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 § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claim 1-3 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Claim 1 recites “a ratio of the thickness of the transparent layer to the width of each of the light conversion portions is between 0.1 and 40” this ratio is the only quantitative limitation in the claims, yet the claim does not say how the thickness and the width are measured.
Paragraph [0036] fixes the direction of measurement: t is perpendicular to and w parallel to the surface of carrier 2. It does not address the disclosed embodiments in which neither dimension has a single value:
Refractive structures 141 may be the same material as transparent layer 14 and formed in a single step with it Fig. 2A-2E [0054]. The surface of layer 14 may also be roughened directly [0061]. In either case, the thickness of layer 14 varies across the layer
First section 171a of each light shielding portion 171 may taper towards epitaxial structure layer 11 Fig. 2D. The Lateral width of the adjacent light conversion portions 13a/13b therefore varies with depth
The originally filed specifications provides no convention (max, min, average or specific location) for choosing a single value and the Figures cannot supply one [0030].
Therefore, different reasonable measurement conventions could place the same structure inside and outside the claimed range.
The Claim therefore fails to set metes and bounds with reasonable certainty.
Claims 2-3 are rejected as being dependent on Claim 1.
Claim 2 recites “each of the light filter portions and each of the light conversion portions correspond in position to one of the light conversion portions, respectively”
Applied to light conversion portions, this limitation is self referential. Each light conversion portion must correspond to “one of the light conversion portions”. That is either correspondence to itself or a requirement that each portion corresponds to a different portion, for each structure disclosed. It is unclear if both the filter portion and the conversion portions correspond to the light conversion regions [0038] or the filter portions correspond to the conversion portions [0024, 0049].
In addition, the claim never states how newly introduced “light conversion regions” relate to Claim 1 “light conversion portions
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Chu et al. (US 2015/0340346 A1), Lim et al. (US 2018/0182984 A1), Lee et al. (US 2019/0189876 A1), Bonar et al. (US 2020/0028036 A1), Wu et al. (US 2020/0258869 A1) generally disclose method of making micro LED display panel utilizing carrier.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to DMITRIY YEMELYANOV whose telephone number is (571)270-7920. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9a.m.-6p.m.
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, Matthew Landau can be reached at (571) 272-1731. 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.
/DMITRIY YEMELYANOV/Examiner, Art Unit 2891