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 .
Specification
The title of the invention is not descriptive. A new title is required that is clearly indicative of the invention to which the claims are directed. The examiner proposes: CONNECTED LEDS ON A POLYESTER SUBSTRATE
Claim Objections
Claim 8 recites that “the transmittance of the the encapsulant is more than 40%”.
Claim 9 recites “10 degree Celsius and 150 degree Celsius”, which should read “degrees”.
Claim 12 recites that “the substrate plate has a conductive track for conducting driving the current current from the terminal pin to the multiple LED chips.”
Claim 14 recites “the the polyester layer and the support layer has a stronger structure strength”.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 12 and 13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Claim 12 recites “the substrate plate has a conductive track (6) for conducting driving the current current from the terminal pin to the multiple LED chips.” It is not clear what this means. For present purposes the examiner will interpret this to mean conducting the driving current from the terminal pin to the multiple LED chips.
Claim 13 recites that “the conductive track keeps the shape of the substrate plate while the external force is released.” “The external force” lacks antecedent basis. Furthermore, there is no explanation of what is involved here, and thus what properties are required. For present purposes the examiner will assume that this refers to an external force bending or otherwise deforming the substrate and then releasing it.
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.
Claims 1, 2, 5-8, 10-14, and 18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) and 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Hsieh, US 2020/0197719 A1.
Claim 1: Hsieh discloses
a substrate plate (1) comprising a polyester thermal conductive material ([0037]), wherein the substrate plate is flexible when an external force is applied to the substrate plate, wherein the transmittance of the substrate plate is more than 40% ([0037]);
multiple LED chips (3) disposed on a front side of the substrate plate;
multiple chip wires (13) for electrically connecting the multiple LED chips;
a first wrapping layer (4) attached to the front side of the substrate plate for enclosing the multiple LED chips and the multiple chip wires; and
a terminal pin (5) disposed at a peripheral side of the substrate plate for conducting a driving current to the multiple LED chips.
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Claim 2: the polyester thermal conductive material is Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET) ([0037]).
Claim 5: the transmittance of the substrate plate is more than 80% ([0037]).
Claim 6: there are more than two terminal pins for conducting electrical signals via multiple signal paths to the multiple LED chips (FIG. 1A).
Claim 7: a contact portion for coupling the chip wire and the LED chip is covered with an encapsulant (FIG. 3B).
Claim 8: the transmittance of the the encapsulant is more than 40% ([0043]).
Claim 10: the multiple LED chips are connected in series ([0035]).
Claim 11: a portion of the multiple LED chips are connected in parallel ([0035]).
Claim 12: the substrate plate has a conductive track (6) for conducting driving the current current from the terminal pin to the multiple LED chips (FIG. 1A).
Claim 13: the conductive track keeps the shape of the substrate plate while the external force is released. As seen in FIGS. 3B, 10, and 16, the substrate bends and unbends, and the conductive tracks bend and unbend with it.
Claim 14: the substrate plate has a support layer and a polyester layer, wherein the polyester layer is composed of the polyester thermal conductive material ([0037]), wherein the polyester layer and the support layer (8, FIG. 1B) are stacked and coupled together, wherein the the polyester layer and the support layer has a stronger structure strength to keep shape than the polyester layer when the external force is applied to bend the substrate plate ([0041]).
Claim 16: Hsieh discloses a front fluorescent layer (12, [0044]) covering the multiple LED chips.
Claims 1-3, 7, 11, 12, 14, and 18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) and 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Yamamoto, US 2012/0243261 A1
Claim 1: Yamamoto discloses
a substrate plate (11) comprising a polyester thermal conductive material ([0040]), wherein the substrate plate is flexible when an external force is applied to the substrate plate ([0066]), wherein the transmittance of the substrate plate is more than 40%;
Yamamoto does not disclose the transmittance of the layer, but discloses that it is made of PET or PEN with a thickness of 20 µm to 50 µm ([0040]).
multiple LED chips (13) disposed on a front side of the substrate plate;
multiple chip wires (15) for electrically connecting the multiple LED chips;
a first wrapping layer (12) attached to the front side of the substrate plate for enclosing the multiple LED chips and the multiple chip wires; and
a terminal pin (connected to 65A, FIG. 10) disposed at a peripheral side of the substrate plate for conducting a driving current to the multiple LED chips.
Claim 2: the polyester thermal conductive material is Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET) ([0040]).
Claim 3: the polyester thermal conductive material is Polyethylene Naphthalate (PEN) ([0040]).
Claim 7: a contact portion for coupling the chip wire and the LED chip is covered with an encapsulant (FIG. 1).
Claim 11: a portion of the multiple LED chips are connected in parallel ([0062]).
Claim 12: the substrate plate has a conductive track (14) for conducting driving the current current from the terminal pin to the multiple LED chips (FIG. 3A).
Claim 14: the substrate plate has a support layer (24) and a polyester layer, wherein the polyester layer is composed of the polyester thermal conductive material ([0040]), wherein the polyester layer and the support layer are stacked and coupled together (FIG. 5), wherein the the polyester layer and the support layer has a stronger structure strength to keep shape than the polyester layer when the external force is applied to bend the substrate plate ([0056]).
