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 § 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 1-7, 14 and 18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Song (US PGPub 2018/0005571) in view of Xiong (CN105679245B).
Regarding claim 1, Song discloses a pixel driving circuit (fig. 1), comprising:
a photosensitive device (fig. 1, transistor S2 and photoresistor R1), a first terminal of the photosensitive device being configured to receive a control signal (fig. 1, VSCAN), and a second terminal of the photosensitive device being electrically connected to a first node (fig. 1, VLDR node), wherein a resistance of the photosensitive device changes as an intensity of light incident on the photosensitive device changes ([0031], “The photoresistor R1 is a positive coefficient photoresistor with a resistance value which increases as the light-emitting brightness of the OLED increases”), the photosensitive device is configured to adjust a voltage at the first node based on the control signal ([0023], “The resistance value of the photoresistor changes as the light-emitting brightness changes, in turn, affecting the voltage at the gate electrode (or voltage at the control electrode) of the compensation driving transistor”); and
a dimming sub-circuit (fig. 1, TFT2) connected between a first voltage terminal and a light-emitting device (fig. 1, TFT2 connected between ELVDD and OLED) and electrically connected to the first node (fig. 1, TFT2 connected to VLDR), wherein an on-state of the dimming sub-circuit changes as the voltage at the first node changes, and the dimming sub-circuit is configured to adjust brightness of the light-emitting device based on a first voltage signal from the first voltage terminal under control of the voltage at the first node ([0023], “a photoresistor R1 detects a light-emitting brightness of the OLED. The resistance value of the photoresistor changes as the light-emitting brightness changes, in turn, affecting the voltage at the gate electrode (or voltage at the control electrode) of the compensation driving transistor. The current provided by the compensation driving transistor to the OLED changes as the divided voltage changes, to eventually compensate the driving current of the OLED”).
While Song teaches a photoresistor R1 detects a light-emitting brightness of the OLED and the resistance value of the photoresistor changes as the light-emitting brightness changes (Song: [0023]), it has been known to have a photoresistor capable of detecting external light. In a similar field of endeavor of display devices, Xiong discloses light is external ambient light (page 3, paragraphs 1-3, “the resistance value of photosensitive unit R changes with the variation of ambient brightness); wherein the first node is only connected to the second terminal of the photosensitive device and the dimming sub-circuit (page 3, paragraphs 1-3 and fig. 3A, where photosensitive unit R is connected to transistor M1).
In view of the teachings of Song and Xiong, it would have been obvious to have a photoresistor receive external light, as taught by Xiong, within the system of Song, for the purpose of improving a user’s experience by altering pixel compensation based on an ambient brightness (Xiong: page 2, paragraph 2 of the Background Technology Section).
Regarding claim 2, the combination of Song and Xiong further discloses further comprising:
a driving transistor (Xiong: fig. 3A, transistor M3), a control electrode of the driving transistor being electrically connected to a second node, a first electrode of the driving transistor being electrically connected to a third node, and a second electrode of the driving transistor being electrically connected to a fourth node (Xiong: fig. 3A, where second, third and fourth are labeling for nodes); wherein
the dimming sub-circuit includes a first transistor (Xiong: fig. 3A, transistor M1 and Song: fig. 1, transistor TFT2) connected between the fourth node and the light-emitting device (Song: fig. 1, ELVDD and OLED), and a control electrode of the first transistor is electrically connected to the first node (Song: fig. 1).
Regarding claim 3, the combination of Song and Xiong further discloses wherein the first terminal of the photosensitive device is electrically connected to an enable signal terminal (Song: fig. 1, VSCAN); and
the dimming sub-circuit further includes a second transistor (Xiong: fig. 3A, transistor M1), a control electrode of the second transistor is electrically connected to the first node or the enable signal terminal (Xiong: fig. 3A, Emit), a first electrode of the second transistor is electrically connected to the first voltage terminal (Xiong: fig. 2A, PVDD), and a second electrode of the second transistor is electrically connected to the third node (Xiong: fig. 3A, node N2).
