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 text of those sections of Title 35, U.S. Code not included in this action can be found in a prior Office action.
Claim(s) 1,9,10 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kim et al (PG Pub 2008/0106894 A1) and Jung et al (PG Pub 2012/0056217 A1).
Regarding claim 1, Kim teaches a light module, comprising: a substrate (1051, fig. 10) having a first surface and a second surface; a plurality of light emitters (1005) arranged on the first surface of the substrate and including a first light emitter, a second light emitter, and a third light emitter that are configured to emit lights having different peak wavelengths from one another (different colors, paragraph [0105]), the second light emitter disposed between the first light emitter and the third light emitter.
Kim does not teach reflective regions.
In the same field of endeavor, Jung teaches reflective regions including a first reflective region (23 under 30b, figs. 1 and 2), a second reflective region (23 under 30a), and a third reflective region (23 under 30b), wherein the first reflective region located around the first light emitter, the second reflective region located around the second light emitter and extending outwardly (fig. 1) from the second light emitter, and the third reflective region located around the third light emitter, wherein the second reflective region is larger (fig. 1) than the first reflective region or the third reflective region, for the benefit of increasing light efficiency (paragraph [0017]).
Thus, it would have been obvious to the skilled in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to include reflective regions including a first reflective region, a second reflective region, and a third reflective region, wherein the first reflective region located around the first light emitter, the second reflective region located around the second light emitter and extending outwardly from the second light emitter, and the third reflective region located around the third light emitter, wherein the second reflective region was larger than the first reflective region or the third reflective region, for the benefit of increasing light efficiency.
Regarding claim 9, Kim teaches the light module of claim 1, wherein: the first light emitter, the second light emitter, and the third light emitter are configured to emit light of different colors from one another (paragraph [0105]), and the first light emitter, the second light emitter, and the third light emitter are arranged side by side (fig. 10).
Regarding claim 10, Kim in view of Jung teaches (see claim 1) a light module, comprising: a substrate having a first surface and a second surface; a plurality of light emitters disposed on the first surface of the substrate and including a first light emitter, a second light emitter, and a third light emitter that are configured to emit lights having different peak wavelengths from one another; and reflective regions include a first reflective region surrounding the first light emitter, a second reflective region surrounding the second light emitter, a third reflective region surrounding the third light emitter, wherein the second reflective region has a different size from the first reflective region or the third reflective region.
Claim(s) 2-7 and 11-14 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kim et al (PG Pub 2008/0106894 A1) and Jung et al (PG Pub 2012/0056217 A1) as applied to claims 1 and 10 above, and further in view of Takeya et al (PG Pub 2019/0229097 A1).
Regarding claim 2, the previous combination remains as applied in claim 1.
The previous combination does not teach a light blocking layer disposed on the substrate.
In the same field of endeavor, Takeya teaches a light blocking layer (902, fig. 30B) disposed on the substrate (900 or layers 905, 909, and 921), wherein: the light blocking layer includes one or more windows (fig. 30B) through which light generated in the plurality of light emitters pass, for the benefit of reducing light leak (paragraph [0419]).
Thus, it would have been obvious to the skilled in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to include a light blocking layer disposed on the substrate, the light blocking layer included one or more windows through which light generated in the plurality of light emitters pass, for the benefit of reducing light leak
Regarding claim 3, Kim teaches the light module of claim 2, further comprising: an adhesive layer (soldering layer, paragraph [0105]) disposed between the substrate and at least one of the first light emitter, the second light emitter, or the third light emitter, wherein the at least one of the first light emitter, the second light emitter, or the third light emitter is attached to the adhesive layer.
Regarding claim 4, Kim does not teach a step adjustment layer.
Takeya teaches a step adjustment layer (905, fig. 30B) disposed on at least one of the first light emitter, the second light emitter, or the third light emitter (811, 813, 815, fig. 30A); and one or more connection layers (907) disposed on the step adjustment layer, wherein: the step adjustment layer includes a first set of openings exposing (fig. 30B) a region of the at least one of the first light emitter, the second light emitter, or the third light emitter, and the one or more connection layers are electrically connected to the at least one of the first light emitter, the second light emitter, or the third light emitter through the first set of openings of the step adjustment layer, for the benefits of providing a light emitting device that is easy to mount and can be tailored in size, as well as providing a layer to equalize the surface for forming bumps to provide bias to the device (paragraphs [0006][0008][0264][0426]).
