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
Applicants election without traverse of the invention of Group I, Claims 12 through 20, in the reply filed on April 22, 2026 is acknowledged.
Claims 1 through 11 have been withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected invention, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election was made without traverse in the reply filed on April 22, 2026.
Specification
The title of the invention is not descriptive. A new title is required that is clearly indicative of the invention to which the claims are directed.
The following title is suggested: --Manufacturing Method for Display Device--.
Applicant is reminded of the proper content of an abstract of the disclosure.
A patent abstract is a concise statement of the technical disclosure of the patent and should include that which is new in the art to which the invention pertains. The abstract should not refer to purported merits or speculative applications of the invention and should not compare the invention with the prior art.
If the patent is of a basic nature, the entire technical disclosure may be new in the art, and the abstract should be directed to the entire disclosure. If the patent is in the nature of an improvement in an old apparatus, process, product, or composition, the abstract should include the technical disclosure of the improvement. The abstract should also mention by way of example any preferred modifications or alternatives.
Where applicable, the abstract should include the following: (1) if a machine or apparatus, its organization and operation; (2) if an article, its method of making; (3) if a chemical compound, its identity and use; (4) if a mixture, its ingredients; (5) if a process, the steps.
Extensive mechanical and design details of an apparatus should not be included in the abstract. The abstract should be in narrative form and generally limited to a single paragraph within the range of 50 to 150 words in length.
See MPEP § 608.01(b) for guidelines for the preparation of patent abstracts.
The abstract of the disclosure is objected to because the content does not appear to be directed to the claimed invention, e.g. manufacturing process, as recited in at least the steps of Claim 12. A corrected abstract of the disclosure is required and must be presented on a separate sheet, apart from any other text. See MPEP § 608.01(b).
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 through 17, 19 and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over U.S. Publication 2016/0349884 to Satou (hereinafter “Satou”) in view of U.S. Publication 2016/0366766 to Yeh (hereinafter “Yeh”).
Claim 12: Satou discloses a manufacturing method of a display device (e.g. 10, Fig. 1) comprising:
preparing a panel cover (e.g. 16A) including alignment marks (e.g. 62A);
disposing the panel cover on a back surface of a display panel (e.g. 24);
aligning a board (e.g. 16B) including ground areas (e.g. 50b) on the panel cover based on the alignment marks (e.g. ¶ [0056]); and
disposing a protective member (e.g. 20) including one transparent portion (e.g. glass, ¶ [0051]) to cover at least a portion of the board.
Claim 13: Satou disclose the manufacturing method of claim 12, wherein the disposing of the protective member includes aligning a portion of the one transparent portion to overlap the ground areas in a plan view (e.g. Fig. 1, ¶ [0051]).
Claim 14: Satou disclose the manufacturing method of claim 12, further comprising:
forming each of the one transparent portion to have an area larger than each of the ground areas in a plan view (e.g. Fig. 1, ¶ [0051]).
Claim 15: Satou disclose the manufacturing method of claim 12, wherein the disposing of the protective member includes disposing the protective member to cover the one or more alignment marks (e.g. Fig. 1, ¶ [0051]).
Claim 16: Satou disclose the manufacturing method of claim 12, wherein the preparing of the panel cover includes disposing the one or more alignment marks to be arranged on a back surface of the panel cover in a first direction (e.g. Y-axis of Fig. 1).
Claim 17: Satou disclose the manufacturing method of claim 16, wherein the aligning of the board on the panel cover includes aligning the board so that ground areas is disposed adjacent to a corresponding one of the alignment marks (e.g. Fig. 1) in a second (vertical) direction intersecting the first direction (e.g. Fig. 1).
Claim 19: Satou disclose the manufacturing method of claim 12, wherein the ground areas (e.g. 50b) have a ground potential (e.g. ¶¶ [0053], [0055]).
Claim 20: Satou disclose the manufacturing method of claim 12, wherein the alignment marks have a line shape (e.g. in a direction of Y-axis of Fig. 1).
Satou discloses that the board (e.g. 16B) is a first conductive film that is made from a substrate (e.g. 72), resin (e.g. 74) and wiring (e.g. 76, Fig. 2, ¶ [0059]). Satou does not mention that this type of structure is a “printed circuit” board (PCB).
However, Yeh teaches that a substrate (in Fig. 1) that includes a resin (e.g. 80) and wiring (e.g. 91, 92) can certainly make up the structure of a PCB (e.g. ¶ [0019]) to provide an electrical circuit within a device. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention that the board of Satou that includes a resin and wiring can be considered to be a PCB, based on the teachings of Yeh that such a structure can form a PCB in providing electrical connections as a circuit.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 18 is 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
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
a) Japanese Patent Publication, JP 2007-5540, discloses a PCB as part of a display that includes an alignment mark (e.g. 250, Fig. 3, see SOLUTION).
b) Non-Patent Literature IEEE Publication to Lau et al., entitled "Fan-Out Panel-Level Packaging of Mini-LED RGB Display”, discloses a display device (e.g. LED, Fig. 3) that includes a PCB AND panel cover (see entire document).
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to A. DEXTER TUGBANG whose telephone number is (571)272-4570. The examiner can normally be reached Mon - Fri 8:00 am to 5:00 pm.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, THOMAS J. HONG can be reached at 571-272-0993. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/A. DEXTER TUGBANG/ Primary Examiner
Art Unit 3729
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