Regarding claim 4, the combination of Song and Xiong further discloses wherein the first terminal of the photosensitive device is electrically connected to a scan signal terminal (Song: fig. 1, VSCAN); and
the dimming sub-circuit further includes a second transistor (Xiong: fig. 3A, transistor M1), a control electrode of the second transistor is electrically connected to the enable signal terminal (Xiong: fig. 3A, Emit), a first electrode of the second transistor is electrically connected to the first voltage terminal (Xiong: fig. 3A, PVDD), and a second electrode of the second transistor is electrically connected to the third node (Xiong: fig. 3A, node N2).
Regarding claim 5, the combination of Song and Xiong further discloses wherein the first terminal of the photosensitive device is electrically connected to any one of an enable signal terminal, a scan signal terminal, a reset signal terminal, an initialization signal terminal, the first voltage terminal, a second voltage terminal, the second node, the third node or the fourth node (Song: fig. 1, VSCAN); the light-emitting device is electrically connected to the second voltage terminal (Xiong: fig. 3A, PVEE); and
the dimming sub-circuit further includes a second transistor and a third transistor (Xiong: fig. 3A, transistors M1 and M6), wherein
a control electrode of the second transistor is electrically connected to the enable signal terminal (Xiong: fig. 3A, Emit), a first electrode of the second transistor is electrically connected to the first voltage terminal (Xiong: fig. 3A, PVDD), and a second electrode of the second transistor is electrically connected to the third node (Xiong: fig. 3A, node N2); and
a control electrode of the third transistor is electrically connected to the enable signal terminal (Xiong: fig. 3A, Emit), the third transistor is connected between the fourth node and the light-emitting device (Xiong: fig. 3A, transistor M6 connected between M3 and OLED), and the third transistor and the first transistor are connected in series (Xiong: fig. 3A, transistor M3 and M6 connected in series).
Regarding claim 6, the combination of Song and Xiong further discloses further comprising:
a driving transistor (Xiong: fig. 3A, transistor M3), a control electrode of the driving transistor being electrically connected to a second node, a first electrode of the driving transistor being electrically connected to a third node, and a second electrode of the driving transistor being electrically connected to a fourth node (Xiong: fig. 3A); wherein
the dimming sub-circuit includes a first transistor -(Xiong: fig. 3A, transistor M1 and Song: fig. 1, transistor TFT2), a control electrode of the first transistor is electrically connected to the first node (Song: fig. 1, VLDR node), a first electrode of the first transistor is electrically connected to the first voltage terminal (Xiong: fig. 3A, PVDD and Song: fig. 1, ELVDD), and a second electrode of the first transistor is electrically connected to the third node (Xiong: fig. 3A, node N2).
Regarding claim 14, the combination of Song and Xiong further discloses a display apparatus (Song: [0012], “The OLED pixel circuit and the display device”), comprising the display module according to claim 1 and a housing (Song and Xiong, where a display device would be in a housing).
Claim 18 is within the scope of claim 1 and 6 and is therefore interpreted and rejected based on similar reasoning.
Regarding claim 7, the combination of Song and Xiong further discloses wherein the first terminal of the photosensitive device is electrically connected to an enable signal terminal or a scan signal terminal (Xiong: fig. 3A, Emit);
the dimming sub-circuit further includes a second transistor (Xiong: fig. 3A, transistor M6), a control electrode of the second transistor is electrically connected to the enable signal terminal (Xiong: fig. 3A, Emit), a first electrode of the second transistor is electrically connected to the fourth node (Xiong: fig. 3A, connection between M3 and M6), and a second electrode of the second transistor is electrically connected to the light-emitting device (Xiong: fig. 3A, OLED).
Claims 8, 9, 16 and 17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Song and Xiong further in view of Li et al. (US PGPub 2021/0407419).
Regarding claim 8, the combination of Song and Xiong further discloses further comprising:
a capacitor (Xiong: fig. 3A, capacitor C), a first electrode plate of the capacitor being electrically connected to the first voltage terminal (Xiong: fig. 3A, PVDD), and a second electrode plate of the capacitor being electrically connected to the second node (Xiong: fig. 3A, node N1);
a fourth transistor (Xiong: fig. 3A, transistor M2), a control electrode of the fourth transistor being electrically connected to a scan signal terminal (Xiong: fig. 3A, Scan2), a first electrode of the fourth transistor being electrically connected to a data signal terminal (Xiong: fig. 3A, Vdata), and a second electrode of the fourth transistor being electrically connected to the third node (Xiong: fig. 3A, node N2);
a fifth transistor (Xiong: fig. 3A, transistor M4), a control electrode of the fifth transistor being electrically connected to the scan signal terminal (Xiong: fig. 3A, Scan2), a first electrode of the fifth transistor being electrically connected to the fourth node (Xiong: fig. 3A, node between transistor M3 and M6), and a second electrode of the fifth transistor being electrically connected to the second node (Xiong: fig. 3A, node N1);
a sixth transistor (Xiong: fig. 3A, transistor M5), a control electrode of the sixth transistor being electrically connected to a reset signal terminal (Xiong: fig. 3A, Scan1), a first electrode of the sixth transistor being electrically connected to an initialization signal terminal (Xiong: fig. 3A, Vref), and a second electrode of the sixth transistor being electrically connected to the second node (Xiong: fig. 3A, node N1).