Thus, it would have been obvious to the skilled in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to a step adjustment layer disposed on at least one of the first light emitter, the second light emitter, or the third light emitter; and one or more connection layers disposed on the step adjustment layer, wherein: the step adjustment layer includes a first set of openings exposing a region of the at least one of the first light emitter, the second light emitter, or the third light emitter, and the one or more connection layers are electrically connected to the at least one of the first light emitter, the second light emitter, or the third light emitter through the first set of openings of the step adjustment layer, for the benefit of providing a light emitting device that is easy to mount and can be tailored in size, as well as providing a layer to equalize the surface for forming bumps to provide bias to the device.
Regarding claim 5, Kim does not teach an insulation material.
Takeya teaches a material layer (909, fig. 30B) covering the one or more connection layers, wherein the material layer covers side surfaces of the step adjustment layer and side surfaces of the one or more connection layers, for the benefit of providing a protective layer to the device when forming bumps to provide bias to the device (paragraph [0430]).
Takeya does not teach the material layer to be an insulating layer.
It would have been obvious to the skilled in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to make the material layer an insulating layer for the known benefit of avoiding shorting the electrodes and connection layers.
Regarding claim 6, Kim does not teach each of the plurality of light emitters comprising: a light emitting layer including a first conductivity type semiconductor layer, a second conductivity type semiconductor layer, and an active layer interposed between the first conductivity type semiconductor layer and the second conductivity type semiconductor layer; and a first electrode pad and a second electrode pad disposed on the light emitting layer.
Takeya teaches each of the plurality of light emitters comprising: a light emitting layer including a first conductivity type semiconductor layer, a second conductivity type semiconductor layer, and an active layer interposed between the first conductivity type semiconductor layer and the second conductivity type semiconductor layer (2110,2112,2114, fig. 29B); for the known benefit of providing a light emitting diode to emit light, and a first electrode pad and a second electrode pad (2122 and 2124) disposed on the light emitting layer, for the known benefit of providing electrical bias to the diodes, wherein the first set of openings of the step adjustment layer expose the first electrode pad and the second electrode pad (fig. 30B).
Regarding claim 7, Kim does not teach the light module of claim 6, wherein each of the plurality of light emitters further comprises an insulation layer disposed between the light emitting layer and the first electrode pad and the second electrode pad, and wherein the insulation layer includes a distributed Bragg reflector.
Takeya teaches an insulation layer (2120, fig. 29B) disposed between the light emitting layer and the first electrode pad and the second electrode pad, and wherein the insulation layer includes a distributed Bragg reflector (paragraph [0408]), for the known benefit of increasing light extraction.
Regarding claim 11, Kim in view of Takeya (see claim 2) teaches the light module of claim 10, further comprising: a light blocking layer disposed on the substrate, wherein: the light blocking layer includes one or more windows through which light generated in the plurality of light emitters pass.
Regarding claim 12, Kim teaches (see claim 3) the light module of claim 11, further comprising: an adhesive layer disposed between the substrate and at least one of the first light emitter, the second light emitter, or the third light emitter, wherein the at least one of the first light emitter, the second light emitter, or the third light emitter is attached to the adhesive layer.
Regarding claim 13, Kim in view of Takeya (see claim 4) teaches the light module of claim 12, further comprising: a step adjustment layer disposed on at least one of the first light emitter, the second light emitter, or the third light emitter; and one or more connection layers disposed on the step adjustment layer, wherein: the step adjustment layer includes a first set of openings exposing a region of the at least one of the first light emitter, the second light emitter, or the third light emitter, and the one or more connection layers are electrically connected to the at least one of the first light emitter, the second light emitter, or the third light emitter through the first set of openings of the step adjustment layer.
Regarding claim 14, Kim in view of Takeya (see claim 5) teaches the light module of claim 13, further comprising: an insulation layer covering the one of more connection layers, wherein the insulation layer covers side surfaces of the step adjustment layer and side surfaces of the one of more connection layers.
Claim(s) 8 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kim et al (PG Pub 2008/0106894 A1) and Jung et al (PG Pub 2012/0056217 A1) as applied to claim 7 above, and further in view of Park et al (PG Pub 2021/039901 A1).
Regarding claim 8, the previous combination remains as applied in claim 7.
Kim further teaches the light module of claim 7 wherein: each of the first light emitter, the second light emitter, and the third light emitter correspond to one of red light emitting device, a green light emitting device, or a blue light emitting device (paragraph [0105]).
