] of claim 3. Park also teaches comprising:
circuit wiring lines (310’s formed of metal) fig. 15 [0118, 0145] provided on the surface to which the light emitting units (20’s) fig. 15 [0089] are fixed and configured to electrically connect the light emitting units (20’s) and the control unit (110-11 comprising module circuitry 6-8 (see fig. 2) [0064] in 10 base layer 5 used to control light sources 20) [0064, 0120, 0149].
However, Park does not explicitly disclose wherein one wiring line (respective right/left 310) fig. 15 [0118, 0145] for each of the inorganic LED elements (right/left 20) contained in the light emitting units (20) and for feeding a signal or power to the inorganic LED element is formed of a plurality of thin wiring lines (one 310 for each LED).
Itou teaches a display device [see fig. 19, 0117] wherein one wiring line (IPL, CDS, SL) fig. 19 [0118, 0038] for each of the inorganic LED elements (RLED, GLED, BLED) fig. 19 [0038, 0040] contained in the light emitting units (RLED, GLED, BLED) and for feeding a signal (SL) [0038] and/or power (IPL) [0038] to the inorganic LED element (RLED, GLED, BLED) is formed of a plurality of thin wiring lines (IPL, CDS, SL).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the display device of Park such that the LED’s are formed of inorganic materials [0040] controlled by a plurality of respective signal lines [0038-0039, 0118] in order to enable the formation and control of micro-LEDs with high light extraction efficiency [0003-0004, 0038-0039, 0094-0095], as taught by Itou.
Regarding claim 17, Park in view of Itou teaches the display device (110-11) fig. 15 [0149] of claim 3. Park also teaches wherein the light emitting units (20) fig. 3 [0089-0093] are arranged in a matrix shape (20’s are disposed in at least a 1x2 matrix).
Regarding claim 20, Park teaches a decorative sheet (40 comprising 41) fig. 15 [0077] comprising:
the display device according to claim 3 (comprising components claimed in claim 3), wherein the display device (comprising 20s) fig. 15 [0149] is provided on a part of a front surface (local front surface bordering 20) of the decorative sheet (40 comprising 41).
Claims 5-13 and 21-22 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Park (U.S. PG Pub No US2013/0328090A1) in view of Yamanaka (U.S. PG Pub No US2021/0178733A1).
Regarding claim 5, Park teaches a display device (110-11) fig. 15 [0149] comprising:
a colored sheet (comprising 10, 30, 31) fig. 15 [0089-0093] (30/31 comprises white pigment such as TiO2 [0091, 0102]);
a plurality of light emitting units (20s) fig. 15 [0089] fixed to a front surface (top of 10) of the colored sheet (comprising 10, 30, 31) and each containing an inorganic LED element (20 may be red LED [0066, 0119, 0290-0291]);
a surface protective layer (54) fig. 15 [0124] provided to cover the plurality of light emitting units (20) and the surface (top of 10) to which the plurality of light emitting units (20) is fixed and having light transmittance [0124];
a pattern layer (52, 56 of 50) fig. 15 [0123] provided on a surface (bottom of 54) on a side facing the light emitting units (20) of the surface protective layer (54) and configured to impart a pattern to light (“optical pattern”) [0123] from the plurality of light emitting units (20) and transmit the light [0124]; and
a control unit (110-11 comprising module circuitry 6-8 (see fig. 2) [0064] in 10 base layer 5 used to control light sources 20) [0064, 0120, 0149] configured to drive (able to provide driving signals to) the light emitting units (20).
However, Park does not explicitly disclose wherein the pattern layer (52, 56 of 50) fig. 15 [0123] is a pictorial pattern printed layer.
Yamanaka teaches a display apparatus (10) fig. 3 [0028] wherein the pattern layer (50 comprising 53) fig. 3 [0029] is a pictorial pattern printed layer (‘picture pattern portion’ [0029] formed by printing [0043]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the display device of Park such that the optical pattern element is formed as the printed picture pattern portion [0029, 0043] of Yamanaka in order to improve visibility of the intended design [0040, 0043, 0088-0089] of the pictorial pattern, thereby improving overall viewing of the display, as taught by Yamanaka.
