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 Species A, represented as figures 1, 4, 6-7, 12, and 19; claims 1-4, 8-11, 13-15, and 19 in the reply filed on June 22, 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)). Accordingly, claims 5-7, 12, 16-18, and 20 are withdrawn from consideration.
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 May 2, 2024; and May 16, 2024 were considered by the examiner.
Drawing Objections
The numerous drawings have not been checked to the extent necessary to determine the presence of all possible minor errors. Applicant’s cooperation is requested in correcting any errors of which applicant may become aware in the drawings.
The drawings are objected to because:
In figure 1, Applicant has two element 12 pointing to different structures. Each element number must point/include only one structure.
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 Objections
The lengthy specification has not been checked to the extent necessary to determine the presence of all possible minor errors. Applicant’s cooperation is requested in correcting any errors of which applicant may become aware in the specification.
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.
(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.
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, 8, 11, and 19 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) and (a)(2) as anticipated by or, in the alternative, under 35 U.S.C. 103 as obvious over Chen (US 2019/0081219 A1) (“Chen”).
Regarding claim 1, Chen teaches at least in figure 1C:
a light source unit (10) that has a light emission surface and emits first light from the light emission surface (the top of 10; hereinafter “A”); and
a wavelength conversion layer (20) that is disposed on a side of the light emission surface of the light source unit (A),
has a first surface (bottom of 20; hereinafter “B”) disposed to face the light emission surface (A) and a second surface (top of 20; hereinafter “C”) disposed on an opposite side of the first surface (B),
includes a plurality of wavelength conversion materials (21-23) that converts the first light (10 produces blue/UV light; ¶ 0036) into second light in a different wavelength band (212/232, which convert to red and green) and a plurality of scattering particles (233), and
has a lower absorption coefficient of the first light in a vicinity of the first surface than in a vicinity of the second surface (Based upon Applicant’s specification at ¶¶ 0038, 49-50, the limitation/characteristic is caused by having the scattering particles above a layer of quantum dots, where the quantum dots are closer to the light source than the scattering particles. This results in an increase of the optical path by having the scattering particles further away from the light source than the quantum dots. The prior art teaches this same structure. Therefore, it is inherent/obvious that the prior art has this same characteristic.).
Regarding claim 2, Chen teaches at least in figure 1C:
wherein the wavelength conversion layer (20) includes a first region (21) and a second region (23) in order from a side of the first surface (B), and
a concentration of the plurality of scattering particles (233) in the first region (21) is lower than a concentration of the plurality of scattering particles (233) in the second region (23).
Regarding claim 3, Chen teaches at least in figure 1C:
wherein the first region (21) does not include the plurality of scattering particles (233).
Regarding claim 4, Chen teaches at least in figure 1C:
wherein the wavelength conversion layer (20) includes a first region (21) and a second region (23) in order from a side of the first surface (B), and
Chen does not expressly teach:
a concentration of the plurality of wavelength conversion materials in the first region is lower than a concentration of the plurality of wavelength conversion materials in the second region.
However, it would have been obvious based upon the teachings of Chen to modify the amount of wavelength conversion materials in the first region to the second region, and vice-versa. It would have been obvious based upon the desired color one wanted to output from the light emission device. ¶ 0039. One of ordinary skill in the art would adjust the amount of wavelength conversion material in each region in order to mix the colors to produce the desired final output color.
Regarding claim 8, Chen teaches at least in figure 1C:
wherein the wavelength conversion layer (20) includes
a first region (21),
a second region (a first part of 23; hereinafter “D”), and
a third region (a second part of 23; hereinafter “E”) in order from a side of the first surface (B),
the first region (21) does not include the plurality of scattering particles (233) and
includes only a plurality of first wavelength conversion materials (212; which can be a red QD),
the second region (D) includes the plurality of first wavelength conversion materials (234; ¶ 0065, where 234 can be another QD. Chen does not limit this QD, therefore it can be red like 212) and the plurality of scattering particles (233),
the third region (E) includes a plurality of second wavelength conversion materials (232, green QD) and the plurality of scattering particles (233), and
the first wavelength conversion material has a higher light resistance than the second wavelength conversion material (Based upon Applicant’s disclosure Chen uses the same color wavelength conversion material as Applicant (red and green). Therefore, it would have been obvious that the prior art teaches this same characteristic of wavelength material.).
Regarding claim 11, Chen teaches at least in figure 1C:
wherein a light reflection structure (30) is formed on a side surface between the first surface (B) and the second surface (C) of the wavelength conversion layer (20).
Regarding claim 19, Chen teaches at least in figure 1C:
wherein the light source unit is a blue light-emitting diode or an ultraviolet ray light- emitting diode (¶ 0036.
Claim(s) 9-10 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Chen (US 2019/0081219 A1) (“Chen”), in view of Tsai et al. (US 2021/0167257 A1) (“Tsai”).
