DETAILED ACTION
Election/Restrictions
Claim 11 is withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected group II, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election was made without traverse in the reply filed on 09/01/2026.
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 10/17/2025 is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
Drawings
The drawings are objected to under 37 CFR 1.83(a). The drawings must show every feature of the invention specified in the claims. Therefore, the lens member, light conversion member, color filter member, optical system, and reflective wall member in claim 9 must be shown or the feature(s) canceled from the claim(s). No new matter should be entered.
Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. The figure or figure number of an amended drawing should not be labeled as “amended.” If a drawing figure is to be canceled, the appropriate figure must be removed from the replacement sheet, and where necessary, the remaining figures must be renumbered and appropriate changes made to the brief description of the several views of the drawings for consistency. Additional replacement sheets may be necessary to show the renumbering of the remaining figures. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
Specification
The disclosure is objected to because of the following informalities:
[0076], line 5: discloses “... the (2-2)th terminal (T4)” but should state “... the (2-4)th terminal (T4).
[0082] discloses “Subsequently, as shown in FIG. 8, the second wiring layer (L2) can be formed on the metal sheet layer MS by plating or other methods.” However, Fig. 8 shows the first wiring layer (L1) disposed on the metal sheet layer MS. It appears that the specification was intended to disclose that the “first wiring layer (L1)” can be formed on the metal sheet layer MS.
Furthermore, the specification discloses the following:
[0045], [0046], [0080], [0083]: metal seed layer MS
[0081], [0082]: metal sheet layer MS
It is unclear if these two layers are different or if the language is a drafting error. Review/clarification is requested.
[0098]: discloses “the substrate 10 or the substrate” which is redundant.
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Objections
Claims 1 and 5 are objected to because of the following informalities:
Claim 1, line 6: “on other portion” should read “on another portion”
Claim 5, lines 2-3: “a terminal is formed by comprising” which is not clear. Suggested wording: “the driver IC comprises at least one terminal selected from...”
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
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.
Claims 7 and 10 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 7. Claim 6 recites only one “driving device side wiring.” Claim 7 then refers to “other” (line 6) and “another” (twice, lines 8 and 10) driving device side wirings. It is unclear whether additional wirings are required, and whether the (2-3)th and (2-4)th terminals connect to the same wiring. For examination, claim 7 is read as four corner terminals: three connected to driving device side wirings, and the fourth connected to either a driving device side wiring or the light emitting device side wiring.
Claim 10. “Four diagonal border portions” is not defined in the claims or the specification . For examination, it is read as regions adjacent to the four corners of the substrate (FIGS. 17-18).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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.
Claims 1, 4 and 8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by WATANABE (US 20190103513 A1, PG Publication of IDS reference US 10,784,403 B2).
Re: Claim 1, Watanabe discloses a transparent light emitting package (Fig. 1: glass wiring substrate 10; ¶0060: glass substrate similar to a glass substrate for a LCD) comprising:
a substrate (Fig. 1: glass substrate 10; ¶0070);
a first wiring layer formed on a first surface of the substrate (Fig. 1: first wiring portion 20 on first surface 10A; ¶0071: first wiring portion 20);
at least one light emitting device mounted on a portion of the first wiring layer (Fig. 1: LEDs 52 on mounting portion 22; ¶0080: LEDs 52 on mounting portions 21 may be provided directly in the first wiring portion 20; see ¶0075 and ¶0080);
at least one driving device mounted on other portion of the first wiring layer driving the light emitting device (Fig. 1: driving semiconductor 60; ¶0079: driving semiconductor apparatus 60 on mounting portion 21; see ¶0078-0079);
a second wiring layer formed on a second surface of the substrate (Fig. 1: second wiring portion 30 on second surface 10B; ¶0071: second surface 10B); and
a penetrating electrode penetrating at least a portion of the substrate such that the first wiring layer and the second wiring layer are electrically connected (Fig. 1: end portions 42/43 penetrate a portion of substrate 10 via through-hole portion 41 in through-hole 40 to electrically connect first wiring layer 20 and second wiring layer 30; see ¶0072-0073 and ¶0098).
Re: Claim 4, Watanabe discloses the transparent light emitting package of claim 1, and
wherein the light emitting device comprises a red LED chip, a green LED chip, and a blue LED chip to form one pixel (Fig. 1: 52R and 52G are shown; see ¶0049, ¶0078 and ¶0081; ¶0088: LED unit 51 includes 52R, 52G and 52B).
Re: Claim 8, Watanabe discloses the transparent light emitting package of claim 1, and
further comprising a package protection member protecting the light emitting device and the driving device (¶0124: protective layer may be formed on the entire surface of the glass substrate 10 on the first surface side).