Regarding claim 6, Park in view of Yamanaka teaches the display device (110-11) fig. 15 [0149] of claim 5. Park also teaches wherein the surface protective layer (54) fig. 15 [0124] contains a light-transmitting shaped sheet [0124] formed with a recessed shape (R2) fig. 15 [0151] or a projection shape in a (top of 54) surface opposite to the (bottom) side facing the light emitting units (20) fig. 15 [0157].
Regarding claim 7, Park in view of Yamanaka teaches the display device (110-11) fig. 15 [0149] of claim 6. Park in view of Yamanaka also teaches comprising:
a transparent sheet (40 comprising 41) fig. 15 [0077] having (some degree of) light transmittance [0077] between a surface on which the pictorial pattern printed (52, 56 of 50) fig. 15 [0123] (modified by Yamanaka to comprise printed picture pattern) is provided of the shaped sheet (54) fig. 15 [0124] and the light emitting units (20) fig. 15 [0089].
Regarding claim 8, Park in view of Yamanaka teaches the display device (110-11) fig. 15 [0149] of claim 7. Park also teaches wherein the colored sheet (comprising 10, 30, 31) fig. 15 [0089-0093] includes:
a base material (insulating bulk material 5 of 10) fig. 15 [0064] (see fig. 2 for label) [0064]; and
an ink layer (31/30) fig. 15 [0093] applied to the base material (bulk material of 10) and configured to lower visibility (with reflective, white ink such as TiO2) [0090-0093] of an installation surface (interface of 10 and 20) of the display device (comprising 20) and the base material (10 bulk material).
Regarding claim 9, Park in view of Yamanaka teaches the display device (110-11) fig. 15 [0149] of claim 8. Park also teaches wherein
the light emitting units (20s) fig. 15 [0089] are provided on a front surface (top) of the base material (insulating film of 10) fig. 15 [0064],
circuit wiring lines (310 formed of metal) fig. 15 [0118, 0145] electrically connecting the light emitting units (20s) and the control unit (110-11 comprising module circuitry 6-8 (see fig. 2) [0064] in 10 base layer 5 used to control light sources 20) [0064, 0120, 0149] are provided on the front surface of the base material (10), and
the ink layer (31/30) fig. 15 [0089-0093] has a color lowering visibility (white color lowers visibility of underlying layers) of the installation surface (interface of 10 and 20) of the display device (comprising 20s) fig. 15 [0057, 0089], the base material (bulk material of 10), and the circuit wiring lines (310s) and is formed on the base material (10-insulating-material) and the circuit wiring lines (310).
Regarding claim 10, Park in view of Yamanaka teaches the display device (110-11) fig. 15 [0149] of claim 5. Park also teaches wherein the colored sheet (comprising 10, 30, 31) fig. 15 [0089-0093] includes:
a base material (insulating film of 10) fig. 15 [0064]; and
a concealing sheet (31/30) fig. 15 [0093] arranged on the base material (10), the light emitting units (20s) fig. 15 [0089] are provided on a front surface (top) of the base material (10),
circuit wiring lines (310 formed of metal) fig. 15 [0118, 0145] electrically connecting the light emitting units (20s) and the control unit (110-11 comprising module circuitry 6-8 (see fig. 2) [0064] in 10 base layer 5 used to control light sources 20) [0064, 0120, 0149] are provided on the front surface of the base material (insulating film of 10), and
the concealing sheet (31/30) is a sheet lowering visibility (with reflective, white ink such as TiO2) [0090-0093] of an installation surface (interface of 10 and 20) of the display device (comprising 20s) [0057], the base material (insulating film of 10), and the circuit wiring lines (310) fig. 15 [0118, 0145], has through holes (through hole in 30/31 hosting 20s) fig. 15 [0088] through which the light emitting units (20s) fig. 15 [0089] pass at positions facing the light emitting units (20s), and is arranged on the circuit wiring lines (310) to make the (sidewalls of) light emitting units (20) and the through holes (through hole in 30/31 hosting 20s) fig. 15 [0088] face each other.
