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
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 1 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kim et al. (2022/0022318, hereafter Kim) in view of Yun et al. (2022/0261049, hereafter Yun).
Regarding claim 1, Kim discloses a display device comprising: a display panel that displays images (DP, Fig. 1A, par. 0056); a printed circuit board driving the display panel and disposed in a first direction relative to the display panel (DC, Figs. 1A-1B, par. 0056); a connecting film electrically connecting the display panel and the printed circuit board (AF, Figs. 1C, 2A; par. 0056); connection pads (LD1/LD2, Fig. 2A) disposed at one end of the connection film bonded to the display panel and directed along a second direction intersecting the first direction (DD, Figs. 1C, 2A); and a plurality of first signal pads (PD1) disposed on the display panel and directed along the second direction, and configured to transmit a power voltage (Fig. 2A, par. 0068).
Kim fails to disclose wherein at least one of the first signal pads among the first signal pads overlaps at least two of the connection pads on a plane.
However, Yun teaches wherein at least one of the first signal pads (MPD2) among the first signal pads overlaps at least two of the connection pads (CPD2) on a plane (Fig. 5, par. 0070).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was filed to modify Kim with Yun by providing one signal pad overlapping two or more connection pads in order to provide a strong, low-resistance electrical connection and tolerance against physical misalignment.
Claims 2-15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kim in view of Yun as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Bae et al. (2019/0281699, hereafter Bae).
Regarding claim 2, Kim and Yun discussed above fail to disclose a display device wherein a planar area of each of the first signal pads is larger than a planar area of each of the connection pads.
However, Bae teaches a display device wherein a planar area of each of the first signal pads (IPD-120) is larger than a planar area of each of the connection pads (CPD) (Fig. 3B).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was filed to modify Kim and Yun with Bae by making the area of the first signal pads larger than that of the connection pads in order to minimize contact resistance for high current loads and ensure physical reliability of the device interface.
Regarding claim 3, Kim and Yun fail to disclose a display device wherein each of the first signal pads includes: a first side having a first inclination angle on a plane with respect to a reference line directed in the second direction; and a second side facing the first side and having a second inclination angle on a plane with respect to the reference line, wherein the second inclination angle is different from the first inclination angle.
However, Bae teaches a display device wherein each of the first signal pads (PD1) includes: a first side having a first inclination angle on a plane with respect to a reference line directed in the second direction; and a second side facing the first side and having a second inclination angle on a plane with respect to the reference line, wherein the second inclination angle is different from the first inclination angle (Fig. 5D, par. 0170).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was filed to modify Kim and Yun with Bae by providing signal pads with a first side and second wide with different angles of inclination in order to minimize contact resistance for high current loads and ensure physical reliability of the device interface.
Regarding claim 4, Kim and Yun fail to disclose a display device wherein each of the first signal pads further includes: a third side connecting the first side and the second side and having a first length; and a fourth side facing the third side and being disposed closer to the printed circuit board than the third side, wherein the fourth side includes a second length which is different from the first length.
However, Bae teaches a display device wherein each of the first signal pads (PD1) further includes: a third side connecting the first side and the second side and having a first length; and a fourth side facing the third side and being disposed closer to the printed circuit board than the third side, wherein the fourth side includes a second length which is different from the first length (Figs. 3B, 5D; par. 0170).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was filed to modify Kim and Yun with Bae by providing signal pads with third and fourth sides with different length in order to minimize contact resistance for high current loads and ensure physical reliability of the device interface.
Regarding claim 5, Kim and Yun fail to disclose a display device wherein a width of each of the first signal pads directed in the second direction changes from the third side to the fourth side.
However, Bae teaches a display device wherein a width of each of the first signal pads (PD1) directed in the second direction changes from the third side to the fourth side (Fig. 5D, par. 0170).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was filed to modify Kim and Yun with Bae by providing signal pads with a width that changes from the third to fourth sides in order to minimize contact resistance for high current loads and ensure physical reliability of the device interface.