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 2 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over WATANABE (US 20190103513 A1) in view of YAMASAKI et al. (US 20130092425 A1) and LEE et al. (US 20200365784 A1), hereinafter “Lee-784.”
Re: Claim 2, Watanabe discloses the transparent light emitting package of claim 1.
Watanabe also discloses a light-transmissive substrate with a first wiring layer on its upper surface and a second wiring layer on its lower surface (see ¶0061 and ¶0071).
Watanabe does not disclose wherein the substrate comprises a first substrate layer formed of a transparent or a light transmissive material wherein the first wiring layer is formed on an upper surface; a second substrate layer formed of a transparent or a light transmissive material wherein the second wiring layer is formed on a lower surface; and a laminating member formed of a transparent or a light transmissive material, formed between the first substrate layer and the second substrate layer so that the laminating member can adhere to the first substrate layer and the second substrate layer.
However, Yamasaki discloses wherein the substrate comprises a first substrate layer formed of a transparent or a light transmissive material (Fig. 1, A-A Cross Section: first polycycloolefin film 12; see ¶0019; ¶0021: A polycycloolefin film has features of high transparency) wherein the first wiring layer is formed on an upper surface (Fig. 1: electrode patterns 14; see ¶0019);
a second substrate layer formed of a transparent or a light transmissive material (Fig. 1, A-A Cross Section: second film 12; see ¶0019 and ¶0021) wherein the second wiring layer is formed on a lower surface (Fig. 1, A-A Cross Section: electrode patterns 15; see ¶0019); and
a laminating member formed of a transparent or a light transmissive material (Fig. 1, A-A Cross Section: transparent adhesive layer 11; ¶0019), formed between the first substrate layer and the second substrate layer so that the laminating member can adhere to the first substrate layer and the second substrate layer (Fig. 1, A-A Cross Section: transparent adhesive layer 11; ¶0019: The first polycycloolefin film 12 is laminated on one surface of the transparent adhesive layer 11 (the top surface in FIG. 1). The second polycycloolefin film 13 is laminated on the other surface of the transparent adhesive layer 11 (the bottom surface in FIG. 1).).
Yamasaki also identifies, as previously known, a transparent conductive film wherein transparent electrode patterns are formed on both sides of a laminated film which is formed by bonding two polyethylene terephthalate films using transparent acrylic acid based adhesive (See Yamasaki, ¶0004).
Furthermore, in a similar field of endeavor, Lee-784 teaches that transparent LED-display wiring may be formed by laminating copper foil to a transparent film with a transparent adhesive (¶¶0036, 0048, 0104-0107). Lee-784 explains that this greatly reduces manufacturing cost and improves adhesion (See ¶0041).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the current application to substitute, for Watanabe’s single glass substrate, a substrate formed of two transparent films each carrying its wiring on its outer surface and bonded by a transparent adhesive, as taught by Yamasaki. This is a simple substitution of one known element for another to obtain predictable results (See MPEP 2143(I)(B)). In addition, Lee-784 expressly motivates the modification. Lee-784 teaches that laminating wiring onto transparent films with a transparent adhesive greatly reduces manufacturing cost and improves adhesion in transparent LED displays (See Lee-784, ¶0041), which gives a reasonable expectation of success (See MPEP 2143(I)(G)).
Claims 3, 6 and 10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over WATANABE (US 20190103513 A1) in view of LEE et al. (US 20150294959 A1), hereinafter “Lee-959.”
Re: Claim 3, Watanabe discloses the transparent light emitting package of claim 1.
Watanabe also discloses a penetrating electrode formed by plating (¶0057: plating; ¶0098: through-hole 40... electroless copper plating).
Watanabe does not explicitly teach wherein the penetrating electrode is at least a part of a corner penetrating electrode formed by plating a conductive material on via holes formed on four corners of the substrate.
However, Lee-959 teaches wherein the penetrating electrode is at least a part of a corner penetrating electrode (See Fig. 1; ¶0015: electrical-conducting portions 24a, 24b, 24c, 24d disposed on four corners) formed by plating a conductive material on via holes formed on four corners of the substrate (¶0016: Each of the electrical-conducting portions 24a, 24b, 24c, 24d is a metal conductive layer that is formed in a respective one of the via holes 200 by, e.g., electroplating).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to place Watanabe’s plated penetrating electrodes at the four substrate corners. The motivation, per Lee-959, is to connect the front pads to rear corner solder pads, so that solder flows into the via recesses and the compact package mounts stably (See Lee-959, ¶¶0015 and 0023-0024).