Regarding claim 11, Park in view of Yamanaka teaches the display device (110-11) fig. 15 [0149] of claim 5. Park also teaches wherein the colored sheet (comprising 10, 30, 31) fig. 15 [0089-0093] includes:
a base material (insulating film of 10) fig. 15 [0064]; and a concealing sheet (31/30) fig. 15 [0093] arranged on the base material (insulating film of 10) and configured to lower visibility (reflective, white ink such as TiO2 lower visibility of underlying material) [0090-0093] of an installation surface (interface of 10 and 20) of the display device (comprising 20s) and the base material (insulating film of 10),
the light emitting units (20s) fig.15 [0089] are provided on a front (top) surface of the base material (insulating film of 10), circuit wiring lines (310 formed of metal) fig. 15 [0118, 0145] electrically connecting the light emitting units (20s) and the control unit (110-11 comprising module circuitry 6-8 (see fig. 2) [0064] in 10 base layer 5 used to control light sources 20) [0064, 0120, 0149] are provided on the front surface (top) of the base material (5 of 10) [see fig. 2, 0064], and the concealing sheet (30/31) is a resin layer [0090] formed to cover the base material (5 of 10 / insulating bulk material of 10), the circuit wiring lines (310), and side surfaces of the light emitting units (20s).
Regarding claim 12, Park in view of Yamanaka teaches the display device (110-11) fig. 15 [0149] of claim 11. Park also teaches wherein the concealing sheet (31/30) fig. 15 [0093] and the light emitting units (20) fig. 15 [0089] are flush (directly interface respective sidewalls) with each other.
Regarding claim 13, Park in view of Yamanaka teaches the display device (110-11) fig. 15 [0149] of claim 11. Park also teaches wherein an upper end (top of 31/30) fig. 15 [0090-0093] of the concealing sheet (31/30) [0090-0093] is lower than an upper end of each of the light emitting units (20) fig. 15 [0089] in front view [see fig. 15].
Regarding claim 21, Park teaches a decorative sheet (40 comprising 41) fig. 15 [0077] comprising:
the display device (110-11) fig. 15 [0149] according to claim 5 (comprising components claimed in claim 5),
wherein the display device (comprising 20) is provided on a part of a front surface (local front surface bordering 20) of the decorative sheet (40 comprising 41).
Regarding claim 22, Park teaches a method [0154] for producing a display device (110-11) fig. 15 [0149], the display device (110-11) fig. 15 [0149] being the display device (110-11) fig. 15 [0149] according to claim 9,
the method comprising:
forming the circuit wiring lines (310 formed of metal) fig. 15 [0118, 0145] on the front surface of the base material (bulk material 5 of 10) fig. 15 [0064] (see fig. 2 for label) [0064];
forming an ink layer (31/30) fig. 15 [0089-0093] lowering the visibility (white color lowers visibility of underlying layers) of the installation surface of the display device (comprising 20), the base material (bulk insulating material of 10), and the circuit wiring lines (310) on the front surface of the base material (interface of 10 and 20) including the circuit wiring lines (310); and
after forming the ink layer (31/30), installing the light emitting units (20) on the front surface of the base material (bulk material of 5).
With respect to the underlined limitation “after”, the finished configuration shown in fig. 15 of Park does not explicitly indicate the relative order of formation between the ink layer (31/30) and light emitting units (20). However, whether the light emitting unit (20) is formed before, after, or simultaneously with the ink layer (31/30) reflects a trivial change of sequence which does not introduce a significant structural difference in the finished product. Therefore, for the purposes of Examination, the term “after forming the ink layer” has been interpreted as merely “forming the ink layer”. (See MPEP 2144.04, IV, C).