Regarding claim 6, Kim and Yun fail to disclose a display device wherein the second inclination angle is larger than the first inclination angle, and wherein the first length is longer than the second length.
However, Bae teaches a display device wherein the second inclination angle is larger than the first inclination angle, and wherein the first length is longer than the second length (Fig. 5D, par. 0170).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was filed to modify Kim and Yun with Bae by providing signal pads with two sides of different inclination angles such that one side is longer than the other in order to minimize contact resistance for high current loads and ensure physical reliability of the device interface.
Regarding claim 7, Kim and Yun fail to disclose a display device wherein a width of each of the first signal pads in the second direction decreases from the third side to the fourth side.
However, Bae teaches a display device wherein a width of each of the first signal pads (PD1) in the second direction decreases from the third side to the fourth side (Fig. 5D, par. 0170).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was filed to modify Kim and Yun with Bae by providing signal pads with a width that decreases from the third to fourth sides in order to minimize contact resistance for high current loads and ensure physical reliability of the device interface.
Regarding claim 8, Kim and Yun fail to disclose a display device wherein the second inclination angle is smaller than the first inclination angle, and wherein the first length is shorter than the second length.
However, Bae teaches a display device wherein the second inclination angle is smaller than the first inclination angle, and wherein the first length is shorter than the second length (Fig. 5D, par. 0170).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was filed to modify Kim and Yun with Bae by providing signal pads with two sides of different inclination angles such that one side is longer than the other, and given that Bae does not specify the orientation of the pad, to try rotating such an orientation around a horizontal axis, in order to minimize contact resistance for high current loads and ensure physical reliability of the device interface.
Regarding claim 9, Kim and Yun fail to disclose a display device wherein a width of each of the first signal pads directed in the second direction increases from the third side to the fourth side.
However, Bae teaches a display device wherein a width of each of the first signal pads (PD1) directed in the second direction increases from the third side to the fourth side (Fig. 5D, par. 0170).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was filed to modify Kim and Yun with Bae by providing signal pads with a width that increases from the third to fourth sides, since Bae does not specify the orientation of the pad thus trying a rotation of it around a horizontal axis, in order to minimize contact resistance for high current loads and ensure physical reliability of the device interface.
Regarding claim 10, Kim discloses a display device further comprising: second signal pads (PD2, Fig. 2A) disposed on the display panel and directed along the second direction, transmitting a data voltage, and overlapping with one of the connection pads on a plane (par. 0073), wherein each of the second signal pads includes: a fifth side having a third inclination angle on a plane with respect to the reference line; a sixth side facing the fifth side and having a fourth inclination angle, wherein the fourth inclination angle is the same as the third inclination angle on a plane with respect to the reference line; a seventh side connecting the fifth side and the sixth side and having a third length; and an eighth side facing the seventh side disclosed closer to the printed circuit board than the seventh side, wherein the eighth side includes a fourth length which is the same as the third length (Fig. 5A, par. 0073).
Regarding claim 11, Kim discloses a display device wherein a width of each of the second signal pads (PD2) directed in the second direction is constant from the seventh side to the eighth side (Fig. 5A, par. 0073).
Regarding claim 12, Kim and Yun fail to disclose a display device wherein a planar area of each of the first signal pads is larger than a planar area of each of the second signal pads.
However, Bae teaches a display device wherein a planar area of each of the first signal pads is larger than a planar area of each of the second signal pads (par. 0159, 0166).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was filed to modify Kim and Yun with Bae by providing first signal pads with larger area than second signal pads in order to accommodate higher current loads, thus minimizing voltage drop.
Regarding claim 13, Kim discloses a display device wherein the second signal pads (PD2) overlap the connection pads (LD2) in a one-to-one correspondence (par. 0073).
Regarding claim 14, Kim discloses a display device wherein one or more of the connection pads (LD1) corresponding to one of the first signal pads (PD1) partially overlap the one of the first signal pads on a plane (Fig. 6A, par. 0074).
