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 .
Drawings
The drawings are objected to as failing to comply with 37 CFR 1.84(p)(5) because they do not include the following reference sign(s) mentioned in the description: via hole 501 (see specification: [0090]). 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. 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.
The drawings are objected to under 37 CFR 1.83(a). The drawings must show every feature of the invention specified in the claims. Therefore, the “the at least one first insulating layer is provided with a plurality of via holes extending through the at least one first insulating layer, at least a portion of each conductive portion is exposed by a via hole, the conductive portion includes a pad, and the pad is a portion of the conductive portion exposed by the via hole” (claim 1) must be shown or the feature(s) canceled from the claim(s). No new matter should be entered.
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.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-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.
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 1 and 6 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ogawa et al. (US 20220293579) in view of Zhang et al. (US 20220293635).
As to claim 1, Ogawa discloses a driving backplane (Fig. 1(2), [0028]: array substrate 2 is a drive circuit substrate that drives the pixels Pix and is also called a backplane), comprising:
a circuit board ([0028], [0032]: flexible printed circuit board (FPC) or rigid circuit board) including a substrate (Fig. 7(21)), and a plurality of conductive layers and a plurality of insulating layers disposed on the substrate (Fig. 7, [0089]), wherein the plurality of conductive layers include a first conductive layer (Fig. 7(63)), and the first conductive layer is a conductive layer farthest away from the substrate (Fig. 1(21)) in the plurality of conductive layers (Fig. 7, [0085] – [0086]);
the plurality of insulating layers include at least one first insulating layer (Fig. 7(94)), and the at least one first insulating layer is an insulating layer located on a side of the first conductive layer away from the substrate (Fig. 7(21)) in the plurality of insulating layers ([0089]: insulating films 94 and 96);
the first conductive layer (Fig. 7(63)) includes a plurality of conductive portions, the at least one first insulating layer (Fig. 7(94)) is provided with a plurality of via holes extending through the at least one first insulating layer, at least a portion of each conductive portion is exposed by a via hole (Fig. 7, 8(H1)), the conductive portion includes a pad (Fig. 7, 8(63)), and the pad is a portion of the conductive portion exposed by the via hole ([0083], [0089]: contact hole);
at least one first bonding electrode (Fig. 7(73)) disposed on a side of the pad (Fig. 7(63)) away from the substrate (Fig. 1(21)), wherein a surface of a first bonding electrode away from the substrate is located on a side of the at least one first insulating layer (Fig. 7(94)) away from the substrate ([0083], [0089] – [0090]); and
an adhesive layer (Fig. 7) disposed on the side of the at least one first insulating layer (Fig. 7(94)) away from the substrate (Fig. 1(21), [0097], [0124]).
Ogawa does not expressly teach the adhesive layer covers at least part of a sidewall of the first bonding electrode and exposes the surface of the first bonding electrode away from the substrate.
Zhang teaches the adhesive layer (Fig. 10(AD1)) covers at least part of a sidewall of the first bonding electrode (Fig. 10(RL1)) and exposes the surface of the first bonding electrode away from the substrate (Fig. 10(SUB2), [0195]).
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 Ogawa’s driving backplane by incorporating Zhang’s idea of including adhesive layer that covers at least part of a sidewall of the first bonding electrode in order to improve manufacturing process of the driving backplane.
As to claim 6, Ogawa (as modified by Zhang) teach the driving backplane according to claim 1, wherein a surface of the first bonding electrode (Zhang: Fig. 10(RL1)) away from the substrate is located on a side of the adhesive layer (Zhang: Fig. 10(AD1)) away from the substrate (Zhang: Fig. 10(SUB2), [0195]).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 2-5 and 7-18 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 AFROZA Y CHOWDHURY whose telephone number is (571)270-1543. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9am-5pm.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Nitin Patel can be reached at (571)272-7677. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/AFROZA CHOWDHURY/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2628
Prosecution Insights