Claims 18-19 rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Park (U.S. PG Pub No US2013/0328090A1) (of record) modified by Itou (U.S. PG Pub No US2021/0265533A1) (of record), as applied in claim 3 above, and further in view of Nishihara (U.S. PG Pub No US2010/0245736A1) (of record).
Regarding claim 18, Park in view of Itou teaches the display device (110-11) fig. 15 [0149] of claim 3. However, Park does not explicitly disclose wherein an estimated distance A between the light emitting units (20s) fig. 15 [0089] and an observer visually recognizing emitted light from the light emitting units (20s) and a size a of the light emitting units (20s) as viewed from a light-emitting surface side satisfy Equation (1) below,
a<_A/500 ------(1).
Nishihara teaches a display device [see fig. 10A, 0088] wherein an estimated distance A (L = 50 cm = 500,000 microns) fig. 10A [0088] between the light emitting units (comprising 10) fig. 10a [0088] and an observer visually recognizing emitted light from the light emitting units (comprising 10) and a (collective) size a (distance 150 microns) of the light emitting units (comprising 10) as viewed from a light-emitting surface side satisfy Equation (1) below,
a<_A/500 ------(1) (a = 500,000/150 = 3333.33, a< A/500).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the display panel of Park such that the size parameters of the display device are determined according to the Landolt ring formula [0088] in order to improve viewing angle characteristics [0004, 0022] so as to maximize visual acuity [0088] of the displayed images, as taught by Nishihara.
Regarding claim 19, Park in view of Itou teaches the display device (110-11) fig. 15 [0149] of claim 3. However, Park does not explicitly disclose wherein an assumed vision value n using a Landolt ring of an observer visually recognizing emitted light from the light emitting units satisfies Equation (2) below and is 0 < n ≤ 1.0,
a = Asin θ /n------(2)
0 = (2π /360) x (1/60) wherein A is an estimated distance between the light emitting units (20s) fig. 15 [0089] and the observer visually recognizing the emitted light from the light emitting units (20s), and a is a size of the light emitting units (20s) as viewed from a light-emitting surface side.
Nishihara teaches a display device [see fig. 10A, 0088] wherein an assumed vision value n using a Landolt ring [0088] of an observer visually recognizing emitted light from the light emitting units satisfies Equation (2) below and is 0 < n ≤ 1.0 (acuity n= 1) [0088],
a = Asin θ /n------(2) [0088];
θ = (2π /360) x (1/60) wherein A (L) [0088] is an estimated distance between the light emitting units (comprising 10) fig. 10a [0088] and the observer [0088] visually recognizing the emitted light from the light emitting units (comprising 10s), and a is a size of the light emitting units (comprising collective 10) fig. 10a [0088] as viewed from a light-emitting surface side [see fig. 10A, 0088] (A value (L) [0088] can be set depending on the selected position of the observer [0088] to satisfy the Landolt ring conditions for some value of A (L) [0088]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the display panel of Park such that the size parameters of the display device are determined according to the Landolt ring formula [0088] in order to improve viewing angle characteristics [0004, 0022] so as to maximize visual acuity [0088] of the displayed images, as taught by Nishihara.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim(s) 2 have been considered but are rendered largely moot by a reinterpretation of the claimed “picture pattern layer” to be ‘optical pattern’ 60 in fig. 15 [0123] of Park. See further explanation in 35 U.S.C. 103 rejection of claim 2 above.
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim(s) 5 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Oh (US2014/0133128A1) (of record) teaches another example of a display device with LED’s and ink layers.
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to SEAN AYERS WINTERS whose telephone number is (571)270-3308. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday 10:30 am - 7:00 pm (EST).
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/SEAN AYERS WINTERS/Examiner, Art Unit 2892 06/30/2026
/NORMAN D RICHARDS/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2892
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