Re: Claim 6, Watanabe discloses the transparent light emitting package of claim 1, and
wherein the first wiring layer comprises a driving device side wiring formed to extend from an upper end of the penetrating electrode to any one of terminals of the driving device (See Fig. 1; ¶¶0079 and 0098: mounting portion 21 connected to through-hole portion 41, whose end portion 42 extends above first wiring portion 20; ¶0104: the driving semiconductor device mounting portion 21 and a connection terminal portion of the driving semiconductor apparatus 60 are connected to each other by the plating layer 73 on the basis of an electrolytic copper plating method);
a middle wiring formed to extend from any one of the terminals of the driving device to any one of pads of the light emitting device (See Figs. 1 and 3A-4B; ¶¶0080 and 0104: LEDs 52 connected to driver 60 via first wiring portion 20, and plating layer 73 joins mounting portion 22 to LED pad portions 133 and 134); and
Watanabe does not teach a light emitting device side wiring formed to extend from other pads of the light emitting device to an upper end of another penetrating electrode.
However, Lee-959 teaches a light emitting device side wiring (See Fig. 1; ¶0015: die bonding pad 22a, comprising carrying portion 221a and connecting portion 222a) formed to extend from other pads of the light emitting device (See Fig. 1; ¶0018: the bottom electrode of red LED chip R is mounted on carrying portion 221a with conductive silver adhesive) to an upper end of another penetrating electrode (See Fig. 1; ¶¶0015-0016: connecting portion 222a surrounds corner via 24a and connects to its upper end).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to route the LEDs’ other electrodes through Watanabe’s first wiring layer to the upper end of a separate corner penetrating electrode. The motivation is to bring each LED terminal to a rear solder pad through a short corner route, giving a compact, stably mounted package (See Lee-959, ¶¶0015-0016 and 0024).
Re: Claim 10, Watanabe discloses the transparent light emitting package of claim 1.
Watanabe also discloses a penetrating electrode formed by plating (¶0057: plating; ¶0098: through-hole 40... electroless copper plating).
However, Watanabe does not specifically disclose wherein the penetrating electrode is a border penetrating electrode formed by plating a conductive material on via holes formed on four diagonal border portions of the substrate.
Lee-959 further teaches wherein the penetrating electrode is a border penetrating electrode (See Figs. 1-3; ¶0015: electrical-conducting portions 24a, 24b, 24c, 24d disposed on four corners thereof) formed by plating a conductive material on via holes formed on four diagonal border portions of the substrate (See Figs. 1-3; ¶0016: Each of the electrical-conducting portions 24a, 24b, 24c, 24d is a metal conductive layer that is formed in a respective one of the via holes 200 by, e.g., electroplating).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to place Watanabe’s plated penetrating electrodes at the four substrate corners. The motivation, per Lee-959, is to connect the front pads to rear corner solder pads, so that solder flows into the via recesses and the compact package mounts stably (See Lee-959, ¶¶0015 and 0023-0024).
Claim 5 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Watanabe (US 20190103513 A1) in view of PENG (US 20090294782 A1).
Re: Claim 5, Watanabe discloses the transparent light emitting package of claim 4.
Watanabe also discloses driver 60 is a driver IC with a connection terminal portion that drives the LEDs using PWM (See ¶¶0052, 0079 and 0104).
Watanabe does not teach wherein the driving device is a driver IC wherein a terminal is formed by comprising any one or more of a power terminal, a drive voltage terminal, a control terminal, a feedback terminal, a brightness adjustment terminal, a light amount calibration terminal, a dummy terminal, or combinations thereof, to apply a control signal to the red LED chip, the green LED chip, and the blue LED chip.
However, Peng teaches wherein the driving device is a driver IC wherein a terminal is formed by comprising any one or more of a power terminal (¶0008: LED lamp package having data input and output pins; ¶0043: The LED lamp 10 has a data input pin Din and a data output pin Dout. The control IC 12 receives external control data via the Din, and controls the luminosity or flashing of LED 11 according to said control data, and outputs the control data via the Dout. In addition, the LED lamp 10 has power supply pins Vdd and Vss to receive a DC voltage), a drive voltage terminal (¶0011: positive DC voltage pad (Vdd) and negative DC voltage pad (Vss)), a control terminal (¶0043: control IC 12), a feedback terminal, a brightness adjustment terminal (¶0043: controls luminosity), a light amount calibration terminal, a dummy terminal, or combinations thereof, to apply a control signal to the red LED chip, the green LED chip, and the blue LED chip (¶0043: the IC controls each LED’s illumination from the control data).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the current application to provide Watanabe’s driver IC with power and data input terminals, as taught by Peng, to allow controlling the luminosity of each LED (See Peng, ¶0043; Also see MPEP 2143(I)(C): Use of known technique to improve similar devices (methods, or products) in the same way).
