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 .
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.
Claims 12-13 and 26 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Park et al. (US 2019/0204638) in view of WO2019/240136A1.
As to claim 12, Park discloses in figure 6C, a display device comprising: a first substrate BS2 including a display area DA and a non-display area NDA; a second substrate BS1 attached to the first substrate including a first sealant SS2; a first liquid crystal layer LCL disposed inside a region formed by the first sealant; a first electrode CE disposed on the first substrate in the non-display area; and a second electrode PL-G disposed on the second substrate in the non-display area and forming a capacitance with the first electrode, wherein the first sealant SS2 is disposed on the first electrode CE in contact with the first electrode CE.
Park does not disclose a second liquid crystal layer disposed between the first sealant and the second sealant. WO2019/240136A1 discloses in figure 2, a first sealant 21, a first liquid crystal layer 13 disposed inside a region formed by the first sealant, a second sealant 22 disposed outside the first sealant, and a second liquid crystal layer 23 disposed between the first sealant and the second sealant. WO2019/240136A1 discloses in paragraph [0044], that moisture that permeates sealant 22 is absorbed by the liquid crystal layer 23, so that it is possible to prevent moisture from entering liquid crystal layer 13 via the sealant 21. 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 Park by providing a second liquid crystal layer disposed between the first sealant and the second sealant as disclosed by WO2019/240136A1 in order to prevent moisture from entering the first liquid crystal layer.
As to claim 13, Park in view of WO2019/240136A1 discloses all of the elements of the claimed invention discussed above regarding claim 12, but does not disclose wherein the second liquid crystal layer and the first liquid crystal layer comprise different materials. However, WO2019/240136 discloses in paragraph [0044], moisture that permeates the second sealant 22 is absorbed by the second liquid crystal layer 23, to prevent moisture from entering the first liquid crystal layer 13. Therefore, the first and second liquid crystal layers serve different purposes. The first liquid crystal layer modulates light in the display area, whereas the second liquid crystal layer absorbs moisture. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to further modify Park wherein the first liquid crystal layer comprises a different material than the second liquid crystal layer in order to optimize each layer to perform its intended function.
As to claim 26, Park in view of WO2019/240136A1 discloses all of the elements of the claimed invention discussed above regarding claim 12. Park further discloses in figure 6C, a black matrix BM disposed on the second substrate BS1, wherein the second electrode PL-G is disposed on the black matrix.
Claims 14 and 16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Park et al. (US 2019/0204638) in view of WO2019/240136A1 as applied to claim 12 above, and further in view of Shin et al. (US 2021/0141264).
As to claim 14, Park in view of WO2019/240136A1 discloses all of the elements of the claimed invention discussed above regarding claim 12. Park further discloses in figure 5A, a first spacer CS disposed between the first substrate BS2 and the second substrate BS1 and configured to maintain a first cell gap. Park does not disclose a second spacer disposed between the first substrate and the second substrate in the non-display area. Shin discloses in paragraph [0133], that the spacer 250 in the border area BA of the non-display area NDA may maintain the cell gap in the non-display area NDA. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to further modify Park by providing a second spacer disposed between the first substrate and the second substrate in the non-display area in order to maintain the cell gap in the non-display area as disclosed by Shin. By maintaining the cell gap in the non-display area, the second spacer would be configured to maintain a second cell gap.
As to claim 16, Park in view of WO2019/240136A1 and Shin discloses all of the elements of the claimed invention discussed above regarding claim 14. Furthermore, a second spacer disposed in the non-display area of Park would be disposed between the first electrode CE and the second electrode PL-G.
Claim 17 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Park et al. (US 2019/0204638) in view of WO2019/240136A1 as applied to claim 12 above, and further in view of Fukunaga et al. (US 5,095,379).
Park in view of WO2019/240136A1 discloses all of the elements of the claimed invention discussed above regarding claim 12, but does not disclose a third electrode disposed below the sealant and outside the first electrode. However, Park discloses in figure 6C, a black matrix BM disposed below (when the device shown in figure 6C is flipped upside down) and outside the first electrode CE. Conventional materials form forming a black matrix included metal such as chromium, or an organic film with a black coloring material (a pigment or dye) dispersed therein. See Fukunaga, column 4, lines 19-22. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to further modify Park by forming the black matrix BM with a metal such as chromium, because conventional materials were known to be cost-effective and reliable. Forming the black matrix BM of Park with metal such as chromium would have made the black matrix BM a third electrode.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1-11 are allowed.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: none of the prior art taught or fairly suggested a display panel comprising the combination required by claim 1, including a capacitor formed based on a first electrode and a second electrode at opposite ends of the second liquid crystal layer for detecting stress applied to the display panel, wherein the first sealant is disposed on the first electrode in contact with the first electrode. Claims 2-10 are allowed by virtue of their dependency.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: none of the prior art taught or fairly suggested a method of manufacturing a display panel comprising the combination required by claim 11, including: forming first holes in the insulation layer in a non-active area along a periphery of an active area of the display panel; forming second holes in the insulation layer that are outside of the first holes; forming a first conductive layer over the first holes and the second holes; forming a first sealant over the first holes; forming a first liquid crystal layer within the active area and the non-active area within the first holes; forming a second sealant over the second holes; and forming a second liquid crystal layer between the second sealant and the first sealant; and forming a second conductive layer over the first sealant and the second sealant, wherein the first conductive layer and the second conductive layer form a capacitor.
Claims 15, 18-25 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.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: none of the prior art taught or fairly suggested a display device comprising the combination required by claim 15, wherein the first cell gap and the second cell gap are different from each other, and wherein the first spacer and the second spacer have different heights.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: none of the prior art taught or fairly suggested a display device comprising the combination required by claim 18, including a sensing line disposed below the first sealant, wherein one end of the sensing line is connected to a drive circuit and supplied with a sensing signal. Claims 19-22 and 24-25 are objected to by virtue of their dependency.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: none of the prior art taught or fairly suggested a display device comprising the combination required by claim 23, wherein the second sealant includes a conductive ball, and wherein the second electrode is connected to the third electrode through the conductive ball.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim 12 have been considered but are moot in view of the new ground of rejection. The new ground of rejection is based on applying the newly cited prior art of Park et al. (US 2019/0204638) as the primary reference.
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.
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/DAVID Y CHUNG/Examiner, Art Unit 2871