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 .
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election of embodiment 1 as shown in fig. 3 (claims 1-4 readable thereon, claims 5-12 withdrawn from consideration) in the reply filed on 7/28/2026 is acknowledged. Because applicant did not distinctly and specifically point out the supposed errors in the restriction requirement, the election has been treated as an election without traverse (MPEP § 818.01(a)).
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(s) 1-4 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Zhang et al. (US PGPub 2011/0148312; hereinafter “Zhang”) in view of Teshima et al. (US PGPub 2003/0132530; hereinafter “Teshima”).
Re claim 1: Zhang teaches (e.g. figs. 5A, 5B) a display device comprising: a substrate (ceramic layer 304 and silicon layer 306; e.g. paragraph 54; hereinafter “S”) having a first main surface (upper surface of S; hereinafter “1MS”) on which a plurality of light emitting elements (LEDs 302-1 through 302-N; e.g. paragraph 54; hereinafter “LED”) spaced apart from each other are provided and a second main surface (bottom surface of S; hereinafter “2MS”) located on a side opposite to the first main surface (1MS); a cooling unit (heat sink 310; e.g. paragraph 53) having a third main surface (upper surface of 310; hereinafter “3MS”) and a fourth main surface (lower surface of 310; hereinafter “4MS”) located on a side opposite to the third main surface (3MS); a heat dissipation sheet (metal core layer 308; e.g. paragraph 53) located between the second main surface (2MS) and the third main surface (3MS) and in contact with the second main surface (2MS) and the third main surface (3MS).
Zhang is silent as to explicitly teaching a connection portion arranged at a position sandwiching the heat dissipation sheet in a direction along the second main surface and bonded to each of the substrate and the cooling unit, wherein the connection portion is made of a heat shrinkable resin.
Teshima teaches (e.g. fig. 5) a connection portion (mold resin 9; e.g. paragraph 32) arranged at a position sandwiching the heat dissipation sheet (308 of Zhang which corresponds to thermal coupler 33 of Teshima; e.g. paragraph 50) in a direction along the second main surface (2MS of Zhang) and bonded to each of the substrate (S of Zhang which corresponds to 2, 5 of Teshima) and the cooling unit (310 of Zhang which corresponds to 6 of Teshima), wherein the connection portion (9) is made of a heat shrinkable resin (molding resin 9 is made from an epoxy based resin; e.g. paragraph 38 of Teshima).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of effective filing, absent unexpected results, to use the molding resin surrounding the substrate, heat dissipation sheet, and cooling unit with a connection portion as taught by Teshima in the device of Zhang in order to have the predictable result of utilizing encapsulation of the device so that device lifetime and reliability can be improved.
Re claim 2: Zhang in view of Teshima teaches the display device according to claim 1, wherein the connection portion (9 of Teshima) has an annular structure that surrounds (a pair of molds is used for the molding process, therefore the molding resin 9 would surround the periphery of the device; e.g. paragraph 38 of Teshima) a periphery of the heat dissipation sheet (308 of Zhang/33 of Teshima) in plan view.
Re claim 3: Zhang in view of Teshima teaches the display device according to claim 1, wherein the connection portion (9 of Teshima) is in contact with each of the second main surface (2MS of Zhang which corresponds to upper surfaces of 1 and 5 of Teshima) and the third main surface (3MS of Zhang which corresponds to lower surface of 6 of Teshima).
Re claim 4: Zhang in view of Teshima teaches the display device according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of light emitting elements constitute a display unit (LED-based display; see title of Zhang), and wherein each of the heat dissipation sheet (308) and the cooling unit (310) overlaps the display unit in plan view (fig. 5A shows overlap of the LEDs, 308, and 310 of Zhang).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JESSE Y MIYOSHI whose telephone number is (571)270-1629. The examiner can normally be reached M-F, 8:30AM-5:00PM.
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/JESSE Y MIYOSHI/
Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2898
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