Claim 7 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over WATANABE (US 20190103513 A1) in view of LEE et al. (US 20150294959 A1), hereinafter “Lee-959” and PENG (US 20090294782 A1).
Re: Claim 7, Watanabe in view of Lee-959 discloses the transparent light emitting package of claim 6.
Lee-959 further teaches wherein the second wiring layer comprises four terminals on four corner portions of the substrate (See Fig. 2; ¶0015: soldering pads 23a-23d at the four corners of the rear surface, each joined to the lower end of a corner via), one of which, pad 23d, is the common anode (See ¶0016).
Watanabe in view of Lee-959 does not explicitly teach wherein the second wiring layer comprises a (2-1)th terminal formed on a first corner portion of the substrate, connected to the driving device side wiring; a (2-2)th terminal formed on a second corner portion of the substrate, connected to other driving device side wiring; a (2-3)th terminal formed on a third corner portion of the substrate, connected to another driving device side wiring; and a (2-4)th terminal formed on a fourth corner portion of the substrate, connected to another driving device side wiring or the light emitting device side wiring.
However, Peng teaches wherein the second wiring layer comprises (See Figs. 6A-6B: terminals at four corners)
a (2-1)th terminal formed on a first corner portion of the substrate, connected to the driving device side wiring (Fig. 6B: Din; ¶¶0010 and 0054: support 23 connected to the control IC’s data input electrode, with the supports distributed at four corners);
a (2-2)th terminal formed on a second corner portion of the substrate, connected to other driving device side wiring (Fig. 6B: Dout; ¶¶0010 and 0054: support 24 connected to the IC’s data output electrode);
a (2-3)th terminal formed on a third corner portion of the substrate, connected to another driving device side wiring (Fig. 6B: Vss; ¶¶0010, 0043 and 0054: Vss support 22 connected to the IC’s negative power input); and
a (2-4)th terminal formed on a fourth corner portion of the substrate, connected to another driving device side wiring or the light emitting device side wiring (Fig. 6B: Vdd; ¶¶0010, 0042 and 0054: Vdd support 21, the common electrode end of the LEDs).
Lee-959 supplies terminal that are pads on the substrate’s corner portions, connected through corner vias. Peng supplies the assignment of an integrated-driver package’s four terminals to Din, Dout, Vss and the LED common electrode Vdd.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the current application to assign Lee-959’s four corner terminals as Peng teaches. The motivation, per Peng, is to give an integrated-driver LED package date input and output pins plus power pins, which permits serial chaining and simplifies the external controller which is suitable for wiring layout and installation (See Peng, ¶¶0006-0007 and 0043).
Claim 9 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over WATANABE (US 20190103513 A1) in view of KIM (US 20210398479 A1).
Re: Claim 9, Watanabe discloses the transparent light emitting package of claim 8.
Watanabe does not teach wherein the package protection member comprises at least one of a light transmitting molding member formed of a light transmissive material comprising silicone or epoxy, a lens member, a light conversion member comprising a fluorescent material or quantum dots, a color filter member, an optical system, a reflective wall member, or a combination thereof.
However, Kim teaches wherein the package protection member comprises at least one of a light transmitting molding member (See Fig. 1; ¶¶0024 and 0038: sealing member 500 having light-transmitting properties that fixes the LED chips and the pixel driving IC on package substrate 100) formed of a light transmissive material comprising silicone or epoxy (¶0038: sealing member 500 may include an epoxy resin and a silicone resin), a lens member, a light conversion member comprising a fluorescent material or quantum dots, a color filter member, an optical system, a reflective wall member, or a combination thereof.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the current application to form Watanabe’s protective layer of a light-transmitting epoxy or silicone, as taught by Kim, in order to fix and protect the LEDs and driver during operation (See Kim, ¶0038; Also see MPEP 2144.07: selection of a known material based on its suitability for its intended use supported).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure:
GU et al. (US 20210398954 A1): See Figs. 1, 2, 6, 10 and 12 which show LED package structures relevant to the current claims.
OKADA et al. (US 20100277919 A1): See Figs. 1-11 which show LED package structures relevant to the current claims.
WU et al. (US 20150380607 A1): See Figs. 1-9 which show LED package structures relevant to the current claims.
NI et al. (US D619,977 S): See Figs. 1, 2 and 7-10 which show LED package structures relevant to the current claims.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to WILLIAM ADROVEL whose telephone number is (571)272-3048. The examiner can normally be reached 7:30 AM - 5:00 PM.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, LEONARD CHANG can be reached at (571) 270-3691. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/WILLIAM ADROVEL/Examiner, Art Unit 2898
/Leonard Chang/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2898
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