While Song and Xiong teaches a pixel circuit with first-sixth transistors, other types of pixel circuits are known including those including a seventh transistor. In a similar field of endeavor of display devices, Li discloses a seventh transistor (Li: fig. 5, transistor M3), a control electrode of the seventh transistor being electrically connected to the scan signal terminal (Li: fig. 5, S1), a first electrode of the seventh transistor being electrically connected to the initialization signal terminal (Li: fig. 5, Vref), and a second electrode of the seventh transistor being electrically connected to the light-emitting device (Li: fig. 5, element 10).
In view of the teachings of Song, Xiong and Li, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to include the seventh transistor of Li within the pixel circuit of Song and Xiong, for the purpose of including transistors which further provide stability within the pixel circuitry.
Regarding claim 9, the combination of Song, Xiong and Li further discloses wherein the dimming sub-circuit further includes a second transistor (Xiong: fig. 3A, transistor M1), a control electrode of the second transistor is electrically connected to the first node or an enable signal terminal (Xiong: fig. 3A, Emit), a first electrode of the second transistor is electrically connected to the first voltage terminal (Xiong: fig. 3A, PVDD), and a second electrode of the second transistor is electrically connected to the third node (Xiong: fig. 3A, node N2); or
the dimming sub-circuit further includes a second transistor and a third transistor; a control electrode of the second transistor is electrically connected to the enable signal terminal, a first electrode of the second transistor is electrically connected to the first voltage terminal, and a second electrode of the second transistor is electrically connected to the third node; a control electrode of the third transistor is electrically connected to the enable signal terminal, the third transistor is connected between the fourth node and the light-emitting device, and the third transistor and the first transistor are connected in series; wherein
in a case where the first terminal of the photosensitive device is electrically connected to any one of the first voltage terminal, the scan signal terminal, the third node and the fourth node, a polarity of the first transistor is opposite to polarities of the driving transistor, the second transistor, and the fourth to seventh transistors; in a case where the dimming sub-circuit further includes the third transistor, the polarity of the first transistor is also opposite to a polarity of the third transistor;
in a case where the first terminal of the photosensitive device is electrically connected to any one of the enable signal terminal, the reset signal terminal, the initialization signal terminal, a second voltage terminal and the second node, the polarity of the first transistor is same as the polarities of the driving transistor, the second transistor, and the fourth to seventh transistors (Li: [0079]-[0081] discuss using either P-type of N-type transistors); in the case where the dimming sub-circuit further includes the third transistor, the polarity of the first transistor is also same as the polarity of the third transistor.
Claims 16 and 17 is within the scope of claims 8 and 9 and are therefore interpreted and rejected based on similar reasoning.
Claims 10-13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Song, Xiong further in view of Wang et al. (US PGPub 2021/0193006).
Regarding claim 10, while the combination of Song and Xiong teaches a display module (Song: [0012], display device), comprising: a plurality of pixel driving circuits each according to claim 1, it has been known to include a substrate within a display module. In a similar field of endeavor of display devices, Wang discloses
a substrate; the plurality of pixel driving circuits being disposed on the substrate; and a plurality of light-emitting devices disposed on a side of the plurality of pixel driving circuits away from the substrate, and the light-emitting devices being electrically connected to the pixel driving circuits ([0016], “At least one embodiment of the present disclosure further provides a display device, which comprises the gate driving circuit according to any one of the embodiments of the present disclosure, and further comprises a backlight and an array substrate. The array substrate comprises a base substrate, a light blocking layer, and a gate driving circuit layer, the light blocking layer is on the base substrate, the gate driving circuit layer is on a side, away from the base substrate, of the light blocking layer, and the gate driving circuit is provided in the gate driving circuit layer; and the gate driving circuit layer comprises the variable resistor, and the light blocking layer has an opening at a position corresponding to the variable resistor, so that light emitted by the backlight can be irradiated to the variable resistor through the opening” and fig. 13).
