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 .
Finality
Applicant's request for reconsideration of the finality of the rejection of the last Office action is persuasive and, therefore, the finality of that action is withdrawn.
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) 1-6, 11, and 14-15 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kim et al. (US 2011/0050660) in view of Gao et al. (US 2021/0256888)
Regarding claim 1:
Kim discloses:
An active matrix substrate having a display unit in which a plurality of pixel circuits are formed, the active matrix substrate comprising:
a plurality of driving data lines for transmitting, to the plurality of pixel circuits, a driving data signal representing an image to be displayed on the display unit (paragraph 35); and
an inspection circuit formed in an IC mounting region in which an integrated circuit configured to generate a plurality of driving data signals including the driving data signal, for directly driving the plurality of driving data lines or to generate a plurality of video data signals for indirectly driving the plurality of driving data lines (paragraph 60) via a predetermined driving circuit is to be mounted (paragraph 37 – where this is before the driving circuit is mounted as per paragraph 41), wherein
in the IC mounting region, a plurality of driving-side pads is formed for the integrated circuit to output the plurality of driving data signals or the plurality of video data signals (paragraph 36),
the inspection circuit includes
a plurality of switching elements separately corresponding to each of the plurality of driving-side pads (paragraph 43, as shown in Fig. 2),
at least one inspection signal line for transmitting an inspection signal to inspect the active matrix substrate (paragraph 44), and
an inspecting control line for transmitting a control signal to be supplied to the plurality of switching elements (paragraph 46),
each of the plurality of switching elements has a first conducting terminal connected to a corresponding one of the plurality of driving-side pads, a second conducting terminal connected to any of the at least one inspection signal line, and a control terminal connected to the inspecting control line (Fig. 2), and
the at least one inspection signal line is formed opposite the plurality of driving-side pads across the plurality of switching elements (as seen in Fig. 2).
Kim does not disclose:
“the at least one inspection signal line includes:
“a first inspection signal line, and
“a second inspection signal line, and
“the plurality of switching elements includes:
“a first switching element having the second conducting terminal of the first switching element connected only to the first inspection signal line and not the second inspection signal line, and
“a second switching element having the second conducting terminal of the second switching element connected only to the second inspection signal line and not the first inspection signal line, and
“the first switching element and the second switching element are connectedly alternately.”
Gao discloses:
the at least one inspection signal line includes:
a first inspection signal line (e.g., Fig. 2: 221), and
a second inspection signal line (e.g., Fig. 2: 222), and
the plurality of switching elements includes:
a first switching element having the second conducting terminal of the first switching element connected only to the first inspection signal line and not the second inspection signal line (as seen in Fig. 2, only switch elements 211 are connected to the first signal line 221), and
a second switching element having the second conducting terminal of the second switching element connected only to the second inspection signal line and not the first inspection signal line (as seen in Fig. 2, only switch elements 212 are connected to the second signal line 222),
the first switching element and the second switching element are connectedly alternately (in Gao Fig. 2 elements 211, 212, and 213 are connected alternately as seen in the figure. So 211 and 212 are connected alternately as part of this – more on this in response to arguments below).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the application was filed to include in Kim the elements taught by Gao.
The rationale is as follows:
Kim and Gao are directed to the same field of art.
Gao discloses this allows testing each color separately (paragraph 71). This is a known improvement that one of ordinary skill in the art could have included with predictable results.
Regarding claim 2:
Kim in view of Gao discloses:
a data line driving circuit formed between the IC mounting region and the display unit and connected to the plurality of driving data lines (Kim Fig. 1: Data distribution circuit); and
a plurality of video data lines formed to be separately connected to each of the plurality of driving-side pads for transmitting the plurality of video data signals from the integrated circuit to the data line driving circuit (Kim Fig. 1: these are lines 01 through 0m),
wherein when mounted in the IC mounting region, the integrated circuit applies the plurality of video data signals to the plurality of video data lines via the plurality of driving-side pads (Kim paragraph 60), and
the data line driving circuit is configured to receive the plurality of video data signals via the plurality of video data lines, generate the plurality of driving data signals based on the plurality of video data signals, and separately apply the plurality of driving data signals separately to each of the plurality of driving data lines (Kim paragraph 36).