Regarding claim 15, Kim discloses a display device wherein the connection pads (LD1) corresponding to one of the first signal pads (PD1) entirely overlap the one of the first signal pads on a plane (Fig. 5A, par. 0074).
Claims 16-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kim in view of Bae.
Regarding claim 16, Kim discloses a display device comprising: a display panel that displays images (DP, Fig. 1A, par. 0056); and first signal pads disposed on the display panel and directed along one direction and transmitting a power voltage (PD1, Fig. 2A, par. 0067), wherein each of the first signal pads includes: a first side having a first inclination angle on a plane with respect to a reference line directed in the one direction (AG1, Fig. 2B, par. 0069); and a second side facing the first side and having a second inclination angle on a plane with respect to the reference line (AG1, Fig. 2B, par. 0069).
Kim fails to disclose the second inclination angle being different from the first inclination angle.
However, Bae teaches the second inclination angle being different from the first inclination angle (Fig. 5D, par. 0170).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was filed to modify Kim with Bae by providing signal pads with a first side and second wide with different angles of inclination in order to minimize contact resistance for high current loads and ensure physical reliability of the device interface.
Regarding claim 17, Kim fails to disclose a display device wherein each of the first signal pads further includes: a third side connecting the first side and the second side and having a first length; and a fourth side facing the third side, wherein the fourth side is disposed closer to the printed circuit board than the third side, and includes a second length which is different from the first length.
However, Bae teaches a display device wherein each of the first signal pads (PD1) further includes: a third side connecting the first side and the second side and having a first length; and a fourth side facing the third side, wherein the fourth side is disposed closer to the printed circuit board than the third side (Fig. 3B), and includes a second length which is different from the first length (Fig. 5D, par. 0170).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was filed to modify Kim with Bae by providing signal pads with third and fourth sides with different lengths in order to minimize contact resistance for high current loads and ensure physical reliability of the device interface.
Regarding claim 18, Kim fails to disclose a display device wherein a width of each of the first signal pads directed in the one direction changes from the third side to the fourth side.
However, Bae teaches a display device wherein a width of each of the first signal pads (PD1) directed in the one direction changes from the third side to the fourth side (Fig. 5D, par. 0170).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was filed to modify Kim with Bae by providing signal pads with a width that changes from the third to fourth sides in order to minimize contact resistance for high current loads and ensure physical reliability of the device interface.
Regarding claim 19, Kim fails to disclose a display device wherein a width of each of the first signal pads directed in the one direction decreases from the third side to the fourth side.
However, Bae teaches a display device wherein a width of each of the first signal pads (PD1) directed in the one direction decreases from the third side to the fourth side (Fig. 5D, par. 0170).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was filed to modify Kim with Bae by providing signal pads with a width that decreases from the third to fourth sides in order to minimize contact resistance for high current loads and ensure physical reliability of the device interface.
Regarding claim 20, Kim fails to disclose a display device wherein a width of each of the first signal pads directed in the one direction increases from the third side to the fourth side.
However, Bae teaches a display device wherein a width of each of the first signal pads (PD1) directed in the one direction increases from the third side to the fourth side (Fig. 5D, par. 0170).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was filed to modify Kim with Bae by providing signal pads with a width that increases from the third to fourth sides, since Bae does not specify the orientation of the pad thus trying a rotation of it around a horizontal axis, in order to minimize contact resistance for high current loads and ensure physical reliability of the device interface.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed August 6, 2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
Regarding claim 16 that Bae’s described angles would prevent Kim’s embodiment, obviousness as presented in the argument for rejection entails that Bae would modify Kim for the reasons provided, thus it is possible for one skilled in the art to identify and implement such a modification to the angles of the pads.
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim 1 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
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.
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/C.M.B./Examiner, Art Unit 2817
/MARLON T FLETCHER/Supervisory Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2817
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