Regarding claim 9, Chen teaches at least in figure 1C:
the second wavelength conversion material (232) is a cadmium-free quantum dot phosphor (¶ 0048, where 232 can be cadmium-free).
Chen does not teach:
wherein the first wavelength conversion material is a cadmium-based quantum dot phosphor.
Tsai teaches:
That the materials disclosed by Chen, nitride phosphor powder, Chen ¶ 0044, can be replaced by CdSe, Tsai ¶ 0048.
Therefore, Tsai teaches that the a cadmium-based quantum dot is an art recognized equivalent material to the nitride phosphor disclosed by Chen. MPEP 2144.06 and 07.
Regarding claim 10, the prior art teaches:
wherein the wavelength conversion layer (Chen 20) includes a first region (Chen 21) and a second region (Chen 23) in order from a side of the first surface Chen (B), and
a plurality of quantum dots (Tsai) included in the first region (Chen 21) has a different material, a different composition, and a different core-shell structure from those of a plurality of quantum dots included in the second region (Chen 23) (the quantum dots in 21 can be different than the quantum dots in 23 because the materials of each of the quantum dots can be different based upon the disclosed material as taught by Chen and Tsai.).
Claim(s) 13 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Chen, in view of Kim et al. (US 2018/0190871 A1) (“Kim”)
Regarding claim 13, Chen does not teach:
further comprising an irregular structure on the second surface of the wavelength conversion layer.
Kim teaches at least in figure 20B:
further comprising an irregular structure (240) on the second surface (top surface) of the wavelength conversion layer (230).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to add the irregular structure of Kim to the top of the device of Chen because Kim teaches the protrusions 240/241 can act as micro-lenes to enhance the luminous efficacy of the device. ¶ 0129.
Claim(s) 14 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Chen, in view of Wi et al. (US 2017/0170152 A1) (“Wi”).
Regarding claim 14, Chen does not teach:
a first light source unit,
a second light source unit, and
a third light source unit each emitting the first light and serving as the light source unit; and
a first wavelength conversion layer disposed on a side of the light emission surface of the first light source unit,
a second wavelength conversion layer disposed on a side of the light emission surface of the second light source unit, and
a third wavelength conversion layer disposed on a side of the light emission surface of the third light source unit,
the first wavelength conversion layer,
the second wavelength conversion layer, and
the third wavelength conversion layer each serving as the wavelength conversion layer,
wherein the first wavelength conversion layer converts the first light into red light,
the second wavelength conversion layer converts the first light into green light, and the
third wavelength conversion layer transmits the first light or converts the first light into blue light.
Wi teaches at least in figure 5C:
a first light source unit (device with 181),
a second light source unit (device with 182), and
a third light source unit (device with 183)
each emitting the first light and serving as the light source unit (each of the devices performs this function); and
a first wavelength conversion layer (181) disposed on a side of the light emission surface of the first light source unit (device with 181),
a second wavelength conversion layer (182) disposed on a side of the light emission surface of the second light source unit (device with 182), and
a third wavelength conversion layer (183) disposed on a side of the light emission surface of the third light source unit (device with 181),
the first wavelength conversion layer (181), the second wavelength conversion layer (182), and the third wavelength conversion layer (183) each serving as the wavelength conversion layer (181-183 serve these functions),
wherein the first wavelength conversion layer (181) converts the first light into red light (¶ 0058),
the second wavelength conversion layer (182) converts the first light into green light (¶ 0059), and the
third wavelength conversion layer (183) transmits the first light or converts the first light into blue light (¶ 0063).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to combine Wi with Chen and have three LEDs each outputting a different color so one could create and RGB device. These devices can be grouped and multiplied to create a full RGB display.
Claim(s) 15 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Chen, in view of Kim, in view of Zhang et al. (US 2020/0365566 A1) (“Zhang”).
Regarding claim 15, Chen does not teach:
a wavelength selection layer on the second surfaces of at least the first wavelength conversion layer and the second wavelength conversion layer, the wavelength selection layer selectively reflecting the first light.
Zhang teaches at least in figure 3H:
a wavelength selection layer (50) on the second surfaces of at least the first wavelength conversion layer (40/40a/40b) and the second wavelength conversion layer (40/40a/40b),
the wavelength selection layer (50) selectively reflecting the first light (the first light is UV light from Chen ¶ 0036).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill it the art to add the UV blocking film (i.e. the wavelength selection layer) of Zhang to the device of Kim as a safety precaution so that UV light created by the LED of Chen does not exit the LED device. One of ordinary skill in the art would understand that that would not want a user of the device to have to put on sunscreen every time they look at the device. Further, it is not good for the long term health of a company to give the users of its product skin cancer from the use of their product by exposure to UV light that was not converted to visible light. Especially when known preventative measure where known in the art.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to VINCENT WALL whose telephone number is (571)272-9567. The examiner can normally be reached Monday to Thursday at 7:30am to 2:30pm PST. Interviews can be scheduled on Tuesday thru Thursday at 10am PST or 2pm PST.
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/VINCENT WALL/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2898
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