The previous combination does not teach the insulation layer of the blue light emitting device has a lower reflectance than those of insulation layers of the red light emitting device and the green light emitting device.
In the same field of endeavor, Park teaches the insulation layer of the blue light emitting device has a lower reflectance than those of insulation layers of the red light emitting device and the blue light emitting device, for the benefit of adjusting color mixing (paragraph [0156]).
Claim(s) 15-20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kim et al (PG Pub 2008/0106894 A1), Jung et al (PG Pub 2012/0056217 A1), and Takeya et al (PG Pub 2019/0229097 A1).
Regarding claim 15, Kim in view of Jung teaches (see claim 1) a lighting device, comprising: a circuit board (1007, fig. 10); and a plurality of light modules (1005, fig. 10) disposed on the circuit board, and each module including a first light emitter, a second light emitter, and a third light emitter that are configured to emit lights having different peak wavelengths from one another; and reflective regions include a first reflective region, a second reflective region, and a third reflective region, wherein the first reflective region is disposed to extend from the first light emitter, the second reflective region is disposed to extend from the second light emitter, and the third reflective region is disposed to extend from the third light emitter, and wherein the second reflective region has a different size from the first reflective region or the third reflective region.
Takeya teaches each light module (figs. 30A and 30B) comprising: a substrate (900 or layers 905, 909, and 921) having a first surface and a second surface; a plurality of light emitters (811, 813, 815) disposed on the first surface of the substrate, for the benefits of providing a light emitting device that is easy to mount and can be tailored in size (paragraphs [0006][0008][0264]).
Thus, it would have been obvious to the skilled in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to include a substrate in each module for the benefits of providing a light emitting device that is easy to mount and can be tailored in size.
Regarding claim 16, Kim in view of Takeya (see claim 2) teaches the lighting device of claim 15, further comprising: a light blocking layer disposed on the substrate, wherein: the light blocking layer includes one or more windows through which light generated in the plurality of light emitters pass.
Regarding claim 17, Kim in view of Takeya (see claim 4) teaches the lighting device of claim 15, further comprising: a step adjustment layer disposed on at least one of the first light emitter, the second light emitter, or the third light emitter; and one or more connection layers disposed on the step adjustment layer, wherein: the step adjustment layer includes a first set of openings exposing a region of the at least one of the first light emitter, the second light emitter, or the third light emitter, and the one or more connection layers are electrically connected to the at least one of the first light emitter, the second light emitter, or the third light emitter through the first set of openings of the step adjustment layer.
Regarding claim 18, Kim in view of Takeya (see claim 5) teaches the lighting device of claim 17, further comprising: an insulation layer covering the one of more connection layers, wherein the insulation layer covers side surfaces of the step adjustment layer and side surfaces of the one of more connection layers.
Regarding claim 19, Kim in view of Takeya (see claim 6) teaches the lighting device of claim 17, each of the plurality of light emitters comprising: a light emitting layer including a first conductivity type semiconductor layer, a second conductivity type semiconductor layer, and an active layer interposed between the first conductivity type semiconductor layer and the second conductivity type semiconductor layer; and a first electrode pad and a second electrode pad disposed on the light emitting layer, wherein the first set of openings of the step adjustment layer expose the first electrode pad and the second electrode pad.
Regarding claim 20, Kim teaches the lighting device of claim 15, wherein: the first light emitter, the second light emitter, and the third light emitter are configured to emit light of different colors from one another, and the first light emitter, the second light emitter, and the third light emitter are arranged side by side (paragraph [0105] and fig. 10).
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed December 22, 2025 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive. Applicant argues that the cited art does not teach the reflector to be located around the light emitter (page 10, last paragraph, remarks) because
landing pads 23 are drawn as solid rectangular blocks directly below the LEDs, with no lateral extension beyond the chip edges.
In response, Applicant teaches reflector 150r in fig. 5F (attached below) to be “around” emitter (10b, Applicant’s PG Pub 2022/0085240 A1, paragraph [0111]). Reflector 150r is also below emitter 10b and has no lateral extension beyond the chip edges. Thus, in view of Applicant’s disclosure, the cited art read on the claimed invention.
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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.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to FEIFEI YEUNG LOPEZ whose telephone number is (571)270-1882. The examiner can normally be reached M-F: 8am to 4pm EST.
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/FEIFEI YEUNG LOPEZ/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2899