DETAILED ACTION
This Action is responsive to the communication filed on 07/26/2024.
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 .
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to 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.
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 1-2, 17, and 19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Park (US 2017/0358641).
Regarding claim 1, Park (see, e.g., FIG. 1, FIG. 6, FIG. 8) discloses a display device comprising:
a flexible substrate 110 including an active area DA and a bending area BA (Para 0026, Para 0033, Para 0090);
a plurality of pixel driving circuits T1, T2, Cst disposed in the active area DA, each of the pixel driving circuits T1, T2, Cst including a first thin film transistor T1, a second thin film transistor T2, and a storage capacitor Cst (Para 0070, Para 0075);
a plurality of first signal lines 151, 153 disposed in the active area DA and electrically connected to one or more of the pixel driving circuits T1, T2, Cst (Para 0070, Para 0076, Para 0079);
a first potential supply line 172 electrically connected to one or more of the pixel driving circuits T1, T2, Cst (Para 0070-Para 0072, Para 0074-Para 0075); and
a first signal link 50 extending into the bending area BA, the first signal link 50 connected to the first potential supply line 172 between the bending area BA and one or more of the first signal lines 151, 153 (Para 0047, Para 0074).
Regarding claim 2, Park (see, e.g., FIG. 1, FIG. 6, FIG. 8) teaches the display device of claim 1, further comprising a scan driver 400a electrically connected to the plurality of first signal lines 151, 153 (Para 0029-Para 00331, Para 0042, Para 0044).
Regarding claim 17, Park (see, e.g., FIG. 1, FIG. 6, FIG. 8) teaches the display device of claim 1, where the storage capacitor Cst includes a storage electrode 156 disposed on a same layer e.g., 141 as a gate electrode 155a of the first thin film transistor T1 (Para 0095).
Regarding claim 19, Park (see, e.g., FIG. 1, FIG. 6, FIG. 8) teaches the display device of claim 1, further comprising a storage supply line 157 electrically connected to the storage capacitor Cst, the storage supply line 157 disposed on a same layer e.g., 120 as a source electrode 136a and a drain electrode 137a of the first thin film transistor T1 (Para 0093, Para 0095).
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 15 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Park (US 2017/0358641), in view of Son (US 2019/0181198).
Regarding claim 15, although Park shows substantial features of the claimed invention, Park fails to expressly teach the display device of claim 1, wherein first thin film transistor has a polycrystalline semiconductor layer and the second thin film transistor has an oxide semiconductor layer.
Son (see, e.g., FIG. 3B) teaches that the first thin film transistor T1 has a polycrystalline semiconductor layer OSP1 and the second thin film transistor T2 has an oxide semiconductor layer OSP2 for the purpose of utilizing a material for a driving transistor for high mobility and high reliability and a material for a switching transistor for an improved on-off property (Para 0069, Para 0072, Para 0086, Para 0088).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the material of the first thin film transistor and the material of the second thin film transistor for the purpose of utilizing a material for a driving transistor for high mobility and high reliability and a material for a switching transistor for an improved on-off property (Para 0072, Para 0088).
Claim 18 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Park (US 2017/0358641), in view of You (KR 2017-0122356 A).
Regarding claim 18, although Park shows substantial features of the claimed invention, Park fails to expressly teach display device of claim 1, further comprising a light-shielding layer under the second thin film transistor, and wherein the storage capacitor includes a storage electrode disposed on a same layer as the light shielding layer.
You (see, e.g., FIG. 1) teaches a light-shielding layer 122 under a second thin film transistor TR for the purpose of preventing light from being incident on the active layer of the thin film transistor (Para 0041).
The combination of Park (see, e.g., FIG. 1, FIG. 6, FIG. 8) / You (see, e.g., FIG. 1) teaches a light-shielding layer 122 (as taught by You) under the second thin film transistor T2 (as taught by Park), and wherein the storage capacitor Cst (as taught by Park) includes a storage electrode 156 (as taught by Park) disposed on a same layer e.g., 110 (as taught by Park) as the light shielding layer 122 (as taught by You).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to in the light shielding layer as described by You to the device of Park for the purpose of preventing light from being incident on the active layer of the thin film transistor (Para 0041).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 3-14 and 16 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ANTONIO CRITE whose telephone number is (571) 270-5267. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday, 10:00 am - 6:30 pm.
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/ANTONIO B CRITE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2817