In view of the teachings of Song, Xiong and Wang, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to include the structure of Wang within the system of Song and Xiong, for the purpose of using gate on array technology which helps to achieve a narrow bezel and can reduce production cost (Wang: [0003]).
Regarding claim 11, the combination of Song, Xiong and Wang further discloses wherein the display module has a light-transmitting area (Wang: fig. 13, opening 6221), the light-transmitting area is provided with at least one photosensitive device therein (Wang: fig. 13, photoresistor R1), and each photosensitive device is electrically connected to multiple pixel driving circuits is in the plurality of pixel driving circuits (Wang: fig. 14).
Regarding claim 12, the combination of Song, Xiong and Wang further discloses wherein the display module comprises:
a photosensitive layer disposed on the side of the plurality of pixel driving circuits away from the substrate (Wang: fig. 13), wherein the photosensitive layer includes a plurality of photosensitive devices (Wang: fig. 14, a plurality of R1), and each photosensitive device is electrically connected to one or more pixel driving circuits in the plurality of pixel driving circuits (Wang: fig. 14, a plurality of element 70).
Regarding claim 13, the combination of Song, Xiong and Wang further discloses further comprising:
a chip on film electrically connected to the plurality of pixel driving circuits (Wang: [0114], “the gate driver 6010 may be implemented as a semiconductor chip, or may be integrated in the display panel 6000 to form a GOA circuit”); and
a flexible printed circuit electrically connected to the chip on film, wherein a surface of the flexible printed circuit is provided with at least one photosensitive device thereon (Wang: fig. 14, base substrate 621), and in a case of the flexible printed circuit being bent to a back side of the substrate, the photosensitive device is closer to the substrate than the flexible printed circuit; wherein
each photosensitive device is electrically connected to multiple pixel driving circuits in the plurality of pixel driving circuits (Wang: fig. 14).
Claim 15 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Song and Xiong further in view of Robison et al. (WO 2015/199806).
Regarding claim 15, the combination of Song and Xiong teaches a display module of claim 1 used in general electronic devices, however it has been known to use display modules in smart watches. In a similar field of endeavor of display devices, Robison discloses an intelligent watch ([0021], “In the example of FIG. 1, wearable computing device 20 includes at UI device 22, communication module 24, and brightness control module 26. Examples of wearable computing device 20 may include, but are not limited to, smart watches, smart glasses, headsets, mobile phones (including smartphones), tablet computers, cameras, personal digital assistants (PDAs), etc.” and [0019], “Ambient light sensor 12 may be a hardware ambient light sensor that detects an amount of light in the environment around mobile computing device 2. In some examples, ambient light sensor 12 may include one or more of photoresistors, photocells, photodiodes, and/or phototransistors. In general, ambient light sensor 12 is configured to imitate the sensitivity of a human eye over a visual spectral range of light having wavelengths of 380 nm to 780 nm. However, ambient light sensor 12 may be configured with different sensitivity and for different wavelengths of light. For example, ambient light sensor 12 may be configured to respond to infrared and/or ultraviolet light and may be configured to compensate for the detected infrared and/or ultraviolet light such that adjustments to the brightness level of a display made by brightness control module 10 may be more accurate.”), comprising the display module and a supporting component (fig. 1).
In view of the teachings of Song, Xiong and Robison, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to use the display module of Song and Xiong within a smart watch, as taught by Robison, where wearable computing devices including display screens are known to improve a user’s experience.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments, see pages 13-17, filed 10/29/2025, with respect to the rejection(s) of claims 1 and 18 under 103 have been fully considered and are persuasive. Therefore, the rejection has been withdrawn. However, upon further consideration, a new ground(s) of rejection is made in view of Xiong.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to EMILY J FRANK whose telephone number is (571)270-7255. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Thursday 8AM-6PM.
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, Benjamin C Lee can be reached at (571)272-2963. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/EJF/
/BENJAMIN C LEE/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2629