Regarding claim 3:
Kim in view of Gao discloses:
wherein the integrated circuit generates, as the plurality of video data signals, a plurality of time-division multiplexed signals representing an image to be displayed on the display unit, and the data line driving circuit is a demultiplexing circuit configured to generate the plurality of driving data signals by demultiplexing the plurality of video data signals (Kim paragraph 36, where Kim doesn’t use the term “multiplexed” or “demultiplexing” but this follows from “distributes and outputs the data signals”).
Regarding claim 4:
Kim in view of Gao discloses:
wherein the plurality of driving-side pads are connected separately to each of the plurality of driving data lines, and when mounted in the IC mounting region, the integrated circuit applies the plurality of driving data signals to the plurality of driving data lines via the plurality of driving-side pads (this is shown in Kim Fig. 1, and as can be seen in Fig. 5 the driving IC is mounted over these pads).
Regarding claim 5:
All elements positively recited have already been identified with respect to earlier rejections. No further elaboration is necessary.
Regarding claim 6:
Kim in view of Gao discloses an active matrix substrate as discussed above.
Kim in view of Gao, as discussed so far, does not disclose:
“wherein the inspecting control line is formed opposite the plurality of driving-side pads across the plurality of switching elements.”
Gao discloses:
wherein the inspecting control line is formed opposite the (display area) across the plurality of switching elements (e.g. Fig. 2, where the inspecting control line is 23).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the application was filed to include in Kim wherein the inspecting control line is formed opposite the plurality of driving-side pads across the plurality of switching elements, as suggested by Gao.
The rationale is as follows:
Kim and Gao are directed to the same field of art.
Kim shows the inspecting control line running directly across the gates of the switching elements. Gao shows it could instead be a separate line across the switching elements from the display. In Kim this is the opposite side from the plurality of driving-side pads. This is a known alternative that could, e.g., simplify manufacturing, that one of ordinary skill in the art could have included with predictable results.
Regarding claim 11:
All elements positively recited have already been identified with respect to earlier rejections. No further elaboration is necessary.
Regarding claim 14:
Kim in view of Gao discloses:
wherein in a plan view, the second switching element intersects with the first inspection signal line (which is first and which is second is not otherwise defined by the claim – in Gao, element 211 intersects with line 222 in that the electrical connection crosses it).
Regarding claim 15:
All elements positively recited have already been identified with respect to earlier rejections. No further elaboration is necessary.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 13 December 2025 have been fully considered.
First, as applicant points out (page 7), the prior Office Action did not address claims 12-15. The Examiner simply missed these new claims. For this reason the finality of the last Office Action has been withdrawn, and applicant’s submission has been entered. All claims have now been examined on the merits (note that of these claims, applicant has cancelled claims 12-13).
Next (starting page 7), applicant argued their amendment has overcome the 35 USC 112 rejections. This is persuasive.
Next (starting page 8), applicant argued with the rejection of the claims as unpatentable over Kim in view of Gao.
The first argument (page 10) is that Gao does not disclose arranging the first test switches 211 and the second test switches 212 alternately.
This argument is not entirely clear to the Examiner. Perhaps what applicant means by this is that they need to be arranged 211, then 212, then 211, then 212, repeatedly, in order to be arranged “alternately.”
It is not clear that “alternately” must mean this. American Heritage Dictionary defines “alternate” as “the occur in a successive manner.” Gao has three elements – 211, 212, then 213, arranged in a successive manner, so 211 and 212 are arranged “alternately” with 213 as part of this sequence. This appears to meet the claim language.
But if applicant believes that alternately must only mean two, Gao discloses that the number of test lines may be set based on the number of colors (paragraph 32). Certainly one of ordinary skill could have conceived of a two-color (i.e., monochrome) display.
Alternately, in the embodiment of, e.g., Fig. 7, there are two test switches alternating with one test switch. The group of the first two could be considered one switching element of the claim and the other the second.
So there are multiple interpretations of Gao that would meet this claim language.
Applicant then (page 10) argues Kim does not disclose this, but the rejection already acknowledges this. Gao teaches the necessary elements.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to CHRISTOPHER RAY LAMB whose telephone number is (571)272-5264. The examiner can normally be reached 8:30-5:00 PM.
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/CHRISTOPHER R LAMB/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2622