Claim 18: multiple lens units (12) are disposed on the substrate plate for changing light paths of the multiple LED chips.
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, 2, 4, 5, 7, 8, 10, 12, and 14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Jung, KR 2011-0089820 A, in view of Hsieh or Yamamoto.
Claim 1: Jung discloses
a substrate plate (100) comprising a polyester thermal conductive material ([0083]), wherein the substrate plate is flexible when an external force is applied to the substrate plate ([0083]), wherein the transmittance of the substrate plate is more than 40%;
multiple LED chips (10) disposed on a front side of the substrate plate;
a first wrapping layer (200) attached to the front side of the substrate plate for enclosing the multiple LED chips and the multiple chip wires; and
a terminal pin (contacts attached to 50) disposed at a peripheral side of the substrate plate for conducting a driving current to the multiple LED chips.
Jung does not disclose multiple chip wires for electrically connecting the multiple LED chips; however, this was common in the art. Hsieh and Yamamoto use wires to connect to the LEDs, as shown above. It would have been obvious to have done so as a known structure used for a known purpose.
Claim 2: the polyester thermal conductive material is Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET) ([0083]).
Claim 4: the polyester thermal conductive material is Polybutylene Terephthalate (PBT). ([0083]).
Claim 5: the transmittance of the substrate plate is more than 80%
Claim 7: a contact portion for coupling the chip wire and the LED chip is covered with an encapsulant (200).
Claim 8: the transmittance of the the encapsulant is more than 40% ([0074]).
Claim 10: the multiple LED chips are connected in series (“connecting the LED in series”).
Claim 12: the substrate plate has a conductive track (60) for conducting driving the current current from the terminal pin to the multiple LED chips.
Claim 14: the substrate plate has a support layer and a polyester layer, wherein the polyester layer is composed of the polyester thermal conductive material ([0083]), wherein the polyester layer and the support layer (metal sheet 120) are stacked and coupled together, wherein the the polyester layer and the support layer has a stronger structure strength to keep shape than the polyester layer when the external force is applied to bend the substrate plate.
Claim 9 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hsieh, Yamamoto, or Jung in view of Tajul, US 2007/0291490 A1. Tajul at [0006] discloses “thermal stresses may be caused by the differential expansion of the die and its substrate, the encapsulant material and the bonding wires, and the encapsulant material and the die. One approach is to match the CTE of the encapsulant material and the bonding wires to reduce thermal stresses and prevent displacement of the wire bonding.” Thus it was known and would have been obvious to have matched (have a small difference between) the coefficient of thermal expansion of the wires and the encapsulant in order to avoid these thermal stresses. It would have been obvious to have done so for ordinary operating temperatures for LEDs such as are recited in claim 9.
Claim 15 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hsieh, Yamamoto, or Jung in view of Choi, KR 2019-0084907 A. Choi teaches that a metal mesh can be used as a substrate for LEDs to allow the light to pass through; “an electrode and a circuit pattern to be combined with an LED are formed on the film substrate of a metal mesh for a transparent LED display”. It would have been obvious to use such a material as a support in Hsieh, Yamamoto, or Jung, as it was substrate material for a transparent LED device.
Claims 16 and 17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hsieh, Yamamoto, or Jung in view of Park, US 2019/0293242 A1.
Claim 16: Park discloses front fluorescent layer 190A. It would have been obvious to have used such a layer in order to control the wavelength of the emitted light.
Claim 17: Park discloses back fluorescent layer 190B attaching to a back side of the substrate plate (FIG. 1), wherein the materials of the front fluorescent layer and the back fluorescent layer are different ([0050]).
Claim 18 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hsieh, Yamamoto, or Jung in view of Zuo, CN 107946438 A. It was well-known in the art to use lenses to control the light path of LEDs, including within another encapsulating (wrapping) layer. See Zuo, multiple lenses 22, wrapping layer 23. It would have been obvious to have had such lenses to control the LED emission light.
Claim 19 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hsieh, Yamamoto, or Jung in view of Eom, US 2021/0367116 A1. Claim 20 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hsieh in view of Eom or over Yamamoto, or Jung in view of Eom and Hsieh.
Claim 19: Eom discloses that series of light emitting elements on a flexible substrate may be mounted to a bending (curved) bracket: “The lighting module 100 may be provided as a flexible module in the form of being assembled to a bracket having an inclined or curved surface or a housing.” [0032]. It would have been obvious to have used such a bracket in a case in which a curved lighting surface was desired. The claimed connector is inherent, as it encompasses whatever type of element or material used to connect the substrate plate to the bracket.
Claim 20: The use of heat sinks was well known in the art; it was common to attach heat sinks to diffuse heat generated by LED devices. See Hsieh, FIGS. 10 and 11A, Heat sink 403, [0083]: “the housing 403 includes a heat dissipation element, such as a heat sink adjoined to light source 406, to dissipate the heat toward the ambient.” When using a bracket, it would have been obvious to have had the bracket thermally coupled to a heat sink.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to PETER BRADFORD whose telephone number is (571)270-1596. The examiner can normally be reached 10:30-6:30.
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, Jacob Choi can be reached at 469.295.9060. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/PETER BRADFORD/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2897
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